Trip recap (Part 2-The rest of the days)

Day 2: I woke up at around 6am and went to the beach, which is about a one-minute walk from the beach house where we stayed. The beach is really beautiful, long and wide...The ocean is vast...with waves constantly hitting the shore. The sound of the waves and the ocean, and the smell of the salty air, is amazing.
In the morning some people surf, others go for a walk, or take their dogs for a walk. I saw many great-looking dogs. They looked happy playing on the beach.

After the beach I headed back to have breakfast. I ate bagels with whitefish salad and american cheese, some watermelon, and also drank some coffee. It was good. After that I took a break and read the newspaper outside on the porch, and then went for a 3-hour walk. We walked on the beach for one and a half hours, and on the boardwalk for the other one and a half hours. People watching was fun! After the walk I rested outside of the beach house under a tree in the shade. I read a book and also took a nap. Then, I went back to the beach and went swimming in the ocean for about an hour or so. It was great! After returning to the house, I took a shower and then popped open a beer and got ready for dinner. My family and I went to a nice outside restaurant. The food was good, and the portions were huge, so we had to get a doggy bag and take some of the food home with us.

Day 3 to Day 5: Basically I did a repetition of the above activities every day.
Plus, I went cycling, did a BBQ, went to a big family dinner on a pier on the bay and watched the sunset, watched the sunrise on the beach twice, ate the famous Mack and Manko's Pizza, played miniature golf with my brother and his wife, played a little basketball by myself, ate soft ice cream with jimmies, ate funnel cake, went to a nice dinner with my parents, played Scrabble, etc...

How was the weather?
We were very fortunate with the weather. Every day was basically sunny or a little cloudy and the temperature was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day(=which is about 30 degrees Celsius.)

The Last Day- We woke up at 3am and the same great limousine picked us up at 4am. In the limo, I stared outside the window, slept a little, and watched the sunrise on the highway somewhere in New York. We arrived at JFK at 6:35am and the plane took off at 8:14am on schedule. I practically slept the whole way on the flight to Seattle, and also from Seattle to Osaka. I have never slept so much on a flight, so for the the time went by quite quickly. This time though, there was a little turbulence, but everything was OK. We arrived at KIX on schedule at 4pm. When we got off the plane and walked in the tunnel towards the gate, it was hot!!! Maybe people uttered "Hot!! ... Hot!!" Going through Immigration was a cinch, and my bags came out quickly, and then going through Customs only took a minute or two. It was a very smooth flight back to Osaka.

It was a truly great vacation!!! THANK YOU!!

If you have any questions which you would like to ask me directly about the trip, please feel free to do so.

On to another topic, the Tigers are in first place. I can't wait to go to Koshien sometime soon!!

Trip Recap

Well, I am back. Sorry for the delay in updating the blog, but I have been tied up(=busy) with stuff since I got back...

Actually, I arrived at Kansai Airport last Wednesday, the 21st at 4pm. The flight was on time. I didn't have jet lag in America, and I don't have jet lag in Japan either. Anyway, here are some of the details/highlights of the trip:

Day one- I departed KIX at 6pm on the 14th. The flight was smooth, no serious turbulence. From KIX to Seattle it takes about 9~10 hours. There was a short layover (=stopover, connection) in Seattle, about an hour and 20 minutes, and the we were off to JFK airport. This flight goes across America, from coast to coast, and takes about 4~5hours. We arrived right on time at 9:45pm, but from there, some things went wrong. First, the plane had to be towed to the gate, and that took a long time. Then, someone in the Delta or JFK Cargo staff forgot to open the cargo door, so it took forever, actually 2 hours, to get our bags. That's right, by the time we got our bags it was 12:00AM, MIDNIGHT!! If we were in Japan, then at the very least, there would be an announcement or something saying, "We sincerely apologize for the delay and truly wish for your forgiveness," or something like that. But we were in America, so nobody apologized, nobody said "Sorry for the delay..." Nothing! Typical American service.

