Twelve Montano

Another weekend has come and gone as has another adventure. Friday night I cannot remember what we did, only that Cristina was deathly ill and very naggy (just kidding). Saturday brought us some great weather so Cristina and I had decided to do something outdoorsy. At first we were going to go to the Rose park in Kanoya again. Then, we were going to visit the Uchinoura rivers and beaches. Finally, we had decided on going to visit Cape Sata, the Southernmost point of mainland Japan that happens to be a couple hours drive South of us. The drive was absolutely beautiful (like usual). We ran into this center or museum-type place that had several larger than life Buddha, one which was over 33 meters long lying down on top of a building. We also saw three monkeys. Before I could point them out to Cristina, one was beside the car door. The other two were a baby on top of its mother’s back. We continued down and finally made it to the Southern tip. I cannot say that I was that impressed with the hike or the park. However, it was a nice way to spend the day nonetheless. On our way back, we passed a breathtaking sunset over Kinko Bay next to Kaimon-dake (the “Mt. Fuji of Satsuma peninsula”). After taking some pictures of the sunset, I took what I thought was the right road that ended up being an hour detour back to where we were 15 minutes before stopping to see the sunset. Cristina and I were so delusional because of how dark and absolutely lost we were in these mountain roads that we began discussing the possibility of naming our children after numbers. We decided we like the names Twelve (for a boy) and Nine or Eleven (for a girl).

After we finally made it home, it was time to pack up and head to Osaki for Tomo-chan’s Christmas party. He was making Sukiyake which basically entails the cooking of vegetables with beef, thin noodles, soy sauce and water on a frying pan at your table. It was so much fun. There were lots of us and with Tomo-chan there, it promises to be an interesting conversation. I really like hanging out with Tomo-chan. I am looking forward to asking him after we come back from winter holiday if he can take me fishing in Uchinoura some time.

After sukiyaki and lots of beer, we went to Tomo-chan’s friend’s karaoke bar. It just so happens that this bar is a private, small karaoke bar that I guess they open for private parties or only on certain nights of the week. I was impressed by how posh the place looked. Most if not all the seats were covered in red velvet and the rest of the bar was black. Our bar hostess was also very funny. I never heard her speak, but she joined us for some pictures and was extremely funny to watch. This poor newlywed couple also joined us after Laura shoveled them in after they opened the door to see what was going on. They seemed a bit frightened by all the foreigners, but quickly warmed up to us and sang a few songs.

Sunday, we were all extremely hung over. It seemed the only thing that could satisfy our appetites was some greasy burger from McDonald’s. So, after dillydallying around for a couple hours in Laura’s house, we finally mustered the strength to get into the car and head over to Kanoya for a very satisfying Big Mac, large fries and medium Coke.

This brings me to this week when Cristina and I are preparing to leave to Chino-European adventure. Admittedly, it is probably not as exciting as the true eco-adventure Alex and Kaz are having in New Zealand, but we are excited to return to Italy, welcome the New Year in Vienna and explore for the first time Hong Kong.