Boar 'n' beans

Chaos and disorder now officially reign, like that bit in the movie where gravity fails and everything in the spaceship floats up and off in random directions. After a very odd two days at work on Monday and Tuesday which toggled between boredom and blind panic that I wasn't going to get everything done, the week gave out and I started an impromptu 7 day holiday that I'm now through 5 and a bit days of. In that time we managed to get out to Himeji, Sasayama and anywhere else that least reminded us of job applications and looming deadlines. The gravity kicks back in on Wednesday which I'm not at all upset about; at the moment I'm struggling to focus on anything until it crashes down on me in a heap.

Mount Fluji

The past 2 weeks are almost entirely a blur, but what I can tell you is that both Lisa and I have contracted what I've christened "Fuji Flu" which causes coughing, sneezing and an intense desire to never climb a mountain again ever. The symptoms are probably to be expected, considering we spent most of the climb being buffeted by torrents of wind and rain; these dropped the temperature to a level you'd normally associate with being inside eating marshmallows, rather than scrabbling over slippery rocks 3km above the earth's surface. Once we had collapsed in ruin into our seats on the bus, we flicked through the photos we'd taken from our holiday and found it hard to imagine that it had all taken place in the same 5 day period. Lots and lots of things happened - let's see if I can't start from the beginning.

Ticket to ride

"I want to do something fun this weekend," Lisa announced on Friday night, with the outrageous implication that we don't lead lives of constant excitement. We cooked and watched a movie, then stood in the kitchen drying dishes and musing that we could go out somewhere but probably shouldn't - it was approximately the most tragic scene that "married" life has to offer. Fortunately, the predictable didn't last too much longer - I've found a new friend in the automatic ticket machine and we're now booked in for every sporting and cultural event in Japan ever.

They call me Dr Fish

In case there was any doubt, I think I'm officially old now; not necessarily because I bought a bottle of red wine on the way home on Friday night but because I was quite happy to have a glass of it and then stop (although that may have been because it was $6). "We'll keep the rest for tomorrow night," we said, then spent a hangover-free morning cleaning and dusting. The last bit of the bloody thing's still sitting there ready for the weekend; I'm starting to wonder if we should start enjoying our moderation in moderation, because I can see where this slow-moving rollercoaster ends up. "Was Japan good or bad?" the kids will ask. Lisa will close her Sudoku book and I'll glance up from the Financial Review.
"Yes."

Kicking and screaming

No doubt the worst bit about holidays is the horrendous comedown - the first few days of being back in the grind that really hits home how far from more holidays you are. I made my inglorious return to the workplace on Thursday and for the most part felt like a plump Christmas turkey dreading the sound of knives on sharpeners; I'm a captive audience for the next year and at some point I'm going to have to perform. It's reverse (reverse?) culture shock, I keep telling myself, but that isn't helping me feel any less hunted - my head is full of the faces of disappointed coworkers and empty blog posts. Time to do something about the latter, I think.

A new twist on the old favourites

By this stage of the game I would have thought things would be winding down, but this weekend proves that there was a charge or two left in the ol' roman candle. With a shiver of delight, I got behind the wheel of a rental car and was reminded how delicious driving is. No last trains, no "next bus not for 20 minutes", no walking up the hill in the rain - glory on four wheels. Mount Rokko, Arima Onsen and Awaji Island all awaited, the old stomping grounds that we thought we'd seen all of. It was going to be a tinkly, steamy, swirly and shaky weekend - in that order.

The dumpling king, a tale in 2 parts (Part 2)

We left off our tale "last week" with Dave having just arrived, me wondering how I was going to last the week without squeaking to a halt like an unoiled tin-man and you unsure as to what "the dumpling king" refers to. Now that the lads have finished their whirlwind trip (Dave having bid farewell and left for Tokyo this morning), I'm sitting in what now seems to be a very empty, lonely apartment; it seems like a good time to conclude the tale. Theirs weren't the only goodbyes this week, as you will see.

Cracking crabs and clacking clogs

It was with slight nostalgia that Lisa and I headed out to Kinosaki Onsen on Sunday, probably because we were driving up there in early March, in a rented Mazda, to stay for 1 night at a little Japanese inn with a crab hotpot laid on for dinner. If it weren't for our wrinkles and the chronically sensible car we drove up in, you'd swear it was 2006.

Keen on sake

After much farting around, Lisa and I have finally managed to organise and book a trip up to Kinosaki the onsen town. Hiroshima had no hotels free, Nara's only 90 minutes away so it's more of a day trip than a long weekendy place and every time the thought of going to Tokyo even enters your head, it $37.50 is debited from your bank account.

We had about 6 tries at booking places to stay at Kinosaki before we finally hit paydirt this morning. This was after my school principal explained that the recession was hitting the area hard and they were struggling to fill the rooms. Maybe he forgot to add "with you". Kinosaki is one of the few places in Japan that really makes sense to drive to - renting a car is actually cheaper than getting the train up there. I was seriously considering renting an RX8, but then I realised that for the same price, I could get a Mazda 2 and one hundred and twenty beers. I hope the boot's big enough.

In any case, we'll be heading off on Sunday to stay at a ryokan (Japanese inn). The area's specialty is crab so they'll be putting on a crab hotpot for us in our room and then we'll be free to wander the hot springs. It will be a big weekend of things in hot water. Hopefully I can keep my camera dry enough to get some good pictures.

Snowboarding or something quite like it

I came to Japan promising myself that I would do things I couldn't do at home. So, in one weekend I smashed my shoulder into dust on a mountain, secured my safe passage to the Buddhist afterlife and stood in the snow stark naked and pouring with steam. Achievement unlocked.