Extreme Fire Drill

So for a week or so I had been hearing of a fire drill that would be happening on Wednesday 20^th October. A normal enough occurence for a school to have a fire drill but this fire drill was like no other I have ever imagined. It was the A+ of fire drills.  So Wednesday comes around and the classes are shortened to 45minute periods, a bit odd I thought as you would hardly do such a thing when a real fire hit. Throughout the day firemen where scaling the building, running on the roof and in the corridors, several firetrucks where constantly outside, they tested their hoses on the soccer field and enjoyed playing the sirens a lot. At 3.15pm the fire alarm rings followed by a short announcement to ‘stay put that the fire was being checked’ again a bit odd but I just do what I’m told. The school is suddenly invaded by firemen in an absolute panic (seriously good actors), then a second bell rings and we are rushed outside. I love the way they still changed into their outdoor shoes while running out the door in a fluster. They all start whipping out face towels to cover themselves from the smoke and I’m left there like an idiot with nothing, where did they hide those damn towels?  We run, yes run, outside, no walking calmly in this drill, to an entourage of camera and film crew. I am seriously confused and have to try to hide my awkward laughing and act very serious. Once the school is emptied several mega phones make several announcement and then sure what do you know a helicopter arrives. It rescues two students from the roof of the school (those kids are so lucky, I would have paid to have a go in that thing). Then more fire engines arrive. Smoke flares are lit all around the school. The firemen absail down with five students then use the truck to save an ‘unconscious’ student in a stretcher, who is then whisked into an ambulance. After all this the entire outside of the school is drenched with the fire hoses then students are chosen to practice using a fire extinguisher. I am left standing in awe at this theatre performance I just watched and cannot begin to imagine the cost of it all. How extremely strange.

Hirosaki Castle

Aomori's famous Apples

Jaqueline and I took a road trip to Hirosaki city on saturday, it is only an hour's drive away from Aomori so we headed for the afternoon and enjoyed some amazing evening light over Hakkoda mountain from Hirosaki castle. The castle is located in the centre of the city and has some fantastic view points. It was such a peaceful afternoon, with the leaves begining to turn on the trees we could feel autumn was here and winter is only waiting around the corner.



Gateway to Hirosaki Castle





 

View from roof of Castle




 




Afternoon light at Hirosaki Castle



I live in Aomori, Japan's Blue Forest.

Weiner Coffees and Cakes


Most Japanese people I meet (outside of Aomori) tend to either laugh or give a slightly pitied look to you when you say you live here. It is so beautiful though, I wonder if they are jealous sometimes! People who have laughed often have not even travelled north but the fact it is the very tip of the country makes them believe it is just for hill billies. If I was to be given a choice today, of where to live in Japan for a year, I’d pick right here. If you look, or even just keep your eyes open you will see this city has some people and places that are one in a million.

The blue forest is a magic place.

On Sunday myself and Christy adventured around the city looking at galleries, well our plan was gallerieSSS but we made it to one at least. The strangest of down pour rain storms stopped us from visiting many, but one was great and it meant lots of food stops with weiner coffee and cakes.

Japan is not generous with their water cups

Dessert Menu








Christy San

Without someone wise like Christy I would never see the beauty hidden in this city so thank you Chirsty for your guidance (she also teaches me Japanese). A Christy I need, she’s a friend indeed.

Edible Autumn

Kampai

Japanese food is a wonder to both the eye and the mouth, but sometimes it can also be testing for your courage and strength. Japanese people love to watch foreigners eat something new and traditional, they will hand you a spoon of wasabi and watch in wonder for a reaction, so you really have to put on a show no matter what is slimey or bubbling on your tongue. I had some spectacular autumn dishes with a friend on Friday night, luckily nothing too extreme, it warms my heart to know at least I’ll always have a beer close by to wash anything shocking down, as they will never let your glass get empty. No matter how much wasabi I like on my sashimi I am always encouraged to have more and so I blew my head off a few times but other than that it was an extremely delicious meal!

Autumn Aomori Mushrooms

Autumn Hotpot

Inside (before cooked); Prawns, fish fillets, tofu, mushrooms & miso

Sashima Godess

Tempura

Garlic, lots of garlic

Autumn roast; scallop, prawn, sweet potatoe, chestnuts, egg, and Japanese Veggies

GLORIOUS GUINNESS

All washed down with a few pints of Guiness in a bar which serves the only Guinness on tap in Aomori, its called No-No-Hana and I think it should in fact be called Yes-Yes-Hana in glorious triumph of these fantastic drafts Guinness's!!!

