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Below are the pages you will find on the blog itself. Feel free to browse and comment as you feel.

• About – here you will find a brief introduction to the blog and it’s purpose.
• Blogs – a page dedicated to finding other blogs written by myself.
• Scenes We’d Like to See – I try to be an amateur photographer and here I have a slideshow of some of my better photos. I endeavour to keep this updated and it is done so on a regular basis.
• Private Tutoring – If you would like private tutoring, please click onto this page.
• Purchasing Photos – If you would like to purchase photos from me, please have a look at this page for more details.
• Photo Website - Have a wee look.

Student Dialogue

Once upon an English class amid plenty of earthquakes, third grade students were required to continue a script between a mother and a son. The script they already had was about a mother bringing cake to her son who is studying. Or so it seems, as in fact he was reading a comic book and tried to hide it upon his mother entering his crib. The script ends at a cliffhanger where the mother asks what it is he is hiding.

Two standout students gave the following examples as the perfect ending to this beautiful story.

Student 1.

Son: Shut up! Give me that cake!
Mother: Jump off a cliff.

Student 2.

Son: Shut up! Get out!
Mother: No, you get out of this house!

 

I think I have a wonderful influence on my students.

Frozen Sewage

This is the last photo I took this winter vacation. I think it sums it up pretty nicely. Simple, sunny and cold.

A Haunted Brothel

Though the summer blogs have not finished, let’s skip ahead to the present.

 

One of the first things I did this new year was to visit a brothel. Possibly a haunted one at that, since it has been abandoned for some time now. Though a little dangerous since areas have been burnt down and the only entrance was through a broken window, we made it in and out safe and sound.

The broken window around the back of the building led us into a room that was fully burnt down. You could see remains of people having lived there – I would figure the women who worked there. Bunk beds and a kitchen was barely made out in the charred mess that was left behind but you could tell what they were. A wall had partly fallen toward the beds but that was our only way through so we carefully slid through trying not to make the wall fall on us. This led us to a hallway.

The hallway made me feel like I was in a ghost movie, and a really high-budget one too. It was pitch black and the light from our torches could only go so far. It wasn’t too long however, and before we knew it we were in the main hall. Unfortunately none of the photos I took there did any justice to the hallway and so I deleted them all. It’s not like I could bring a tripod in either, as it would be too difficult to manoeuvre and I don’t own one.

The big hall was decorated with a chandelier and a wall painting of three naked women whom have been graffitied on. There was a bar and a great staircase leading the men upstairs to their women. A sign on the wall where the staircase read: 上に行ったら死ぬ “If you go upstairs, you will die.” We ignored this and went upstairs.

Each of the floors had the same layout: three rooms that each included a bed and a grand bathing area. This is where I found the name of the place: Queen Chåteau. We kept going up and eventually made it to the roof.

From here, there were great views of Mito, and a lot of rusty water tanks and the machine that takes the lift up and down the building. Here, I also witnessed the largest wasp nest in my entire life, and thankfully it was dormant. There was a ladder built into the wall leading to the very top part of the roof and some convincing from my counterpart, I eventually made it to the top. Here, I took some final photos and made my way back down.

Quite an interesting day I hope you will agree, and somewhat different in comparison to your usual holiday activities. Others of this type from last year included Greenland (an abandoned theme park in Fukushima) and Niigata Russian Village. Best to do this in pitch black with a torch too. Adds to the experience.

 

I’m Old.

Start of a new year. 2012. Sitting in my apartment located in the middle of nowhere. Well, the middle of Japan but it feels like nowhere. I had a really good start to the new year. It started about 8pm on the final day of last year, in an izakaya. Karaoke followed which then led us to a shrine for midnight. A very relaxed and slightly tipsy start. I threw in a coin and made a wish.

Another year has passed me by. I know I have achieved well in 2011, but perhaps not much. I finally made it to Japan and am working. I have a nice apartment and made it to a six-figure salary (though ideally this would be in pounds and doesn’t quite translate).

I know I’m not old. I’m only 22. I feel old though, as if I should be further in life right now. A bizarre feeling when I put everything into perspective. I’m not entirely sure whether to slow down or speed up. I feel it should be the latter.

I think I need to be busier. I miss it. Sounds rather strange but it is quite difficult to be busy when you have time. OK, that sounds obvious but the motivation is lacking. Various different projects and studying Japanese should be occurring now as it is the ample time for this to take shape. What has actually become of me? A sluggish, tired and time-wasting personality has taken over and though I try to think of a way out, the exit is hard to find.

Maybe the answer is to leave the countryside. I am a city boy and always have been. Thank goodness University societies and other activities kept me busy otherwise I would have been in the same boat as I am in today. York was the most country-esque place I have ever lived in. Until I came here of course. I love change, but this is hard. A concrete jungle to acres of rice fields is not an easy transition.

Perhaps I miss company. People my age in this neighbourhood are hard to come by. Especially when I am still at an age of a University student here. I miss University. Busy and fun. Everyone around here thinks I am much older, at least 26… even pushing 30. Maybe this adds to the ageing feeling.

When I came here, I may have become relaxed on a New Year’s Resolution I made back a few years ago and have kept so truthfully. I have made and kept many but this one particular resolution is one I am sure everyone makes but struggles to keep. I am fortunate to have kept it but unfortunate to have lost it. It is to take everyday as it comes, try to achieve something whether it is something big or small every single day.

