Day 218 - 5th of April

10:59pm　セミナーハウス

Just finished watching 崖の上のポンヨ (Gake no ue no Ponyo – Ponyo on the cliff) with a big group in the lounge, which meant that I didn’t end up going to sentou with Yuji and Hugo; I’m happy that I stayed and watched the rest of it. It was a wonderfully simple and touching movie; I really enjoyed it. Because I assumed it wouldn’t have subtitles, I was a little tentative to watch it, but Rebecca assured us that the Japanese was really easy. But then it turned out that there were English subtitles, which was nice; although I could understand most of it, it was nice to have them. Actually, we all had a good time ridiculing the translations for a lot of it. But I really glad I finally got to see it; it’s been a long time coming. So, about my day…It’s finally started to warm up here, and I was more than comfortable going to uni with just a jumper; no need for scarf, jacket, or gloves. This is good because it means I can start thinking about sending the majority of my winter clothes back home; along with a whole bunch of books no doubt. In Speaking, we finished off the last grammar point for chapter 7, and then went over the more difficult ones again. In the break, I got some money out (thankfully), and did my homework in the lounge, before practicing some kanji. Reading and Writing consisted of reading part of the dialogue at the beginning of the chapter, and answering questions about it; and that was another Monday at uni finished.

I went grocery shopping at Kirindo and Fresco, and then got back to eat lunch. It was almost 4 when I went to the gym, and I got a good hour in; I was very satisfied. Getting back, i got my blog up-to-date, and then studied Religion until 7; I’m feeling good about it. For dinner, I made spaghetti bolognese, trying a 茄子 (nasu – eggplant) sauce; tasted great. I turned the tv on, and flicked over to a channel to find one of the most shocking sights I’ve ever seen. A woman, presumably American, was on a Japanese game show, breaking boards with her breasts; in the spirit of karate!!! I was impressed, but mostly horrified. Her breasts were huge, and the way she flung them at the boards was terrifying; the strange things people do. The show continued, presenting a kind of countdown of weird and wacky human achievements; it was pretty interesting. One guy managed to free dive down to a depth of 88m, having to hold his breath for over 3 minutes, and another could shoot an earring off a manikin with a sniper rifle. It was just about 8:30 when Rebecca let us know she’d be putting the movie on shortly. Ash and Rachael decided to go back to their own devices, but Rachel wanted to watch it; she did bring her homework down with her though. I was then bombarded with food; Rebecca’s yatsuhashi and chocopie; Will’s pineapple cake; Liz’s Madeline (small sponge cakes originating from France); and Jeremy’s Easter themed peeps (marshmallow candies from the US); I was very, very appreciative. Also, I finished off the last two crème eggs, so now I have no more chocolate left; I’m surprised it lasted this long. Well, I’ve got a mid-term tomorrow, and then I think I’m going to bake some biscuits for Rachael’s birthday on Wednesday…

Day 217 - 4th of April

11:12pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Happy Easter; chocolate overdose!!! I have a headache now, but it was so totally worth it; all I have left is two Cadbury crème eggs. Today was great…We didn’t end up getting home from Karaoke until 3 this morning; it was so much fun. I slept until about 9:30, and then went up to have breakfast; vegemite and cheese on English muffins. I was joined by Ash and Katie, and we sat for a while, before drifting off to our own devices. Since Hugo was still in bed (he no doubt had a late night too) I set my laptop up in the lounge to Skype with Mum, Nanny and Poppy; my Dad and brother are off camping with scouts. I tucked into my first crème egg, and soon had another; best Easter eggs ever! We talked until my laptop put itself into safety mode as the batteries were almost dead. By this time, Hugo had gotten up, so I went back to my room and set up once more. I ended up talking with them till about 2, after my laptop had shut itself down twice from overheating; silly thing. After that, I gave it a rest, and got stuck into some study. I spent almost 3 hours just going over the grammar patterns for chapter 7, and now I have a much better understanding of them; I’m really pleased with myself. From now on I’m going to try to revise every day, even if it’s only for half an hour; I really need to do it.

