First, let me say that one of the hosts, Bill Lawson, was totally great and the other host, I think his name is Matt Hazel, needs a hair cut. Really, what was he thinking? The 3rd annual Fukuyama “Let’s Film” Festival was held on May 31, 2008. As one of the organizers of this event I can say without any bias that this one was definitely one of the top three ever!

Some might say that I’m not good at planning. Others might say I’m an idiot. I like to think I’m “spontaneous.” Regardless of the exact reason, I have paid too much, used too much nenkyuu, and failed to capitalize on prime traveling times (Christmas 07: went to Fukuoka. It was ma-ma.) Anyways, sometimes things just fall into place. They happen. And they happen in a great way, like when I went to India during Golden Week this year.

As I sit here thinking about what to write for this article, I flick my eyes up to “The Best House” special on TV to see them counting down the top three styles of scissors from the world. It’s not strange until I write it down…Arrgh, have I really become that numbed to the absurdity of Japanese TV and culture?

The temperature is dropping and once again it’s the time of year to get naked with your friends and the obaachans or ojiichans in your town, village, island etc…. If you are thinking about going to an onsen, now is the best time to start. An onsen is essentially a “hot spring,” but can be anything from a natural hot spring to an ofuro: an extremely nice sauna-meets-hot tub experience.

When I first received my contracting organization’s welcome letter I emailed my supervisor a link to my online blog. After all, I have been blogging about Japan and Japanese culture for over four years, and although I consider myself a hobbyist, I thought my employers should know a little bit about my love and passion for Japan. My advisor still checks my blog updates regularly and lets me know his opinion. My students are aware that half the images I take of them will probably end up on my blog. It is still my right to express myself and my feelings as I share my life quite openly for others, but it’s also my responsibility not to injure anyone else’s feelings in the process.