Sado Island (Sado-ga-shima) is a bit off the map in Japan — just the way I like it. Situated about 40 km off the western coast of Japan, Sado is an island where for centuries people — including an ex-emperor — were sent into exile. These days it’s known for its scenery, for views of an older and slower style of Japanese life, and for the famous Kodo drummers.
My mother and I took the train from Nagano to Naoestu on the coast, then a ferry into the small port of Ogi on the southern tip of the island. We stayed for three nights in three different minshuku (Japanese inns), ate loads of fresh seafood for both dinner and breakfast, and drove almost 400km in our rented car while circumnavigating and crossing the island.
The weather was rainy the first day, but cleared into perfect, warm, sunny days after that. Tourists were almost non-existent (too early in the season), so the roads, beaches, mountains and trails seemed relatively deserted. I did my first swim in the Sea of Japan off an empty beach that stretched for several kilometers.
A visit to Sado is highly recommended for those of you here in Japan, and this is the perfect time of year to go.
More pictures are here…
Month: April 2003
Lanterns
A New Visitor
My mother arrived here in Japan tonight for a week-long visit. We’re planning to travel to Sado Island for four days. Also in the good news department: tomorrow is my last day of work before an 11-day vacation. You could say I’m excited. And it would be an understatement.
“…And I Mean Every Word Of It”
Nina Simone has died, but her voice will never fade.
Another Sunday, Another BBQ
…a frock, with flip-flops. We were playing frisbee in the rain.
Just In Time, I Say
It’s good when body trends swing in the right direction (outward, in this case). Combine this sexy belly trend to the growing re-acceptance of body hair and I’m in the right place at the right time.
Is the potbelly the new gay ideal?
Guardian Unlimited
If you are a man coming to terms with the fact that all his trousers are too small and are destined for Oxfam, you are now not only a style icon, but a sex symbol. Tell your gay best friends of our general potbelly rule of thumb: a 36 inch waist is acceptable, 38 is just greedy.
Of course, the sexiest thing of all remains the ability to not care a whit.
Nothing Butt Options
Now that spring has arrived, it’s time to turn off the heated toilet seat that served me so well during the cold winter months. Mine is just a simple model, with a small temperature control knob for the heated seat. Other toilets in Japan offer many more options, like the one above with its handy remote console panel.
Let’s see, looks like there’s the butt-washing option, and then a breast-washing option? Huh? Okay, at least the off button is really obvious. But what are those squiggly arrows that make it look like some sort of exchange of fluids is involved? I was unable to get the live video technical support (on the right) to work.
America: The Secret Society
Salon has a piece on the increasing powers of secrecy wielded by the U.S. government, and the deterioration of important checks and balances in the system. The situation is bad enough now, but it will get worse if planned legislation is passed.
The secret society
Salon.com News
In the war on terror — and outside of it — the Bush administration is finding increasing latitude to operate with secrecy as the norm, and accountability the exception. Congress has handed the administration broad new powers without requiring it to account for their use, while courts have repeatedly granted the government the right to operate outside the public view and — at times — without any possibility of judicial review.
And if Attorney General John Ashcroft and Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch have their way, the situation may soon get much worse. Ashcroft’s Justice Department is apparently eyeing legislation — dubbed PATRIOT Act II — that would further expand the administration’s powers to act in unilateral silence. Meanwhile, Hatch is working to make PATRIOT Act I permanent now — it is currently set to expire in 2005 — before Congress can consider whether the Justice Department is making appropriate use of the broad surveillance powers provided by it.
Steven Aftergood, a researcher who monitors government secrecy issues for the Federation of American Scientists, calls Hatch’s proposal a “direct assault” on Congress’ ability to monitor the Justice Department. “If it goes through, we might as well go home,” he told Salon. “The administration will have whatever authority it wants, and there won’t be any separation of powers at all.”
The article doesn’t really cover much new, but it does offer a reminder that there is still time for Congress to temper the excesses of the Bush administration. This will only happen if members of Congress have the support of their constituents. Now is the time to contact your representatives to let them know how you feel about the direction Bush is taking the country.
(To read Salon’s content, you’ll need to either be a member or watch a short commercial.)
Quality Television
While your television is gathering dust during TV Turnoff Week, you can ease the withdrawals by watching these clips of a Japanese television show featuring bar hostesses settling old scores on the mat.
In a dark room, a crowd of hostesses (the women who entertain clients at certain kinds of bars) crowd around a mat, where two of them wrestle, punch, pull hair and constantly have to pull down their mini skirts. The winner gets to shove a pie in the face of the loser.
Clip One: The Fight (QuickTime Movie 2MB)
Clip Two: The Pie (QuickTime Movie 1.5MB)
The show continued with a segment that included women in bikinis reading off their body measurements and jump roping (in heels, by the sound of it).
Clip Three: Bikini Jump Roping (QuickTime Movie 3MB)
Take A Break From The Tube
This coming week is TV Turnoff Week. Take a break from the onslaught. You just might find you like it.
If your boob tube isn’t a behemoth, stick it in the closet or basement and put a plant in its place. If it’s more of the monster-size variety, cover it with that nice shawl your grandmother knitted. At the very least, hide the remote — it’s amazing what’ll happen when you can’t channel surf without moving your fat ass off the couch.
Bonus points for the best idea on how to spend one’s time away from the tube.