September 23, 2008
Autumn Equinox Day
Today was a holiday in Japan, so everyone could take the day off from work. You know, like I do everyday! Anyway, Freda came down to Kamakura and we walked over to Enoshima. Summer ended on a high note: it was mostly sunny and almost 30 degrees! Ironically, I got my first sunburn of the year. I thought I was passed that.
I took a few pictures on the way. This is from the Sun&Shine 35 Cafe in Shichirigahama. That was the first time for me, and I really liked it. I ordered a hamburger and it was very tasty. Woo!
Like I mentioned, we ended up at Enoshima and once we got there we went to another place that I have been meaning to go to. It is a coffee house on the hill above the shrine that has some pretty good views...here it is. I forgot the name, sorry. By the way, the coffee is good.
I got home around sunset, so I went over to the beach and took a few pictures that absolutely didn't come out. It WAS a very nice sunset though...sorry that you missed it.
Keeping with the theme of things not working out as I hoped, I went over to the grocery store around 8:30pm and did a bit of shopping for breakfast. I was getting very excited about tomorrow morning until I got to the register and realised that I forgot to bring my wallet. I mean I never go anywhere without my wallet...but for some reason, tonight I did. It looks like I will be eating oatmeal tomorrow morning.
Posted by Kirk at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)September 14, 2008
Machida DJ concert
Yesterday, I went to a show held at Ryoudenji in Machida. Everything was set up on the temple grounds, and it all looked pretty amazing. I am kicking myself for not taking my camera.
Anyway, there were food and drink booths in the open area at the main entrance and two stages, one inside the main temple and one in the garden out back. The temple is surrounded by trees so it feels very isolated, although they did have to lower the volume because the neighbours behind the trees complained!
We arrived around 3pm and stayed until 8pm or so, but I could have stayed longer. For the last part of the day we mostly hung out in the main temple, listening to the music. Because it was a DJ, I did not feel compelled to watch the stage and could check out all the other people instead. It was very relaxing and a big change from the usual day/night out in Japan (at least for me!)
Posted by Kirk at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)September 10, 2008
It's still summer!
OH! The weather has been amazing this week. Blue skies, lovely sunsets...it really has been great. Yesterday, Laura came down and we spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach. We watched the sun set and headed off to Vahana's Bar for what is becoming our ritual after beach dinner and drinks. Laura was kind enough to buy me a beer to drink on the way home from the station, which I did. I am a derelict.
Anyway, here is the beach yesterday...
And here is the sunset...
Today is also looking great...I spent an hour on the beach this morning. Woo hoo!
Posted by Kirk at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)September 02, 2008
One last hurrah!
Well, tragically, the beach bars closed on Sunday. I went over in the afternoon and stayed until 12:30am...so, it was a pretty long day. Freda, Haruko and Max also came down to enjoy the party...thanks!
Like I promised, I took my camera along and shot a few pictures on the beach. Once I started drinking, I forgot about the camera, so there are not any pictures from the evening.
The bar closed at 11pm, but nobody seemed to be in a rush to go home and I was out pretty late. Not much else to say really...I had a bit of a hangover yesterday, which is one reason why I did not write anything until now! Hard to believe I have to wait 10 months to order a beer on the beach.
Of course, last week's daily rain has been replaced by sunny days. Now that the beach houses are gone. Arrgghh.
Posted by Kirk at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)August 31, 2008
Well, it was raining...
Tonight was the penultimate night for the bars on the beach. Woo! I drank too much. I did not mean to...the weather is too blame. You see, it started to rain heavily once I arrived at the bar. And without an umbrella, I thought it would be best to wait until it stopped before going home. I didn't think it would be six hours.
In hindsight, that might have been a bad idea. On the other hand, I had fun and met lots of cool people AND after tomorrow the beach bars will be gone. Furthermore, there was an afterparty that I skipped. The fact I am writing this is evidence that I have some willpower!
Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of summer. I will take the camera.
Posted by Kirk at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)August 27, 2008
At least it isn't raining!
I woke up to bright sunshine this morning. Of course, as soon as I swung my legs out of bed the clouds rushed in to block it. That is OK...it is not raining (yet?). Did I mention this is the last week for the beach houses/bars? I went by last night but everyone closed up early because the rain drove all the customers away. Since there are only five days left, it is a bit upsetting.
It did give me a taste of what it will be like living here from September. I better get a hobby quick.