During that time, I started on my dark chocolate bunny, and got halfway through it before I didn’t feel so good. I worked on my blog until a bit after 7, and then went up to make gyudon for dinner. I sat with Rachel and Ash, and Jacinthe joined us. After finishing my meal, I decided to play Easter bunny, and went downstairs to get my bag of Lindor chocolate eggs. I gave the first one to Hugo, and then went to the computer room to give one to Simon; we caught up on each other’s weekends. I went upstairs to find Jazz just about to enter the elevator, and quickly gave her one, before deciding to jump in with her; I need her battery charger. After getting that, I went to Rachael and Sarah’s room, and gave them an egg each, and heard about their wonderful weekends. Then I went downstairs to find Katie and Julie in the kitchen, and dispersed the rest of the eggs to them, and Ash and Rachel; and I even had one left for me. I stayed in the kitchen till 9, when I remembered I had told Carly I’d be online, and quickly went down. I had a good chat with her, and Jamie, while continuing on my blog; almost up-to-date. I’m feeling a lot better now, and I’m sure I’ll be 100% tomorrow; just need a good sleep…

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 168 - 14th of February

8:30am　特急
天気：　晴れ
We’re on the train to Kyobashi now. Well, this morning was a bit of a mess up on my part. I set the alarm on my iPod for 6:30, but forgot to turn the sound up, so I slept through it. Luckily, I was woken up by Hugo coming back from his night out in Osaka; thanks Hugo. It was already 7, so Simon, Jeremy, and Rachael were already ready; I had to quickly apologise to each of them as I saw them in that order. I ate breakfast, and then had a quick shower, and made it out to the lounge by 7:30; not so bad. After some more apologising, we set off for Makino, and made a quick stop at Mini Stop (a convenience store), so that Jeremy and Rachael could get some money out; we all bought some food too. Then we got on the local to Hirakata, switched over, and here we are now. It’s a warm, sunny day, but I think it’ll be cooler in 六甲山 (Rokkosan – Rokko Mountain); I’m so excited.

8:51am　普通
Now we’re on a local train to 尼崎 (Amagasaki) on the JR Hanshin line. This line actually goes to Takarazuka, so once we get to Amagasaki, we’re going to switch, and continue on to 六甲道 (Rokkomichi). This isn’t the way I’d intended to go, but when we got to Kyobashi, we found that we could go directly to Kobe from there, instead of taking the loop line around to Shin Osaka, and going from there as I’d originally planned; I think this way works out cheaper sine there’s less transfers. This line seems more like a subway; we’ve been underground for a while now. Simon’s taking a little nap…

9:14am　普通
We’ve just transferred at Amagasaki. We ended up on a local, because I didn’t realise the rapid express (which was bound for Himeji castle) stopped at our stop; oh well. It’s so cool that we’re in Kobe! I can already see the mountains looming on our right side, and the port on our left; there are so many bridges. We’ve got about 7 more stops until we hit Rokkomichi…

13:01pm　バス
We’re on the bus back to the cable car now. Wow, the traffic to get to the ice festival has backed up so far down the mountain; they’re going to be waiting for hours. We came at a really good time; and what a spectacular place… After getting off the train at Rokkomichi, we waited for the bus bound for 六甲ケーブル下 (Rokkosan keburu shita), where the cable line is; very convenient. We considered walking it, but I’m glad we didn’t; it was at least 20 minutes by bus, up a very steep slope. Getting the cable line, Jeremy noticed that they were doing a package that included cable car return fare, bus return, and the ice festival admission for 1,700円; that saved us at least 400円. So we went for that, and joined the very long line. We didn’t have to wait very long at all for the cable car, and the entire queue managed to fit. The car was so cool, with tiered seating and open-air; we stood up near the middle.

Once we got started, we were treated to music, and a spiel on the history of the cable car and the mountain; not that I was paying much attention. I was too exciting about riding a cable car for the first time, and taking in the awesome scenery; we even got a few peeks at Kobe through the trees. It took a little over 10 minutes to reach the top (I know because I was taping it), and after disembarking, we climbed the stairs, and quickly made our way outside to be rewarded with an awesome view of Kobe. We just missed getting on the bus (it was packed as), but I didn’t care; I wanted to take in the view. We climbed a bit higher to an observation deck, and thought about how amazing this would be to see at night; they had a panel showing what it looked like at night up there. It was a bit of a shame that it was quite hazy; we could only just make out KIX. We caught the next bus, soon noticing that there was a little bit of snow on the ground, covering the bamboo. We climbed further up the mountain, making tight turns, and coming up the town, which we’re back in now. We’re getting off at Rokkosan hotel, because we’ve decided to walk to the cheese castle, so I’ll have to continue this later…

