Day 181 - 27th of February

天気：曇り
Against expectations, it did not rain today, which meant that I was at least active during the afternoon… I tried to get up at 9:30, but ended up falling back to sleep, finally getting up at about 11. Hugo was still in bed, so I had breakfast, and then went out to the lounge, and played Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on my DS; it was really great to be able to read most of the text. Shortly after 12, I went up to ask Ash if she still wanted to go to Yamada Lake. She did, so we decided to leave at 1; Rachel came along too. Since Ash doesn’t have a bike, we walked, and it was a very pleasant walk; the sun was out and it was warm. Soon enough we reached the lake, and circumnavigated it clockwise. There were many cats out enjoying the fine weather, much to the girls’ delight. We walked through the Queensland fauna exhibition (which was very familiar to me), and then made our way around past the bamboo grove. As we approached it, we noticed a large group of people with telescopic cameras on tripods set up. We were unsure of why they were all gathered around this spot but were soon to find out. From out of the trees came 1, 2, 3 beautiful green breasted, purple-winged birds that might have been parrots or doves; it was hard to tell. Straight away we knew that they were the photographers’ focus, as a flurry of flashing noises filled the air; I didn’t get a very decent shot since I was so far back. We figured that they were a rare species, or only came here during a certain time of year. It was really cool to be able to see them; the photographer’s must have put food there to coax them out. We came just at the right time, as they soon flew off.

We continued on to the plum grove, to find the ground a patchwork of pink and white. There were still a lot of flowers on the trees, but not nearly as many as the other day; yesterday’s rain had not been kind. It was still a very pretty sight, and I couldn’t help but to take another round of photos. We ended up spending about two hours in the park, walking through the woods, going out to the pagoda on the lake, and finally making our way back round the lake to the south exit; it was a lot of fun. Feeling hungry, Ash suggested we go to かっぱ寿司 (Kappazushi), a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Since I had never been, and hadn’t had sushi in a while, I thought, why not; Rachel was keen too. It was only a short walk from where we were too, on the highway. I was really amazed by the set up; three lots of conveyor belts coming out from the kitchen, surrounded by booths. And basically, as soon as you sat down you could start eating, taking what you like off the conveyor belt.

Pretty much all the selections were 105円 each, with some items (like the desserts) being a bit more expensive; calculating the bill was just a matter of counting the number of plates. They mostly served 握り寿司 (Nigirizushi – lit. “hand-formed sushi), which is basically an oblong mound of rice, with a bit of wasabi, and topping draped over it. This could be some sort of fish, including salmon and tuna, octopus, roe, eel, squid, shrimp, or sometimes egg. There was also 稲荷寿司 (Inarizushi), which is a pouch of deep fried tofu filled with rice, and takoyaki, the octopus-filled dumplings. If you wanted to order something in particular, you could a touch screen system to make your selection, which is exactly what Rachel did; she wanted to try takoyaki. It was promptly delivered to our table on the back of a mini Shinkansen that came straight from the kitchen; no need for waiters. I was just content with the selection that came around. I really liked the Inarizushi, and the eel Nigirizushi. I also got a dessert; a sort of tiramisu pudding. Considering how small the portions are, I was full after 6 plates. As Ash explained, it probably has something to do with the break between servings, allowing your stomach to “catch up”.

Feeling very satisfied, we paid and left; I’ll have to go back again sometime. Actually, Saigou Sensei told our class about a really good sushi place past Yamada Lake, which is, in his opinion far, superior to Kappazushi; have to check it out. Ash wanted to go to the uni, and do some grocery shopping, so we walked back down the highway, towards Midori. On the way, I was informed of what, or rather who, Don Quijote was; a fictional character of Spanish literature written in the 1600’s. Apparently it’s really well known novel, though I’ve never heard of it; I’ll have to try and find it and read it now. Anyway, we walked over to the uni, to find it still open, and went to the CIE. Ash was expecting a parcel, and was disappointed when she found out it hadn’t arrived; it’ll probably be there on Monday. Having nothing else to do at the uni, we went on to Fresco, and the Lawson 100円 store (recently converted from the 99円 store), and I picked up a few things. When we finally got home it was after 6. I stayed in the kitchen for a while and chatted with Simon, then went down to my room and read some more. Finally feeling a bit hungry again, I went up and made dinner at 8; gyudon.

