Uji!

Woooooooooot, finals are OVER! To celebrate, I went to Uji with a few friends! Uji is a city in the outskirts of Kyoto which is famous for tea! It's also the setting for much of The Tale of Genji and it houses the Byodoin Buddhist temple from the Heian period. It's so pretty! There are a host of nice tea shops leading to the temple which offer free samples of tea and tea-related products. It really is a great place for omiyage shopping ^^ Before we went to Byodoin, I had the most delicious green tea soft-serve with match powder topping for only 250 yen!

Byodoin is..... very pretty....on the outside at least. I love temples, but this one had too much of a museum feel, and all the statues were in glass, and I frankly don't think it was worth the 600 yen it cost to enter. But they sold cheap o-mamori(good luck charms), so it wasn't a waste of a trip. And a few of the people who had taken art history found it to be really amusing, so maybe I'm just weird. But it didn't feel as spiritual as the other temples and shrines I've visited so far. Oh well.
I'm so excited classes are over! I'll be back in the states in less than a week... so weird! I just hope next semester goes as well as this one did. =)

Arashiyama and Kiyomizudera!

This past weekend I went to some of the most beautiful places in Kyoto for kouyou, or the changing leaves =) This is a pretty important time in Japan, and it was delayed this year due to global warming and whatnot, so I was actually able to go during a time when the leaves really should have all been gone. It was so beautiful! Arashiyama is a really pretty mountain with a monkey park and a bamboo path and a lot of omiyage(souvenir) shops! I ate a lot of yatsu-hashi here, a Kyoto delicacy of triangular cinnamon-mochi like thing filled with red-bean paste or a variety of different flavors. I really wanted to bring them back as omiyage, but unfortunately they expire within a week =(

Afterwards, we all went to Kiyomizudera, which is a very popular temple with a lot of great little shops leading up to it where you can sample sweets and drink tea for free! We went at night, so there were lights everywhere and my camera took a bunch of crazy pictures. And I finally got to try taiyaki! It's a grilled pancake-like thing shaped like a fish and filled with red-bean paste. I ate it at a vendor exiting Kiyomizudera, and it was delicious!
Next week is finals, so I doubt I'll be updating much =( But I hope to go to Uji(the tea district in Kyoto) really soon! I loooove Kyoto!!!

Mino Yama with Home-visit Family!!

This Sunday was definitely one of the best days I've spent in Japan so far!!! But then again, days spent with Sena always are =)
I was invited to visit a beautiful mountain called Mino about an hour away from my home-visit family's house in Awaji. Although it was fairly cold, it was so nice seeing all the pretty scenery. Seriously, you should check out the pics on my photo-stream. I went with Sena, her dad, and our Lithuanian friend Julius(the guy in the middle of the picture). We ate momiji tempura, or deep fried maple leaves, which is very rare cookie-like treat apparently only made at this one site!! We were told to beware of monkeys because they steal things from your purse and eat your food, but unfortunately(or maybe for the best hehe) they had all retreated back to the depths of the mountain or something because there was not a single monkey in sight.
Afterwards, Sena's mother made mochi(in case you're not aware, its a glutinous rice-based ball of squishy deliciousness) in a special machine and we added a variety of toppings. There was SO MUCH! I was not aware of all the variations of mochi that existed. The less obscure ones included anko(red bean paste) and kinako(some delicious soybean-flour-thingy). The surprising ones were savory, including yuzu(a popular citrus here) and daikon radish puree, and nori(seaweed)-wrapped mochi dipped in soy sauce. But all of it was delicious!! At the end, Sena's mother let me and Julius prepare yakisoba(a very popular fried-noodle dish with carrots, cabbage, and a special sauce). It was so yummy!! I am so lucky to have a family here in Japan that I can visit sometimes!!! And what makes it even more amazing is that they're very understanding of my diet! Her mother gave me packets of vegetarian soup base, rice toppings, and extra mochi to take home with me. I am truly thankful of the Uemura family!!! =D

Tomorrow is labor appreciation day here in Japan, which is a national holiday. This means NO SCHOOL!!! Because it's just a day away from American Thanksgiving, a group of us are getting together to make a variety of tasty dishes at the seminar house. I'm on team falafel with my friend Varun. It should be pretty fun. Hope to blog about it later! ^^

11 11 11

Today is Pocky Day! In case you don't know, Pocky is a really popular snack made by Glico. It's basically just a bunch of chocolate dipped biscuit sticks that come in a lot of different flavors like milk choco, strawberry, men's(?) almond, etc.

