Rokku Bando

Well I'm back from Hawaii, and I'm already missing the 'winter' they have there. Its gray and chilly here in Denver!

While eating a Malo Malo ice cream treat at a Max's of Manila restaurant on Oahu I got a call from Interac with my placement. Come late March I'll be headed to the city of Bando, in Ibaraki Prefecture. Ibaraki is a bit north of Tokyo, so it's an area that I haven't really explored at all. Bando itself is a tiny, rural town of about 57,000 people, weighing in at about a third of the population density of Denver. Forget the suburbs, this is the boondocks! Luckily, these boondocks (inaka in Japanese) are 45 minutes from central Tokyo, so I don't have to worry about being too far from the city.

As always in Japan, there is a Lot to do within a few hours of Bando city, so I'm not too worried about being board. The position comes with a car, and while I was initially reluctant, I can see a real bright spot as well. I can pick up visitors at Narita Airport.. in my car. I can drive to Fuji, Nikko and other places that are a bit hard to get around on foot.

All in all, I'm excited about this. At times I'm worried about going back and teaching English again. I feel like I've been there, and done that, but there is always something else to experience and something new to learn. It will also be great to be earning a salary again. Though I suppose I will have to rename my blog again. Bando Tales sounds kind of strange though. Any suggestions?