w00kie’s ramblings

This morning, after almost 2 weeks of negociations between HR, my boss and I, I signed my employment contract at Valeo Thermal Systems Japan.

I'm hired for 3 years in a position slightly higher than I had before. I'm staying on the same project and on the same team but I'll drop all the basely technical stuff and focus entirely on functional definitions and architecture of the application we manage.

It's a big relief for me as I will not have that pending visa expiration constantly nagging me and I can start thinking of my longterm life here in Japan.

It also means I'm gonna start paying taxes... It sucks... I guess the universe has to balance itself, to each action a reaction.

Here's this month's Japanese TV comedy craze. I see him on TV almost every night.

I have to admit it, I laughed my ass off the first time.

Shamelessly stolen from Japanprobe, I present you the latest hit on Japanese television, the commercials for the DVD release of 24 Season 6.

It's stuck in my head since last weekend, I love it! Check out the Japanprobe link for a translation of the lyrics.

Last weekend I went to 熊谷, the bigger town close to where I live, to watch the city's 花火大会 from my friend's roof.

Firework shows in Japan last very very long compared to anything I knew in France, over 2 hours. That's because in between every 2 minutes sets they make a 3 minutes break. Why, you ask? My theory is that it's all to encourage consumerism, so that you have time to get up and go buy a beer or some たこ焼き from the closest 屋台... What do you think?

On my way to Hiroshima, I flew on one of ANA's Pokemon colored 747.

I didn't get any toys though, I guess they don't give them out to bearded gaijins...

Simply beautiful... The weather was incredible, even with +50 SPF sun cream carefully spead by my girlfriend all over my body, I managed to catch a few sunburns. The beach was very quiet, just a couple dozen people enjoying the sea. For a comparison, I would say the place looks like a beach on the Mediterranean sea, but with pristine water. More photos on my flickr page.

Our hotel was once more almost perfect, a great find from my girlfriend. The room was a mix of modern and traditional designs, and the bath on the balcony was overviewing the forest. The only downside was that the futons were a little thin. This ryokan also gets my seal of approval and I encourage any of you to stay there if you're ever in the neighborhood: 樋口旅館 in 有福温泉.

Next trip of the summer will be 2 days in the Shimane prefecture, enjoying the beach on the Sea of Japan and a nice ryokan in an onsen town. Once again, the schedule will be very tight: I'll leave Tokyo Monday evening, meet my girlfriend as she leaves from work and spend the night in Hiroshima. Then we'll take a 2 hour bus ride on Tuesday morning through the 中国山地 to the other side of the island on the 日本海.

There we'll enjoy a nice day at the beach. My girlfriend has been there a couple of times and assures me the beaches are beautiful. Since 島根県 is the second least populated prefecture of Japan, I hope overcrowding will not be a problem.

We'll then spend a night in a very nice ryokan, once again with a 露天風呂 in the room before heading back to Hiroshima where I'll take the plane back to Tokyo and my dull job...