Happy Halloween

Halloween in Japan is very different from Halloween in America. For one thing, there’s no trick or treating (scandalous, I know!) and for another thing there’s classes the next day despite all the late night parties. However, there is one thing that remains the same—costuming! And of course, Japanese girls (and some guys) take it up to the next level.

VAMPIRE ATTACK!

Kansai Gaidai had a special costume contest that I entered with some of my friends. I went as Shita from the Studio Ghibli move, Castle in the Sky.

…and of course, the ever (in)famous costume: boys in skirts.

The Curry Rice...

...was delicious. 

 

And then there was curry udon.

Curry Rice

Today Okaasan showed me how to make curry rice. It was fun, even if I still haven’t gotten the hang of how to cut using Japanese knives that well (the bladework is entirely different, and I rely on what I’m used to—thus cutting wrong. ): ). So we made the base for the curry tonight, and tomorrow we will eat the curry rice! I’m so excited!

Mountains

 The best part about Japan so far (though this may be because of living in flat ol’ WI)?

THE MOUNTAINS.

 I’ve talked with others—the definition of mountain varies—but for a flatlander like me, these are all very mountainy-looking to me.

And to show this off, here are more pictures of mountains from my bus trip I took on Sunday. Every time I even just look out my window, these mountains surrounding me take my breath away.

Please excuse any blurriness--most of these were taken out of a window on a bus....

 Bon voyage! 

And, for your added enjoyment, this is entirely chocolate--only the display stand is not edible!

Rice

Rice is really important in Japan. 

Not only is rice traditionally an essential part of every meal and one of the only things Japan will not import in, but it’s also on the five yen coin and has rice paddies in the city (see my previous post)!

I’m not just saying this because of the Asian stereotype either. Rob (one of my favorite professors, Professor Robert Andre LaFleur) made me read a whole book on it (Rice as Self by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney) and gave a very interesting (and detailed) lecture of how rice and Seven Samurai are related.

 

(It's only slightly related, but it's such a great movie! For those of you who haven't watched it (or need a refresher), this is the "happy ending" of the film--people planting rice)

In more interesting terms, it’s  fall, which means it’s the harvest, and that means that we’re having new rice at the table for dinner.

I never really understood the distinction Okaasan made. After all, isn’t rice rice? I learned today that there indeed is a difference. 

New rice is shinier and has something that’s not exactly a crunch, but more chew. (Actually, I find myself preferring old rice, but I think that’s just because I’m used to it and besides, Okaasan’s so happy with the new harvest that I haven’t the heart to be a picky-choosy person…)

So yes, it's the harvest, there's new rice and I'm still alive~!

I swear I haven't fallen off the end of the earth!

Hi! Yeah, it's me. I'm alive and (finally) done with midterms! I feel that I did pretty well on my two language tests and here's to hoping my anthro is just as well! I have to admit, midterms really took it out of me and I'm glad they're over.

Things are going pretty mellow here, the temperature has finally dropped into something looking like fall (it's currently in the 40s at night...and the 70s in the day, so maybe not...) and I'm hoping against all hope! Some of the leaves have started to change color, so I'm hoping hard! :)

It's hard to believe I've been here for half a semester already. It seems like so much shorter than that! I only have a month and two weeks or so of school left. Scary!

Anyways, I have to get up early in the morning tomorrow, so g'night to you all! Now that midterms are over, I think I'll be coming back to my regularly scheduled updates, so do not fear!

I'm on a Bus!

Hi! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well between bus trips and midterms, I'm still not sure if my head's still on straight. Please be a little more patient with me. Thank you!

Today Okaasan and I went on a bus trip sponsored by local neighborhood community thingie. Hannah was there too. It took around an hour to get to Kyoto, but we weren’t near any place I’ve been before. We were further west, near Lake Biwa.

