Soni Kogen

This past weekend I went hiking in an area near Nara called Soni Kogen. The selling point of this area is the tall pampas grass covering the hills.
We left the International House a little before 7 to catch the train. We took several trains and also a bus ride to get there, so needless to say it was a long journey. It was at least an hour and a half to get to our destination.
Some of us were quite sleepy.

The hike itself was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Most of us had brought bento for lunch, but our Japanese friends had not; we got off the bus at a small eatery that was part of the hiking area so they could get food. Unfortunately, that meant we had to do some extra hiking to reach our actual start point, so we walked for quite a while up some steep paths through a forest. By the time we reached the base of the hills, we were quite winded!

There's really no way for me to properly describe all of the sights. Not only was Soni Kogen one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, but it was very...un-Japanlike. It felt as if we were in a place that was a mixture of the Alps and Peru. The way the pampas grass seemed to glow in the sun was almost surreal, and there were gorgeous mountains everywhere we looked.

Since we were already tired from our trek through the woods, it was a pretty tiring hike. However, the views were worth it! The only truly crazy part of our hike was having to climb right beside an open fire! Apparently workers burn away at the grass on parts of the path to prevent overgrowth and prevent an obstruction of people's views, and for some reason they decided to do the burning on a busy weekend. We had to walk beside the fire and through the smoke to go over the top of the mountain and get back down. It was insane, but kind of cool.

After we reached the bottom (at this point we were all exhausted and ready to collapse) we went to an Onsen. For those who don't know what an onsen is, it's a bath that receives its water from a hot volcanic spring. They're known for their healing properties. The onsen was wonderful. It was a little jarring to walk into a changing room and bath area filled with strange naked women of all ages, but you get used to it. We stored our clothes in a locker, stripped down, and went to a shower area to clean ourselves. Once you're all clean, you go into the onsen. There were two indoor baths, and an outdoor bath, which we chose. It is wonderfully relaxing, and all of the minerals make your skin baby soft.

After the onsen, we got dressed and headed back home. On our way back my friend Emily (who is in graduate school and is on her third trip to Japan) took us to a train station that had a lot of eateries and shops inside it. We ate at a delicious curry place, and then checked out this grocery store that had quite a bit of imported food. I bought toblerone, some gouda cheese, and found pie filling! Huzzah!

By the end of it we were all exhausted, but it was a great experience.

Whoo!
This Saturday I am waking up at the crack of dawn to take a train out to the Nara area and hike around THIS place, followed by some time at an onsen! It's going to cost me about 4,000 yen for the whole day, but a trip like this normally costs about 10,000, so I'm not going to let this opportunity pass by!
I'm so excited.

On Monday I have the Halloween party (I'm going as a penguin), and then it's goodbye October, hello November.

Kitano Tenmagu Flea Market

Today I went to a flea market at the Kitano Tenmagu temple in Kyoto. I've always loved flea markets, because there is always something new to look at and little treasures to find. This one was particularly exciting.

Flea markets in Kyoto are always held at temple complexes, and there are several that occur every month. Kitano Tenmagu is one of the recurring flea markets, so I felt okay with just exploring and taking things in today.

The flea market sprawled across the temple grounds and on the outer walls as well. There were tons of vendors, selling everything from old kimono (which I did not purchase this time around because I have no knowledge of what pieces I need to buy), to wall scrolls, china, old toys, records, etc. There were also quite a few food vendors, although generally the foods available were takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (sort of a cabbage pancake), yakisoba (noodles), candied fruits, dried things, grilled corn, candies, and cakes with custard/bean paste/green tea paste in them.

It was quite crowded. I felt pretty awkward lugging my big backpack around, and a few times I got nudged by a disgruntled old man trying to make his way through.
A lot of families were there; there were a few games children could play, like shooting games and fishing games (pretty much your standard festival/fair activities wherever you live).

I spent the afternoon with my friend Angie, but we ran into several other SKP students throughout the afternoon. Angie persuaded me to try takoyaki; I've always been squeamish about eating anything with tentacles, but takoyaki is one of those standard street foods you find everywhere. I figured that if the majority of Japan loved it, I needed to try it. It was great. We also bought and shared yakisoba and okonomiyaki. I bought two custard cakes as well. The food was relatively cheap, and it was delicious.

I didn't want to make an impulse buy, but I was keeping my eye out for some sort of wall scroll or an item that could be easily packed/shipped. Towards the end of my flea market visit, I came upon a vendor that was selling antique wall scrolls and paintings. Most of them were VERY expensive. I was about to walk away from the tent when I decided to sift through a box of unframed paintings, and I found an ink painting that I instantly fell in love with.

