Day 265 - 22nd of May

9:30pm　特急
天気：晴れ

Carly and I are on the rapid express to Tambabashi, on our way to Kyoto station; we’re catching the night bus from there. And I thought I had a lot of luggage but no, Carly manages to outdo me; and she’s the one who’s only here for two weeks! Anyway, I am now officially finished!!! We had our graduation today… Getting back from karaoke at 5:30, I had a few hours sleep and got up at about 8:15. I quickly got ready, as we were supposed to be seated by 9:30, and ended up making it with time to spare; I had to ride my bike one last time. I was really happy to see so many people in Kimono; girls and guys alike…

9:55pm　普通

We’re on the train to Kyoto station now. We don’t have to be at the buses until 10:50, so we’re making really good time; having to drag our luggage in and out of tiny elevators isn’t much fun though. Anyway, as I was saying, it was really nice to see so many students wearing kimono; they all looked so good. In contrast, there were unfortunately quite a few guys who felt it appropriate to just come wearing jeans and a t-shirt; ah well, what can you do? After some photo-taking, I went and got seated in my assigned seat in the front row; that’s the nice thing about alphabetical order. The ceremony didn’t end up starting until after 10, with people still trickling in up to the hour. We did keep to time though, so it was fine once we got into it. After introductions, it was time for us to receive our certificates. Well, in actual fact what we got was an empty folder; the certificates were distributed to our mailboxes for us to collect after the ceremony. Seemed like a smart idea to me…

11:22pm　高速バス

Off we go on the night bus, and holy wow it’s tiny; lucky we got the back seats so we can recline all the way. Still, there’s absolutely no where for me to put my legs; maybe I can figure something out. Oh my gosh, getting here was a mission and a half. Once we got to the station, we ended up walking (staggering) to the wrong side of the station, so had to turn around and go right the way back to the other side. Finally we did make it, and soon found the check-in point. We had a bit of time before the bus arrived, so Carly went to pick up some yatsuhashi for Diego, and then I went to get some dinner; onigiri! The area was packed full of late night travellers, and more than 10 buses would be ready to board at any one time; it was really hectic. Eventually, our bus number was called (number 8) and we made the final haul, getting on just in time; we were actually the last to board. It’s not too uncomfortable I guess; Carly’s already asleep. Anyway, I still haven’t finished talking about the rest of my crazy day… After we all got our certificates (didn’t end up taking that long), we heard a long flowery speech from the Australian consulate of Osaka (same guy as last semester). Following that was the American consulate (who had a stutter), a visiting professor from an American university I forget the name of (he was very engaging), the President of the university (who had a translator), and then two international students, one of whom was Nadezhda…Well, they’ve turned all the lights off now, so I’ll have to finish this in the morning!

5:30am　高速バス

We’re just leaving our second rest stop now, and I think we’re only about half an hour away from Tokyo; I decided to get out and explore a bit and found a map that pointed this out to me. It’s bright outside, but that weather’s looking very dull, so I have no what we’re going to get up to today. Anyway yesterday…looking very Japanese in her purple kimono; yes that was the end of my sentence last night. Both of them presented in Japanese, talking about their experiences of Japan; I thought they did a great job. Then Motohashi Sensei (my reading and writing Sensei from last semester), talked to us about the results of a survey she had conducted to find the top best and worst things about Japan according to international students at KG. I can’t remember what the worst thing was (maybe narrow roads), but the best was of course the food. I have to agree with this whole-heartedly; I’m certainly going to miss Japan for its food. After all the speeches, we there was a special performance from the vocal group, and what did they sing; Angela Aki’s “Tegami”. This time I got most of it recorded; so happy to be able to hear it one more time. I’m going to miss singing it at Karaoke; it was one of my favourite songs. And with that, the ceremony was over!

From the hall, we all meandered over to the main cafeteria to enjoy the bountiful spread prepared for us; I went and picked up my certificate first. The food really was amazing, and there was so much variety; I didn’t try even half of what was on offer. Inside the cafeteria, it was extremely crowded so I didn’t stay for long, opting to go outside and sit with friends. I stayed around for a while, chatting and taking photos with people, hoping to spot Mori and Midori Sempai. Soon, Mori and Ume-chan emerged from the sprawl, and after Midori arrived they presented my with a wonderful parting gift; a large card with all my Sempais’ comments written on it; Mori had drawn a Totoro motif on it! Now we had to try and find Maarika. Carly and I had talked with her earlier on; she had in fact lost her voice. We went over to the club building to see if she was there; she wasn’t. So, Midori and Ume-chan went on a search and in the mean time, I got to play the piano for a while; that’s something I’m definitely looking forward to doing often when I get home. Eventually Maarika came over (with food of course), and she received her gift, Carly and I said our final goodbyes, and then made our way back to the Seminar House. While I’m going to miss the friends I’ve made in the club, and playing the koto, I don’t think I’m going to miss having to sit in seiza for prolonged periods of time!

