Day 127 - 4th of January

3:47pm　準急
天気：晴れ
On the sub-express to Kuzuha; going to do some shopping. I didn’t get up till 2:40, because I was up till 4 talking to Alex. Wouldn’t you know it; the first night in a while my roommate's away and I still get to sleep really late; oh well. I’m here…

5:21pm　準急
And back to Makino I go. I’m disappointed that I didn’t buy any clothes; there just wasn’t anything I really liked. But I did get a Studio Ghibli CD, and dye for my hair; it’s so unbelievably cheap here! I’m going to colour it tonight. Here…

10:36pm　セミナーハウス
It’s pouring down with rain; I can hear the thunder and see the lightning through my closed windows. This is the first real storm I’ve had since I’ve been here; I wonder if we’ll have a black out. I seriously didn’t know what I was hearing at first, but then I finally realised it was indeed a storm. Glad I’m not out in it; Ryan is though. He left while I was having dinner; I don’t know where he is. I finally got home, after stopping at the Keihan shop and Shimamura, picking up everything I could think of I would need to dye my hair. I got everything set up (even stole a chair from the computer room), and got stuck into it. And yes, it’s red again. There really isn’t that much change. I’m really happy with my effort though; I covered up the roots really well. I’m going to put some highlights into it soon; that should be fun.

It was after 8 by the time I had dinner; rice and chicken. Mosters Inc. was on TV so I enjoyed watching that; it was in English and I was surprised there were no subtitles. A girl said she could actually change it to Japanese on the TV and I wondered how that was possible; the end credits were in Japanese though, so that made me think. I tried the daidai orange after dinner, and wow, it was bitter!!! When I got back to the room, Ryan was gone, so I busied myself sorting out my laundry, while listening to my new Ghibli CD; it’s got some really good remixes on it. I really hope it’s not still raining tomorrow; my laundry is way overdue. I don’t have any plans for tomorrow; I don’t know whether or not I went to go out yet. I think the storms moving away; I haven’t heard thunder in a while. It’s still raining hard though. Time for bed… I think.

Day 79 - 17th of November

11:34pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
Another miserable, rainy day. It was also a very long day. I didn't need to go shopping this morning, since I'd gone on Sunday, so I relaxed a bit, had lunch, then went out into the rain. After speaking, I went to McDonalds and got the new McFlurry (strawberry short cake). I know, I'm crazy eating ice cream in the winter, but it was so nice. I did a bit more research for my history essay, then went to class. I found myself falling asleep. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, it was just that the room was so nice and warm. I hung out with Amber and Carly a bit after class, then went to koto. We didn't get that much practice in, since we had a big meeting at the beginning about our party after the INFES. We had a short session with the sensei, and then the last 1 and a half was the girls practicing; they need it more than us, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Sakura, sakura really isn't a very hard piece. I'm looking forward to practicing new things afterwards.

After koto Sean, Mark, Justin and I went with Saki sempai to Kuzuha mall to buy our zouri (scandals) and tabi (socks) for our kimono. We were supposed to go yesterday, but since that we inconvenient for me, and everyone else didn't mind going today... well yeah, it all worked out fine. So off we went, through the freezing cold to 御殿山駅 (Gotenyama station). Two stops down and at Kuzuha mall, we met sempai's mum; she's very cool. As soon as we got there, she made Mark carry her heavy shopping bag; it was so funny. We went to one shop that sold tabi-like socks, but they all had stupid designs on them; we wanted plain ones. So we went up to the kimono shop on the 3rd floor; the women who came with sempai's mum to help us with our kimono the other week works there. Luckily, they had zouri and tabi in our sizes, but they were pretty expensive. We also had to buy ties for our kimono. Justin and Mark opted to just buy the zouri and ties, while Sean and I bought tabi also (white). It was after 9 at this point and the rest of the shops had closed, so we hurried back down to the first floor.

We parted with sempai and her mum, and went into the grocery store. I didn't want anything in particular; it was all very expensive. But I did find a small glass dish, which I'm very happy about. I'm going to make a cake for my birthday in it; yay!!! Hungry and tired, I made my way home, picking up a bag of Mister Donut donuts on the way; they were cheap okay. Caught the train back to Makino and walked home. My ears were hurting from the cold by the end of it; stupid me for not bringing my beanie. I was 10 when I got home, and after answering some questions for Deigo I made chicken parmigiana for dinner, and had a heated up donut for dessert. So, I didn't get down here till 11, and now I just want to go to bed. I can do my Japanese homework tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon is for history essay...

Day 73 - 11th of November

10:31pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
Another rainy day. The water-way outside was full and fast running, and we joked that it would be fun to go rafting. Talked with my parents and got a start on my history essay. Jessica came over to study with Deigo, and Carly, Amber and I, went to Kuzuha mall, after lunch. It was only spitting when we left, so we walked to Makino station, stopping at the bank for Carly along the way. Amber took us a different way, that Carly and I insisted was longer than the way we were used to going. But anyway, we got to Kuzuha, and I was intent on finding a jacket and gloves for Hokkaido. We went to "Uniqlo" first, and I found a great jacket and gloves. I decided to shop around a bit more before making my decision to buy them. We went to a number of other clothes shops, but everything we looked at was either more expensive, or of a poorer quality. I did however pick up a pair of jeans and belt for about $30. Guess what colour they are... orange!!! And, a white belt. I know I'm crazy.

