Day 247 - 4th of May

11:31pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Never thought I’d be saying this but I’ve got the air con on in here because it’s too hot; winter has definitely left us. It’s been such a warm day today, and while storm clouds were threatening this evening, it hasn’t rained at all. I’ve been working on my Japanese presentation pretty solidly all afternoon, and I’m still not finished; I’ve only got one day left now. On the plus side, I got out for a bit today to enjoy the weather… After breakfast at 10, I played KH for a while, and then got on my bike and rode down to the station. On the way, I took some photos of the abundance of azalea bushes in full bloom in front of the Komatsu plant, and also stopped at a local shrine I had rode past a few times, but never been in. It’s called 甲鉾神社 (Kouhoko Shrine), and it was small but peaceful. Going down the big hill today was great because the lights were timed perfectly so that I didn’t have to slow down for the traffic in front. Getting to the station, I parked my bike, this time in a proper park. It’s actually an automated “bike rack” (that’s the best way I could think to describe it) that charges you depending on how long you leave it there. The first 90 minutes are free, and had I known this earlier I definitely would have used it; that’s what lack of investigation gets you.

In the 90 minutes I had, I got a lot done. I went to animate and found the Hetalia character song’s sheet music book (I was so happy about that), and also got some Hetalia pins from a gatchapon. It’s funny because they weren’t there on Saturday when I went, and the machine was almost empty already; goes to show how popular it is. I had a look at the clothes on the men’s floor, but didn’t find anything I liked, so I went over to Book Off; I didn’t find anything there either. I got back with time to spare, and soon figured out how to free my bike from the clutches of the evil bike rack; just had to type in the number rack it was in into the machine nearby. Then I made my way back home; that was hot work. I decided I would buy the tickets to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo today, since I heard they sold out fast. In order to do that, I had to go to Lawsons to use a machine that would print out a receipt that I could give to the people at the counter in exchange for the tickets; sounds complicated right. And it was, especially because it took me a while to figure out how to get the machine to do what I wanted it to do; these girls came up to help me, which was really nice of them.

Carly and I had tentatively planned to go the museum on Sunday, pretty much as soon as we get to Tokyo, but that day was sold out, so I went for the Monday. Thinking about it now, I’m actually happier with that. It means we don’t have to rush at all on Sunday; I’m sure we’ll be tired after being on the night bus for 8 hours or so. Simon was telling me about his trip to Tokyo this afternoon (he just got back), and it sounds as though he had a really great time; I’m looking forward to it. I worked on my presentation until about 7:30, and then went up to make dinner; pasta bake. I ended up making enough to last three meals however it wasn’t quite saucy enough, so I think I’m going to have to buy some more to put in it. After dinner, I was bombarded by more food; Julie was giving out cake, and Sam mochi. I also had another orange, and it wasn’t as sour this time; still really messy though. I stayed up there until about 9, and then got a bit more done on my presentation. I’m learning words like symbiosis and photosynthesis in Japanese, which is kind of cool even though I’m probably never going to use them outside this presentation; oh well. I’m mostly worried about being able to remember it all, as some of the sentences are pretty full on; I think I might get Yuji to check it over for me when I’m done. Anyway, I’d better get some sleep now; last day of holiday tomorrow…

Day 244 - 1st of May

10:10am　バス停　－　保険所前

天気：晴れ

It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Hikone and we’re sitting here outside the hotel, waiting for the next bus; we’ve just checked-out. The first order of business today is to find an ATM that will accept my debit card, as the one in Laswons did not; we’re going to take the bus in to the station. After that, I don’t know…

12:18pm　米原駅

We’re in Maibara station, waiting for the train to 南彦根 (South Hikone). We decided to come here to Maibara, and then found out there really was nothing here; oh well. So we’re going to the mall in South Hikone and hopefully that’s okay… I was able to find an ATM that would take my card; it was in a post office. I’ll have to remember that for next time, even though there probably won’t be a next time; my last JASSO instalment should be coming in soon. After getting the money out, we had a look around a nearby department store, and I had to buy a ひこにゃん ("Hikonyan" - the cities samurai-cat mascot) plushie becuase he is absolutely adorable ~ he is modeled off the Daimyo (lord) "Ii Naokatsu", who ordered Hikone castle's construction in 1603. Coming out of the store, we noticed there was a protest going on in the street; I didn't get a chance to read what the banners said, but I think it was something to do with money. We took a few more pics of Hikone, and then were off to Maibara. As soon as we got out of the station, we realised that there really wasn't much to do here; the map confirmed that. So, after a bit of deliberation, we decided that it would be best if we went to the mall; it was my original plan after all...

