This won't really be much of a post, but a chance to go ahead and post some pictures from our Halloween party (I'm not quite a month late with these!). We actually had the party a few days after Halloween, due to some of the students having exams at the end of the month. Apparently they don't have Halloween in Australia, which made them extra-excited.

The beginning of the party was at least an hour of frenzied picture-taking, which was a little difficult considering how many people were there, trying to duck in and out of the pictures. I'm not sure whether or not they celebrate Halloween in China, but the Chinese girls weren't dressed up, and were pretty enthusiastic about taking photos of themselves with the costumed among us, as if we were the guy dressed up as Mickey at Disney Land. Sweet, but a little strange.

I apologize for the red--I'm not sure if I need to change a setting on my camera or what, but almost everyone here looks slightly possessed. Here are some of the costume highlights, although there were more people dressed up than I captured.

She (American) is dressed as an "angel of death," I believe--you can't see them very well here, but she has on black wings over her black kimono (which she bought at a flea market here in Nagoya).
He (British) is dressed as someone from "Buffy," that he even bleached his black hair for, and she (American) might also be from "Buffy," or just something gothic, I'm not entirely sure.
The first of these two (both Australian) is in full baseball gear, as real-life Nagoya player, Fukudome. The second is some sort of a clash-monster, I guess.
She (Australian)is wearing a kimono, but is also made over to look dead, although maybe that didn't show up in the picture (the black hair is a wig).
He (French-Canadian) is some sort of a magical elf, I assume. He had the costume shipped to him from home.
Don't worry, she (Australian) isn't really a schoolgirl. Oh, and he (Korean) isn't actually Michael Jackson, either.
I have several pictures of this t-shirt ninja (named for the origin of the mask), but this is my favorite, because it looks like she (British) is about to wallop the camera-woman in the face.
She (American) loves koalas. Koala-related goods are apparently abundant here, due to the proximity to Australia, and I hear her room is chock-full.
This one is subtle. You see, he's actually an American.

I thought he (British) was a well-dressed Borg, but apparently he's just a random robot, made up completely of lens caps and spare wires that were sitting around in his room.
I'm not sure if he (Belgian) is just a zombie or what, but he had blue hair and a sort of blank-faced mask that went on his face that looked really, really creepy. Even his feet and hands were painted, by the way.
The Sailor Scouts were the stars of the show--they showed up fashionably late, and it was like celebrities hitting the red carpet while everyone tried to grab their picture.
And a bunny. BTW, we tend to hit a peace sign because It's What You Do in Japan.

posted by No_Fluff_Reviewer @ 1:50 AM

After I had taken a look around Sakae, I realized Nagoya Castle, Nagoya's most famous landmark, wasn't very far away, so went ahead and visited. Why not get two of the city's biggest tourist attractions done with in an afternoon? More pictures at the botttom of the post.

I'll try to be brief with the following history lesson... Nagoya Castle was built by an important military figure in Japanese history, Ieyasu Tokugawa, in 1612. After World War II, a lot of the site had to be rebuilt, due to fire damage. Today the castle and three smaller towers are part of a large park-like section of downtown Nagoya (it even gets its own lake!), a pretty dramatic contrast to the office buildings nearby. Nagoya Castle is also well-known for the golden dolphins on the roof. Although, after looking at a version on display, shown here, they look way scarier than my usual mental image of dolphins.

Inside the castle are a lot of displays of life in Japan during the Tokugawa Period. I only managed take a few pictures before I saw the "no photos" signs, so I'm afraid I don't have any good examples. At any rate, it was all very educational, so I remember very little and didn't find it too interesting at the time.

The top floor of the castle is an observation platform, where you can see some pretty great views of the city. So many tall buildings! The pictures I got don't really do it justice, but here are a couple anyway.


I stopped at the giftshop after exiting the castle (of course there's a gift shop--and one in the observation platform as well), but managed to resist most of the Nagoya Castle keychains and other random bits of souvenier junk, including several magnets featuring Hello Kitty posing by the Castle, and Astro Boy riding a golden dolphin. Outside, however, I did meet a group of Japanese elementary students who were very excited to practice saying "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?" in English, and I had to shake hands and say "Pleased to meet you," to at least a dozen of them. All in a day's work for a Westerner in Japan.

This is one of the smaller towers that surround the castle.


Gratuitous shots of the castle again. From up close and from the entrance.


The castle and east tower on approach.


One more of the castle.

posted by No_Fluff_Reviewer @ 8:27 PM