Day in Osaka

Osaka is a big city, known for its excellent nightlife and vivacity. Today I went with Smitty and Ikue to explore it by day!

First off, we traveled by train from Hirakata to Osaka; we even had to change train lines! Once we arrived in Osaka, we headed towards our major destination: the world-famous Osaka Aquarium.

But first we stopped for lunch where I had my very first okonomiyaki! Okonomiyaki is kinda like a latke, if you replaced the potatoes with cabbage and added a flour sauce (for those of you wondering, a latke is kinda like a pancake if you made it out of potatoes). People then put all sorts of sauces on their okonomiyaki. By a strange twist of fate, it turned out that the head chef and owner of the okonomiyaki restaurant had a daughter who went to Kansai Gaidai as well! And so, she treated us very nicely, giving us recommendations and everything! We each ordered an okonomiyaki and then shared it between the three of us.

Cheese

Sauce

Plain

Boss-lady!

Ikue, I, and Smitty/Rachel

After lunch, we headed to the aquarium. It was amazing. First off they had a show with their live raptors, called a “bird show.” It was awesome and made me slightly miss my job at the nature center. One of the birds decided to misbehave and run away during the exhibition. It was pretty funny.

The owl

That raptor that ran away

His replacement

The parrot

The biggest attraction at the aquarium (hereby now referred to as “Kaiyukan”) is something called a じんべさめ (jinbesame), better known in English as a “whale shark” a.k.a. a shark as big as a whale. The Japanese name refers to the spotted pattern on the shark’s hide; much like an everyday kimono coat pattern called jinbe. It was amazing. Basically, you go up an escalator and then slowly descend, seeing the various types of fish as you go deeper.

I took lots of pictures!

Pufferfish

Capybara

Sunfish

Jellyfish

Clownfish

Jellyfish

Turtle fis...wait...

After visiting Kaiyukan, we went around the shopping mall to do purikura! We had a fun time! Then we went on the gigantic Osaka Ferris Wheel.

There was a giant Stitch plushie in our car...

Thanks to Smitty for the pic!

Osaka

It was epic. But not as epic as what was to follow.

Finally, I found heaven. That’s right, I found the Studio Ghibli store. Oh my gawd, it is so amazing and fantastic and I’m so going to it again. Lookit what I got~!

 

A Day in Kyoto

So, I have wanted to go to Kyoto for about forever since I learned about it. It's the site of the Old Capital, the place where the Heian Age reigned supereme and full of the most beautiful poetry to ever be written (in my humble opinion). So I was psyched to find out that I was going!

Mita and Mackenzie

Today Mita and I went to Kyoto where we met Mackenzie.  And it was awesome. We traveled by a train that turned into a subway once it reached Kyoto, then we went around an ancient park and then to Gion, the shopping and geisha district! We didn’t actually get to see any geisha because we stayed in the shopping section, but there were so many cool things to do and see!

We met at a riverside park where I went gooey-eyed over the amount of herons I saw. I have never been able to photograph a live heron this close before and also look at the awesome turtle stepping stones across the river!

Of course I had to take a shot

Our first stop after meeting was at a park with lots of historical value. We walked around due to none of the palaces being open. I was kinda disappointed, but I got some really cool nature shots, so everything is a-ok. My favorite shots are of the red flower I found (I’m may be a nature girl, but I’m uncertain of what type it is…) and the spider web. Spiders are awesome here in Japan; they spin 3-D webs!

3-D spider web, cool, huh?

Us at the gate!

Then it was off to Gion! The first shop we entered was a sweets shop, where I purchased these three little beauties. I’m almost afraid to eat them, they’re so cute! 

oh

so

cute

I browsed through a couple of more shops (not telling you about the cute things I saw; it’ll ruin the surprise when I give them as gifts~!). One thing I can mention without spoiling anything is the cell phone charm I’ve been searching for, for 4 years. In one of my world-shaking, mind-altering Japanese classes with the wonderful Charo-sensei, she mentioned that in honor of the 1,000^th anniversary of the Tale of Genji, Hello Kitty had been put in a Heian princess costume and that she had a cell phone charm of it sent to her by a student who loved her (like most seem to do). I finally found my Heian Kitty. And I love her to pieces~! Then we took a break at a cake shop. I had something called an “opera” and it was dark chocolate and delicious. 

オペラ　"opera"

Oh so delicious

I also went to a little shop called the Chiri-men craft museum. It may have been a museum, but all I did was shop at the gift shop (scandalous for a Museum Studies minor, I know!). I got a cute little tissue cover for Okaasan and a purse mirror for myself.

We continued on our shopping spree as we went to a Japanese version of claires, a pretty popular jewelry shop back in the states. It was there that we found the best deals of the day. There was a sale (of course there was a sale), but it was an awesome one. Half of the store was 5 for 500 yen. Yeah, we had a fun time. And then the was the purikura, but the photos aren't up yet, sorry!

The rice-gratin thing. Delicious, but confusing

For dinner we went to a chain restaurant, I’m uncertain of the name, where I had some sort of cheesy…thing. It was supposed to be gratin, I think? Anyways it had rice in it and was very filling. Then we loaded up all our purchases and headed home. Where I promptly got on the wrong bus and needed to walk back to the dorm…well, can we at least say that I can survive getting on the wrong bus and heading back in the dark now? I deserve a scout badge or something!

Photo of the three of us, courtesy of Mita

Lazy Holiday

Today I slept in until about 9am, despite the sunlight that blazed through the windows (Seminar House 4 has ineffective curtains, unfortunately.) But today was a holiday (the autumn equinox), so it was a-okay. 

