Farewell Party + After Party

Farewell Party
Last night we had a Farewell Party at the cafeteria at the school. Us, the tutors, the coordinators, our host families, and friends were there. It was a fun and memorable day! There were some really fun entertainment like some of the ryugakuseis performing a dance for two tutors. The tutors' reactions were priceless! And the ryugakuseis did a wonderful job! We also danced to this dance that's used often at taisous in schools (you can look that up cause I'm lazy to explain it XP). I only watched the demonstration video once so I failed a lot lol We also gave our speeches about our experience and what we thought about the program. It got really emotional at the end. Oh yeah, at the beginning one of the head of the school presented us with certificates for completing our courses at the school. I know how it feels like to graduate at a Japanese school ;D even though it's technically not a graduation haha Our tutors gave us each a cardboard plaque with notes from each tutor and several pictures taken throughout the program. They are so awesome <3 I talked with my host family alot. They gave me a photo album. When I looked through it this morning I cried :( I'm going to miss them so much! They're my Japanese family and I'll definitely never forget them!

Sorry this is short. I'll probably edited this later.

After Party
Of course there was an after party. It was just us plus a couple of friends. There were actually 2 going on at the same time and people just went back in forth. It was at the same apartment complex so it was no biggie. One was where the crazy party was while the other was like where you go to relax (cause the person hosting that one has a kotatsu lol). I went to the crazy one first. I love that people don't force me to drink and don't pester me about not drinking. I did have a chuu-hi, but of course that's nothing compared to what people were drinking. This will also be the last time I'll witness these kind of parties. It was fun, though. The problem was that it was a small apartment and there were a bunch of people. Things started to thin out since people moved back and forth between parties. I ended up going to the other one after things got overwhelming. I just sat with my legs under the kotatsu. It felt very good. I want a kotatsu >.< I ended up staying there for a while. All of a sudden a bunch of people from the other party came over. It got pretty crazy. People eventually went home (it was about 2am at the time).

Yesterday was definitely a memorable day! The Farewell Party was emotional and fun and the After Party was just fun and crazy. A great way to end the program! I still have today left which I look forward to because I'll be having my last get-together with my host family. We're going to get sushi for dinner :3 It's going to be fun and delicious! I just hope I don't end up crying when they drop me off and say bye to me :( oh gosh......

Mochitsuki (Mochi-making)

(Again, I forgot my camera so no pictures of mine. All pictures in this post are from the internet)

Yesterday, we went to a small camp-like place where we were to do mochitsuki. Mochitsuki is generally the traditional way to make mochi. At first, we thought that was all we were going to do, but it turns out there was more.

So, we ended up at the place for like 5 hours. There was us (not everyone came just a couple of us), plus 2 English teachers, and a bunch of Elementary school students.  The first thing we did was aisatsu (introductions) then the coordinators had the kids learn how to say Hello and Thank You in English, Chinese, and Korean (since there were Americans, Chinese, and Korean exchange students there). Then we had to play this aisatsu game where we had to talk to 5 people we don't know and greet each other. After that we got into groups of 4 where we had to learn about each other more. Everyone in my group likes sushi lol after that we played another game where we each got a paper with an animal and we had to act like that animal and find other people who had the same animal. Then we played yet another game. 2 animal groups were put together to form one group so that there were 3 big groups. In this game we had to run up to someone on the other side of the building and do rock paper scissors. If you win you run back and another team mate goes. If you fail you have to tell your teammates to "Come on!" and everyone has to run behind the guy and back. We had to do that so many times lol but we ended finishing first! After playing all these games we went outside (it was scary cold btw!)

usu

When we were outside we saw the log that's used to make mochi. I was wondering when we were going to make it. We first had a quick introduction and then we went straight to mochi making! So how it works is there is a log that had it's center hollowed to form a sort of bowl in the center. This is called an usu. One of the old ladies brought oover steaming cooked rice (which I believe is glutinous rice) and put it in the usu. One of the guys took a large mallet and started to smash the rice against the sides. As he was doing this the lady had a bowl of hot water and would dip her hands in it then brush her hands against the side of the usu where rice was sticking. They did this for a few minutes then  the guy started pounding the rice. What's amazing about this is that at the same time the guy was pounding the rice the old lady was continuously dipping her hand in the hot water than wetting the mochi and turning it as the guy was pounding. They were doing it pretty face so they had to be in rhythm with each other. After a few pounds the guy asked who wanted to pound the rice. Of course all the elementary boys were yelling yes and starting lining up behind him (so cute haha). The first few boys used the same mallet the guy was using which looked really heavy. They pounded the rice. They eventually switched out that mallet for a smaller one to our relief lol. After several pounds the rice turned into a mass of sticky mochi! It's really amazing seeing how rice suddenly turned into one giant ball of sticky stuff. We made 3 batches of this stuff. Of course, I had the chance to pound it, too! It's a lot harder than it looks. It was fun though. I wasn't going to do it, but people convinced me to. We ate the mochi with various stuff in which it was rolled in. There was azuki beans, kimchi, kinako, but my favorite was the maccha powder. So good!!!!!!!  We also had soup with our mochi which made a lot of us happy because it was cold outside.

kendama

After the mochi activity we pretty much had free time for nearly 2 hours. Some people played soccer while some played with the toys they had. They were all traditional Japanese toys. My favorite was the kendama. I played with that toy for a pretty long time. Not to sound cocky, but I was able to catch the ball on all 3 cups and even was able to get it on the spike! I'm pro ;D lol jk not really. But it was still cool that I was able to do it right since apparently it's not that easy. If you've never heard of kendama it's pretty much this toy that has 3 cups and a spike. There's a wooden (I think it's wooden) ball attached to a string that's attached to the toy. The ball has a hole where the spike is supposed to go through. You have to try and get the ball to land on one of the cups. You can only use one hand so you swing the ball and try to get it to land on one of those 4 places. I found getting the ball on the bottom cup the easiest. The spike is the hardest. I couldn't get it in until someone told me a trick to do it. After I was able to achieve all 4 I felt very accomplished lol I actually want to get one of these.

After free time we went back into the building where one person from each country (America, China, and Korea) taught the kids (as well as us) about their country then the kids would ask questions about it. I learned a few things. I didn't really pay attention most of the time, though >.< I kept thinking about how hungry I was lol

After that we headed back home.

Last day of Elementary School Internship + Thoughts

Friday was the last day of the Elementary School Internship. The day started out as usual where I helped the teacher teach the kids English. We taught them how to tell time. The kids were really competitive with this one lol They had to ask me "What time is it?" then I would say the time. They kept saying the answer in Japanese to each other and they kept yelling out the answer. So energetic XD haha We then learned animals in English. First I held up cards with animals on them and would say the name out loud while they repeated. Then we played karuta (a Japanese card game). They seemed to really like that game despite some of the kids were accusing each other for cheating. It was pretty XP but don't worry no injuries happened!

Since it was the last day I ate lunch with the class. The way they do lunch is different from how I did lunch when I was in Elementary school. They moved their desks into a circle then they set tables in the center. They then get tubs of food which are made at a different facility and put them on the center tables. Then the kids serve each other. I believe they take turns being the server. The food we ate was ok. I had some bread with jam, a piece of ika covered in curry stuff, some milk soup thing, and salad. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. The kids were still hyper like they were in regular class time. Some of the kids kept asking me questions about America. Some of which I couldn't answer haha Oh, before lunch each one of the kids gave me a letter thanking me for teaching them English and each one made origami for me <3 They are so sweet. After lunch I had to leave. Some of the kids ran up to me and hugged me. Then a lot of them led me back to the principal's office where I usually go after the internship. They just kept holding my hand and slowly taking me their. When I went inside they kept saying "bye bye Rhena-sensei!" and for about 5 minutes they did this lol they kept closing the door then opening it again while saying the same thing. Oh gosh they are so cute! I miss them so much (T.T) They're a great group of kids! As we walked out of the school one of my students was watering the plants outside so I said bye to her. A lot of kids (most of them were the students of the other interns) came out and waved by to us. We got into the car and as we were pulling out I looked out the window and saw that my class had came out of their balcony and I heard one of my students yell "レイナ先生、待って！" (Rhena-sensei, wait!). I almost cried (T.T)

Reflection/Thoughts
I am so glad I decided to do this Internship. It was a great experience and it just made me so happy. At first it was awkward and sometimes I had trouble communicating with the kids in Japanese but overall it was fun! I had a great time teaching the kids English. My students were super hyper and sometimes I got annoyed, but in the end they're just kids. I love my kids so much. I love it when they smile at me when I teach them and when I play with them.  They reminded me why I love kids so much and why I want to be a teacher of some kind in the future. They are just a bundle of happiness! I hope they'll grow up to be great adults. I will never forget about them. I'll always remember them no matter what. They are a great group of kids and I'm happy that I was put in their class. To anyone who's going to Tsuru for study abroad I recommend doing this Internship! Especially if you love kids and want to teach in the future.

