Wo fang ich an? I am here, I am there, I am everywhere. Time's passing like a Shinkansen. It's almost more than one week ago, since I finally arrived at Nasunogahara Farm. A lota things happened. I'll tell you from the beginning.

On last Wednesday I met Mr. Hisada (Koji), the farm's manager, in Tokyo and after taking a very delicious Udon dinner we went by Shinkansen to Nasushiobara, from there by car to the farm. After a short big hello again, we then went to Ryu-jo-en Onsen and took a unbelievable how relaxing bath. I missed going to onsen so much. Maybe it's the thing I missed most. I think I'll drop an extra blog entry only issuing onsen soon. After onsen, back in the Spanish House, where the WWOOFers are accommodated, I made acquaintance with Mika from France, who was WWOOFing here til Wednesday, and then went totally happy to bed.

Next day, my first work day, next big hello with my Japanese blood brothers, first of all, Mr. Koizumi (my hero) and Mr. Takahashi. That was the moment, when I finally start to really speak Japanese again. The first sentence I heard, when I opened the door to the outside office office was, you are looking exactly like last year. No wonder, cause here I'm wearing exactly the same clothes I left behind last year. It was a very good feeling to get back in my old boots and my old Levi's jeans. The first two days were outside work, which was cutting very tall trees and giant bamboo to make way for a new horse riding route through the forest.

On last Friday then, after a funny work day with tractor driving and photo shooting, we had a very big Welcome Party for Mika and me in the main office, with all staff members beeing there. We had a very delicious Sashimi dinner produced by Mr. and Mrs. Ono ichiban chef and afterwards went all togehter to a karaoke bar, where we spent a amazing party night until half past one in the morning. First one on the karaoke mic was me, performing Kaji Meiko's Urami bushi from the Kill Bill movie soundtrack, like I did last year. The rest is history. Next day was luckily only fence painting work, togehter with Mika like Tum Sawyer and Hackleberry Finn to come over the hangover we had, at least I had.

On last Sunday, our day off, Mr. Koizumi took Mika and me by car to a veary funny sightseeing tour to Nikko. I have been there last year together with Koji, but this year we also had sunny weather. Great. Mr. Koizumi introduced me how to pray at the shinto shrines and so did I as often as we came to a shrine. I hope, it'll work. By the way, I think I'll write an extra entry about spirituality, too. Some thoughts are crossing my mind. However, after Nikko and a delicious Yuba lunch we went to Kimi-no-yu Onsen and bathed the sightseeing stress away.

The days are passing. Working during the day in nature with the guys and in the evenings sitting togehter with Mika in the Spanish House, drawing pictures, playing domino, smoking cigarettes. Eine Packung kostet hier wie letztes Jahr umgerechnet nur cirka 2 Euro.

On Wednesday, exactly one week after I arrived, Mika unfortunately left Nasunogahara Farm and went to to her next host in Aomori to WWOOF at another stable. On her last evening we prepared dinner by ourselfs. We did meat balls, mashed potatoes, filled paprika and a very delicious foil fish oven thing we saw in the TV during breakfast plus for dessert a vitamin bomb of fruits salad with cognac and sesame ice cream. After dinner Koji came and we drank a unbelievable how tasty spanish red wine.

Next day I had the chance for horseback riding together with Mr. Koizumi. With our  riding clothes we look like Gotchaman Gatchaman, Mr. Koizumi said. I don't know Gotchaman Gatchaman. I was a little bit afraid of riding a horse, but I think, I did a good job.

Yesterday was Ono chef's day off, so Matsuo, Seiji, Mr. Iiyama and me went to a Ramen restaurant where I ate the biggest ramen on earth from a nearly 30cm caliber bowl and afterwards Matsuo and me went to take a very easy going 2 hour bath and sauna thing at Ryu-jo-en Onsen. Back at the Spanish I fell fast asleep BUT SUDDENLY around 2 o'clock in the morning I woke up to witness MY FIRST JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE. By the way, my first earthquake ever. I don't know what, wether the rumbling sound or my bed shaking woke me up. It was massive. I nearly pissed in my shorts. After 20 seconds everything was over as if nothing had happened, I was afraid 5 more minutes and then fall asleep again. Next morning I realized what happened and ran around the farm to tell everybody what happened and that I might have been dead by now. But everybody was just smiling slightly at me, cause it was only a earthquake, 4 on the Japanese earthquake scale and this happens in Japan as often as in Germany somebody's outing his or her sexual orientation in media. Krasser Vergleich. Then I stopped making fun about my possible death, cause earthquakes still are natural disaster which should be dealed seriously. Matsuo told me, next time when the earthquake is stronger I should hide under the bed or even better escape to outside.

Today I ate out again together with Matsuo. I chose a Udon restaurant. Was Wow. Then we bought beer and did one of those funny photo automat thing. Now, I'm writing this blog entry, listening the 10 Jahre Gute Musik Radio Eins Soundtrack and looking forward to tomorrow. Day off and after lunch I'll visit Shiro-no-Daiso Onsen together with Mr. Koizumi and after dinner will visit a gym together with Matsuo for table tennis training. STREET TABLE TENNIS FIGHTERS BERLIN GEBT 8, HOSH TRAINIERT JETZT IN JAPAN!!!