In Japan,  a lot of people eat Pocky on November 11 because its 11 11 and all the 1's look like Pocky sticks, I guess. This year is especially interesting because it's 2011! Whether or not pocky day is just a ploy by Glico to get people to buy more Pocky, I think it's fun! I bought salty milk chocolate Pocky, which was delicious. I wanted to get almond crush because it's freakin amazing, but my slight allergy to almonds prevented me from doing so.

Happy Veteran's Day to everyone in the states! =)

Den-den Town/Maid Cafe!

 

Our group at the maid cafe 'ai-ai'

My friend Lia(the middle maid in the picture) and I are doing a project on the culture of Akihabara and Den-Den town. Sooooo we decided the best way to research would be to actually experience it. FIELD TRIP ADVENTURE TIME!!! Akihabara is in Tokyo, which is pretty flippin far away and expensive, so we opted for Den-den town, or Nipponbashi, in Osaka.
Ok so here's a briefing on the subject: Akihabara is the birthplace of otaku culture. In other words, crazed fans of anime and idols flock here, as well as technologically-obsessed people in search of electronic parts. Maid cafes are also popular; usually frequented by older men, here you pay for a meal or a drink and are served and entertained by cutesy young girls dressed up in maid costumes. Nipponbashi, colloquially known as Den-Den town(or electronic town) is basically the Akihabara of Osaka. Here you will find cheap electronics, retro video-games, anime, manga, porn, idol memorabilia, and (of course!) maid cafes.
Today we explored Den-Den town and came to the conclusion that: 1. maid cafes are pretty awesome, 2. it's a cool district, but after a while you end up looking at the same stuff for hours and hours, and 3. you can find USB flash-drive phone-charms which can store 2GB for 100 yen each(roughly $1.30).
I think we all agreed that the maid cafe was by far the best experience of the whole trip. At the place we picked, 'ai-ai', the staff consisted of several young girls and 1 male all dressed as maids. The walls are plastered with 'moe' anime posters which they encourage you to look at. While you wait for your food(which is pretty delicious--fried rice, spaghetti, ice cream sundaes, heart-shaped waffles, and tapioca milk tea all grace the menu), the maids engage you in conversation, teach you how to make balloon animals, and even let you choose which anime to play. And once your food finally arrives, they ask you what you would like them to draw on it(in ketchup for savory dishes or chocolate for sweets). I asked for '愛', or 'love'. After we ate, they asked if we would like to dress up as a maid for 500 yen, which  I felt was too expensive, although my friend Lia really wanted to do it. We then took a picture with a few of the maids with Lia dressed as one. Then they brought out a 'balance-testing' skateboard with a ball underneath. The idea is to center the ball from one side to the middle whilst standing on the skateboard. Everyone tried and did pretty well. And then my turn came. This is when things got pretty funny. I stepped on the skateboard, and literally 2 seconds later I fell on the floor. The male maid who was standing behind me attempted to catch me, but ended up falling on top of me instead. It was pretty epic. And pretty fail. But we laughed it off, and now everyone knows exactly how clumsy I am >__> My friend video-taped the disaster, so there's probably some embarrassing video floating around facebook or youtube by now...
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the maids(aside from our group picture, which doesn't make much sense at all), so I have no photographic evidence of this amazing cross-dresser.
 

My initial impression was that maid cafes are basically a place for old perverted men to fawn over girls who are way to young for them. Perhaps this is mostly true. Indeed, even the bathroom(there was only one) had several 'moe' posters, some of them borderline hentai(perverted).  Besides us, most of the clients were men, but the ages ranged from college-aged to middle-aged. This surprised me, but it was refreshing to see younger people going there to hang out in a group. 

In short, I now feel that as long as you're not a lonely old man looking to fantasize over barely legal(if even) girls, the maid cafe culture is not a bad thing. The environment is fun and relaxed! I would highly recommend visiting one, especially if you're here in Japan =). 

