Last week we enjoyed a long holiday – called Golden Week in Japan. The bad news with Golden Week is that everyone celebrates it at the same time, which means any kind of travel will be about four times as expensive. In addition, there are lots of traffic jams all over and domestic tourist destinations are filled to capactity.
Originally my parents had planned on coming to visit during this time, but they had to change their plans, and so Kuniko and I had a wide open schedule.
The weather cooperated with our easy-going plans, and we spent a lot of time outside. We took several walks out to the beach to sit in the shade of the palm trees and watch the ocean. I discovered a brewery making local craft beers not far from the beach, so that was worth a couple of visits. We bought a couple of folding wooden chairs at IKEA, so we could sit out on our patio in the late afternoon and sip drinks and watch the sun go down.
We also spent a couple of evenings at the Yamaji’s place. They also like to eat and drink outside while the weather is good, and so we went over to play with their kittens, as well as eat good food and meet Yuki’s girlfriend.
Towards the end of the long holiday we did some gardening out front, and I think it turned out pretty well. An old tree that didn’t quite make it was removed, and now it has a much better look. The Yamaji’s dropped by while we were working to take a look. Their yard sets the standard for the neighborhood, so I was happy to hear their approval. Mr. Yamaji offered the use of his power washer in the future, so I might take him up on that once the weather heats up even more.
Finally we were able to get a lot of other things done, a trip to Costco, a couple of BBQ nights, lots of lesson planning, some video gaming, exercise every day, and a couple of trips to Osaka for nightlife.
In Kobe my Japanese visa was approved for another five years, so it’ll be nice not to worry about that until the Olympics roll around in 2020.
I also applied for our Russian visas, which was an ordeal for me as an American but a piece of cake for Kuniko since she is Japanese. Hopefully we’ll get approved in a couple of weeks. The Russian consular building was a story in itself, and I’ll go into that more later (like, after our visa approval).
So now I’m back to work on a very regular schedule, and I don’t have any extra classes so I can concentrate on exercise and cooking in the evenings. I’ll be on this schedule until the middle of July, so it’ll be nice to settle into a routine.
