Miyazaki and the greatest Japanese recreational activity of all time

Once long, long ago, the most divine sun goddess, Amaterasu, looked down from her lofty throne and saw that the mortal land of Japan was in need of unification. Thus she gave birth to a line that would eventually result in Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan. His holy birth took place in what is today called, Miyazaki Prefecture, located just south of my home in Oita Prefecture. Miyazaki is known for much more than just being the birthplace of Japanese civilization—it’s also got some really great beaches. And that’s what I enjoyed the other day when the rains of the rainy season subsided and allowed Amaterasu to shine her warm brilliance down on the earth once more.


The blue sea in summer’s bliss…Ted and I swam out to a buoy and almost died.


Ted, Lisa, Zack, and Pauline feasting on a lunch of Miyazaki’s specialty food: chicken nanban (actually Ted and Zach had ebi, but it was still fried and covered in mayonnaise like the chicken).


The crew expressing our feelings about war.


So there’s Miyazaki…but what about the greatest recreational activity of all time? I some of you out there are thinking “pachinko”, “sumo”, or even “extra classes on a Friday afternoon” but I’m here to tell you that KARAOKE is the absolute most wonderful recreational activity here in Japan.



Go as a group, go as a couple, go alone…just go and sing and sing until there’s no more singing left in you. Karaoke lets you become a star in increments of 3-4 minutes and during that time the song is yours to breathe new life into. Some of my favorite tunes are Radiohead’s “Creep”, Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, and Bette Midler’s “The Rose” (don’t laugh, that song is powerful!).


Here’s Lisa singing her heart out.


And Ted, the Godfather of the music machine, giving a stellar performance as always.

Karaoke is an activity that I’ve learned to love and embrace over the last year here. The HUGE number of songs available is overwhelming and inspiring and I foresee many more hours and yen being invested in this pastime during my second year in Japan.