Japan : Land of the Rising Sun.

Where do I start? Well I am definately a wet one to this kinda thang (for u dirty minded lot, not that kinda wet) but I am new to this site introduced to it by one of my favorite people in the world, new mommy and fellow blogger Shark Girl so though I am trying to find my own little niche I am also not afraid to put my foot out to test the water. So here we go...Been through a lot that if I were to write about every single aspect of my life we will be here a while, a VERY Loooong While. So we will just skip ahead to where I am now and work our way backwards. It will be like my own journey back through time I just don't need H G Wells and his Time Machine to do so.
I am in Japan, Beppu to be exact, a little town forgotten by the rest of the country and its technological advances (Jokes) Beppu is nothing like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and the other big cities and this is not just in reference to its size and population but the social layout of the place. Beppu is big enough to be considered one of the growing prefectures but still small enough to exert that kind of intimate feel. People still throw second glances at foreigners but not the "gawk at" kind of look just "interested" which is pretty sweet. Kids wave and shout out their favorite english phrase.. "Hello, my name is Tanaka..Matsumoto, Tatsuya etc..."

Elsa and my niece Eleline (Elle) in Cyber Study Lab

Beppu is pretty laid back, quiet and easy to get around, though transportation is a bit expensive. It is I believe a very conducive environment for learning coz except for the karaoke places like Uta Udo, Shidax and Hit Parade the nearest place that resembles some kind of night club is about an hours drive away in Oita City.
The same goes for the big cinemas like the ones in Park Place and Waseda Town. Perhaps that's why they decided to set up Ristumeikan Asia Pacific University here.Kinda reminds me of Samoa in a way, minus the smell of course.(Though Saleimoa is considered an exception har har..)

You can pretty much walk around most places any time of day or night without fear of being hassled by some drunkard or weirdo. However should you happen to be male there is very high probability that you may be propositioned by one of 'em nite entertainers who frequent the little obscure streets of downtown Beppu.(I never said we were totally devoid of life.)

We do have a number of ways to keep ourselves entertained around here.. if you think you have what it takes to be the Next American Idol you can always come out to karaoke with us and strut your stuff. This is where the contraption originated from so of course Japan is like on karaoke overload. But they are, a very polite people so the machines are in private rooms where those of us who are vocally challenged can dare to come out of our shells without scaring off the other customers and causing distress to management.

I have been in the "Land of the Rising Sun" since April 2003, funny they would call it that coz as far as memory serves me I have not seen the sun rise (or sunrise) since I have been here but that can be attributed to several factors

1 - I dont get up till like ten in the morning and of course by then the sun is already half way thru its normal cycle in the sky.

2- Sometimes through the misty fog especially up at the University the sun bright as it is, is almost rendered invisible.

3- Then you have the smoke from those wonderful smelling sulfuric (gag..gag) natural hotwater spas or onsens as they call them here. They are almost as thick as the mist up in the mountains.

The beautiful & talented Dr Lynette Fellizar, our baby and future pop star Jinggo Fellizar & my niece Ata Nanette Leitu Esera.

I know I am only coming up with excuses, lame as they are to cover my inability to wake up in time to enjoy this natural phenomenon. But truly I think they should change this superlative coz at the rate China is progressing and the excessive amounts of co2 in the air this part of the world may not be able to see the sun and all its splendor in the very near future. Despite the magnitude such a problem might present knowing how technologically advanced the Japanese are who knows they may be able to create their own sun in a couple of years complete with remote control sensors enabling them to shut it down for a few hours while they roll out a blanket of stars at night. Ok imagination on overdrive again!!.
Guess we better bring this one to a close before we let the whole world know about the voices in our head ne?? Choo hoo this is fun maybe we will do this again..soon ..lol