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Today was my first day of being let loose alone on the children of Osaka city. It wasn`t so bad although it was unnerving having to speak Japanese to so many people. I also had to do aisatsu in front of all the proper teachers in Japanese. This is a self introduction. It was nerve racking but it was only my name is, I am ____ they all bravely applauded it and I was happy. It was better than the first time I had to introduce myself In Japanese of all languages! What are the odds?

I`m having to get up a lot earlier now I have started my new job as well. Of course. The schools I go to are at least a 45 minute train journey away and although I don`t come home as late as the workaholic Japanese, I travel with them in the morning.

I`ve never seen such busy and packed trains as I did before. The traffic on the 7:30 train completely fills its spacious compartments and the train station`s wide staircases. Tomorrow I have to be at one of these schools - almost an hour train journey away by 8:15. And tomorrow is Friday 13th…

A man in Kishiwada, which is a part of Osaka, has a medium sized house and loves growing Fuji flowers. He invited the whole of Osaka round to marvel at the flowers above which he had trained with grids to run all over the house including a great part which served as a long archway. He even had them growing on the roof with a ladder you could walk up. In one weekend 30,000 people came.

This is a picture of the street just off of Namba in Osaka city centre. As with all Japanese town and city centres, it is full of low hanging powerlines and brightly coloured adverts and flags. Note the woman in the bottom right hand corner with the Robocop/Darth Vader mask. Also known as a UV visor for protection against the sun.

I thought I`d give a few shout outs to some of the excellent blogs on my blogroll you may not have been to:

The first blog ever to link to me was Outlaw Fish. This point alone guarantees him permanent rent free space on my blogroll.

Perhaps the blog with the best name is Blog Blog Woof Woof. He writes about black history, buddhist thoughts and English football. What more do you need?

The first blog I ever read was Church of Doktor Williams. Hear him talk about rasterbation.

And how about Mot du jour? A French word of the day site by a French Canadian

These are all great sites. Why not give them a comment or two?

This is a six foot by six foot sign on the wall of a local shopping centre. However bizarre their attempts to make me see a fantasy world are, their English far outshines my Japanese ability.

Tomorrow I start my teaching job again and with the day counter on the left racking a mere 320 days spent in Japan it means that it will have taken a staggering 321 days for both me and Reiko to be in full time jobs in Japan. I haven`t worked properly for almost three months and although the free time given is of course great it is weighed down by not having any money to buy the legions of shiny gadgets seen on an average day around in Japan.

I`m out of practice as well for school teaching. For my first lesson I am doing the same games and activities that I did before from last October. Whistles and sponge footballs are key. They are enough to keep me happily amused for hours and so I`m hoping the kids will be entertained for forty minutes.

I went to the immigration office yesterday and discovered that they had cunnigly enough given me the wrong forms, they sorted it out easily enough (I of course wore the fake Hermes tie of mythical powers to facilitate the process.) I am applying for a certificate of eligibility which I can then produce to get the visa. If this doesn`t come in time I will have to go home.

But I`m coming back.

This is the outside of a comedy theatre in Osaka. Osaka like Liverpool is famous for its comedians with most (if not all?) of Japan`s best from Osaka. They appear on everything on TV from variety shows to light entertainment (usually eating some slimy goo and still managing to force out an impeccable cry of Oishee) with some branching out into serious acting.

The man in the picture is from Rakugo - a famous type of Japanese comedy where the man will kneel on a cushion in traditional dress and using only a fan and a small towel as props.

Follow the link for a guide to Japan`s most famous comedians.

This is a picture of a cockroach feasting in the rice container taken last year.

I have not had a good relationship with the cockroaches in the home yet there has been a virtual ceasefire since the last encounter some nine months ago. I had forgotten that with the lights out late at night in the kitchen, the cockroaches emerge sleepy-eyed from their slumbers and roam free about their territory with relative impunity.

Last time was a small victory however last night when with half-opened eyes I stumbled into the darkened kitchen to claim a glass of water and found half a family of the beasts on an evening stroll around the kitchen sink was not. With a loud cry of “*+&%” loud enough to wake other slumbering members, I exited the scene in full blown fright and left in defeat to bed.

They are weird creatures as you Americans will know. The thing is they are not inherently evil like cicada or maybugs yet their shape and amazing quick bursts of speed scare and repulse me. They are at least 1000 times smaller and weaker than me. When chased down they attempt to flee rather than stand and fight. These points alone should guarantee it safety but it doesn`t. Why is this?

This is the roof of a small shrine on the street. These things, (along with beer vending machines) always surprise me that they are still there the next day. In England the machine would have been crushed in the pursuit of the golden nectar hidden inside and the shrine would have served as a conveniently placed public urinal.

I guess they have more respect for things over here. Incidentally shrines in Japanese maps are marked with the swastika symbol. There are often small cups on the shrines with swastikas on them. Thanks to the X-Files I know that the swastika symbol is far older than the Nazis and the has a meaning of peace and protection. It was just a bit disconcerting to see them everywhere.

Today is the final day of Golden Week - a series of holidays for the Japanese. Thanks to my present working conditions this has been no change for me personally although the vast majority of Japanese are on holiday as well. It is also Tango-no-Sekku, the Boys’ Festival for the male young of this country and for several weeks now carp streamers have been flowing outside. From the linked webpage

It is Japan’s way of celebrating the healthy growth and development of her young boys. The Japanese culture celebrates a holiday on May 5th called Boys’ Day or Children’s Day. On this day, every family strings a carp (koi) flag on a bamboo stick. Each carp represents each male in the family. The carp has become the symbol of the Boys’ Day because the Japanese considered it the most spirited of fish. The carp is full of energy and power. It can fight its way up strong streams and cascades. Because of its strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals. The carp is an appropriate symbol to encourage manliness and the overcoming of life’s difficulties leading to consequent success.