Monday, April 26, 2010
Fushimi Inari
On Saturday the girls, and John, went to the Yukata party thing and all I wanted was to sleep in and do nothing all day. So that's what I did. Saturday was the first completely lazy day I've had in Japan.. didn't go anywhere, didn't do anything, and my host parents didn't feel the need to bring me someplace.
On Sunday the gang decided to go to Fushimi Inari. It is a series of Shinto shrines and tori gates all over a mountain. The main temple sits at the base of the mountain and then you follow a path or two to the top, stopping at shrines along the way. The kistune or fox guardians, one biting a scroll and one biting a jewel (officially dubbed the Shikon Jewel-thank you Inuyasha), are the guardians of Inari, who is a human/er.. shinto god person. The climb was only bad in a few areas where the steps were steep, but the view is totally worth it. We brought lunch so we had a picnic near the top. And I also want to say that I officially LOVE Japanese woods. They are so completely different than woods I am used to back home. Trees are taller, skinnier, more moss on the ground, and the bugs don't sound as annoying. Very pretty day. Pics are coming soon to facebook.
On Sunday the gang decided to go to Fushimi Inari. It is a series of Shinto shrines and tori gates all over a mountain. The main temple sits at the base of the mountain and then you follow a path or two to the top, stopping at shrines along the way. The kistune or fox guardians, one biting a scroll and one biting a jewel (officially dubbed the Shikon Jewel-thank you Inuyasha), are the guardians of Inari, who is a human/er.. shinto god person. The climb was only bad in a few areas where the steps were steep, but the view is totally worth it. We brought lunch so we had a picnic near the top. And I also want to say that I officially LOVE Japanese woods. They are so completely different than woods I am used to back home. Trees are taller, skinnier, more moss on the ground, and the bugs don't sound as annoying. Very pretty day. Pics are coming soon to facebook.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Video for Japanese Class
This past week I've been really busy working on a project for my Japanese speaking class. We had to write a script and film it. My group consisted of me, Emily, and Michelle. It was... eh.. I've uploaded it to facebook and currently am uploading it to youtube. Watch if you can. Many of you won't understand.. but you'll laugh nonetheless.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Japan's Countryside
The place I've always wanted to visit I have finally gone! Ignore the bad grammar in that last sentence. Okaasan took me to her hometown to bring obaasan back to her home. She has recovered from her cancer surgery and is very 'genki', energetic, healthy. Her home town's name is Ako and is about 3-4 hours drive from Hirakata. It is such a small town, very Berlin, CT-esque... but MUCH better. It sits in a valley along side a chain of mountains that hug the coast-line. We went to the beach and had lunch at this restaurant overlooking the pretty view, (Pics will come soon). But back to the beginning of the story. We arrive and within two minutes of parking there were 20+ neighbors come to pay their respects, bring presents, food, or just to gawk at us. Obaasan's house is extreeeemely old style and I LOVED IT! The layout was very wicked cool. Unfortunately dumb me didn't take a pic of the house. But basically there was the front door, and the front room had a ginormous window that we opened and was practically another door.
Later we visited the Ako Castle, which is famous in Japan. This is where the story of the 47 ronin that took revenge on their Lord's death happened. We went to the shrine there and there were statues of these 47 samurai everywhere. We also visited the Salt factory. Which isn't a factory at all. Ako, is known for it's sea salt production. They maintained these old ways of making salt from sea water and we got to watch and make some ourselves. Fresh sea salt is amazingly good!
Finally to end this wonderful trip my host mom brought me to an onsen. A hot springs. And for those of you who know little about Japanese culture, essentially I went skinny dipping with a bunch of strangers. The actual experience was amazing! They provide all these luxury shampoos and bath salts for you. And it wasn't too bad, since I had to remove my glasses and could barely see, honestly. Also, whoever says all Japanese girls are skinny, are just fooling themselves. They just have small frames, they still pack flab. :) (Personal feelings on this experience is that I would never do this again, but I'm glad I did it once).
Later we visited the Ako Castle, which is famous in Japan. This is where the story of the 47 ronin that took revenge on their Lord's death happened. We went to the shrine there and there were statues of these 47 samurai everywhere. We also visited the Salt factory. Which isn't a factory at all. Ako, is known for it's sea salt production. They maintained these old ways of making salt from sea water and we got to watch and make some ourselves. Fresh sea salt is amazingly good!