Earthquake!!!

About 30 minutes ago a pretty big earthquake just happened. I was taking a nap and it woke me up. At first I thought it was just another regular earthquake (Japan gets earthquakes a lot), but it lasted a pretty long time. The place shook for about 5 minutes and it wasn't just a small shake. I knew it wasn't an ordinary earthquake. When it stopped I got out of bed and turned on the tv to see if there's any news on it and it turns out there was a 7.3 magnitude earthquake!!! Hardest hit was the east side same place where a huge earthquake hit Tohoku in 2011. There are tsunami warnings. It's kinda freaky hearing the people on tv telling people in certain cities to runaway.

Also, don't worry about  me because I'm fine! Nothing even fell off any of my tables during the earthquake. The earthquake was smaller around here than in east Japan. I hope everyone is fine over there!

What I'll miss about Japan

The program is coming to a close. Time sure did go by fast :( but during the 4-5 months I've been here I've had a lot of great experiences. There are several things in Japan that just amazes me and makes me happy. I've compiled a list of things I'll miss about Japan (no particular order)

• Delivery System! Japan's domestic delivery system is just simply amazing! At least in comparison to back home. I've bough several things online so I've experienced it a lot. Usually after the item ships the package arrives within 24 hours! For example, I've bought from Book Off Online several times and I usually get an email saying it shipped around 5pm one day and then on the next the package arrives before 11am! And that's with standard shipping. Also, this doesn't apply every single time, but there are times when you can choose the delivery date/time. This only happened to me when I bought from Amazon Japan, though, but I'm sure it's available on other sites as well. This is extremely efficient! Not done yet! Usually, they don't just leave your package if you're not home. What they'll do is leave a note saying that they came, but no one was home. What you do is call the number they provided and you tell them you're home and they'll come and give you your package. I've had to do this once and the guy came within 15 minutes! Definitely better than America's system, in my humble opinion. (Sorry, this point kinda got too long lol)
•  The food! Yeah, I would put food on the list lol but back home I don't live around very many Japanese restaurants (or very good ones anyway) or stores that sell Japanese ingredients so it's not common for me to eat Japanese food. Oh man, I'm just going to splurge on food until I leave (>.<)
• Speaking/Listening to Japanese everyday. Although, I can listen to Japanese everyday back home by listening to music, watching anime/dramas, etc. it's not the same as listening to people speak it naturally. Back in the US, I have very few friends who I speak Japanese with and most of them either graduated or is still going to be studying in Japan. I think speaking will be the hardest for me to maintain because the lack of conversation partners =/ I'm gonna have to figure out how to fix that...
• Coin Toy Machines. They're everywhere! Almost like vending machines, but not as common. Now, why would I miss these when there's coin toy machines in the US? Well, that's cause of what they put in the toy machines here. Being Japan, they have a variety of stuff and they're quality! (well they're also pretty expensive). Also, because it's Japan you'll see a lot of Anime/Manga related stuff. There's also a bunch of other stuff like animals (cats, dogs, etc). I've bought from these machines several times actually XP 200円 isn't so bad lol Most of the stuff you get are keychains (or rather phone charms that you attach to your phone). 
• Riding the trains. Trains are the most useful things here. It only sucks when you're on a crowded train you have to stand up during the entire time. Other than that though the train system is great. It's on time all the time (except when there's an accident or the weather makes it hard for the train to function safely/properly).
• Japanese Restaurants. This point isn't about the food (though, the food is delicious!), but more about the actual restaurants themselves. I love the set up the restaurants (talking about the Japanese-style ones not the Western-style ones). All the Ramen restaurants I've been to were usually small and usually didn't have tables, but instead you sit on counters facing the chef. I also like going to restaurants where you sit on the floor instead of chairs. Something interesting I discovered, at several restaurants I've been to in Tsuru they have manga that you can read. I think it's because a lot of people who work go to the restaurants for lunch and so sometimes they'd read the manga while they eat to relax (or something like that).

That's all for now because I just saw something that'll distract me on TV lol

Soba Making

This past Saturday we participated in a soba making activity. Turns out it was an activity for foreigners. At first I thought it was like the tea ceremony one where it was just us, but when we got to the place there were a bunch of other foreigners (the most I've seen at once in Tsuru, actually). We got split into groups according to where we were from. Of course us Tsuru exchange students were one group (There was also 2 Chinese exchange students who was with us).

The first thing we did was watch the professionals do it. Making soba is a pretty complicated process, but amazing none-the-less. Just making the dough was complex. They would constantly stir the powder mix and some water with their hands. They would do it in a certain pace until the flour turned into bigger clumps and eventually they would clump them together into one big clump of dough. Then they would knead it and knead until the right consistency. They kept kneading it until it made a sort of pyramid shape then they would transfer it onto a flat wooden surface which they used to flatten the dough. Next they pounded onto the dough of which it turns into an almost perfect circle (years of practice!). Then they would proceed to flatten it more by using the palm of their hands. Then they would take out the rollers and use it to flatten the dough even more. They use a cat-like movement while rolling where they curl their fingers inward so it looks like a cat was using the roller. After it was rolled at a certain consistency they took out a longer roller and would wrap the dough around it and they would lightly roll the dough while it was wrapped around. After a few rolls they would unroll it and go to a different side and proceed the same process. Eventually, the round dough turned into a square dough (this part amazed me because I've never seen a round piece of dough turn square before!). After making a good square they fold it I think 3 times? I forgot but somewhere around there. Then they took out the special knife they use to cut noodles. They use a specially designed wooden board to help keep the cuts straight and the lengths consistent. The way they cut it was once they cut down they would lightly tilt the knife against the board so it would move a little and they would cut from there. And that's how the soba noodles were made!

After watching the demonstration we got a chance to try and make it! Of course, we didn't make our own individual soba noodles. Instead we took turns doing the steps. It's a lot harder than it looks!! They make it look easy because they've been doing it for years. I think the hardest part was rolling it into a square. Cutting it was pretty hard, too. It was fun, though! I know how to make soba noodles! But I'm sure they would turn out bad XD haha After making our noodles we got to eat them! (of course, they were cooked first :P). I also tried tororo for the first time. Personally, I didn't like it very much. It was because of the slimy texture...

That's it for the soba making! It was really cool watching how soba noodles were made. It was an awesome experience and awesome to see other foreigners lol

Fuji Q Highland!

(I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures, but I will provide pictures I've found online)

Last weekend me and two others went to Fuji Q Highland! For those who don't know what it is it's an amusement park located in Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture. It's actually close to where we are so we thought, "what the heck let's go!" and so we went! Fuji Q is one of the things that Yamanashi is known for (aside from Mt. Fuji). Compared to Six Flags (Magic Mountain) it's smaller. I've never ridden any of the bigger rollercoasters at Six Flags so I can't really compare the rides. Though, I can say, the rides that we rode were loads of fun!

Eejanaika Track

The first ride we took is known as ええじゃないか (Eejanaika). Which translates to "Isn't this great?" The name fits the ride perfectly! A lot of people compare it to X2. I've never ridden X2 so I have no say. I've heard that they're made by the same company (so don't say that it copied X2). Anyway, the line was long. We waited about 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was a long wait. What was interesting was that there were several tvs as you progressed through the line that showed a bunch of Fuji Q commercials featuring power ranger-like characters doing shenanigans around the park. Very amusing and just plain ridiculous lol The whole time we were in line I was freaking out a little because going to Fuji Q was actually a spontaneous decision for me. I didn't really plan on going, but I somehow ended up going. I was afraid of getting on the ride because, like I said, I've never ridden any big rides so this was like a huge step for me. I didn't know how the ride would be like at all. Well, when it was finally our turn the anxiety kinda went down a little, but I was still nervous. After putting our stuff in lockers and taking off our shoes we got onto the ride. When everyone were seated and secured the floor beneath us went down. At that point I knew there was no return. Btw, you go backwards on this ride.  Also, as you slowly make your way out workers wave and cheer for you (which I find quite amusing). We slowly ascended then soon the sits turn so that instead of looking at the sky you're looking at the ground and that's where the drop is. That part was super scary for me because as we dropped no air would go into my lungs. Basically, I couldn't breathe! That scared me so much, but after the drop I was able to breathe again, but the ride didn't calm down at all! Not only was the track crazy, but you're also moving around like crazy because the seats rotate the whole entire time! The whole time I was on that ride I screamed and laughed. I think I either laughed because I was laughing off the fear or I was laughing because it was totally not what I expected (I honestly didn't know what to expect lol). The photo taken with me on the ride shows me laughing lol (Writing about this makes me want to ride it again XD)

After we got off Eejanaika we took a small snack break then we headed out to our next ride. The next one we rode was Fujiyama. It's on the other side of the park so we walked there. The line was shorter for this one and we waited for about 40 minutes. While waiting I felt more ready since I just rode Eejanaika which was already crazy for me. After the ride I realized you can never be ready... at least for me lol The ride freaked me out while I was on it. Not as crazy as Eejanaika, but it was rougher. There were a lot of turns and hills. No rotations or anything, but the hills were tough cause everytime we ascend then descend at a steep slope that's when I have a hard time breathing. It was also the only ride where I kept thinking "is it over yet?" lol it was kinda long. It was completely not what I expected, though! I don't know why but I expected this ride to one of the smoother and calmer rides (I think it was cause the track on the brochure made it look that way) and was it the complete opposite lol it was still fun, though!

