Chinese New Year in Kobe and Fushimi Inari Shrine

Classes are finally starting to settle into a routine. Also started working in the Writing Center this past week (which has been incredibly busy, but incredibly fun!). Met my Speaking Partner Wednesday night! And Thursday, we went to eat yakiniku with a friend's speaking partner (4 Japanese, 4 gaijin).

Yakiniku: all you can eat meat barbecue

On Saturday, we celebrated Chinese New Year by catching a series of trains to Kobe. Kobe has a very large immigrant population, and possibly the most vibrant Chinatown in Japan (Nanjing Town). There were too many people for us to see any of the dances (so many people!) but we got to eat some really great vendor food.

Chinese New Year in Nanjing town (w/other people!)

Afterwards, while in Kobe we walked down to the harbor area (where there is a large tower with a number of funky buildings along the coast).

Kobe Merikan Park

On Sunday, I went on a class field trip to Fushimi Inari Shrine (the iconic one with all the torii gates!).

Bottom of the mountain, the torii begin

Fushimi Inari site map

There are hundreds and hundreds of torii that mark the mountain path all the way to the top. So many torii! (And also lots and lots of people until you get near the top, then it is really quiet and peaceful). 

Among the torii

Inari is a kami (god), one of the most iconic, principle kami in Shinto. Often portrayed as a fox he (generally he) is patron of fertility, rice, agriculture, and industry.

The shrine had ema resembling inari fox silhouettes.
Many people got creative with it and drew funny faces 

Ema are wooden Shinto-based 'prayer boards' you can buy to write a prayer request to a kami. They are generally hung up at most shrines and some temples.

Milk and cookie offerings to inari

You can buy torii at varying price-levels (extra luck for your business)

A (mostly) friendly neko (cat) followed us up the mountain 

There are decorated inari statues everywhere

Lots of mini-shrines tucked away everywhere
I really want to come back at night - sounds spooky

Shimenawa ring - passing through is purifying, marks sacred space, especially around New Years

Another torii, this one is bigger

Finally, Sunday night we went for karaoke. Japanese karaoke definitely live up to the hype! You might not be suprised to hear 'Let It Go' is still really popular hear. And lots of Taylor Swift. And lots and lots of anime music. 

Currently, I am preparing for a weekend ski trip in Hokkaido. (I've been hearing about how much snow everyone has been getting back home, and I miss it!). Until then, that's all for now!

Agon Shu Hoshi Matsuri (Star Festival)

Wednesday, we had class off for National Foundation Day. Thanks to my 'Religion in Japan' class, I ended up catching a train over to Kyoto to see the 42nd Agon Shu's Hoshi Matsuri (Stars and Fire Rites Festival). Agon Shu is classified as a Japanese 'New Religion,' and is based in Buddhist practices with strong Shinto influences. 

I wanted to be at the festival for the opening, which meant departing about 7am. (the small group that would have joined me ended up deciding to sleep in last minute...). The train dropped me off at Kiyomizu Station (one of the temples we visited a few weeks back), and instead of taking a transfer to the Kyoto main station and catching the Agon Shu shuttle bus, in a pig-headed moment I decided to walk to the festival grounds. What looked like a half hour walk on the event map turned out to be a couple hour walk on the side of a narrow mountain highway. When I got closer to the festival, I saw an event staff woman holding a sign that said "busu" for 'bus' and I managed to ask if it was still possible to catch the shuttle bus (30 minutes from Kyoto). She laughed and pointed up the mountain and said something about 'climbing.' That ended with me having to hike up the mountain to the festival grounds (with event staff and Agon Shu Yamabushi monks that were directing the shuttle buses all telling me "kiotsukete kudasai" - "please be careful" - read:'are you lost?').

By the time I made it to the festival grounds (just after it started), I was surprised not to see anyone around (where were all the people mobbing everything? this isn't a festival...). I wandered around for a bit until one of the event staff called me over and asked if I spoke English (yes). He then motioned for me to follow and they took my to the information tent, where a Japanese student was working as one of the couple English speaking representatives. My question "where exactly am I?" confused him because we were 30 minutes from Kyoto by bus, and it was probably pretty hard to just 'wander onto the temple grounds.' He pointed in a direction, and tried to explain the event by waving his arms and saying "campfire."

Campfire, indeed. 

Approaching the main festival square, where there is fire

The pyre on the left is the "Goma-dan for the Living" and the right is the "Goma-dan for the Departed"

The Agon Shu Hoshi Matsuri commemorates "peace and harmony" for the year. Yamabushi monks and religious members from all generations work tirelessly all day to keep the fire well fed and the logs wet (to contain the fire, I assume).

