Sorry, all. Haha.
What's going on, though? I hope everyone's doing well!
Happy summer break! I finally was released from last semester on Friday, and have been trying to enjoy myself as much as possible ever since. There have been birthday parties, farewell parties, let's hang out parties, and just... Ugh. I'm kind of tired, but as long as I don't really have homework, all is well with the world.
I haven't had too much time to myself, either, yet, but that will surely come in time.
Let's see what I remember from last week--
Well, Wednesday, I went on a field trip in my class--I think I told you all about that, though. Thursday I studied for a test and went out to eat with some friends of mine. Friday I had my last test in Japanese, which I was rather ill-prepared for, and a party in my literature class, as we had finished all of our reading and were simply there to turn in papers and hang out.
Friday night I went out with some friends to get cake supplies for a birthday/farewell party the next day. After that, I came home and slept. I missed sleep so much.
Saturday I went to the 100 yen store and bought more supplies for baking cake, and set to work relatively early. It took about seven hours for the party to get up and ready, and I was one of the main organizers, but it was a lot of fun and I had a good time, both preparing and enjoying the party. A good time was had by all, and, if I do say so myself, I can make a very tasty cake. Hee.
Sunday was yet another party, but this time it was a smaller get-together, with everyone being from my original group of friends here. It was a good time-we grilled food outside and ate nagashi soumen, which was positively delicious. I could eat that all day. Afterwards, we played with sparklers, and just hung out for a while, until right before the last bus. Then we went on home and I wound up hanging out with a couple of people until about midnight.
Monday was where things will get interesting and heavily photographed. I went to a place named Goutokuji, which may not sound that spectacular, but it is the home of the shrine that began the Lucky Cat tradition. Look for the Temple Cat section, and you'll see the part that I learned about on Monday. The shrine that it originated from was once small, but the place now is huge.
Here are some photos. It was a really nice place--the town was really quaint and had lots of mom and pop shops, as well, which was a nice break from the super-industrialised Tokyo. If you can't tell by now, I really do prefer my quieter areas. I don't mind the city sometimes, but overall, I do prefer being in a quieter area, perhaps near a city, close enough for convenience, but far away enough that I don't feel crowded.
One of the lightposts in the city. Isn't it charming?
The plaque at the entrance here says if you're drunk, you cannot enter the shrine. Good rule, I thought.
The entryway.
The walkway once past the entryway.
A place to burn incense, to show respect for the temple and whatnot, if I'm not mistaken.
One of the places where lucky cats and a Buddha statue is--they open it up to the public three times a year.
A bell rung several times a day to let locals know what time it is--they're becoming rather antiquated, but this one is still used, I believe. In Fuchinobe, they have a recording of a grandfather clock that rings every day, letting you know when noon and 5PM are.
One of the buildings in the shrine.
The bell from a different angle.
This building was actually a shrine--inside, there were Buddhas for past, present, and future. Beautiful figures, they were.
The sign to the building with the Buddha icons in them.
Getting closer to the lucky cat shrine!
This was one of the places for wishes to be written and hung up.
The entryway to the shrine for the cat.
The actual shrine--inside were a lot of cat figures, of course.
The original shrine for the cat, years ago.
Cute. But wait.
There's more.
So many more.
Smaller.
Smallest.
Another photo of them all together.
This little guy was outside of the shrine shop. What a cutie.
I bought myself a good-luck charm cat in a tiny case--He's really adorable. I also drew a fortune, which told me that things were about to get better for me if they were going bad, and since I've been having a little difficulties here and there, I'm [foolishly] hoping that it will happen. Haha. It was much better than my my fortune in Asakusa, which I did not keep, in hopes that it won't come true. It's all really quite fun.
After the Lucky Cat shrine, we went to another shrine, known for it's yearly sumo matches at harvest time.
I got lots of pictures there, too, since it was also a relatively big shrine, though not as big as the one before.
Leaving the Lucky Cat shrine.
This was a sign for a park that was along the way of where we were going--I've got pictures coming up in the next in this list.