My parents surprised me and met us at the airport. From there, we all took a limousine, a very nice, long, black and comfortable one, to Ocean City, New jersey. We arrived at around 3am, I took a shower, and hit the sack (=went to sleep.)

to be continued...

"Milkeyway in Osaka" taken by e.

Ocean City, New Jersey

That is where I am heading today. I will be there for about one week. I am going to see my family; mother, father, brother, sister-in-law, and some other relatives. I am really looking forward to it and will tell you all about it when I get back.

About Ocean City, when I was a child, until I graduated from University, I used to go down the shore(=go to the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey) on some weekends during summer vacation. (Summer vacation is about two months for students in America.) O.C. is about a 2-hour drive from my parent's house in Philadelphia. But if there is traffic, it can take up to 4 hours.
There is a beautiful, long beach and also a "boardwalk". What is a boardwalk? Well, it is difficult to explain...so look at these links and you can see for yourself:

http://www.visitusa.com/newjersey/images/oceancitynjpic.jpg

http://cozybeach.com/newjerseypics/oceancity-mackandmanco.jpg

http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/newJersey/OceanCityBoardwalk.jpg

Basically, it is like a long, wooden road, like a pier, with a variety of shops on one side and the ocean on the other. Many people go walking, jogging, and cycling on it. But after 10am, cycling is prohibitted.

The beach is long and great for taking long walks, swimming in the ocean, watching the sunset, taking a nap,and sunbathing. (I plan to do four out of the above five. Can you guess which one I will not do?)

Here are some informative sites:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-477708-ocean_city_vacations-i

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_City,_New_Jersey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rising_sun_Ocean_City_NJ.jpg

But there is one downfall to this trip. The food!! There is a lot of great food!! Seafood-lobster, crabs, shrimp... and barbecue food-cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, potato and macaroni salad...and boardwalk food-pizza, hoagies, cheese steaks, caramel popcorn, fudge, funnel cake...
And then there are junk food, like the cheetos below!! I have to be careful of this food, and of the sun, so I don't get sun burnt!! This food, and the sun, are the only two enemies of this trip...

Anyway, I will be off to Kansai airport in a little while. See ya when I get back!

Election

Are you interested in Politics?
On Sunday there was an election for seats in the Upper House of the Diet. (This Diet has no connection with "Mr. F is on a diet because he has a beer belly and wants to lose weight." The above Diet, with a Capital D, refers to the group of politicians who you often see on NHK in the afternoon, in a live broadcast, sleeping.) Did you go to your local elementary school and vote? If yes, who did you vote for? Or, what Party did you vote for?
I think the some of the Party names in Japan are interesting. Take a look at this list.
The two big Parties are:
1. Democratic Party
2. Liberal Democratic Party

I have a question. What is the difference between 1. and 2. ? I have no idea...

The smaller parties are:
3. Your (Everyone's Party)
4. Stand up and Fight Party

3. and 4. are great names for Parties!!

5. Socialist Party
6. Communist Party
7. Komeito Party

I may be forgetting one or two, but basically, that's it.
The big issues of this elections were the economy and consumption tax.

The below article is pretty informative, check it out if you are interested in Politics.

Economy, tax on minds of voters
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100712a3.html

"Pankui has come"

Good morning everyone.
Today we have some good news!!
Please read Ms. N's email and look at her adorable new puppy, a toy poodle, Pankui!

"Hello,Glenn, Thank you for your blog about my dog ?Pankui? I was very surprised and enjoyed reading it very much. You are so gentle that you wrote our conversation as if I could speakEnglish very fluently! And finally, today my first dog ?Pankui has come to my house. Now he lay down under my chair.(I wrote it on Sunday) Still now I can't believe there is a dog in my house! His mother ?Hana? barked sadly when I took Pankui from her. I felt very sorry for her. From now on I and my mother are Pankui family. So I want to play him a lot and live happily with him! Please see him! He's like"mop""

Rainy...