Side note*** Sorry if I throw in random Japanese words often without translating them properly. Some things are used so commonly here that I can't really think of how to define them exactly in English. Such is true for 'moe'. Honestly, it's hard to explain, so if you're interested, I'd suggest wikipedia-ing it, as I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links like that here. ^^

INFES/Fashion Show

Oh my god, do the Japanese know how to put on a show! Today and tomorrow Kansai Gaidai is holding a bunkasai, or cultural festival, called INFES. The Japanese students have Wednesday through Friday off school for preparation, although international students only got today(Thursday) off as 'culture day'. But man, did the preparation pay off!!! There are huge posters everywhere around Gaidai with pretty pictures advertising things, and booths selling all types of yummy food. I bought and ate wayyyy too much! But really, how can you resist parfait bowls, tempura ice cream, or this weird savory dish filled with konnyaku(or potato/cheese/tomato)??! Oh, and there was the blueberry and cream cheese bagel at the jazz show... let's hope tomorrow has the same food! 

It seriously is like having a mini carnival on campus, though. Minus the rides. But who cares about rides when you can watch(or participate in!) a fashion show, Kpop dancers, karaoke, cover bands, and visit cultural booths? Which brings me to my next point.....

THE FASHION SHOW WAS AWESOME!!! I got to model for the international fashion show! My friend Heather who made the costumes(with the exception of a last-minute skirt she asked me to make and a kimono-cover up she bought) was unable to model her outfit because she arranged to meet a friend in Osaka. Soooooo, I had my first ever modeling gig! It was soooo much fun! We had two shows, but the latter was by far the most successful. I made so many friends and bonded with the ones I already had!

Also, the Kpop dance show was AMAZING! I am in awe of the talent that three of my fellow UF classmates and some other Kansai students have when it comes to dancing! They put on a great performance, and put so much effort into practicing!!! =D Seriously, I wish I could dance that well! And now I've grown to like Kpop again... hehe
I can't wait to see what's going on tomorrow! This week has been such a blast!

Halloween!

Ok, so maybe you've heard that Halloween isn't celebrated much in Japan..... which may be true outside of Kansai Gaidai. But man, do we know how to party! We had a costume party which was a huge success, but unfortunately I was unable to attend due to the fact that I was EATING BASKIN ROBBINS! Or, as they call it here, 31. It was 31% off today because it's Halloween or because it's the 31st day or for some other reason that I'm not aware of. Anyway, it was delicious! Magical mint night and pumpkin pudding all the way....
So anyway, I spent the whole day in costume(as Nicki Minaj in case you couldn't tell), and at school I got a lot of compliments! Although schoolgirls at the mall snickered at me(they're just jealous!), but I don't really care because I had FUN and it was all in the spirit of one of my favorite holidays =)

After ice cream, I went to the party at Seminar House 4.There was free food and drinks! Ohhhh yeah! We played BINGO(I lost all rounds) and took pictures in costume. I love Halloween! And even if most Japanese people don't dress up, there's a lot of Halloween merchandise sold here in Hirakata-shi and many of the Japanese students at Gaidai wore costumes. Oh well. Maybe it's a growing trend?

I hope to keep updating more often like I've been doing over the past few days! Also, please look at my photo-stream if you want to keep up with the pictures I'm taking, as it will only display the 200 most recent images. Man, my English is getting terrible here! Let's just hope my Japanese is improving >__>

First Kyoto Trip in a Looooong Time!!!

Hey, sorry for the delay in updating! Not much has been going on here, mostly staying around Hirakata which is usually a pretty uneventful area. We decided not to rush our Tokyo trip, so I might be going in Spring instead when I might have a longer break. But today I had a blast in Kyoto! I've been wanting to go to Kyoto for sooo long since I haven't been there in 4 years =( Well, there was that one time I went clubbing, but that's different...

