Something I saw yesterday that I forgot to mention– I was walking by the local high school, and it sits on top of a pretty steep hill. Well, I saw the baseball team out there, in their uniforms, acting lively and cheering, while someone was blowing a whistle. Intrigued, I looked as I passed by, and I swear I saw something right out of a sports manga, or a Jackie Chan movie– the players were doing a drill where they had to run up the hill, each one carrying a log.
Here’s where I saw them running:
Yes, log. All kids love log. Log will even make you a great baseball player!
Everyone is trying to find an edge. Here, the edge is log!
Come to think of it, logs are probably cheaper than a room full of weights. And instead of managing problem athletes, you can just hit them with Log until the problems go away.
After the Kvetching, that Nostalgic Feeling Grows
Today was pretty slow, otherwise. I went to the conbini for lunch, then to ZigZag for dinner. Okazaki is really starting to grow on me. I know I complained about it a lot at first, but now that I’m starting to get used to things here, I’m feeling a little nostalgic about the place before I even leave.
A few things I have noted, though:
Carabiners ROCK. They’re great because you can use them to hook bags to other bags, so they don’t fall off or get lost. For the next trip I take, I’m getting some bigger ones, like the ones real rock climbers use.
Smoking is being stomped on very vigorously in Japan now (well, except for the vending machines), and tonight while doing laundry, I noticed a woman sitting in her car smoking and reading a magazine. I bet she wanted a cigarette while waiting for her laundry. Japan is getting more and more like America in that respect.
Daily Brush With Death
Sidewalks are kind of hit-and-miss here. Every day I walk to school, I feel like I’m taking my life into my own hands. On one side of the road, there’s this giant white barricade wall that cannot be breached which guards the sidewalk. It’s too high to climb, but it offers protection from the drivers. On the other side of the road… well, there’s nothing. Just a slim shoulder of road. The problem is that in order to get to the barrier on the other side, you have to walk a few blocks on the dangerous side.
Here, experience my peril first-hand!
See that safe-looking white barricade? Yeah, you can’t get to the sidewalk behind it from here. (I’m actually looking backwards, towards the dorm.)
Enjoy the sidewalk-free lifestyle. You can cross over to the barricaded side here at this crosswalk:
We’re finally on the safe side of the barricade, just as it’s about to run out.
See that tunnel up ahead? It’s designed so you can cross under the street. Actually not bad:
There’s even a warning against suspicious people!
So you come out the other side of the tunnel and– wait, where’s the sidewalk???
Okay, back over to the other side, where there’s a sidewalk-ish thing:
Then we turn the corner and, oh, it’s gone again. Or is it? Just don’t fall through the loose gutter covers!
There just aren’t a whole lot of places for pedestrians on the side streets here.
Tomorrow I’m going to try to go to Okazaki Castle, and a few other places before class.
If I don’t get squashed.
