April 2006

April 29
Ooooo...pretty.
To celebrate our second (and last) cherry blossom season in Japan, Alex and I decided to join the masses and participate in as many festivals as we could. Each weekend we set out to take pictures, watch traditional parades and eat as much as we could from the delicious (and abundant) food stalls...as if we needed an excuse.

Alex participated in the `fertility festival` where giant phalli were paraded around streets filled with smiling drunks. A week later, accompanied by our friend Wendy, we went to the `Inuyama Spring Festival` where children chanted and drummed on top of giant lantern-lit floats. We`ve also had the opportunity to visit the awe-inspiring Himeji Castle (a definite must-see for any visitor), as well as the less breathtaking Nagoya Castle, while each were surrounded by gorgeous cotton-candy like cherry trees. Needless to say, a fantastic (even if exhausting) month.

On a completely different note, I recently flipped through my journal to see what I had observed this time last year. I found a funny entry that I thought I would share.
To explain, Alex and I used to watch the Japanese National news every night after work (naturally dubbed over in English). While usually quite amusing, the coverage one night was particularly funny...

A news story was covering `the start of the work day for new graduates`. Apparently there is an employee recruiting wave at the same time each year. The reporter stated that every year these new recruits are given nicknames - this year they are the light-emitting diodes because, like a diode, they never heat up and are not excitable. The report included a demonstration with a light! They went on to say that previous nicknames have included the telephone cards of 1997, so named because, like a telephone card, they don`t work if inserted the wrong way and when their job is over they make a `peeping` noise (again with a telephone booth demo). I have never laughed so hard - the national news.

I am not sure what nickname was designated for the graduating class of 2007, but I am confident that it would be on par with `telephone card` and `light-emitting diode`....take your pick.

A small note - some new pictures have been recently posted...hope you like them. We also hope to have the cherry blossom pictures up soon - we`ll keep you posted. All the best!