So, I got a whole lot for you this time.  Fortunately I finally have
gotten over how expensive it is to buy cds in Japan, so I've got four
new albums to listen to while I type.  Today is pouring rain like
crazy.  In a less than five minute walk I got soaked to the bone, so
obviously I'm just hanging out inside today, which means I have plenty
of time to type some stuff up and a lot has been going on lately.  I
think I'll work my way backwards.  Today I guess would mark the start
of the rainy season in Japan, or at least come close to it: until now
it has been completely and utterly beautiful here for about a month.
So yesterday was no exception and I went hiking just North of my
house.  In about fifteen minutes I can be in the mountains if I walk
directly North.  This is also the only area in Kobe I have found (not
the mountains, but just before) that feels like a nice middle class
neighborhood.  Everywhere else is sleazy or rich, at least the feel,
not reality, but my judgement.  This area is also virtually white
person free, at least I assume this based on the reaction me and my
roommate got as we walked through.  It was interesting, because one
school kid just asked us literally translated, "Are you an English
speaking person?" which I have never heard before.  Another kid said,
"Whoa..." His friend said what, and he just said "Gaijin" and pointed
at us.  In case I haven't explained this word, it just means
foreigner, but is never used to talk about like Chinese or Korean
people, for instance.  So we were obviously in a place where white
people rarely go.  This hike was pretty cool.  We found another
service trail.  So this one started with just a rope that went up
about 75 meters, straight up the mountain.  Then the trail just
dissapears and we wandered through forest, finding a marker around
every 50 meters or so.  But the coolest part of this hike and it was
short was we found a pure bamboo forest in the mountain.  I haven't
been in a forest like this yet.  It was just like a movie.  It was
crazy.  First of all the leaves are falling off the trees now, which I
can make no biological sence of, but it made the gound look really
cool.  Second, it was really windy and you can hear the bamboo rubbing
together, which sounds like someone opening a door.  So we basically
played in the forest for an hour or so, then headed home.  But on the
way home we found a semi abandoned village in the woods.  Some of the
homes were definately being used, but by whom we have no idea.  It was
really creepy and crazy.  There was power running all the way out
there and a hiking path straight into the city, plus almost every
place had an address.  In addition to this there was a local shrine
for the area, which looked like it was abandoned.  So this hiking trip
felt like being in Japan.  Not only Japan, but a Japan from a Samurai
movie, mixed with a crazy sci-fi movie where people move out into the
woods to avoid nuclear war or something like that.  On the way back I
remembered that liquor is really cheap in Japan and that I should
start making sure I have a bottle at home most of the time, so I
bought a bottle of Glenfiddich 18 year scotch for about 20 bucks from
a local store in that area.  It was pretty cool, because I got awesome
Japanese practice, the lady asked me about 20 questions, which I was
able to answer somewhat.  It's good to do this about once a week or
two, because depending on formality, location, and how quick someone
wants to say something, people ask the same questions in a lot of
different ways.  For example she asked me how long I have been in
Japan by saying basically "For how many months?" as a literal
translation.  But omitted words that I'm used to for answering this
question, fortunately I figured it out. Now onto stuff before this.