Anyway, I took my camera out to the beach this morning. Really, I am not sure when I stopped doing things like that. Probably around the same time I stopped updating this blog. For today, anyway, a return to normalcy.
Here are some random boats secured off the jetty on the south side of the beach. That is the Denny's side for those of you who know the difference. You can clearly see Enoshima off to the right and there is a ghostly Mt. Fuji barely visible above it, at least in the original file.
Posted by Kirk at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)August 24, 2008
Lazy August
As i mentioned last month, I went to London for a week's escape from the summer heat and humidity of Japan. I think that might have been a great strategy when I lived in Tokyo, but leaving from Zushi was not really necessary. Of course, it is hot here, but not nearly as bad as Tokyo.
Having said that, London was fun. I met up with lots of friends! As usual, I drank too much the first night I was there, but meeting everyone I has not seen in the last year tends to do that (thanks for organising everything John!).
I stayed with Leigh and Nicky most of the time and they were kind of enough to take me to the last England-South Africa test match. I have seen cricket before, but this was the first test match and also my first time to The Oval. We had brilliant seats the first day, although the people in the picture on the right had a pretty good view as well considering they were outside the ground. Then again, they probably had a hard time getting a 7-pound pint of Pimm's...poor bastards.
As you can imagine, I also have spent a lot of time at the beach. Lots of people have come down to visit and that's been very nice. Unfortunately, the beach season ends next week. What will I do for the next ten months! If you have a chance to make it to Zushi Beach, please stop by the Happy Go Lucky Beach Bar, just to the right of the main entrance to the beach. Everyone there is super nice and it is a good spot to relax. You can kind of see it in the picture on the right below...it is the bar with the grass cone for a roof.
I went to Nuala's housewarming party last night and I have never seen such a lovely house. The party was good too. On a final note, despite it being the end of August it has become quite cool in Zushi. I am talking about the weather, and not the it-is-a-more-popular-place-because-I-moved-here sense. One good thing to come out of that is this blog entry.
Posted by Kirk at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)July 31, 2008
Zushi Fireworks 2008
Like I mentioned, yesterday was ANOTHER beach day including the Zushi Fireworks show. Despite the first signs of rain in what seemed like forever, it came off as planned. It was really comfortable sitting on the beach...maybe it was 75-80 degrees and a nice wind was blowing.
Actually, I went to Hayama during the day. i took this picture of a small beach yakisoba stand in front of the Imperial grounds. I did not eat there or anything, but it is one of the few things I had yet to take a picture of, so there you go.
We went back to the train station around 4pm and there were already loads of people heading to Zushi Beach to save their spot for watching the fireworks. As a result, I rushed back home and grabbed my beach gear and went out to find a place. From nowhere, this summer storm appeared, but no one seemed daunted as you can see below.
Eventually, we all settled in. And the fireworks were awesome. It all seemed to be very close. I have never taken a good picture of fireworks, but this should give you an idea of how it looked.
July 30, 2008
Summer plans
I am off to London next week! my original thought was to break up the usually miserably humid summer, but that was before I realised just how much more comfortable summer could be outside of Tokyo. It helps that I can pop over to the beach for a swim whenever I get too warm, but the main reason is the breeze off the ocean which seems to take the edge of the humidity.
Tonight is also the Zushi Fireworks and I am really looking forward to that. Last year, we watched it from the rooftop of my building, but this time around I am going to go the beach early and save a spot. I hope it all comes off OK. I am heading over at 5pm, which is almost three hours beforehand, so that should give me plenty of time.
Posted by Kirk at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)July 28, 2008
Hayama Fireworks
I went to watch the Hayama fireworks tonight. Even better, I watched from Zushi Beach so I only had to walk two minutes to get there. I am sure Hayama was crowded, but there were probably only 20-30 people on the beach around me and five people in the beach bar I went to. So, it was very relaxed and a good warmup for the Zushi Beach fireworks on Wednesday. That will be crowded.
I really like fireworks. And bars on the beach.
Posted by Kirk at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)July 25, 2008
Did you really want to hear from me?
I took this at the beach yesterday. It is not really a big deal for me because I have been going everyday this summer, but I talked to Yoko the other day and she said I should update this. So...this is for all of you that are sitting in your cubicles reading this. I thought you might want to see what you are missing.