Right after we got off Fujiyama we went straight to the next ride. We were going to ride Takabisha, but saw that it was another 1 hour and 40 minute wait so we decided to check out the next ride, Dodonpa, first. The wait was about an hour long. Dodonpa is a very interesting ride. First of all, when you're in line outside you can hear the Dodonpa theme song where the only words you hear are "dodonpa" in very sensual voices. We couldn't help laughing every time we heard it lol It did get annoying after awhile especially when you're in line for more than an hour... So, let me tell you more about Dodonpa. Dodonpa has a speed of 172km/hr (about 106m/hr). It's not the fastest rollercoaster but I believe it has the fastest acceleration. It goes 172km/hr in 1.8secs!!! Let that wrap around your head. When I first heard about that I literally freaked out! I mean I've never been in such speed in such a freaking short time! Thoughts rolled through my head of how my body would take it  and stuff. Seriously, 172km/hr in 1.8secs?! Is that even safe?!?! Well, apparently since people ride it and still live lol It really isn't that bad really. When we finally got on the scariest part was the beginning. We were slowly rolled into a tunnel and the first thing I see to my left are lights. Not just ordinary lights, but those lights they have at races or something. Then all of a sudden you hear "Launch Time! 3...2...1... *beep* *beep* GO!!!!" and WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH you go. That first pitch felt like the first drop of the other rides I rode in which I couldn't breathe (seriously, every rollercoaster there was a point where I couldn't breathe which was probably the only scary part for me). The ride was able to maintain it's speed of 172km/hr. The ride also only took 60 seconds to complete despite the track going from one end of the park to the other. It was short, but man was it fun! I'd definitely ride it again! Actually, I wish I can go and ride it again right now XD lol

After getting of Dodonpa my two friends decided they wanted to check out the Haunted House before the park closes (For some reason businesses in Japan close way too early. Fuji Q closed at 6pm that day and we got there are 12pm and waiting in line took away a lot of time). I didn't want to go into the Haunted House so I decided to check out a gift shop. 10 minutes later I get a call from them saying that the Haunted House had closed at a few hours before because there were too many people. They were deeply disappointed by that. They plan on going again just to go into the Haunted House xP

It was about 4:30pm at the time and we decided not to ride Takabisha since the wait was too long and we wanted to get our money's worth from the Free Pass that we got. So, the next place we went to was the Gundam attraction called Gundam Crisis. I was super excited about this one because I love Gundam and that attraction was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Fuji Q. Honestly, I had no idea what the attraction is. I just saw that it was Gundam so I had to go lol We waited in line which was small actually. The attraction opened at 5pm. This wasn't a rollercoaster or anything. It's like a sort of game-type attraction. Basically, we were given these PDAs and they let us loose into these rooms where we had to find these small red screens where we had to scan with our PDA. We had to find data for rebuilding a gundam. We had to find leg, arm, body, head, etc data. People were just scrambling around trying to find the data we needed. I only managed to find the arm and leg data before we had to proceed to the next room. In the next room, there was the body of a gundam and there were computer screens surrounding it and in here you had to find the screen in which you can install the data you have in your PDA. You had to find the right one in order for it to install. There were also some that would delete your data. I had one of my data deleted. There were also red screens where you can get more data if you found the right one. If all the data were installed then we succeeded. I only managed to install two, but as a collaboration we managed to win. We ran into the Shelter Room where we watched what is supposed to happen because we fixed the Gundam. This attraction was actually really fun and really hectic! I'd play again since this time I actually know what I'm doing lol I didn't really know what I was doing when I was playing. I just followed people XD

The next place we decided to check out was Evangelion World. I'm not a fan of Evangelion, but one of my friends is so we went there next. We weren't sure what it was going to be and it turns out it was like a museum that had a bunch of Evangelion figures, drawings, a bunch of random stuff, and life size figures of the mechs (are they called mechs?) from the anime. It was pretty impressive. If you're a fan of Evangelion I think you'd really like this place (my friend sure did). Near the beginning there's a room where there's a chair and a desk that's lit up on the top. You can do the infamous pose (sorry I'm not exactly sure what they call it, but it's pretty popular). The pose that the main character's dad is known for. My friend did that and the picture she took was hilarous lol Like the real thing! but creeper lol. As we proceeded there were several places where you can take some good pictures. I found this one spot where there's a small bench and there's a cut out of a character (which I assume is one of those perverted characters) who has one leg on the bench and one arm resting on his leg and he's leaning over and looking as if someone was sitting there. So, I had the idea to go sit down on the bench and react to his pose in a "you're scaring me" kind of way. I had my friend take a picture and send it to me. My other friends seem to really like that picture lol and I do to. Every time I look at it I become highly amused. Now I know how anime girls feel like XD lol Not too far from where that was there was a life-size figure of the main Evangelion mech, which I believe is called Unit-01? It's not the entire body, but just the head and shoulders. There was a clip playing on the side. I think it plays parts from the anime/movie because the statue reacts to the clip like when they talk about how there seems to be something wrong with Unit-01 and smoke appears from the mouth and the eyes go crazy. I thought it was really impressive. My favorite part of the attraction (aside from taking a picture with the creeper cutout lol).

By the time we got out of the attraction we only had 15 minutes left before the park closes. Right next to Evangelion World was a ride called Pizza-la. Since we  had time to spare we decided to go ride it. There were only a few people in line so we didn't wait long. Actually, not even half the seats were filled when we were on it lol The ride is basically like those viking-ship rides that swing back and forth except this one has the sits rotating in a circle as you're swinging. I guess they call it pizza-la because it's circular like a pizza? Actually, I have no idea why they call it. I like to call it the Pizza ride lol also one of the Fuji Q commercials has one of those power ranger members trying to ride this one while holding a box of pizza. Get it? Riding Pizza-la with pizza? Well, I thought it was funny :P

So that ends our Fuji Q Highland Trip. Some things I forgot to mention: It was really cold that day despite it being blue skies. Riding the rides was even colder. I remember getting off each ride and have my throat feel cold and scratchy, but totally worth it. Also, every time you finish the ride and reach the end people clap and cheer for you. It actually feels good having people cheer for your lol So yeah, Fuji Q was awesome. More awesome than I expected! It makes me want to go ride the ones at Six Flags (what are the height restrictions anyway?). I'd definitely go back again :D It was so much fun! And I want to get a chance to ride all the rides! I highly recommend going there!

Also, some tips for those who want to go in the future:
1. It closes early and considering that lines will be long I suggest going at an early time. Arriving after 12 is probably too late. Especially when you purchase a Free Pass.
2. How the rides work here is you have to pay to ride each ride. That's why I suggest purchasing the Free Pass. It's the most expensive, but it allows you to ride any ride without having to purchase the tickets. You can totally get your money's worth. We sure did.
3. Bring a jacket! or something warm because it does get cold. I'm not sure if that's the same case during the summer, but probably not?
4. If you want to get your money's worth on the Free Pass I suggest riding the expensive rides first. The expensive rides are probably the funnest, too, so that shouldn't be a problem. Though, the lines are longer.

Fuji Q Highland may not be as big as Six Flags, but it sure is fun! I'm glad I went :D

Tea Ceremony and another day with the Host Family

Tea Ceremony
A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to participate in a tea ceremony. Something I've always wanted to do. It was an awesome and painful experience lol We had to sit in seiza for more than an our. If you don't know what seiza is it's a style of sitting where you basically sit on your legs. They sit like this because back then people often wore kimonos and similar attire and sitting in that position was the best way to sit.


Tea ceremonies are pretty complex. There are different steps that you have to take and there are a lot of minute details such as how you hold your cup, what you do before drinking, saying thank you and telling the person next to you that you are going to drink, etc. When we sitting there listening to the instructor, who was speaking only in Japanese btw, a lot of the information escaped my head since I can't retain information in Japanese very well. We were given instructions on paper, but they were in Japanese, too. So, I had to follow the people before me (thank goodness I wasn't first). A few mistakes here and there, but overall we were able to do it correctly and, aside from the pain from sitting down in seiza, it was a great experience! The tea was really delicious, too! The funny thing about this whole activity is people's reactions to sitting down in seiza. You can see the pain in people's faces lol when we were allowed to take a break from sitting down that way (the instructor knew that we would be in pain) a lot of people just sighed with relief. It was pretty funny lol I did the same thing.

