Japanese work groups often go together on trips to increase unity, camraderie, etc. and teachers are no exception. Last weekend I went with about ten other teachers to Nagasaki and Saga prefectures for a little sightseeing. Well, I say sightseeing but I think the trip was really all about eating.

First, Saturday, we all got on a rented tour bus and went to Saga for some gourmet crab. Interestingly crab just isn't something you see too often in Japanese cuisine. It was pretty good, of course I got some crab guts on my shirt, I guess that happens. Next on the menu was Nagasaki's famous champon, a noodle dish with a thick broth and lots of vegetables and seafood.

Sunday, for the grand finale, we had nama ika. What's nama ika? Live squid! That's right, the squid is all cut up for you, but it's still alive- moving, breathing, looking at you. Now I eat sashimi, raw fish, all the time, but this was a little much. After some goading I did have a couple of pieces, at least it didn't move on the way down. Later, they fried it up tempura style, which was pretty good and a little more to my liking. But the whole live squid thing, I won't be in a hurry to do that again.

Like I said, I think this trip was really all about the eating, but we did do some sightseeing in Nagasaki and shopping in Saga. I actually did not go to the Peace Park in Nagasaki, where the hypocenter of the atomic bomb was, but I did go to the Glover Garden, one of Japan's first European settlements, and to Oura Catholic Church, built in the 1860s. So I did get to see some parts of Nagasaki's rich history, but the peace park will have to wait for the next time.

In domestic news, Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party took big losses in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Just shows what happens when you are too concerned with pet projects like revising the constition or trying to inject more patriotism into schools, and forget about bread and butter issues like the economy and pensions. Add to that more than a  few scandals and bone-headed public statements, and bad things happen. Abe isn't too popular with the teachers for trying to influence the education system with his personal views, so I doubt many tears were shed over the results.

Also, it is only August, but another typhoon is already on its way, it should be here in Oita around tomorrow night. Great.