For today's post I am using the Japanese date format, as I finally worked out what it means. The first part is the year number in the current period. So, we are currently in the 19th year of the Heisei period.
H19/11/17-18
A bunch of us teachers went to the Chiba prefecture to stay at the Mikazuki Spa Hotel.
In order to get there, we travelled along the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, which I see as one of the great human creations. I couldn't help but feel a tad claustrophobic!
There isn't much to say about the trip, as it was quite fleeting. We only stayed overnight.
We drank, had dinner and went in the spa twice. The spa itself is much like an onsen (hot spring), however since the water doesn't emanate from underground, it can not be referred to as such.
I guess the highlights of the weekend included the incredible view that I witnessed of Tokyo Bay and it's neighbouring mountain when I woke up in the morning and the huge golden bath that was impressive, but not comfortable!
I believe this to be the first time I have ever visited the countryside in Japan. Magnus and I remarked that it very much resembled Australian countryside. But, I guess it's not really much different no matter where you go...
H19/11/23-24-25
This was a long weekend and I spent the majority of it not doing a great deal, as on most weekends; I try to recover from all the fun I've had during the week.
I became re-acquainted with my Internet addiction and watching Scrubs as Hiromi was away in Akita for her friend's wedding.
I also cleaned and tidied the majority of my apartment, something that probably needs to be maintained more often!
Adrian came round on the Sunday night and we enjoyed a good round of The Librarians. I also had a surprise visit from Joy, Sarah and Steph for about 5-10 minutes sometime on the weekend.
H19/11/26
Hiromi arrived back on Monday night and we went to the Cookie Bar Bounenkai. A lot of drinking, eating and general merriment was had. Not much to describe, as I spent the majority of the night trying to speak to people in Japanese.
The Rest
I started and finished reading Fat by Rob Grant last week. I hope to read more of his titles as I've always enjoyed his brand of humor (especially his work on Red Dwarf).
I have to confess that I've put down a couple of books in search of greener and somewhat easier pastures recently. IT by Stephen King appears to be a good read, but I find myself drifting when reading the boring bully stories from their childhood. I also started reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, but I can't be bothered deciphering the Scottish accent that the book is stylized in it's entirety in - at least for the moment.
So, I've begun reading Inconceivable by Ben Elton, which takes an interesting approach with diary entries by the two main characters.
A while ago, Hiromi's DS flash card crashed and in the confusion, I accidentally lost a couple of my save games. Pokemon Diamond, I wasn't fussed about. But, I was rather disappointed that I lost my Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past save game. I have an older backup, but I'm not sure if I can be bothered recovering the ground I already made.
I completed Gyakuten Saiban 3 / Phoenix Wright - Trials & Tribulations, which as usual, was sooooo entertaining and quite frankly, riveting!
So, I've started playing The Legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass.
As I might have mentioned in an earlier post, I brought my GameCube and my PlayStation 2 over from Australia with me. Powering the GameCube was no problem, as the power supply is external and I just therefore needed to get a Japanese power supply.
However, the PS2 is a little bit more complicated as the power supply is inside the machine itself. So, in order to use it in Japan, I needed a 110V ~ 230V Step-up Converter. Hiromi found one for me, but it was for a European type plug, so we had to get an adaptor to convert an Australian plug into a European type. So needless to say, my PS2 setup looks quite amusing!
That said, I've been enjoying Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Burnout: Revenge. I am REALLY looking forward to playing Final Fantasy X International Edition!