After cleaning at 9 (it was Ash’s week, but Rachel and I also chipped in), we contemplated on what we should do, considering Katie and Sarah were still out; they had gone to Kyoto today. We didn’t want to watch firefly without them, so Ash invited the two of us back up to her room to figure out something to watch on her laptop. I suggested we watch Hetalia, and Rachel was immediately taken by the idea, having never seen it before; Ash was more than eager to introduce it to her. So we got set up on the futon, laptop on the table, and proceeded to watch the entirety of the first season; 26 episodes. Keep in mind the episodes are only five minutes each, so we finished up just after midnight. Katie came back in that time, having gone to eat at a Mexican restaurant; that would have been great. She soon went to Sarah’s room, leaving just the three of us. I was really tired by the end of it, and went straight to bed.

Day 180 - 26th of February

11:31pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天

Well all good things come to an end, including the beautiful sunny weather. Today was a miserable rainy day, although it still wasn’t that cold; I guess that’s something. Anyway, I didn’t let the rain stop me from having a good day… I got up just before my alarm was about to go off at 7:50. For some reason, I almost always manage to do that; I must have a very good internal clock. I got ready, and then made my way to uni. I decided to ride, even though it was raining; this decision was partially due to the fact that there were no more umbrellas to borrow. It really wasn’t raining that heavily anyway, and I was wearing a jacket. I met Mori Sempai on the way, and we rode into uni together. Getting to class, we basically spent the 50 minutes revising for the lesson test on Monday; I’m looking forward to it… Then it was time for Reading and Writing, we again started off with a speech, and then sensei informed us of the oldest road in Japan; near Nara!!! I really, really want to go and check it out; he’s given us all the information, and recommended cherry blossom season. Saigou sensei is great; I always take away a lot from his classes. I was so hungry after class, and decided I might as well go home for lunch, since my next class wasn’t until 1:15; I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t have a bike.

I did my homework first (this way I would get it done fast since I was so hungry), and then tucked into lunch; the usual. I had a little nap afterwards, and then it was time to head back to uni once more; still raining. In Gender and Sexuality, the Professor has been letting us watch the Olympics for the first 10-15 minutes of class. Today was the last day of the women’s figure skating and we got to watch 安藤美姫 (Miki Ando), dressed as Cleopatra; she was really good. Then we got stuck into it. After class, we went down to his office to pay for the Takarazuka tickets, which have been successfully secured; can’t wait! Then I was home time again; this time for the rest of the weekend; yay. I went up to the kitchen to eat a mandarin, and caught the end of the women’s figure skating; or more likely a reply. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing well, not much actually. Just when I started to get into Deltora Quest again, I realised it was already time to go to sentou; a few days earlier Yuji had told Hugo and I that he was planning a trip today. I admired Hugo’s enthusiasm, being his first time to a sentou. It ended up just being Yuji, Hugo and I.

Since we all had bikes, of course we rode; still raining. I had let Hugo know all the “rules” of the bathhouse, and Yuji also helped to explain things. We got there just after 6, and stayed for about an hour; so relaxing. I got to see another Yazuka, though his tattoos weren’t nearly as impressive as the last guys; he only had them covering his arms. Hugo seemed to enjoy himself, although the heat of the water made him feel a little out of it; does the same thing to me. I think it’s something you really have to get used too; it’s so hard to spend any longer in there without starting to feel dizzy. Riding back, I relished the feeling of the rain hitting me in the face. Yuji didn’t share my enjoyment, holding his red umbrella over his head; I’m always amazed when people can ride and hold an umbrella at the same time. When we got back, I went into the lounge, and watched a bit of The Fifth Element. Biancha had confiscated the lounge, so no Firefly tonight; oh well.