It's not matted or framed, so on my trip downtown tomorrow with Steph I'm going to look for a mat. Otherwise I'll just have to secure it with cardboard for the trip home. According to the seller it is about 80 years old. She pointed out the name of the artist to me on the corner in case I cared to look it up. It cost me 2500 yen, which is not unreasonable for a painting that old. The price was already written on the wrapping, so I feel secure that I got a fair deal.

It's fairly easy to speak with shop workers or vendors in Japanese, but whenever I did they seemed pleasantly surprised. There were many other non-Japanese people wandering about, but probably only about half of them were students or people residing in Kyoto. I heard a fair amount of tourists pointing at things and saying, "HOW MUCH? PRICE?"
It was pretty funny, actually.

We spent about 3 hours at the flea market before we decided to call it a day. Since I spent so much money at the flea market, I decided to walk all the way home instead of taking the train, despite feeling tired. The flea market was a 15 minute walk from Ritsumeikan, and the school is a 30 minute walk from my dorm. Phew. I definitely walked off those custard cakes.


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In other news, my winter coat and new shoes came in today! They only shipped 8 days ago, so I was incredibly pleased that they arrived BEFORE the website said they would. Both items are beautiful and I'm really happy to have flats that don't have holes worn through the heels...

So Halloween in Japan is bigger than I thought it would be, at least in my area. I don't believe trick or treating is something people do here, but a lot of people throw parties or clubs have special Halloween nights. Shops usually have little halloween decorations up, and there are lot of pumpkin flavored candies and things at stores.

Ritsumeikan throws a halloween party every year. It's 1000 yen for exchange students if you buy a ticket before the party, and you have to come in costume.
Originally I wanted to go, because I love getting in costume, most people at I-House are going, and I figured it would be a good night to cut loose a little.

However, now that I think about it, I don't know how interested I am in going. I love Halloween and most years I've done something to celebrate it, but the basic premise of this party is drinking and dancing, like a night club. It's not really my scene. Honestly, I would much rather eat Halloween candy and watch movies like Hocus Pocus and The Corpse Bride that night.

I'm not interested in drinking. Even though it's legal for me to do so here, I don't care for it. The only drinks I really like are these alcoholic fruit drinks...and even then they have a really low percentage of alcohol in them. I just don't see what all the fuss is.

Haha, I feel like such an old lady, now that I think about it. Talking about how I don't care for drinking and partying...and not to mention that I'm going to a flea market with my friend Steph tomorrow. Living the life, man, living the life.

Word of Advice for Those Planning to Study Abroad

The amount of time that you chose to spend abroad makes a big difference.

If you are looking for a fun trip in which you see sights and take in lots of cultural activities, I would suggest that you take a summer abroad or even a short spring break trip if your university offers it.

Taking a year or a semester abroad is vastly different from a short trip. Wherever you end up going, there will be a multitude of things to do and places to see, so it's hard not to go see all the sights in the first week. It's also really easy to get disillusioned with life. Culture shock and homesickness is very real, and the longer you stay in a country the more cycles of homesickness you go through. Also, you have to learn how to balance the "oh my god I'm in this new, amazing country" factor with the reality that you still have to spend a year or a semester studying and just going through daily life.

You may be in your dorm one afternoon while people are off touring some sight, and you're stuck doing homework or laundry and thinking, "what am I doing with myself?" You have to pick and choose. You have to realize that you're not there just for a fun trip, but you're also living there and therefore you have to keep certain priorities in order.

Shorter term trips often have more of an itinerary and people tend to stick with their groups that they came with. When you study abroad for a year or a semester, you may know only one or two people or you may even go by yourself. When people stay somewhere for a year or a semester, little cliques are an inevitable development.

So yeah, just keep in mind what type of experience you want to have. Do you want a somewhat more touristy experience, or do you want immersion. There's no right or wrong when it comes to studying abroad, just pick what works best for you.

Food!

