No thank you

I recently asked my students to draw a picture of their favourite tourist attractions in Japan.

I can now safely say that I will never, ever visit Tokyo Disneyland.

(the scariest part is Donald Duck in the background, watching from afar...)

Hello 2011

Bye bye 2010. Here's the frankly terrifying December pic in my dogs-dressed-up-in-silly-oufits calendar. I need a new one of those.

Toilet paper tower

As you can see, my school takes toilet paper restocking very seriously indeed.

Cristal

My neighbours recently bought a bottle of Cristal. Because that's English-teachers-in-Japan life.

Kumamoto Castle

While in Kumamoto, we came across this adorable little fellow. And also Higomarukun, Kumamoto Castle's mascot.

Sekia Hills

And sticking with things that happened a million years ago, here is a pic from Kumamoto where I went for Halloween. We stayed at a hotel called Sekia Hills, which was apparently built by some sort of rich eccentric man who didn't realise that a hotel resort, complete with numerous high-end boutiques and artificial ski slope, probably wouldn't do great business in the middle of the countryside in southern Japan. The hotel is still open and parts of the shopping mall are available to rent (for such events as Halloween parties). This is a picture of the abandoned ski gondola system. Spooky...

Osaka Aquarium Halloween whale shark, y'all

Oh my, this is a bit old, but anyway... Here is a (plastic) whaleshark with a silly hat on - yus!