Winter in Japan was very cold, in fact it was the coldest winter of my life. However, it was one of the most amazing. In February I saw snow for the first time in my life and in March I went snowboarding.
OTOU MATSURI FESTIVAL: On the night of February some 2000 drunk men clad in white run down the 538 steps of KAMIKURASAN holding burning torches. Kamikurasan is worshipped as a divine mountain where the deity of Kumano Hayatama Taisha is believed to alight in a virtual figure. I took these photos at the top of the mountain. On your torch you write your name and four wishes. I wished for a ....., more ........, ........ and .... ..... ............
SNOW: I have always been fascinated by snow and got to see it for the first when I visited my friend TOMO in Kyoto. Tomo doesn't speak much English I can't speak Japanese but we communicated well. I We went to two temples and I had a great day.
SNOWBOARDING: In early March I went snowboarding in The HAKUBA mountains in NAGANO prefecture with a group of people from Kumano. I heard about them from my student MEGUMI. Clayton joined us as well. Both of them are proficient snowboarders but this was my first time. On the first morning I couldn't do anything. Megumi and Clayton showed me the basics but I just kept on falling down over and over again. It's not a nice prospect when you're high up on a mountain and the only way to get down is to fall rather painfully every five meters. After lunch I eventually discovered how to stand without falling, however I could only go backwards. On the last run of the day I think I figured it out but I was so exhausted that I just wanted to go home. On the second I managed to get all the way down to the bottom without on my first a run, and then began to really enjoy snowboarding. I can't wait for next year.
KATSURA: Tomo came to visit me in Shingu. I took her to an onsen in Katsura. She usually doesn't like the pictures I take of her and says, "No, noo , nooOOOO!! DELETE, DELETE!!" everytime I show her a picture.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Winter
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