How to get a Japanese man?

The Japan Times published an article a couple of days ago..."What's a (Western) woman to do?"

Tips on how to pick up the Japanese man of your dreams...

"men need to think about what they will say and how to move the conversation in the direction they want. If the woman talks constantly they may feel overwhelmed."

"act drunk--you don't actually have to get intoxicated though--so the man has to take care of her."

"cooing and clapping your hands like a child...recognising his accomplishments is a good way to show interest in him."

"getting drunk is important. Drink will loosen him up and he will have more courage to express his feelings and touch you"

"Don't kiss on the first date. If you kiss too soon he will lose resect for you."

I'm shocked ...who would bother?

The season for climbing

After what seems like an eternity of sweltering in Japan's humid and hot Summer things are finally starting to cool down. The wet season has come and gone and the typhoons are starting to subside as well. While it has been awfully hot the upside of Summer is that there are loads of festivals.

We are located on the edge of Lake Biwa (the largest lake in Japan), and every weekend for about a month each town along the lakes shores celebrates Summer by letting off spectacular firework displays. We joined the crowds for one of the largest firework festivals in Japan with 20,000 fireworks let off in the space of two hours and drummers beating along to the excitement of the crowd. The night sky was set ablaze with the most incredible fireworks I've ever seen.

O-bon, the Festival of the Dead has just finished which celebrates the Buddhist tradition of inviting dead ancestors back to earth to visit with relatives. Festivals are held everywhere, where thousands of candles and lanterns are lit and set upon open fields, around temples and floated down rivers, lakes and ponds to welcome their return. On the final day of the Festival bonfire festivals are held where bonfires are lit on the mountain sides in the shape of Kanji characters to guide the spirits back to the other world. We went to Nara, which was Japan's first capital city and is full of World Heritage temples and buildings and is wonderfully scenic for Obon and wandered around the sites during the day, then sat among the candlelit fields during the evening and listened to traditional Japanese music and watched the bonfire festival. Despite the crowds it was very serene and beautiful.

As well as loads of festivals, Summer is the season for climbing. This is the time of year that the Japanese kit up and head off on pilgrimages up the mountain sides and we have decided to follow the trend and tackle Mt.Fuji. We are heading off on the 29th for two days to climb overnight and then watch the sunrise from the peak, before heading back down again to relax in the Onsen (hotsprings) dotted along it's base. I'm starting to cold feet at the thought of the altitude with no Coca leaves (Machu Pichu, Peru) as back up and I keep having visions of the lava and rocks tumbling down the sides of Volcan Arenal in Costa Rica, as in our guide book one of the rules is no throwing rocks so as not to cause landslides, also to wear protective footwear from the lava. The other side of me is excited and chomping at the bit to get going. Chris is heading up Mt. Ibuki this weekend also, which is the highest mountain in Shiga so we'll keep this updated on how our climbing season eventuates.