I soon went up to make dinner, which turned out nicely. I diced up some chicken, put it with some onions, and pasta sauce, then added two eggs, before putting it on top of spaghetti and sprinkling it with cheese; I could become a chef yet. I doubt it though; I just like having fun with food. I stayed in the kitchen and talked with the girls for a while, and then went down with Rachael to watch Episode Denzel: On the way to a Smile (an FFAC spin-off), in the lounge. Biancha, Liz, and Will were watching Edward Scissor-hands, and I couldn’t help but be a little distracted; I love that movie. I ended up watching the last 30 minutes of it, laughing as Biancha was moved to tears by it. Then I watched some more of FFACC with Rachael before calling it a night. After my shower I realised that the top of my right foot was no longer numb. I had just gotten so used to it, that I hadn’t even noticed the change. Feeling it now, it’s still a little strange, but much better than it was; I’m on the road to full recovery, I hope. Well, that’ll do me. I don’t have very much planned for the weekend; might go out somewhere. Most importantly, I have to study for my lesson test…

Day 179 - 25th of February

11:07pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Today was a wonderful day, and went a little differently to how I had planned it; always a good thing… To start off with, I ended up staying home this morning (slept in pretty late), and getting my homework done for Reading and Writing tomorrow. I got to uni for my Speaking class at 12, and then went on to Religion, with a snack in between of course. We talked about 靖国神社 (Yasukunijinja – lit. “peaceful country shrine”), in Tokyo. It is a shrine dedicated to the Japanese war dead, in which they are all deified, the good and the bad alike. This has of course led to much controversy. Part of the controversy arises from the Prime Minister’s annual trip to the shrine, which in the citizens’ minds is a breach in the constitution, separating church (i.e. religion) from state. This brings back the question, what is religious, and what isn’t? And coincidently, the end of the war in Japan (August 15^th), and the day the Prime Minister is expected to visit the shrine, is the same day as the お盆祭り(Obon Matsuri – “Festival of the Dead”), the day which the dead are said to raise again; creepy right. Outside Japan, there is also a great unrest concerning the shrine, especially in China and Korea, where protests are held against the Prime Minister visiting the shrine; an act which is seen by them as worshipping their enemies in war.

And even the shrine itself is a little controversial. It has a war museum on the grounds, the first thing you see being a kamikaze plane. Also of interest are the bride dolls, that have been given as a kind of offering to the fallen soldiers, most of which would have never married, since they were so young. Our professor told us that they have a whole room filled with dolls; that would be really cool to see. Outside, there are statues in honour of the animals that aided the troops in war; dogs, horses, and pigeons. This is again an attempt to placate the spirits. So yeah, that’s another thing I have to put on my to-do list when I go to Tokyo. Earlier today, Katie brought up the fact that mid terms were only two weeks away, and likewise, the professor told us we’d been taking this class for a month now. I really believe how fast it’s gone; my time in Japan is rapidly running thin! But that’s why I have to make the most of the time I have left, and that’s exactly what I did this afternoon; Plum blossoms at Yamada Lake!!!

I got home, and Hugo was there, having come back in his break between classes to do some homework. I went up to have lunch, watching the Olympics, and then got my washing in, before going out again. I had my camera and tape recorder prepped, and sped toward the lake on my bike; probably only took 10-15 minutes to get there. I rode around to the north side of the lake, and was at first worried, and confused about the lack of flowers in the trees; where were all the blossoms? Then I rounded a corner and a flash of colour caught my eye, and soon enough a sea of whites and pinks stretched out before me. I quickly parked my bike, and then dived in, consumed by the intoxicating smell of the blossoms. I busied myself taking as many photos as possible, using the macro setting on my camera feverously. I was honestly overwhelmed; there must have been at least 200 flowering trees. And the colours were spectacular, with a huge range from white through to deep pink. There were a few people picnicking, but overall it wasn’t very crowded, so I could walk through at my leisure, taking video at one point.

