Fun in Fujiyoshida

Disclaimer: Not all of the aforementioned fun was had in Fujiyoshida, some fun was had in Otsuki. Now that we have addressed the elephant in the room. I am going to share my quick trip to Fujiyoshida this last weekend. We had a big get-together in Otsuki with a bunch of the ALTs in the prefecture. 

 Quite a sight...this is the town of Tsuru as seen at 60mph. I told my sister that I would take pictures if I could of the city she was in when she lived in Japan...I tried. 

 Look familiar?

 How about this? I will take a better trip to Tsuru sometime and take real pictures. 

 Approaching Mt. Fuji

 We had the party in a big room at some restaurant in Otsuki (which is a place you should have no reference for other than that is where the Pub Quiz took place).

 Clearly, people are enjoying themselves.

 The party was 'nomihodai' which basically means all-you-can-drink. Paired with Karaoke, it set the foundation for an exciting night. 

 Only the classiest of foods for the partying foreigners...cheese doodles and potato logs. I did make frysauce, which no one else really understood. Heathens. 

 Also, pasta! You can see the bottle of beer in the picture, I myself drank nearly 2 full liters of Coke...I know...crazy. 

 People just meandered around chatting and getting progressively less understandable. 

They served okonomiyaki, which you may remember is like a Japanese waffle pancake with fish flakes on top. It was not delicious.  

 I am wearing a hat that makes it look like I have traditional Kimono-style fancy geisha hair. Standing next to me is Erik who lives about 200 yards from where I teach. He is featured heavily in the following videos. 

For some reason, this strikes me as so stereotypical of an all-you-can-drink party. I think they were trying to be the Rockettes.

Once the Karaoke had begun.

A good time is being had by all, but a REALLY good time is being had by some. The girl at the end is my Irish friend Karen.

Erik again. Japanese people consider it rude to eat, drink, talk on a cell phone or be otherwise disruptive on a train. Naturally, a bunch of inebriated Gaijin breaks all of those rules. Erik is wearing the fancy hair hat, and has a toy gun he was pointing around. You may ask yourself, what was the topic of conversation? Oddly, it was a tirade by the only British member of our group directed at Egyptology. Evidently they fail to recognize the conquering of the Romans and the impact it had civilization-ally...blah blah blah. 

Japan had a full lunar eclipse right as we were coming out of the first party. It was really cool to see...as I point the camera skyward, you can see a little bit of light that represents the lunar eclipse. Naturally, I had more than a few people singing the popular tune by Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I must say this about the eclipse, it was far better to watch than any stereotypical, pseudo-abusive movie saga about vampires.

 After we regrouped in Fujiyoshida (where we were staying the night) and getting some McDonalds for fuel, we went to the Big Box Karaoke to lay down some sweet tunes. We got there at about 1:15 and signed up for 2 hours of Karaoke. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake. You can see that we booked the party room. They understate the party. 

 I took this picture because I think it helps to describe how this place smelled. It smelled like a motel that you find on the side of the interstate. The kind where you ask for a no-smoking room, but it still smells like stale smoke. It also has a touch of sadness and neglect that made me immediately think of the motel chains in the U.S.

This video skips and lingers in the wrong places, but it was dark in there. Everyone started out very energetically, but more than half of them ended up passing out/sleeping through the best ballads. I sang some Queen, Billy Joel and Spice Girls. 

 After going to bed at 3:45 and waking up at 7:30, I snapped this picture from my friends apartment. You can see Fuji-Q Highlands in the distance up against the mountains. We drove by it on the way in and on the way out. It looks like the most fun place in the world. Hands down. They have a bunch of world record breaking rides, but the wait during the summer can be up to 4 hours for each one. I am putting my ear to the ground to find out when the best time is to visit. 

 This is not a picture of a post, look past it to the mountains and such, that is the point. 

 I just think this is the coolest thing ever. If you stand in the living room, this is your view. Such a cool mountain.

 I took two pictures, this one has 70% more angelic presence. 

 For lunch, we went to a burger place. I was skeptical, but evidently it is run by some Japanese people who spent a lot of time in Canada (this made me more skeptical). 

 Evidently there was a Japanese biker gang in the restaurant while we were there. It is hard to tell though because they look just like regular folk, 

 The thing that really struck me is how much the area around Fujiyoshida reminded me of Flagstaff, Arizona. It was all pine trees and fresh air. 

 The name of the burger place. 

 Coke in glass bottles, Diet Dr. Pepper in cans and A&W Root Beer. Unfortunately, they cost 350 yen, which is about $4.50. I had water...and an Oreo shake.  

 I figured that I would go big, or go home. I ordered the biggest burger that they had available. The deluxe had bacon, avocado, cheese and the rest of the burger fixings. This burger now holds the title for the messiest burger I have eaten. 

 SO good! Unfortunately, it cost the same as a nice steak in the U.S.

 A case of Americana. They had a CSI shot glass, I love NY mints, a few other shotglasses and a few baseballs with Yankee logos. 

 ...don't forget the presidential peppermints. Did anyone else know that they made these? Was his election that historic that we needed to remember it in mint form? Although, it is sitting 3 inches away from a pottery hamburger, so I guess that shows how important it is to these folks right?

As we were leaving, we saw a Bentley parked under a tree. Nothing like parking your $200,000 car in the pine needles.