Another Holiday, Another Three-Day Weekend

On top of last Monday's Respect for the Aged Day, last Friday was also the Equinox (which is a National Holiday here) so Colleen had a three-day workweek capped by two three-day weekends. Not too shabby. And somehow this one seemed even more jam-packed and bizarre than last. Friday we went to nearby Himeji and hung out with fellow ALT Marlene and fellow stay-at-home husband Aaron. We shopped, visited the Himeji Castle (only Japanese castle with its 'original' structure in tact), and ate the Mr. Donuts not to be found in our rural towns. After Marlene and Aaron hopped on the train home, Colleen & I hit Club Fab for a night of dub & reggae music Japanese-style. Club Fab turned out to be 20' square basement and so instead of the jam-packed dance club I was expecting we got to spend a the night in a small room with a dozen or so really dedicated dudes & dudettes, most of whom seemed to be either DJs or the girlfriends of. But the music was rad nonetheless and we headed home a few hours later completely exhausted.

Saturday was a low-key day, but we did stumble across a rad waterfall:





And what perfectly compliments Jamaican music & waterfalls? That's right, the ancient practice of Ju-Kendo and a little soccer practice. Ju-Kendo is like Kendo which is like sword-fighting, except JU-Kendo uses a wooden gun-shaped staff instead of the sword-shaped one Kendo uses. Or at least that's my understanding of it. Anyway, Kawamura-sensei (see "Kampai" post) was coaching the Hyogo team at a giant exhibition just minutes from our house so we had to go see what it was all about. We weren't let down either. It's very intense in a fatal chess match kind of way; great to watch both the physical action & the strategy involved. The Hyogo team clobbered Osaka in the first match, but lost a later one on a draw, so when we cut out at noon, their overall position was still up in the air. It looked like they had a good chance of at least third place, but it was just an exhibition so not a big deal even if not. Unfortunately, we had to cut out at lunch in order to make it to our soccer practice that afternoon. And regardless of the fact that we are clearly two of the weakest players on the team, Colleen came up big, scoring the winning goal in our scrimmage. I just wish I could remember who the unlucky goalie she scored it on was... Oh yeah, me. Guess that's what I get for taunting her after my earlier stop.