Day 262 - 19th of May

9:03pm　バス停　－　片鉾中央図書館

天気：雨天

I’m standing here with Carly at the bus stop, waiting for the 9:20 bus. We’re staying at her hotel tonight, so we can get an early start tomorrow; we’re going to the geisha dances in Kyoto, and then probably doing some shopping. It’s raining, and probably will be raining again tomorrow; great way to end the semester. I’m finished, I’M FINISHED!!! I’ve been saying that sporadically since this evening. I feel… empty. I’m happy, but at the same time, the realisation that really is the end is starting to kick in… Today, I spent from 8 till 3 working on my essay, with one break for lunch. Since Hugo was sleeping, I spent most of the morning in the computer room, and then moved back into my room when he finally got up. At 3:15, I decided I had to get going, and since I had finished everything but the conclusion, I figured I could work on that after getting everything else sorted out. It actually took a surprisingly short amount of time. Basically, I had to go to the library, then the L.L. and then the CIE office, before finally going to the SHOMU-BU office for my reimbursement; yay for cash in hand. Admittedly it was a bit of running around, but there were very efficient; my bike registration has now been cancelled, and my ID card has a hole punched through the barcode.

That done, I got onto my conclusion, and ended up having to use a computer in the L.L since the computer lab on the first floor was absolutely packed. After I finished, I had to go down there anyway to print it off. I was very lucky in the fact that a computer opened up just as I arrived; thank you Kirianna. I found Carly, and after hand in my essay to the professor (and a few words of thanks), we went to check out the sumi-e and ceramics’ exhibition; since I didn’t bring mine, Carly let me use her camera. I must admit, I found the works this semester to be of a much higher standard overall, and fell in love with many…

バス

Now we’re on the bus; that was the longest 20 minutes ever… I would have bought them if they had been on sale; I was thoroughly impressed. After that, we went and got taiyaki (custard-, and caramel-filled) and I felt so stuffed afterwards; so yummy. Then we made our way back to the seminar house, briefly browsing Avail; I bought my brother a shirt. Getting back, I talked with my family over skype until about 7, and then went up to make dinner; spaghetti bolognese. Carly came in too, and we got in trouble when Yuji came in; I felt bad about that. After updating my blog, we got going; we’ve just made it to the station now…

11:13pm　セミナーハウス

Well this evening took an interesting turn. When we got to Carly’s hotel, as soon as the lady at the reception desk saw we were going to the elevator, she stopped us and said I couldn’t go to the room; since it’s a single room, only one person’s allowed. Oh well, so much for that. I made my way home on the next bus, and was thankful for Carly’s umbrella walking back to the seminar house; it was pouring. When I was getting off the bus at Hirakatashi I realised I didn’t have my keys with me, so when I arrived back and the gate was locked, I got really worried. Luckily, not five minutes later Marine and Angela returned home and let me in; I was so, so grateful. I immediately went to the kitchen to retrieve my keys; of course I had left them in the cupboard. I sat with Julie, Liz, Chelsea and Rebecca for a little while, and was interviewed by Liz about my English/Japanese experience; she’s doing it for assessment at her home university. Soon after, I came back down here, and was visited by Katie; she had just got back from a fun-filled day with her friend who’s just come from Canada. She let me know the time and place of the geisha dances tomorrow, and we’ll probably be meeting her when we get there. With that in mind, I’d better get some sleep; I’m finished…

Day 110 - 18th of December

11:12pm　セミナーハウス
天気：寒い
I didn’t end up getting back till 4:30 in the morning. Karaoke was so much fun. Although it was expensive, we got free refills. I was switching rooms throughout the night, and the Japanese girls were really impressed by my singing skills, xD. I ordered a caramel parfait while I was there. It was so good, with tiramisu cake, and chocolate biscuit, and cream and nuts, and strangely, frosty flakes; the same ones I eat for breakfast. I added a great texture though; it’s certainly given me a good idea of what to put in my ice cream when I get back. We had a bit of a scare at about 3. The TV suddenly shut off, and a voice came over the speaker; a fire warning! The Japanese girls understood straight away, freaked and got us to quickly move out of the room. We were in the corridor for less than a minute before they came over the speakers again saying everything was fine; what a relief. So the TV came back on, and we continued. The last song I sang was with Midori sempai. I had never heard the song before, but I screamed out the lyrics (musically of course) nevertheless; it was great.

Some of the group decided to continue on, but Midori, Saki, Justin, Niky, Mark, Sean and I left. Giving Chiharu the money, and saying our goodbyes, we took the elevator down, and out into the cold. From there we all split up; Niky took a taxi home, Midori went with her boyfriend, Sean made his way back to Kuzuha on foot (so far!!!), and Justin, Mark, and I walked back to the seminar houses. I was really appreciative of that, because they both had bikes and could have just ridden home. We talked about differences between Australia and America, ethical issues, and language; a very riveting conversation. I made a comment about wishing I had a bike, and they both offered theirs to me for free. I was so taken aback, but extremely happy, and of course accepted. I’ll be taking both; one for me, and the other to give to someone new who wants one next semester. I’ll be picking them up tomorrow.

I didn’t end up getting out of bed until 11; I still had cereal for breakfast though. Diego had already left for Kyoto with Jessica. Carly and I on the other hand, went to Kansai Gaidai to pick up my results from CEL. I was so surprised; I got 98 out of 100 for the quiz and a 92 for my report. I also got three letters from Nanny and Poppy, which was a little odd. I’m not going to open then till Christmas though. We decided to have another look at the exhibition and take some pictures this time. After that, we went into Hirakata, to cancel Carly’s account, get me some tooth paste. Getting back, we had lunch (at 4), and said our goodbyes to Amber; she left with her boyfriend. I got so much leftover food from her, and several other people. Boxes have been placed in the kitchen where people can put there unfinished containers. This has created a free for all for us who are staying over winter; my poor cupboard is already bulging. There are also boxes for clothes, books, shoes, toiletries, hangers etc. downstairs, which I will also raid at some point.

