BIGGEST AND BEST POST OF 2009!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, it’s been a while, so I’ll make it up to you with a post that will COMPLETELY BLOW YOUR MIND!!! Actually it probably won’t. More than likely you’ll just be bored. But you can’t stop me from writing it now!

Awesome Thing You Missed #1: Justine came!



A nicer person would’ve given her a chance to recover from her long flight, but instead I pulled her around half of Honshu Island in the ensuing days. This included taking a bus halfway up Mt Fuji the next day, in a day of more than 10 hours of travel. Welcome to Japan, Jus! Mwahahaha.

Awesome Thing You Missed #2: Mt Fuji!

It was almost exactly a year to the day since I’d painstakingly climbed that volcanic lump and Michael had taken a pee in that coke bottle and left it for some unsuspecting climber. Looking back, conquering that mountain was definitely the best single experience I’ve had.

Awesome Thing You Missed #3: Suwa Lake Fireworks Festival!

I never make mistakes! …All right, I guess I perhaps, possibly, may have messed up. Maybe. People come from all over Japan to see this incredible, sky-busting fireworks festival. Nearly half a million people, in fact. And yet, we seemed to be the only idiots without jackets and umbrellas. That wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t rained. But nooo, Japan’s weather has it in for me, and to those in Australia who have forgotten what real rain is, allow me to explain. We might as well have gone swimming in the lake with our clothes and shoes on, because honestly it would’ve made no difference. This is Japan, after all, and after the fireworks it was so crowded that we had to line up in the streets for an hour and a half just to get back to the train station, and the torrential rain didn’t let up even for a second in that time. But it was funny, and even though I hadn’t been prepared enough, Justine didn’t even murder me. Maybe she thought I was gonna drown anyway… Anyway, the fireworks themselves were top-notch.



Awesome Thing You Missed #4: The Snake!

We saw a wild snake! I was so happy. We were heading along the path to the famous monkey hot springs near Nagano when I spotted some movement no more than three meters to our right. Possibly gave Justine a mild heart attack when I exclaimed, but Snakey seemed content with turning tail on us and wiggling on home.



Sadly, the ‘snake count’ remained at one, although I get the feeling that was more than enough for Justine.

Awesome Thing You Missed #5: Canyoning!

Whoever invented canyons was pretty smart; they’re beautiful, and make for great sport. In case you’re not familiar with canyoning, it basically involves traversing through a canyon in a wetsuit, jumping/sliding off rocks, abseiling, rock climbing, flying foxes… etc. Easily one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

Check out the video below of me doing an awesome forward flip.



We went last Monday, and were lucky enough to be the only ones there (Luke, Phil, Scott, our guide Til, and myself). Entertainingly, Scott’s wetsuit was a bit tight around the arms, and his hands ended up collecting all this fluid and swelling into puffy sausages. Poor guy. I don’t think they bothered him hugely, except for the fact that the rest of us kept poking fun at them. Then he threatened to smack us with them, so we all fell silent pretty quickly.

You can check out photos of my summer holiday with Justine and my canyoning trip here.

Hmm, I always seem to get the same few questions when I talk to people, so I’ll try to answer some of them here.

Are you still enjoying it (Japan)?
Yes, thank you.

When are you coming back to Australia?
Definitely next year sometime. I’m due for a visit.

When are you coming back to Australia to live?
No idea. I’ll most likely see out the end of my contract (end of March next year). After that, nobody knows. (Including me.)

Are you fluent in Japanese yet?
Working 50 hours a week is a mean feat for anyone, so my time is very limited. My Japanese is gradually progressing, but even if I’d studied full-time for the last year and a half, I still wouldn’t be fluent. Languages aren’t easy… trust me, I’m a teacher.

ZOMG, have you put on weight?
Have you?? Actually, despite the rumours, I was surprised to see recently that my weight is still exactly the same as it has been for the last 4 years: 372kg.

Can I have free English lessons with you?
No. Go ask Michael.

You haven’t updated your blog. Are you dead?
Yes.