Wow, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do! Wrapping up nine days off is no easy task, but luckily I didn’t do very much during the week, so I’ll give the bullet points first:
– Reading every day
– Catching up on my favorite TV shows
– Surviving a wussy typhoon
– Going to the dentist (finally)
– An aborted attempt at a deserted island trip
– A mind-blowing anniversary dinner at Chiro
– Good times at 穴婆 and Red Spanky
– Plenty of time to research lesson plans and class activities for work
– Trying another Indian restaurant in town
The deserted island trip turned out to be pretty disappointing. I mean, really disappointing. According to my research, once I arrived at the port in Himeji, there were plenty of choices for private companies and fishermen to take me out there. Upon my arrival, however, it turned out that there weren’t so many choices at all. I negotiated with a couple of different people, and they were all quoting prices way higher than anything I had even imagined. At first I figured I’d have to pay around 4000 yen round trip on the top end, which works out to about $50. I was surprised that the lowest price I could find was 25000 yen – around $300. For that price I could fly round trip to Korea – not just get a boat ride to a couple of islands visible in the distance.
So rather than waste the money I figured I should head back and re-evaluate, and that’s what I did. Unfortunately that day was not a good day for public transportation, and the trip back was plagued with delays and waiting. By the time I got home I was tired out, and I didn’t even make it out to the island. I’m already starting research into going somewhere else, though.
One of the highlights of the holiday was our 6th anniversary dinner at Chiro. We were able to get reservations and were welcomed by the staff as if we go there a lot more often than once a year. We ate big, with a big plate of antipasti, their delicious pizza, some chicken and some cheesy pasta that probably shaved a year off our lifespans, and of course a nice bottle of wine. They had saved us the best table in the house, sitting in front of the open restaurant, enjoying a beautiful view of the Akashi bridge changing colors through the evening. The sea breeze blew in keeping the restaurant cool despite a relatively hot day… it was perfect. I gave a small present to Kuniko for our anniversary, and she seemed happy with it, so that worked out pretty well, too.
I’ll try to recap some of the other events later this week. There is a lot to talk about with my students as well – the train crash in China may have some repercussions for my work and Kawasaki.