I think I need to start taking pictures of all the food I make. I'm having a lot of fun learning how to make new things and having a variety of meals with limited ingredients. Here are a few of the things I've made so far:

Stir fried chicken and rice
Balsamic cooked chicken with cherry tomatoes, pesto, and cheese
Grilled cheese (sounds simple, but I scored with some delicious bread)
Homemade vanilla pudding
Cinnamon vanilla pancakes
Homemade hash browns
Pasta Carbonara
Bento (edamame with sticky rice and boiled eggs)
Miso soup (made the stock from scratch)
Penne with pesto meatballs and gravy
Pasta salad with cherry tomatoes and creamy balsamic dressing
Pan cooked cinnamon apples
Fried egg sandwiches
Chili (beef, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, white beans...no recipe, whut)
Breakfast burritos (eggs, cheese, garlic, onion, green peppers, tomatoes)

Pretty much everything I make is with the same basic ingredients. I enjoy going to the grocery store and trying to think of new ways to make things while staying within budget. The internet is great. There are so many ways you can make things.
I think I have the most fun thinking of ways to make desserts without using an oven. We just have convection oven and a toaster oven here.

I'm looking forward to going back home and trying my hand at cooking with better access to ingredients and having money to spend on food (provided I get my job back).
Feeling domestic~

Random Stuff

So, today I purchased a dry erase board that I can stick on my fridge to write reminders on and a few dry erase markers. I've never seen dry erase markers like these before. You have to click a button like you would on a mechanical pencil to make the ink run down to the tip of the marker...

I seem to be spending a lot of money on groceries. At least, I always feel like I'm grocery shopping. It's tough on me because the first 4 weeks here I've spent money on clothing I needed, paying fees, buying textbooks, and renting my bike. Money goes STRAIGHT OUT THE WINDOW. On top of that, I have seven days until I am to receive my food stipend. So, all the money I brought with me has been going towards feeding myself.

I'm kind of picky about food in the sense that I cannot live happily on rice and noodles every day. I like variety. Food also costs more here. I bought a bunch of grapes today because they were on sale for 198 yen. This was one tiny bunch of grapes...they were also kind of tart...and they also had seeds in them. However, grapes usually sell for around 358-458 yen.

When I make meals, I try to buy things that I can make in a large amount that will last me for several days. For example, I made chili tonight. I spent about 1400 yen, and I already had the meat (which I bought a pound of for about 290 yen). I bought two packets of spices, hot peppers, onions, garlic, beans, and crushed tomatoes. Thankfully, it turned out delicious even though I didn't use a recipe...also, I have enough to last for 3-4 days, and I still have leftover spices, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. So I guess it works out.

Oh, and this weekend we have some sort of festival where the university students can go in a parade, dress up, and hold a shrine. I kind of wanted to do it, but it's hard to take pictures when you're in a parade. Hopefully I'll get some good shots.

That's it for now!

An Afternoon at the Kamogawa

This afternoon I took a sort of last minute trip to the Kamogawa River with my friend Delaney. A big group of people went to Nara to see the deer, but I didn't know about those plans until the morning of (and I didn't want to pay train fare to get all the way there).

Anyway, a small group of girls were all going to picnic by the Kamogawa River, but it ended up being just Delaney and I. We left around 1 and took the bus to the Kawaramachi area, which a downtown area with lots of shops, sights, etc. It's basically downtown Kyoto. (I think I mentioned that in a previous post.) Many of the International students hang around the Kawaramachi at night, drinking and watching the street musicians and performers that sometimes come out there. The section of the river that be picnicked by was very grassy, and very beautiful. Many families and couples were out by the river, just enjoying the nice weather.

We found a nice spot with some shade, and at lunch. As we sat there, a man parked his bike under a nearby tree and took out a bag of bread. He stood by the river bank waving his arms and making whistling/clicking noises, and in a matter of minutes, about ten or eleven hawks started circling around. He started throwing bread in the air, and the hawks swooped down and snatched the bread midair. It was amazing. He kept it up for about half an hour.

(There was also the most precious little boy chasing pigeons, laughing and having the greatest time. )

After we finished up our picnic, we went to this little bookshop on the second floor of a building near the bus stop. Delaney noticed that she sign mentioned used books, so we thought we would take a look. It ended up being a bookstore that bought and sold used ENGLISH books, so we were pretty excited. All I bought there was a little post card, but I may go back and buy a book. They were all pretty cheap, and there were some books that I liked there. They also sold coffee, tea, and hot chocolate for only 300 円. If I go down that way again, I would love to pick out a book, drink some hot chocolate, and have some quiet moments. They were playing songs in English that I was fond of, like some stuff by Ok Go, Feist, and Matt and Kim. It almost felt like I was sitting in a tiny bookshop somewhere in New York.

After that, we took the bus back to our area of town, and went to a local bakery called Peter Pan Bakery, where I got this chocolate chip muffin...thing. I will definitely go there in the morning when the selection is bigger. There were also little tarts, and Delaney told me they often sold baguettes.