It's impossible to really get the feel of the event in just pictures, so here's a video link.
Agon Shu Hoshi Matsuri - Youtube

One of many groups performing throughout the festival (lots and lots of people)

When I arrived in the morning, this area was completely empty

Those stuffed gomagi look really happy pre-fire

At the festival, you could buy Gomagi (prayer sticks) at varying prices (100 yen, 1,000 yen, 3,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 10,000 yen each) (100 yen ~= $1). Festival goers write either a wish (for the ShinKai pyre) or the name of a departed one (for the Bukkai Pyre). The gomagi are then handed over, bundled up, and given to the monks to be thrown in the fire with a short prayer.

Gomagi (left says "Buddhahood memorial", right is blank)

The (very small) scattering of foreigners that were at the festival were handed brochures in an English version to explain what was going on (rather thoughtful). One of the pages included a stamp page.

Collecting stamps around the festival area

Gathering all the stamps rewards you with a nice little charm

Walking down to the return shuttle buses, visitors were handed walking sticks

The pictures may not show it, but I ended up staying just about all day just watching people run around and throw prayer sticks into the huge pyres. Definitely a very different experience!



The weekend was much more relaxed, comprising mostly of going out to eat, trying to work on a school paper, and studying. On Sunday, we went out and explored a similar area of Hirakata City. Looked at many, many different electronics stores. Along the way, we stopped at Kappa Sushi (for the conveyor belt/train sushi experience).

Reasonably priced conveyor belt / train sushi!

Train sushi! - Youtube

Yum

Afterwards, we went back to the park I saw a week or so ago (and I completed one more thing off my Japan bucket-list: slide down the giant green slide)!

Wheeeeeeeeee

Sliding down the slide! (mind the sound at beginning, sorry...) - Youtube

Otaku Day in Osaka

First week of class is over! I was placed in Spoken and Written Japanese 3 (equivalent to 4th semester Japanese at CU Boulder, Genki II textbook chapters 17-23). I also will be taking 2 elective classes in the afternoon for a total of 14 credit hours (dropping the literature class because, although I really want to read the selected works, I don't intend to spend my free-time in Japan reading novels).

Reading material for each course comes in a thick booklet of assembled readings

Thursday, I interviewed for a job at the Writing Center on campus (the only real paid position available to us on a student visa). Found out Saturday that I was accepted! Which means I will be working ~5 hours a week taking appointments and helping Japanese KGU students with essay writing, academic papers, and resumes & job interviews. Should be fun! Job orientation was this Monday, and I will start next week (Feb. 16th).

I did end up buying a bike (paid around $68 at a 2nd-hand bike shop near campus). The registration process is extensive (legally, bikes are in most cases considered cars - a DUI on a bike will likely get you jail-time, leading to being deported, possibly permanently). Most bikes here are single gear with a built-in lock system and a light powered by friction with the front tire.


Saturday I spent most of the day biking around Hirakata City. There are a ton of cool neighborhood areas hidden away that are much easier to find on a bike. And lots and lots of really cool parks!

It's really nice how busy the parks are - there are always families there doing something

I want a giant green slide near my house!

I wouldn't say Hirakata is especially bike friendly, but it isn't the worst

I was trying to meet up with a group of friends, but selected the wrong store on Google Maps which turned out to be one town over... Oh well, I did get to do a full day of biking and see a good portion of the city. 

Sunday, ended up as a full day dedicated to all things otaku (Pokemon, manga, anime...). Woke up early and caught the train into Osaka City to visit the Pokemon Center (a store specializing in all things Pokemon). 

Pokemon Center, Osaka City

People playing on their 3DS everywhere

Hey look, I am in a picture! 

Hopped back on a train and went to the 2015 World Hobby Fair that was happening at the Osaka Dome. It's this giant, admission-free promotional convention for kids to wait in reaaaaally long lines to try out free arcade games. (We went to check it out, not knowing the target audience really was much younger kids).

Common observation, videogames (especially Nintendo) seem to be viewed as primarily for children. Everyone grows up on games and shows like Pokemon, but most people seem to graduate from Nintendo around or before high school. That is true in the States, to be sure, but the divide is much more noticeable in Japan (otaku culture being the exception).

So many people pushing everywhere!
(For every adult head you see in this picture, there are 1-3 children beside them you can't see)

Pikachu!

After escaping the masses, we caught another train over to Nipponbashi to observe the Otaku life (actual class assignment). Nipponbashi is somewhat Osaka's equivalent to a smaller, low-key version of Tokyo's Akihabara district.

Nipponbashi, Osaka City

Found all the manga in Japan

Found all the good manga in Japan

To end the night, myself and a friend wandered through Osaka to track down Fire bomBAR, an otaku bar inspired by the Macross franchise (specifically Macross 7). The place was off some side street of Osaka, tucked away on the 6th floor of some office-like building.