It really has been a lovely summer so far. There was hardly any rain in rainy season and despite the sun being out everyday it has not been unbearably hot. Well, at least not on the beach! Maybe being able to go for a swim whenever it suits me helps. Or could it be the cooling ocean breeze?
Well, it is going to be good beach weather this weekend too. I will try to take some pictures.
Posted by Kirk at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)June 25, 2008
Moving Day!
I am moving today! Actually, I am in Zushi now, waiting for the moving company to bring my stuff. They are eating at the restaurant across the street now!
I will be glad when the whole process is finished. I spent the last week slowly going through and packing everything to make sure I would throw away the things that I did not need. Since the Zushi pad is half the size of my Tokyo apartment, it was necessary. It was kind of sad to see a lot of the stuff that I had collected over the last eight years get thrown away. Which reminds me, this is exactly eight years! I guess I should write about that separately.
Anyway, I hate packing and I hate moving, so this has been a real trial. But it is almost over and if I move back to Tokyo, none of the things here will be moved up there! So, hopefully, this is my last move in Japan!
Speaking of which, I have one year left on my visa and actually I am not really sure of that because I have no idea what the local city office will say when I tell them I have no job. They tend to frown on that in Japan for some reason. We'll see.
Posted by Kirk at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)June 14, 2008
The right decision...
I decided on Zushi after all. I am looking forward to it. Well, actually, I am in Zushi right now, so it is easy to do.
Seriously, moving is such a hassle that I cannot wait until all of that is finished. On one hand, it is easier since I own the place I am moving to and know the neighbourhood etc. On the other hand, I have to get rid of half my stuff and deciding what to keep and what to toss is a huge challenge to someone as indecisive as myself!
Fortunatley, I found a cool bar in Zushi last night and I think it can be my local! That is a major concern crossed off the list. On my way home, I went to the beach (ha ha) and you could see the moon over the water. I felt like it was a sign I made the right choice. Of course, two months from now when I am complaining about something, remind me that I said that.
Anyway, I am moving on the 25th! Less than two weeks away and only two days before the bars on the beach open. For once, timing is my friend.
Posted by Kirk at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)December 28, 2007
Mt. Fuji from Zushi Beach
A view like this is one of the reasons I like going down to the beach. I took this a few weeks ago...just getting around to posting it now. That is not too bad considering it took me almost two years to show you the picture of the salt house.
Anyway, I stayed in Japan for the holiday this year. That is OK because I was in San Diego in October and I will go again in February. My sister and her husband are in Florida for the next four months, so it is a good opportunity for a winter visit! Speaking of holidays, I have really wanted to head down to a warm tropical beach lately.
Instead, I am going back down to Zushi tonight. Not really tropical this time of year, but it is much easier to get to.
I have been thinking of things I want to do in 2008. Maybe next time I write something here, I will show you the list. Probably, I should figure it out in my own head first.
Posted by Kirk at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)November 26, 2007
Another beach stroll
Continuing on the beach lifestyle theme, I met some friends at Kamakura Station yesterday and we spent the day walking to and around Enoshima. The weather was absolutely lovely and the views were terrific. I wonder how many more weekends like this we will get!
This is what Mt. Fuji looked like right after sunset...you may have noticed that the banner on top has changed. I took that one soon after.
I was joined by Max, Freda and Keizo. I know Max from school. I met Freda through another student, but he was too busy studying to come down and join us. And Keizo is a friend of Freda's that I first met a few weeks ago when we walked around Futako-Tamagawa and Todoroki.
Here is everyone enjoying an ice cream, and later helping Max pick out a car for the ride home.
There are also some group pictures...unfortunately not on my camera, so I am waiting for Max or Freda to send one to me. Waiting...waiting...
Here is one more picture from Enoshima looking back to the mainland. It's different, so I thought I would let you see it.
I really should write more about Enoshima, but I do not have my thoughts organised right now. On one hand, it is chock full of souvenir shops and that is not really so lovely, but there are lots of really cool places. It would be interesting to live there, maybe. Well, maybe not. We saw a coffee shop with a fantastic view of the coast line back towards Kamakura. Maybe next time, a leaisurely coffee there would be enough.
Posted by Kirk at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)Zushi Beach Yabusame (逗子海岸流鏑馬)
Well, it has been a month, so I thought it would be nice to update the blog again. I have been kind of busy, but always when I get home it does not seem to be entertaining enough to write about. Well, last week's horseback archery on Zushi Beach being an exception. In that case, I was just lazy. But...I am over that now, so here are some pictures and a brief chat about it.