As many of you may know, my dad came to Japan to visit me, which was
quite fun, but also a little tiring for me, because I of course played
the role of the ultimate tour guide.  We went to Kyoto (shrines and
temples), Himeji (Castle), Hiroshima (A-Bomb museum and a shrine that
is supposed to be one of the top 3 most beautiful places in Japan),
Kobe (Sake and Harborland (shopping center/cool place), and Osaka
(giant city, castle, good food).  I think I will spare you most of the
details as my dad will probably e-mail many of you with a much more
specific description of what happened, how, what time, and what things
are called.  Of course for me most of these places were not new, so I
will spare you descriptions of things I have already seen.  In Kyoto
we did go to the Golden Pavillion, so now I have been to the three
most famous places in Kyoto.  It was really cool, but I'm starting to
not be as impressed by temples and shrines as I was when I first got
here.  I've just seen a lot of them.  There are certain things where a
specific season is the time to go and for that they are something
special and really beautiful.  This one is cool because it is a temple
covered in gold leaf, sitting atop the water.  I mean it does look
spectacular, but it is also really crowded, so it is tough to
appreciate.  Hiroshima was awesome and I got to ride the Shinkansen
(really fast bullet train) there and back.  On the way we went through
the countryside for a while and there were a lot of just spread out
Japanese style houses with rice paddies (the farmers).  This was
really cool to see and also the cut of the mountains in the southern
part of Japan looks much more like what I picture from movies and
other things when I think of Japan.  The atomic bomb museum was a
little too much to take.  They left one building that was left
standing because the bomb exploded above it.  The stairs are melted
and shredded, but the walls stood, because most of the force was
directed down.  They have pictures showing that basically everything
around this building was destroyed for quite a long radius.  This is
also a place where two rivers come together, so many people jumped
into the river, because they were overheated and thirsty and in the
river they died.  Since the bombing Hiroshima has become a city thats
population strives for peace and nothing else.  In the museum they had
copies of letters that the "mayor" of Hiroshima has written for years
urging countries to get rid of their atomic bombs, to stop testing
atomic bombs, and seeking the end of nuclear weapons.  Most of the
recent ones are adressed to GW Bush and Kim Jong Il, in fact most are
to the US in general.  They also have stuff that was preserved, like
cement walls with glass shards driven into them, distorted metal and
glass.  You can touch some of it, it is a little creepy, but it's
weird to feel a lot of strange textures that can only be created by
something like that.  They also had some pictures taken at the time
and paintings made by survivors.  There were some quotes written that
were so sad in this setting they could easily bring someone to tears.
One is by a man who tried to take pictures of what was happening, but
after taking the first picture, he couldn't continue, because he
viewfinder was covered in tears.  If you saw the picture you would
understand why he felt that way.  Its about 20 or thirty people
covered in blood and dust marching down the street, begging for water.
 I don't think anyone who visits that museum could think dropping an
atomic bomb on a city is good or a viable means of fighting in any
situation.  It's one of the few times in my life I've been ashamed, I
mean truly ashamed of being an American.  The famous island we went to
next to Hiroshima is extremely beautiful.  I want to go back there.
That's all I'll say.  It has a shrine that sits in the water,
unfortunately when we went it was low tide, so it was perched on sand,
but it was still a very beautiful place and pretty tame deer wander
the whole town.  I also took my dad to a place with Kobe beef.  This
was really cool.  They did have food for me.  It is just simple food
cooked simply with a lot of care by the chef.  It's cooked in front of
you and he does a little bit of flare, but not like the crazy
restaurants in the US, but he does everything so perfect, he is
literally glistening with skill or maybe sweat, but you get the idea.
Also I had a fantastic birthday dinner.  Thank you Dad.  It was french
food and I was able to taste truffles for the first time.  It was a
huge feast and it was very tasty.  Well that's about all I'll say
about that vacation, it was very nice, I got to see a lot and of
course its nice to have some family over here visiting.  At my work a
lot of teachers are quitting right now, so I'm about 3rd on seniority,
so I'm starting to have more priorities and do more stuff, which is
good for variety, but also a little annoying, because I do more work
now for the same amount of money, but its ok, because when I have to
renew my contract, I'll look like a very good employee.  And finally,
I guess I better tell you guys about my girlfriend, since Dad met her,
many of you will probably find out sooner or later anyway.  Well,
first off I've been seeing her for about two months.  I just got sick
of telling everything about my life, so yes I've been keeping some
secrets.  Her name's Asami.  She is way too young for me.  Not that
bad, but 19 and her birthday was about the same time I met her, so its
a little creepy to be me.  I feel like a dirty pervert, but she is
really fun.  She has a great sense of humor and we joke around a lot,
so I have a lot of fun with her.  Her english is also very good,
because she lived in the US for about 6 months.  Of course, since
she's Japanese she's very tiny and very cute.  She stands at least a
head lengths below me and weighs maybe like 110, but maybe not.  She's
really into music, so when I go to her house I can play her guitar or
her keyboard or her drumset, and she has recording software on her
computer, which is pretty cool.  She also likes video games, so we go
to the arcade a lot and play fighting games, racing games, and
everything else they have.  She's not good enough to beat me though
and I'm too mean to let her win.  That's about all I can say.  She
doesn't go to college, she just works full time at a clothing store.
Everything else, unfortunately for you guys I have to censor.  Maybe
those of you who send me an e-mail once in a while will get a little
more info out of me.

Till then

Dan