Carly and I were going to meet Jessica and Diego in Arashiyama, but we left it too late; it was already dark and freezing. And, Diego and Jessica were already leaving. We did make a quick trip to Sanko though. Since we had such a late lunch we didn’t end up eating until 9; I had yakisoba. Feels so good to have everything over and done with. Well, have to get the room inspection done on Tuesday; gotta make sure everything’s in order. I think I’m going to have a big clean up tomorrow. So many people have left already; the futon are piling up outside the elevator. Ash and I were talking about how fun it will be to share our knowledge with the people coming aboard next semester; I can’t wait. She and Katie have moved in together now since Amber’s gone; I hope they don’t get sick of each other. Anyway, it’s late and I need sleep…

Day 42 - 11th of October

10:09am　特急電車

天気：寒い

We just witnessed a parade of 神輿 (mikoshi - portable shrines) in the main street of Hirakata. In the Kansai region they are called 壇尻 (danjiri) and we think they might have been preparing for a particular festival tomorrow, in which the participants lift the danjiri and bash into other danjiri in combat; maybe I'll be able to see it. Anyway, we're now on the limited express to Kyobashi. I'm with Jessica and Diego. We are going to the Studio Ghibli exhibition at the Suntory Museum next to the Osaka Aquarium. After that, we're going to アメ村 (ame-mura - America Village), and then the Umeda Sky Building; It's going to be great.

3:37pm　御堂筋線
We're almost at Umeda now; we decided to go to the Sky Building first. After seeing the Studio Ghibli exhibition, we ate lunch and then got back on the trains. We changed over to the 御堂筋線　(Midosuji line) at Honmachi and are now just one stop away from 梅田 (Umeda).

7:05pm　御堂筋線

We're now on the train to 心斎橋 (Shinsaibashi). Now we're going to America Village and getting some dinner. Umeda Sky Building was amazing. We got there during sunset and were treated to a spectacular scene at the top. We stayed around until dark, and saw the city light up. We met with Ash and Katie, and Amber and Joey when we got there, and then split up again when we left...

7:40pm　サイゼリヤ

We found this really great Italian resturant chain called Saizeriya near America Village. We're eating now...

8:16pm　サイゼリヤ

Finished eating. Tirimasu for dessert!!! Sooooo good, and it was all so cheap too.

9:06pm　長堀鶴見緑地線

We're now on the train from Shinsaibashi to Kyobashi ~ the nagahoritsurumiryokuchi line (lol, had to put it in cause it's sooo long). After dinner, we walked around America Village a bit. It wasn't as grand as I had expected, but there were a lot of clothes shops. Unfortunately they were closing; this was disappointing. It is a Sunday I guess. Today was a very long day, but it was a lot of fun... The Ghibli exhibition was so cool. We got to walk through a number of rooms with the original layouts from all the movies, shorts, and cartoons Ghibli has produced, in frames covering the walls. At the end there was a gift shop, and I couldn't go past buying the book; a compilation of thousands of the layouts. I also bought some postcards.

We saw Ash and Katie; they'd came out about 10 minutes after us. We weren't expecting them to be here (they were supposed to be with Amber at Joypolis), and exchanged numbers so we could meet up later. The lines were really long (it took almost an hour to get in, and we waited in the gift shop line for about 15 minutes), but it was well worth it; a once in a life time experience. We had lunch in the nearby plaza; it was almost 2:30 by this time. I had かつ丼 (katsudon - a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet and egg - so yummy), and Jess and Diego had KFC; lolz very Japanese. Anyway, on the stage above the main food court, there was a dance competition (presumably) going on...

9:29pm　急行電車
Now we're going back to Hirakata on the Keihan line... As I was saying, a dance competition was going on between groups of kids! They were all really talented and the costumes were so cool. I got a bit on film. After eating, we walked back to the station, and saw Ash and Katie again, walking in the opposite direction (they were going to eat, and then would catch up with us later at Umeda). From the aquarium on the Chuo subway line, we went down five stations to 本町 (Honmachi) and then transferred to the Midosuji line and went up two stations to Umeda. Once there, we had a little trouble figuring out how to get to the Sky Building; the station is a huge shopping complex, and it was easy to get turned around. We ended up exiting on the wrong side of the station, and walking through a shopping street for a while. We asked for directions and were turned around back to the station.

Finally, after more directions, we exited on the correct side and walked out onto the street, before entering an underground walkway under a train yard. With the building clearly in sight we made our way over, and sat near the gardens for a while. It's such a cool looking building; two towers connected at the top, like an upside down "U" with a big hole in the centre. We met with the girls and Joey, and made our way up; there was a lot of crossing over involved... You start at the right tower, go up to the 4th floor (I think), cross over to the left tower and go up to the 31st floor by elevator (which is made of glass so you can view outside), then finally take an escalator that spans to the right tower to the 36th floor (so cool). From there, you pay 700円 entry fee, go up some more escalators and stairs (or elevator if you like) and finally you're at the top. The viewing platform is circular and skirts the circular hole in the centre. At night, black lights are turned on, and the floor glows with multicoloured pebbles. There is also a place on top for lovers to have a padlock engraved with their names locked on a wire fence; very cool. In fact, it was a bit chilly :P.

10:46pm　バス

Diego and I are now on the bus back home; we said goodbye to Jess at the station. We might be going to the Danjiri festival tomorrow, but if not, today was awesome, and I can always study tomorrow...