Holiday Photopost Roundup

There are some very overdue photos I hadn’t gotten around to sharing yet! When Chris was here last December we had loads of fun! Here is some evidence of our shenanigans:

(Oh, and I dog-sat Yoyo too!)

An Extremely Overdue Update

So, as many of you gathered from twitter, fb, or some other futuristic time wasting machine social networking site, it snowed here just a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was way too excited about it to grab any photos, really.  But here are some excited shots of friends and classmates (cool fact: some people here were seeing snow for the first time! Including some visiting Indonesian professors who were only in Japan for a couple of weeks). These four photos aren’t mine, they’re all from friends’ fb pages.

Here is what it looked like the next day around lunchtime.  We’ve enjoyed snowcapped mountains to a greater or lesser extent ever since.  And there are a few more rooftop shots on flickr - here.

In other news, I survived midterms and will live to tackle finals in only a few short weeks. I also finally got my hands on a fridge, which is in very questionable condition but keeps food sufficiently cold.  I would like to replace it as soon as I can though because for many reasons due to age, storage and the treatment of former owners, it is not an energy efficient appliance by any stretch of the imagination.

I have really been enjoying the fall weather, to some extent to the detriment to my productivity, but also to the great boon to my spirit.  One particularly lovely day I walked with a classmate through the dormant rice fields to the town’s charming park, nearby produce market, and local winery. The produce shop is called 「八人八色」or Hachinin Yairo, and you can purchase gorgeous seasonal locally grown vegetables for extremely good prices. Most of their vegetables are actually cheaper than at the grocery store.  Below are some photos from that uplifting excursion.

The park also has the strangest – slash – most interesting trampoline I’ve ever seen, which basically looks like a squishy, three peaked mountain range. There are usually at least a few children with their parents playing there, and once I even saw a mother stretching atop the center mound while her tiny child jumped on her back (presumably deepening the stretch? but he fell off and bounced along the other side). I haven’t tried this out yet, but it looks like loads of fun. I’m thinking some IUJ students need to go down to the park for a picnic in the winter. We can jump until we are no longer cold, then sit in the park and eat. Maybe this only sounds like a good idea to me though. Haha!

Happily drowning in graduate student life

Firstly I would like to thank those of my friends and family that have sent mail. I’ve loved every package and every letter. I have already sent replies to many of them, and have scheduled time to reply to the rest in the coming weekend. Since the term has begun, the days have gotten progressively busier and busier, defying what I believed to be possible. What time I have that is not spent in the library is bursting with classes, studying, and prearranged events or meetings, though I have already missed the first women’s soccer meeting, and another yoga class. Here is an overdue recap of recent events in my quiet university life.

I have been taking walks around the area with other students, seeing the fields, graveyards, small temples and villages that surround us. There is also one other university, a nursing college, that is located about a 15 minute walk away from the IUJ campus. I still find this area to be lovely, and the changes autumn is bringing have not disappointed.

While the weather has given itself over to Autumn, the local farmers have been going though some new procedures, presumably to protect  the soil and/or what has already been planted in their perfect, neat rows. Anu, Elena and myself walked through these fields to an Okonomiyaki restaurant we had been told about by other students. Despite a wrong turn, with the help of a local shop owner we did eventually locate the restaurant. The food was quite good, and more than sufficiently filling. We didn’t get lost on the way back, although we did cut through a dirt path that left our shoes smelling of manure.

Last week I went to Urasa with two classmates from programs in the Graduate School of International Management. We ate a delicious meal at a small noodle shop located inside of the local JR Train station, after which we walked up the street to a used bicycle shop. The shop was open but no one was there, so we went up the road in another direction to browse the shops and restaurants along the way.

Eventually we went back the way we had come, and the bike store owner had returned. After a bit of bargaining, some test rides, chain oiling and tire pumping by the very friendly & helpful store owner, we all left with bicycles. She charged me only 12,400円 for a new mama-chari style commuting bicycle (more on these later), which I find to be a very reasonable price based on the past month of shopping around locally & on the internet.

