The Hamas- These are all pictures of my third and final host family, the Hamas. This was my room, which is actually Akihiro's (the middle child's) room. The view from my room. That highway must have had an excellent sound barrier. This is the upstairs. The door across from the telephone was mine. The mirror you see is part of the sink, which in Japanese homes, is outside of the bathroom. There is a keyboard stand with music on it. That was for Mizuho (the youngest). Mizuho, who often had trouble getting motivated to practice, would throw the occasional fit when she was made to. I found it very amusing (but don't tell her that.) This is the toilet of the future. The seat is always kept warm. I never figured out any of the buttons. In Japan, the toilet room is for just the toilet. No baths, showers, or even sinks. This is the kitchen, for all your kitchening needs. The best bathroom ever. From what I saw, all Japanese households are equipped with one of these. You clean yourself outside of the tub first, then you soak. Much better than the English-style bath I'd say. There was a console outside and inside of the room where you could set the bath to fill at a certain time, along with the temperature. Genius I say. Genius. Here is the lovely family. The dad and mom are in the back row. From left to right in the front row- Akihiro (middle), Mizuho (youngest), and Toshiki (eldest). This picture was taken on Mizuho's birthday. More of Mizuho's b-day. This time with yours truly. Last b-day pic. Cale at the controls. They had high-speed internet through a wireless lan card. Apparently, it's just as expensive to get fast internet over there as it is to run it through the phone line. Notice the ash tray to your right. Besides being a hard-core chain smoker myself, the dad smoked. This picture taken around Christmas time. They had a Christmas tree, but that isn't the norm in Japanese households. It was nice to have though. Good times. Yup, that's me. This was taken on Christmas morn. The garment I'm wearing was my gift from the Hamas, and it was great. It kept me warm around the house. I even wore it back at home until I made the stupid mistake of washing it incorrectly. I hate myself. My parents also sent me presents which was very nice of them. I gave a bunch of american candy to the kids. Just chillin' on Christmas day. This is the mother's side of the family, who lived in Osaka. This is Akihiro's birthday set. The present he's clutching was from me. The couch-type thing we are sitting on was the main congregation area for the family. It sat in front of the television and had a table in the middle. The table had a blanket attached to it, and you kept your legs warm by putting them underneath. I spent many a time here watching Japanese television and kicking-ass in X-Man vs. Streetfighter. Akihiro would do this funny chipmunk-like face, and one time I imitated him and it became one of those house-hold jokes. The Hamas at the airport. OK, I'll admit - I can be a sentimental guy sometimes. I cried twice in Japan. The first time was about a week before I left, just got a little bleary-eyed from all the good memories. The second time was at the airport. After I had said all my final goodbyes, I walked through the security, down the escalator, and started towards my terminal. When I looked up there were the Hamas waving goodbye from a window on the second level. Previous: Nishinomiya pt. 2 Next: Hokkaido