japan has treated me very well. it makes me sad to think about how quickly my time here is disappearing, but at the same time, im getting pretty stoked about going back to boston and starting up where i left off. im excited to get back into some of the hobbies/interests i had to put on hold here in japan.

im looking forward to getting back into music. i havent been able to play guitar in my tokyo apartment because of the ultra-thin walls and ceilings between me and my neighbors. i seriously cant wait to start playing again! i want to get back into writing and recording music - and this time im serious about wanting to try performing in front of real, live people too.

call me an alcoholic if you must, but im also pretty excited to be moving to a country where non-crappy beer can be found in abundance. oh how i miss those precious porters, stouts, wheat beers, and any other type of beer that isnt made from rice. id even like to learn how to make some of those delicious beasts on my own too.

im looking forward to having the chance to do more outdoor activities as well. bike riding, kayaking, sailing, hiking, and snowboarding are all definitely possible to do in japan, of course, but not with the crazy salaryman hours ive been putting in here in tokyo.

im trying my hardest to get back into the start up scene as well. i want that excitement again. almost everyone ive worked with in start ups - or small companies that act like start ups - was so in to their jobs and felt appreciated by their coworkers. ive been skyping with a couple start ups already, and i hope to talk to more when i get back to the states.

in conclusion, even though japan is awesome and im going to miss it and the people ive met here like crazy, im stoked to be going back to the states.

my japan adventures are quickly coming to an end. i finally quit my job. fuck the salaryman life (サラリーマンの生活は残念だよ). im giving myself "two and a half" (a nickname from lives past) weeks to say goodbye to as many of the awesome people ive met in the last year and a half, and to visit as many of my favorite places i can one last time.

__kushimoto's fire festival (串本の火祭り)__
last weekend i traveled down to the southernmost tip of honshu (本州) to visit some good friends in mie-ken (三重県) and wakayama-ken (和歌山県). we all met up in kushimoto (串本) to check out the annual fire festival (火祭り). most of us had already seen the festival the year before, but its just so darned cool we had to see it again. after a bunch of dancing and some taiko drumming, kids lined up on top of a hill and shot flaming arrows into a grassy field. it felt like most of the town was there with us to watch the field burn. after a while, the firemen even help SPREAD the fire. and when i asked one of them politely, they even let me spread the fire around with a flaming ball of something very burnable. fire can be a lot of fun sometimes. just like last year, we brought sticks and marshmallows and roasted them on the [gigantic] open fire.

ready.. aim..

..fire!!

the field didnt even know what it had coming

throw in some fireworks for good measure

the field never stood a chance

__kiikatsura's camel onsen (紀伊勝浦のらくだの湯)__
the next day some of us went to kiikatsura (紀伊勝浦) for some relaxing in an outdoor onsen, or rotemburo (露天風呂). the onsen we wanted to check out, rakada-no-yu (らくだの湯) - literally "the camel spa" - was only accessible by boat so we had to wait at the harbor to get picked up. when we finally arrived, it quickly became apparent why it was called the camel spa (check out that picture below). we soaked in the natural, beautiful, extremely sulfur-smelling, onsen and gazed at the giant camel rocks chilling just a few feet away.

rakuda no yu (らくだの湯) - literally "the camel spa"

just chillin

__shingu's floating forest and mcdonald's "las vegas burger"__
on the last day, we visited a floating forest in the middle of a swamp called ukishima no mori (浮島の森) in shingu (新宮), and a nearby shrine.

during our last meal, i had the pleasure of watching a friend enjoy a "las vegas burger," which is the special that mcdonalds is running right now in japan. please note: there is nothing vegasy about this burger except, as my friend described, the regret that may come after experiencing it.

mcdonalds "las vegas burger"

does it taste as gross as it looks?

answer: yes

it was hard to leave such good friends and such beautiful scenery, but my first weekend of goodbyes had to eventually come to an end. ill miss you guys.