Once You Catch Fly With Chopsticks...

Groundhog VS Oni
Also....they come in candy form:

So.....I have always known that Miyazaki`s governor was famous around these parts.  Most Miyazakians will proudly let it be known to any newbie the fame of said governor. ( they also are well aware of our *cough* awesome governor in California).  So far, all I have heard about Governor Higashikokubaru is "he is comedian." I see his picture all over the place; on signs, magazines, life-sized human cut-outs, food products. It has never occurred to me that I would even know any of his work.  I thought, "I`ve never seen any Japanese comedy.  I don`t know who he is."  Ohhhhh how I was wrong. 




eat the governor




endorsing the local foods


The other day, I was researching the governor for one of my lessons and there, in the middle of surfing the world wide web, I had a revelation.  I know this guy! I couldn't believe it......yes, yes, I have seen him before and can probably bet that many of you are familiar with his work as well. 

Our governor is none other than a star from Operation!Takeshi`s Castle.  THIS is so cool.
For those of you that need a little help remembering.....this was a Japanese game show in the 80s "where upwards of 100 contestants (give or take) try to get through various wet, dirty, and wild obstacles and games for a chance to win the grand prize of 1 million yen (Approx. $10,000) by defeating Takeshi and his crew. (IMDB)"



The whole cast




pesky rock obstacles



Ahhh, the things people will do for money

 




Now, us Americans couldn`t let the Japanese have all the fun.  We had to get in on the action too....we aired Takeshi`s castle on Spike TV...dubbed over the speaking parts with humorous English and called it MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.  The Miyazaki governor played the role of Kenny Blankenship who`s mind was always preoccupied with pizza, beer, and the ladies.




Most Extreme Elimination Challenge

 

the mushroom swing

Here he is in all his glory (left)



Later, we decided that the dubbed version simply wasn`t enough....and some American TV producer thought.."let`s totally steal the show and call it Wipeout!"

Last night I experienced my welcome enkai (drinking party) with coworkers.  Apparently, I belong to the Health and Environment section of my school, so those folks threw me my welcome party.  It was a small showing, just six other teachers.  Two of the six I had not spoken to before. 
One of the teachers, Kuroki sensei lives in my apartment complex, so I got a ride from him and other teacher, Meguri sensei tagged along.  It was pouring rain and Kuroki had to push all of the junk in his back seat aside so that it could accommodate three.  I got shotgun and off we went.  Meguri can speak some English (the best speaker in the bunch) and in the car we talked about movies like “Big” and we talked music touching upon Nirvana and Kurt Cobain…..then he told be about his love for Beevis and Buthead which I found comical that a thirty-seven year old Japanese man enjoys MTV.  Then, there was the first sexual comment of the night…here‘s how it went down: I asked Meguri if he was going to ride with us on the return trip home after the party because his house is forty minutes away and I thought he had mentioned a few days before that he would be staying with Kuroki.  He said, “ yes…I sleep in Nicole’s room…….no no….hahaha…Japanese joke” Ohhh boy.
We arrived at a restaurant called Silver Moon and all of the others were already there ready to go.  It was an izakaya sttyle restaurant which is a drinking establishment/restaurant.  Izakaya dining in Japan is known for having a nomihodai ("all you can drink") and tabehodai ("all you can eat").  For a set price per person, customers can continue ordering as much food and / or drink as they wish, with a usual time limit of two or three hours. Drinks and food can be ordered using a special menu but the variety is awesome.


