Sam's Boyfriend Asahidake

Alright. I retconned this into my post about Asahidake after the fact, but the video is so fine and Sam did such a good job that I need to give this thing a post of its own. This is shot on the highest mountain in Hokkaido, and one of the finest mountains I've boarded on in my time here. This is one of the reasons I stayed in Japan for two years and why I'm fortunate that I get to leave this place in the summer. Were I to have to terminate my contract in the deep, fluffy, white of February, I'm not sure I'd have the strength. To be able to leave this place, I've had to ready myself for the possibility that snowboarding will never be this fantastic in any other part of the world.

Oh, and Sam's the one in the blue pants, green pack, and white jacket.

Sunset on the Shakotan

Back at the end of May, Mark and I took an impromptu drive around the Shakotan Peninsula (which extends West and North from Furubira and curves around to Mark's town of Iwanai). We had some unfinished business with the peninsula: when we were doing our Four Points Road Trip of Awesome around the coast of Hokkaido last September, we had to cut inland at Furubira and skip the Shakotan because it was getting late.

At the time, Mark had promised me that we'd drive the Shakotan before we left, and he followed through on that promise back on Friday May 27th. We got around just in time for sunset on his side of the world, and we couldn't have asked for better conditions. Here are some photos of the whole thing:

Soran! Soran!

Last week at this time, half the ALT population of Hokkaido was descending on Sapporo to take in the Yosakoi/Soran Matsuri(festival). The whole thing started out with a dance: Yosakoi...or was it Soran? Regardless, it was a dance developed down south in Japan meant to draw from the motions of fishermen hauling in nets and the chants that they used to keep time. But that's a bit like saying that Glee was developed from Christmas carollers. Yosakoi/Soran has grown so far beyond its beginnings that it is now little more than a vague musical/gesticular pattern within which the Japanese LOSE THEIR SHIT.

This is where I live on video (No Reservations: Hokkaido)

Randomly, though he'd already been to Japan for an episode of his fantastic Travel/Food documentary series, Anthony Bourdain came back this past February to do an episode focusing solely on Hokkaido. Well, it's mostly Sapporo as he didn't rove further than about a 20km radius from the city. However, he heads to places I've told you about before, like Niseko and Noboribetsu, and when he talks about "Uni" and "Tarako," those are two things that my town is famous for catching. The video is a little wintery compared to the weather here today, but I figure it's still a great way to get a video glimpse into the part of Japan where I live. What's more, this is the full episode, so you don't need to go hunting for other parts.

Hope you like it. As it is making miss this place even when I am still here, I can attest to its accuracy.

a second year in The Life

Crap.

I’ve been so hit and miss on the old bloggerino (mostly miss) that I neglected to commemorate two years of blogdom last week. Thus, inspired by my more timely post last year, here’s a belated, バラバラ sort of update that should cover a number of things in a random sort of manner.

...does not concern us.

As I posted a long, long time ago to show photos of my first, hideously expensive apartment here in Japan, I figure it's likely about time that I post some photos of my current, far newer, far cheaper, far cleaner and warmer and nicer apartment. It's a great place, and I'm really fortunate to have it for as cheap as I do. My only wish is that I hadn't been burning money on that other monstrous place for a full year of my time here >:(

Asano and the Arab Spring

Asano-Sensei, my Japanese Mum, charts the progress of the Arab Spring across her laminated map of the world with post-it notes. And in this country where it is sometimes a little too easy to over generalize how internationally ignorant the Japanese can be, my Japanese Mum does a better job of understanding this revolution than me. I try to put into words how it makes me feel as she explains the kanji on the post-its: that this one on Tunisia says that here is where it all started; that this one on Egypt says that here is where the people achieved their independence; that these ones on Syria and Libya say that the people are still fighting. I tell her that I’m proud of her, but that doesn’t quite manage to capture the half of it. I should be telling her that I feel guilty that, even in all my news watching, I haven’t been anywhere near as geographically diligent as she has. I should be telling her that she has likely paid closer attention to all of this than a whole pile of foreigners out there who fancy themselves internationally-minded.

This is Kamakura

Part two of the Great Tokyo Tour To Heather's Former Haunts!

Kamakura and Kita Kamakura make up a collection of shrines and temples a short train ride out of Tokyo. When she lived in Tokyo three years ago, Heather used to come out to Kamakura all the time. She thought I'd like the place, and with the combination of old-school Japanese architecture and TREES, she was absolutely right.

This is Yokohama

Heather and I headed to Tokyo for Golden Week 2011 (from April 29th to May 5th), but I'm only getting around to posting the first batch of photos from the trip now. As I've, apparently, swung my fickle/obsessive interest set out of writing and into photography, let's call this a Photo Essay of the Yokohama leg of our trip...