So anyway, some SH4 peeps and I went to Fushimi Inari, which is a shrine dedicated to the deity Inari. It has fox statues everywhere(because Inari is related to foxes, but according to my Shinto class he's actually an old man and not a fox), and lots of stairs and bright orange torii gates. It was raining the whole time, and we got tired pretty quickly, but we managed to make it out and ended up right in front of another shrine, Tofukuji. It's pretty on the outside, and I took some pictures of it, but we decided we didn't want to spend the 400 yen it cost to get in.
So, after lunch somewhere in a random part of Kyoto, we decided to go to a pretty cool Buddhist temple, Sanjuusangendo. It's indoors and houses a lot of really awesome statues which are so sacred that cameras aren't allowed, so (sadly) I was unable to take pictures =( It smelled great though, because they burnt this powerful incense which I almost bought except that it cost like 800 yen and I'm cheap.
Anyway, that's my first Kyoto exploration story as of yet! Be sure to check out the sweet photos in my flickr stream. Next time, I think I'll be going to denden town (the Akihabara of Osaka), or maybe Nara or Arashiyama. Who knows! Hopefully I'll update about Halloween fun times tomorrow XD

Home Visit and Shinsaibashi

Sorry for the long delay! Here, I'm almost always busy studying, sewing, or doing the stuff I'm blogging about. That or I'm being lazy. Yeah, usually the latter. Anyway, About a week ago, I went to my Home-visit Program partner's house! Her name's Sena(the same girl I went to the Mexican festival with), and she is awesome! We made takoyaki, but since I don't eat tako(octopus), her family had prepared konnyaku for me to put in the mix! Takoyaki is an Osaka delicacy which uses a special frier with little hollowed out sections which you put batter and octopus in to make perfectly rounded tako-balls! The stuff I substituted the tako for is a gelatinous substance which is totally vegetarian and also very healthy! It was delicious and (maybe?) tasted like the real thing(but how am I to know??), and her mother kept insisting that I should open up a konnyaku-yaki shop ^^ We ate on her balcony in the open-air of a small Japanese city. The air was chilly, so we went inside after eating and drank tea with sweets. It was so much fun! I hope we can visit each other often!

Making Tako/konnyaku-yaki!

Today, I went to Shinsaibashi, which is a major shopping district in Osaka. Well, to clarify, I went to Namba station, wandered around for  a while with some of my friends, then eventually found Shinsaibashi.  We spent most of out time in Ame-mura, which(did you guess??) is the "American-village" part of Shinsaibashi. They blast r&b in all the shops and sell urban clothes. And there are crepes everywhere!! Afterwards, me, Adam, and Aya went to Sweets Paradise, which is all-you-can-eat specializing in desserts. I AM SO FULL NOW!!! I enjoyed it, although I think the best part was the tea section =) 

Now I'm off to study. Midterms are next week, so I doubt I'll have much to blog about for a while. Sooooo much studying this week!!! But I'm going to Tokyo after midterms, so I think it's worth it. Still wanna go to Kyoto..............>_> But I still have time!

Kappa Zushi/etc

Times have been very busy! I apologize for the lack of updates, I've just been bombarded with tests these last few weeks >_> Anyway, one thing I actually had time to go to was Kaiten zushi(conveyer-belt sushi) at a place called Kappa Zushi. This place is AWESOME! We had to wait like 30 minutes to be seated, but it was so worth it. This just shows how high-tech Japan is; they have a conveyer belt that delivers random sushi plates (tuna, salmon, egg, inari-zushi,etc), and people  choose what they want and take the plate. And at around 105 yen a plate, it's not so expensive either. They even have a touch screen which enables you to specially order something(say you haven't seen it going around in a while), which is delivered on a little shinkansen(bullet train) dish! My favorite is definitely corn/mayo sushi, with inarizushi as a close second. And tamago...
I also had the chance to look around a Japanese fabric store called ABC Craft. If you know me at all, you probably won't be surprised to hear that I spent probably an hour touching fabrics and picking out ones to buy. Even without a machine, I've decided I'll at least hand-sew bows and tiny accessory things. You can see my findings and the first bow I've made in my photo-stream =)
Anyway, this Sunday I'm going to visit my weekend host-family's house, so hopefully I'll have more to talk about later!

Mexico Festival!

Since Monday was a holiday here in Japan(respect for the aged day, or 敬老の日）, my weekend-family partner, Sena, invited me to a Mexican festival in Umeda! However, getting to the festival proved to be a difficult task... Lost in Japan Epic Adventure Time!!!

