Mike’s New “Party” Video

For those of you who appreciated ” Bring It On Down To The Downtown ,” here’s a new music/dance video that’ll get your toes tappin’ and your hands clappin’! Everyone, it’s time, so… ” Let’s Get This Party Started Right-A!!! “ Filmed almost entirely on location in the funky, funky downtown of Funehiki, Japan, set to an all-new original A Capella beatbox groove, and featuring a star-studded cast of friends, ” Let’s Get This Party … Continue Reading →

At Last–Abukumado!!!

Remember when we first arrived in Japan, we got to meet the mayor of Tamura, have sea cucumber sushi on the moon with (ex-)Prime Minister Koizumi, and all that? Well around that time we also met the Chairman of the Tamura City Board of Education, and as a gift he gave us free tickets to Abukumado. The full name is Abukuma Shounyuudou (the name means Abukuma Limestone Cave), and it’s a huge attraction around these parts. … Continue Reading →

Visitors from Mansfield and Mike’s First Translation Job

If there’s one thing that Wakakusa English teachers will tell you about this program, it’s that you never know what amazing opportunities will come your way, and this past week was a great example. This Tuesday, 30 delegates from the city of Mansfield , Ohio arrived in Tamura to sign the new sister-city agreement between Mansfield, USA and Tamura City, Japan. (The old agreement was just between Mansfield and Funehiki.) The delegation included the Mayor … Continue Reading →

The Cherry Blossoms are finally here!!!

At last–they’re finally here!!! Spring has officially come to Funehiki, and the cherry blossoms are at last in full, glorious bloom. Jen and I have been waiting for months for this day to come, and now that it’s here, it feels like a dream come true. Now we’re really in Japan! For those of you who don’t know, cherry blossoms are huge in Japanese culture. In fact, they’re so huge that they’re probably among the “big three” … Continue Reading →

Mike’s Sunset Escapade

I’m sure that many of you out there, especially our regular readers, are familiar with the Digicamblog Theorum. It goes something like so: Digital Camera + Thirst For Adventure + Random Opportunity = Good Blog Entry Material. This theorum is, of course, the driving theorum behind our blog. Pictures tell lots of words, and they tell them way faster than we can write them. And that’s good, because we don’t have time to write that … Continue Reading →

Takine In Winter

So far, Jen and I have been pretty lucky weather-wise this winter–this has been an unusually warm season. All the locals have been going on and on about how much warmer it’s been than it last year (which was one of the coldest winters for years). So our home has stayed relatively warm, and walking to and from school hasn’t been the ordeal we thought it might be. But sadly, there’s been hardly any snow this … Continue Reading →

Autumn in Takine 1

Autumn in Takine

Today excepted, this whole past week here in Tamura has been a week of non-stop wonderful weather. In fact, it was so nice that I (Mike) couldn’t resist taking the digital camera to work and finally climbing up the hundred or so steps to the top of a local park to get a better look at the town of Takine. I spotted that park two weeks ago from the grounds of Takine Jr. High School, and … Continue Reading →