Recently it has really been rainy, hot, and humid. I feel lethargic and sluggish because of the heat, and sometimes I even don't have an appetite. When this happens I try to eat light food, or foods with vinegar. Also, great meal to beat the heat is eel over rice. What do you to to beat the heat? How do you stay cool in the dog days of summer?


The following are some news headlines from The Japan Times last week. Did you see or read or hear about any of them?

"Kobayashi hungry to be N.Y. top dog again, but contract may choke him"
This is about the famous Japanese hot dog eating champion. It appears he has some contract dispute.

"Nagoya movie theater to show whaling film, 'Cove' as package"
It seems that one movie theater has not given into the pressure of the protestors and decided to show this film. Many theaters were forced to cancel the showing of this controversial movie.

"Eased visa terms target individual Chinese with means"
Because it became much easier for individual Chinese tourists to get a tourist visa to visit Japan, I think soon we will see many many more Chinese roaming the streets of Osaka. Welcome!!

"For senior years, urban life is preferable: poll"
According to this poll, many senior citizens prefer living in the city to living in the country. I know it is because it is more convenient in the city, with hospitals and supermarkets nearby, but...I prefer the countryside.

"Fuji Xerox yanks sumo sponsorship"
I agree with Fuji's choice to stop sponsoring Sumo. In fact, so have I. Last week I decided to never watch sumo again. It is a shame, because I used to be a huge sumo fan...I loved sumo. But recently, I am just too fed up with all of Sumo's nonsense. The whole organization is pathetic. So, thanks for the good memories Sumo. And, sayonara!!

"Dice-K falters against Rays"
Matsuzaka is really inconsistent this year...He pitches a two-hitter and goes 8 innings one game, and then he gives up 5 runs in the first inning the next game...

"Blue Samurai get warm reception"
Thousands of people greeted the Japanese National Soccer team at Kansai Airport Last week. Unbelievable!!! Those people have a lot of free time I think...

July 4th

Tomorrow is July 4th, Independence Day.

This is my blog from last year:
[In America, Independence Day is a big deal. There are many traditions and customs which are connected to this day. In my town, Phialdelphia, there is a lot of history, so there are a lot of Independence Day events. When I was a child, we watched BIG fireworks, saw a parade, and had a BIG BBQ!!! Independence Day in America is a lot of fun and I really recommend you try to experience it one day if you can.For more details and info and history of July 4th in America, check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States) ]

TGIF---Cheers everyone!

Thank God it's Friday, and that means Happy Hour. Drink for half price. I love happy hour.

First, I think most people generally agree that Japan is a very safe place. In general. I mean, if you drop your wallet on the street there is a very high chance that somebody will pick it up and take it to the police station. This would never happen in America, or for most other countries in the world for that matter. Or, if you went to a bar or restaurant and left your bag on the table when you went to the restroom. Probably, when you get back to the table. your bag will still be there. In America, forget it. No chance. So, if we agree that Japan is a really safe place, then please tell me: Why do Japanese people have to lock their umbrellas in an umbrella rack at a restaurant, bank, mall, etc. I don't understand why you have to lock it? If Japan is so safe, why can't you just leave the umbrella in a rack at the entrance, with no lock? Strange...

And, Ms. e told me an interesting story the other day. Well, instead of me telling the story, please read for yourself:
On Sunday,I went to Namba to see "Stand by me the movie,I had a cup of coffee,then a female foreigner next to me told me."Sumimasen,sore ha nan no shinbun desu ka ? she asked me in Japanese. Then I was reading Mainichi weekly. She was interested in English newspaper. I explained about the newspaper a little in Japanese. If her Japanese was not so good,I tried to speak in English,but her Japanese was good.She said "It was funny Mainichi but weekly" it was a point. After that,I saw her in the same theater,She came here with two guys. The movie was great,and I like River Phoenix. After the movie I went shopping at some places. I bought some clothes.

That's funny, and I never thought of that. "Mainichi" means every day. So in English the title of the magazine is translated like this: "Everyday Weekly." Strange...