2:45pm　バス
On the bus again, back to the cable car for sure this time; we’ve got to get back home… We’ve just been to the Rokkosan Pasture and “cheese castle”, which wasn’t a castle at all. We should have read the Japanese for this one ~ 神戸チーズ館 – Kobe cheese “building”. It was actually situated on the 1st and 2nd basement floors of a barn house in the pasture, and since we had to pay to get into the grounds, we didn’t end up seeing it. We had less than an hour so it wouldn’t have been worth it anyway. We ended up walking a little way and petting the two Shetland ponies (a male and a female), that we could just reach over the fence. An American guy’s come over and has been talking to us (well mainly Jeremy), about this and that. It’s extremely warm on these buses, and I feel like drifting off. Hopefully, we don’t have to pay to ride this bus, but I have a sneaking feeling we do, since it’s not on the route to the Ice Festival; just have to wait and see.
3:39pm　バス
Now we’re on the bus back to Rokkomichi station, making our way back down the hill into Kobe; much of the city is on the slope actually. We’re packed in here like sardines (at least we got to sit), and the poor bus driver can’t even let anyone else on; he’ll slow up at the bus stops, and then continue on. The look on one women’s face when she saw how full the bus is was priceless. But priceless was not the bus back from the pasture, unfortunately. After getting back to the cable line, we had a quick browse in the small souvenir shop (I bought some postcards), then hoped on board the car once more. I decided to stand right at the front, to film our descent through the Perspex; so cool. At this point, I think we’ll have no problem getting back home for the food party at 6. Anyway, back to earlier this morning…

After going through the town and up a winding road past lodges, pine trees, and frozen ponds we found ourselves stuck behind traffic, right before a bus stop. Since everyone was getting off, we decided to follow suit; we were in fact only about 400m from the Garden Terrace where the Ice Festival was being held. Stepping out of the bus, we had actually arrived the Rokkosan Country House and artificial ski slope. But that’s not what caught my eye. All the trees were covered with ice, and with the warmth of the sun, it was starting to melt. We had noticed it on the bus, and Simon and I especially looked on in awe. Small chunks were falling off the trees like snow, hitting the road and cars. It made the most amazingly beautiful sound as it fell and hit things, and I imagined how serene it would be to sit in a forest with this sound all around me. For me, seeing all these trees covered in this layer of delicate ice was probably the most surreal thing I’ve ever seen; almost better than snow.

Like me, Simon was over the moon, leading the way with such an enthusiasm. He found joy in breaking bits of ice of the trees, and making snowballs out of what little snow he could find on the ground. We noticed a field of snow where a heap of kids were tobogganing, and tried to find our way in. We came to realise that, to get in, we had to enter the ski slope area, and that meant paying 2500円; that wasn’t happening. Slightly disappointed, we made our way back onto the road, and continued to follow it toward the festival, past the backed up traffic. After a short while, we found a crossing, made our way up a precarious set of stairs, and then walked further up a hill to find ourselves and the venue for the festival. Passes stamped, and we were in. I’d better stop here since we’ve made it back to the station…

4:03pm　特急
Now we’re on the limited express back to Kyobashi; not that it skips many stations. Anyway, back to today… So, we got to the festival, and were immediately greeted by two proud eagles of ice. I remember ages ago, going to see ice sculptures in a place in Brisbane with Nanny and Poppy, and I do remember playing with a little bit of snow. Those faded memories were revived as we snaked our way through the display area. Among my favourites were a pair of Phoenix, a tiger, a unicorn, and a ship passing through huge waves. A lot of them were ocean themed (lots of fish and mermaids), but there were also dragons, birds, people, and even Doraemon. Past the food stalls, there was a section for kids to have fun, with slides, and pinball machines curved out of ice and a fishing game where you had to hook small blocks of ice. There was also an area where you could make your own creations from ice; most people seemed to be making pots. Hungry, we decided to eat there; I went for a nice warm bowl of ramen. As we were sitting down, Simon and I got showered in ice from, as we later found out, kids playing in a pile of it above; and once again I got ice down my back.

