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.

Day 170 - 16th of February

天気：曇り
This morning I was woken up by something other than my alarm. At 7:35 this morning we had an earthquake!! We have had several since I’ve been here, but this was the first one I actually felt; I was so pleased. It only lasted for about 5 seconds but it was pretty powerful. After that excitement, I fell back to sleep, and finally got out of bed at 9:30. I made egg on toast for breakfast, and then readied myself for uni. I had a vocab quiz in Speaking today, and felt confident about all my answers so that was good. In the hour break, I went to koto club to get some practice in. Maarika and Natalie were also there, Maarika studying and doing her Japanese homework, and Natalie going over the basics and making a start on Sakura sakura. As for me, I practiced a new piece of music we received today. I can’t remember what it’s called but it’s very pretty, and much easier than sandan. I went through the first koto part once, and then went straight onto the second koto part; the tuning is the same for both parts. I think it’ll sound great with both parts together, so that’s what Maarika and I are striving for.

After practice, I quickly ducked over to the convenience store to get a snack, and then went to Religion. We talked about the Shinto gods, Inari in particular. We’re going on a field trip to Fushimi Inari on Sunday, and while I’ve already been once before, I think it’ll be very informative going again with the professor. So that’s something to look forward to on the weekend. After class, I went to pick up a package from Nanny and Poppy, and hastily opened it to reveal a beautiful knitted scarf, a card, and some puzzle books. The scarf was perfect! I’d wanted to by a colourful scarf here, but they’re so expensive for what they are and the fabric isn’t very thick. This will be ten times warmer and it was made with love. Very happy, I made my way onto the main street and walked towards Kirindo, only to find it closed; this was odd. I needed groceries, so I decided I’d go back home, and then go to Sanko later on. I ended up being really lazy again, and just napping until about 6, when I went out to Sanko. I got some okay deals there, but there was hardly any meat left, which was a bummer.

Getting back, I went straight to the kitchen, and started cooking dinner after a brief chat with Ash and Rachael. I decided to make pizza, but tried to be clever by pre-slicing the base into four pieces, before putting my toppings on. For some reason, my stomach was sore (it had been since earlier this afternoon) but I persisted, thinking I might feel better after eating. Pizza in the oven, I went downstairs to get my homework done. 20 minutes later, I was back in the kitchen, to find the cheese spilling over onto the aluminium foil. This proved problematic when trying to separate pizza from foil. It actually turned into a mission, one that had me very frustrated in the end; that’s the last time I use aluminium foil when cooking pizza. I did finally get to eat it, warm and foil-less. Then I sat down with Katie, Ash, Rachael, and Rachel. Rachael had brought down her limited edition Final Fantasy Advent Children box set, and let me read the novel that came with it. This meant that I was only half listening to the conversation, and Rachel was in her funny mood again; everyone was having a good laugh.

Katie had bought a huge punnet of strawberries, and very considerately shared them out to everyone, but only after they were sliced and sugared; of this she was very strict. They were really tasty, a real treat. This made me think of Sweets Paradise; I really want to go there again in the near future. After that, we slowly drifted off, homework beckoning; well at least for the others. The only thing that was beckoning me was my blog, and I was finally able to get Sunday’s entry finished. Now that I’m all up to date again, I can spend way more time studying. I’ve really got to get my laundry done too. I was supposed to do it today, but that didn’t happen since I fell back to sleep. I’ll definitely do it tomorrow, though I don’t know when exactly; probably have to be after uni. Other than that, everything in my life is going really well at the moment, but I can’t stop myself from thinking about when this all comes to an end. I’m really looking forward to going back to Australia, but at the same time I feel that being here has been such a huge part of my life for a long time now, and it’ll sure be weird when that goes away. Anyway, I just have to make the most of the time I have left here; make it something to remember forever…

Day 56 - 25th of October

9:26am　普通電車

天気：曇り

I'm with Katie on the local train to 伏見稲荷 (Fushimi Inari). It looks like it's going to be a cool day; overcast. We're not the only ones travelling. Carly is on a field trip, and Ash is going to a doujinshi convention - doujinshi are fan-made comic books. We all started out on the 9:06 bus, and then went our separate ways at the station.

4:06　普通電車
We're on the train back to Makino now. Today was fantastic... After getting off the train it was only a short walk to Fushimi Inari. The main grounds were quite expansive and we explored for a while before the festival. Soon after 11, the ceremony began in the main building. We were told not to take photo's and I felt compelled to oblige. The priests were first purified, and then they entered the building. They brought out a number of offerings on trays representing the years harvest; fish and vegetables and the like. Then, four women, sickle in their right hand, and bundle of rice in the left, performed a ceremonial dance to song and music from the orchestra. After the dance was complete, the offerings were put away, and after prayers and bowing, the priests left the building, followed by a procession of others; we decided to follow.

As we made our way through the forest, a Japanese woman came up to us and started speaking English. She explained to us the significance of the portable shrine, and how the danjiri didn't used to have wheels, they were carried; people have become weaker. We came upon a small field of rice, yet to be harvested. At this point, it was acceptable for us to take photos, so I recorded the event. The portable shrine (small and carried by two) was opened and some sort of box was taken out. Then the music and dance began again. At the same time, and group of people from the procession began to harvest the rice in the traditional fashion; with the sickle. They completed about a quarter before the music came to a close. Then, taking a bunch of the newly harvested rice, the priest placed it on the "box", before putting it back in the portable shrine. After the ceremony was completed, they continued to work in the field. The lady explained that only 40 years ago, rice was still harvested this way, and the straw was used for so many things; hats, shoes, mats... but no more.

It was about 12 at this point, so we decided to have lunch before heading up the mountain. We went to a small restaurant out on the street, and ordered from the plastic samples out front; I ordered an egg and rice, and noodle set. After lunch we began out hike through the 鳥居 (torii - shrine gates). It was absolutely incredible. There were literally 1000's upon 1000's upon 1000's of vermillion gates all the way up the mountain. We walked all the way to the top, through silent cedar forests and bamboo groves, and past 100's of sub-shrines with there own mini torii, and fox statues, all dedicated to Inari - the god of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success. I felt a profound connection with the nature around us. It wasn't too crowed and at some points it was so quiet, we felt that we shouldn't speak. At the middle of the climb, there was a great view of Kyoto; we stopped there to eat our apples after looping around the top.

Every single gate had writing on it; the year it was made and the sponsor. As old ones rotted away they were eventually replaced with new ones we gathered. Because of this, there were so many different shades of red. I was a bit disappointed that the leaves hadn't changed yet, but the green actually created a great contrast to the red of the gates. As usual, there were many stray cats around. We didn't end up getting down until almost 4. Katie bought a few trinkets and then we got on the train. Now we're back in Makino...

11:21pm

It's late I know. Came home about 5, had dinner, then studied for a bit. Tomorrow, I don't have my speaking class, so I don't have to be at uni until 12. This will give my time to study some more, and do my laundry.