Every year, there is a demonstration of horseback archery (Yabusame - 流鏑馬）on Zushi Beach. Apparently, this happened for the first time on September 2, 1199. No, that is not a typo...800+ years ago. The martial art was first promoted by Minamoto Yoritomo who ruled a newly united Japan from nearby Kamakura. Cool, right?
I did not get to see very much, mostly because the wind was extremely strong and I kept getting sand in my eyes. I always like being on the beach, but this was less than ideal. The demonstration was supposed to last a few hours, but it ended early. I think everyone was ready to go home.
Afterwards, some of the students came down and we went back to the Zushi pad for a few drinks. It was great fun.
Oh, here is a picture from the festival in town before the archery. The main shopping street was closed for the morning and there were all sorts of food stands and the like. There was also this ceremony, but I was not close enough to really see or hear what was going on.
October 13, 2007
Walking in Kamakura
I spent Friday morning walking in Kamakura. Of course, I have been down there a lot, but this was the first time that I went there from Zushi instead of Tokyo. It is much more convenient right?
I met a friend at Kamakura station and we walked from there to Kita-Kamakura, passing all the big temples on the way. I left Zushi at 9am...compared to 8am if I had been in Tokyo. Ha! Even better, the weather was perfect for walking: the sun was out, but it did not get too hot. This is going to be easy to get used to.
Here are a few snapshots, so you have something to look at. I took these at Engakuji, just by the station. We sat for awhile on a bench in a temple overlooking the big grassy area. It was really comfortable there.
On the way there we also went to Tsuragaoka Hachiman (that is the big, fancy one you walk to from Kamakura Station) and Kenchoji, which is about halfway. If you are interested in Kamakura, this is a really good English language site: www.kamakuratoday.com.
Next time, I am hoping to walk from Kamakura to Enoshima again...it is getting close to the time of year when Mt. Fuji can be seen.
In the meantime, however, I will be in the US for a week helping my sister look at houses in San Diego. We are stayingin a condo by the beach. It should be awesome.
Posted by Kirk at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)October 10, 2007
Progress...well, sort of.
So, I went down to Zushi again today. I have not been down there very much over the last few weeks and when I do go, it tends to be in the evening with a quick return the next day. The good news is that I bought a proper bed and the futon can be retired until someone visits. Since it might be you, I won't complain about my sore back after sleeping on it.
Also, the weather has been kind of strange. And when I say that, I mean it has been raining. This is a picture from the front porch of my Tokyo place on Monday...
So, of course I didn't really fancy going out. But the weather got better today, thankfully, since I had scheduled my bed delivery. They said they would come between 9am and 2pm, so I took the 7am train to make sure I was there on time. They told me it was very unlikely it would be early, but better safe than sorry, right?
Anyway, I took this picture from the train. Poor Tokyo-bound commuters...the sun is finally shining and they have to pack themselves into a train for the next hour just for the privilege of working the rest of the day. Rest assured, there were not many commuters taking the Tokyo-Zushi route this morning!
The delivery guys came around 12:30pm and were surprisingly quick about it. And so now...there is a bed. I need to get a comforter and proper pillows, but this will do for now. From the other picture, you can probably tell the apartment is filling up.
And the best news...
The beach is looking good again. After the typhoon, it was covered in debris, trash and seaweed. It is all gone now! Woo! I went for a walk today and had a look around. On the other end of the beach, the junior high school students were getting sailing lessons. How cool is that? I mean, really. They even have mini sailing boats they use. Awesome.
Also, I have created a new category for entries...Zushi Life. I will try to put all the beach-related entries in there from now on.
Posted by Kirk at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)September 25, 2007
OK, OK...here is an update
Well, it is probably safe to say that the worst of summer is over. It can get pretty warm during the day but it is always cooling down at night. So, no more air conditioning for this year, I hope.
Here is a picture of Zushi Beach taken from the rooftop of the building. Just because I can! It's nice, right?
I have not been up to anything much recently...kind of boring, but that is good. School is over (ya-y!) and I think I will be slowing down a bit next term: three days a week at most instead of every day. And that should give me some time to get things done. Like, getting the Zushi place in order, for example. I will be happy when that is all finished. I did get some furniture, however...
That is not the best picture, but the delivery guys came at the last possible moment and I really had to rush out of there because I was going to the baseball game with some of the students. I suppose I could have been late, but I was the one holding the tickets. Whoops.