As most vacation days are, it was a pretty lazy day. I read some, I sketched some, I cleaned some. Nothing too important. Then after dinner, I watched a fun Japanese movie called “Handsome Suit.” It’s about a fat guy who learns the meaning of happiness. It was really fun to watch! Tomorrow, I'm going to Kyoto with Mita to meet Mackenzie. We're all from the same college, so we're meeting up. I'm not really sure where we're going, but one of the places is the Geisha District, Gion! I'm so excited!

How to Survive on 600 yen or Less: Life in the Dorms

Being a college student means scrimping and saving every cent you can. Especially when you're in a country where the yen is rising to the dollar. -_-

For those types of college students, here is a bit of advice: the conbini and hyakuen stores are your friends. Hyakuen means 100 yen, so they are equivalent to our dollar stores, but so much better. You can get a decent-sized onigiri (rice ball with filling) for 100 yen, and that takes care of your lunch. For dinner, you can stop by a conbini and check out their fresh food in the refrigerated isle for about 300 yen. For breakfast, you can stop by a vending machine and grab some orange juice for a maximum of 150 yen or go to a conbini or supaa and grab some melon pan. It’s not a great way to survive, but you can do it if you really need to save money. Another good idea is to go to a conbini or supaa (supermarket) at the end of the week and stock up on cup ramen and such. Throughout the week, buy some fresh food from the supaa or the conbini to go with your starchy cup noodles as well.  Also, the supaa Fresco has the cheapest fresh food around, but you want to go to the Sanko conbini for the cheapest cup ramen.

In other news, it really cooled down today; usually it’s been in the 90s, but today was more in the 70s. I also noticed that one of my favorite skirts was hanging a little lower than usual. I went to the gym to confirm: without doing any extra exercise (I like only walk 15 min a day), I have dropped 7 pounds. O.O Jeeze louise! I’ve only been here for less than a month. Hopefully I can regain my “weight” with muscle. I plan to work out with Marian (if we can ever get our schedules to fit together…)!

Lazy Typhoon Day

In Wisconsin, every student awaits with bated breath for the radio announcements of snowdays after a blizzard. However, in Japan, there are Typhoon Days. 

Today class was canceled due the typhoon. Apparently there was a big storm warning. Looking out my window, this morning, I couldn’t see anything, but I fully admit that I’m no expert on tropical storms.  Today was a very lazy day, and I enjoyed it. Last weekend was a 3 day weekend, and now today is a holiday as well. I’d also like to mention that Friday is a holiday too (the autumn equinox), so my last day of school for the week is tomorrow.

I went out with a couple of other dorm students, braving the mist and wind to go shopping. We also stopped by a cafe where I had omurice. I bought lots of cup ramen to last me through the week and some other snacks that will be appreciated.

My room in Seminar House 4 is not what I’d call prime real estate. It’s close to the road, so I always hear a variety of siren noises while falling asleep. There’s also the point that it doesn’t have a balcony, so I have to use the inefficient dryers on the lower level to dry my laundry. Not a high point for me there. The windows have no screens, but thankfully the typhoon has cooled off the air so much, that I don’t need them open. I also have a sneaking suspicion that this is the big party dorm, but I’m not quite sure yet. But, my room is locked by key card, so it always feels like I’m living in some sort of high-class hotel. Also, I manage to keep it pretty clean. So that’s nice. There’s a reason that the words for “clean” and “pretty” are the same in Japanese.

10 Things I've Learned About Life While Living in Japan

1. Those Japanese women aren’t just paranoid about the sun. Hirakata is closer to the equator and getting sunburn on your face, but not realizing it (and just thinking you’re flushed), will always equal pain when you try to wipe off your sweating face. 

2. Always carry around a handkerchief with you. And bring a spare as well; you never know when you’ll need it. 

3. Umbrellas can be used for sun as well as rain. And you’ll need it for both during typhoon-season. 

4. Gifts are the best way to reaffirm your friendship with someone, especially during a first meeting. 

5. Ignoring someone’s very existence on the bus isn’t rude—it’s polite. 

6. No, the bus really isn’t going to run you over, it’s just very close. 

7. Sidewalks are for the weak. 

8. Just smile and nod; you can bullshit your way through anything. 

9. Some things take patience, other things also take patience. Being impatient will give you both bad results and some confused stares. 

10. Talking to people helps organize your day. 

And a bonus 11. If you do anything wrong, it’s because you’re a gaijin. Don’t worry, they’ll forgive you.

Seminar House 4

Today is a national holiday. It’s called “Respect for the Aged Day,” so no school today. It was pretty quiet; I sewed and studied, Okaasan went out to talk to friends. 

It was a pretty lazy day and then, after dinner, I moved back into the Seminar Houses (#4 this time), because Okaasan is going to Tokyo for the birth of her grandchild. Moving into the Seminar House was way less stressful than I thought it was going to be. Okaasan gave me many presents of food before we left (including the infamous cup ramen along with doughnuts of all things…) and we were off. Surprisingly enough, even though it was very early twilight, there were dozens of bats swooping around the rice paddies. I love bats, even though the rest of the world doesn’t, and Okaasan is always surprised by this.

The Seminar House is nice; so far I haven’t really ventured outside of my room, but I’m the only occupant in a two-person room and I don’t have to pay for it. Now if I could only figure out where the bathroom is….

                                                                          

Witness my poor decorating skills!

Also for dinner I had some sort of pork veggie wrap. I got to help decorate, but Okaasan took one look at my “decorating” and said she’d teach me when she gets back from Tokyo. Oh well…

And now for some fun stats!

Weirdest thing I’ve done in Japan so far: eaten corn on the cob with chopsticks

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten in Japan so far: breakfast toast heaped with cheese, onions, ham, and mushrooms, slathered in Tabasco sauce.