Here, in Japan, it would seem office workers become quite serious about bowling. This week I was invited to participate in a teaching staff bowling event. I thought, ‘how cool! This will be a great opportunity to meet the staff in a more relaxed environment’. Boy, was I wrong!
As I arrived, I suddenly realized a line of prizes along the wall and a list of teams. The organizer had failed to mention the stakes of winning! For those who do not know me well, I am a terrible bowler. When I mean terrible, I mean I never bowl without the bumpers due to the large amount of gutter balls I score!
Nevertheless, I tried my best! I felt very sorry for my two team mates who had to watch on as I achieved very few pins with each bowl. Then something amazing happened… I bowled a strike! I have never seen the staff so excited! Everyone was lining up to give me high-fives! What a moment!!
I somehow managed to improve as the round continued, and our team was actually announced as runners-up! Good thing I was with some expert team members to help boost my score, haha!!
One of the best parts of this event, was there were no other English speaking teachers present. We spoke in total Japanese – what practice! I even felt I could communicate almost effectively ;)
On another aspect, as my friend is still here on her holiday, we decided to be extreme tourists this weekend, by playing dress-ups! Saturday, we visited Kurashiki and tried out wearing kimonos and zori (sandals) around the Bikan Historical area. It took nearly an hour to be fully dressed, including a full kimono and hair style. I never realized how many under-layers were needed for a kimono. I truly felt it was locking me into place, as well as all the sweat!
Being in Japan as a foreigner – and a blonde foreigner at that – you receive quite a few stares from the locals. Well, you can imagine the looks we received being two gaijin (foreigners) wearing kimonos around Kurashiki! We certainly felt like mini-celebrities, being stopped every 20 metres to be asked for a photo. My poor friend’s cheeks were sore by the end of the venture!
After a great few hours playing geishas, we moved to some awesome karaoke! For those unaware, karaoke is HUGE in Japan! You can rent a small booth for a selected time limit, order drinks, food and sing to your heart’s content!! 2 hours almost didn’t seem long enough for my friend and I! We certainly hope none of the locals could listen-in on our tone-deaf singing.
Sunday saw us venture to Himeji, where we dressed and trained as ninjas. Yes, that’s right, ninjas!
What an experience!! Playing with swords and ninja stars made the session very authentic. Although, I don’t think they’d like me as a real ninja. My throwing skills definitely need some practice!
While in our outfits, we also had a tour of the zoo. I’m sure all the animals looked at the two of us and thought ‘stupid gaijin’. But we felt cool ;)
After our ninja training, we took a quick tour of the grounds surrounding Himeji Castle. Unfortunately, the main tower is still closed for reconstruction, but we did get to roam the ever-so-long corridor. Kind of wish I got to wear our ninja suits as we did ;)
And after a huge weekend, it’s back to reality at work today. However, I’ve managed to score a day off tomorrow and will be heading to Universal Studios to see Harry Potter!! *Girlish screams of excitement* Until next time!