Anyway, that was kind of a disaster in itself because we had 10 tickets but 11 people arrived. I gave one to everybody and went off to buy one more as close to them as possible. Unfortunately, it was standing room only. Instead, I went to the beer garden and watched the game on TV.
There is a 1,800 yen all-you-can-drink special, it lasts from 6pm until the game is finished. I did not notice last time, but we are all going back on Wednesday. There are even "beer girls"! Well, they do not carry 15kgs of beer on their back, but everything else is the same.
Well, I should make an effort to update this more as I was told today that a lot of people depend on reading this so that they know what I am doing without talking to me. Or something like that.
Posted by Kirk at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)July 29, 2007
Zushi Fireworks
Like I mentioned below, on Friuday I went to Zushi to watch the fireworks from the roof of the building my apartment is in. It was absolutely awesome! It was fantastic!
I tried to get pictures, but they did not really come out so well...this one looks good enough for the blog, however, and gives you a good idea of what we could see.
I met up with Laura, the Ishiwatas )from the real estate agency and construction company) and Toshi for the show and required after firework drinks. Here are some others...I will save the drinking photos for another time.
May 27, 2007
My new apartment
I finally bought a place down by the ocean. It is in Zushi and less than 100m from the beach. I signed the contract last week and the deal should close by the end of the month. Of course...this is very exciting!!
Here is a picture from the rooftop of the building. Lovely, right?
The apartment itself needs a lot of work. It is a 60-square meter 3LDK and the previous tenant lived there for 20 years and had a unusual affinity for the color pink. I will change it to a two-bedroom and completely renovate the place. That should be interesting. I am hoping to have it done by July 20th...that is when the Zushi Fireworks are.
Posted by Kirk at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
January 09, 2007
Zushi beach sunset
This is one of those pictures that seems so great on the camera, but loses its appeal when you download it. I was terrible excited on my way home from Zushi yesterday because the beach was so lovely. Still, it is blog-worthy, so here you go. But you should know it was much better in person.
Anyway, I went down to Zushi/Hayama for the first time this year to look at apartments to buy. I arrived early for my appointment, but instead of walking to the beach I went to Starbucks and read my book...I figured I would hit the beach afterward.
The quick rainstorm did not figure into my plans at all. As I finished up with the real estate agent I could hear this "plink...plink" sound but was totally baffled at what it could be. But, it was quick...no rain at all when I got out and walked. Just the ominous clouds. Mt. Fuji was visible barely, but none of this snaps turned out. Did I ever mention how much I like Zushi and Hayama?
Posted by Kirk at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)October 09, 2006
Fuji-san from Hayama/Zushi
I woke up entirely TOO early on Sunday (6ish), especially as I had nothing to do. Sometime around 10am, with the sun shining and the sky looking brilliant, I headed down to the beach.
Thanks to the huge storm that blew through late last week taking all the pollution with it, the sky was incredibly clear. And that means Mt. Fuji is easy to see: this is what it looked like at sunset from Morito Beach in Hayama.
When I got to Zushi, I walked over to the beach. There were lots of people out enjoying the weather, but not so much that it felt crowded. Very cool. Here are some more Fuji pics.
My real destination was Hayama however, so I headed that way. I usually take a bus or taxi, but this I time I walked. It did not take as long as I thought it would. A real estate agent told me that you could bike from the south end of Hayama to Zushi Station in 30 minutes. That seems about right.
I spent a little time on the beach reading, but mostly I walked around town trying to get a better feel for things. You know, what the stores and restuarants are like and how far away places are from each other. Highlights include Morito Jinja, which is absolutely brilliant and I already know that is where I want to be at New Year's. It is right on the water, with a small waterfront park on one side and a beach on the other.
I had coffee at Mells Cafe, right on the waterfront. One of the pictures below is taken from there. The other one was taken just after sunset at Morito Beach. It's lovely, right?
The reason I want to get a feel for Hayama is that I am wondering whether I should move down there. I looked at a place near the beach a few weeks ago and really liked it. It is also less than half the cost of what I would pay in central Tokyo for an apartment.
Unfortunately, it is a two hour commute EACH WAY, making it supremely impractical for work/school. And I do not know anyone down there.
But it is the BEACH.
I have to decide tomorrow. I wonder what I will do...
Posted by Kirk at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)