A lady of leisure

Hi everybody, it's been a while since we've posted anything so there is plenty to catch up on.
At the beginning of February I left Martin on his own for a few days and went to Kyushu, the southern most part of Japan, with some other ladies of leisure from Hiroshima. Kyushu looks really different from Hiroshima, it's sunny, with lots of palm trees and pineapples everywhere. We stayed at a lovely Ryokan hotel and I decided to make the most of it and booked myself in for a massage at the spa. However, I soon relised that this was not going to be the relaxing massage I hoped for but more a form of torture. I had to get naked and lie on top of a table (face up!!) while some woman scrubbed every inch of my body with a loofah. As if that wasn't enough, she then proceeded to rub me viscously with salt - I was beginning to think I would be raw flesh by the end of this ordeal. To add to the embarrassment a few of my friends arrived just in time to see the woman throw a bucket of hot water over my scorched body. I think it is safe to say, "never assume anything in a foreign country".
Even toilets are not the same here, see picture below (click on the image to see a larger version).

I think the flushing sound and powerful deodorizer buttons are genius and let's not forget the wonderful heated seat facility which is very nice on a cold and frosty morning.


Last weekend Martin and I went on a little jaunt to nearby Takehara City. We spent the morning browsing a few local craft shops, sampling Sake at the numerous Sake breweries and stopped off for lunch at a cute little restaurant. We decided to opt for the local specialty which is soba noodle served on top of a steaming hot roof tile. I know it sounds weird but it is actually a really tasty bite to eat.



We also spotted the smallest clothesline in the world, I know the Japanese are small but this really takes the biscuit.

There are plenty more travel expeditions on the horizon for the McCloskeys, as we are going to see U2 in Tokyo - I am just so excited! Every rock concert that I have ever been to I couldn't see a thing but in the land of the small people I will get to see everything. Unfortunately, this will not be the case for those standing behind Martin. Before the concert we are going to spend a couple of days enjoying the cherry blossom season in Kyoto and then head off to see the bright lights and all the crazy fashion in Tokyo.
Best of all we are going home for a month on the 11th of April for Sheena and Rob's wedding and Steve and Louisa's wedding. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone, going shopping for clothes that fit, eating proper sausages, reading the Daily Telegraph and seeing lots and lots of green grass.
I must go now but a big congratulations to Callum Carten, who got an A in his eleven plus. Well done Caks!
Not much else to report, I'm still taking it easy and Martin's still working hard.
See you all in six weeks - not that I'm counting or anything.


Japanese hanging basket!

Deadly fish and the Japanese bathing experience

Hello again everyone,

We realise we haven't been doing a great job of keeping the blog up to date, so here's a monster blog post to catch up.

For the most part it has been back to our regular Hiroshima lifestyle after the Christmas & New Year vacations. Back to work for me, lots of trips on our bikes and more adventures to the supermarket. Although laid up for a week with a bad flu, Therese is back to full fitness now and has been keeping herself busy with Women's Club stuff, Japanese lessons and has even started a course in art history. She has also been teaching her Japanese teacher how to bake scones- a tough life!

This month also brought the 30th anniversary of my entry into the world - scary stuff. Hard to believe that I really am that old, but thankfully I've taken it quite well - no birthday blues or anything like that. In saying that, the first sign of a mid-life crisis arrived when I decided to buy myself a guitar. For those of you familiar with my musical ability, you can stop laughing now.

To celebrate my birthday, I took a couple of days off work and Therese and I headed off to the old samurai town of Hagi, on the north coast of the main island about 2 hours from Hiroshima.



A view of Hagi



A typical street, with the old samurai and merchant houses



Some of the elaborate gates and roofs

Hagi is a historic town, that was the base for many of the wealthy families and their samurai who protected and ran their businesses. Many of the traditional houses remain, which makes it a really interesting place for a stroll, taking in the old buildings.

