We love Yu!

Too many farewells in this town... Yu will be sorely missed! That is, unless you use your new-found free time to come out and get properly drunk every now and again.

(Oh, and congrats on the marriage thing)

=P

Silica baths and refined evil

I've just come out of a silica 'bath' and I'm feeling good... This is the latest in bathing crazes to hit Japan, and involves sweating buckets while lying on heated slabs of black silica. Showers are not permitted and it's all supposed to be very healthy. Don't know about that, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Wasn't able to take any pictures of the 'baths', but here's a shot or two of the only source of refined evil in Hakodate, should you need to purchase any:



Selling only the evilest cakes in town.

'Zero'

These blurry guys were, I guess, the comperes for the surreal talent showcase I went to last night. One of them is wearing a skeleton suit 10 sizes too small, and a bad glam-rock wig that he constantly played with while squeaking into the mic.

Kicking off with a cool DJ set ("no wonder the sound has so much body") every half hour these guys popped up to showcase some highly choereographed dance sets, which ranged from boy band pop, to 'reggae', which basically meant lots and lots and lots of skimpily clad high-speed ass&thigh vibrating of a pseudo-sexual nature (ie. sexual if you happen to be a gymnast rabbit on amphetamines). The six year-olds strutting their stuff to some heavy duty rap were particularly entertaining, especially when the DJ messed up their set and left them looking confused and lost on stage.

Overall a very entertaining night, and the perfect timing and sheer skill on display was impressive, although I would've appreciated the chance to actually get into the dancing without the dancefloor being overrun by seated spectators every 30 mins...

St. Patrick's day

A most excellent chance to drink too much Bass and adorn myself with mighty fine headgear.

Underground

So, today I was walking through an underpass and I got to thinking of how different this place really is from the UK:

1) It's bright, well lit, and doesn't stink of piss.

2) The gangs of kids who congregate down here are invariably playing instruments or practicing their dance moves with perfect choreography.

3) The poor dude who was trying to unobtrusively flog badly drawn postcards could be seen actively tidying up and collecting litter in the tunnel.

4) Grannies walk through here late at night.

Damn

A friend dies, and another step is taken on the road to turning Britain into a police state with laws even more draconian than that of the US.

Not a good day.

Goryoukaku matsuri

The Japanese in the background really round out this pic.

That hat.

When Bill asked me if I'd be interested in joining a parade I wasn't really aware of what was in store for me...

It commemorates the arrival of Admiral Perry's black ships, which with their superior firepower effectively forced the insular Japanese to open up their ports to international trade. Strange thing to celebrate, but I figured it could be good for a laugh.

First suprise was being asked to put on an American uniform. The second was that I was the only one to sport the coolest hat design ever. The third was when I was given a huge and bastard heavy flag. The fourth was that when we actually joined the parade (late, had to run to catch up) I was directed further and further forward until I realised there was no-one walking in front of me anymore... I was heading a parade of hundreds and hundreds of precisely drilled Japanese all got up in meiji era uniforms.

The whole thing ended with lots of sword waving and cannon firing in the park, and beers back at the tower. Most excellent.

Sayonara

Farewell Sarah, we miss you!