Planned Adventuring

On Monday we went on a class sight-seeing trip. Our first stop was Himeji Castle. Now we are quite lucky that we came to Japan this year, because before too terribly much longer they are going to begin several renovations to the structure, and because of this it will be closed to the public for, oh, FIVE YEARS.

Anyway, I took the grand tour of the castle. Starting from the base, I went around the foundation, then began the long climb up to the 6th floor. Inside they had something of a museum. Lots of awesome stuff. Scrolls, spears, rifles, you know, awesome stuff. The woodwork was amazing and the view was spectacular.




After the awesomeness of the castle, and a pretty tasty meal thereafter, we headed for the adjacent gardens. They were just as beautiful as the castle, however the gardens were shorter. There was a great big koi pond. I could only imagine how much those fish were worth. There were also very impressive bonsai trees, two of which I was sure were over 100 years old.



Of course, this is the point at which my camera's battery gave out. Luckily I am not the only one who went, so at some point I can get more pictures from my friends. Trust me, I got a total of 104 pictures, these are not the only ones.

Afterward we went to the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world. Now THAT was an example of amazing modern architecture. Not only is it Xbox HEUG, but it's made to be a tourist attraction. It has an observaition deck, part of which has a glass floor. That's kinda intimidating. Srsly.

Well that was this week's advnture. I'll be back.

Last-Minute Adventuring

On Friday, as we have been doing this week, I got out of school early. This is primarily because school has yet to officially start, and this is just orientation. Upon arrival that morning, however, I was informed that several of my friends wanted to go out and do something. After some discussion, we decided to go out for Karaoke at a place we recently learned of that had rooms running at $10 for 3 hours of singing plus one beverage. VERY reasonable, especially on a Friday.

To get there we had to take a Hankyu line train to a station a few stops away from school, then get off and walk down the street to a JR line station. Kinda confusing, but not that bad, really. More details on that later. Anyway, after several stops we got off at a fairly large station that had a nifty walkway attached to it that led to the shopping mall in which the Karaoke place is.

Turns out it wasn't $10. It was $6.80.

I kicked off the fun with a song I never expected to see there: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Eric Idle. I also went through some Queen, Beatles, Pet Shop Boys, and a few others. The high point of the night was when I did a trio of the song "Barbie Girl" with a French girl and a guy from Michigan. Believe me, it was plenty hilarious.

After the singing and paying, we each got a voucher for one free pay at the neighboring Arcade. The downside is that we could only use them to play a grab-hand game. The upside is that this particular grab-hand game contained nothing but ice cream. The other upside is tha I am he only one who won. =P

Not long after that, I headed home. I told my Okaasan that I'd be back home by 7 or 8, and as it was I wouldn't make it back before 8:30. Now when I say "I headed home," I mean it. Our remainig group at this time consisted of two guys who wanted to try out the ping pong place in the mall, and three folks who wanted to romp around in Osaka. This means that I had to find my way back on my own.

As I said, it wasn't so bad. After getting to the JR station I started at, it was a simple matter of walking down a main street, making one turn, and arruving at the Hankyu station moments later. As many of the signage is bilingual, I managed to get myself on the right trains and everything. I didn't even get lost!

Well, that was my latest adventure. Sorry there aren't any pictures, but as I said, it was pretty much a last-minute decition to go anywhere, and this camera is too bulky to just keep around all the time.

Second Trip to Osaka

Yesterday I visited the fantastic little structure pictured here. I would have told you about it then, but by the time I got a chance to st at my computer I was so tired that I just wanted to sleep. Getting to the Castle involved a lot of uphill walking which I did not enjoy. However, seeing the castle was amazing. The thing is huge.

Unfortunately I arrived at the actual castle entrance a few minutes after it closed. This, of course, means that I couldn't go inside. Bummer.

However I have learned that I will be heading back as part of a field trip with my class next week. This means that I WILL get a chance to go inside. Anyway, I don't feel like doing a lot of typing, so here are a bunch of pictures for you to look at.

Oh yes, and Dad, I took pictured of most of the Historical Markers so you can read them later.

First Trip Into Osaka

We decided to head to Osaka to wander around a bit and check the place out. Moments after arriving I felt like I was in Japan. Thousands of people going every which way and towering buildings that defy the senses of country folk like me. Pictured is a view from an overpass into the heavily built city. Really a sight to behold.

Anyway, our first stop was an electronics store. When I say "store" I mean, of course, huge 7-story mall. The place was enormous and filled with lots of goodies and even more people. From there we went to an actual mall that had a Ferris Wheel built onto it. This thing makes the one in Chicago look like a pinwheel. We looked around inside, especially in the arcade. Pretty soon afterward we ran off to get some food. I cant remember the name of the place for the life of me, but it's apparently the equivalent of McDonald's in Japan. It was cheap and delicious. Rice, salad, miso soup, and some unidentifiable meat. Mmmm...

We then went to Karaoke, which was fun but pretty pricey. We've agreed to go someplace cheaper next time. Afterward we headed back to the station to come home. The trains were pretty full, but mostly because they were some of the last trains of the night. They emptied pretty quickly. I walked back home with Willy and got a can of cold coffee on the way. BOSS brand is pretty good stuff.

I would share more details, but it's past midnight and I've had a long week. I'm heading to Osaka again on Thursday with my Nihon-go partners, so that should be a lot of fun. The train is pretty cheap too. It was like a $6 round-trip. I won't be going every week, but every now and again would be fun. Maybe I'll run into more drunken Scotsmen. They're hilarious.

That's One!

Well, I've been here for a week now, so I thought it would be prudent to update.

Observations so far:

Everything is delicious. Pictured is what I had for supper this evening. Yummy. Though one odd thing is that there doesn't seem to be any lean meat here. All of it is riddled with delicious nurturing fat.

Not everything is delicious. Example, if anyone offers you some Natto, refuse it. You can be as polite or as freaked out as you want, but do NOT eat it. It looks like foamy baked beans, has the texture of stringy jello and beans, and the taste of semi-sweet battery acid and beans.

Everyone is nice. If someone talks you you, odds are they will be very nice. Occasionally you will pass someone who looks at you funny, but that's rare. I don't know if they're just being nice, or if they're genuinely really nice. Either way, it makes you feel pretty at ease.

This place is clean. The only litter you really see is cigarette butts. On that subject, I don't see as many people smoking as we've been lead to believe. I only see maybe one or two people a day smoking. I see more than that at Adrian!

This place is green. Everybody seems to have a garden of some sort, and the municipal plantings are just as nice. I see little potted bushes, vegetables, and bonsai trees all over the place.

Umm, well... I guess that's it for now. I've got to get back to doing stuff now. I'll be in touch!

Big Happy Family

Yesterday my two Host Brothers returned home. Their names are Aki Hiro-kun and Junki-kun.

I don't know a whole lot about them yet. I know that Junki-kun is going to be here for a month while he works in an internship, and that his major in college is Physics with emphasis in Dense Matter. I told him that the subject was over my head. He said it's over his too.

Though I talked with Aki-kun longer, I didn't really find out very much about him, other than that he as played a few Final Fantasy games.

Oh, and on a side note, I got lost on my way home yesterday. I took a few wrong turns, but eventually after a half-hour of wandering and asking directions, I got back. Today, however, I made it back like I knew where I was going.