Still, I need a lota sleep, I think, mainly caused by language switching I have to do everday. During the day Japanese language. After work mainly English language reading and some German language writing for my essays I have to finish til next Saturday. At lunch time switching back to Japanese language and then in bed dreaming in German language. Exhausting for my small brain. Furthermore, the work is physically. But I feels damn good to work hard, outside, in the nature, under the Japanese sun, together with friends. My muscles are growing, my skin is becoming tanned.

Yeah.

That's it. At the moment. I'm not so often online, but I'ld like to thank everybody for the comments and mails. Ich vermisse meine AtzInnen, besonders jetzt gerade, wo ich Bier trinken und Blog fuer euch schreibe. Hope you'll enjoy the photos.

Thank you for your attention.

I didn't know anything about maid cafés before. But Sebastian from Nuremberg, I met here in the Khaosan Hostel, he proposed to visit one of these curuious Japanese cafés. Basically, he didn't want to visit it alone. He said it will be kind of a café, where the staff is dressed like in mangas or so.

We went to Akihabara station and recently received a flyer from a girl dressed like nun with miniskirt. We told her, we were looking for a maid café and she leads us around some corners to her "sister café". The difference to a normal maid café is just, that there are no maids, but nuns. Service is same.

It was a very small café. Some businessmen sat around, ate their lunch and looked rotationally on their mobile or one of the nuns. We were asked to take a seat and ordered just juice and coffee. For taking our order and for bringing it to our table, the nuns always kneed down on the floor and always spoke some very polite flowery phrases to us.

Then we had to fill out a small questionnaire, in which we were asked if we prefer the nuns wearing black or white stockings. Sebastian crossed "black". But they were already wearing black stockings, so I crossed "white". And soon, one of the nuns changed her stockings.

We were nearly finished with our drinks, when another guest entered the local. He looked like an older otaku (a Japanese nerd) and started talking to us, after he placed an order to the nuns. He told us he is frequently visiting different maid cafés. He owns some point cards and is collecting "master points" in these cafés. With every point he reaches a new master level and so will receive price advantages for better care, like more communication or like playing parlour games like Jenga together with the maids. He loves visiting the maid café the night before his day off and then usually spent time there until 5 o'clock on the morning.

Yeah, weird. But there are a lot of maid cafés in Akihabara. And they are usually also visited by a lot of female otakus. Thanks Sebastian, he shlepped me in this strange scene and introduced me to one more Japanese phenomenon.

In Yokohama the biggest harbour of Japan is located. After staying 2 days in Tokyo Asakusa and catching a cold on the first night, I decided to move to a cheap business hotel in Yokohama's large "Chainatown" to fight my cold in a little bit more comfortable place. Above all, I did this because there was no free space in any cheap hostel near central Tokyo during Sakura and I didn't booked in time.

I spent the most time in Yokohama with sleeping and watching Japanese Television. The rest, I just walked around in Yokohama, watched the ships in the harbour and tried to find some nice shirts, after I worn my old ones to threads on Nasunogahara Farm.

Yokohama is a very modern city. Generally speaking Yokohama is just another borough of Tokyo. There is no space between. And so I think, Yokohama is a nice place to start exploring Tokyo. The harbour, more the sea coming after it, is the only noticeable border of Tokyo. Here the urban colossus starts living. And it starts with a lot of nice parks, first giant skyscraper malls and a big fun park with some roller coasters and a enormous big wheel which can be seen from wide between the skyscrapers. In the other direction you can admire the Yokohama Bay Bridge.

Cant upload photos right now. Was lot of action in Nasunogahara for the last couple of days. Got a Japanese haircut. Cutting hairs was necessary, so I visited a Japanese barbier. Whole programm like shaving beard, cutting hairs and getting a massage for only about 15 Euros. For this I took photo of Mr. Koizumi and said to the cutting staff I want to have it like him. And they gave me. Just cuttting back and side head but leaving top like it is. Nice service. I ever wished German haircutters would do it like this.

One day later I had my Koizumi-day with visiting an onsen and afterwards going shopping for a giant sake bottle we killed recently after arriving at the Spanish House. Finished with this, we finally visited a karaoke bar together with the Honkong WWOOFers who came here for one week. I get very drunk and shot the bird with singing Meiko Kaji's Urami Bushi from the Kill Bill movie soundtrack. With support of the karaoke-bar-mama. And every guest clapping.

Next day I had one of these sake hangovers. Third day too. Lame working only. Next day I was brought to Nishinasuno train station and finally arrived here in Tokyo Asakusa in a hostel. Here I met Erika from Finnland again, who was also staying at Nasunogahara Farm before. Unfortunately I booked too late and only can stay until tomorrow. Luckily they gave me next day bed in Khaosan main hostel. Then I will see... Maybe I can stay in one of the capsule hotels.

Stay at Nasunogahar Farm was very very very good. Learned useful Japanese. I will visit them again next year I think. Even left my working boots and trousers there. Everybody was so nice to me and it was so good to have contact to young people there. Really happy about how everything went up here. Cant describe now, will tell you when I ll be back.