After exploring the town, Therese and I checked in to Ryokan Tomoe, where we were staying for the night. Ryokan are traditional Japanese inns and our Ryokan was one of the most luxurious in Japan, lots of Japanese Prime Ministers have stayed there and even the Emperor has visited. The rooms have tatami flooring, with simple decoration and your meals, which are included in the price, are served in your room. Every room has a wonderful view of a traditional Japanese garden, it is all very "zen" and feels so calm and relaxing. On arrival guests are advised to enjoy a traditional Japanese bath, this involves sitting on a small wooden stool and using a shower head and wooden bowl to give yourself a good scrub. Only when you are absolutely spotlessly clean are you allowed into the piping hot and very deep Japanese bath. It may sound very odd but it feels really good. Guests are then expected to change into Yukata, a light cotton robe which is very comfortable. The hostesses (who are dressed in traditional Kimono) will then bring dinner to your room and serve it to you - it was definitely a little strange to be sitting on a chair with no legs at such a low table. The whole dinner process takes about 3 hours.


The entrance to Ryokan Tomoe



Therese in her Yukata

We had requested Japanese food, but we had no idea of what we were having. The menu wasn't much help as the only thing we managed to translate was 'melon'.



Our personalised menu

When our first round of courses arrived though we were in for a shock - the large platter in the middle of the table was lots of slices of the famous - and potentially deadly - blowfish, or fugu.



Fugu- tasty but deadly...

Reassured that our Ryokan was fairly reliable, we tried some. It is tasty, but not enough that I would risk my life for it. We had read in the paper that so far this season nine people in Hiroshima prefecture had died from trying to prepare their own fugu. One of Japan's most famous actors dropped dead at a Fugu banquet in 1975 only minutes after eating the fatal fish.

Anyway, after we had finished our selection of sashimi, including the fugu, our next course arrived, then the next, and the next.....in fact we counted 15 courses in all. Even with Japanese portion sizes, we were still stuffed.

By the time dinner was over, we were definitely ready for bed. Our hostesses made up our bed for us - futon mattresses on top of the tatami mats. I'm not sure I could sleep on it every night, but it was pretty comfortable.



Bed on the floor

Breakfast next morning seemed to be just a continuation of the previous night's dinner, with yet more fish (raw and cooked), rice, tofu and miso soup. It was certainly different to be eating that sort of food first thing in the morning, and though it was all tasty, I think I'll stick to cornflakes. By the time Therese got round to tasting the fermented soy bean paste cake it was almost all too much.


Me tucking in to breakfast

After another short stroll around some more of the sights of Hagi, we headed back to Hiroshima via the small town of Tsuwano in the middle of the mountains. Tsuwano, like Hagi, had quite a few traditional Japanese houses, and strangely a Catholic Church that had no pews, only tatami mats on the floor.





Some views of Tsuwano

Tsuwano also has one of the largest Shinto shrines in Japan, so we decided it was worth a look.





All in all we had a wonderful break and enjoyed our Ryokan stay so much that we intend to make Japanese baths a regular feature in our lives - we even bought a small wooden stool and bowl so we can do it in our own apartment!

Will write again next week, take care.

Ps. It has been great to know that all our friends in Kelvedon and Westminster have been keeping up to date with the blog, keep logging on!

Happy 2006

Hello again and a very Happy 2006 to all our blog readers. It been a while since our last post and there's loads to tell. We've been 'down under' for our big holiday of the year, and spent Christmas on the beach in Sydney. Following that our friends Anne & Paul came to visit and spend New Year with us.

Back to the beginning; on 16th of December, Therese and I flew from Osaka to Sydney on our Australian adventure. Neither of us had been before, so we were both very excited. We spent the first half of the holiday in the Blue Mountains a couple of hours outside Sydney. We based ourselves in Katoomba and stayed at the Kurarra Guest House. From there we went bush walking, explored the Jenolan Caves and spent a day on horseback at the Megalong ranch. Check out the photos below.


View of the 'Three Sisters' from our bushwalk trail


Govett's Leap


Some of the scenery near the Jenolan caves


The Three Sisters at dusk


Christmas Day on the Beach


The Harbour Bridge on Christmas evening

From there we headed back into Sydney, for some Christmas shopping and more sightseeing. We stayed in a cosy hotel, the Russell, just minutes from the Harbour Bridge and Opera house. Apart from the obvious sights and shopping, we went to the aquarium which was really impressive (lots of sharks & tropical fish) and took a day trip out to the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's biggest wine regions, and spent a day going round the wineries.

