Monday, April 10, 2006

Back From the Front


Well, alas, Spring Break is over and my two weeks with nary a day at school have come to an end. Hopefully the many avid readers of the Full Court Press haven't missed us too much.

I took a day during Spring Break and traveled to Iya Valley with Tashi and his visiting sister. We took in the Kazurabashi vine bridge and the nearby waterfall. After, thanks to bad some directional skills, we ended up finding the fabled Heaven and Hell Shrine. We drove through a tunnel which we thought was part of the mountain road the leads out of Iya Valley, but which was actually part of the shrine and reached a dead end on the other side. The main central tunnel we drove through takes you to a parking area. Inside the tunnel, there are two paths that lead into the mountain; one goes to "Heaven," and the other leads to "Hell." Creepy caverns and devil statues eating children decorate the "Hell" side while a golden Buddha and a penis shrine complete with anatomically correct mannequins getting it on (no joke!) make up the "Heaven" side. It is easily the most strange place I have been to in Japan.

Aside from that, I had the fun Wrestlemania party over at mine last Friday. That was good times, although I had to ixnay the 'wrestling in the apartment' after the beers were drunk.

Also I was at Ingrid's annual Hanami party yesterday with all the other foreigners, it seemed. The weather was nice and the vibe was cool, but as I was driving and still hungover from the night before, it wasn't a good as it could have been.

And so there it is, a fairly quiet but still eventful Spring Break had by us here at the Full Court Press. I'm off to Canada next week, so stayed tuned for updates on that one.

Later.

BJ










"Penis Envy"