Yesterday I returned from my bicycle trip. Due to unexpected situations that arose, I ended up going a few days shorter than expected and also a shorter distance than expected. I had planned on about 1,100 km but in the end went slightly under 900 km. Details will be forthcoming in future entries I’ll write [...]

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Last week I went on a two-day/one-night 200km bicycle trip around Lake Inawashiro. For those who don’t know, Lake Inawashiro is either the third or fourth biggest lake in Japan, depending on who you ask. It lies to the west of the Azuma Mountain Range, while Fukushima City is to the east of said [...]

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I was trying to update every Friday, but that didn’t work out. Too bad.
Anyway, for those who don’t know (which is probably most everyone reading this), as of a few months ago I put my unicycle to the side and bought a new bike. I’ve been wanting to do more distance stuff, and as fun [...]

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If you continue down Highway 114 southeast out of Fukushima City, after about 10km from the extreme outskirts of the city, you’ll come across sleepy little 飯野町, Iino City. It’s a relatively small town, with the population numbering a few thousand people, seemingly most of which are farmers. There wouldn’t really be any discerning reason [...]

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I never really made a post about it, but awhile back I added a map that has all of the locations I (and usually with Beth) have visited while here, plus a short writeup about and usually a photo of the location. Anyway, as of today, April 17, 2008, it has been updated.
Go check it [...]

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Really long-ass post ahead.
IntroductionThe Japanese school system is on a trimester system, with the school year ending in March then beginning in April. Having a merely two week break between the end and beginning of the school years doesn’t really give enough time off to let the batteries fully recharge and make the new school [...]

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This past weekend I went down to Tsukuba to visit Beth, and as usual, on the way back we took the Tsukuba Express back to Tokyo so I could catch my bus back to Fukushima.
Now for the few people who don’t know, Japan tends to pride itself–and with good reason–on having reliable, always-on-time trains. If [...]

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I’ve recently formulated a new goal for my stay here. I’m going to find out exactly where specific movies were shot in Japan then go there and take a photo at the same location used in the movie. In this way I can sort of let movies be my tour guide to the country, and [...]

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Ahh, the Sapporo Snow Festival. There were something like 400 snow and ice statues and sculptures. Some of these were relatively small, about six feet or so tall, and others were immensely huge. Many of the huge ones put that space to good use and built a snow stage out in front for many different [...]

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Despite what I’m sure many of you may think, Beth doesn’t enjoy being groped by strangers. I know, it once surprised me too, but I now completely understand.
Let’s rewind all the way back to yesterday, as Beth and I wandered around Akihabara, to begin this journey of understanding. Beth was looking for the new Kakitori-kun [...]

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