Christmas Day was certainly different - going to Mass in shorts & T-shirt, before heading off to the beach, but it was really enjoyable and very relaxing.

After travelling back to Japan on Boxing Day, Anne & Paul arrived to spend New Year.

Photos of snow & other random stuff

As I mentioned before there was great excitement at the arrival of snow in Hiroshima this week, albeit for a short time. Here's some pictures to give you some idea of what it was like





Therese has been out and about with the camera this week, snapping whatever quirky things catch her eye. This weeks entries are:

Mobile Phone Promotion Girl with Yellow Balloon strapped to her back




Mobile Phone Promotion girls are a common site in and around the centre of Hiroshima. They are invariably dressed in ridiculous costumes, but the huge yellow balloon deserved a photo. They are also always very upbeat and smiley, despite the thankless task of pestering shoppers and as you can see they are quite happy to have their photo taken. Of course once Therese had asked to take her photo, every tourist within 100 yards decided they wanted a photo too, so the poor girl was stood there for 5 mins before she could escape.

Over Priced Food Hampers

It seems to be quite common to give everyday items like food, drink and even washing powder as gifts, just as long as it is nicely packaged. Sticking to our theme of food, here's a fine example of what you might find under your Christmas Tree in Hiroshima - a Melon, 2 Apples & 2 Pears. Price £33.50, bargain!



And just to prove we weren't joking about the washing powder....

Snow !!!

There was great excitement on Monday morning this week, when we were greeted with a fresh covering of snow. Of course it was all gone by lunchtime, but it managed to stir up many stories among the locals of how this was going to be the coldest winter ever. Also on Monday our lease furniture arrived so the flat is looking much more homely and not quite so spartan.

As you might have guessed from the snow, it has turned distinctly colder here, and when the wind comes from the North (i.e. Siberia) it would cut through you. This has put a hold on my cycling to work, as it is just that bit too bracing.

Therese managed to snap some pictures of the snow and other random stuff so those will be added in due course.

Therese goes to the supermarket

Dear friends
For the past week i have been a computer widow. Every night when Martin came home from work he would spend ages at the computer trying to get everything connected, this inevitably led to many angry Martin moments. Although, i have also suffered from the odd lapse of patience, particularly with the excessive amount of wires and computer paraphernelia cluttering up my home. Thankfully things are now back to normal, i have a calm, loving husband ( the computer gear still looks messy though) and life has continued as usual for Therese in Japan. Hopefully, the following snaps will give you a glimpse of everyday grocery shopping in Hiroshima.

Therese gears up for another supermarket adventure

There are many weird and wonderful fish around

...and more soy sauce than you will ever need.

Bento boxes-TV dinners the Japanese way

and the infamous three slice loaf of bread.

a little piece of Essex in Japan!

computer problems.....

Dear All,

Apologies for the break last week, but since last Friday I have been trying to sort out the new computer. First I couldn't connect to our broadband service - and after a weekend of banging my head against the computer screen I discovered that my passowrd was typed wrong in the modem setting ( I have a # in my password which was coming up as a £, because the keyboard was set to UK instead of US - aaaaaaaargh!)

Then we couldn't access Therese's hotmail account - this is now resolved but only after hours of fiddling with different settings of the computer, wireless base station and modem. The modem was particulaly trying as all the setup screens are in Japanese!.

Anyway we're back on-line!

As requested here is a picture of Therese with her bike, just for Louisa.

Kurashiki

Unfortunately no funny stories this week. Time is zipping by and it seems like yesterday I was writing about Miyajima and getting my hair cut. Our bikes arrived this week, so I’ve been cycling to work dodging the crazy school kids who never look where they are going. The weather is perfect for cycling – dry, crisp and sunny and it is only 3 miles so I don’t arrive at the office too sweaty. Hiroshima is built on a river delta so it is completely flat which makes cycling not too difficult.

