A funny old week

This week marked exactly a year to the day I've been in Japan (Tuesday). My friend Mike left on that anniversary, a year after he also arrived. Sean left the same day, but he's been here donkeys, and he'll be back, if only briefly, following travels in Asia.

Since they went, I've been living part of Sean's life- riding his bike (mine is fucked after a car hit me, Wednesday, bitch) up Mt. Zao (Wednesday, see picture down below), moving into his room for a view of the mountains and mailing his friends Sachi and Tomo. Them I met

at the lock-in at the Sagae branch of the Spice Magic Indian on Sunday night, a lock-in in every sense with no-one else but us, cheap prices, a sneak look backstage and even drunken hugs and arms wrapped round the owners' shoulders come the end of it all.

There was the beach and a barbeque with Chippie, Sean, Mike in Atsumi before that (Sunday morning and Saturday evening respectively)

and shodo (calligraphy) and another barbeque with a teachers family Sunday afternoon.

Monday and Tuesday I skipped off midday to pin up posters for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Apparently it's world famous. I'm dubious. Anyhow, they asked me,' Fnoo fnah fleee flum TV fllo oll flii flu' and I said yes, of course and before I knew it I was in front of a camera, well three actually, reciting lines (in Japanese) I'd learnt ten minutes before, along with two others from the YIDFF. That'll be aired tonight, (Friday), YTS, 6.45-55. Catch it if you can.

My legs kind of hurt a bit from climbing up Zao (on Wednesday, remember?), but also from playing frisbee with a bunch of Uni students on Wednesday late afternoon. They didn't believe I'd been up Zao by bike. Who would?

If you're finding it hard to make snese of this, so am I. But I thought it only fitting for such a landmark entry. Half a year writing this. Just over. A year in Japan. All change ahead and some more of the same.