Welcome to the United States of Japan.

USJ. Well, ok, it stands for Universal Studios Japan. Caroline (from HK), Sue-yen (from Oz), Rebecca (Oscar's gf from the UK) and I went to USJ (how's that for over-use of acronyms). Sue and Caroline are in the picture, Rebecca got accidentally deleted!

Shrek and Fiona were there along with a horde of others. I took a day off work, so it was a Thursday - I can't imagine how the crowds would be on a weekend.

Is that Shmoo from the Herculoids!? (You know what I'm talking 'bout, right Mark Andersen?) No... just a stylish patron.

Kitty and Daniel were there to say happy birthday (tanjoubi omedeto!) to all the little tykes who had them that month. These cats and the Hello Kittymobile were the only evidence you that were in Japan. Well, aside from the many Japanese people, Japanese signs and announcements... apart from that, it was very much a big slice of Americana...

I've never been to America, but do I need to now!? All that was missing from this scene was the Manhattan skyline in the background.

Oh, and 10 million Americans or whatever it is in New York and traffic and skyscrapers and hotdogs and real culture and... ok, it's a stretch to say I've experienced New York... But maybe it's as close as I'll get without leaving Osaka! haha

In little dioramas like this I can understand the Stars and Stripes. But the myriad of them at the front gates to the whole place is a bit much. It looks a bit like the entrance to a temple of the Cult of America. I may have hit on something there. Anyway, I admit... it's good fun.

How cool are these things? I'd love to eat some real American grease in a real one, one day.

I groaned at the sound of a Halloween parade, but it was pretty impressive. The pumpkins were especially good.

Yes, I enjoyed the pumpkins.

There were some very clever costumes. The choreography was also very good.

These guys were great! Very Alice in Wonderland. They'd separate and then form into a caterpillar again.

Bungee frogs.

I'm not sure what danger money the frogs were getting paid, but this guy should have been getting double. Visibility factor... not high! Dancing on the edge of the stage...

Speaking of danger, you can swim again in Amity. Jaws has been taken care of. The ride itself was more funny than anything else. The boat's driver/captain/pilot/whatever was hilarious. She had great reactions and was handy with a grenade launcher, too! Towards the end though, she kept shooting at the shark and nothing was happening. Hammy fun!

How cool is this?

I'm not sure if there's much point in posing beside a movie car you know isn't the real one, but it still must be done, right? The Delorean... The flux capacitor... drool. I'll admit that the Back to the Future ride made me feel quite sick. I'm not made of the same stuff as Marty McFly. I remember as a kid wanting to be him. I wanted his jacket, his hair, his black pick-up truck with yellow fog lights and his girlfriend. Haha!

The Dark Lord himself. But no, not USJ. Back to school! This is Satoshi, who won my prize for best costume during Halloween week.

I'll give ye a taste of me blade. Here I am doing what I've been dreaming of doing for about a year now (just kidding!). We have a soon-to-be-headless-Hideki, a pirate, a ghost, Lord Vader and a kid dressed as a Yusuke who's really bored and way too cool for dress-ups. I think the last outfit was the most convincing.

Now here are some good sports! My manager Risa-san, and teachers Akiko-sensei and Takako-sensei.

Shiver me timbers! It's a wolfman. Awoooooooo!

This is Kimika, the heartbreaker. Well, she breaks my heart, anyway. Maybe I should say she destroys my lesson, but she's a good kid. She can act like you're the best of friends and then turn around and do the whole I-hate-teacher routine. Outside of class she's really cool, but inside she's a bit of a terror. sigh... I will really miss her.

Well keel-haul me and call me a barnacle if it isn't the calendar shot of the month. Look at those cheeks. That cute pose. Now look at the little girl! This is Tamaki. She is awesome. So smart. So happy. So helpful. So willing to repeat everything you say. Wear that crown! Her mum made the dress.

This girl scares me. She is heaps more mature than me. More organised than me. More disciplined than me. Not hard, I hear you say. Nanoka dances 5 nights a week. She doesn't go to juku (cram school), like most kids her age, but she's advanced. She is very patient with teacher!

The girl standing is my youngest student. She just turned 3. Her little sister also came along in her best dress. Too bad I made them walk the plank. Way too cute.

One last Halloween shot. The pumpkins have made way for Christmas paraphenalia. I'm bracing myself for the coming silly season of busyness (yearly tests followed by Christmas lessons) and freezingness, so I've been posting a lot of spam while I can. Til next time...