Yesterday we drove to a town called Kurashiki (see pictures). Dubiously titled the “Venice of Japan” (I counted only one canal), it was once the rice trading centre of western Honshu. Nonetheless it does have an attractive, historic town centre, with the old rice warehouses converted into craft stores, cafes & galleries. We enjoyed the pleasant autumn weather and the sight of many of the leaves changing colour. Lunch was a set menu in a little bistro – pumpkin soup, steak with vegetables and side salad (and rice of course) and coffee for £6.75 each. Eating out is can be great value in Japan! After lunch we visited the Ohara Museum of Art, which has an impressive private collection of impressionist and modern art. The Museum also had a traditional Japanese garden (see photos). Along the way, we also came across some turtles sunbathing on a rock in the middle of a pond in case you were wondering what they were doing.

Also we have decided to go down under for Christmas. We are off to Sydney and the Blue Mountains for the week leading up to Christmas. We are staying in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains first, before heading back to Sydney for Christmas. It will be strange to be on holiday at Christmas, but waking up to a view of the Opera house and the harbour bridge (in the middle of summer) should make up for it. Maybe we can have some barbequed turkey!

The best surprise though this week was a very unhealthy supply of delicious chocolates courtesy of Anne & Paul – Thanks!

Every day is another adventure

As promised another week, another update.
My big adventure this week was going to get my hair cut. With some trepidation I randomly selected a barbers in the centre of town, and strode in. After the customary introductions, we managed to establish that I wanted a “cut only”, and I showed my ID Card picture as a guide to length and style (if you could call it a style). 10 minutes later and I was pretty happy with the outcome, and was all ready to leave when I was whisked over the sink for a rinse & shampoo, followed my a head massage, then a shoulder massage, then some nice hot towels, then a close shave of the neck & side burns, blow dry and final check over. I felt fantastic, and was looking better groomed than ever. They even trimmed my ear hairs with one of those Remmington trimmer things. I was wondering if this was a “cut only”, what else was available? The cost for all this five star treatment – 1700 Yen, approx £8.50. You have got to hand it to the Japanese, they really know how to do customer service!

Another adventure this week, was our first attempt at a traditional Japanese restaurant. We had pinned our hopes on the restaurant having a set menu deal, which is pretty common. Unfortunately, after some busy searching through the phrase book, we ascertained that it was all “a la carte”. Neither my nor Therese’s Hiragana abilities were up to reading the menu, but we managed ask the waitress to bring us as much food as she could for 5000 Yen. Our surprise menu, started with some stewed pork & lotus root with miso soup, followed by a delicious prawn salad. Next up was a fantastic platter of sashimi, which was super fresh and beautifully presented. Then came a couple of pork dumplings, followed by Therese’s favourite, some sort of steamed fluffy pancake, which you stuff with roasted chicken & salad, kebab style topped off with a creamy mustardy sauce. Next was the obligatory bowl of rice – ours was fried with mushroom, egg & tiny fish, although Therese was perturbed by the fact that the fish still had their heads on, eyes and all. Dessert was coconut flavoured bean curd, which tastes much better than it sounds. Before you think we are greedy gluttons, the portions are really quite small.


Hi, it’s Therese here, Martin has just had an “angry moment” with the computer and needs to chill; I think that my constant proof reading over his shoulder was just a bit too much. Things are going pretty well, I have almost finished my intensive Japanese lessons, it was tiring doing six hours a day, one on one, but I managed to pick up loads – I bought Martin a mobile phone, ordered curtains and exchanged a too small shower curtain and bath mat at the DIY store. It is very odd but everything seems to come in miniature in this country, maybe this is because the people are smaller? Carrots come individually wrapped at 75p a go, although I have managed to track down a wee man who sells 3 for a £1! You can even buy baby Kiwis, they are only slightly bigger than an M&M and the mind boggles at how you would even try to eat them. Melons are square, wrapped in a giant bow and obviously a luxury at £20 a pop. I saw the most expensive mushroom in the whole wide world the other day, one mushroom all wrapped up in cellophane and measuring 7cm in length and 3 in diameter was £24 – it must have been one serious magic mushroom. The slightly cheaper version imported from America was only £12.