The Tea ceremony activity was great. I'm really glad it was part of the program. I somewhat still remember the procedure, but I'll probably still make a mistake. Hope to have this opportunity again!

A Day with the Host Family
This past Saturday I spent most of the day with my host family. First we went to my host sister's basketball practice game. They didn't win, but it looks like they had a lot of fun! It was fun watching them. Reminds me of my sisters because they also play basketball. After the game we went to a restaurant close by where I had ramen and Chinese fried rice. It was delicious! We talked a lot while we were there, too. My two little host sisters wouldn't talk to me at first probably because they were shy, but they were able to talk to me with confidence later on.

After lunch we went to the public library in another town not too far from Tsuru. The library is a bit different from the ones in America. For one they have carts. I've never seen a cart in any library I've been, too. I thought that was pretty amusing. Well, I guess that was the only difference I saw lol it was nice being in a library, though. I was amused mainly by the children books mainly because I can understand them lol

After the library we headed back to their apartment where we proceeded to eat a bunch of snacks. I'm not kidding lol we just sat at the table and ate a bunch of cookies, chocolate, and senbei. Oh, before heading back from the library we did stop by a shop and bought these Japanese pudding snacks. Super delicious! My host mom bought 2 for me and I still have 1 in my fridge which I will eat later :D There are mochi versions of this snack, but I personally like the pudding ones better ^.^ After eating the snacks we watched tv for a bit and I talked with my host dad a lot. He seems to be really interested in America. When we were at the library he would show me books about America and ask me if they were accurate. Most of them were.

Before I left my host mom gave me some curry that she had made and persimmons ^.^ So much like a mom. I love her. I love my host family! I also told them I was going to Fuji Q Highland the next day so my host dad printed out a coupon for me and my host mom gave me a jacket that would keep me warm since they said it gets really cold their. There are so sweet <3 After that they drove me home.

Tokyo and Yokohama

Another Trip to Tokyo
Last Saturday I went to Tokyo to visit my friend since it may be the last time I see him. We were supposed to do some things I wanted (such as go to the zoo, go to this big park, go to a temple, etc), but that ended up getting ruined because it rained all day. He had told me that it would rain all day the day before, but I still went to Tokyo because I wanted to hang out. The day was still fun, though, despite the rain.

I got to Tokyo around 11am. The first thing we did was eat ramen at a ramen restaurant that he claimed to be really good. So, we went to a restaurant called Washo (I hope I got it right) in Sangenjaya near Shibuya. We arrived minutes before it opened and thank goodness, too, cause it's one of those small ramen shops so there were very many chairs and it would have sucked if we had to wait outside in the rain. The ramen was pretty expensive, but I gotta admit it was probably the best ramen I had since I came to Japan. Totally worth the money.

After lunch we went to Shibuya (still raining at this point). We first tried finding a place that sold bento boxes because I wanted to buy one. We ended up not finding much. Oh, almost forgot. When we got off the station at Shibuya we went to check out the Hachiko Statue that's right next to the station. If you don't know who Hachiko is I recommend looking up his story. One of the best true dog stories in my opinion. It's actually my favorite. My friend wasn't very excited about it because he comes to Shibuya a lot so he sees it a lot. I was a bit too excited when I saw it lol My friend then went and told me a sad fact about Akita Inus (which is the breed that Hachiko was). Apparently, because of the war a lot of people let their dogs go (I forgot why) and the dogs became feral so the government decided they would kill them. Only the rich people managed to hide their dogs and there ended up only being 24 left. I'm glad they didn't go completely extinct. (There's a little 2 cents for you).

After walking around Shibuya we decided to go to Akihabara to do a favor for a friend back in the states. When we got to Akiba (Akihabara, I will just be calling it that from now on since it's easier to write) we went straight to Kotobukiya which is one of the many buildings in Akiba. This building had a lot of anime/manga related stuff. We went upstairs to where the "Tales of" shop. It's just a small section on the second floor that sold merchandise from the Tales Of video game series (which is becoming one of my favorites). I couldn't get what my friend wanted, but was able to get something that would her happy. On the same floor there was a small section that sold Nyanko-sensei stuff. One of my favorite anime characters x3 I had to control myself from buying anything lol I already have like 3 keychains of him so I think that should be enough xP After we left Kotobukiya (still raining btw) we headed to the Sega building which is just an arcade building. We went there to look at the UFO Catcher games. While I was there I saw this really awesome Nyanko-sensei merchandise, but the game cost 200円 per game so I had to resist. Me and my friend ended up watching this guy try to get one of those huge cat-head plushies. How this game worked was you had to puncture holes on to a paper to the point where it just rips off and the prize falls. It's a lot harder than it sounds. We watched the guy for a long time. He didn't give up. He won it in the end. It sucked for my friend because he was gonna try it after the guy gave up, but he didn't. My friend says once you've spent a lot you won't stop knowing you're close. We left the Sega building and found another building that had those UFO Catcher games. I saw the Nyanko-sensei merchandise again, but this time the game was 100円 so I decided to try it. I had no idea how to win it and neither did my friend. We tried, but I think we ended up messing it up completely so I didn't end up winning it. I lost 1800円 trying, but I guess the experience was kinda worth it... I still think about that merchandise... After that we went to another building with those games. But we didn't stay too long. We decided to go back to Shibuya after that.

Back in Shibuya we walked around a bit. We stopped by a Book Off. We stayed there for a little bit. Then we went to a shop that I totally forgot was called. I found some really awesome bento boxes there. After looking around for a little while we met up with my friend's girlfriend then we went to eat Shabu Shabu for dinner! I was super excited especially after being bummed that I didn't get the Nyanko-sensei thing and that I wasted 1800円 trying. It was great having Shabu Shabu again. I made sure that I would have it one more time before I left Japan because I don't know if I'll even have the chance to have it back in the US. We went to a different place then the first time we had it together. It was all you can eat which was the best part! It was so good. I absolutely love Shabu Shabu! I also realized that Shabu Shabu's probably the most expensive meal I've ever ate. It's around $25. I totally think it's worth it, though. If I was rich I'd eat it every day lol

After dinner I said goodbye to my friends and headed to Kumarae which is where my other friends (who are also Tsuru exchange students) were. We booked the same hostel. When I got there, though, I got lost for like 15 minutes. The map the website had was completely off. I freaked out, too, because I kept calling them but no one was answering. Eventually, someone finally picked up and I was able to get to the hostel safely.
The next day we went to Sensoji temple and then Yokohama!

Senso-ji

 

  Before heading to Yokohama me and the other Tsuru exchange students decided to go to the Senso-Ji temple which is famous for it's large lanterns. When we got there it was really crowded. You had to carefully maneuver your way through people. At the gate there was a large lantern and behind that were a bunch of shops. That's also another reason why it was so crowded. The shops were lined up and the path between the shops were pretty narrow. And since this was a fairly famous temple it's no surprise that it would be crowded. I was just a little overwhelmed because I didn't expect it to be that crowded. We didn't check out all the shops, but saw some pretty nice ones. There was one shop that sold samurai swords (katanas), but of course they were insanely expensive. Pretty awesome to look at, though.  We eventually reached the end where the temple was. Before the temple was another large red lantern (pictured above). We didn't go directly into the temple, though. We took a little detour where there were more vendors. We also saw a monkey show. A monkey was doing a bunch of these tricks that were super cute and very impressive. I felt sorry for the monkey, though, because the whole time it had a rope lease one. I guess it was for the safety of the audience just in case the monkey suddenly went crazy. After watching the monkey we went into the temple. We ended up going through the wrong way, though, but we weren't the only ones so we didn't care lol Once you've seen a lot of temples it doesn't become as impressive, but still cool to look at. After we got out some of us went to buy some food. On the way out of the temple we stopped by a place that sold these really good snacks. I can't really describe it very well but it's like a fried snack. Sorry, I somehow really can't explain it... but it was delicious! When left Senso-ji we headed out to Yokohama.

Yokohama
We got off near where China Town was. It's probably random that we decided to go to China Town in Japan, but we desperately wanted to eat freshly made pork buns and apparently China Town had some really good ones. We walked through the street and checked out some interested shops. Most of the shops we looked through were kind a Indian and Hawaiian themed. We also went into a shop that sold panda-related stuff. After awhile we finally found the place that one of the exchange students went to when she came here with her host families. Honestly, I thought the price was high, but it sure was delicious! It's been so long since I had freshly made pork buns! So satisfying lol

After eating we headed out of China Town and walked to where the ocean was. It felt nice seeing the ocean again. It also was really cold lol All of us girls decided that we wanted to go to the ferris wheel so the only guy who was with us decided that he wanted to go check out the shops in China Town. The walk to the ferris wheel was really long. Also, at that point my feet were starting to hurt because we walked most of the day (and I stood up about half of the train ride to Yokohama). I don't remember how long the walk was exactly, but it was long. We got really excited when we finally made it to where the ferris wheel was. It was huge ferris wheel. Probably the biggest I've ever seen. It cost 1500円 to ride which is super expensive... but we wanted the experience so we bought tickets. The wait was a little long, but not too bad. When we finally got on the ferris wheel we got excited. The view from there was awesome. I thought it would be disappointing because it was dark, but it was actually really cool. The lights from buildings and other rides that were there were nice. It took 15minutes for the whole thing to go around. Definitely worth the experience. After the ferris wheel we made the long trek back to China Town.

