It's February, and on the East Coast of the U.S. this means that there are many weeks of winter weather still ahead. It's still winter in Minakuchi too, but the weather has been getting warmer lately. People complain about the cold here all the time (and I am ashamed to say I have joined them on occasion....), but really. Go to Minnasota. Or Canada. Or Vermont. There usually isn't even snow on the ground here, so it made me smile when this happened:
Snow, wonderful snow! Makes me miss home.
There's just something about a day where you can stay home and watch the snow fall. Read a good book, cuddle in the warmth of the indoors, drink a warm cup of tea. Ahhh...
After staying in all of Saturday, I decided to check out a local festival in Tsuchiyama, a neighboring town. The towns in my area are rural so I wasn't expecting anything fancy. Boy, was I surprised! Traffic was backed up for about 15 minutes just to get parking near the shrine. The slowly falling snow made the experience seem like something out of a fairytale. The shrine was surrounded with warm food stalls and festival games. I saw lots of families lining up to buy arrows for good luck and to make wishes for their fortune.
Hot sweet potatoes
A tori gate surrounded by food carts.
Summer festivals are fun, but winter festivals are cozy, too!
The snow probably won't last for long, but while it's here it reminds me that winter isn't so bad after all. And sooner or later, it will become spring. Better take advantage of the joys of winter while we can!
It's only been a few days since I last posted, but I wanted to put up some pictures from the Biwako Bike Trip. It was amazing and completely exhausting. I had a great time and I may just have to do it again next year.
Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan. Surrounding the lake is a bike path that stays close to the shore and gives bikers a scenic view of Shiga prefecture. I live fairly close to the lake so I am glad that I was able to take this weekend to really take advantage of it. I did this bike trip with a group of 30 people. I started by taking a train at 6:20am heading to Nagahama. I met up with the rest of the crowd at the train station at around 8:30am and we headed out soon afterwards. We biked all of Saturday and stopped for the night at a hostel by the lake called BB Dylans (apparently the owner likes Bob Dylan a lot). On Sunday we started again around 8:30 and got back to Nagahama around 4. I arrived home officially at 8pm. According to this website the total trip is 149.5 km or 92.9 miles.
Japanese arcades are pretty addicting and fun. You can play video games, win toys, and spend tons and tons of money in the space of just a few minutes. But the best part (in my opinion) is puri kura! Puri kura are photobooths where you can pay a few hundred yen and in return get a sticker sheet of silly pictures. The name puri kura is short for プリントクラブ (purinto kurabu) or "Print Club". They are incredibly popular, especially with teenage girls (and apparently gaijin English teachers ^^) Within the puri kura booth you can pick different backgrounds and special effects. Once you exit you can decorate the sheets on a computerized screen before they print.
This past weekend I finally got puri kura to get set to my phone. I've taken a few pictures since I've gotten here, but somehow I never quite got the digital copy. But now I have it!! Here is an example of what puri kura looks like :
People have asked me if they have this in the states as well. While we have photo booths occasionally, they are really nothing like puri kura.
Today was the last day of classes until the beginning of September. After the closing ceremonies tomorrow, summer can officially begin! It’s been about 4 months since I arrived in Japan and I am looking forward to a month of summer fun! This weekend was the start of the exciting things that I hope to accomplish this summer.
On Sunday I travelled to Takarazuka to see another of the performances of the amazing Takarazuka Revue. This time the play was「ファントム」or “Phantom”, the Takarazuka rendition of the Phantom of the Opera. The day started early when I boarded a train towards Kusatsu at 7:30 am with my good friends Lauren and Ann. We arrived in Takarazuka (after a few transfers) at around 10am and met up with some other friends before heading towards the theater.
Pre-show curtain
Compared to the first Takarazuka performance I saw, “Phantom” was much easier to understand. “Phantom” was fantastic. Although similar to the Broadway interpretation, the Takarazuka version was closer to the book that it is based on (or so I have been told). The costumes were amazingly ornate and the dancing and acting was very well done. The songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and I don’t even know the words!
Following this adventure, we all took another train heading back to Kansai and stopped by Aeon Mall and...
COSCO! the capital of all things U.S.A. in Japan. It was literally like being back in the states. It was a slightly disorienting experience to be in a warehouse that looked exactly like the one in Vermont while being surrounded by people speaking Japanese. Also, I think it was the largest number of foreigners in the same area that I have seen since being in the U.S. When I decided that I needed a picture next to the Pretz (something very Japanese in a place that seemed very “American”), a passing shopper said “Would you like me to take that?” IN ENGLISH!!! It was his native language! So strange… In addition to selling lots of American bulk foods, Costco also serves the same horribly unhealthily delicious hot foods as it does in the states. Hence, for the first time in three and a half months I ate a piece of pizza. A COSTCO intense piece of pizza. It was amazing.
In other news, my couch arrived yesterday! I specified cash on delivery, so I was stuck waiting in my apartment impatiently all of Monday morning. Luckily, Lauren was there to distract me from my impatience and help me set up the couch when it finally arrived. I am so happy with my choice! The couch is soft and cushy, and it reclines to several different levels, including flattening out so that it can be used as a bed. I feel like my apartment is becoming more and more mine, especially now that I have a comfy place to sit!
Super comfy new couch!
Monday also brought the amazingness of typhoon force winds and rain. The school day was shortened today to let the students go home early in light of the weather situation. While it's a little frightening to hear the gales outside, I feel very safe and cozy in my apartment. The rest of this week has been forecast as rain and wind, thanks to the typhoon. I guess I can forgive the sky for wanting to throw a party. It just wants to say, "Welcome to summer!"
