I’ve been to Japan 6 times now. 3 times were for work(teaching English in various schools) and 3 times for vacation. The last time I was there was in April of 2008. After I came back from that trip I blogged about it for the next few months and then I stopped because well, I think my readers (Nick and Keith) were getting tired of hearing about Japan. That’s really saying something, since both of them have lived there for well over a decade!
Well more than a year has passed and I’ve rediscovered some of my pictures from that trip.
My buddy lives right near the beach in one of the best beach side towns in all of Japan! Shimoda, Shizuoka-ken. Shimoda is about a 3.5 hour train ride from the Tokyo metropolitan area and so this means that it’s within reach of only about 35 million people! Oh, the seclusion!
Here I am doing my best impression of David Hasselhoff with my beautiful pale skin… As they say, “don’t hassel the Hoff!” Oh yeah, and just in case you’re wondering why there are no actual photos of me surfing… well, let’s just say it’s a lot harder than it looks. 
My name is Michael McKinlay and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Although I was born here, I have lived in a few other places in Western Canada such as, Saskatoon, Regina, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton. I also spent time in Hong Kong and Japan. [
You and your friends are hilarious and i love your posts about Japan! Been laughing for the last hour (almost!) going around your site… Keep posting!
Thanks Liz!
Is Shimoda part of the pilgrimage route? I could use some surfing to er…sustain me as I start the pilgrimage..oh ok..I just need a good excuse to head there for my wife.
You can go surfing in Shimoda!
Hey Michael, great blog! I am thinking about leaving the city and moving to Shimoda, just wondering….where did you teach in Shimoda? Thanks, Jon
Hi Jon,
Thanks, glad you like the blog. Well I taught for a short time in Numazu but when I was in Shimoda I was just staying at a friend’s house. So yeah I wasn’t teaching there…
i broke my arm on a freak surfing accident but hey, surfing is a nice sport:**