Christmas.....

Christmas officially kicked off upon Winston’s arrival at the Fukuoka airport. However, getting him from the Fukuoka airport to my house in the boonies involved a 10 minute subway ride, a 2 hour train-ride, and a 30 minute car ride (all in that order). Not to mention one very small girl and one very exhausted boy hauling 170 lbs of luggage up and down train station stairwells (no escalators, just stairs). In the end we triumphed over adversity and made it home, but we looked like this:

 

Sleepy, sleepy pandas.

We had a fairly busy schedule. Our first event was the JET bonenkai, which is a traditional Japanese “end of the year” party. Of course, considering most all the attendants were foreign it became more of a Christmas party than anything. True to fashion, right after dinner we headed to karaoke in our Christmas sweaters, scarves, and festive hats. 

Our table at dinner

Yellie and her festive LED Santa hat

Hunter had an epic Christmas sweater, so he gave himself a "thumbs up." Hunter said he'd give me his festive Christmas hat at the end of the night, so I gave him a "thumbs up" as well. Clearly Hunter was the man of the night.

This is Darin. I made the scarf he's wearing!

I also made the scarf that Hunter is wearing. When they are both in Christmas sweaters and my scarves they look like brothers.... brothers who were dropped on their heads as infants. 

When Danielle and Darin sing together it gives Greg a headache. 

Betsy and I were caught in the moment, singing our hearts out. Clearly Winston didn't care to join. 

This is Hunter's new girlfriend, serenades are a pretty serious courting ritual.....

this was Betsy's satin holiday skirt. Complete with a bow and a tag that said "for you," it was a holiday hit. 

Their wedding is in August =0)

I missed the "make a funny face in this picture" memo.

he looks so regal. 

Later that week Winston and I headed back into Oita City for a concert. TAO is an internationally known Taiko drumming group. They are really famous here in Japan; especially on there home island Kyushu. They all live together on a commune, growing their own food, making their own instruments, and writing their own music. The proceeds from their concerts all go back to support their commune. Now, taiko drumming is one of my favorite things about Japanese culture. It’s so high energy, it just sounds epic. The pounding of the drums makes my heart absolutely race and gives me an instant adrenaline rush. It makes me feel like I should be storming onto a battlefield, wind in my hair, sun on my back, running to the beat of the drums to slay some ancient monster with a sword. I’d be so much cooler if I could wield a sword. Alas. The tickets were a little pricey, but it was totally worth it. Not only were there drummers, but there were flute players and shamisens. Every movement was perfectly synchronized and accompanied by flashing colorful lights and elaborate stage props. All their movements were so graceful. It was hard to get pictures because the room was so dark and photography wasn’t really allowed, but Winston still got a few shots.

Our next stop was Nagasaki. We stayed at an adorable hostel, and spent our days and nights exploring the new city. Since Nagasaki was bombed, they had a unique albeit tragic reason to re-build the city. Argo in all my travels, Nagasaki has been the one of the easiest cities to navigate. This is saying a lot, considering that I get lost in my tiny hometown that I lived in for nearly 19 years. A good sense of direction is not one of my strong points. 

It’s always funny coming across little pockets of Western culture in the Eastern world. Take KFC for example. They’re everywhere! The best part about KFC in Japan is the giant statues of the Colonel.
I am not totally sure why Winston held his hat out to the Colonel. Perhaps he'd changed his mind about being a vegetarian and wanted some popcorn chicken.
nope. still a vegetarian. 
Everyone needs hugs, even giant plastic mascots who advertises genetically manipulated chicken. 
why are you dressed as Santa Colonel Sanders?! 

Now Nagasaki has an all out Penguin aquarium, which for me was a must see. Penguins are one of the coolest animals in my book. They all look like they’re wearing tuxedos! It doesn’t matter where they are; in the entirety of the animal kingdom the penguin is always classy. As someone who personally fights dressing up tooth and nail, I find them fascinating. So off to the aquarium we went.
this banner was there to great us when we got off the bus. I literally skipped through the parking lot I was so excited.
I found these fellows in the parking lot

this building looked a bit bland to be something as cool as a penguin aquarium. I think it needs a few more plasma screen tvs and flashy lights. 
I don't think Santa has elves, Santa has penguins. Penguins are much cuter than elves. 

I was quite mesmerized by all the invertebrates in this tank. 
penguins! 
this fella looks like he has two heads
he's the loner penguin
he was quite flexible. 

Now, around noon it was lunchtime for the penguins. I can’t speak Japanese, so when I heard “blah blah blah….SANTA-DIIIVAR-SAN” I looked up at Winston waiting for a translation. He just smiled and walked me to the tank. Only in Japan would a little man in a wet suit dress like Santa with a bag of dead fish to swim with penguins.
SANTA-DIIIVAR-SAN!?!!!!!

Winston and I opted to use our second day in Nagasaki as a chance to hop a train to nearby Sasebo. I wanted to go mainly because my Papa was stationed there when he was in the Navy. The minute we came out of the train station gate Winston and I stumbled upon a giant inflatable Hamburger. This was a telltale sign that lots of foreigners live in Sasebo (actually about 30,000 on a big ol' Naval base).

I like to think this could be a giant Veggie burger! mmmmmm! 

