Most of us enjoy singing, even if it’s in the privacy of our showers.
Today, Reiko and I spent over three hours at a local karaoke place and we had a great time. I thought that maybe after my last performance in April that she might not want to hear me try to sing in tune, or see me dance like a white guy, but this was not the case. One positive note was that I could finally sing one of Reiko’s favourite Disney songs: “Under the Sea”.
For many good reasons, we didn’t record any of our performances, but it was still fun to choose the different songs and let loose for a few hours. I think the only song I did even remotely well was Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”. It’s just not the same when you’re singing along with a CD or radio because you can hear the actual artist and so a poor personal performance is partially masked 
I’m sure this won’t be the last time that Reiko and I karaoke together, and that’s great news … for me. One of the things I might enjoy trying is the public karaoke. This way I can terrorize a broader audience.
I’ll add more to this in a bit. Dinner’s ready, and it looks like Reiko made some great omlettes.
Ja ne,
It’s raining in Southern Japan today.
One of the things I like about the rain in Japan is the smell of the air, and the type of rainfall. The air becomes much more dense with humidity and fog, and carries with it a clean smell that’s devoid of pollution. The rainfall is consistent and very relaxing.
Reiko and I travelled south to Toyohashi (about 50 km south of Nagoya) early this morning, and the view from the train was pretty spectacular. People were coming and going, kids were on their way to school, people were running for the train, and in all this activity there was an order. This order has to be one of my favourite aspects of Japan.
On the way back, the train was less full as most people were still at work. The rain had started while Reiko and I were busy with appointments in Toyohashi, and the sound it made while hitting the roof was so relaxing that both Reiko and I fell asleep for most of the trip. All in all, I think that the nap with Reiko was the best rest I’ve had in the last four months. It’s a shame the train ride wasn’t longer
Later today I’ll be meeting some of Reiko’s students, as well as some more of her co-workers. Perhaps we’ll all go out for dinner afterwards. If we do, I’ll be sure to post the pictures.
Anyways, I think I need another short nap. I’ll update this entry later, since I don’t think it makes much sense.
What a great Christmas, so far.
While my blog might show today as the 24th (at 7 PM), it’s noon here in Japan. Reiko has to work today, but she came over early so that we could have breakfast together and open gifts. Reiko-chan makes great food, I don’t know why she thinks otherwise.
Breakfast was eggs, salad and toast with syrup, followed by some apple yogurt. After this was done and put away, we brought out the Christmas gifts, and it looked like all the planning and worry earlier had paid off. Reiko really enjoyed her gifts, especially the complete collection of Mozart (170 CDs worth of music!).
It won’t be easy to beat next year, so maybe Reiko and I can spend Christmas in Austria ….
I’ve started posting some pictures from my trip here. It’ll be slow going, though. Unfortunately, my web server at home is decent for a few things, but doing the work of importing images and resizing for thumbnails is not very quick. Either way, I’ll keep at it. Once I get home, the higher resolution images will be uploaded to replace the smaller pics.
Later today I’ll head over to Reiko’s work to meet her for lunch, and afterwards I’ll get the opportunity to meet a few of her new co-workers.
I love this country.
I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed all the little things in Japan. That’s not to say that everything in Japan is smaller than it is in Canada, but it’s the many little details that people don’t really think about until they’re either gone or seen again.
Reiko and I visited two possible locations for our upcoming wedding in Nagoya. The first was a full service host, complete with a church, several different reception areas, translation services for my friends and family, and a whole plethora of other offerings. Add to this the attitude of the consultant, and everything seemed perfect. Afterwards, we went to another place at the Little Italy located not too far from the Nagoya Public Aquarium. Unfortunately, neither Reiko or I were ‘wowed’ with the ultra-Catholic half-latin ceremony, or the general feel of the place.
So far, the first place is ahead by leaps and bounds.
Today we’ll be checking out another place to see what they can offer, but it looks like it will be a tough sell to appear better than the first place we checked out. I’ll be posting some pictures in the image gallery tonight or tomorrow.
On a scale of one to ten, this trip has been l33t. The weather is great (feels like Southern Ontario in the fall), the food has been awesome, and the people seem to be fascinated every time I pick up a pair of chop sticks. This is a great country to visit, and I think I’ll really enjoy living here. That said, I have vowed that by the time I make my next visit to Japan, I’ll have a much better grasp of the language.
Making my way from Narita to Tokyo was relatively easy. From Tokyo to Narita I ran into some communication problems. But at Narita I couldn’t put together the simplest requests into a sentence. Luckily I managed to get close enough to where I was supposed to be for Reiko to still meet me. If anything, this trip has reinforced the idea that I can’t just study this language passively.
Alrighty, this is just a short message to say that I’ve landed in Japan after a very long and painful plane ride, and the subsequent getting lost on the Japanese rail system.
I’ll write more about it in about two days, when I have internet from my apartment. In the meantime, this is where I am in Japan (within’ a few km error margin).
Enjoy,