At the izakaya, we called out kanpaiiiiiii and clinked our glasses…and this was the start.  Our motley crue consisted of the school nurse , three agricultural teachers, one lady who I have no idea her job, and the PE teacher/ baseball coach (the most popular teacher at my school).  The nurse and the baseball teacher could commuinate with some English and I enjoyed that they made an effort to talk to me in English, even though it was difficult.  The highlights in the conversation were………. the five second rule……baseball and the SF Giants….diabetes…..artificial insemination/ embryo transfer for cows (I particularly enjoyed the gesturing for this topic)  The alcohol and food were flowing.  Two people in the group just had tea and other nonalcoholic drinks, like my driver.  It is completely illegal to drink and drive here…the alcohol in the blood should be zero.  Which, by the way, here’s a cool side note….there is a Daiko service that any driver can use. It works like a cab would except the cab service has two employees set up with one taxi…..one worker will drive you home in your own car and the other will follow you in the taxi.  Once you and your car are deposited to their rightful home, your driver will hop into the cab and leave.  The cost is about the same as a regular cab fare….awesome.
  Ok, so back to the party….. I started with beer and then switched to shochu (sweet potato alcohol) which apparently has zero calories/ empty calories which makes me like it even more. Meguri sensei switched over to  drinking Highballs (a whiskey mix) soon he was just going through them, mug after mug, like water….and needless to say….got super drunk. He make the drunken mistake of ordering a whole bottle of shochu for last call and when it arrived, nobody drank any and it was time to go.
After we walked out of the restaurant, I was told “next place.” It is customary to have an after party after the main drinking party. At this time, four people left our group, the two ladies and one agricultural teacher.  Then, our driver, Kuroki said he wanted to go home and nap (he was sleeping at the dinner table earlier), but he said we should call him when were done and he’ll come back to pick us up. So our numbers were down to three.  We met up with another teacher, Ando, who teaches technology.  Together we went to a new bar.  There, I was teaching everybody how to do…”high five….down low…too slow” and they were loving it! The bartender had me show her too.   And after many more drinks came….Mergri sensei kept on staring at me longingly and repeating…..”I love you” to me.  Then the others joined in on the action…they were telling me to choose between them which one I liked.  I said no, no no….and tried to change the subject, but they wouldn’t give up….so I pointed to the lady bartender and said…”I choose her.” Ando teacher said “Oooooh heartbreaker” and did a gesture which his hand showing a heart being ripped apart.  haha. 
Then…..more and more drinks and Meguri started getting a ‘lil freshie with his words. Haha  He started in on the “…..so I go to nicole’s place?”  “….but I love youuuuu”…..then he had me look up words on my iPhone Jishobot  app. (Japanese dictionary) he had me look up   uwaki (extramarital sex, affair, fooling around) and daiji (serious)……He continued to ask and I continued to shoot him down…the female bartender found this routine to be rather amusing. The baseball coach started to chime in “love…..catch ball” in the mix. 
I  got my palm read by the bar owner….she said I had miyoki (charm)…but  most of the reading didn’t fit my situation, like she said I was homesick and was crying and upset and wanted to go home (far from reality)
Finally it was time to go.  Kuroki sensei was called and we all waited along the main street for him to come.  Meguri continued to try and get some play and then, decided it was a good idea to display his butt for all to see.  He kept pulling his pants down to reveal his bottom….right smack in the middle of down town Miyazaki…..maybe he thought that this surely would persuade me.
Kuroki arrived and we said goodbye to the others.  I rode in the front seat again and Meguri in the back ….he continued on with the “but….I lovvvve youuus”  and Nicole is cute then he became slumped, face-down on the center consol of the car….he made continuous reaches for my hand or tried to pet my arm….but remained in a glossy-eyed stooped position.  The driver, Kuroki, began serving as my protector, combating him away.  Finally,  Meguri slumped back into the seat, made a comfy pillow out of all the junk in the back seat of the car, and passed out.  Yayyyyyyy.  Kuroki and I  stopped by a convenience store to get some ice cream and water while Meguri snoozed in the backseat.   I was finally dropped off at home.

The drunken debauchery doesn’t change no matter what continent you are on folks…..same douche bag behavior everywhere.  Heehee. 

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Panty vending

Thank goodness no used ones inside (i think)

 This special little treat was found around the corner from the large downtown shrine as I was

venturing to find the insurance office.  A man walking a dog found it rather amusing that I was taking a photo here.  I love how in the whole of Japan security is very lax and people will turn in items like iPhones, but the panty vending machine needs to be barred up and secured like Alcatraz.  I was surprised to discover that there was not a moat around the machine too. 

Over the summer season I have attended numerous festivals. Each unique, but most tie together with one common factor, fireworks (and plenty of them).

