First, apologies both for posting a stub last week and for then not updating it. Perhaps the worst part is that the last two weeks happened to be fairly eventful and now I'm scrambling to remember it all.

Saturday the 19th I was sent to Kyoto to work an early shift. This meant that I had a free ride (well, a reimbursed ride) and a free evening with which to enjoy the city. It was my hope that I'd be able to catch part of the Gion Matsuri (a big festival in the old gesha district) but it seems that it ended the Thursday prior. Instead, after work I did my usual aimless walk around (in, of course, 95 degree heat) the result of which was my finding the shopping district Sparks took me three years ago (and which, to that point, I couldn't find again.) In my random walking I found a foreign bookstore oddly enough called Random Walk. And, it turned out, they happened to have two books I was looking for in stock. So, after some retail therapy and some dinner I headed back to Kobe.

Kyoto station, looking out over the regular tracks towards the Shinkansen terminal.

Monday the 21st was a national holiday and the first (of many) paid days off. I know I sound like a broken record but again it was really too hot to do anything that involved the outdoors. I did mange walk from the apartment to the front of the Oji Zoo (about 2 miles) but decided that I had no real interest in going in. From the zoo I walked down to the port (another half mile) then back home. The result of the day's travels being nothing but exhaustion and a sunburned neck. The rest of my "weekend" was spent cowering in the air-conditioning, occasionally dashing to the convenience around the corner for something cold to drink.

Palm trees thrive in tropical conditions.
These trees are thriving.
Tropical conditions detected!

Some long-range truckers in Japan kit out their trucks.
This one (spotted near the port) has more chrome than Harley Davidson shop.

Random marquee for a covered shopping arcade.

This past Saturday, the 26th, I got sent to Himeji for another early shift. This is only really notable because Himeji is the 15th different school I've taught at in my two months of work. Other interesting figures include 41 working days in the past 62 and a total of 46,300yen in daily travel expenses (not counting the 3 times I've had to take the shinkansen [which would nearly double that figure.])

Monday this week it rained for the first time in the month of July. As if making up for lost time it poured buckets of rain all afternoon, accompanied by a lot of lightening and thunder. I think I would have appreciated the temporary drop in temperature and humidity more had I not had to walk to work in the middle of the storm. My socks were still soaked when I got home that evening.

Yesterday, while running some errands downtown, I happened upon the Kobe branch of Random Walk books and found yet another book I was looking for.

Today I popped over to Osaka for a bit. I didn't have a plan in mind and ended up walking from Osaka station to Shin-imamiya station (or, cutting a path down the center of the circular Osaka loop line/Osaka itself.) On the way I found Den-den town, Osaka's answer to my favorite place on earth: Akihabara.

This truck is empty and is more or less a moving billboard (the trailer part is empty.)
It's a advertisement for a new pachinko machine.
Seriously, is this a cost effective way to advertise with gas prices being what they are?

This was above the main entrance of the Daimaru (a big department store) in Namba.

Osaka tower.
It was too hazy today, so I didn't go up.

Other happenings in the last two weeks include a certain breakdown in relations with my roommates. Don't get me wrong, they're great guys and all, but it turns out I'm a morning person (who knew!?) and they're night people. This generally means that when I turn in for the night they're just getting going. The problem is compounded by the fact that Japanese apartments have paper thin walls.

This issue, combined with others such as a lack of a nearby grocery store and having to walk up hill (again, in 95 degree heat) to get home every day have lead me to inquire about moving back into the building where I was when I first go here. I just received word yesterday with the OK to move next month. This should work out alright as the date selected is right in the middle of my summer vacation, giving my a week to pack and another to settle in.

Speaking of the summer break. I predict next week's post may be a short.boring one again. Since I get two weeks off in a row I decided to put in some overtime this week on Tuesday, meaning a 6 day workweek and only one day of doing stuff to write about next Wednesday.

In the mean time, and on a lighter note:

A huge moth resting on the netting that covers my balcony at dusk.

Oh, Japan, is there ANYTHING you can't make cute?

That seems to do it for this week. Until next time:

Jaa Mata Ne.