The rest of the afternoon was quite stressful, with the last of my packing, cleaning, and sorting to be done. I got my straightener to Katie (she had payed me the previous day) and then okkasan invited us into the office, to show us pictures, and let us know that Otousan has Skype; I think that’s so cool. At about 3:30, I made French toast and scrambled eggs, so as to use the last of my bread; I donated my eggs, cheese and butter to Ash. Everything else went into the “not empty seasoning” box, which was already bulging with food; I hope someone can benefit from it. After eating, I quickly cleaned my kitchen box and fridge, but ended up missing Natchan’s inspection at 4; soon after, she was tied up helping people getting their parcels to the postman. Among them was Rachael, and she was sending a tonne of stuff home; I’m glad she could get it all sorted. She was still there during, and after my inspection, which didn’t end up commencing until 5:30; that gave me just enough time to prepare. That was all done in no time, and Okaasan was very impressed…

6:12am　高速バス

We’ve just arrived at Shinjuku station; our stop is next… After check-out, I could finally relax; for a little while. All the girls had gathered in the lounge, waiting to see me off; that was very special. This also meant that I could hand out all my gifts at once; bonus. Carly and I ended up sticking around until about 8, and we finally got the opportunity to play the Hetalia card game; that was quite enjoyable. Finally, and regrettably, it was time to say goodbye. I had already been subjected to a big group hug (not that I minded), and then got to hug everyone individually, even Ash who is generally the “hands-off” type. At the threshold, I was seen off by Katie, Ash, Rachel, Rachael, Sarah, Otousan and Okaasan, and Yuji and Natchan; I also got a hug from them. Kind words followed, and promises to never forget Japan and to visit were made, and then I stepped out into the night, laden with luggage; good-bye Seminar House 2… Just kidding!!! After we left, Carly decided she would go straight to the hotel, while I took my stuff to Makino station. Since I would be sending the last of my parcels, with Katie to help me carry them (bless her), after waiting around up the street for a while, I decided to return to the Seminar House. I dropped my stuff outside and burst in, running to the toilet; I thought it would be smarter to go at this point. I made it just as Katie was leaving, and got to hug Ash and Rachel one more time.

This time, it really was good-bye, and Katie and I made the trek to the 24 hour post office located just past the karaoke place; it was a tough walk. We eventually made it though, and I got to filling out the address forms. Katie soon left (after sending her postcards), and I decided to but another box, to lighten my second checked bag; I ended up getting almost 6kgs out of it. Getting all the done, I made my way over to the station and got to see Katie one last time; she was waiting for a friend in the station. Elevator up, I met Carly on the platform and then all the fun of the night ensued… We’ve arrived at Tokyo station now; at long last, I’m in Tokyo!!!

Day 264 - 21st of May

9:54pm　特急

天気：晴れ

I’m on my way to Toji; alone! I slept in, so I was 30 minutes late to meet Carly. I’m guessing she’s already on her way, and I don’t blame her; I’m really not doing a very good job keeping time. I might catch her when I get there; hopefully I can find some nice souvenirs at the market today. I don’t really know what I’m looking for. I’m just coming out of Kuzuha now, so got a little while before I get there. It’s sunny, but there’s a thick haze in the air; no doubt because of how much humidity there was yesterday…

5:43pm　快速

We’re on the way back home now; hurting all over. Today was intense!!! When I got to the markets, I spent a lot of time browsing and buying. I bumped into Katie with her friends, and a few other people from uni, and I eventually found Carly; she was already laden with kimono. Since it was open to the public, I decided I’d go have a proper look at the pagoda; it was even more impressive up close. What was really cool was the fact that I could actually go inside the structure. The central pillar was surrounded be statues of Buddha; it was very special. I think it was about 1:30 when we finally left the markets, and I was really happy with all my purchases; I got heaps of gifts for people, and I even got a new wallet made from sea snake skin. Actually, having a wallet made from snake skin is supposed to be good for monetary luck. Now I just have to get used to it; it feels so light in my pocket. We walked to Kyoto station, and I noticed that the new mall wouldn’t be opening until the 4^th of next month; I was really disappointed. We walked through the station in the cool (it had actually turned out to be a really hot day), and took the subway to Shijo. We decided to go to Sweets Paradise for lunch. We were so hungry and exhausted by the time we got there that it was absolutely wonderful.