I am going to try and use Twitter this year to once again, make this come true. If you want to see if it is working, have a look at @robertkodama

A short trip to Pusan

4 months since I was there, here I am sitting in my apartment attempting to finish writing about my summer in hope of moving onto to more recent topics. But first thing first, this should be covered, chronologically.

From Nagasaki, we headed back to Hakata port to board a speedy boat to South Korea. An iPod in my ear and a snooze later (or rather, 2 and a half hours later) we had arrived in the port of Pusan. A bizarre moment was once we arrived did we go through any security. Nothing was on the Japanese side. As if we would try to do something to the boat once we had arrived?

A friend met us there and showed us around for a few days. This was lucky since neither of us spoke a word of Korean. To be honest, there’s not much to say about Pusan. It is quite different to Japan and there are a lot of attractive people there too. The food is spectacular, especially the Korean BBQ! Very cheap, and many side dishes, truly wonderful. I did make a friend there too who though French, lives in Tokyo so that worked out splendidly. Everything in Korea is possibly half the price of anything in Japan or the UK. In fact, going to Korea saved me money over the week I was there. Some things smelt bad though. In a thriving city, there does not seem to be an adequate sewage system. In most city centres, you can smell it wherever you walked. Combine this with the smells of cooked woodworms in generous helpings sold on the street, indoors was my preferable place to be.

I also visited the Korean war memorial park. This was nice and gave tribute to all the soldiers from around the world who fought and lost their lives in the war. A very calm place to walk around and get out of the busy city life. That’s pretty much it!

All in the act of nature

The act of nature the human body expresses which are prohibited by social norms can have health risks. Or so I speculate.

I saw this BBC article today which explains that instead of fighting against nature, you can work with nature to gain what you want in life. For example, this article explains that instead of fighting against elephants that come near your village which may result in unfavourable circumstances, you can use a fence of beehives to keep them away as the elephants are afraid of them.

Then I thought of my own behaviour and accepted them.

This is one of many similar stories but a perfect example which highlights my point. I was on a train in Tokyo with a friend. I had a sudden urge to sneeze and in order to do so, I faced down and placed my hand from the bridge of my nose parallel to the ground. This meant I did not cover my mouth and proceeded to sneeze in this manner. When I returned my head to the normal position, my friend was actually disgusted with me and said I had incredibly bad manners. One should cover the nose and mouth when sneezing in such explosive expulsions. According to her.

This is the problem I have with such socially acceptable suggestions. Facing down firstly projects all of those vile germs towards the ground. A hand parallel from the bridge of the nose ensures that they will not be projected up to the heights of people’s faces. This to me is a relatively clean manner which prevents other people catching any disease that lie in my body. It also means that they are not smeared onto objects other people touch i.e. unlikely to be transferred to other people. Unless of course there are people who like licking the soles of people’s shoes or ties shoelaces with their mouths. Which I think are next to none.

What happens when you sneeze into your hand? For starters, your hand becomes a hotspot of everything that came out of your body. Secondly, you will smear it on something whether it be on the side of your jeans or a handrail on the train. The likelihood is you’ll forget about it and eventually smear it on something public which then becomes transferable to whoever touches that public something. That person may buy something to eat and use his or her hands to eat it. Thinking of common daily lifestyles, one does not wash their own hands enough. It is not only hideously disgusting for you, but for others too and to me that is bad manners.

Sneezing, coughing, vomiting, defecating, farting and other natural disapproving behaviours are there for a reason. To get whatever is bad for you out of the body thus making you a healthier person.

Sneeze – an involuntary expulsion of air due to the irritation of the nostrils

Cough – a condition of the respiratory organs causing coughing

Vomit - matter vomited from the stomach

Defecate - discharge faeces from the body

Fart - an emission of wind from the anus

None of the above sounds particularly appetising and are due to something negative within the body and the act of doing anything of the above is to get it out for your own benefit. This includes burps, diarrhoea, runny noses etc. etc.

Don’t be socially accepted when it comes to this. Get it out for your own benefit. If you worry about others, think of ways that can benefit both parties.

A Cultural Port

The next stop was Nagasaki. I’ve been here once before but wanted to visit again. We visited the place the bomb fell in Nagasaki too and visited the origin of Madame Butterfly – The Glover House.

A walk around the house slightly reminded me of England again. The owner of the house built this house in resemblance to what he had back in Britain and so many familiar things were dotted around, despite their age. I walked into one room and God Save the Queen could be played via one touch of a button so I couldn’t resist. Sounded rather odd mind…

It was nice to see a part of the original score from the opera and a wig that was used in a production. Though I may have never been in the opera itself, it took me back to the days when I was in M. Butterfly – a play which uses the opera as part of its narrative.

Getting hungry, the manager of the hostel we were staying at recommended going to Chinatown as Nagasaki had a long history of Chinese immigrants. Here, you can eat Nagasaki champon, a local favourite and excited, we  headed over there for a huge portion.

The night ended with a trip to the wharf. It was nice and cosy but we just sat around not doing much. We had to get up early the following morning to head to a different part of Kyushu. All in all, a relaxing and enjoyable stay in Nagasaki. Again.