I spied Sydney, capturing the moment in another way, with her pencil and sketchpad. She was so focused that she didn’t hear me come up to her (fair enough she had head phones in), and accidently took out her earring in surprise; sorry… It was fine though (she said it happens all the time), and we soon got chatting. She told me she came here almost every day, and had therefore seen the transition, which she said was very sudden; one day buds, the next day an explosion of colour. She also told me that I’d come on a good day. The wonderful sunny weather had brought the masses out here yesterday. I soon let her get back to her drawing, and continued taking photos. She told me about the bamboo groove to the east, and while I had indeed seen it before, I’d never ventured through it. So I made my way over there, passing a fair few cats. It was a bit more open than I had expected, but still very beautiful to walk through, and I came out by the Australian fauna part of the park; the wattle were already flowering. I slowly made my way back to the bike, taking some more photos from the top of a hill of the lake, and the plum grove. Keeping my bike company was a sad-looking black and white cat. He probably wanted food, but unfortunately I had none to give. I really do feel sorry for all the stray cats, a lot of them don’t look to be fairing very well. However I did see a rather fat ginger cat a bit earlier on, so I guess some of them are doing well for themselves.

I rode past more gardens, and cats, and decided to check out the open fields to the south, where I had previously gone for a BBQ with the clubs from Gaidai. There were many people with their dogs and a few kids too. It was getting dark and windy, and threatening to rain, so after taking a few more photos of a small corpse of plum trees, I made my way back home. I decided to go back via the highway, to see if I could find the park Simon had been talking about with all the plum blossoms, before realising (due to his directions), that it was indeed Yamada Lake he had been to. Since I was out this way, I decided I may as well do some grocery shopping (fun), so I went to Kirindo, and Fresco before finally riding home. I put away my purchases, and then soon returned to the kitchen to make dinner. Since I had to use up the rest of my vegetables (especially the potatoes), I decided to make stew, not exactly the right kind of meal for a warm day but still; this meant though, that I had to wait an hour for it to cook. In the mean time, I talked with Katie, Ash, and Rachel, telling them about today’s exploits, and urging them to see it themselves. Ash seemed eager and, weather permitting, we might go Saturday morning. Didn’t stay in the kitchen quite so late tonight; got back down here at about 9:30. I played Plants vs. Zombies for a while, and did my readings for Gender and Sexuality, and then got ready for bed. Hugo still isn’t back…

Day 178 - 24th of February

10:16pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Being in the kitchen can be dangerously distracting; I just spent the last 3 hours up there chatting with people!!! Anyway, earlier today… I got up a little later than I should have, and so even my bike couldn’t save me from being late to class; I felt pretty bad about that. After the speech, sensei showed us some examples of 空耳 (soramimi – lit. “empty ear). Soramimi refers to the misinterpretation of the lyrics of, for the most part, English songs, which can have some very comical results. I had read about this before on the internet, but it was great today, because we actually got to listen to the songs, as sensei would show us the soramimi; most of them worked really well. To give an example (courtesy of trusty Wikipedia) -

The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand":

• I want to hold your hand
• アホな放尿犯
• Aho na hōnyōhan
• (Idiotic public urination ["hōnyōhan" is a legal term for the crime])

It just goes to show how hard it can be for non-native speakers of English to understand song lyrics; even I have trouble sometimes. In truth though, many of these are cleverly devised, and there’s even a comedian in Japan who specialises in them. Anyway if you want to read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soramimi. So yeah, that was a lot of fun. I got my homework done after class, and then went to Reading and Writing. I had a momentary lapse after Reading and Writing; I thought it was time to go home. I guess I was just being really hopeful, but I almost immediately realised that yes, I did indeed have another class. I went over to the convenience store to buy a snack, and then sat out in the sun with Kim, Jo, and Nathan, until class was about to start; another beautiful day. In Gender and Sexuality, we continued to talk about gender and language, in particular, the politeness and positioning of language in Japanese through the use of honorific speech; or lack thereof. We also got to watch a few video clips that highlighted this. Then, I was finished for the day.

Getting back, I immediately put some washing on, and then put some rice on, and then had a shower, to wash my hair and shave. The timing all worked out well; after shaving, the washing was ready to be put out, and then the rice was done. I had a late lunch (about 4 o’clock) of avocado and rice on toast, and then talked with my family until my computer decided to die from overheating; whoops. So, I went to the computer room, where I knew I’d find Simon, and we talked while listening to the radio (Triple J on the internet), and looking up soramimi; Simon found it hilarious. He also showed off his new red "space boots", which actually look really cool. We went up for dinner at about 7, and I had my leftover yakisoba. Conversation didn’t take very long to get on a roll, and then it just kept on rolling and rolling, until everyone was like, “wow, it really is late, I should be doing my homework”. Everyone that is, except Rachel, who was yet again transfixed by the ice skating on TV. Well it’s time for me to get some of that homework done. I’m thinking tomorrow, since I don’t have class till 12, I’m going to ride to Yamada Lake, and see the plum blossoms; hopefully it’s nice and warm. It really has been a dramatic change though, from cold to warm; and it’s not even spring yet!