Fire Bombar!!!

The owner runs the place on weekends and weekday nights outside of keeping up a day job. There were about 8 people that showed up, all of them frequent the place and seemed to know each other. While no one spoke much of any English, they were all very friendly and extremely curious how we managed to find it.

Tiny, cozy place that fit about 10 people or so with lots of Macross memorabilia everywhere

Had an awkwardly translated conversation with the owner, who adamantly defended the power of music and anime to bring people together despite language barriers.


The amount of people here can be overwhelming, to be sure. It is really nice to be able to break away from that and find a small, welcoming pocket of people and have more genuinely interesting experiences.

Settling in and Orientating at KGU

It has been just over one week (that is almost impossible to believe!). In a way, it feels like forever since I got here. But at the same time, the time has been flying by (and it will all be gone before long!).

Everything feels distinctly foreign (so much so that anything remotely resembling home really stands out). But after only a week, daily life is already starting to become more natural and familiar.

The locals are all very friendly, though it does seem some have grown weary of the pack of exchange students that descend upon the community every semester. (That is understandable when you consider the impact caused by 300-some college foreigners on a community where being quiet, courteous, and rule-abiding is so important to daily life - remember that the building walls are paper thin, so anything above a whisper carries through the neighborhood at night).

Seminar House 2 - my home for the semester!
(We are the best seminar house, don't let anyone tell you otherwise)

The park by the seminar houses (students have nicknamed it Beer Park)
(the faculty and surrounding community are not happy about this)

The neighborhood is really active with families, even in the cold winter. It is near impossible to go anywhere without constantly being passed by people on bicycles, motorbikes, or the Japanese trucks you see everywhere here. The streets in the neighborhoods are all very narrow and can barely fit one car across, but locals fly down them nonetheless.

Down the street from the seminar house heading towards campus

Hirakata City has little plots of farmland randomly everywhere

Hirakata-shi Station (where most of the city life is)

I really like Hirakata City so far. But it certainly isn't the prettiest city. Like many areas of Osaka, it really feels like it just isn't trying to impress anyone. It's just there. And that is nice.  

Kansai Gaidai University (from the front gate)
(imagine this filled with students that haven't started the semester yet)

Orientation Week has meant a lot of time sitting in assemblies listening to speeches and rules and regulations (so many rules to follow in Japan!). Being under pressure to meet lots and lots of new people quickly tends to be the most stressful part of anything like this for me, but I am glad to say I had a pretty easy time meeting many really wonderful people here. (We have formed our own Gaijin Crew. It's super official - there is an email list and and we require applications to be accepted (not really)).  

One of the few reasons an emergency floor meeting will be called is for improper garbage sorting

A small anecdote about trash separation here. We have a professor that conducted an anonymous survey asking a class of Americans how many had broken the law in the past few months. Around 60% answered in the affirmitive. He gave the same survey to a class of Japanese students, where well over 90% answered yes. And among those answers, the prevalent answer for law broken was "sorting garbage improperly." Of course, garbage sorting isn't actually a punishable law here, but Japanese treat it very seriously as if it were. 

I don't know why it is never mentioned, but one of the most prevalent differences I face in daily life is the meticulousness with which garbage separation is treated. And when you are out and about, there are very few trash cans around, which often means you carry your garbage with you all day and dispose of everything at home (and somehow this works, because everything tends to be very clean).

Slideshow presentation on how not to be a bad foreigner and have creepy older ladies stare you down:

On Friday, the university students organized a giant trip to Kyoto to familiarize us with the train system (which I already had to learn to get to Nara, ha). We didn't have as much time to explore as I would have liked, so we will definitely be going back soon on our own time. 

Our modest little tour group led by a couple KGU students
The tour group included some of our 'Gaijin Crew'

Picture from the top of Kyoto at a temple, city in background
Standing by random guy

Had the most delicious okonomiyaki in Kyoto

Saturday we made a quick trip down to Osaka City. We got off the train at what appears to be a major business district with not a ton of accessible night life, but it was good to see all the same.

Saw one older man cross the street while the crosswalk was red (Osakan stereotypes), but for the most part, people still would stand at crosswalks and wait for the light, even with no cars anywhere in sight for a couple meter wide side-street crosswalk.

Shoddy ipod photo after arriving in Osaka

All we do when we travel is look for places to eat, then eat, then  look for a different place to eat.

Coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream and a white chocolate filled croissant (soso goood) 

That really about sums it up so far, though I could go on and on forever about everything we've been doing and eating (so much food).  Classes start tomorrow. Very excited about that, many of the class topics here are very interesting and hard to find back home. 

Anyway, everything is going very well. You are all very much missed. Hope things are going well back home!