The Curlers Crew

A few weeks ago a student had come up to me and told me NishiKoko had a curling team and asked would I come with them some day. Shamefully it was before Okinawa and since I returned I had kinda forgotten, (very low bow of apology). They practice in the top floor hallways in summer times which means I never saw them to remind me. But alas yesterday I went curling!

Another brand new sport for me, so plenty of falling, last week I fell in the gym at handball training, a lot, but this is on ice so you can only imagine the bruises on my knees today. It was a very different experience as it was the students asking me to come not a teacher. They (the four girls that make up the team) collected me after school and we cycled the 40minute journey as a pack and they have sticks. It was the most dangerous of cycling experiences, these girls own the roads and they refuse to break their stride for anything and anyone. The sticks they carry are the curling brushes which go with them everywhere. It was like they were connected invisibly because people parted like moses and his sea, they stuck to each other like glue all the way from school to the arena. It was very funny as I was obviously well untrained in this pack formation cycling trend. I kept getting nervous and worried for the pedestrians which made me use my brakes and then before I knew it I was out of the pack and a complete outcast. But the girls kept laughing and shoving me in the middle so I wouldn’t use my breaks. We cruised along together, they loved asking me the strangest questions, like do you enjoy onions? Is orange a nice colour in Ireland? You would think this was awkward conversation making but they are genuinely interested in how many onions I would eat a day. These girls are particularly keen to make an effort because they like English and want to study abroad, so we had some great conversations about onions and noses and marshmallows.

Every day they cycle 40minutes then they train from 5pm until 8pm, which I thought was a little craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy but really it’s nothing too bizarre here. The dedication of all these clubs I have joined is truly amazing, I feel like my two 2hour hockey trainings and two matches a week in school sounds rather pathetic and I was always exhausted!

I had so much fun with the kids and their trainer, but it was bloody freezing, even though I thought it would be cold I had no idea my nose would feel like falling off after the few hours. Mastering the one shoe being disasterousely slippery and one being…well not slippy at all, was pretty damn hard. I kept ending up spread eagled on the ice with 4tiny girls attempting to haul me up. We played a game at the end and I got to throw (not sure that’s the correct word) the stone and also got a chance to sweep, again spending a large amount of my time just on me arse! I will most deffinatly be returning but will wear some seriously wolly undypants next time.

Mari and Narumi



Manami preparing to launch



Push off



Slow release



Sweep

The return of Christ

Everyday brings more joy.
Some say 'Thank you for visiting, come again soon'
Japan bows and says

Hokkaido

Sapporro Bear Museum



The October long weekend in Japan, and it was begging to be used for some more adventuring. Friday popped up after a week of fun, and I packed me bags once again. This time I was headed North to Hokkaido. An overnight, undersea train took me and six Aomori friends to  the city of Sapporrop in the most Northern Island of Japan. Unfortunately we only had seats, no beds where left when we booked, it was a struggle with leg room made for Asians but I managed a few hours of sleep. Thank God as the smell of the dried fish (the other passengers were eating) was making me feel a bit queezy.



Crave, John, Jacqueline and Bec



The first day we hit an amusement park which was a strange experience. It was quite an eary place, the roller coasters were pretty old and dodgy looking but still very very fun experience! After lunch myself and Jackie had had enough of the bumpy rides so we left the others to find more coasters and we hit the onsen attached to the park. Which was a glorious decision, there was not a soul in the bath-house, the two of us floated around like a pair of happy seals.

A lazy man's stairs




Potater drink

 

Hokkaido is a huge city and is famous for, cheese, milk, miso ramen, potatoes, crab and beer! Sounds like heaven right? Our aim was to get as many and as much of these into us as possible.

Our second day was a bit blurry after two beer gradens in a row, but we visited an area famous for glass blowing at some stage which was pretty cool. And at another stage I got to hold a massive crab which was the weight of a large baby, at least!



Drinking Sapporro beer!





Beeeeeeeer garden

Our last day we went shopping and took advantage of the zara and topshop (among others) which made me feel like I was at home just a bizarrely more expensive version of home. I know I didn’t think you could get much more expensive than Dublin. But you can. We also hit LOFT which is a Japanese shop that is truly amazing, I spent a bomb on sticker’s, you probably think I’m a fruit cake but you should see these stickers there like nothing you’ll ever imagine. I never thought the day would come where stickers gave me more joy than shoes! We ended with a crab-tastic dinner before hoping back onto the night train to Aomori. This time we had beds and they were glorious.



Find Hannah San!





Night train from Sapporro to Aomori