Yesterday I went out and up to Shizen Gakuen for only my second time. This is the school with a student population of ten. This is also the school that I ride a train and two buses to get to. It is way up in the hills and I pass through many small villages to get there. A couple weeks ago I emailed my prodecessor with a question and she mentioned that I should probably take my camera along with me to this school as the leaves will be changing about now and it is all quite something to see. So I took my camera along yesterday and got a few shots through the bus window. It is quite pretty but the leaves have only just begun to change. The teacher I work with told me that in two more weeks (the next time I go out there) is when the real colors will be flying. So I'll try to remember to take the camera again and get some shots.
Also, it was pretty damn cold up there. I hadn't taken a jacket cause down here in Kofu it was only a little chilly and I thought it would warm up. But up there it was cold. My shirt was enough for the most part, but I can see that next time I better be prepared. No heating in the school as far as I could tell. But then again, it was quite overcast and there was a slight drizzle so maybe that's what made it cold. Next time might be sunny, I don't know.
By the time I got back into Kofu it was raining pretty hard and I had to ride my bike home without a rain jacket or umbrella. So, I got quite wet and cold. It's beginning to seem that everytime I take the damn rain jacket with me, it doesn't rain. And when I think about it and wonder if I should grab it on my way out and then decide "Nah, don't want to carry it," that's when it rains.
I also came to one more conclusion regarding the rain yesterday. Whoever wrote that song, "Singing in the Rain," sure as hell wasn't biking home with groceries in Japan on a cold day when he got the inspiration to write it. Must have been during one of those nice, southern California, summer rain showers that hardly ever happen and feel so good to run around naked in. Not that I've done that.

We did go to the wine festival a couple weeks ago. It was fun, but not too much so. There were lots of booths set up with different wineries represented in each. Some of the wine was good, but for the most part everything I tried was too sweet. I'm not sure if I was just getting the sweet ones (I usually asked for red) but I don't think that's the case. Perhaps they just make wine really sweet out here. It was good, mind you, just not something I'd want to drink a whole bottle of. I think Amy liked them though.
The way it worked was that you bought a wine glass for 500 yen (a bit under 5 bucks now that the yen has gained strength against the dollar) and then you just walked around to the booths and someone would give you a little to taste. They gave very little but I guess that's the way wine "tasting" is supposed to work. Anyway, eventually, I had had enough of it and went over and bought myself a beer. Sure the one beer was as much (500 yen) as all the tastes I'd had put together but at least it was beer. Let's face it, folks, I am not a wine connoisseur. Sure I like it, but it just doesn't quite satisfy me like a nice keg of beer.
But we had fun. I got some "Hoto" (essentially a Japanese kind of stew) and a large squid-on-a-stick (which grossed Amy out, which means it served its purpose), both of which were quite good. And Amy got some chicken nuggets and a chocolate pancake type thing (boring food, if you ask me). There were quite a few JETs there and we got to talk and share teaching stories and whatnot.

This last weekend we went out to the aviation academy I teach at for its school festival. Again, lots of booths with food and places selling things and all that. But the cool part was the stunt pilot they had out there. Apparently he is quite famous in Japan and I can see why. He was very good. He flew a small biplane with what was obviously a very powerful motor and his stunts impressed the hell out of me. I've been to a few air shows in my life being the son of a Navy guy, and I guess I used to take all this stuff for granted. You know, a few guys up there, flying the speed of sound, doing rolls and flips and dives, tempting death every 45 seconds or so. Ho hum. Big deal. Seen it all before. But I think that now I can realize what might be going on in that cockpit and it impresses me to no end. I mean here is a guy flying his plane straight up, stalling the engine, going into a spin, diving towards the earth at who knows how fast, and pulling out of it a mere few meters before he kills himself and all of us watching. DAMN! And he does it over and over, flying this way and that way, all the time with death tapping him on the shoulder and him flicking death's finger off like an annoying mosquito. Damn fine stuff.
And one of the best things about the show was how close you were to it. His airplane was coming quite close to us at times and it was in those moments that you might have been able to feel a little of what the pilot was feeling. Probably not, but just maybe. One of my favorite things to do at the auto races at Laguna Seca in Monterey was to stand between turns 4 and 5 cause it was there that you get the closest to the cars as they wizzed by at about 140mph or faster. That was the best place to "feel" the cars and the rush would instantly grab me. I was in the car with the driver for a split second as their foot came off the accelerator and hit the brake. And it was nearly the same when this pilot came swooping by our heads out at the academy. I got a great 7 second video of one of his passes. Maybe I'll figure out how to load it onto that picture site. Probably won't do the experience justice though, so just take my word for it. Or perhaps I can explain it this way.......Amy was getting scared. She kept backing up away from the runway and saying "Honey!" with fear in her voice as the plane and pilot came racing at us from altitude. I just laughed at her. She's cute sometimes but I think she's seen too many of those "amazing home video" programs. You know? The ones where people are jumping from burning buildings, teenagers are sterilizing themselves on skateboards, and airshows always end in disaster. Ah well, we had fun anyway.
They also had a group of students out there playing the taiko drums. That was very cool. Probably about ten of them playing all sized drums, a couple of flute-type intruments, a large gong-type thing, and a small bell. The music was great and I think some of my jazz heros must have heard this stuff at some point in their lives cause I can definately hear some similarities. I'd be very interested in taking up a class on taiko drumming, just have no idea where to look for it.

So there you are. The latest from Japan.

By the way. Yes, I miss football and baseball. But hell, the Giants are out of it and I actually did get to see that exciting game where the Cowboys beat the Eagles. They show a couple games a week here. Problem is figuring out when they're on. But anyway, to fill the partial sports void, I am getting into rugby. Right now the World Cup is going on down in Australia which means that the game times are quite convenient for me. So although right now it looks only slightly more organized than that childhood game of "smear-the-queer" some of used to play, with every game I learn something new about the game and am enjoying it quite a lot. Think a cross between soccer and football and you're almost there, although I'm sure rugby purists might disagree with me. Anyway, I'm learning. And get this...there is even a team from the USA in the tournament. I can hear you now "What?! Rugby in America? It's not possible!" But it is. I didn't know it either until about a week ago. So get out there and root root root for the home team.