After buying bikes, we were a bit giddy about the newfound sense of freedom they gave us and explored the area a bit. Eventually we headed back to campus, passing local elections campaigners giving speeches and waving at us with their white gloves at every turn.

I joined on a hiking trip with Umex to climb five (or six?) of Hakkai Mountain’s eight peaks. The weather during our ascent was very sunny and nice, allowing for many truly gorgeous views of the momiji (autumn colors) and the surrounding terrain. Most, if not all of the photos of the mountain on this post will be from this portion of the climb. Clouds began to form right as we reached our resting place on the aforementioned peak, and as we all ate our lunches the clouds began to sprinkle. By the time we began our descent it began to really rain, making the already treacherous path all the more dangerous. There were moments when I felt sure we’d all forgotten our sanity somewhere that morning.

If my knees ever forgive me, I will certainly make the climb again. I also learned that the hiking boots my lovely mother had gotten for me prior to my departure are solidly waterproof, as advertised (and for that, I am grateful). After the bus took us back to campus, and I dragged myself back to my room, I realized the volume of reading and homework I had yet to complete for the next school days. I cannot say with confidence that many updates will follow in the days soon to come.

More photos of Hakkai-san are located here.

10 Things You Should Not Miss in Japan

Clearly I am some form of a Japanophile – I did one year of study abroad in Osaka, and came back for more to attend the  International University of Japan for my Master’s degree. Well, I’m not delusional so I realize that Japan is not some kind of Utopia, entirely free from blemishes or problems, but that is beside the point of this post. After my month of travels prior to school, and also taking into account my previous one year stint living in Japan, I have certainly found that I enjoy it here overall.  I love the language, the food and the majority of the locals. Obviously, through my experiences here I have formed my own opinion of what you should and should not make it a point to experience during a trip to Japan. Shockingly enough my list does not include a 6 am trip to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, nor am I particularly impressed with Harajuku girls (though they’re interesting enough in their own way, I suppose).

(Oh and the order has no significance, besides perhaps displaying my train of thought, which is rather Kansai-centric)

1. Osaka
Dotonbori, Ame-mura, Namba, Osaka-jo, and food! Do NOT miss the delicious foods that Osaka has to offer!

2. Hiroshima
The Peace Memorial, Museum, and the extra hour or so you’ll need to go to Miyajima. If you’re lucky, there will be free tour guides wandering the park, so keep your eyes open!

3. Kyoto
You cannot run out of sights here, but aim for being there during a matsuri (festival) if at all possible

4. Nara
Experience the quiet city of Nara between busier days, feed some tiny adorable japanese deer, and visit Todaiji to see the great statue of Buddha (wiggle through the hole in one of the columns to up your chances of achieving nirvana!)

5. Go Hiking, anywhere!
Especially if you can get a native obaa-chan guide. It’s fun!

6. Fushimi Inari
You will not regret it. Plus, the whole area is a great “JAPAN” photo op.

7. Take the trains!
Train rides are great! I think I’ve said enough about them on other posts.

8. Onsen
Japanese hot springs, full of nice minerals. If the idea of pubic nudity bothers you, my advice is just suck it up and try it, at least once. That was one of my regrets after my first time in Japan, especially now that I know how awesome it is. Being in the nude with a bunch of same sex total strangers is not awkward or scary enough to outweigh how awesome an onsen is. (No photos for this one! 笑)

9. Open-Air Museums
There are a number of open-air museums scattered across Japan, full of authentic traditional japanese homes and farmhouses nestled in gorgeous parks. I personally recommend Hida no Sato in Takayama, but I know there is a good one in Osaka too.

10. Food that you cook yourself
There are so many different foods in this category – you can go for things like okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, shabu shabu or yaki niku

And my last piece of advice is this: I recommend that you talk to the locals! Even if you don’t speak a word of Japanese, by and large people in Japan are very friendly and helpful. Don’t be afraid to ask for directions, a recipe, recommendations, or even strike up a friendship over hanami. I have had a lot of great experiences and hilarious conversations by adhering to this rule.

This is my two cents on the topic, and I’m stickin’ to it!