We stopped by Starbucks before heading back into China Town. I bought maccha latte cause I love maccha. We stayed in starbucks until we finished our drinks (it was cold outside so we wanted to warm up a bit inside). The tables we sat at were checkered patterns so me and my friend decided to play checkers! lol we used 10 and 1 yen coins. People looked at us in either amusement or confusion lol it was fun XD After starbucks we headed back into China Town and checked out some more stores. The guy who was in China Town while we were at the ferris wheel told us that he found a shop where the entrance was a panda head and you walk though it's mouth. I thought that was pretty amusing so we went to to it. It's a lot cooler when you see it in person lol After that we headed back to the train station where from there we headed back to Tsuru.

1 Month Left

I have about one month left in Japan. Time really did fly by fast. I'm really sad that my time in Japan is coming to a close. I had so much fun and had so many great experiences while studying abroad here. Of course, there were also some downs and struggles. I'm excited to see my family and friends in the US again, but I will really miss the new friends I made here. I'm really glad I chose to study abroad despite the cost. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity. Plus, I got to spend time in a country who's culture I love so much. Looking back, I'm really glad I chose the Tsuru program. Even though it was short and it's in an inaka (rural area) it was still one of the best experiences of my life. I mean, I've done so much like climb Mt. Fuji, participate in a parade, participate in a tea ceremony, go to Kyoto, etc. I will never forget this experience and in the 1 month that I have left I hope to create more. When I go back to the US I'll continue to remember the fond memories I've had here. I just hope I don't suffer through withdrawals when I'm back in the US. I hope I don't end up crying on the whole plane ride back.

(In the next post I will write about my trip to Tokyo and Yokohama this past weekend)

Ghibli Museum!!!!

A few weeks ago I went to the Ghibli Museum!!! One of the most magical days of my life! For those who don't know what the Ghibli Museum is it's a museum that showcases various things from the works of Ghibli Studio. Miyazaki Hayao is the head honcho and is famous for creating most of Ghibli's works such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, etc. Unfortunately, photos are forbidden within the museum so I don't have much pictures to show. They believe that you must experience the museum with your own eyes and senses rather than through pictures. It's more fun admiring the place rather than taking pictures anyway ^_^

The museum is small. Smaller than I had anticipated, but still filled with so many awesome stuff. The place was super packed, too! I think it's like these all the time. (TIP: if you plan on going to the museum you must buy tickets ahead of time! I advise that you reserve a day/time at least a month in advise, 2 if you really want a specific date).

The museum is split in different sections. There's a room filled with these things. I don't even know what to call them really. They're like stop-motion things. These things would move in such a high speed it looks like you're watching an animation. It's really hard to describe. If you go there you'll see what I mean. That was my favorite part of the whole museum! There was also this cute little clip that showcases Evolution. There was a Cat Bus playground area where only little kids could play in (though I was tempted). There were also these rooms filled with original art and concept art drawn by Miyazaki himself. That was also my favorite. Just looking at his amazing art and seeing how movies were formed was awesome. I wanted to take them home >.<

Each visitor is given a ticket that they use to watch a 15-minute short which are exclusively shown at the museum. You can't watch it anywhere else. When I went in they showed a clip of this egg being that came to life with the help of an evil witch in order to be her servant. The egg makes friends with a dough of bread (yeah, sounds weird, but it's a Ghibli short :P) and they run away to get away from the witch. I won't spoil you there. You'll have to go to the museum to see it! That is if you end up watching that one. They have others, too. There was also a gift shop. Man was it super crowded! It was hard just maneuvering through the place. It was super small, too. There was so many awesome stuff in there. The stuff was pretty expensive, though... but that didn't stop me from buying a few things. I just had to control myself lol

The last spot that I checked out was the roof. That's where the infamous statue of the laputa robot from Castle in the Sky was. Unfortunately, it was already dark by the time I got up there (I would have gone earlier, but I had a hard time figuring out how to get there and got side-tracked). It was also raining a little that day. But that didn't stop me and my friend from taking a picture. We tried our best to get the robot in, but because it was dark we didn't get very good lighting. It was unfortunate, but we managed somehow ^_^

That's all I can write about the museum. I would write more, but it's simply difficult to find the right words for it. I'm a huge Miyazaki fan so this place was almost like heaven for me. I'll never forget the adventure I had here and maybe in the future if I ever go to Japan again I wouldn't mind going back! Maybe I'll get a chance to watch another short ;D But yeah the Ghibli Museum is simply amazing! If you ever go to Japan and especially if you're a fan of any of the movies I recommend that you go here. It's only 1000円! (About $12-13). It's definitely worth it! Even if you haven't seen the movies I still suggest you check it out. It's a very beautiful place filled with awesome art. When you're in Japan don't miss this opportunity!

Halloween Party!

Last Friday we had a Halloween Party! And it was fun! Now, it's probably not a party you are thinking of (or is it?). There was no dancing, drinking, or some other stuff  you see at parties. Instead, it was more like a little get together thing where we spent most of the time playing games and chatting with each other at the tables we sat at. I'll explain more in detail...

The party was held at the school cafeteria (probably why there was no alcohol, though, some people did pre-game before). All the female exchange students had bought kigurumis (animal onesies) and wore those as our costumes. They are the best thing ever, btw =3 I still wear mine around my apartment XD One of the guy students dressed up as a nanpa man (lol) and another dressed as a ninja. The one other guy didn't dress at all. The tutors also dressed up! There was a basketball ref, a vampire, a witch (I think? haha), one of the guys dressed as mario, oh and a couple of the tutors also had kigurumis! There was a tiger, kappa, stitch (my tutor was stitch x3), and chip! (from chip and dale). So adorable x3 Actually, we weren't the only ones wearing kigurumis. Some of the Japanese students who came also had kigurumis! (Quite popular lol). There was a Halloween Stitch (just a black-colored stitch with some halloween features), pikachu, a Japanese mascot that I totally forgot the name of. Half the people who were there were wearing kigurumis XD lol but of course there were other interesting costumes as well! Some people painted their faces. There was a zombie santa XD hahaha

When the party started we all had to sit down on the tables which were split up to have 6 people at each table. We exchange students had to split up so we could talk with the others more. I ended up at a table with 3 people I already knew lol but it was nice talking to the Japanese students who sat at our table =D I love meeting people! They were super nice ^_^ 4/6 of us had kigurumis XD lol

After chatting with the people at our table the first event started. The first thing we did was play a marshmallow game. Basically, how it works is there are marshmallows that are tied so that they are hung. You split into teams according to our tables. The object of the game is to eat the marshmallows without using your hands. I didn't volunteer to participate because the marshmallows were tied a bit too high for me so I wouldn't be able to reach them XD Actually, I  helped tie the marshmallows and I even tied it way above my reach. I even tried jumping and I couldn't reach them lol oh the sad life of being short XD but it's ok. I took pictures which was fun :)

After the marshmallow game we sat back at our respective tables and continued to chat while the next game was set up. So, the next game I'm not really sure what it's called, but it's basically where two people wrap toilet paper around one person. The objective of the game is to be the first ones to completely cover your partner in toilet paper. Naturally, I volunteered back I'm small hahaha One of my friends said we were cheating because I was the one being wrapped XD she's way taller than me hahaha but the referees didn't say anything. I don't think we ended up winning anyways. Actually, I don't think I ever found out who one lol Being the one getting wrapped was easy. I just stood very still while my partners wrapped me. It seemed they had trouble at first because the toilet paper we used were bought at the 100円 shop (~$1) so they pretty flimsy and weak, but they managed to make it work! They also had to wrap my head so I couldn't see throughout most of it. There was a little opening that I was able to see through and all I could see were people watching. I don't think they noticed that I could see them lol After it was done everyone who was wrapped ended up getting bombarded by photos lol I guess it was pretty amusing haha

The last game we played was pinata! This was actually the first time for most of the Japanese students. This is also the first time they've heard of it! I was surprised. They were surprised when I told them it's quite a popular game in America. It looked like they  had a lot of fun watching since most of the people who participated were exchange students and the tutors lol The pinata was made by two exchange students, btw. They did a really good job! Maybe a little too well lol After everyone who volunteered hit it candy still didn't fall out lol so one of the ones who made it just ripped it open and let all the candy fall. Most of the Japanese students didn't capture the idea that you're supposed to run and grab as much candy as you could lol They actually took a little while to get to where all the candy was and in the end there was still candy left over on the ground XD So, naturally, I grabbed as much of the leftover as I could lol They looked like they still had fun, though! Wait to they actually see kids play it and how crazy they get when the candy falls hahahaha

Before we ended the party the exchange students and tutors had a surprise for the other students. Thriller Dance! I didn't participate because I suck at dancing :P Instead, I played as DJ (ok so I just pushed the play button on the ipod) and photographer. The idea of doing the dance only came a couple of days before the party and I'm sure they didn't practice all at once. But it was still fun to watch! Especially when more than half the people dancing were wearing kigurumis lol

First Day of Elementary School Internship

I'm going to skip a few things and go straight into what happened last friday (Oct. 26) since it was such a great day I wanted to write about it before I forget anything. First I will write about the internship! (The next one will be about the Halloween Party).