5:19pm　新快速

I’m on the special rapid express, back to Kyoto. It’s been a long, tiring day and while I had fun, I’d glad to be going back home… After getting to South Hikone, we made our way over to “Viva City”, the mall, which was just outside the station. As soon as we got in, I had to find something to eat, and right there was a bakery; the bread was so cheap, and so yummy, and one of them was shaped like Ponyo. Just inside the main entrance, they had a heap of stalls set up, like those you would see at festivals, with balloons, balls, and of course 金魚すくい (kingyo sukui – “goldfish scooping”). After eating, we browsed many of the shops on the first floor, and I bought a Totoro pencil case, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on DS; both were on sale. I also wanted to buy some boots, because the store was having a really great sale, but there weren’t any I like enough to pay for even at the discount. On the second floor, I found some nice plaid shirts that were all half price, so I bought two; one green, and one maroon. Looking around at the other guys shops, everything was so expensive. We did find this shirt that read, “Underground f**k department” on the front; and no the other letters weren’t stared. We eventually came to an arcade zone, which included karaoke, bowling, purikura and even a cinema. While the karaoke was much too expensive, we had to do the purikura; it’s mandatory. It was actually really intense, as the time between photo-taking became increasingly shorter and we would have to get ready for the next picture really quickly, changing from a lower, to upper camera sometimes; got some great photos though. After the rakugaki and printing them out, we had a bit of a situation.

Alex had dropped her phone somewhere in there, and couldn’t find it; we searched around and under the machine for about 10 minutes. Not having any luck there, we decided to go and ask the people at the counter, who immediately got onto it. Within minutes, we had a lady taking as down to the information centre on the first floor and there it was! I think that’s incredible that in the space of five minutes, someone has picked up the phone, and taken it downstairs to hand it in; Alex was certainly very relieved. After all the excitement, we had a well deserved ice cream from Baskin and Robins. I tried two of the new flavours, Peach Melba, and Coconut Grove; both were amazing. And the fact that, during Golden Week double scoops are 31% off, made it even sweeter. Our last stop for the day was Toys ‘R’ us, just to have a look; it was in a building on its own adjacent to the mall. I really wanted some Lego (which is a lot cheaper over here) but restrained myself, knowing that I wouldn’t want to ship it home. After that, we made our way back to the station, and I decided to take the train to Maibara with Alex, since I would be able to catch the special repaid from there; only local trains stopped at South Hikone. Getting to Maibara, the train to Kyoto was already in the station, so are farewell was cut short as I had to run down the stairs to make in on just as they were closing the doors; the last time with Alex in Japan was over! I’m about halfway to Kyoto now, so I’m going to get some rest…

10:49pm　セミナーハウス

It feels so good to finally be in bed; I’m so exhausted. After getting back to Hirakata, I decided to take a quick look in animate, and picked up a few things. Then I caught the bus home, and was soon in the kitchen making dinner. I got to catch up with Julie, Ash and Rachel, while eating my gyudon. At 9, since no one else but Rebecca had shown up, with decided to help clean the kitchen; I didn’t really mind. After that, a group gathered in the lounge to watch Princess Mononoke, and while I love the movie, I wasn’t too fussed; I’ve seen it many times. Instead, I took a shower and then started to get everything sorted out. I think tomorrow will simply be a catch-up/blog day, and I’ll have to do some washing and buy groceries too. Wow, this is my last month in Japan; I’m still having a blast…

Day 207 - 25th of March

10:37pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天

Well, the rain has finally eased off, though it’s still pretty cold. I put off grocery shopping for yet another day, but it’s getting to the point that I have to go; tomorrow for sure… Today was another late start; I didn’t get up till 11:30. I finished off the biscuits Nanny sent me for breakfast (they were just too good to last), and then got stuck into rewriting my sakubun for error correction. I got about a quarter of the way through, before Hugo told me he was going to watch “Pretty Woman” on his laptop. Since I’d never seen it, I thought why not; turned out to be a really good movie. About halfway through Rachael knocked on the door and asked if I wanted to go down to Hirakatashi, and I told her I would after the movie. True to my word, as soon as the movie finished, I went up to her room to collect her, and we were soon making our way into Hirakata by bus; it was still raining at this point.

Getting to the station, we first found an ATM for Rachael, and then went into the nearby Tsutaya; Rachael was looking for the Yoshida Brothers CDs. After a while of searching, and no luck, we asked at the counter and were promptly shown where they were; in the 演歌 (enka – traditional Japanese music) section. I decided I wanted to start reading manga, and asked Rachael what she would recommend. She came up with 家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN! (katei kyoushi hittoman ribon – lit. “Home tutor hitman reborn), which she’s already told me quite a lot about; she’s been reading the scanlations online. The plot revolves around the life of a young boy named Tsunayoshi Sawada, who finds out that he is the next in line to become the boss of the most powerful Mafia organization, the Vongola Family. As such, the Vongola's most powerful hitman, a gun-toting infant named Reborn, is sent to tutor "Tsuna" on how to become a respectable boss; sounds cool right.

