Author Archives: Craig "hachiroku" Mercer

Kishiwada Danjiri Trials 2005

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Kana’s hometown of Kishiwada is famous all over Japan for their annual Danjiri Matsuri (Mobile Float/Shrine Festival). You can learn more about the historic roots of this wacky festival at the Kishiwada City homepage here.

There is always a Trial Day prior to the actual Matsuri, and we were able to go and enjoy the trial (training) pulls last weekend. I put a short video together that might give you an idea of what the Danjiri festival is like.

Everyone in the community (young and old) gets involved in this event. Our good friend Yai-Chan (of Making of the Mochi fame) was picked for traffic control and you can see him in the video making sure people stay out of the Danjiri’s way. Read more…

KaToRiShiA Burger Bash at Namba Parks

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Namba ParksLast Sunday, Kana and I got together with her best friends for a burger. There was Tomo, her husband Koichi and their baby Yusuke. Rie was there, a bit tired from work being so busy. Junya and Ai were also there which was great because they became engaged to be married on August 24th (Ai’s birthday) and it was our first chance to celebrate with them…WAY TO GO GUYS!

We went to a restaurant at Namba Parks (a big shopping centre in Osaka) called Kua ‘Aina (http://www.kua-aina.com/) which is a franchise of the really famous burger joint on the far side of Oahu, Hawaii.

The burgers were huge. Kana and I opted for the Bacon, Lettuce Tomato Sandwiches and they were awesome. Everyone else went for one of the burgers that came with a whole avocado on them. YIKES!

We had a great time eating and shopping in Namba Parks. If you ever get a chance to go to Namba Parks you will not be dissapointed. It is very open and airy with lots of plants and of course excellent stores.

Kua Aina at Namba Parks

Kua Aina at Namba Parks

 

KaToRiShiA at Kua Aina

KaToRiShiA at Kua Aina

The Mercers One Year Wedding Anniversary at the Otodama Rock Festival

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Has it been one year already? WOW! Time flies when you are having fun. This first year of marriage has been a wonderful time, moving to Japan, expecting our first baby and missing all of our family and friends back in Canada, but enjoying making some new friends in Japan too.

To celebrate our one year anniversary we decided to accompany Chie and Chizuko (Mom) to a Rock Festival at the Izumi Otsu Phoenix (between Kishiwada and Osaka) called Otodama. Otodama means “hotspring of music for your soul” (rough translation). There were 14 bands playing from 10:00am to 21:00 (9:00pm for you non 24 hour clock people).

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Sign the Guestbook

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I have gone ahead and added a Guestbook to the website. We are seeing more and more traffic from people we don't know and thought if folks found some useful information on the site they might want to leave a record of their visit.

New Website Domain: www.themercers.ca

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WebHello. Well as you may have noticed, we have moved into our new domain space, http://www.themercers.ca.

It was a bit of a trick moving over all the data, as I made a lot of changes to the backend of things (to the mySQL database for you techies). It required me to rebuild the Osaka Photo Gallery (now retired as of 2012) from scratch, but I needed to update a bunch of the pictures anyway. In particular, I doubled the amount of pictures from our wedding, this was because when I originally did up the website we were still having all of our pictures converted to digital.

The Forum moved over quite well although there might be a couple hick-ups so if you see something funny please drop me an email to .

Last but not least, Kana and I are working on a 'News' section called "Craig & Kana's Crash Course for Canadians in Kansai"…kinda rolls off the tongue doesn't it? Basically it is a collection of articles on how to do different things in and around Osaka, from buying a computer, to finding foreign food, to finding a nice place to go for dinner on a Friday night. We just felt we might be able to help other folks in a similar situation to ours! Hope it helps.

ExpatExpress – Foreign Food in Osaka

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Expat ExpressExpat Express is an online ordering company based in Utah, USA. Their website says they have service representatives in Japan, and will ship to a whole host of countries. Their product selection is wide (as one would expect since they are based in the USA).

We have not personally used them so sorry we can’t be more specific about Expat Express.