Drunk Goldfish

First we went to the Sagawa Art Museum (wherefore referred to as SAM), an art museum sponsored by Sagawa Express (a delivery service). The outside is breathtaking, a modestly large building with a huge reflection pond surrounding it. The museum mostly focuses on three artists: a painter, a sculptor, and a potter, but it had a special exhibit on ukiyo-e (comic woodblock prints). For those of you who don’t know me, I absolutely adore ukiyo-e. My favorite picture there was a group of drunk goldfish. In other interesting things, I was most impressed by the pottery exhibit designs (Museum Studies minor at heart~!). They were the most amazing I’ve ever seen. The lighting was almost pitch black (we were in a basement) and the foyer was only lit by a strip of sunlight. Going over to inspect the source of light, I realized that the sunlight was shining in through the reflection pool that surrounds the museum; it was beautiful!

Now the way they exhibited the pottery was excellent as well. Using light to draw the viewer towards the various flower vases and such, I was astonished at how well it allowed the viewer to move through the exhibit. I also noticed this in the Genji Museum, but not in any of the other museums I’ve visited in America. Maybe it’s a technique used mostly in Japan? I don’t know. What I do know is that that exhibit filled me with a reverence that is usually only found in my holiest of holy places—the library archives, full of information and ancient books for me to peruse. Despite museums being held up with a ton of worship in my life, I’ve never experienced the same feeling that I did in the SAM. I am very impressed. For their explanation of this concept, please click here.

After visiting SAM, we went to lunch at some weird fish place. I don’t really know the name, but it was a mix of grocery store and really fancy restaurant. Don’t believe me? Check out these pictures of their decorations.

It had a bow tie  and top hat. I have no regrets!

It was bucketloads of fun, though. For lunch I had something called kaminabe (paper nabe). This title is due to the fact that the soup is heated while being encased in paper. 

Mmmmm....kaminabe

There's a flame, right under the paper. I still don't understand how it doesn't catch on fire!

There were also fish on a stick. They were staring at me...

"Don't eat us, Sarah!"

I have no regrets...except the skin was pretty bitter. I don't know how everyone else managed to munch it down...

Following that, we went to a planetarium, where I promptly fell asleep. I did wake up to see the cool graphics and a movie that really had nothing to do with stars or planets at all…but some very inventive uses of fish and cherry blossoms. In the beginning, I also noticed an interesting use of the Detective Conan theme song (a popular cartoon for children and adults alike) to keep children from getting scared from the dark. Okaasan seemed to find it pretty boring…I kinda did as well, but I think it had to do with the fact that the guide was talking at the speed of light, and my Japanese isn’t that good yet.

We went up a mountain on a gondola to see a shrine. I took pictures and went to the Inari (fox god of rice and the harvest) shrine.   

The view from the gondola

Then we went out for tea at an old wagashi shop (this means that the family has spent hundreds of years perfecting their sweets recipes). I found them delicious, yet weird-tasting. My dessert had something called agar-agar in it. It looked like an ice cube but wiggled like jello and crunched like waterchestnuts. I found the sensation very strange, but there was anko and the sweet rice dumplings (called mochi) had the consistency of someone’s first matzahball attempt (a.k.a. crunchy, chewy, grainy, and sinkers).

Soft, chewy, and delicious

...it was okay?

What do you do when you've finished your final test for the week...?

Toji Temple - The largest wooden pagoda in Japan

You go to Toji Temple and check out their flea market, of course!

Hi all! It’s really been a while!

While midterms are not quite done yet for me, I have heard that some of you are asking Dad about me (no, I have not fallen off the face of the earth...yet). It’s all okay, I’m not dead (but the midterms are trying to kill me!).

So today after my midterm in Reading/Writing, I decided (spur of the moment) to go to Kyoto’s Toji Temple. This had absolutely nothing to do with the giant flea market that happens monthly, I tell you. Needless to say, I took Smitty and we had a blast!

Smitty and I

Since this was spur-of-the-moment, I did not have my trusty camera with me, but Smitty did and very graciously allowed me to borrow it for a few shots. But why are you asking about pictures? What you really want to know is what I bought, right?

