Kobe!

Kobe!
This is Kobe, Japan.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

25 March (26 in Japan) 2012

Week 90
Mission Log
 
It`s a beautiful sunny day here in Otsu.  The weather was actually pretty crazy for the past few days.  It would be really sunny one moment, but then rainy the next moment and get sunny again really soon.  It was back and forth between rain and sun for all of Thursday through Sunday, except Friday.  Friday was just straight rain.  In Japan, it always rains a lot at the change of each season.  The big rainy season is at the change from Spring to summer, but there is another smaller rainy season between Winter and Spring, Summer and Fall, and Fall and Winter.  Yesterday was pretty cold.  It even had some snow with the rain.  Today however, is looking like it will be very nice. 
 
Last Monday, we got my bike fixed in the late afternoon.  There are bike shops all over in Japan, but my companion and I both bought our bikes at a bike shop called Asahi, and we got insurance with it.  So, if we go to an Asahi, it is a lot cheaper to get it fixed and they always do a really good job.  Asahi is pretty much the biggest bike store chain in Japan.  Most stores around are just small self-owned businesses.  Asahi always has any parts you need and it`s very reliable.  The problem is that there isn`t an Asahi close to our apartment here.  There is one in Otsu City, but none in Kusatsu City.  We had to go all the way to Otsu to get my bike fixed.  On Tuesday, we had an appointment in the morning.  So, we were coming back for lunch after that, and my companion`s tire went flat.  We thought it was just a normal puncture in the tube and we were pretty close to the apartment, so we just walked it back.  After lunch, we picked up a puncture repair kit from the dollar store and began trying to fix his tube.  Neither of us were very good at fixing punctures, so we were having some problems and it was taking a while.  Eventually, we got the puncture fixed and we started to get going.   We didn`t even get out of the parking lot before noticing that it wasn`t just a normal puncture in his tube, but there was a big slash in his tire.  We ended up having to walk back to Asahi and get his tire replaced as well.  It was a pretty interesting adventure. 
 
 
I heard from someone that there was another earthquake in Japan, but I haven`t heard anything about it since then.  We didn't feel anything down here.  I didn't feel anything when the big earthquake last year happened either, but I did feel some of the aftershocks.  Nothing super serious though.  This area of Japan has been pretty safe.  I hope that some exciting stuff happens in the upcoming rainy season and Typhoon season. Typhoon is actually a Japanese word that is pronounced the same way, except without the "n" on the end of it. 
 
On Thursday, I went to District Leader training in Kobe.  It was fun to see everyone else from around the mission, all the district leaders at least.  The training was also very good.  I also ate at a Burger place in Kobe that is known as the "Burger Pit".  It`s a tiny burger shop that is run by a Canadian who lives in Kobe.  The coolest thing about it is that the burgers are made with Kobe beef (the best meat in the world).  They were pretty good.  On Friday I went on a companion exchange in Joyo.  That`s an area that I went on exchanges on a year ago, so it was fun seeing it again.  Finally, Saturday was district meeting.  We normally have it on Fridays, but this week had to be a Saturday.  It went pretty well. 
 
I think that`s about all of the exciting stuff that we did this week.  It was a pretty fun week.


 
-Elder Swift

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