After eating, we left the venue, climbing some stairs, and exiting out into an area with shops and restaurants, and a viewing deck providing another amazing view of Kobe. We browsed a nearby shop for a while. There was so much great looking food (Kobe is famous for its cheese among other things), but we didn’t end up buying anything. Deciding to head back, we made our way for the bus, but not before making a side trip up a watch tower in a very European-influenced “village”. After taking in even more of the view from the height of the tower, we walked through the village, and came across a little shop called Little Horti. Just inside the entrance was something that made Simon whoop with delight; Tim Tams. It was pretty funny; he actually embarrassed himself because he was so loud. So of course, we bought a few packets (I just got the original), along with some other goodies that are a rarity in Japan. We emerged very satisfied, and just made the bus in tie too.

As I mentioned earlier, we caught the bus back into town, with the intention of seeing the cheese castle and pasture. At the ice festival, there was a stall there selling products from the pasture, and after trying the sample (a caramel), we wanted to check it out; they also had a poster of sheep which Simon in particular wanted to see. Since the bus didn’t go directly from the festival to the pasture, we decided to walk there from the town. After passing a small Inari shrine, and the YMCA, we thought we’d be clever and take a “shortcut” to cut across the curve in the road and get there faster. This turned into an hour trek through the wilderness! I hadn’t anticipated doing any hiking today, but here we were going through the forest. Admittedly, the scenery was very beautiful, and it was so quite. We found a small waterfall, with a log over it covered in ice, and inevitably come out to a place called Diamond Point, which offered us a view inland; very cool. We even found a few settlements (small and simple), which would have been private indeed, and stumbled across a small lake.

Finally, we emerged from the forest, and descended back onto the main road. By this point, I was very much in need of relief, so we followed the road for quite a way until we came across the pasture; I was practically running by the end of it. I was directed to the toilet, which was actually inside the grounds; I managed to get in without paying. Rachael followed suit, and when she came back out, we decided not to spend the money to go in; didn’t have enough time to appreciate it properly. So yeah, we petted the ponies, and then caught the bus back to the cable line. It was really funny (but really not) when we realised just how close the YMCA was to the pasture; we had turned off just after it. But anyway, it was a lot of fun, a great bit of exercise, and I got some good photos. So now here we are, back in civilisation, speeding towards home. I am quite certain that we will make it back in time for the party; almost back to Kyobashi now…

10:43pm
I’ve finally finished my speech for Japanese. I’m really happy with it, and I’ve even made a power point presentation to go with it; lots of pictures of the Sunshine Coast. Now I can have a shower, and get some sleep... After getting back to Hirakata station, we caught the bus back to the dorms, and managed to get back just after 5:30. I dropped my things in my room, and then went up to the kitchen to find the last of the preparations for the party taking place. Biancha was almost finished baking a Betty Croker cake (packet mix found at the military base), for Asami, and Victor was feverously cooking up his Spanish omelette, which I never did get to try any of; oh well. All my cooking was done, so I busied myself putting chairs out, and stealing chunks of Biancha’s corn loaf; Oh my gosh it was so yummy. She gave Yuji and I free pickings so I couldn’t complain. The mini okonomiyaki were already in the dining room, a neat little cooker set up to keep them warm; six at a time.

I got my biscuits out, along with my plate and cutlery and plonked myself down in preparation for the feast. People began to pour in just before 6, and we finally got started at about 10 past. Asami made a short announcement, and then asked us who cooked to introduce ourselves and our food, and then we got stuck into it. My biscuits went so fast, as did everything else. Unfortunately, they had gotten very hard in the fridge, so I decided to heat them up in the microwave. This meant that I was stuck in the kitchen, and missed out on trying a few things; that’s the story of the cook. After doing the rounds, it was finally my turn to eat, and wow everything was so good. I especially liked Barbara’s rice dish from Kenya; it had so much flavour. The mini okonomiyaki also tasted great, as did Biancha’s pasta salad. People also brought out chocolate and cookies, and I think the headache I have now was caused by an OD of chocolate; couldn’t help myself.