The first festival I went to I was only perhaps three days or so into my Miyazaki stay. I hopped on a bus with another JET that I met earlier that day. She had only been in Miyazaki a week or so before me…..so we blindly used the public transportation system and headed to a spot near the coast. After a few bus transfers we found ourselves at a wonderful Flower and Lantern festival. The Ghostbusters theme song was rock’n the sound system as we entered.

some festival lanterns

red ones

pink ones

by twilight



hang'n out at the festival

 Next, I traveled to Saito, which is a small town to the west of Miyazaki City. There are two JETs living in Saito and they hosted a party the same day that Saito was having it’s big festival. I got there by bus and it took about an hour. I arrived late and the town’s festival was wrapping up. Saito has one small main street and that is where the stage was set up. The street was lined with lanterns and booths . I made it in time to drink a beer, see a bit of singing, and consume a tasty dessert. I met up with the other JETs who were all squeezed into two studio-sized apartments where I tasted a specialty alcohol from Okinawa, it had a snake carcass inside the bottle. We took the party over to a local bar and partied it up with some local drunk’n yakuzas (gang members). Most of the bars around have a nomikai (which is all you can drink for one flat rate).



snack cake

snake juice




After that, I watched some fireworks in Miyazaki along the river.
(I have done this frequently, in fact.  Recently, I saw a show with over 7,000 firework for respect on the Respect for the Aged holiday)  It is hard to capture the true awsomeness on film though, so you'll have to settle for some non-captivating photos. 




Then, I took a road trip with some fellow JETs to Cape Toi (the southernmost part of Miyazaki prefecture). This has been my favorite experience so far. I will write about the road trip later. Our purpose for traveling was to attend the Cape Toi Fire Festival. There was music and drumming until the sun fell. After the sun went down, a traditional dance was performed by the local kids. Next, came the fire-sling’n. A tall pole was erected that had a tree on top. The top of the pole was supposed to represent a snake’s mouth. Several men gathered, lit the ends of the ropes they were each holding and tried to fling their fire rope to reach the top of the pole. Occasionally, one man would miss entirely and his flame-filled rope would go wizzing into the crowd
of spectators. This fire flinging lasted at least a half hour and drummers were playing in the background, giving their encouragement and support. Finally, one flame went flying to the very top of the pole and set the top bursting into fireworks. The group of men gathered and carefully took down the ropes that were supporting the pole in a standing position. Slowly, the pole began to tilt and then, faster and faster…the pole crashed to the ground, setting off an entire show of fireworks right overhead. It was an amazing sight. I have never been so close to a firework show in my life.

along the Cape Toi coast



mini horses from the samurai days are common in these parts



cape toi scenes


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Cape toi lighthouse



festival pole



top of pole





kids ready to perform dance



fire-throwing



boom!

I took part in the Miyazaki Dance Festival called Erekoccha.
It usually is held in June, but was postponed this year.  People of all ages and people who are afiliated with different groups line the steets of downtown Miyazaki.  Three different folk songs are played and each group has three dance numbers to perform while walking.  Each group, no matter their dance, would clap at the same time during the songs.  I took part in the festival as a member of the International Foundation.  They gave all performers robes to use and fans that had the flag from our country on it.  It was such a hot day, I think it was the hottest day so far, but the experience was well worth it and of course, we were on TV!



all dressed up



random dude jumped into our picture



JETs ready to dance



downtown filled with dancers

some colorful dance group

The latest adventure was the Aoshima Beer Festival.  I tagged along with some driving friends to the beach, Aoshima Beach.  There we camped overnight with a bunch of other JETs.  We walked along the beach to the beer festival.  Although the variety of beer was limited, I still had a great time.  Some booths had imported beer in bottles only (In my thirty years of existance, I have already tried almost all of these).  I went in search of local or even Japanese micro-brews and managed to find some.  I had a blonde beer from Aya Town, which is close to my main school.  I had a dark beer from Hokkaido.  Both were tasty.  I proceeded to play some kid's carnival games and earned some quality prizes.  One game I particularly enjoyed was the game where I had to shoot a cork gun at prizes to knock them down.  I won a transformer toy.  After the fireworks, we proceeded to BBQ at the beach, drink, had a midnight swim in the ocean, and then we finally went to bed in the early hours right there on the beach.


blonde beer from Aya



I found a beer holder

Do not get between me and my prizes



Stole a Hello Kitty get-away car.  Don't drink and drive.

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Panda Snacks
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