The Internship
First, let me explain what the internship is. The internship is part of the program, but only 6 people were allowed to participate out of the 14 of us. The reason? Because only 6 people can fit in the car that takes us to the school XP Yeah, pretty lame reason, but what can you do? lol anyway the internship is basically where you help elementary school teachers teach English to the class. We got split into different class levels. One person for 1st grade, 1 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 2 for 4th (are you following along?). I was put into a 2nd grade class. To be honest, I thought they'd be a lot more calmer, but was I wrong! I've forgotten what it was like to be in 2nd grade lol or maybe these kids are just loud and full of energetic.

When we arrived at the school we talked with (I think) the principal for a couple of minutes before we were taken to a room where kids were sitting lined up on the ground. We had to introduce ourselves to the kids then we split off into our respective classrooms. When I entered the room and the kids flocked inside they all can't help but notice my height. They kept saying how short I was and kept asking me why lol I honestly didn't mind it cause I pretty much expected them to say stuff like that. Haha, they sure are full of energy! It's kinda scary XD The teacher put me at a desk at the very front of the classroom facing the class. I had to write my name on a nametag and the kids who could see kept awing and ooing while I wrote my name in English hahaha

The first thing of course was me introducing myself. I had to do it in Japanese then in English. While I was speaking English some of the kids kept saying "Eh? I don't understand!" (In Japanese of course). You would think it's rather rude, but I didn't care cause they're kids :P meh, I honestly feel like most of the kids didn't care about learning English. So young, haha. After introducing myself we pretty much spent the rest of the time singing along to two songs. One was a song about saying Hello and saying how are you. Then we did a number song (that only went up to 7 haha). The teacher took out these color magnets and she placed a few on the numbers. If a number had a red magnet the kids had to clap their hands instead of say the number. If it had blue they had to jump. It was quite tiring actually XD lol after that we did Head and Shoulders. A lot of the kids got confused on the "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" party lol They kept watching me during that part XD

After that was the end. Literally haha. After dancing we returned to our seat the teacher said that it was time for me to go. One of the kids wanted to keep talking to me. She seems to be the most energetic (without an obnoxious attitude like the boys had :P). Overall, the internship was really fun! I dunno if I can really handle these type of kids though XP They're too energetic and most of the time they don't listen. Kids will be kids I guess :P

A Day with the Host Family

Sorry for being slow with updates (>.<) I'm currently in regular school classes now and you would think that's the cause of my slow updates, but truthfully I've just been lazy XD Since regular classes started I've actually have more free time =P Also, unlike during the summer/ILP not much has happened so it's kinda hard to update unless you guys want to know how I spend my days in my room infront of the computer lol but I won't. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I will be posting more about what has happened since Kyoto (will probably won't be in order and I won't give specific days of when they happened cause I probably forgot lol)

Spending a day with the Host Family
On the Saturday after we got back from Kyoto I went to a basketball Parent/Child Showdown (Oyako Taiketsu) event with my host family. One of the sisters participates in basketball so that's why I went to one of these. By the way, if you don't know what this is it's basically an event (I believe they do this for every sport, not just basketball) where they event parents (or relatives, etc) to play against the kids. It's really fun! I fail at basketball, though XD but it's ok because most of the other people playing against the kids weren't that great either lol

Before we actually played basketball we played a game that's like dodgeball but with a little twist. We split into two teams just like dodgeball and the object of the game is to throw the ball and hit someone so that they'd be out, just like dodgeball. However, the twist is a few members stand outside of the play court on the opposing side. The people in the court can throw the ball towards one of their teammates outside and they can hit the opposing team. They however aren't allowed to move. They can only stay in one spot. Also, when you get hit by the ball you don't just go out and stand and wait to get back in, you actually become part of those people! Which makes the game harder btw since not only are you watching the front, but you also have to watch your back and your sides since your enemy is surrounding you! I really like this twist, though :) makes it a lot more fun and challenging!

After the taiketsu we went to an udon restaurant that's apparently famous around Tsuru (at least that's what I got out of what they said... I'm still working on my listening :P). We sat outside since the inside was already full. I also met one of my host family's neighbors who happened to be there, too. While we waited for our food I played around with my two host sisters. The restaurant was next to a rice field and the two sisters ran off and came back with some rice plants in their hands. For 15 minutes we picked out the rice grains from them lol The udon we got was so delicious! It was also my first time having cold udon since I usually eat it warm.

After lunch we went the host family's apartment.  I ended up staying there until 8 pm. I spent a lot of time playing with the kids :) We went outside and played with their scooters and bikes. I also played a little bit of basketball with my host sister in the parking lot. She kept saying how good I was, but all I did was kept the ball from her lol It was a workout though XD It was fun, though :D We also played around in their room where the old sister mainly showed me all her stuff in her desks. Kids are so cute :3 Oh yeah, apparently these two little girls aren't afraid of bugs like most girls I know XP They even have a kuwaga and kabuta as pets! (They're types of Japanese beetles). At one point we saw a dead bug that's been smashed into the wall and the youngest one plucked a wing off XD lol she wasn't grossed out at all! I was a little hahaha We also played with their 3DS where the eldest sister kept trying to get a picture of me, but I kept hiding my face haha but I finally gave in and just kept making weird faces which entertained her XP

So, I played with the kids for a few hours. It was tiring lol but fun none-the-less! Me, the sisters, and the mom (the dad was at work) went to the grocery store to get something to eat for dinner. When we went there the eldest sister took me to the snack aisle and told me to pick a snack. I kept saying how a certain snack was expensive so I didn't want to get it, but she kept telling me not worry haha I think she got annoyed because I kept saying that, but truthfully I kept saying it to troll her lol My host mom got okonomiyaki stuff which meant we were having okonomiyaki for dinner :3 It was sooooo delicious!

After dinner I went back to my apartment since it was getting late. They all came to see me off :3 which made me happy ^_^ That day definitely was one of my favorites. I had so much fun!

The Rest of the Kyoto Trip

First of all I'd like to apologize for the slow updates. I've been lazy this past week XP So, I decided to just write about the rest of the trip in one best. So yes, this will be a long post (maybe... well most likely)

Kyoto Trip Day 3 (in Osaka)

On the 3rd day 6 of us decided to go to Osaka. Well there were 8 of us actually, but 2 of them ended up splitting from us eventually. Anyway, we took the train to Osaka which took about 30 minutes. When we got to Osaka Station we went on the Subway to go to another station. When we arrived we went outside and were greeted by tall buildings, busy streets, and people walking about. Somehow it felt like Tokyo, but at the same time it didn't. Can't really explain it. The first thing on our minds was FOOD. We were all hungry so we walked around looking for food. As we walked I kept pointing out all the Book Offs because man did Osaka have a lot! I was ready to ditch the others and go lol but I stuck around (part of me regretted that... you'll see why in a moment). We walked in one of the alleyways which to be honest has some of the best stuff. We found an Udon Restaurant. When we walked in you order your food via a vending machine. Just insert your money and pick what you want then you get a ticket which you show the restaurant people. I ended up getting an Ebi Tempura Udon. They were very quick about it. After finishing lunch we headed out again.

We soon found ourselves in a mall-like area. It wasn't inside a closed building or anything. It's kind of hard to explain. It's like being in a regular city with stores and restaurants so close to each other except there was a roof on the streets (er more like walkways). But there were still the occasional streets where people have to watch out for cars and stuff.. If you ever go you'll see what I mean. For a long while we walked around this area (which was big btw). We didn't really stopped. We just kept following one guy. I wasn't sure myself where he was taking us, but since he's been here before we had to trust him. We soon found ourselves out of that place and found ourselves on a big bridge that went over a big road. We crossed it and found ourselves in another mall-like place. We found a restaurant that had pasta/pizza style buffet so we decided to eat there for dinner (plus it also had nomihodai which is basically a drink buffet including alcohol drinks). We stopped by a couple of clothes shops since many wanted to buy clothes. After awhile I started getting impatient. And I also felt a bit left out. You know how you're in a big group of friends and they talk amongst themselves and you just sit in the corner like they forgot about you? Yeah, that's how I felt. Not the first time, but it honestly made the experience become bad for me... I was about ready to just leave and walk around on my own. Besides, they kept going to places where I didn't really want to go, but I stuck around because the last time I was in a big city on my own I got lost (actually happened to me twice).

