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This is a different version of a picture which I put up here of farms near my house.

There is an interesting train line in Osaka I have to use once everywhile on my new job to get to some of the schools I go to which I believe does not want any foreign people using it. It is called the Kintetsu line. There is a big map of all the train stations by the ticket machines on this line which are always written down only in kanji. If you do not know how the station name is written in kanji you are quite frankly buggered.

This is a train line a mere 5 kilometres from the city centre so at one time or another people who aren`t Japanese will use this line. My train line which is around a 45 minute journey away has the station names in English as well so why can`t this one.

I am not being an ethnocentristic gaijin in that I expect everybody to speak my language and bend to my will. I am being unusually aggressive to this train line because in English there is a small sign by the machines which says:

If you do not know how to buy tickets, go to the window.

I cunningly enough know how to buy tickets. What I lack is sufficient proficency in Japanese to decipher where I`m going. The surprisingly curt reproach for daring not to be able to speak Japanese was a surprise.

I discovered today that the collar of one of my favourite shirts affectionally titled by Reiko as the “Forrest Gump” shirt I wore is too small to button up all the way. This brought an interesting problem when wearing the tie. At my work I have to wear a tie at all times so I compensate in some small part by going short-sleeved. We have to wear it at all times even if the teachers say you can take it off. Of course when the temperature will be approaching 36 degrees and 70% humidity in the summer and I`m running around with the kids I shan`t be wearing a tie even if it is a fake one. I won`t be wearing a shirt for that matter. Or trousers.

This is part of a flag advertising something. I forget what it is now but I like the moon and the flowers very much.

This is allegedly a PC software shop. You can tell this by the large number of PC pictures on the front display.

I`m going to have to wait until a mind boggling 9th of July to see the next Star Wars film. Not only that but after having rented out the second film in Japanese yesterday, the scrolling yellow scene setting text bit at the start as well as translations of the alien`s speech will be in Japanese. It`s not even June yet.

Ramen noodle shop in Shinsaibashi, Osaka.

Today I passed a milestone in that it was the first time I got up the courage to use a sit and squat toilet like the one on the left. My overall technique was shoddy but better out than in they say.

I do of course have a substantial archive of temple pictures. Here`s the inside of the main part of one.

Thanks for all your birthday messages. It was surprising how many people said Happy Birthday. I discovered some new readers which is excellent. I got a chair, a Liverpool FC T-shirt and a Hanshin Tigers birthday cake. My family called from England to wish me happy birthday and the dog was so loud I stroked it to quieten it. Of course unused to so much attention he took this as a form of foreplay, wrapped his front legs around my leg and proceeded to hump my leg. A quite unwanted birthday present.