URL: http://www.expatexpress.com/

The Flying Pig – Foreign Food in Osaka

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The Flying Pig LogoIf you are not close enough to drive or take a train to get your fill of foreign foods, then why not try a little online ordering?

The Flying Pig uses Costco for their product selection, and it is fairly good. They not only carry foods, but all the usual Costco goodies, electronics, camping supplies, books, videos etc. You can order and have the items delivered to your doorstep in 3 days.

URL: http://www.theflyingpig.com/

Foreign Buyers’ Club (Rokko Island, Kobe)

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Foreign Buyers ClubThe Foreign Buyers’ Club was started by Chuck and Kelly in Kobe over 12 years ago. They now have in addition to the USA club, British and Aussie websites.

Just place your order online and your goods will be on your doorstep in 5 to 7 days. They also offer learning materials, books, videos and offer special support for International and English schools. Of course if you are in the area you can visit their Rokko Island store in Kobe.

See the website for more details!

URL: http://www.fbcusa.com/

Buying Computers in Osaka’s Nipponbashi (Den Den Town)

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nippon-bashi

Osaka Den Den Town at night.

One of the best things to help you keep sane while living in Japan is staying in contact with family and friends back home. If you are like Kana and I then that means having a decent computer, a web cam, a digital camera and a highspeed internet connection.

If you are looking to buy a computer or build one yourself there are plenty of options in Osaka. You need look no further than Den
Den Town (aka Nipponbashi) , however you can order anything you need online as well and have it delivered to your house the next day. Read more…

Good Times in Osaka

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Shigeru, Yoshio and Kana

Well the weather report in Osaka these days is HOT. Hot, hot and more hot with a warm hot front moving in.

Seriously though, Osaka is over 30 degrees most days and the humidity is rather harsh, but you know, when in Rome.

Kana and I are both doing good. I think she is starting to show which is amazing and we have another checkup at Kaizuka Hospital in 2 weeks, so we may find out then if the little Mercer is a boy or a girl.

Last weekend Kana and I were able to visit some friends that I met on the train. It all started one day when I was taking my guitar to work to play for the kids and a couple of older Japanese gentlemen (Shigeru & Yoshio), seeing I was struggling with my guitar and backpack, offered to help me stow my guitar. What started that day was the beginning of an amazing friendship. Read more…

Happy Canada Day 2005!

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Canadian Flag

Hey Everyone. Kana and I wanted to wish everyone back home a great big HAPPY CANADA DAY. I was commenting to some friends that this is my first Canada Day not being in Canada which is weird. I've got so many good memories of Canada Days, from Dad's BBQ get togethers, to fireworks off Clover Point to way back when Adam became a Canadian Citizen on Canada Day…GOOD TIMES.

We hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend.

Cheers!

Baby Mercer has a December 30th due date

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Baby IconHello All.

Thank you so much for all your emails of blessing to Kana and I! We have really enjoyed reading them and hope to be able to respond to most of them soon.

Of course the biggest question on everyone's mind is: “When is the little Mercer due?“. Well God willing and all that good stuff, the Doc figures that Kana is due on December 30th. So sounds like a New Years Baby if all goes well.

The second biggest question is “Where are you having the baby?”. We are planning to have the baby here in Osaka.

Kana's morning, afternoon and evening sickness has been pretty brutal and we are hoping that like all the research says, she should start feeling better by the end of week 14….which means only 3 more weeks to go…FRICKA FRACKA!

I knew being pregnant was not easy but I have a new found respect for all Mother's. Thank You Moms.

Okay, that is a little quick update on what is happening. Hope you all are doing awesome.

Kana is PREGNANT!!!

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Hey All. Kana and I have been keeping some really big news quiet but it is time to let it out…KANA IS PREGNANT! I know, I know, we both said that we were going to wait until we returned to Canada to start the Mercer clan, however, God has a way of deciding when these things happen. They say the birth control pill is 99.9% effective, well I guess Kana is the .1% where it is not! So yeah, we got confirmation yesterday with an ultra sound and in the picture below you can see that the little Baby Mercer is already 2cm long and has a head and a heart beat.

baby_mercer

Baby Mercer Ultrasound

Kana and I are just heading out to Nara to visit her best friend Tomo, with Ai and Rie (the other KaToRiShiA gang members) but I will make sure Kana posts some of her thoughts when we get back.

