As I'm studying for the Japanese
Language Proficiency Test N1 Level (JLPT 1kyuu) next July, I decided
it was time to order in some books! I particularly like this series
called 実力アップ
“Proficiency
Up!” Even though it's geared for the old JLPT levels, the books in
this series teach you kanji and vocabulary easily in a short period
of time through vocab lists followed by copious example sentences.
They really drill the information into you without it seeming like
they are at all. So I purchased a Level 1/2 grammar/vocabulary book,
and a Level 1 kanji book. Stay tuned for more on that I guess.
Also, this week I've begun work on a
volunteer translation project for a museum that is trying to save
photographs that were almost destroyed in the March 11th,
Tohoku Earthquake. As they photograph their efforts to restore the
museum's works, several other translators and myself are translating
the captions for the photographs. I'm really excited to put my
translation efforts to good use!
This weekend I found out that one of
the trainers I've ridden with in the past is being transferred to
another barn! :/ He said he's going to be rotating around several
barns for a while, so he'll be around a little but not that often.
I'm going to try to join one of his lessons next weekend as it will
probably be one of my last chances to ride with him.
On Sunday I met with some friends to go “lobster fishing” at Shirahama Floral Hall (ocean side of Minamiboso).
The lobster were caught in advance and tossed into a
little canoe-type boat full of water from which we used a fishing rod
and hook to scoop them before tossing them on the grill and having
them for brunch. They were delicious and fresh, despite being quite
terrifying when alive.
Though they could have used a little butter
after they were cooked up.
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| muahahahaha! I ate him! |
Since our location was fairly close to
Nemoto Camp Ground, where Greenroom Camp was, we decided to play
around on the beach afterward and we ended up climbing some giant
rocks in the water. Shirahama has to be the most beautiful beach in
all of 'Boso. Luckily for travelers there's a huge resort right
across the street!
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| Shirahama Beach. The water is so clear here! |
On the work side of things, I finally
got another post up on the city blog!
It's just a short post about the
September salon, and unfortunately I didn't have any photos! I'll
have to remember to take some at the November event. In addition to
this, I'm really happy to say that I received some responses to my
column in the September newsletter! I hope to be able to communicate
with more people in regards to cultural exchange in the future.
A while back I checked out a pizza shop
in Chikura called Indies Pizza (also the origin of the $5
non-alcoholic beer in the previous post). Their pizza was relatively
cheap for Japan, and quite delicious. Though I have to admit it
wasn't very filling. I ordered two large pizzas for two of us, and we
were both still hungry afterward. I forgot to specify the crust-type
though so maybe if I try the thicker crust next time it will be
better. Honestly though I'm just lucky to have a pizza shop in my town at all!
Also, I finally made it to the main
branch of the Hananokura Ramen shop in Chikura! It was difficult to
get there because they're only open until 2:30 in the afternoon
during the week, but I was able to stop in when I was on my way to
Chikura for some event planning anyway. I ordered their Curry Ramen,
and oh my god it was so delicious.
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| Curry Ramen |
It was about 1100 yen, but it was
totally worth it. Topping-wise it had bamboo shoots, bean sprouts,
boiled egg, and several thick slices of pork. The curry broth was
perfection. Too bad they only have the Curry Ramen at the main branch
since it's so hard to get to during operational hours. Or maybe
that's a good thing for my pocket book.
I also stopped out at the roadside
station in Chikura. This roadside station focuses on the fishing
industry, and was mostly tanks of fresh fish. There was also a
claw-machine where you could try to catch a mollusk out of a tank
like it were some kind of toy! I'd imagine they were a little too
heavy for the plastic claw to drag out of the water...
In addition to all of the marine life,
the Chikura roadside station also houses a small shop of works made
by local artists. There were paintings and postcards and some
stranger things like designer matchboxes. It was cool to see that the
roadside stations are not only supporting local farms and fisheries,
but other local industries as well.
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| Postcards designed by local artists |
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