OK , so the station is basically a straight line away from our school's main entrance. However, in an attempt to retrieve my bicycle from the lot on campus(stupid idea, the whole school was closed for the holiday), I went in a straight line from the east entrance, which brought me to the electronic store Midori. Reading the signs, I decided to turn right and head towards central Osaka. The path looked unfamiliar, but I decided to trek it anyway. I passed endless car dealerships, a Uniqlo(score!), a cheap dvd store, and somehow ended up winding through an elementary school and then finally arriving at a shrine.Thank goodness I had my minnie mouse water bottle! Anyway, when I finally thought I would give up and head back home, the gods sent me a sign. 'Nose Ride', the Hawaiian restaurant close to campus. I basically ended up walking in a circle >_> For an hour.... After that, just a 40 minute

walk to Hirakata station. A train and subway ride later, I ended up in Umeda!(note to self, get off at Kyobashi instead of Yodoyabashi next time).

I met up with my weekend partner and her friends, and we went to the festival! I bought an onigiri beforehand because I knew the food would be expensive and not likely vegetarian-friendly. The festival was soooo much fun! We danced to Mexican music (why do I still remember the lyrics to 'el rey?) walked around little tents selling Mexican items and contemplated buying 300 yen shots of tequila(legal! but a little expensive). I even met Sena's mom! They want me to go to their house one day =)

Then it rained on our parade =( so we rushed back to the station,  bought a warm milk tea from Excelsior and fled back home to study for my kanji quiz. Fun times! I'm meeting so many people here, I can't even keep track! But I'm excited to go on more and more adventures and loving Japan just a bit more with each day!

Kaiyukan Aquarium

Ok, so this post is pretty belated, but the past few weeks have been rather stressful, and I haven;t quite adjusted to the Japanese lifestyle yet. Anyway , I went to the Kaiyukan aquarium in Osaka with my Japanese friends Kanae, Yoshimi, and Yui, as well as some of the international students ^^  Its website, as well as wikipedia, claim that it's one of the largest aquariums in the world, but I was told it was the largest. It has 8 floors with a wide range of sea creatures, including adorable otters, eels, manta rays, capybara(!!!) and WHALE SHARKS! It was quite an amazing  experience, aside from the fact that I was wearing high heels.

When we returned to the Hirakata station we took a ton of purikura! For those of you who don't know, this means we basically went into the most high-tech photo-booth in the world; one which enhances the size of your eyes and improves your complexion. You can add stamps, writing, and anything cute to the pictures which come out as stickers. 

The rest of the week was full of studying(fun!) and stress, but I think I'm finally starting to adjust to the Japanese lifestyle. Everything is expensive here, and the exchange rate is terrible, but those are things that can't be changed. And receiving a ton of packages from home on a regular basis definitely helps.

So far I've only been to Osaka, but I hope to go to Kyoto soon!

The Weather in Kansai 関西の天気

Since I've arrived in Japan, I've noticed the weather is *very* hot and humid, much like back home in Florida. Seeing as how most of us walk 3-5 miles a day, this leads to dehydration and A LOT of sweat. When I get back from a day of walking to school, the Hirakata station, and back, I can't help but shower ASAP. And the mosquitoes here are unbearable! My legs and arms are covered with itchy bite marks. 

Currently, a typhoon is coming, and is expected to arrive this weekend. Our Kyoto tour has been canceled, and our opening ceremony may be as well =(

Today we got a taste of the typhoon weather; a drizzle that lasted until the afternoon and picked up again in the evening.  I've been told a typhoon is pretty similar to a hurricane, but it somehow feels different from Gainesville rain. Luckily, Typhoon no. 12 is not expected to affect us too terribly, but we're still advised to stay indoors if the weather gets too gross. Thus, I've stocked up on enough food to (hopefully) last me through the weekend. Some onigiri(riceballs), kimchi, udon, nori, microwaveable rice, and a lot of sweet bread. Japan has really yummy bread products, which are usually sweet and filled with yummy things such as melon cream and red bean paste. I like it all! But I'm concerned about my diet changes here. I only consume fruit in the form of juice, and I always have to ask people at shops and restaurants if certain foods are vegetarian.  Like, today a group of us went to a donburi(rice ball) shop, and the chef made me a special bowl with extra tempura veggies that wasn't on the menu! >__> It made me feel sad about the no-tipping rule in Japan.