People in Japan really seem to love French food and little cafes, so there are little coffee shops, French Style cafes, and bakeries everywhere.

That's all for now. I miss everyone so much!

IJL Class E

These are all of my classmates. We are all in class E, which means we have all of the same classes together. We're a pretty diverse group; we have people from China, Korea, America, Germany, Sweden, and Iceland. In the back wearing the tie is Hirai Sensei, who is my second Comprehensive Japanese teacher (I have three); he's definitely my favorite teacher. Last week he had us all gather around for a group picture, and he emailed the pictures to us.

Myoshinji Temple

By chance, I'd heard about a garden lighting event that was happening at Myoshinji Temple tonight. I asked a couple of girls if they were interested in going, and after a delicious meal at a curry restaurant we went to the temple to take in the lights.

It is still astounding to me that in Kyoto you can ride your bicycle through the grounds of a temple in the middle of the night. We saw several joggers, and people just taking a stroll along the winding stone pathways. At night, the pavilions and building seem even more awe inspiring, quietly standing there in all their beauty.

We ended up losing our way along the path, so we asked an elderly man who was walking by. It turns out he lived/worked at the temple, and instead of just giving us directions, he led the way for us, slowly walking with the aid of a cane. It was so kind of him. The temple grounds are absolutely enormous.

Once we reached the area where the lights were, we paid a fee to enter and walked down a small path to a building where we removed our shoes. We walked through the quiet hallways of an old building along the tatami mats, to an area where the doors were slid open and you could walk out onto the deck to view the garden.

The view was simply...astounding. It took my breath away. Flickering candles were set all through the garden in beautiful arrangements, with paper lanterns scattered among them. There are really no words to describe how beautiful it was. My friends and I simply sat down on the deck for some time, looking out at all the lights and listening to the sounds of crickets and soft drum beats.

It was one of those moments that I know I will carry with me all my life, one of those moments when you become aware of things so much bigger than yourself. At times I had to fight back the tears that were beginning to well up in my eyes. Every single sensation felt magnified, from the candle lights glittering in my eyes, to the creak of the floorboards and the texture of the tatami mats beneath my feet.

Video!

It's a short one, I explain why in the video.

Shopping, Buffets, and Cat Cafes, oh my!

Yesterday I went out with a group of friends to a downtown shopping area in Kyoto called Shijo-Kawaramachi. There is a big main street where a lot of higher end stores and department stores are located, and there is also a huge grid of covered streets where many smaller shops and restaurants are located. There is a HUGE variety of stores. There are trendy clothing stores, stores selling traditional goods, drugstores, arcades, pachinko parlors, restaurants serving Japanese food, cafes, coffee shops, etc. The list goes on and on.
Random: There was a Gap, a Claires store, a Baskin Robbins, and a Body Shoppe.

So, we started off the day by going to a buffet called Sweets Paradise. It was on the sixth floor of a sort of deparment store building. The cost to get in was 1400 円, which is about 15 US dollars. It seems kind of expensive, especially since you have a time limit of 70 minutes, but it was actually a really good deal. In Japan, getting a meal usually costs around 600-700 円. Desserts usually cost anywhere from 150-300円, and portion sizes for desserts are a lot smaller than the states. You want a cappuccino or a latte? It can run you as much as you would pay for an entree.

So, Sweets Paradise was really great. For 70 minutes you can eat all you want from a selection of pasta, finger sandwiches, rice dishes, and soup. There was also a HUGE cake buffet. There were probably about 20 different kinds of cake, and all of them were really good quality and beautifully decorated. (There was a ton of pumpkin flavored things in anticipation for Halloween! In fact, the whole restaurant was really nicely decorated.) There was also a popcorn machine, a chocolate fountain, a soft serve ice cream machine, a wide selection of teas, and a coffee machine that made anything from lattes, to cappuccinos, to hot chocolate. Needless to say, I ate quite a bit.

After that, we began shopping. We hit a big department store first, but we spent so much time on one floor that we didn't even get to see all of them. I ended up buying a really cute winter hat with a furry pom pom on it. In the states I can never find hats that fit over all of my hair and look good, but it seems like a popular style in Japan is for things to be a bit looser. Floppy hats, over sized sweaters, and big jackets are a popular look. My theory is that girls look cute and endearing when their clothes look like they've been borrowed from someone or seem a little too big (in a well fitted way of course, you can tell things are made that way on purpose).