I got lots of cake, jelly and ice cream, and felt like I was going to explode; I will miss Sweets Paradise!!! We got out of there at about 4, and then went over to Teramachi once again; well actually, the street running parallel. On the way, I stopped at a few more places to pick up more gifts. Walking along the street, I spotted the sign for animate and had to go in; yet again, more gifts, and a few things for me! By that point, I had so much stuff that I had to buy my bag to put it all in. I decided on one from the store I had gone to yesterday. It’s a duffel bag, and I’m hoping it’s going to fit a lot of my clothes; it’ll be my second checked bag. Now I just need a carry-on bag and I’ll be sweet. There were a few there, but they were pretty pricy. So I’m going to wait. As you can imagine, we’re very sore by now and as soon as I get back I have to get straight into cleaning and packing; Yuji’s coming to inspect at 7. Then after that, karaoke time; I’m going to die…

10:07pm　カラオケ　－　牧野

Just got to Karaoke; feeling good… As soon as we got back to the seminar house this evening I started stressing, and got considerably worse over the next two hours. It was 7 by that time, and Yuji was already asking if I was ready for my inspection; of course I wasn’t. So, I was graciously given until 8:30 to get everything done; admittedly, I freaked out a lot. But, I got through it, and Carly was a lifesaver, doing most of the packing and helping to clean. It ended up that we got till 9, since Yuji was preoccupied; I needed every second. I didn’t end up cleaning out my kitchen box or fridge; there just wasn’t enough time. So Natsuki has to check that tomorrow; Yuji’s going to be out. After all that I was sweating like anything so had shower and washed my hair. It didn’t help that as soon as I got out of the shower I was sweating again. In that time, Carly had weighed my bags, and I’m a few kilos over. But, I think I’ll be fine because I still have to buy a carry-on bag, which I can stuff with the rest of my stuff. It just means that I’m not going to be able to buy anything in Tokyo!!! Oh well, I’ll still be able to do some awesome sightseeing. It’ll mean I have some money left over too... Ash and Roisin have joined us, coming from the 黒執事 (Kuroshitsuji – “Black Butler”) musical. Rachel’s flailing all over the place, envious that she didn’t get to go with them. They bought the program and a heap of other merchandise; looks like it was a lot of fun. Anyway, all night karaoke now, and then graduation at 9 tomorrow; YAY!!!

Day 261 - 18th of May

11:13pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Well, I would have started writing this earlier, but my laptop decided to die from overheating; I almost thought I would too. Anyway, today turned out pretty well, and now I only have one more day left before I’m completely finished with uni; academically, at least… Like yesterday, after breakfast I did some last minute study, and then got to uni a bit early, and sat with Katie and Julie in the lounge. At 10, I had my exam and it actually turned out better that I expected; not that that’s saying much. But still, I feel pretty confident about it. Sensei was so nice, letting the last of us have a few more minutes; we had to move into another room. It was a long exam okay… After that was done, I went and had lunch with Jo, Nathan, Kim and two Japanese girls, one of whom had studied at their university last semester. I opted for Makkas, and was glad I got in early, because soon after the line was way out the door; the Japanese students all finish class at the same time. After lunch, I made my way home, doing a small shop on the way; just bread, milk, and an onion.

Getting back, I got the laundry in and started to get that put away. Carly soon arried, and then we got into some serious packing. Well, to tell the truth, Carly did all the packing while I worked on my essay; she’s a really good packer. It was a good thing she left me her space bags too; they worked a treat. After getting everything I wouldn’t be wearing packed, I weighed the suitcase, and it came to just under 15kgs, which is absolutely wonderful. I’ll fit 5 more kilos of stuff into that, and then buy another small suitcase if need be; I’m pretty sure there will be a need. I’m also going to buy a new carry-on bag since my other one broke; before I even got on the plane to get here! While I wasn’t working on my essay I helped out, getting things sorted, and starting to chuck things out; it’s all going well. As for my essay, I’ve still got a while to go, but I have tomorrow to finish it; I got all the research done this afternoon.

For dinner, I had gyudon (again), and made Carly her Mac and Cheese. Then spent about an hour more on my essay, before finding out that enrolment for USC started yesterday; thank you Alex!!! So I got straight onto that, and had almost completed it when Yuji came by, and went through the inspection procedures with Hugo and I; we went to the kitchen, and to his room. About half an hour later, we were finally done and I got straight back to enrolling. I now have three courses, and will be going to uni on Tuesdays and Thursdays; so much easier than here. It just means I can find a job, and have plenty of days to work; yay for money. Mind you, from this point onwards, all the courses I’ll be taking will be either business or politics; no more Japanese. Still, I think I’m going to sit in on the Japanese classes whenever I can; otherwise I’ll lose everything. I’m really glad I got that sorted out though; and not a minute too soon. If I had found out much later, I probably wouldn’t have had very much choice at all; first come, first serve system. Tomorrow, I’m going to get my essay finished, and then go into uni to get everything sorted out; I hope…