After a long agonizing while we finally headed to the buffet place (which was only 3 hours after we ate lunch). We ended up staying at that place for a really long time. I tried to eat and drink (don't worry, the only alcohol I had was a chuhi which only contains less than 8% of alcohol) as much as what I paid for, but I don't think I managed that... I did eat a lot and drank a bit, but paying more than 1000円 for dinner was a bit much... It was great having pizza again though :) After dinner we decided to go to another part of Osaka where one of us claimed that there was a big ferris wheel. So, we headed there. I forgot to mention that earlier we bought a day pass for the subway for about 800円 which was well worth it since tickets could've been more than 200円 and we used them quite a bit.

When we arrived at where the ferris wheel was we first ended up going the wrong direction. Thank goodness someone spotted it before we went any further XP The ferris wheel was huge! Probably the biggest one I've ever seen. There was also a mall right night to it, but the place (including the ferris wheel) was dead. Probably because it was alrighty night and they were probably getting ready to close. Everyone but me and another got on the ferris wheel. We didn't want to ride it because it was a bit expensive and there really wasn't much to see at night. So, instead we hung around the arcade for a little bit. We played a taiko game which was really fun! We also played a shooting game. Arcade games in Japan are NOT cheap. At least for us Americans. Games range from 100円 to 200円. That's more than $1 a game.  After about half an hour or so we reunited with the others (btw, the mall had a ninja store. I so wanted to buy a ninja outfit >.< lol)

We headed back to the area we were in earlier. This time we split into two groups. Well the group I was in was just me and one other person. Basically, we split into either the group that wanted to go out and drink or the group that didn't. Only 2 of us weren't heavy drinkers XP So, we went to a Book Off instead (yeah, I've been wanting to go to one the entire time since I came to Kyoto actually). We stayed there for awhile. I bought myself two American movies. They were also dubbed in Japanese and also had Japanese subtitles so I wanted to use them to practice my listening and reading (also, I love the movies ><). I also bought another volume of Fairy Tail because I love Fairy Tail XD  We then looked around for something sweet to eat. We found a crepe place that also sold boba!!!! Oh how I miss boba! Unfortunately, it was really expensive. Even more expensive than Naan Stop :( but totally worth it since it's not that easy to find boba especially in Tsuru. We eventually decided to head back. We reunited with the others at the main Osaka Station and we headed home together.

Kyoto Trip Day 4
Today we decided to go check out a flea market, Kinkakuji Temple, and Gion, but that didn't exactly happen. At least for 2 of us. Instead we experienced something much better!
So, the morning we (we being the bus group) walked near Kyoto Station where there was a mcdonald. We ate breakfast there (well only one person actually bought mcdonalds. The rest of us just bought something at a convenience store). We were talking about what we wanted to do when one said she wanted to bike to the Flea Market instead of take the bus which we were originally planning to do. I wanted to bike, too, since I miss biking so much so I offered to go with her. So, we ended up splitting from the others. We headed back to our hostel that also rented out bikes. Japanese bikes are awesome. They have built-in O-locks which are locks put on the wheel. When you unlock it you actually have to keep your key on the lock (guess it's a good way to remind you to lock your bike). The bikes at the hostel kinda felt like a combination of a road bike and a cruiser. It felt awesome being able to bike again though :)

So, we were off to the Flea Market! (which was at a temple almost on the other side of Kyoto). Biking through Kyoto is not an easy thing! Trust me! Unlike America (or at least Santa Barbara) there are no bike paths or designated lanes for bikes on the road. Instead, you share the same sidewalk as walkers! You can imagine having to dodge people walking and other bikers. I had to constantly do that. I found myself almost crashing into other bikers than people walking. It was an exciting feeling, though ^_^ I loved biking down Kyoto despite the dangers lol A couple of times we would bike down the smaller streets where there were hardly any people so it was safer. It was just that sometimes we found ourselves lost because those streets don't appear on the map. It took awhile but we eventually found ourselves at the Flea Market.

There were a lot of vendors there. And a lot of people! Also, a lot of foreigners lol We walked around and found some pretty neat stuff. We bought a couple of things that were also cheap! They sold yukatas for 300-1000円! Talk about cheap! At one vendor my friend found a samurai sword. The guys selling it tried talking to us in English, but we responded in Japanese haha. We left and found ourselves there again lol The guy gave us a price (which I kinda forgot) which was really cheap. I asked if it was real and they were like "no, no, no" one of them explained how if they did then they would get arrested haha. My friend contemplated about buying it. Actually, we ended up by that place several times (the guys kept looking at us and laughing haha). In the end, someone else bought it so she didn't end up buying it XP

We also ate lunch at the Flea Market. We shared an Okonomiyaki which was really good! After lunch we walked around the Flea Market again. There were a lot of interesting stuff. We eventually found ourselves in the food area (which we were actually trying to find, but ended up finding the Okonomiyaki vendor at another part lol). There were a lot of food there! I wanted to eat them all >.< lol but I had to resist. We did buy a crepe which was really good! but kind a expensive. It wasn't made fresh which disappointed me a little =/ but eating something sweet maybe me happy ^.^ We also checked out the temple where the flea market was near. It was a nice little temple. Not much to write about it though XD

We ended up staying in the Flea Market for maybe 3 hours? It was rather long... maybe too long lol We ended up eating before leaving. One of the vendors sold ramen so we had that. It was fresh ramen which was good! Ramen broth is so delicious in Japan x3 Eventually, we decided to move on. It turns out the others had left the flea market a long time ago and had already checked out Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji castle. We decided to go to Ginkakuji since it was already close to where we were. So, we (along with a bunch of stuff we bought from the Flea Market lol) got on our bikes and made our way to Ginkakuji castle.

Ginkakuji Temple

Of course, we had to pay to get in. When we got in we were instantly greeted to the gold temple. It was literally painted gold. A pretty site indeed. It was near a lake which was really beautiful. One of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life. We walked around it (which the path took us). As we continued along the path there were other things such as smaller shrines, gardens, and there were these rock things where there was like a bowl in the center a bunch of yen coins around it. A lot of people were throwing there money trying to get it in the bowl (at least I think that was what they were doing). I tried by throwing my 1円 coins (cheap I know lol but I had to get rid of them somehow XD). Didn't make it though... After continuing the path we eventually made ourselves out. Our next destination was another temple (which I totally forgot). Kinkakuji temple had already closed so we didn't go there.

We biked to the temple which took us awhile because it was on the other side of Kyoto! When we reached the other side we had to bike further down. On the way down we biked right next to a river. It was so awesome biking next to that river. You get a refreshing feeling =) I'd definitely back next to that river if I had the chance! I'd even stop and just chill there for a bit. Kyoto was shaping up to be an ideal place for me ^_^


We reached the temple, but it was already dark and the place was closing, plus we didn't have anywhere to put our bikes. When we reunited with the others we walked down a path where we stopped to buy stuff (so much stuff I'm buying >.<). The others decided to go to Gion which is a place that had a bunch of stores. I went with them, but quickly left because they wanted to drink again. I instead biked to the nearest Book Off (which wasn't that close...). I stayed in the Book Off for more than an hour. Bought myself a few books then made my way back to the Hostel.

Gion

Kyoto Trip Day 5 (in Nara)
For the first and only time everyone who went on the Kyoto Trip stuck together! We all headed to Nara together :) The train ride there took about 45 minutes. When we got to the station we made our way to Nara Park. While we were in the station we could hear music. At first I thought it was playing on the over head or something, but when we exited the station we soon found out where it was coming from. There was someone who was playing a guitar and singing it outside! He was one of those people who entertain on the street. He had a really nice voice. I wanted to stay a little longer to watch, but the others wanted to go so I went with them.