We also went to the book store and HMV. I bought some mochi at the super market, and then we went back to Uniqlo. I was extremely happy with my purchase. The jacket is stylish but very practical, warm, and water proof. The gloves are a little small, but what can you do; I'm in the world of little people. Carly bought some fabric to make a "pipe fox". I'm not entirely sure what it is; some sort of furry creature that wraps around your neck. I'm sure I'll see it when it's done. It was getting dark by the time we emerged from the shops, and it was very cold and windy. Amber had to check Tsutaya for a new CD she wanted, but unfortunately the one we went to was a rental place. So, we got back on the train for Makino, and Karaoke.

We spent two hours there, and I got some practice in for the songs I'm singing at the INFES; which is less than two weeks!!! I'm feeling okay about them, I just really need to learn the lyrics. Gosh it was cheap. 100円 each; we paid more for the drinks! Afterwards we had a purikura session ~ purikura are automated photo sticker booths, that are immensely popular in Japan. Sometimes whole floors are dedicated to purikura booths. ~ Incidently, Purikura is a portmanteau of the English, "Print Club". Anyway, this particular booth had monkey bars and a ladder to climb on, and three different cameras; It was a lot of fun. After selecting the desired pictures, you get to beautify them with love hearts, and sparkles, and writing; whatever you like basically. Then they are printed out in a set of 6, 12, 24 etc, with varying sized photos. It's a lot of fun, and cheap too. We finally got home at about 8, and made dinner. I'd better get to sleep now; back to uni tomorrow. So glad I got my jacket and gloves... and orange jeans! Hokkaido here I come...

Day 62 - 31st of October

11:39pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Today was... very long. I woke up at about 8 this morning and started making pancakes at 9. Diego guided me through the process, and I too was producing perfectly round pancakes; I was thrilled. I decided last night that, instead of going to Hello Kitty world (which I didn't really have that much interest in), we'd go to Kuzuha Mall. At 10, we left with Carly in tow, to meet Jessica in Makino station (the guys working on the site of the recently destroyed house stopped to pose for us when we got out our cameras - Japanese people are so cool). Just one stop down and 150円 later, we were in Kuzuha. There were a lot of clothes shops; reminiscent of the Sunshine Plaza. We walked around for a while and came across a few interesting shops; one that sold no brand goods, and another that had everything for letters (stamps, paper, brushes).

After exploring the rooftop (car parks) and checking out the view, we went down for lunch on the first floor. I went for Okonomiyaki (with pork), and we all had icecream afterwards. Mine was very much Halloween themed; magical mint-night, and pumpkin! Seriously though the pumpkin was amazing. We walked around the main building a little more, then went out to another adjoining building. On the first floor there was a really cool shop called "Lush", that sold handmade soaps and cosmetics. On the third floor there was another cool shop that sold heaps of retro stuff; a lot of stuff from the West. Carly and I bought some Studio Ghibli manga. Our original plan was to go back to the dorm and then get changed for tonight, but, since it was already pretty late, we decided to go straight to Hirakata by train, but not before waffles; sweet potato! I'm finding that I'm actually starting to like a lot of foods that I never used to like before.

After arriving in Hirakata, on an extremely packed train, we went to the department store across from McDonalds, and I got a nice shirt on sale for 990円; Diego got a 500円 shirt with the Road Runner on it! Then we went to "Book Off", which sells second hand books, games, CDs and DVDs, which are (for the most part) extremely cheap and good condition. I bought a My Neighbour Totoro story book, and Kingdom Hearts novels; really cheap. I'm going to see how well I can read them. Finally, we got to The Hobbit, and Katie and Eaaf met with us soon after. We felt a little awkward not having dressed up; the owner himself was dressed in a Power Rangers suit and witches hat. Diego struck up a conversation with him since he could speak Spanish; the owner's actually been all around the world, with photos on the wall to prove it. He just opened up the restaurant in September. Okay, so here comes the weird part. We had to exchange our yen for "Hobbits" (glass tokens basically): 250円 = 1 Hobbit. The were small (snack size) plates of food put out which were one Hobbit each! Oh, and the drinks were 2. So I ended up spending 1000円 on appetisers and and a drink!!! We realised that, since it was Halloween, they wouldn't be serving the food on the menu.

So we left, and went to Saizeriya; YAY!!! I got a vegetable and mushroom pizza, a drink (with refill), and garlic bread for just 500円; so much better value. After eating Katie and Eaaf left, and Diego, Jess, Carly and I went to Karaoke. It was fun, but pretty expensive for 2 hours; we decided that the one in Makino was much better, and had a better variety of songs. So with croaky throat, and sore feet, we said goodbye to Jess at the station; it was about 10:30). We met up with Peter (whom we incidentally saw at the Hobbit - he was covered in blood and tattered clothing - a zombie apparently). and came back to the dorm on the bus. Unpacking my stuff, I knew for sure I'd lost my keys; I realised when I was at the station before we got on the bus. In the morning I'll have to tell Otousan. The lock will have to be changed and the money will come out of my insurance deposit. So today, Halloween day, certainly had it's ups and downs. Now, I just want to go to sleep...