So why are these men running around violently in such small shorts?

-overheard on a youtube video Chad was watching on Australian Rules football

Well, Chad's found a new sport. A sport that has a lot of rules, and a lot of injuries. He's started playing Aussie Rules with a coworker, and he loves it!



Australian Football seems to combine rules from several sports to create a rough, challenging game. This makes watching the game particularly exciting for fans (and slightly scary for a wife!). Chad played his first game a couple weekends ago. Funny enough, the game was between the Osaka Dingoes (the team Chad is playing on) and Nagoya! It was fun to talk to the people from Nagoya about Aichi and Mie.

The Nagoya team didn't have enough players, so they had to forfeit the game. However, the match was still full of excitement. I had never seen so much pushing and tackling in Japan--or imagined it--before the game.

Team work gets the goal!

The atmosphere around the stadium was pretty quiet, but there were some adoring fans in the audience:

Me, Chad, Jonathan, and Mayu

Chad and Jonathan

The Osaka Dingoes and the Nagoya Redbacks

The website for the Osaka Dingoes can be found by clicking here. We'll keep you updated on any games (and injuries)!

Akashiyaki

Two of our friends came from Mie to visit, and they happened to know a delicious Akashiyaki restaurant in Sannomiya!



Akashiyaki is a lot like takoyaki, but softer and with much more of an eggy taste. Also, whereas takoyaki generally has octopus inside, Akashiyaki can have octopus or shrimp (at least, at this restaurant that was the case). We were excited to try it for the first time.

Akashiyaki is grilled in the same fashion as takoyaki

Unlike takoyaki, Akashiyaki doesn't come with loads of sauce and toppings. It can be dipped in mitsube, or Bird's-Foot Trefoil (a plant that looks similar to a clover). There is also sauce you can spread on top if the mitsube isn't enough, but we enjoyed the simpler version best. Akashiyaki was very light and yummy.

With friends (from the back): Kazu, Mafuyu and baby Chio

Walking Along I Saw...

...a beautiful statue,

a building with Kobe love,

a lot of neat street plates,

graffiti,

and doggy prints in some of the stairs we take on our way home.