I may have had the strangest audition ever today. It was for a "Learn English DVD." Okay, whatever ( Read more... )

So, we were at post-Karate lunching at the Beverly Glen Deli (have a long history there, ever since one of the staff ate at Yama and told me to return the favor...we still visit back and forth)...and other than TJ, our sensei, almost walking right into Sly Stallone outside and then playing it off with a looooong walk around the parking lot in an ( Read more... )

Remember my little rant about Japanese washers/dryers, after our 3 hour attempt at drying our clothes after Fuji?

Well, some poor kid over on JET just posted to the jetjapan site about how her jeans always turn out crunchy. She blamed the 'washing' machines at first, but the comments quickly told her she needed a dryer. I'm sorry, I mean a 'dryer.' ( Read more... )

So, there's this temple in my hometown in Japan, Toride, called Chozenji. It is my favorite temple, as it is hidden in the city just east of the train station at the top of a hill. You can get up there through the main stairway or the back way through the graveyard. It has the rad dragon washing area and in the center of the peaceful little ( Read more... )

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I've posted about the Hiroshima Peace memorial Museum a lot before...mainly cause I have the official book that details all the pieces of the exhibit and would make a sane man want to smack anyone upside the head who would ever suggest dropping a nuclear bomb on a living human populace. Feel free to come on by and read it ( Read more... )

Yeah, after we came down Fuji we quickly changed into dry clothing and grabbed the first bus down the mountain...to the Fuji View Hotel. If you saw the pictures, you saw the crazy lush grounds it sits on. That was nice ( Read more... )

I have climbed tha mountain four times previously. It was horrible each time (though certainly none were as bad as the first, where I suffered exposure and violently shook for three hours). But this time...the fifth...was by far the worst experience I have ever had ( Read more... )

Oops ( Read more... )

Ok, things are better now ( Read more... )