Mood:  energetic

Sunday, Nov. 28th
A well needed massage or
Oh, my poor aching legs and feet!

Ah, a masseuse. While Michelle and Justice were traveling back to Tokyo, i decided to find a place to get my sore and tired legs back in working condition. I struck gold, yahoo. I feel like a new woman now. 4500 yen for 45 minutes was worth every penny. It's back to the grind tomorrow. I'm ready to go back to work so i can get some rest! Vacation days are exhausting.

Saturday, Nov. 27th
Universal Studios, Japan (USJ)

Doug and Jane (both ALT's) and their 9-year old daughter, Kayleigh, joined Michelle, Justice and i for a fun day today. We left fairly early so that we could get to the gates as soon as USJ opened. Universal Studios, Japan, is a bit like Disneyland. Tickets are about $55 for adults. The attractions include, Spiderman, Terminator, Back to the Future, Backdraft, Jaws, Snoopy, ET and more. I was amazed that the lines, even first thing in the morning were from 1-2 hours long. Most rides are just too scary for little kids and Justice and Kayleigh backed out of many rides. I'm guessing that the rides were just too real and scary and also standing for over an hour for each is just too long. There were lines everywhere and to tell the truth, i don't think it's worth the money. I did enjoy "Jurassic Park" and "Back to the Future" but it was hard standing in line for over an hour for each ride. Luckily we all had cell phones so we split up and stood in different lines so that big and little kids all got to do something fun. After Jurassic Park, Doug and i discovered smoked turkey drumsticks for only $5.00. Wow, we devoured those just like the dinosaurs in the ride. I never thought i'd be eating turkey in Japan! Everything, of course, is expensive. Beer was $5-6 a glass. There were lots of things to buy and lots of lines for that too. It was a long and exhausting day. Our feet and legs were very sore but the kids were happy and so it was all worth it in the end.



Friday, Nov. 26th
40th Annual
All Nishinomiya
English Speech and Recitation Contest

Michelle and Justice are on their own today. I took the train and bus back up to Yamaguchi on Thursday evening so that i would be ready to go on Friday morning. We coached the kids for one last time at 7:45am in the principal's office. The big All-Nishinomiya Jr. Hi. English Speech and Recitation Contest is this afternoon. I taught my morning classes and then caught a ride with Sasaki sensei to the Hall. I was one of 7 judges who listened to the presentations and agonized over the scoring of each contestant. It was so difficult. There was a 2nd and a 3rd grade representative from each jr. hi. in the area. It was a single individual if it was a recitation or original speech, a group of kids if it was a skit. These kids are trying so hard, and they are all winners to me but someone has to go home with the trophies. One of my favorite students who tried her best last year under my coaching but lost anyway came back again this year. She has matured and is so very confident. She wrote a fine speech (i was only able to help edit it over the internet). It was a thrill to see her presented with the 1st place trophy for all her effort. We are all so proud of her. Hase sensei gave us a ride back to our apartments after the contest where we scarfed some pumpkin pie. Then we ended the day at a nearby ramen shop. Time to get some rest and get ready for our big trip to USJ tomorrow.

Thursday, Nov. 25th
Aquarium Day

Thurs. Nov. 25th
Michelle and Justice arrived around 9pm last evening. It was their first experience on the shinkansen. Justice is 7 years old and was so impressed with the "bullet train." After a full day at school and all that traveling he fell asleep on the couch while Michelle and i caught up on so much news and talked till midnight. Today i showed them the way to the grocery store, bowling alley and two different arcade centers. We walked along a park where Justice can play on Friday. Then we took off for Osaka. I have been wanting to see the aquarium and it was well worth the wait. There's something very special about seeing an aquarium with a super enthusiastic kid.

The Osaka Aquarium, "kaiyukan" is based on the Gaia hypothesis. It supposes that the Earth is a living organism arisen from its volcanic activities and ocean waters. The aquarium faithfully recreates the Pacific Rim volcanic belt "Ring of Fire" and the corresponding Pacific Rim life belt "Ring of Life". The tank is huge and you spiral down and down to deeper and deeper levels. We walked from the familiar Monterey Bay environment to the not so familiar Japan Deeps. In Antarctica it was snowing as we watched a crew feeding the emperor penguins. The penguins were like puppies standing close to their feeders. It was just adorable to watch the feeders gently prod the penguins back into the water after the feeding. It was obvious that the penguins enjoyed the human company and reluctantly returned to the water. The otters from the Aleutian Islands were huge. They cruised past us with only the foot thick Plexiglas separating us. Their looks of curiosity were intriguing. What playful, joyous, energetic creatures. This place is very special to keep such creatures alive and happy in an enclosed environment. I think that one of the secrets is the large and diverse area that they are housed in. We saw 5 types of huge sea turtles that are all on the endangered list, the hugest whale shark that I have ever seen, and the "piece de resistance" was the giant spider crabs of Japan's deep sea. These guys were like something out of a Star Wars movie. We stood entranced while one of them toppled over and looked like a destroyed fragile tinker toy. It lay there as if dead until one of the other crabs slowly ambled over and then this amazing creature managed to untangle it's spidery long legs and right itself. They just didn't seem like real creatures but there they were in front of us. Awesome!