We walked down a street that had some stores. Lots of omiyage stores. One of us was for some reason in a rush. Some of us didn't care and wanted to buy takoyaki since it was so cheap. So, we stopped and ordered some Takoyaki. The one who wanted to go looked really impatient. But the others didn't care because they didn't want to feel rushed. We did eventually started to walk while eating our takoyaki. Soon we were greeted by a lake that had boats in it. It was awesome, but not enough to make us stay and stare at it in awe. We made a left from there and found ourselves in a temple area. Unfortunately, part of it was being restored so not much to see. We did see a very tall temple building. You could only look at it since you couldn't go inside anyway. We continued walking and found ourselves at a park. That's when we started to see the deer. They were super chill, well some more than others. There was one male deer that was laying in front of a bench. It was just laying there staring off into the distance. I sat on the bench and others sat on it, but the deer didn't budge. It stayed there without a care in the world! Probably the most chill deer I've ever seen lol

We continued and found ourselves on another part of the park. There was a small store/restaurant there, too. Some people bought shaved ice. They also sold senbei for deer there which 3 of us (including me) bought. As soon as we were given the senbei the deer gather around us. It was bit intimidating lol but super fun XD One deer (which was a male, but his horns were gone) kept head-butting me in the butt. It didn't hurt or anything, but it got a little annoying lol There were so many deer and I didn't have a lot of senbei XD I just gave it to whichever had it's head closest to it. I was scared of the male one of course. I think I fed it the most lol I finished my senbei but they kept following me. The other two still had there's so they soon lost interest in me and started bullying the others lol it was fun watching them getting harrassed by deer XD haha The best part of the whole trip in Nara! At least for me lol

After some fun with the deer we continued on our way. We went to Todaiji Temple which houses the largest bronze Buddha castle. When we got there there was a bunch of middle school students. I think it was field trip day (actually I felt like that whole week was field trip day because there were also Middle School students at Ginkakuji Temple and later when I went to other places there were more kids!). One of us got surrounded by elemetary school kids (with there cute yellow caps). They asked her a bunch of questions in English. It was probably part of there project since they were in an area that had a lot of foreigners giving them a chance to practice their English. After we waited for her we made our way into the temple. The Buddha stature was enormous! It was huge! I felt like I can lay down perfectly on its hands lol. I was glad we were able to take pictures of it since most places forbid pictures inside. We walked inside and saw more temples. In one area a bunch of elementary kids were lining up to crawl through a hole in one of the poles. Probably for good luck or something? It was rather cute x3

After Todaiji Temple most of us were feeling hungry (and one of us was getting impatient because we were going to slow.... whatever). We found a noodle place. We were the only ones in there at first probably because it was the middle of the day. We each bought what we wanted (udon, soba, somen, etc). It was delicious as most restaurants are haha. Another group came in and they bought this green tea shaved ice desert thing that looked really good. I couldn't stop staring at it because I wanted some XD But since we were being rushed I didn't get the chance, too :( sad face

We walked to a temple that had a bunch of lamps. It was like being in a Miyazaki movie. I can only imagine what it would look like at night. We hung around there for a bit. There was a long path that we wanted to check out. At this point, a lot of people were getting really angry at one person because she kept rushing us. I honestly don't know why since we still had the whole day plus it wasn't like the train stopped function early or whatever. A lot of people were starting to get annoyed. After getting to the end of the path and taking some pictures we made our way back. We then headed back to the Nara Station. On the way we saw a fountain where there was a huge statue of deer with I think was a reed in it's mouth and water flowed from there. It was pretty awesome! We continued walking and on the way back I saw a large field on the other side of the small woods where there were people chilling and a bunch of deer were chilling there, too. I wanted to go there, but of course I couldn't for an obvious reason.... When we got back to the shop area we did some omiyage shopping (or atleast I did haha). We then made it back to the station. The guy who was performing outside was still there and still sounded good. Me and one other kind of stayed for alittle while, but we soon went to the station and managed to catch up with the others.Thinking back I wish I had decided to just stay behind since there was still plenty of time left. I really wanted to play with the deer more and wanted to just chill at that field and watch the deer frolic through the meadows, but instead I put up with the impatience of one person who kept rushing us because she wanted to go back early -.- I don't understand why I listened and followed =/ I could've had so much more fun if I stayed behind a little bit longer...

It was night time when we got back to Kyoto and we were greeted by a little show. One of the buildings had water that were lighted up with colors spouted on the top of its roof at the rhythm of a song. Not too far was the Kyoto Tower which I've never seen at night. It was lit up very brightly and was a beautiful site. That was a good thing to see coming back from Nara :) It was still early in the night so a bunch of the others decided to go out drinking (again). I didn't want to so I decided to hang around Kyoto-Yodobashi which was a like a mall. I looked around the Shounen Jump store. I was so tempted to buy something there, but I ended up not doing that. I later found myself in the game&toy area. I looked at pokemon, gundam, zoids, kamen rider, and the video games. The games were ridiculously expensive. Even old games were still sold at there regular market value. On that same floor there was also a small area where a bunch of those coin toy thingies were. They were just lined up one by one. There were so many! I went through it 3 times making sure I didn't miss anything lol And yes they were expensive... but if you think about it they're pretty cheap since in America if I tried to buy these things off sellers (since that's probably the only way) then it'd be more expensive! I ended up getting two pokemon key chains since they were only 100円 each XP

I soon left and headed back to the Hostel to end the day.

Kyoto Trip Day 6 (Last Day)

Today's the last day, but our bus doesn't leave until 11pm so we still had the whole day to explore! Me and another friend who I biked around Tokyo with decided to use that day to go to Kinkakuji Temple since we haven't been there yet. We took the bus instead of biking, though. The bus a long time to go to Kinkakuji Temple. When we got there were were greeted by a bunch of Middle Schools students again. The Kinkakuji temple felt more traditional than Ginkakuji temple because nothing was painted gold. There were a bunch of really nice zen gardens and rock gardens. The experience would have been better if there weren't so many people around, but it was still nice :)

After Kinkakuji Temple we headed to Nijo Castle to be with the others (the bus group). It was pretty expensive to go inside, but we later learn that it was well worth it. The only down side to this was that the main attraction was currently being restored so we couldn't check it out. Nijo Castle still had a lot to offer! We went inside one of the homes. Photos were forbidden so I can't show any pictures. Inside was a beautiful site! The walls were painted with very elegant and traditional pictures. If you google Nijo Castle you might be able to get pictures of what it looks like inside. They were very elaborate. Oh yeah, there were Elementary Kids here, too haha. The walk around the house took awhile since the house was rather big.

After checking out the house we decided to go to the area just outside of it. There was a large pond with lots of rocks and small trees. One of the most beautiful ponds I've ever seen in my life. I want my backyard to have something just like it and I'm serious about that, too!! Someday I'll have my backyard look like that even if it's expensive because it'd definitely be worth it! I really wanted to just stand there and stare in awe at it's beauty. Next to the pond is of course the house we were in earlier. There were also the elementary students who for some reason were crawling under the walk ways outside of the house. They were looking at something. I wish I knew what it was lol

We continued and soon found ourselves in a really large garden. It was a beautiful garden! Green grass spread out with beautiful trees and plants every where. I'm not very good at describing things, but I did take a lot of photos! I wanted to frolic on the grass, but of course that was forbidden lol We found some stairs which we climbed and were given a beautiful view of the garden from above. On the other side was the moat that surrounded the castle which was just as beautiful. Nijo Castle was turning out to be more than I expected! We went back down and continued to explore Nijo Castle. In short, Nijo Castle had houses with beautiful paintings and gardens that certainly had a lot of care. Beautiful place and just a great atmosphere in general.

After Nijo Castle we headed to where the Bamboo Forest was! It was on the outskirts of Kyoto. When we got there there were very little people (we saw more foreigners than locals for some reason lol). The main reason being it was already getting late so lots of places were closing. The bamboo forest we hoped didn't close like most attractions in Kyoto were. We walked around trying to find the forest. On the way there we saw this really big river. It was pretty nice. There were fishing boats on it and boats that people can rent so that they can be on the river. We walked along the river for a little bit. As we walked the sky got darker. We walked into the forest (well it really wasn't a forest) in hopes of finding the Bamboo Forest. There were a lot of stairs (at this point I was already tired and stairs didn't exactly help...) We eventually found the Bamboo Forest! Unfortunately, it was already dark... So, every one took pictures using their flash. It probably didn't turn out as nice as it would during the day, but it's better than nothing :) At one point we just sat and laid down on the path surrounded by the bamboo and just looked up at the sky. There was a small opening where you were able to see the sky. Everyone felt good just chilling there especially when there was no one there rushing you :P Being able to just chill and not feel rush by others is a great feeling.

 After the bamboo forest we headed back to Kyoto. There was still maybe a few hours left. Of course the others decided to go drink so I went back to Kyoto-Yodobashi. I looked around for a bit. I found out there was a book store on the top floor so I decided to go up there. I ended up finding the two volumes of a manga I was trying to find at Book Off. I knew it was slightly cheaper at Book Off but since I was already there and it was only a bit cheaper I decided to buy them there >.< It's ok cause I don't regret it one bit :D After a few hours I headed back to the hostel and chilled in the lounge area until the others came back. When they came back we went to the Kyoto Station and soon got on the bus back to Tsuru :)

Reflection 
Kyoto was absolutely amazing!!!!! Although, there were many moments in which I felt left out I didn't let it get too me too much so I could still enjoy the trip :) I went to a lot of amazing places that contained many things that I loved so much. I've been reminded why I love Japan so much. I don't regret spending a lot to go and stay in Kyoto for a week. I also don't regret all the money I spent on food and stuff. Although, I spent way too much in Kyoto it was definitely worth it! I don't know when I'll have another chance to come back so I used that to my advantage. I certainly hope I'll be ale to go back someday because I really loved being in Kyoto. It's like my ideal place to live! But that's probably nearly impossible. Thank you Kyoto for an amazing week!!