Finally to end this wonderful trip my host mom brought me to an onsen. A hot springs. And for those of you who know little about Japanese culture, essentially I went skinny dipping with a bunch of strangers. The actual experience was amazing! They provide all these luxury shampoos and bath salts for you. And it wasn't too bad, since I had to remove my glasses and could barely see, honestly. Also, whoever says all Japanese girls are skinny, are just fooling themselves. They just have small frames, they still pack flab. :) (Personal feelings on this experience is that I would never do this again, but I'm glad I did it once).
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Weekend Plans
I got nothing to write about. So I will tell you what I'll be up to this weekend. I will be catching up in hmk and things, mountain hiking, and maybe visiting Obaasan's home town. :]
Monday, April 12, 2010
Social Rules for a Gaijin #3
Things to Do and Not Do on the train or subway:
Do not talk loud.
If no one else on the train is talking... do not talk at all.
Do not use your cell, unless it is on silent. And under no circumstances are you allowed to make or take a phonecall.
Do not sit in the priority seating if you are a gaijin, even if you qualify as a pregnant woman, a person with a kid or old.
Always give up your seat to a Japanese person. If you don't you will get stared at.
Scratch that last one you will get stared at regardless.
DO NOT bring yuor dog on the train, unless you can carry it in your arms.
Tip: If it is your stop and the train is so crowded you can't get to the door, swish your hand around in a downward motion and say in a very gajin-like accent 'sumimasen'
America vs. Japan Round #2
Things I will miss from Japan:
heated toilet seats
the general public's amazing fashion sense
ofuro
There was a time when sitting on a warm toilet seat gave me an image of a person who just couldn't get out that #2. But here in Japan that image has changed. When I actually find toilets that aren't heated I give a little yelp cause it freezes my behind. I personally think a warm seat makes going more comfortable, especialy when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, sitting on a cold seat would wake you up.
People in Japan dress the best I've seen in any country I've been in. When you are young like me you dress very cute, and when you are old you dress your age. No wearing tank tops and booty shorts for grandmas. The girls my age know how to dress and I like Hirakata's popular style. As a side note, Kansai Gaidai is in the top 5 best dressed universities in Japan. And I believe someone said it was number three for a long time.
Ofuro... my wonderful ofuro. The weather is getting nicer and I won't get to have you any more. Ofuro, a hot bath you soak in after you shower, is the best Japanese invention ever. Think of it as a spa for you westerners. You sit in reeaally really hot water and it just feels great. Can't really do this in the states cause Japanese bathrooms are special. I will miss this a great deal as well.
heated toilet seats
the general public's amazing fashion sense
ofuro
There was a time when sitting on a warm toilet seat gave me an image of a person who just couldn't get out that #2. But here in Japan that image has changed. When I actually find toilets that aren't heated I give a little yelp cause it freezes my behind. I personally think a warm seat makes going more comfortable, especialy when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, sitting on a cold seat would wake you up.
People in Japan dress the best I've seen in any country I've been in. When you are young like me you dress very cute, and when you are old you dress your age. No wearing tank tops and booty shorts for grandmas. The girls my age know how to dress and I like Hirakata's popular style. As a side note, Kansai Gaidai is in the top 5 best dressed universities in Japan. And I believe someone said it was number three for a long time.
Ofuro... my wonderful ofuro. The weather is getting nicer and I won't get to have you any more. Ofuro, a hot bath you soak in after you shower, is the best Japanese invention ever. Think of it as a spa for you westerners. You sit in reeaally really hot water and it just feels great. Can't really do this in the states cause Japanese bathrooms are special. I will miss this a great deal as well.
Kyoto Imperial Palace
If we lucked out with Himeji, then we REALLY lucked out with our Imperial Palace visit. Usually in order to go into the Palace grounds you need to sign up for a private tour. There is a waiting list and the wait time in a couple of months. LUCKILY, they had a special event which had the Palace open between Wednesday and Sunday of last week. We went yesterday, Sunday. The Palace building itself wasn't that special, but the Emperor's gardens, and the decorated walls inside of the buildings were beyond anything I've seen before. I took pictures of the three main entrances, the one for foreign dignitaries, one for commoners (which is the one we had to go through) and the one for the Emperor. We couldn't actually go inside, but the doors were all open so we could look inside. The walls were covered with sumi paintings. GORGEOUS sumi paintings. I took pictures of some, but they don't do them justice. The thing I found the best here however were the Emperor's personal gardens in the back of the palace. I totally want my backyard to look like that. It was inspiring. We shopped around a little after. There were a good number of people but it wasn't too bad because the grounds are very large.
Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle was closed on Sunday. It will remain closed for the next five years as they do renovation and some reconstruction on the castle and the castle grounds. Our group decided to head out early on Saturday morning to see it, since it was our last chance. GOOD THING WE DID! Himeji Castle was by faaaaar my favorite place in Japan and I'm sad that Japan's tourists for the next half a decade won't be able to see it.
I personally woke up at 6:15 and dragged my sleeping self to Hirakata station at around 7:45 where I joined the others. He headed out to our adventure. About 2 and a half hours later we arrived. It's a straight walk to the castle and the huge crowd of tourists directed our way. The mob that day was actually nice and since we had gotten there early, it was still BIG- but our wait to get into the castle was significantly smaller than people that came later. The transportation costs to get there was excruciatingly high but the entrance fee was rather cheap. We waited in line for about 30 minutes, taking pictures along the way. Our friend Andrew who had gone the week before went later in the afternoon and had to wait 2 hours to get into the castle. The outside of the castle is amazingly beautiful. There were six 'water' gates we passed and the crowd took the lesser grand entrance through the basement. We worked our way up to each level of the castle. There was beautiful artwork inside and it what was amazing even more was that the castle was FULLY original, it had never been destroyed or damaged in any war and was in rather good condition considering. (The renovation is replace the original however, and I didn't catch what they were doing with the original parts, putting them in museums, etc. I don't know). The stairs were extremely steep and since we had to walk through without our shoes on it was rather scary at some points. And it is true that Japanese people were short back then because the ceilings were so low that when Emily or I walked up stairs or downstairs we had to bend our back, and even when I did that I hit my back onto he ceiling's beam. It amused me and I didn't get hurt so all was good. At the top floor there was a Shinto shrine that had been on the land before the original castle. The story goes tat they moved the Shinto shrine and the gods punished them somehow so they moved it back on the land and in the attic.
There was a great view and you should go look at my facebook pictures when you can. After the tour through the main castle we toured the women's quarters to the west. It was for the lady's attendants and lady's in waiting and looked very much to me like a dorm. Afterwards we had lunch out by the cherry blossoms. Great day :)
I personally woke up at 6:15 and dragged my sleeping self to Hirakata station at around 7:45 where I joined the others. He headed out to our adventure. About 2 and a half hours later we arrived. It's a straight walk to the castle and the huge crowd of tourists directed our way. The mob that day was actually nice and since we had gotten there early, it was still BIG- but our wait to get into the castle was significantly smaller than people that came later. The transportation costs to get there was excruciatingly high but the entrance fee was rather cheap. We waited in line for about 30 minutes, taking pictures along the way. Our friend Andrew who had gone the week before went later in the afternoon and had to wait 2 hours to get into the castle. The outside of the castle is amazingly beautiful. There were six 'water' gates we passed and the crowd took the lesser grand entrance through the basement. We worked our way up to each level of the castle. There was beautiful artwork inside and it what was amazing even more was that the castle was FULLY original, it had never been destroyed or damaged in any war and was in rather good condition considering. (The renovation is replace the original however, and I didn't catch what they were doing with the original parts, putting them in museums, etc. I don't know). The stairs were extremely steep and since we had to walk through without our shoes on it was rather scary at some points. And it is true that Japanese people were short back then because the ceilings were so low that when Emily or I walked up stairs or downstairs we had to bend our back, and even when I did that I hit my back onto he ceiling's beam. It amused me and I didn't get hurt so all was good. At the top floor there was a Shinto shrine that had been on the land before the original castle. The story goes tat they moved the Shinto shrine and the gods punished them somehow so they moved it back on the land and in the attic.
There was a great view and you should go look at my facebook pictures when you can. After the tour through the main castle we toured the women's quarters to the west. It was for the lady's attendants and lady's in waiting and looked very much to me like a dorm. Afterwards we had lunch out by the cherry blossoms. Great day :)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Graduation Style Wear
It's like a kimono tunic /shortened kimono, with the graduation style pants. Mine is a skirt.
Not much to say these days
Not much is going on these days. I've been trying to keep up with my schoolwork, trying to get in studying. THis weekend we are all going to go see Himeji castle. It's partially under renovation and after this weekend it will be completely under renovation for the next five years, so if we want to see it, it's now.
Spent last weekend with my host parents. Doing some Ohanami, Sakura flower blossom viewing. Everyone in Japan does it. I mean EVERYONE. Picnics, beer, pictures... it's a good time. I've finally gotten to appreciate some aspects of beer. But I still prefer the fruity drinks LOL. I've been missing everyone recently. I'm not sick of Japan yet, but I definitely wish everyone was here with me.