Day 249 - 6th of May

10:08pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

I’ve just been practicing my presentation a bit more. Yes, I haven’t presented yet. Why, because all the other presenters today went overtime… I got to uni at 11:30 this morning, which gave me some time to eat lunch. I had katsudon from the cafeteria, which I hadn’t eaten in ages so I really enjoyed it; one of the last times I’ll be able to. After talking with Rachel and Julie for a bit, I got to class and after a bit of stuffing around, the presentations for underway. Well, the first guy talked about Japan’s fishing industry, and didn’t really address any problems; which was kind of the whole purpose. He ended up taking almost 15 minutes and remember, these are only supposed to be five minute presentations. So I was like okay, the others aren’t going to take that long; wrong. The other two ended up taking at least 10 minutes if not more, leaving me with no time to present. Saigo Sensei apologised and said I would be first up tomorrow; well, at least I won’t miss out again this way. When I told him my presentation was probably going to be long too, he advised me to shorten it, and I have done just that; culled the crap out of it. It’s still about 7 minutes, but that’s better than 10; it also means that I have less to remember, which is great.

After that, I sat around in class, waiting for religion to start. Today’s class was really interesting. We focused on 水子供養 (mizuko kuyo) or, memorial services for unborn babies; yes, they do this in Japan. Jizou is very much associated with this, being the main deity that cares for aborted or miscarried foetuses, and there are practices such as buying a Jizou statue at a temple and dressing it in hand-made clothes; as a representation of the unborn baby. The same can be said of Kannon (being a Mary-like figure in Japan), but to a much lesser extent. You can also address ema (vocative tablets) to the mizuko, expressing your apology. And if you think this kind of thing is odd, it gets better. Not only is Japan really big on memorial services for pets (they have many pet cemeteries), but such practices to show appreciation extend to dolls, rosaries, brushes, needles, and even termites!!! No joke, the professor showed us a memorial plaque which had written on it, “Termites, Rest in Peace”, in Japanese on it. Now, if you were an exterminator, this would be the right thing to do right?! It could be seen as pacifying the angry termite spirits, or showing gratitude towards them for providing business; sounds a bit weird, I know. I found the whole thing fascinating, although there is a limit to what is and isn’t a potential candidate for commemorating in such a fashion; it can’t be anything.

The trend seems to be that it has to be something that is important in a person’s life, such as calligraphy brushes, or sewing needles, which that person has potentially used for their welfare; they have transferred part of their soul into it. There are also services for trees, which I was happy to hear about but again, it can’t be just any old tree. We then talked more about abortion and the great debate in America (and certainly in other countries), pitting pro-choice against pro-life; it’s always interesting to hear people’s views, especially when they have come for a variety of different background. At the end of class, we got out 1000円 rebate for the Tenri field trip, and I joked it would be going straight to groceries. It’s actually not that funny, because that’s exactly where it did go; I went to Kirindo and Fresco straight after class. Getting back, I was soon off to the post office, sending my first box home. I opted to send it by boat, and it turned out to be surprisingly cheap; easily half as much as air travel. This made me very happy, and very relieved, so I purchased another box (only cost 200円) and got that packed up with the rest of my books and two jumpers; it’s quite heavy, but I think it’ll work out fine. I have another box to send too, but I’m thinking it’s going to cost less than 100 dollars all up, which is great; in total I’m sending about 15kgs of stuff home. I’ll get those sent off tomorrow, and then it’s done; I should see them again in a month or two.

I was very glad to get that all sorted, now I just have to worry about getting all the other stuff on the plane; I’m going to have to buy another bag… I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my reading and writing homework and writing kanji, and then went up for dinner at about 7. Earlier on, I had decided that I would just make scrambled eggs for dinner, but a better though came to mind; I would make French toast. Since I had never made it before, I asked Katie how, and found it surprisingly simple. I ended up making two slices of that, and then scrambled eggs with the rest of my eggs; it turned out to be a wonderful meal. I’m definitely making French toast more often now; so good!!! Tonight, Ash happily announced that see was an aunt; her older sister had her baby yesterday. I always find it strange when young people are aunts or uncles (I knew some in high school), but I guess that happens when there’s a huge age gap between you and your older siblings; 10 years, in Ash’s case. I stayed in the kitchen until about 8:30, and then practiced my presentation for a bit, and also got started on my field report; I got as far as the title page… Anyway, I’m going to have an early night tonight, and not just for my sake, but for Hugo’s also. He got back from Tokyo this morning, after being on the bus all night, so he’s very tired. Goodnight…