天気：曇り
I had an eventful day today. Well, I should stay, eventful afternoon; I only got up at 12… After breakfast, I went into Hirakata by bus, my first stop being Animate. I’d gone to the one in Den den town, and remembered Ash talking about one in Hirakata. I found out it was in the department store by Makkas; I’ve been there several times. It was vastly smaller than the one in Den den town, but I still found some stuff. I got two more Hetalia cans (Germany, and Japan), a “China” badge, and the manga. Out the front, they had a bunch of capsule machines, and I wanted to get another Hetalia key chain. The first time around, I accidently put my money in the machine above, and ended up with a badge from an anime I don’t know. Still, it was another badge, so I eagerly added it to the collection on my bag, along with China.
After Animate, I went down to the men’s floor, and bought just one item; a long sleeve shirt. After that, I went over to Makkas for lunch, trying the new Texas burger. It was actually really nice; beef, bacon, cheese, mustard, barbeque sauce, pesto, and some sort of crunchy bread flakes. After that, I had a quick look in Book Off, and then decided to go on an adventure. Out of Book Off, I turned right and followed the train tracks toward Osaka; my destination would be Hirakata Park; just one station down. This was by no means a boring walk; there was so much to discover along the way. First, I came across the 一乗寺 (Ichijou temple), and a park that offered a view of the city from the top of its slide. I continued walking up the hill, and into a forest, up and up stairs, and found the 意賀美神社 (Okami shrine), at the top.
It was such a beautiful complex, with the main shrine, and a number of other smaller shrines attached. Calm washed over me as I walked through. It was so quiet with only a few people coming in to pray and drop off their “holy garbage”. I feel such a connection with nature whenever I enter shrines, much more so than I do when I’m in temples. The location probably has something to do with it (shrines are usually situated in forested areas), but I
think there’s more to it. I continued down the other side of the hill, to find myself in a plum tree grove. Surprisingly, some of the trees had already started to bloom. I continued to make my way over to a park, and took in the amazing view of the city and river, and mountains beyond; I’ll definitely go back in spring. Down the hill I went, past some very photogenic cats, and then through the streets to another temple. I can’t find the reading for this temple (大降寺 - daikouji?), but across from it was a 願生防 (ganshoubou – priest’s residence); I’d love to live in a place like that.
After taking some photos of the ハボタン (habotan - ornamental cabbage) out the front, I made my way over to the tracks, and took some photos whilst standing on them, only to be scared out of my pants when the warning signal sounded. I scurried off, and made my way up another hill, to find yet another temple, which I also can’t find the reading for (臺鐘時 – daishouji? - “standing bell temple”). It was, like the previous one, deserted, and there was a rock garden with some cool statues. Around the back was a cemetery, and I continued walking through it, going into more streets. Hirakata Park’s Ferris wheel was in sight, so I knew I wasn’t far off, and true to my prediction, I soon came to Hirakata Park station. It’s all yellow and purple, and adorned with characters from the park. I made the short walk over to the park and took a quick squiz. I definitely want to go there; it’ll have to wait till spring though.I was now feeling very cold, and my feet were sore, so I got on the train, planning to take it to Makino and then walk home. When I got to 御殿山 (Gotenyama) however, I jumped off the train; what was I thinking. Gotenyama is one stop away from Makino, and the closest station to the university. I was on a mission to find more Final Fant
asy elixir with figurines and I knew the Lawsons near the uni had them in stock. So choosing a totally random route, I made my way there, not really knowing where I was going; I really do love getting lost. I climbed another massive hill, only to be rewarded with another impressive view, and soon had the university main administration building in sight; good thing it’s so tall. I found my way back to the main drag, and excitedly made my way over to Lawsons and bought the box set. I was over the moon when I found Snow Villiers inside, but disappointed when I found the same design on the can. I’m thinking, I’m going to go back and try and see if I can do and exchange with another can; can’t hurt to try. I walked back through the uni and homeward.Unfortunately, Avail was calling me, and I couldn’t help myself; they were having a winter clearance; it was also a nice reprieve from the cold. In the end, after trying a number of things, I only bought a jumper; I was going for a really good price, and I love the Engrish on it. I returned home, and talked with mum for about an hour before going up for dinner. I made egg, tomato, and cheese toasted sandwiches with rice. As an added flavour, I crunched up the rest of my corn chips into the rice. It actually tasted really nice; I enjoyed the texture too. For dessert I had two taiyaki (caramel filled) that I had bought just before going into uni; they were so good! I kept Jacinthe company during, and after dinner for about an hour; she’d had a nothing day. I was good to talk. She also showed me the textbooks for Japanese 4; they look heavy! Aki came over and told us she’d be moving over to seminar house 4 next semester, so that will leave Yuji and Asumi (to come) as RAs; Hiroshi will be returning to seminar house 3. After trying to read through a few passages of Doumo (Speaking textbook) I said goodnight, and come back down here and showered. Today was a lot of fun but now I think it’s time for sleep…
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