Bonsai Bonanza

So everyone who I've talked to in Japan says that they love their hair cut experiences here. I went for the first time today and although I was a little nervous that I would walk out with a really messed up and maybe too Japanese-esque hairstyle, I was still interested to see what all the fuss was about. Well let me say, I have never seen so many different types of scissors nor have I seen someone spend so much time cutting another person's hair. I was really impressed and came out feeling like I just had the best haircut of my life. Sounds a bit corny, I know....but my hair stylist, Ryuta, gave my head of hair the amount of attention that you would expect someone to give to a Bonsai tree. My head is now a live piece of art (ok maybe that's going too far haha).

Where did the month of May go?

I know it's been almost a month since my last entry but I can sincerely say that I don't quite know where the time went. Unfortunately, after my golden week adventures I experienced another $%%^#$@ mono relapse. It happened on the second last day of my vacation and I am only just starting to come out of it now. I obviously just over-exerted myself during Golden Week and my body is now paying for it.....

On a lighter note, Golden Week was absolutely fantastic. I spent about 4 days in Tokyo with Megumi at her boyfriend Shogo's apartment. We went to Tokyo Disneyland among other things. The place was unbelievably packed and hot as hell. But Mickey-san represented so it's all good. Here are some pictures from that adventure....

































The last weekend of my vacation was spent in Sendai and Matsushima with a very diverse group of people. I went with two of my students, a travelling Canadian and 2 Mexicans who were here visiting my friend Sylvia.

Sendai was a beautiful city. I felt it was a bit nicer than Tokyo....less busy and they actually had trees on the streets. haha I didn't know how much of a difference trees on a road in the middle of concrete paradise does for the aura of a city (until now of course).

I especially enjoyed our trip to Matsushima. As described on the city's website, it's "designated one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan". The townspeople had a better "Engrish" way of saying it....something like the "scenic trio of Japan" or something ludicrous like that. Anyway, the place was absolutely beautiful. We managed to take a cruise around the islands in the city's bay for a mere $15 CDN...quite a steal if you ask me! The boat was a little ghetto, but that made it all the better of an experience for me. There's nothing like cruising along with seagulls chasing after the boat, trying to keep up with it. The cruise was topped off by our Captain who was a cute, little, old Japanese man (see picture below) who when said that we were 6,000 km from Hawaii....I said "Let's go!" in English and his response was "Only if you have alcohol" in Japanese. Great times people. Here are some pictures...

It's not Barbados but It'll do!

These pictures were taken in Hitachi, about 15 minutes walk from my house. Today was a really warm and beautiful day. I met up with my friend Matt to check out the seaside. We went to this great little cafe on the beach and talked, ate and watched a surfer do his thing. Like the title of this entry suggests, it may not be Barbados but it is definitely nice to have a beach nearby to hang out at during the hot summer season. :D