So I purchased volume 1, hopeful that I’ll get some time to be able to read it. I have made a bit of a start on it already, and so far it’s been pretty easy going; there are words here and there that I don’t know. It’s definitely a lot easier than Deltora Quest, so hopefully I can get through it relatively quickly. Anyway, after Tsutaya, we went to Makkas for lunch, and then went into the Saty building to Animate. As usual, I couldn’t help buying a few things, although I wasn’t nearly as bad as Rachael. After that, we had a quick look around Book Off, and then made our way back home; it was an enjoyable afternoon out. Rachael wanted to have a go playing the koto, and since I needed to practice anyway, after we got back, I asked Okaasan if I could borrow the koto (of course she let me), and we set it up in the lounge. It took me ages, but eventually I got it in tune, and then Okaasan brought in some of her sheet music. She let me play it for a while, and then wanted to give it a go herself.

After a while of struggling through it, Okaasan resigned and went to have dinner, leaving Rachael and I to play. I wanted to tune it for Requiem for a Dream, and this turned out to be more trouble than it was worth. In the end it was futile, and I decided that it really wasn’t suited for the koto; so now I’m back to square one. I’m actually feeling a bit out of practice to be honest; I haven’t really played for over a month. I seriously don’t know what I want to play for Sunday anymore; maybe I’ll just wing it. After putting the koto back, I went around the corner to the Okonomiyaki place, and had dinner with Simon, who isn’t feeling too good at the moment; he’s a bit sick. He did enjoy the meal though, as did I. I had モダーン焼き (Modern yaki), which is basically okonomiyaki with soba noodles on the inside; really nice. It was almost 9 when we got back, and I got stuck into my sakubun as soon as I got settled; I also got stuck into a toblerone bar mum sent me! With that out of the way, all I have to do now is interview someone for Religion class; I’ll come up with some questions tomorrow. Also tomorrow, I’m hopefully going with the gang to a geisha dance in Kyoto; hopefully the weather will have improved…

Day 197 - 15th of March

11:24pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天

Well, the nice weather certainly didn’t last; it’s been cloudy all day. It just started raining this afternoon… I woke up early, so I could spend some more time memorising my sakubun, and got to school just before 10; I talked with Rachael on the way. Checking my mail, I got yet another card from Nanny and Poppy; i feel loved. Today, we all had to pick up our new ID cards, so Rachael and I went straight there. They’re kind of plain, and the crappy picture of me is even bigger; I really preferred the other ones. Oh well, can’t be helped. I went to Speaking, and we spent the whole class revising for the exam; we actually got out 30 minutes early. So, I had plenty more time to memorise my sakubun, and I went in feeling really good. Apart from a few kanji (ones that I didn’t have to know anyway), I got the whole thing done perfectly. After that, I went to Avail because I thought some shopping would make me feel better (not that I was feeling bad), but didn’t end up finding anything I liked. So I soon returned home.

After lunch, and watching a bit of sumo on TV while talking to Adam, I got ready to go to the gym. When Simon got back at 3, we made our way over, and after signing in and changing shoes, we got started. I really enjoyed the session, and it was helpful watching others using the equipment; I tried out a few new things. Simon ended up getting bored, which was a shame, but says he’s going to stick with it; we shall see. Regardless of what he decides, I know I’m going to continue with it; I felt really good afterwards. Getting back home, I made a solid start on my Gender and Sexuality essay, spending a bit over two hours scanning the textbook for any useful information or quotes; it was pretty interesting actually. I’m going to talk about how gender norms and attitudes are constructed in Japan through language, institutions such as schools, religion, and marketing; should be good. I was feeling very hungry by about 6, but decided to put on some rice to eat with my dinner (leftovers), so had to wait another half an hour.

It was almost 7 by the time I got round to eating, but that only made the food taste even better. I found the anime channel, and started watching Tamagochi’s; who would have thought they’d make an animated TV show out of those little guys. I remember having them when I was little, and I know that Alex still has them now, so she would have loved to have seen this. The rest of the group filtered in, and we talked for a while, before they filtered out again. I stayed behind a bit longer, talking with Yuji and Julie, and then Hugo and Simon, and then finally went back to my room. There, I started memorising my script for my speaking exam tomorrow. I’m trying not to stress about it too much; I want it to be natural. At around 10, Biancha came knocking at our door, and beckoned my out to the lounge. She had made a cake for Hugo since it’s his Birthday tomorrow. So, we gathered together a few people and had a little, early celebration for him; the cake was amazing. Eventually I got back to my room, and finished off getting the script in order; I’m happy with it now. Well, I should probably get some sleep now; one day down, four more to go…