Himeji Back to School Beer Garden

On our way back home from Okayama I stopped off at Himeji and headed to the Hyogo AJET Back to School Beer Garden.

Even though I was tired, unshowered and looking like a hiker backpacker, I decided to go to catch up with people I haven't seen in ages. It was so good to see familiar faces and find out how they had spent their Summer holidays. I didn’t take many photos because batteries were dying.

I met a few new 1st years but there were so many new faces and I still hadn't seen all the recontracting 2nd years. Apparently they sent about 29 new JETs from Perth this take and 23 of them ended up in Hyogo. I know that there is a sister-state relationship but geez, you'd think they'd spread us out a bit more. But I am looking forward to meeting them and discovering the 1 degree of separation between us just as last year's lot did.

Yukata-clad Lisa & me

Zack the monkey (again) scoring my 2nd year Himeji banana

With the stunning Yukata-clad NZ girls (Shelley, Lisa & Katie)

On the topic of new JETs, I finally met Claire's successor on Sunday night with Cheryl. I'd already seen her a few times on her bike as I bus-ed it to school in the mornings. Krystal is over here with her boyfriend, Jon and they're from San Francisco. They're really nice and lovely people and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

We went to the 100 yen kaiten sushi place near the ocean. It was my first time there and it rocked! I was so excited because they have touch screens at each booth where you can order what you want and as it comes around the conveyor belt, it starts beeping when it gets to your table. They had a huge selection and they even had desserts making the rounds. AND after you finish, you dispose of your plates in this slot which calculates how much you've had and for every 5 plates, you get a chance to win a toy thing. Super exciting stuff!

Touchscreen baby!