Day175 - 21st of February

11:35pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Today was such a nice, sunny day. Perfect weather for climbing a mountain; and that’s just what I did… I got up at 8:15, and readied myself to be out of the seminar house by 9. Well I actually took a little longer, but still managed to make it to Makino station before 9:30; yay for bike. I got on the local train, which took a little over 30 minutes to get to Fushimi Inari; I played Harvest Moon on the way. Getting off at the station, I met with the others (a disappointingly small number), and we set out for the shrine; after waiting for the next train, which no one else got off. I tried my hardest to stay close to the professor for the field trip, to gain as much information as possible; and it was very interesting. Even though we took the same path I’d been on before (it is after all the main route), many things along the way seemed much more meaningful. There was a stone, where you have a question in your head and, if the stone is heavier then you though it was when you lift it, the answer is no, but if it is lighter, then it’s a yes; I got a no.

And later on, there was a “coughing shrine” – basically a manifestation of Inari that deals with peoples coughs. This is interesting because the onomatopoeia for both coughing and the cry of the fox is “kon kon”, and Inari is most often portrayed as a fox; Japan loves its puns. This particular shrine even received mail, from people who either want their coughing cured, or in thanks. Nearby, we got to see a woman practicing waterfall purification; the water must’ve been freezing. Inari is a really amazing god actually. Undoubtedly the most personalised, it has so many different manifestations. I got some film, and of course took plenty of photos; sometimes falling behind a bit. Another interesting shrine, right at the bottom of the mountain, was the one to pacify executed animals i.e. the ones we kill to eat. We finished up around 1, and I decided to make my way straight home, not seeing much point in going to the flea market. All in all, it was a good field trip. Fushimi Inari is a beautiful place to visit; I think I might go back one more time during cherry blossom season.

Getting back to Makino, I bought some bread at Mini Stop, and then went over to where I parked my bike. When I found it wasn’t there, I freaked out and though, “My bike’s been taken away, and it’s only the second day I’ve had it!” Luckily, I soon located it, propped up in a nearby gutter; phew, I was so relieved! The ride back was very pleasant, although my legs did hurt a bit; oh well, it is good exercise. I made some lunch (avocado which corn chips on top), and watched TV for a while. There was a really cool quiz show on, where the contestant had to answer a question while doing jump rope. They had to get 6 people on without stuffing up; that would have been incredibly tiring. Japanese game shows are so active; and we wonder why they’re all so skinny. After that, I slept for a few hours, having developed a headache; probably all the exercise was too much for me, how sad. I got up at about 5:30, and cleaned up the room, and sorted my shelves and desk out; looks much better now.

I had dinner a little after 7:30 (heated up butaman and rice), and caught up with Rachel, who had been to the flea market; she didn’t end up getting any kimono though. We sat with Alvaro and Tristan (my next door neighbours), and talked about heaps of stuff. Simon came in a bit later, back from his exciting day at USJ. Since he didn’t have any dinner, he asked if he could have some bread and some vegemite, and how could I possibly refuse a fellow Aussie vegemite? We got Rachael to try some, and she hated it; the look on her face was priceless. Later, when everyone else had gone, Simon put on some rice, and we talked for a few more hours, and he told me about how Australia is making genetically modified lamb with a chocolate taste, I an attempt to increase exports to Japan. I don’t know if this is true, but that’s absolutely crazy; who would want to eat chocolate-tasting lamb!? Speaking of chocolate tasting things, Jeremy found “sparkling chocolate” at Top World, a soft drink; I want to try some… I finally got back down here at 10, and did some kanji practice for a little over an hour. I guess it’s time for bed now, uni tomorrow, and Hugo should be back in the afternoon.