I was debating taking a picture of my outfit for graduation but I want it to be a surprise, so I will instead post a picture of the 'style' of what I will be wearing. So you can see but not have the surprise spoiled. Okaasan is taking me to get my hair done for that, and Otousan is my self appointed photographer xD haha.
Spent last weekend with my host parents. Doing some Ohanami, Sakura flower blossom viewing. Everyone in Japan does it. I mean EVERYONE. Picnics, beer, pictures... it's a good time. I've finally gotten to appreciate some aspects of beer. But I still prefer the fruity drinks LOL. I've been missing everyone recently. I'm not sick of Japan yet, but I definitely wish everyone was here with me.
I was debating taking a picture of my outfit for graduation but I want it to be a surprise, so I will instead post a picture of the 'style' of what I will be wearing. So you can see but not have the surprise spoiled. Okaasan is taking me to get my hair done for that, and Otousan is my self appointed photographer xD haha.
Friday, April 2, 2010
NHK and the Morning Drama
So in order to explain my horrible morning today, this rainy Friday, I first have to explain the Japanese's morning drama. In Japan, there is a morning drama that plays all year long, 6 days a week, at 8:00 A.M., for 15 minutes. (A point to note, TV in the Kansai area is different than the Kanto prefecture/Tokyo area and others, and television differs in each region. The common thread is a few stations, one of which is NHK, the Japanese national channel. It shows everything from news to documentaries etc. ) The mrning drama is shown on NHK after the morning news. Up until now I have only watched the news, but since the new year started in Japan (new year such as September back to school etc. etc. is April in Japan) the new drama has begun.
The new drama named, "Gegege's Wife" is the story of the real author's wife, and it's her story growing up. It started out when she was 9 or 10 or something and it's going to show her progression through her life, growing up, learning new things, her first love, etc. I predict that it will be immensely popular. And here's my reasoning: 1. It is set pre/during war and gives the ageing Japanese population a nostalgic feeling of the past, of good times, their childhood. 2. The main character is the epitome of the perfect girl in Japan. She's gentle, sweet, kind, everything that Japanese school systems try to mold young girls into. This creates a feeling of attachment and admiration for her character already instilling an emotional link to the story. 3. I can tell because the trains are virtually empty on my line while the show is in progress and there is a mass exodus towards the train station as soon as the show is over.
This brings me to my horrible morning. I watched the drama today, mostly because I like the theme song it uses simple Japanese so I can understand most of it, and because I watch TV while I eat my breakfast anyway. Fridays I have my first class at 9:00 A.M. and we have a chapter test every friday. I left for the train this morning after the show was over and found myself in a sea of people walking to the train station. I was packed soooon tighly against people on the train today that a seemingly cool day turned really hot from body heat! Because of the increase in passengers the trains were a bit offtime and the busses were late and slow. I ALMOST MISSED MY TEST!! Rawr! That was my bad morning. And even though you don't know how I feel, believe me when I say, I... HATE.... CROWDED... PLACES.
The new drama named, "Gegege's Wife" is the story of the real author's wife, and it's her story growing up. It started out when she was 9 or 10 or something and it's going to show her progression through her life, growing up, learning new things, her first love, etc. I predict that it will be immensely popular. And here's my reasoning: 1. It is set pre/during war and gives the ageing Japanese population a nostalgic feeling of the past, of good times, their childhood. 2. The main character is the epitome of the perfect girl in Japan. She's gentle, sweet, kind, everything that Japanese school systems try to mold young girls into. This creates a feeling of attachment and admiration for her character already instilling an emotional link to the story. 3. I can tell because the trains are virtually empty on my line while the show is in progress and there is a mass exodus towards the train station as soon as the show is over.
This brings me to my horrible morning. I watched the drama today, mostly because I like the theme song it uses simple Japanese so I can understand most of it, and because I watch TV while I eat my breakfast anyway. Fridays I have my first class at 9:00 A.M. and we have a chapter test every friday. I left for the train this morning after the show was over and found myself in a sea of people walking to the train station. I was packed soooon tighly against people on the train today that a seemingly cool day turned really hot from body heat! Because of the increase in passengers the trains were a bit offtime and the busses were late and slow. I ALMOST MISSED MY TEST!! Rawr! That was my bad morning. And even though you don't know how I feel, believe me when I say, I... HATE.... CROWDED... PLACES.
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