I suppose some of the best things about being a runner in a cool city like Kobe, Japan are the views I get to see. These days, I normally run in the evenings, but yesterday I woke up early. I woke up really early.
What did I decide to do?
Go for a run and watch the sun rise over the city.
This is my fourth school year in Japan. I’ve been here for a little more than three years and have worked at the same school the entire time. Every July, the students and teachers from every campus of my school go to summer camp. The students take the role of; well, students and teachers take the role of camp counselors!
For my fourth summer camp in Japan, I was given the role of camp leader. It was my job to coordinate the activities and events during the camp. We went last week into the wilds of Japan and had a wonderful time. Everything was a success and the new campsite we went to was brilliant!
One activity we did was a nature scavenger hunt. I lead groups of students and teachers up a mountain trail and they had to tick off various items from a list. Before taking the students up the mountain though, I had to explore the various trails myself. I took some videos with my iPhone of my camp explorations. You can get an idea of how amazing the place was.
Two things you won’t see though are the students and teachers. I have a few rules about making videos and blogging. I only speak about my school in a very general way and I never show images of students or coworkers. As a professional teacher, it’s a good policy!
There is nothing I love more in Japan than simply exploring the back streets and alleys. For a curious person such as myself, there are endless wonders to discover. I suppose the only thing better than exploring is bringing a camera (or iPhone) along and sharing it with all of you!
Although I wasn't able to write a proper post this evening, I wanted to leave something for everyone to enjoy. My son has been feeling under the weather the past few days and that coupled with my Running to Help Japan training hasn't left a lot of time for writing.
I took these pictures today of a wonderful little pond not far from my school.
With the addition of running to my life, things have gotten a lot busier. Since going back to work this week and training again, I have precious little time in the day to even think about blogging and even that time will be reduced in the coming weeks.
I wanted to share some photos I took this week with my iPhone.
A few weeks ago I made a post about the Oscechi ryori ( New Year's meal in Japan) that my inlaws gave my wife and I. I took footage the same day and then promptly forgot I took it. While searching for something else on my computer the other night, I found it. I decided to put this video together.
Prepare to look at some REALLY delicious Japanese food!
A busy week for me, but then again, every week seems busy. When you work six days a week, are training for a marathon and have a family, time must be scheduled very carefully!
A little disappointment for me on Friday. I was notified by the Tokyo Marathon that I was not selected to run in next year's race. As with many large marathons, runners are selected in a lottery. With 30,000 spots and almost 10 times as many people applying I was lucky to get in last year, but this year my luck had run out. Regardless, i have two marathons to run in the next two months and am thinking about running an ultra marathon next Spring.
It has been a beautiful weekend here in Kobe, Japan. Check out a few pictures I took last night from my balcony. The sunset was amazing!
On my way home from work yesterday afternoon, I got off the train and did some running. I ran past a rather seedy alley and decided to explore. Check out the video I made about my explorations!
Kobe 神戸 is a small and beautiful city. I really enjoy living here. It's the fourth city I have lived in while in Asia and is by far my favorite. the seasons are changing and things are cooling down. The nasty heat and humidity that is the Japanese summer is gone and Fall is quickly approaching.
Here is a little video that I quickly put together showing Sannomiya 三ノ宮 (the downtown) at night. I plan to reshoot a similar video once I upgrade to a better camera.
My wife and I were in osaka yesterday for lunch and as we walked through Umeda (a downtown hub of Osaka) I was impressed with the appearance of the Umeda Sky Building 梅田スカイビル. It is a striking building any day of the week, but the way the sky and clouds were reflecting off it in the sun truly impressed me!
Lots of things happening around Japan in the last few days that are weather related. The massive rains that began last Sunday in the area I was in along the Sea of Japan ended up becoming quite deadly. My train may have ben delayed and really slow on my way back to Kobe from Kinosaki, but I suppose I was lucky just to make it back safely.
Death toll from Yamaguchi mudslides, heavy rain reaches 7 YAMAGUCHI - A female resident at a nursing home for the elderly that was hit by a mudslide was found dead Wednesday in the city of Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, bringing the death toll in the prefecture from mudslides and swollen rivers triggered by Tuesday’s torrential rain to seven, local police said.
Hundreds of police officers, firefighters and personnel from the Self-Defense Forces are searching for nine people who remain missing, assisted by three private-sector rescue workers dispatched by a group in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture along with three search-and-rescue dogs.Read More...
Here are some pictures of the beautiful little onsen town of Kinosaki, Japan. I was there for two incredible days with my wife last weekend. I suppose that to foreigners, this town is a living stereotype of what many people think Japan to have been in the past.
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