I, Sarah [Last Name Omitted Because of the Internet], have finally achieved my two-year dream. I have a furisode. And it’s pink~! Furisode are the types of kimono worn by young, unmarried women. They are known for their long sleeves that flutter gracefully in the wind. They are sold new, usually on the $3,000 range. Luckily I was shopping for used kimono and, due to spotting an imperfection that the owner supposedly didn’t know about, managed to get it for about ¥4,000 (~$52) which is a great deal, especially for a hand embroidered furisode. There’s a little damage, but I think it can easily be covered. Okaasan said it might not fit me though, so over the next couple of days, we’re going to try and see what is the best fit is.

I also bought several obi—the main sash used to tie kimono shut. According to Okaasan, only one of the three I bought is usable. I bought obi to match my kimono, but obi aren’t supposed to do that. The esteemed Alex (my upperclassman and Japan Club appointed Queen of Kimono) had already taught me this, but I had forgotten in my lookit-all-the-pretty-fabrics-and-patterns-and-oooh!-it’s-pink haze that often occurs when I am in the presence of pretty things. But pictures! They will be up soon.

Danjiri Matsuri

I went with these two jokers, and Heather (not pictured)

Hi! It’s been a while! This is mostly due to midterms week being next week and also me settling into a more boring routine than what has been previously broadcast. Anyways, today I went to a danjiri festival in Osaka.

The circle is a drum someone sits inside with and beats

The Danjiri matsuri was all sorts of epic awesome. We went to two shrines, the first where I received an onmamroi (good luck charm) for safe driving (though I’m thinking of having it always on my person when I’m on the harrowing streets of Japan) and I got to take lots of pictures, which were ruined by the low lighting, my lack of flash, and the constant drizzle.

We also got to slip away from the group for a short time to find our own dinner. I found a lovely family restaurant which had the most delicious miso soup I could eat. In addition to that, I had a fried chicken (karage) bento box. Again, this was some of the best food I’ve eaten here (including some of Okaasan’s!) and I can only wait to bring more people back to try more of the menu.

Seriously, the broth was  mind-blowing

Here’s the thing about Japanese festivals (matsuri)—they’re pretty darn awesome. I mean, it’s like a mini state fair or something. There were ring tosses, cotton candy, and even grilled things on a stick (which were delicious).

Goldfish catching game

 

Some of the stalls

Ring toss!

HAVE I SAID HOW MUCH I LOVE FESTIVALS, YET? 'CAUSE I REALLY DO!

Dancing Dragon Dude

The main shrine (last two pictures above) we visited was next to Korea town and had some really fun booths and stalls (see above). Unfortunately, the matsuri had a ton of rain, so the danjiri was covered in plastic bags, but it was still excellent, despite the water dripping down my back. The danjiri traveled across the town (even passing the restaurant we were having dinner at) and made a stop at the shrine where someone got on top of the slippery, plastic-covered roof to dance a dance that, according to my poor translation of an old man talking to me, was supposed to imitate a dragon but also looked like a cat. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology (and my cell phone), I managed to get some video of the event, even if it is of slightly poor quality. In the video, the music just sounds like noise, but standing in the rain, listening to the beat of the gong in addition to the beat of the rain just sounded to me like the heartbeat of the matsuri. I couldn't stop the silly grin from sprawling across my face. There's this vivid sense of community you get while watching this. I couldn't find anyone in a bad mood; everyone was laughing or smiling.

And then it was time to be off! Everyone grabbed their ropes and hauled the danjiri off to more parts of town. And then it really started to pour.

Guy in the danjiri--one of the musicians (gong, I believe)

After the danjiri left, I made a prayer at the temple, first paying, then ringing the bell...

...then praying

Eventually we got home. It just took two trains and a bus to do it. What a late night (though it would have been later if they hadn't canceled the main danjiri event due to rain!)!