Well, true to form, these shots are really outdated - from before Christmas! Sorry, I know they aren't photos of rotund, semi-nude men as promised, but I don't have time right now to sift through all the images, upload and format them etc. It's tempting, but I would be a very tired fool tomorrow if I started. Instead I've given you a couple of shots of Luminarie. I thought I'd post these shots up now before they become any more redundant. It's become an annual public sculpture (? ...installation ...lightshow? ...I'm not sure what you'd call it) in the heart of Kobe city. I think some people confuse this event with it being part of the many Christmas displays in the big cities, but it's to commemorate the anniversary of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake of 1995, in which 6000 people were lost. I'm not sure if you remember the images on the news back then but they were frightening. CCTV footage of inside office buildings showed everything moving side to side with an incredible violence. It was amazing to hear Mark at church recount what it was like - seeing a whole 5-6 storey building that had tipped on its side into the street. Anyway, Luminarie is a way of giving the city some light. The crowd was amazing - you had to creep through the course of golden arches (no, not a Macca's crawl!) at almost-stalling speed. Maybe I'm just an old humbug but I thought it was beautiful, but not worth enduring the crowd and the cold! It was absolutely freezing... but yeah, pretty.


I like this shot - it captures the atmosphere at the end section where you were surrounded by lights. I particularly like the chap who happens to be beaming straight at the camera!

Oh, I would like to retract my criticism of blogger.com. Just as I am an ingrate when it comes to massive free art like Lumarie, I have been ungrateful for this free website which allows me to put up all this stuff and let you in on what I'm seeing/doing/bemoaning/whinging about over here! I think I would be pretty unhappy if I couldn't blog, so thanks blogger!

This shot is from around the same time. Teachers Yukiko, Sue-yen and I caught some nice food and drink inside a cosy little izakaya/restaurant thing not too far from here. It was really warm inside and numbing outside. We had to run our feet off for the last train - it's been a few times that we've just made it!

This bottle was on display in front of me - I guess it's the local brew. I haven't seen it anywhere else... would be sad if it's no longer made.

Well, despite my intentions of not being a tired fool 7 or 8 hours from now, I have written too much and will be one. I am sad to say that my friend Justin has decided to go back to the States in the next few weeks. He has been a-wayfaring for a while and has realised that home is where he should be for now. I'm happy for him and, in a way jealous, but I will miss having such a dude nearby to hang out with... but I guess it means I'll have a friend an ocean away in Seattle, which is a good thing.

Only 3 days 'til Mum and Dad arrive!

Anyway, where was I... me ... yes, vain, tired and foolish. Goodnight