September 11,2005

I had a good weekend - Christina came up from Nishi-Gifu and brought a bunch of movies with her. I am now the proud owner of Star Wars Episode 1 & 2, Ocean's Eleven, Shrek 2, and Meet Joe Black. She bought them at the video store for 480-580 yen each. The Star Wars tapes were a real coup because they were 580 yen for the pair. I didn't particularly like Episode 1, but I saw it French, and that may have had something to do with it. I will try it again because heck, I've got the time. She also rented Cold Mountain (loved it!), What's the Worst That Could Happen (watching this movie was the worst that could have happened), and Practical Magic, which practically sucked. I'm not going to rant about the latter two, but damn, that's 3 hours of my life that I'll never have back...

Before Chris and I settled in for the night with the movies, edamame, gyozas and a bottle of red, we went to the onsen on the mountain. I thought that it was walkable, but unfortunately, my poor sense of direction came to Japan with me (dammit!). We started walking up one mountain then I was getting the vibe that we were going the wrong way. Luckily, there were a couple of people nearby so I asked them for directions. We were told that the onsen was really far and not walkable, so the 2 ladies offered us a lift, which was what I was hoping for, but was sweet nonetheless. As it turned out, the onsen was fucking far away, and though I suppose you could walk it if you were in the mood, it would have been quite the hike. The oddysey was worth it, however, and Chris and I proceeded to get nekkid. It was my second time at this onsen and I have no nudity qualms, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Christina, who is blessed with more assets than me, was a little self conscious at first, but the soothing/scalding waters lulled away any discomfort. Things did get a little uncomfortable for me though, when I saw a couple of my elementary kids. Though they are cute as heck, I didn't need for them to see me in the buff. To make matters even more stressful, I had to ensure that they didn't catch a glimpse of my body art. But it was sweet when they ran up to me and screamed "Kaki-sensei" when I was sitting in a tub. Ahhh well...

Chris and I also ate at the onsen's resto and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The only drawback to the whole evening was when we were trying to get a rub down in a really cool massage chair, and no less than five kids surrounded me saying "Kaki-sensei this, and Kaki-sensei that..." Eventually, I had to sing the "Head and Shoulders" song to calm them down. But all in all, it was a great night.

On Sunday, after Chris left, I went shopping with Kasuga-san and her daughter Honami, who I teach at the JHS. Honestly speaking, Honami is the prettiest teenager in this whole damn town. She has a lovely smile, beautiful eyes and enough charm to melt an emperor. She is the sweetest kid and speaks English very well, with little accent. Anyway, we went to the Hyaku-yen store, Daiso, and this super mall, Rio World, and I spent a lot of coin. I must confess - I have a bit of a fetish/sickness: I need to feel that I have enough food/supplies in my home in order to be comfortable. Check ca:

The food should last me about 5-6 weeks, and there was a special on frozen food, so how could I resist? I'm lucky enough to have quite a bit of disposable income, so I shouldn't feel guilty, but I got that familiar sick feeling when I calculated my receipts at the end of the night...

A bientot mes chers...