Day 177 - 23rd of February

9:43pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
It was another wonderfully warm, sunny day today. I slept in till about 9, and then dragged myself out of bed to pancakes for breakfast. After eating, I helped Okaasan clean up the kitchen a bit; she was very grateful. It was really in a dreadful state though. I’d actually gone up last night, and helped Yuji to put all the dirty pots and pans out on the table, as a statement to try to get people to clean up after themselves; I don’t think it’ll work, but it’s something I guess. I got to uni, and did a quick revision of the vocab words before having the quiz for Speaking. After class, I went down to the lounge, and sat with Biancha, got my homework done, and helped her with study for her map quiz in History this afternoon. Soon enough it was time for Religion and we had a little bit of a history lesson, focusing on how Buddhism was pushed aside in favour of Shinto to bring power back to the Emperor in the early 20th century, emphasising nationalism, and homogeny. I made my way home straight afterwards, talking with Nadezhda for a while. When I got back I realised that by bike, it really only takes 5 minutes to get to university; that’s much better than 15 minutes walking. I was so hungry, so you can imagine how happy I was when I finished off the rest of the Nachos; so good. I’m definitely going to have to make that again; hopefully find some spicier sauce for it next time.

After lunch, I went downstairs to find Simon in the computer room, and we chatted for quite a while, eventually moving into the lounge. Then we went to Sanko, so Simon could by some food for dinner tonight, since his plan to go out with people for gyudon had fallen through. I ended up only buying some bananas, which I was very happy about; always spent too much money at supermarkets. We got back just before 6, and the fact that it was still light out was wonderful. The windows were open in the kitchen, and there was no need for the A/C. Simon was hungry and asked for my vegemite to put on some bread until he realised he’d actually picked up メープル (maple) bread; that would’ve been terrible with vegemite. It smelt amazing though, and Simon is letting me have two pieces as compensation; score. I’m going to have them with the rest of my pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. Katie was in the kitchen and, remember that statement Yuji was trying to make; well, she decided it was a good idea to clean it all herself. We tried valiantly to stop her, but she was a woman on a mission. I ended up helping her in the end; I just couldn’t restrain myself.

Getting back downstairs, I spent the next hour and a half uploading photos on deviant art and facebook; I’m way behind. Satisfied with the amount I’d done, I went up and made dinner (yakisoba), and then sat with Ash and Rachel. We talked until 9, and when Katie came in Yuji thanked her for her work in the kitchen. Then it was time for cleaning, and even though it wasn’t my week, I felt compelled to help. I really don’t mind doing it, and it means I can chat with people a bit longer. Finally, it was time to come back down here. I’m going to do some kanji practice after this, and then call it a night. It’s so nice to be able to sit here in a t-shirt, and no socks; I’m even sweating, which I guess isn’t so nice. Anyway, I tried my new soap this morning, and I smelt great; I really did feel smell with my whole heart. Pretty soon I’ll be able to start shipping back all my winter clothes, and hopefully make room to buy some more summer clothes; my hunger for clothing is insatiable. I still have to buy some boots, and my Converse are getting pretty tattered too… well, I’ll see how I go. And wow I really need a haircut!!!

