OSUSUME DESU!

Some USEFUL links especially for a spot of Tokyo Travel

http://www.tokyo-ryokan.com/travellinks.htm
http://www.libertyhouse.gr.jp/travellinks.htm
http://www.libertyhouse.gr.jp/
http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/lodging/index.html
http://wwwjnto.go.jp/a-search/search/search_form.php
http://www.tokyo-ryokan.com/japanguide.htm
http://www.japanrail.com/schedules.php
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/
http://www.world.eki-net.com/

Hokkaido territory http://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/en/ useful.

website guide tothe Seto Inland Sea:http://www.anchorage.jp/setouchi/

Ger's words for the day! Here's to Crackpot Friends!!

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends
of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack
in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of
water.
At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the
cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on
daily,with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the
perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed
of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been
made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to
the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my
side causes water to leak out all the way back to this your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on
your sideof the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known
about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk
back,you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate
the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our
lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what
they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to
smell the flowers on yourside of the path!

Okinomiyaki last Friday with Higashiyama Elementary school!

Slainte!

Into the West from Sapporo with Rob and Thorsten for the day. Saturday 8th July 2006

Thorsten at Wild Mustang near jozankei!

Rob a master of the trade in Hidaka sets to work on his steeds for the day in Joazankei

Views from the staffroom!

Baseball at koryo JHS. The City Tournament. Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July

'team talk'

July arrived and so it was time to bbq!

July 2nd at Yukos where the menu was as endless as ever!

Menu:

やきとり

さば

うなぎ

egg plant and zuchinni

more とり

servings of とふ

followed by ﾋﾞﾌ and ﾌﾀﾆｸ

complimented with fruit and more fruit: 4 kinds of melon and a crate of cherries!

and it wouldn't be a bbq without....mmmmmmmm...................

some smores... Introducing smores to the Akae and Minoka! We thrilled our hosts with this American delight.

And the day came full circle with coffee and after eights, servings of tea, games of うそ, Go Fish and 'old maid'

and incase were still hungry Yuko produced a further feast of おもち　and あんこ to set us on our way！

ごちそさまでした！　

And off we happily pedalled off into the sunset! We'll be back again soon!

Looking foward to 16 days of Gyouza deliciousness in just 2 weeks from now! China baby yeah!

Why Ya just gotta Bounce back ... everytime

CARPE DIEM

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

A trip into the countryside

Rice fields in Akita-ken

June 17th 2006.

1,2,3,4,5,6, 7.....Skipping to School....

Shun, Ryota and Daichi's daily show as I pass by their house on my way to school every morning in June. NawaTobi - a universal delight! Smile and the whole world smiles with you!!

A weekend at Shikotsu-ko (支笏湖) !! June 23rd and 24th.
Lake Shikotsu - a volcanic caldera lake about an hours drive south of Sapporo.
Diameter:44km
Depth: 256m/deepest part 360m
Surrounded by Mt. Eniwdake, Mt. Tarumae and Mt. Monbetsu

The destination of choice for our weekend of camping, bbq'ing, hiking, and onsening.

The weekend of June 23rd started off in 'Brian Brew' in Susukino when Sapporo's Irish bar celebrated it's 2nd anniversary with cheap pints of Guinness and a bag pipes player from Wakkanai (Japan's most nothern city). Many of us ALTs had just been released from our work at a 2 day 'All English' seminar for high school students. After 2 days of teaching statistics, teaching 'small talk' and survival English to students in preparation to their upcoming school trip to Australia, I was skipping in the door of Brian Brew for to share the fun!

Saturday morning dawned sunny, making a nice change from the previous rainy days and so Ireland, Scotland and England united forces and myself, Ben and Ed headed for Lake Shikotsu for some bbq'ing, camping and hiking.

A good bbq requires... a stop at Seiyu on the way out of the city, some 'scran' shopping followed by a sashimi lunch in Seiyu's car park...
(Ben enjoying a 'Katsuo' feast in Seiyu Car park). It means finding the lake and setting up camp for the night and so we opted for Marapppu camping grounds on the southside of the lake.
A good bbq also requires some good Yakitori and with some time at the cooler with Chicken and Onions, Pork and Negi and Sticks...a feast fit for a king and 12 ALTs magically appeared. A good bbq also requires a good crew... and later we were joined by 2 more car loads. The first, piloted by Sappors's very own Miss Laura Spiegel and her 6 year old son Calvin. The second, headed up by the beautiful Biratori's (Hidaka- East of Sapporo) JET representative Mr. Michael Blaskowsky who promptly took charge of the campfire side of things. Later we were joined by some of the Niseko crew and lashings of Yakitori, Saba, Anma, burgers, beer and Shouchu were enjoyed under a blanket of stars by the lake.

Sunday morning's first activity involved a cold lake and some bridge jumping down by the pier. Ben, John Boy, Liam and Dave took the plunge for the Gaijin Circus and entertained dozens of passersby with their acrobatics. An important part of any ALT's job description.

In the meantime, Laura, Calvin, Elizabeth and Rosemary headed for the hills to climb Mt. Terumae and after the bridge dealings some of the boys went in the direction of the water jump at Okurayama in Sapporo to live out their wildest dreams on a set of skis for the day. Myself, Ben and Ed hit Mt. Eniwadake,overlooking the lake, for a 5 hour afternoon vertical challenge.

We were well rewarded with some epic views of Lake Shikotsu and the surrounding hills.

Our day of hiking would not have been complete without a stop off at Ito onsen, a small family run bath house on the northside of Lake Shikotsu. We took time to bath our aching limbs at this lakeside rotemburo before heading back to our urban dwellings in Sapporo where a feast of sushi at our our local sushi bar set our sun for Sunday evening. Tabe sugi Nai de Kudasai! Famous last words...Gochisosama!