Cheers Everyone!

Trip to Ninja Mura

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Craig and I went on a day trip to NINJA Village on May 3rd with Ai my best friend, her boyfriend Junya and our new friend Toni from West Virginia, who has been in Japan for 4 years now. We got to know Toni when Craig was looking for a job and she gave him lots of good information on how to do that.

We all got together at Tsuruhashi Station before 9:00am and headed to Iga-Kambe Station (on Kintetsu-line) where we switch a train to the final destination. I tried to book the seats for an Express Train to Iga-Kambe as we need to ride on a train for about 2 hours, however I was a bit later than other people and couldn’t. I had totally forgot that there is the Aichi Expo 2005 on and Ninja-mura (village) is on the way to Aichi! So we had to ride the rapid train instead and fortunately, the train wasn’t as packed as we had expected. Read more…

Happy ANZAC Day

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Australian flag New Zealand flag
ANZAC DAY

On Sunday night (April 25th) Kana and I had the opportunity to celebrate Anzac Day with some Aussie friends from work.

For those of you who don't know, (like me until I did some research) April 25th or Anzac Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day) is one of the biggest holidays for Australia and New Zealand. It is a day to remember the Australian and New Zealand Corps (ANZAC) who fought (and lost) in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War. Although the Aussies and Kiwis fought very bravely, they and their British and Indian counterparts could not win the battle and were forced to withdraw. This ANZAC Day marked the 90th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.

Anyways spirits were of a lighter nature at Tin's Hall where we went to hear Daniel who is the significant other of Narelle, one my friends from work (both from Australia). Daniel who is a really good guitar player and singer plays at different bars around Osaka. He was awesome on Sunday night (and like me broke his G sting in the middle of his set) and Kana and I had a great time.

It was good to raise a pint of Victoria Bitter and remember with our Aussie and Kiwi cousins the victories and defeats of years past. Cheers Mates!

Sakura lost…

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Cherry Blossom (Sakura) viewing is a big deal in Japan. Every spring when the Sakura trees come into bloom almost everyone in Japan will go to a local park and sit under the trees and “take time to smell the roses” as we say.

Because the first rain washes the blossoms off the branches makes Sakura so precious, and this fact is not lost on the Japanese.

People of all ages, from all walks of life take time out to gather with friends and family under the trees and reflect on life (and for those not so reflective to have a few beers).

Kana and I were so busy last Saturday that we didn’t make it to Sakura, and it rained all day on Tuesday washing all the blossoms away. Oh well, maybe we can make a video next year.

Cherry (Sakura) Blossom

Osaka Update

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Osaka
Hey Everyone. Sorry for being so long between updates but life has been hectic.

I just finished my third full week at Royal Kids. The kids are now on Spring Break with the new school year (the school year in Japan runs from April to March) starting in a couple of weeks.

I am now the official teacher for the Kindergarten Class (ages 4-5). I am taking over the class from an English fellow named David who is helping Royal Kids get their new school up and running in Nara. My Japanese co-worker Madoka and I will have 12-14 kids in our class and start using a new curriculum in April. Should be good times and I will try to get some pics up in the Photo Gallery soon.

Kana just landed a new job but I will let her post some news about that.

There is also two REALLY important announcements for the Puritch family….first George & Kristen have welcomed a new member into their family, little baby Madison Elaine Puritch joined the clan on March 16 who weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz

The second big news item is that Cousin James and his girlfriend Yvette got engaged. Note to James: get us the date asap so we can begin looking for cheap flights.

Huge congrats to George and Kristen on little Madison, also to James and Yvette on their engagement and of course to Kana for her new job which starts in a week.

I am working on a couple more videos of our recent excursions and hope to have them finished in the next couple of weeks.

CHEERS!