Day 176 - 22nd of February

10:17pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ、曇り

The weather is definitely warming up, the blooming plum blossoms heralding an early spring. Seriously though, even when it was cloudy and windy this afternoon, it was nowhere near as cold as it has been; I’m so happy. Anyway, what did I get up to today… well, I got up with plenty of time to spare, and still made my way to uni with 20 minutes to spare; old habits die hard. Yes it’s loud, and a bumpy ride, but it’s my bike, and I love it to death; I’ve been so deprived. Riding to uni takes no time at all, so I could walk in at my leisure from the bike parking, talking to Kim on the way; no more having to rush. We watched some really cute little video clips in Speaking today, one depicting the life of a business man, and another full of palindromes (which, as you can imagine, work really well in Japanese). I thought I’d have the tunes stuck in my head for the rest of the day, but now I can’t for the life of me remember then; oh well. After Speaking, I went down to the lounge and sat with Katie and Sarah, and got my homework done.

Soon enough, it was time for Reading and Writing. Although the class is intense, I really feel my reading is improving a lot, and more and more kanji are becoming recognisable; it’s great. Where ever I see a kanji I don’t know, or one I do know in a new compound, I’m always eager to look it up (with my trusty iPod dictionary), and that’s helping a lot too. After Reading and Writing, I rode home, and made Milo pancakes for lunch. I haven’t had pancakes in ages, so it was a nice change. Soon after, I was out again, making my way to Midori. On Saturday when I went there, I accidently bought another Nintendo DS case; I can’t believe I didn’t notice it! So yeah, feeling stupid, I decided I had to go back to try and return it. When I got to Midori, I went into Llife first, and found some sauce for my dinner tonight. After I bought the Doritos at Don Quijote, I knew I had to make Nachos, and since I got out the mince from the freezer, I thought I’d give it a shot tonight.

I couldn’t find anything resembling taco sauce, so I settled for a pasta sauce; I always like to improvise. I then went across to the pharmacy, and bought a refill for my soap. It’s unbelievable, but that one, 500ml bottle of soap has lasted me all this time! I love the slogan on the bottle – “Please feel good smell with your whole heart”. I was worried I’d have to get rid of it, so when I found the refill, I was really happy. I’ve been using the aloe vera extract all this time, so I decided I’d try the orange extract; hopefully it makes me smell yummy. Anyway, after that I went upstairs and was at first hesitant to approach the register. As far as I can tell, Japan is a notoriously difficult place to get a refund on goods. I bumped into Jeremy (he was looking for a new pair of earphones), and told him of my mistake, and he figured the odds of getting my money back weren’t promising. Still, I was determined, and, sucking it up, I approached the register…

I didn’t have to say much before the woman realised what I wanted. And… it was all good! After a bit of number crunching, she had a new receipt printed out, and all I had to do was sign, and I had my money back; I was very grateful. Well, that was certainly easier than I thought it would be; maybe because I got onto it straight away. Elated, I went to tell Jeremy, and then celebrated by playing the piano. Well, I had actually intended on playing it anyway; I even brought some sheet music to practice! Jeremy left me there, and a played for a while. Finally tiring of it, I left Midori, and made my way over to Kirindo, to pick up some basics. Then I was on a mission to find everything I needed for Nachos. I went over to Fresco to get an avocado (they’re the cheapest there), and then rode to Top World. I was able to find sour cream (really cheap since it was almost expired), and a small bag of red kidney beans. I also found that sparkling chocolate drink; since it was so cheap I decided I’d give it a go.

Satisfied with all my purchases, I went home groceries in my basket, and bag on my shoulder; it wasn’t so bad. It was about 4:15 when I got home, and after unpacking my groceries, I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and playing Plants vs. Zombies; those dolphin-riding zombies are so fast in the water!!! I had a nap at 6, and by 6:30 I was so hungry I had to make food. And believe me when I say I was very happy with the result; it looked great, and tasted even better. I’ve even got a bit left over, which I think I’ll eat tomorrow for lunch. The only thing I wish I had had was some proper sauce, but Sarah told me they had some at Top World; I’ll have to look harder next time. After cleaning up, and watching the ice skating for a while, I went downstairs to find Simon, and his Japanese friends watching Batman Forever, dubbed in Japanese. I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and it was actually quite hilarious to watch; more because of how bad it was. Still, I kept me entertained, and we all had a good laugh. After the movie was finished, it was time for all the guests to leave (it was almost 10), and for the rest of us to get some homework done. Hugo returned from dinner, a little after I got settled down. Well, better do a bit of revision for tomorrow’s quiz…