Everyday is a bit of an adventure at the moment, I always see something that makes me stop and think. I saw this girl today and she was dressed liked Queen Victoria but wearing Dennis the Mennis striped socks and 10 inch high built up shoes (as you can imagine in Japan this made her head and shoulders above everybody else- I was standing at the traffic lights once and even I was taller than everybody else). At a different set of traffic lights this woman just started talking to me and walked the whole way to the supermarket with me speaking Japanese, I think she was trying to say that she thought I was American and that her Grandfather had gone to America. I have no idea what else she was rambling on about but was pretty relieved to get to Fresta and buy some more hideously expensive food. Did I mention that the good old pan loaf is also a luxury – it is normal to get 4 slices in a loaf and this will cost about 80p, the most you can get in one go is eight slices but this is very rare.

Clothes are also very tiny, these girls are so thin I think they must have to run around in the shower to get wet. However, there was great excitement amongst the western fraternity yesterday when Zara opened in town. I found a pair of size ten trousers that fitted, which makes a change from the day that I tried on a pair of size large trousers and they wouldn’t go up my leg – that was a low moment in Hiroshima.

I will have to sign off now as my enthusiasm for writing anymore is fading fast and the house still has to be cleaned – though I hear you can hire an OAP for £2 an hour and they will clean the whole house!!! (Martin reckons this can't be true and must be some form of slave labour)

Bye for now, see you next week.

Ps. My bike arrives tomorrow, it is my first new bike ever and has a wicker basket with a leather seat but no gears – I can't wait!!! Pictures will follow. Oh, Martin has calmed down, just in case you were wondering.

Apologies...

to all our avid blog readers for the shockingly poor record of posts in the last few weeks. As you can imagine it has been rather busy, but that is no excuse. From now on we have set ourselves a target of a minimum of one update a week, normally on Sunday night or Monday. To make up for it we are going to add some pictures of our trip to Miyajima Island today.

Miyajima Island

Today (Sunday 30th October) Therese and I headed off to Miyajima Island, just off the coast to the south-west of Hiroshima. Miyajima is No. 2 on the Hiroshima tourist trail (after the Peace Park) mainly because of the famous 'Torii Gate', but also because it has an ample supply of shrines, temples and some beautiful scenery. There are also lots of very tame red deer getting fat on all the treats given to them by the tourists.

Tired, but ready to go...

It's been a crazy last few days - from a long weekend of farewells, our anniversary, two very tiring moving days, then back into the office to clear up the last few things but we are finally ready to go. Tomorrow morning, we get picked up at 9:15 and fly at 13:00 to Tokyo, before our internal flight down to Hiroshima. All in all I reckon it will take 24 hours door to door. Thankfully we have a day's rest on Monday as it is a public holiday in Japan.

Preparations & Goodbyes

Well things are getting busy, as we prepare for the move. Therese has left work - saying a tearful goodbye to the House of Commons for a couple of years. We've started our round of goodbyes and farewell outings as well, culminating in the official London bash at the weekend in Vinopolis, followed by Maggie Jones's.

We're scheduled to move out next Tuesday & Wednesday, so you might not hear much more from us until we are moved into our flat in Japan the following Tuesday. I'll make sure to send everyone the address and phone no. before we go.

As if this wasn't enough, it is our first wedding anniversary on Sunday - amazing how quickly a year goes by! We're celebrating by spending a night in the Great House in Lavenham, http://www.lavenham.co.uk/greathouse/, the place where we got engaged almost 3 years ago.

BTW if anyone fancies buying a delightful, 2 bedroom, terraced cottage then we'd be much obliged - check out http://www.rightmove.co.uk. The photos don't do it justice, it's actually much nicer than that - honest!

Home in Hiroshima

Below is a photo from the window of our new flat in Hiroshima. As you can see we're by one of the 7 rivers in Hiroshima, Enko-gawa in our case.

In contrast here are some pictures of our home in Kelvedon, we will really miss it, especially since we have spent so much time and effort in doing it up.

Up & Running....

Welcome to Martin and Thérèse's blog!!

This is going to be our online record of our adventures in Japan over the next two years. That is until I sort out a better website...but in the mean time, we hope you like it.