Apparently it used to be a castle! What an awesome thought.
One of the staircases that led up to the path of the previous castle area.
Another. I really like stairs in photos. Sorry, guys.
Here was the site. You can definitely tell that something was there a long time ago, although it's not really discernible as to what it was.
Emperor flower, or something. I forgot. But it's pretty.
And poisonous, apparently.
Another plaque.
And another. There were lots of them, really.
The Torii from entering the next shrine we were going to.
And another.
This was just off to the right of where I was. Isn't it pretty?
More.
Awwhhh, turtle.
I love turtles.
The actual shrine.
Where you went to purify yourself before you went to pray.
Sumo court!
Pre-weights weights.
Showing off strength for the gods [or girls] or whatnot, right?
Lovely!
After we explored the shrines, we went off and decided to eat.
I bought myself a new coin purse, as I finally found what it was that I wanted. It's dark blue and has lucky cats on it, of course, as this was the area I was in.
For lunch, we ate cold noodles, and it was really good. I took a photo of that, too. I took lots of pictures this time--hope it can make my previous lack of photos up to you. Hah.
This was lunch. There was meat, fish, and vegetables mixed in. It was a little sweeter than I had initially expected, but it was good.
It was in a tiny restaurant without air conditioning run by an older couple. The place was really charming, and I was happy to have gotten to go. After we ate dinner, we wandered around and went to a bread store and a traditional Japanese sweet shop before deciding to have dessert.
The sweet shop.
Desserts---My friend had strawberry flavoured shaved ice.
I had a much more traditional sweet--Underneath is something called "anmitsu," which is a jelly-like sweet. It's a bit of an acquired taste, I think, but I found it enjoyable enough when mixed with the fruits and ice cream like it was. I'll work on acquiring the taste--it wasn't bad, just a little unusual.
My sweets from the sweet shop. They were quite good.
The sweet that was inside of the paper bag. Awh, kitty.
So, Monday was a lot of fun. I wound up getting really sunburnt, but overall, I had a good time.
Yesterday I kept mostly to myself in my room--the only time to myself that I've had so far this summer. I tidied up my room a bit--I found my desk so I could work on my summer project of drawing a comic like I've been planning to [I've got a page laid out so far--I'm really excited]. I've got to wash my laundry some time soon and clean up my bathroom ,and my room will be nice and liveable again. But even now, it's all right, and I'm really pleased with how much tidier it is. I'm going to get a shelf from a friend of mine soon--that should help me with books and things.
Today was really good. I went and got my hair cut again this morning--it grows really fast, and I wanted bangs again. I was a little tired of looking at my forehead. I went to the cheap place again, of course, and the woman did a fabulous job of it again. I'm really pleased.
Afterwards, I went and hung out with some of my guy friends, watching British comedies and YouTube videos. This evening, I had a party with a couple of my Japanese friends, where we ate riceballs [I tried umeboshi, pickled plums, for the first time, and they were delicious], snack foods, and talked about any and everything. It was really fun.
That's been this week. I'm not sure about money-saving tips right now, though. Perhaps invest in point-cards in various locations--if you become a regular customer, particularly in convenient stores and things, it seems like it can pay off. I don't have one, so I can't attest to it, but the brochure I looked at earlier seemed really promising. Coupons and bargains and the like.
Planning group meals is also more frugal, and broadens out the kinds of foods you get to eat, so that is good. I know that on Friday we're having one last get together with a large portion of my friends before they go back to their home countries, and I'll be making pasta, while everyone else will also be bringing something, potluck style. Really excited for that.
Also, perhaps get to know friends who have part-time jobs in tutoring or something that you might be good at, if your acquisition of foreign language is strong enough. I'm going to begin tutoring a friend of mine's pupil, as he's going back to the states soon. I'll be meeting the fellow on Friday--really excited. A source of income, instead of being strictly outcome, is exciting.
That's really all for now, though. Hope you enjoyed this week!
Talk to you soon.
-RD
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