Pretty soon the cake was brought out, and we all sang happy Birthday to Asami. I was lucky enough to get two pieces, as Biancha didn’t think people would want to eat the under cooked bits; maybe that’s what gave me the headache. Anyway, I stayed up there for a while chatting with people, before sneaking away, with Asami’s permission, to get my speech done; that must have been just after 7. And here I am now, left with probably to longest blog entry to date, so I really better wrap it up. Today was absolutely amazing, and I’m really glad I made the choice to go; I was totally worth it. I know that the others really enjoyed themselves too, so other job well done on my part, since I always seem to be the organiser of these things; I don’t know why that is. Well anyway, headache is telling me that I really need to sleep so I’ll leave it at that; hopefully I can get up at a decent hour for uni tomorrow.

Day 148 - 25th of January

11:26pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
I’m in the computer room again, since Hugo’s already in bed; fair enough since he’s has to get up early for orientation stuff. Hopefully it’s like this for the rest of the semester; it’ll be nice to get to sleep at a decent hour. Jamie’s out and about, so won’t be coming back here tonight; gates are already locked… Well today was the complete opposite of yesterday in terms of weather; cold and wet. I didn’t get out until around 3, when I went into uni for koto club; I spent the morning lazing about, and doing a bit of study. When I got to uni, I started out be handing all my forms in, which all went smoothly. Then I went to the club room to find Marika; she has her own key since she’s always in there. I decided, with her consent (she was studying for her jump test on tomorrow), to practice for a while. I got through hanagoromo and almost all of sandan before Midori and Mori Sempai arrived.

Midori sempai made chocolate, and we all had a good sampling, until it was all gone; this happened during the meeting. The meeting was short, and Chi sempai basically summarised what would be happening for the concert (who would be playing what), and when and where we’d be meeting; Moriguchi station at 2. I’m kinda disappointed that Marika and I will only be playing hanagoromo, but i guess we’re not ready for sandan. After the meeting, there was much talk about English slang, particularly swear words. I always find it so funny when the Japanese use our swear words, when they really don’t understand the impact of them. They are just so blasé and the girls especially will have a little giggle while dropping the F bomb. Anyway, I found out that making the “Huh” sound in Japanese is really offensive; that was interesting.

I got bored of practicing the first koto part of sandan, so soon switched over to the second part. Mori spurred me on by saying I might be able to play it at a later concert since the sensei wouldn’t be there; now I’m more determined than ever! Since today was the last day of term for the Japanese (they’ll be going on spring break), we had a short photo session, which was really nice. Midori sempai is studying for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), so we had a “frenzy” pose; one of the words she has to know. Seriously though, some of the English words she has to memorise are unbelievably stupid; words that we never use in common day language anymore. Anyway, since it is spring break that unfortunately means no more koto practice again until March.

However, I’ll still be able to practice here, as I did shortly after I got back from uni. I walked back with Jacinthe, and a few others, and just as I got in, Simon arrived. I soon met him, and he seems like a really nice guy; hopefully we’ll be able to hang out. He said it was so weird coming from really hot Australia to this; I can’t imagine! So yeah, we chatted for a while, and then I went up to have dinner (cup noodles), and brought it down to the lounge to sit with Katie and Ash and a guy from Denmark with an amazing name that I’m not even going to try to spell. We talked for a little while, and Shizuka (who helped organise the INFES) joined the conversation. Then, Okaasan came in, and as soon as she spotted me she started talking about koto.

Again, I was literally dragged by her to get up and play. Katie and Ash were about to head up, but seeing the opportunity to hear me play (since they haven’t yet), they stuck around. Okaasan wanted to play too, but wasn’t feeling up to it; some pain in her legs. So it was me playing Sakura sakura again. I did get to practice sandan (first part) too though, so that was good. I should be able to get loads more practice in before the concert, and for that I am very grateful. After my “concert”, I went up with Ash and Katie, and received a back massage from Katie. It hurt a lot, but was really great; she’s slowly getting the knots out of my back. She told me to drink plenty of water, since all the toxins would be coming out, so she knows her stuff. With that, I left the room and had a snack (bun, milk, and banana), before going back down. Don’t know what I’ll be doing tomorrow, but at least be going out for dinner…