Last Wednesday I went to this park in Kobe called Sumaura Sanjo with my two friends Yuka and Sachi. The park is on a mountain but there was a ropeway we took up to save us a 20 minute hike. It was a blast hanging out there and I can't wait to visit again xD
Last Sunday (the 7th) I went out with my friend Saki and her kids to celebrate Tanabata (the star gazing festival). We went to a public event at the mall and got some fun balloon animals and toys. We went to her house and she let me try on one of her yukatas before we had dinner. What fun! Some quick info about Tanabata matsuri for those of you who are interested This is an annual celebration of the stars. According to a legend, the two stars, Vega and Altair, separated lovers, are allowed to meet each other across the Milky Way only once a year on the evening of July 7th. At this festival, prayers are also offered so that young girls will improve in calligraphy and handicraft. The custom is to set up leafed bamboo branches in the garden, and people write poems, words or wishes on tanzaku or long strips of colorful paper which they tie on the bamboo leaves. Have I ever mentioned how much I ADORE Japanese niche fashions? Their mainstream stuff reminds me a lot of Forever 21 a/o American Eagle. But once you move into Harajuku, goth, punk, Lolita etc. then it gets real interesting ;) So sometime in April I found a few small shops that sell these types of clothes (mostly Lolita)near me. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures in the stores(:/) but that didn't stop me from window shopping and trying on some cute dresses. Since these clothes run small, I found almost everything I tried on didn't fit me right. The store attendants were very helpful (maybe a little too much, but I'll talk about that in another post) and I did end up finding a very nice Lolita dress that fit me :D I ended up buying it off the rack. Here's a quick tour of the apartment complex I'm staying in.
On our way back to Tarumi, my professor took us to visit Awaji island for some quick sightseeing. He bought each of us a tasty souvenir too :D All in all it was a good day ^^ My first video!! (yaay :D) This is just a short sum up of my first few days of being thrown into this country. Most of the things I had to get and do here are things we all need to do to survive in a country, but I never even thought about acting out these scenarios in Japanese and the certainly were NEVER brought up in class. I felt very unprepared, but I survived and got it all done :) 
My first trip to Osaka with my former classmate Shawn. We saw some pretty interesting things in this bustling city. We mostly walked around and did some window shopping and visited a maid cafe (cute but not really worth the money ); it was a fun experience. Here are come interesting pics of the city. So, if you read my last post, you know that I really enjoyed my time in Kyoto. I liked it so much, that I ended up making a second visit the very next week; this time with my friend Hiro, who happens to be a local of the area :) GinkakujiAfter meeting up at the train station, we took the bus to Ginkakuji (aka the silver temple). Unlike Kinkakuji, the name isn't because the temple's literally silver. Because of this, my friend thought I'd be disappointed, but it was actually the opposite. I liked Ginkakuji just as much as Kinkakuji; truth be told I probably liked it a little more^_^. I felt this place was peaceful and more in touch with its zen roots. I loved how forested it was and we took a nice walk on a trail there. Hey everyone! It's been a while since I posted anything; I got pretty busy with school and traveling. I've seen a lot of noteworthy things, but I've been going out so much I haven't had any time to sit down and blog about any of it. So- the next several blogs will mostly consist of things that I did during the past two months. I hope you have as much fun reading about my adventures as I did having them (though let's be honest- you probably won't ^^;) Anywho- This happened a while ago (The 21st of April) but I wanted to give a quick recap of my first official touristy thing in Japan and my overall impressions. My first train ride in Japan ( ^o^)/ Since I only live a short distance from school, I generally only ride the bus; if I get a bit adventurous I take the subway. After meeting up with a classmate, we went to the bank to grab some souvenir and traveling expenses and bought train tickets. KinkakujiOur first stop was the kinkakuji (or golden pavilion ). This place was really big and fun to explore. The highlight of course was the golden temple; which is actually coated with gold leaf. The place was actually a lot bigger than I initially expected ( you can see a map of it here) and I enjoyed walking around and enjoying the scenery.
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