Enjoying the last days of summer...although, Shizuoka is much warmer than Michigan, so I have more days left than usual.

Today I went to the beach after my Japanese lesson...I know you're not surprised. September weather is proving to be perfect here in Shizuoka - not too hot and not nearly as humid as a month ago.
Because summer is so humid and hazy here, I haven't seen Mt. Fuji in a long time. But today, I glimpsed it from the station:



The beach was pretty much empty, which was a little inconceivable (public places are rarely empty in Japan - usually just the opposite), so I had it mostly all to myself.

Another look at Mt. Fuji on the way home:

And I made bread pudding (minus the raisins) tonight in my toaster over - it turned out really nice:

Japan and its lack of procreation.

It seems like a strange problem, but actually Japan is an aging country. The birth rate is falling, mostly because raising children in Japan is really expensive. So much importance is put on going to the finest schools, including cram schools and extra lessons, all the way up to college. Parents want to have just one or two children and pour all their resources into them.
Some of my students work at a pharmaceutical company that initiated "Family Friday" a few months ago. Employees are encouraged to go home at 3:30 pm on Friday to, uh, "spend time" with their families (aka make babies).

Some random stuff.

Tonight I went to dinner in Kanaya, which is only two stops from Fujieda, at a lovely Italian restaurant with a great view of the town:

When I got back to Fujieda, I went grocery shopping and came across this disturbing item:

Keep your hands where you can see them. Or else they might get shredded. In one of three ways.

It's the first day of September here in Japan and you know what that means...extremely premature Halloween decorations!

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in Fujieda with a wreath on my door but that's fine. It makes me happy.

This sweet awesome jack-o'lantern-meets-Japanese-lamp also makes me happy.

Some other new additions to my apartment:

Mameshiba!

Manekineko, the lucky cat that is everywhere in Japan (and many Asian restaurants back home).

I would not mind doing this every weekend for the rest of the summer...

I had an amazing time yesterday!
A student has a boat and all kinds of fun water things, like jetskis and bit inflatable rafts, and I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the day boating and lounging around Izu, along with some of the student's Japanese co-workers, and a German and Canadian man living in Izu teaching English as well.
We started the day early - I had to get up at 5 am to take the train to Numazu to be picked up at 8 am. We headed to the marina and loaded all the food and drinks on boat, then started out with a long cruise from Numazu to Izu. Rob and I got to be the hood ornaments on the front of the boat, which was so fun.

We stopped near a beach and a few rock formations to do some snorkeling. It was my first time to try it and I had a lot of fun checking out the fish and other underwater-type things.

After a while, we relocated to an inlet area to go cruising around on jetskis and inflatable rafts. The main goal was to basically go so fast on the jetski that all of the people on the raft went flying off and skidding across the water like skipping stones. So fun. When I was on the raft, we got up to 85 kilometers - 52 mph!

The day went by too quickly and suddenly it was time to go back to the marina.

I definitely think this is one of the best things I've done this summer. Everyone on the boat was so nice and I really enjoyed getting to know our co-passengers. I had an incredible time just enjoying the beautiful scenery and the relaxation that only comes from being on the water. I think I would consider staying in Japan for another summer just to go boating in Izu again.

Summer sunset.

There was a beautiful sunset in Fujieda on Sunday. I couldn't resist walking around and getting some shots.

a rainbow, too!

I mean, seriously?

There was another earthquake today during one of my lessons.
Just a small one.

But both my student and I gasped and gripped the table when it happened, remembering the big one a week ago.

Scary.

Obon Vacation - Sunday.

On Sunday, we went to Odaiba, which is a great area of Tokyo that I hadn't been to before. There were many things to see and do, including a man-made beach, European style shopping mall, and a little Hong Kong.

The first thing we found was a monkey doing tricks in a mall for a large crowd:

flying monkey!

lunch in Daiba Little Hong Kong was great - I love Chinese food and I haven't had much since I've been in Japan (no, Japanese food and Chinese food aren't much alike)

Then to Joypolis, a huge arcade/virtual reality center that's pretty well-known...even Leonardo DiCaprio's been there!

Remember Mameshiba? Well, since we found him in Hiroshima, he's been growing in popularity, and we were lucky enough to be in Odaiba during a Mameshiba convention! We were in Mameshiba heaven.

Then to Venus Fort, a European style shopping mall that was incredibly beautiful on the inside:

I really enjoyed visiting Odaiba and would like to go back to spend some more time there.

And now vacation is over and it's time to go back to work tomorrow. It's always so difficult to go back to work after a vacation, but luckily we have a four-day weekend in September so I don't have long to wait until the next one!