Sasebo wasn’t exactly the prettiest city I’ve ever seen. In all honesty it is the kind of place that made me very self-conscious of my own nationality. Everywhere we went we were surrounded by very loud, obnoxious, and rather over-weight people who shared our nationality. It was a cold day, but we spent our afternoon walking around taking pictures before heading back to Nagasaki.
This is about as far onto the Naval base as we got. 
This was taken in a giant shopping arcade... 
I'm sure this is a popular spot considering all the foreigners in Sasebo.
We got a few shots of the base from across the bay. 

Our last day in Nagasaki we met up with Winston’s cousin Salem (who is a JET near Kyoto), his Aunt, his cousin Becca, and Salem’s girlfriend Katie. We opted to visit the Atomic-Bomb site, the museum, and the peace park. The Atomic-Bomb site was a lot different than I’d expected. In my head I envisioned a giant hole in the ground, which is extremely ignorant to think considering that the bomb actually exploded 500 meters above the hypocenter. It’s a very pretty park now, which makes it hard to believe that a bomb ever went off anywhere near there.

The museum was also a very sobering experience. Rather than blame America for dropping the bombs it advocated the obliteration of atomic weapons. However, it’s always interesting to look at history from another culture’s perspective. There were lots of facts on the walls about America never warning Japan that they would drop the bombs, but there was no mention of Japan’s involvement in the war. No mention of Pearl Harbor… That’s the funny thing about history; facts and truths all depend on who exactly is doing the writing.

Our next stop was the Peace Park, but unfortunately we didn’t get to spend a lot of time there because we needed to catch a train back to Beppu (a city near my house), but Winston still got some good shots.
The entrance to the Peace Park

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We opted to spend the day wondering around what are known in Beppu as “The Hells.” “The Hells” are a series of natural mineral hot springs. Some of them are up to 100 Celsius! Steam perpetually bursts out through vents in the streets, and the whole place smells like sulfur. 

I wasn't exagerating, stinky sulfur steam street vents
this one was over 100 degrees C!
When Winston gives himself a sulfur steam facial it looks like he's eaten Sour Patch Kids.
For some reason this one seemed rather pre-historic, like dino bones are preserved deep within that hot mud. 

this one looked a bit like blood.

For the most part “The Hells” were really beautiful.

Now, I’d like to preface the following rant by saying that I am by no means a burning heart animal rights activist. Of course I’m against clubbing baby seals and poaching endangered species, but I wouldn't go rioting through the streets or pour fake blood on fur coats. So on the map Winston, his cousin Becca, and I noticed a “Zoo Hell.” We didn’t realize the name was literal.

Let’s start with the Elephant. My Grandparent’s living room is bigger than this elephant’s cage. A lot of animals in captivity will pace back and forth in their cages as a nervous habit. This guy didn’t even have room to pace. Instead he just swayed his head back and forth. Besides looking completely emaciated, the poor thing just looked sad. My foreign companions and I were the only ones who seemed repulsed. All the Japanese people were all smiles.
It's hard to see, but the little boy on the bench was holding a little white paper bag filled with peanuts. He was throwing them to the elephant, but they didn't get close enough for the elephant to reach them. 
This elephant was even more depressing to see in real life
I assure you this is a full grown elephant. He's just starved. 

The flamingos have the highest standard of living at the “Zoo Hell.”

The baboons have the worst. I didn’t think it was possible to be any more disgusted with this shabby excuse for a zoo, until I saw the baboon cages. When I imagine the apocalypse I think of 3rd word Russia, bombed and over-run by zombies. All the buildings have dirty walls with chipped paint and rusty bars on the windows. This is what the baboon cages look liked.

Lastly, there was the hippo. He didn’t have much space, but I never really saw him move at all. He just kept his mouth open upward in the direction of any tourist, waiting for the biscuits the zoo sells for 100 yen to fall into his gaping mouth. 

Sometimes it's easy to forget that I live in a first world country. Alright, I've said my piece, moving on. So, after "the Hells" Winston's family, Winston and I went to dinner and then hopped a Taxi back into the mountains of Beppu. We attempted to watch the fireworks in Beppu bay, but we couldn't really see them. So, we proceeded to the "Mud Onsen" nearby to relax on Christmas Eve. 

waiting for our taxi in the taxi depot. From left to right, Winston's Aunt Patty, his cousin's girlfriend Katie, Winston, and myself. 

this is the blurriest picture there ever was, but there were indeed Christmas fireworks. 

we tried to make mud sculptures at the onsen, but most of them didn't last long. 

Onsen aren't exactly the best place to take pictures, but from left to right, Winston's cousin Becca, Winston (with a lot of mud on his face) myself, and Winston's cousin Salem with a lot of mud in his hand. 

Christmas morning Winston's family set off to explore other parts of Japan, and Winston and I set off for a Christmas adventure. 

We waited for a bus to downtown Oita City. When Winston kisses my nose the butterflies that live in my stomach do summersalts. 

We had Pizza and ice cream at a cute little cafe. 

Yay for Soy Hot Chocolate!

Winston and I found this gentleman dresses as a reindeer outside of Starbucks. 

At last we made it back home at sat under my tiny Christmas tree. 

And that ladies and gentleman is my Holiday season in a rather large nutshell. Happy holidays! TTFN, tata for now!