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 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 72 - 10th of November

11:00pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
I slept in later than I wanted to, but oh well. Got to Sanko at 10 and bought what I needed for the week; I'm going to try an udon and tofu dish this week. Got to uni at 12, and had an easy Japanese lesson listening to presentations. Had lunch with Carly and met Edward for the first time. At 2 we went to the history classroom and waited around till class. We're in the 13th century now, when to Mongols invaded, and the lord - vassal system began to collapse. After class I went to pick up my box. I'd actually received it yesterday but, since I was already carrying around my kimono, I didn't want to carry the box too, especially since the note said size: large! And it was large; I was surprised. I was thinking, "What have my parents put in here?" I invited Carly to come and watch koto, and before it started we opened the box; lots of food. Yay for food. Of course, other great goodies too. My Nanny made me a beanie; so happy. I'm going to wear it in Hokkaido for sure.

Koto was really good. The Sensei came a little later than usual, but we got to have a really good session with her. We played (and sung) Sakura first, then, those who could (Sean, Mark, Charlie and I), went all the way through Hanagoromo. We played so slowly; it actually made it harder. Anyway, by the end of it, my legs were numb as; definitely a longer than usual session. And just when my legs were starting to get used to it. After the girls practiced, the Sensei and Shakuhachi master performed a piece for us; it was so beautiful. By this time it was raining steadily, and both Carly and I hadn't brought umbrellas. So after koto we decided to catch the bus home; this certainly saved our boxes. Next time, I'll get my parents to send it straight here. Got home reasonably dry and had dinner (stir fry again). Tomorrow's a day off, so we're going to Kuzuha mall in the arvo, and then Karaoke; looking forward to it. I think I'm going to go have a Milo now, night...