There was a wide variety of clothing styles in the department store on the top floor. I checked out a gothic lolita vendor (google it if you don't know what lolita is), because the ruffled blouses and skirts appealed to me. Unfortunately, they were very expensive, so I didn't try on anything there. Lolita is very much a lifestyle, and every piece is extremely well made and is considered a huge investment. One dress I liked cost over 250 dollars.

Aside from the top floor that seemed to cater a bit more to the fashion subcultures, the popular clothing styles in Japan are very much the same everywhere. There is some variation, but if you find a sweater at one store, you will likely find something similar to it at the store next door. Lucky for me, I like a lot of the clothing styles here! It's hard for me to find clothing in America that's as cute as clothes are here.

I ended up purchasing a hat, a jacket, a dress, and two pairs of tights. The jacket was a bit of a splurge, but it's pretty warm and has a removable hood and fake fur lining. The dress was a risky purchase. I bought it at a shop that was having a huge sale. I saw the dress hanging from outside the store, and immediately loved it and a couple girls said that it was really my style. I checked the price tag and it was originally over 4500 円. It was on sale for 945. The catch was that I couldn't try it on. It looked like it would fit, so I just went ahead and bought it. I took it back to the dorm, and it fit perfectly. Huzzah!

The best part of my day was going to a cat cafe. A cat cafe is basically a place where a person can pay a fee to spend a period of time inside the cafe petting and playing with cats. It cost 1000 円 for half an hour, and it also included one drink. It seems a little ridiculous, but many people in Japan live in places where they can't keep cats or can't afford them, so it is a small price to pay. I miss my cat like crazy, so it was wonderful to cuddle and hold cats. All of them were extremely soft and very used to people. I had a little cat sit in my lap for a while, and there was one that had a little face kind of like golem (but in a cute way...I called him smeagol the whole time). Another cat started drinking out of my drink, which I found hilarious. I left feeling so relaxed and happy, and needless to say I'm going to return there when I need a cheering up.

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On another note, I've noticed how much of a bother it is to shop for myself. With no real source of income, I'm always worried about groceries and what is best for me to buy. I've been avoiding purchasing any processed food for the sake of my health. Cooking is annoying, and sometimes things like meat is expensive. I've been going for things I can cook in large amounts, such as pasta, soup, or rice. I don't always feel like cooking, so having leftovers really helps. Grocery shopping has been kind of a hit-or-miss learning experience. The first time I went shopping I paid way too much for some items that I didn't even really use. I didn't set my fridge correctly, so my lettuce went bad. Little mishaps like that. Now I generally know what I can do with food. For instance, I can get two bags of pasta for less than a dollar each, and I can get four servings of pasta out of each bag. I also bought ingredients for miso soup, because aside from tofu and green onion, I can get over ten servings out of it.

I've always been eating in a more of a "European" style (using this word because this is how I often ate in Russia), having one or two big meals a day and snacks in between. I either have a big breakfast or dinner, and then munch on things for the rest of the day, like fruits. I also drink a lot of milk tea and coffee. Not eating processed food so much has been great. I can eat less, but I get more fuel from what I eat. Eating a big apple over some chips keeps me going longer. I do feel I could be eating a bit more, but until my food stipend comes in (which is retroactive, yay!), I've been wary about a budget.

Another thing I find bothersome about dorm living and shopping is all the random little things you realize you need! Laundry detergent, tissues...I realized today that having a laundry bag or hamper would be nice, but I didn't want to buy it, so I'm making do with a large shopping bag I have. I also realized I need a garment bag for my bras and panties. It's weird not having things that I'm used to having around the house, like pledge for dusting or something random like a lint roller. I figure when I move into an apartment I'll have to buy a lot of things like that, but it feels a little bit more...permanent. When you're only living somewhere for a few months, buying something like a laundry hamper seems like such a waste because it's going to get left behind when I leave.

When I return home, none of those things are coming with me. In fact, aside from my makeup and very basic products that I can use to freshen up on the plane, I'm not taking any shampoo or toiletry items to save on weight. I've made a few clothing purchases and I know I might buy a few souvenirs, so I have to cut down where I can and cram as much as possible into my carry on bag. However, paying baggage fees would be better than trying to ship stuff. My family and I found out the hard way that mailing things to me would cost an arm and a leg.
Call it vanity, but I'm really bummed about that because I recently found the combination of hair products that makes me hair look perfect when it's down. I may just have to pull my hair up for the last part of my stay.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I start my second week tomorrow, and I'm worried because I don't have my books yet. I went to purchase them a little late, and when I went to the bookstore they were all sold out! I hope they come in soon. I feel really behind and like I don't understand lessons because I don't have the books to study from.