Watch Out Tony Hawk

So, did I tell you I got a skateboard? Yeah, its a long board, and bright blue, and needs some stickers so if you have any, please send them my way. I've already got an Apple sticker on there, of course, but the rest is free space. Yeah, so I had never even put skateboarding and myself in the same thought until about a month ago. My roommates got skateboards (one short, one long) and they let me try them out. You'd be surprised how easy it is to pick up, not that I'm by any means good, but I don't fall off nearly as often as I thought I would. So I bought one and so did most of the other NOVA teachers so now we've got our own gaijin (foreigner) gang. Its pretty fun and its great exercise. There is a great road on Mount Shinobu thats just steep enough to keep you going without having to push off so I like to hike up and board down. Its still been pretty chilly lately so the extra layers of clothing have been my padding. Hopefully by shorts and tank top season I wont be falling off.




My green tea experimentation has been going rather well. AJ told me I made the best cup of green tea she's had since she's been in Japan, quite a compliment (thanks AJ). I think it still needs some work though so I'll continue practicing.

As far as my sake connoisseuring goes, I've come to the conclusion that sake is an acquired taste. I will persist, however, and keep you up to date on my findings. So far I've attempted two different types. Because I can't read and I know nothing about them, I've tried each one cold and hot. I like hot sake better than cold but I think thats because the two I've tried are meant to be drank hot or at room temperature. I bought a bigger bottle that I know is meant to be cold and several students have recommended it so I'm looking forward to trying it.


This is a picture of the snow rabbit in Mount Azuma. If you look at the volcano to the left of the picture you can make out the outline of a rabbit (looking off to the left) in about the center of the volcano. I know its not the best picture, I will post it on flickr too where the quality might be a little better.

Missions Underway

So this week my two goals were to learn how to make green tea (properly) and drink more sake. Well I did some research and I'm confident that I can learn to make the perfect cup of green tea, provided I have the right tools, which I'm planning on buying tomorrow. As for the sake, I'm well on my way to accomplishing that goal as I type. Many bottles have been purchased for said mission and a taste testing is about to commence. I will be your sake connoisseur, if not by the end of the night, by the end of the week. Bottoms up!

Green Tea

So I went into this little tea shop today to get some green tea for my sore throat and, believe it or not, the woman there only spoke Japanese. This is usually fine because, after all, I am in Japan, except she kept trying to tell me something and then would walk away. Finally I got the idea; she wanted me to come sit down and have a cup of tea. Ok, great. So I did and it was fantastic. Best tea I've had since I got here. So I asked her which one we were drinking and bought it. Turns out I suck at making tea because my version was way less impressive. I get on the internet and there is so much more to making green tea than I had imagined. I've decided that my project for the week will be to practice the art of making ocha (green tea). And in honor of Sona, to also try a new type of sake.

PS more sakura pictures are up on flickr

SAKURA

The moment we've all been waiting for...


More to come on flickr