I hope the typhoon doesn't hit us too hard so we can go to karaoke tomorrow! All my home-stay friends are leaving soon, so it might be our last chance to hang out around the dorms for a while. I'll miss them!

New bike!

I got a new/used bike! It was only 6500円, which is roughly $85. It's cute and pink, but I can't ride it well =(

Although to my credit, the roads and sidewalks are so narrow here, and there are no bike lanes. Everybody bikes, so it's very crowded all the time and difficult to maneuver around obstacles. There are random poles in the middle of the sidewalks *everywhere*!Also, you have to learn traffic rules for a country that drives on the opposite side of the road.... To be honest, it's pretty dangerous and I'm scared for my life >_> but I think the commute from the seminar house to campus should be bearable....

Over here, there are a lot of different rules for bikes. It's illegal to ride one at night without a light. Initially I thought my light was broken, but I figured out you have to actually pedal the wheels for them to work. It's also illegal to ride a bike drunk! You can go to jail! 

They do have an interesting way of locking bikes here, though. You actually get a key which you use to drive it, and when you take it out, you can lock the wheel(?) . Anyway, it's complicated. But really cool!

Karaoke!

Rachael Jaspan and Taka-san invited us to do Karaoke at an amazing place near Hirakata station!!!! The room came with all-you-can drink... nomihoudai!!!! We sang American, Japanese, and Korean songs. Well, we attempted of these, but some didn't quite work out...

Anyway, above is a video of Rachael Jaspan singing, and below is one of Panic! At the Disco.We had such a blast!!! =D

Orientation Week

Getting adjusted to life in Japan is difficult. Especially for a vegetarian. Getting adjusted to life in Japan whilst simultaneously attending orientation week hell is just plain torture. Homesickness. Nausea. Vomiting. What time is it? Placement tests, paperwork, payments, etc.............

This week hasn't been as fun as I thought it would be. Sure, I've met some cool people and had my fair share of adventures, but the stress of completing all the orientation tasks on time is taking away all of my energy. That, and the heat/humidity of Osaka around this time of year. Pretty much exactly the same as Florida. Sigh.

Our campus is about 1 mile away from the dorm I'm staying at, so I think I might need to invest in a bike if I plan on arriving to any of my early classes on time. Most things are about 20 minutes away from the seminar house on foot, with the exception of  a nice park, cheap(ish) clothes stores, and a hole-in-the-wall okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki (a fried savory pancake with tasty ingredients such as egg, vegetables, etc) is one of Osaka's most famous dishes, but I got kimchi yakisoba there since it's just about my favorite food ever! It's like a fried noodle dish mixed with Korean kimchi, and it's absolutely delicious.

Being vegetarian here is hard. Especially not eating fish. But I'll see how long I last before I die of malnutrition or (unintentionally) break my 6 year vegetarian streak. For instance, today I bought Inarizushi, which usually consists solely of fried tofu stuffed with rice. To my surprise, it contained small pieces of boiled fish inside. The easiest things to find vegetarian are sweets and snacks, but I'm not sure I can survive of off those items. I may have to learn how to cook!

Departure!

Ok, so I know this is a little late seeing as how I've been in Japan for a few days now, but I have so many amazing pictures and stories to share! I flew through Korean Air, which has to be my favorite airline to date. They have this awesome interactive system in front of each seat which allows you to listen to international music and watch awesome movies from the West and East. Even new releases(Thor, Hanna, Rango, etc). I even got to randomly stop at Incheon airport.

I was the only UF student on my flight, and I arrived later than everyone, but somehow we all(well, mostly) managed to meet each other at around 9pm JST. We found a fellow gaijin attending Kansai Gaidai named Dani and adopted her as our own!

This is where the real fun kicked in. Staying up all night until around 6am at an airport in a foreign country. Awwwwww yeah!  So much studying, sleep deprivation, and craziness. Security even took our passports for inspection at one point.

In the morning, we all got yummy breakfast and embarked on our 90 minute-long bus ride from KIX to Hirakata. Then we conjured up 6 taxis to escort all 11 of us and our huge pile of luggage to the seminar houses.