Foreigner Fun

Osaka has a very famous castle (it's the single most visited sight in all of Japan - some say that's because it's the only thing to see in all of Osaka), and near the grounds is a kind of park.  We saw these hilarious people doing a "cos-play" (costume play), dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland.  The one guy collapsed at one point, but he got up and boogied again.  They were well-choreographed, but we couldn't hear any music, so it was extra funny because we could hear their feet, and their laughter.

They were videotaping it, but i don't know why.
Subway rides can be quite a relief from all the walking.  Misty and Tyler found seats, which is the key.  Tyler and i bought samurai headbands, and whenever we wore them, people laughed at...no, WITH us.  They asked us whether we knew what they meant, and we said 'yes'.  i guessed that it was the equivalent of a Japanese person coming to Canada and wearing around a coon-skin hat or snow shoes or something.  some people thought it was cool/amusing.

Tyler's means "victory", and mine means "fighting spirit".  Combining the two powers, we were invincible!  Basically, i did all the work and he got the glory.
This is the mountain that Mandy and i climbed up on our first visit to Kyoto.  The shape in the hillside is called 'dai', which means 'strength', and there are three shapes like this around the city.  Every year, during a certain festival, they light fires along the shapes and it's supposed to look amazing.  We'd like to come back for that.  
We bought noodles and okonomiyaki in Kyoto from a street-side vendor.  I really liked that okonomiyaki.  it's like an omelet/pancake with stuff inside and sauce on top.  We ate in front of a little temple.  Temples are everywhere in Kyoto.
There was a restaurant which, for some reason, had antique waterskis on the front of the building.  They reminded me of waterskiing.... so i took a picture....  

plus, look at the scooter!  

By the way, we are now back at work, almost done our first week of the new  year.  It's been ok, but somehow it's a little lackluster.  It takes some effort to keep it fresh.  No matter where you are or what you are doing, you have to accept ups and downs.  I'm pretty confident that that is a fact of life.  Just because you go to a new, exciting country, doesn't mean that everything you do is superfun.  But a lot of things are.  Sometimes, the classes get tiresome.  I don't know how teachers do it for 30+ years.  Maybe you just get used to it.  Oh ya, look who's talking...it's the guy who has never done the same thing for more than a year in a row.  Spoiled brat.

Our friend Kelly arrived in Japan!  She's working as a teacher up north in the colder, mountainous area, where she can snowboard on weekends.  We picked her up from Narita airport outside Tokyo late at night and had an unexpected taxi-ride.  It's all adventure out here.

Did i mention to have a look at that scooter?