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[photopress:this_tree_is_some_tree.jpg,thumb,alignleft]I’m in two minds about leaving Juso. On one hand I’d like to live somewhere with more trees. But Juso is so convenient, and it’s exciting! Still, we’ve been here for almost five months. This apartment is OK, and it’s starting to feel like home, but it’s very expensive.

We looked at an apartment in Koyoen today, the Beverly Hills of Osaka. It’s very nice, and only 25 minutes from Umeda. We said that we’re interested in it, but there’s competition. I’ll let them decide for me.

Recently I’ve been working on a Web site for Kaz’s band. It’ll be up shortly; hopefully in the next few days. It was fun to design, but it’s a pain finding a web host!

Also I’ve been making some nice patterns in the grease on my phone’s screen. I dare not imagine the joys to be had with an iPhone.

I have a grey hair.

I bought a new knife today from Ichimonji Mitsuhide in Namba. I’m totally awed by it. It’s so sharp that the facets of the carrot I cut with it seem highly polished. The blade is carbon steel, so I’ll have to keep it dry and oiled.

The shop had a huge range, up to katana and beyond to something that looked like a sword from Final Fantasy. The knife I bought is an average size for a kitchen knife.

So much has been happening! I’ll try to be brief.

For Christmas we went up to Hakuba in Nagano. We stayed in a groovy hostel called K’s House, where some (14) American navy dudes graciously introduced us to Jägermeister suicide bombs. Terrible hangover the next day. We went skiing the day before, but the snow was disappointing, and then it rained. Still, the mountains were impressive compared to those in .au. At the end of our stay it snowed more than I remember having seen before.

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On the way home we spent one day in Yudanaka, where we found some monkeys in a hot spring. The ryokan we stayed at was really homely – the owner was very fatherly. Simon, Jodie and I shared a private public bath (lots of lovely, polished granite and naturally-heated water), which was hot, steamy and a bit weird. So hot, in fact, that it gave me a mini-hangover.

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Back in Osaka, we met up with Damien. It was great to see him again. It doesn’t seem at all like three years since he sold me his video card. We also met a whole bunch of other people who were loosely connected online. We ate at Shakey’s Pizza – a dream come true! All-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and curry. A great night, but in future karaoke (which was squashy, uncomfortably warm and excessive in contention for the mic) will be limited to 4 people.

We went with Charlie to Todaiji to lament the arrival of the new year. It was an awesome experience. This time I secured my enlightenment by squeezing through the hole in the pillar. After that we nipped over to Ikomayama for a midnight hike to watch the first sunrise. A great walk, and bizarre to find a (abandoned?) theme park at the top.

Today Simon and I went to the Ninja Museum in Iga-Ueno. Apparently there are at least two in Mie, and this was the fun one. The Ninja Stage was most impressive. Fortunately we got lost in the city, so I got to use the famous phrase, “上野駅はどこですか。” On the way to the station we saw a dog cross the street (and back again) to avoid us, filthy foreigners that we are. On the way home Simon and I battled with a Japanese lass.

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