An adventure to the Kansai region

I spent this past weekend, starting on Friday, in the Kansai region of Japan. The Kansai region consists of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Each of these cities are with in an hour of each other by train, which makes it easy to explore all these areas. The region is so big though I think it would take at least a year to explore it all. But I digress~

My adventure started on Thursday night when I boarded the Miyazaki car ferry bound for Osaka. It takes twelve hours and sails over night to it's destination. It was really quite an experience and a lot of fun sailing alone. There is a section on the ferry dedicated for women only to sleep and keep their stuff. Which is really nice, it made me feel much more comfortable. One very odd thing was the "casualy frozen food" vending machine, it was placed next to the beer vending machine. (Sorry it is a little blurry) Once I disembarked the ferry around 7:30am I got to take a crash course in taking the subway system in Osaka. I am so proud of my self that I was able to figure it out and ask people for help~ I was able to make it to my hotel around 8:30am, after wandering around the Shinsaibashi area for a good hour or so after becoming completely discombobulated on the subway. Lucky for me I was able to ask someone in a Starbucks where my hotel was. Once I checked into the hotel, I walked around the large shopping street near by to do some Christmas shopping and such~ Bellow is a very small section of the Shinsaibashi shopping street. It is so long I wasn't able to walk the full length while I was there. I left for the airport around 3:30pm to pick up Anthony. The kansai airport is about 45 minutes to an hour away from the Nanba eki. Just a few stops south of the Shinsaibashi subway station. The main stations around Osaka are huge! They have arrows pointing to many different exits and they have shops all over the place in the larger ones. Lucky most things have English as well as Japanese. After picking up Anthony at the airport and returning to our home base for the next few days, we went to explore the shopping area together and eat dinner, then fall asleep exhausted.

The next day we meet up with Charlie, to explore Kyoto! Kyoto is only about a 45 minute train ride from the Osaka JR station. It was very interesting. Every few blocks there was a sign pointing this way or that to various temples and shrines. We visited a few and walked around the area a bit. The first temple that we went to was Kinkakuji, the golden temple(above). It is painted in real gold! We were really lucky and got a tour guide, one of the local university students offered to give us a tour of the temple, I believe it was for a project. She explained what the different levels of the temple were for, as well as other various sections of the park. The first floor of the temple was used for Noh plays, the second for poetry writing, and the third for meditation. The temple actually burnt down in the 1950s by a crazy young monk. After they reconstructed it they put a phoenix on top to protect it from fires in the future. After we finished the tour of Kinkakuji, we wandered around finding other temples and such. We got a little confused at one point, but a nice lady helped up out. It must have been obviously that we were a little baffled by the lack of street names, with us looking at a map and staring up at street signs and point every direction. After she helped us we found the subway, with a few wrong turns, and headed on back to Osaka.

Another thing about Osaka, the shopping...is...amazing. There are so many shops. Near the Osaka station there is a large shopping mall with an electronic section which has many many floors. On the bottom is cellphones and computers, then home appliances, the games and toys are on the 5th floor I believe. And there were a lot of games. Japan has turned the Nintendo DS into more then just a game system. You can buy what is basically software for your game boy. There are cook books, learning software for math, science, history, you can buy face training/exercises , kanji learning games, dictionaries, and much more. I think it is a very interactive way to get kids to learn while playing video games :P But the games are not just for kids even, there are plenty for adults as well, to help with Kanji, and such. The clothing shopping is also amazing~ But I held back my urges to shop~

On Sunday Anthony and I headed to Kobe. We were heading to meet Charlie who we stayed with for a few nights while we visited Kobe. Thanks Charlie! :) We toured around the Sannomiya shopping area, visited the Kobe tower, saw the luminarie, and ate at many yummy restaurants. The Sannomiya shopping area was pretty amazing, there was one street that ran underneath the train tracks. It started off in nice fashion and got weirder and weirder and we headed down the street. Kobe is a pretty nifty place. Not as busy and crazy as Osaka, but not as slow and sleepy as Miyazaki. It was nice to experience a different part of Japan. We were going to attempt to see the luminere on Sunday but the line was insane. There were a bunch of police helping control and corral the crowds. They had us walking all around the down town area. We walked for about 30 minutes before we found a sign that said the wait was 90 minutes. (Bellow: the line that we were to wait in, we were no where close to the lights yet.) So we decided to visit the Kobe tower instead and come back the following evening. The Kobe tower was pretty cools, we could see much of the city and the bay. Harbor Land, a shopping area and kinda a hanging out place with a Ferris-Wheel. (Bellow: Yay Kobe Tower!
On Monday Anthony and I took the train to Himeji to visit the Himiji castle. It was spectacular. I visited is on my trip to Japan last summer, but the castle is still amazing. They were restoring part of the castle when we visited. I think they are always restoring some part of it, because it is so large once you finish you have to start over again. We climbed to the top of the main castle, which is about six floors, and saw the shrine to protect against fire. The shrine was originally moved from it's original place when the castle was first built, but people kept getting ominous feelings so they moved it back, to the top floor of the castle. From the top, the whole city is visible. I can see why it was such a strategic place to build a castle. Anthony and I were thinking the whole time how difficult it would be to actually try to storm the castle. The paths are all windie and twistie with holes in the walls above for people to pelt one with deadly objects. The walls are also built out of a lot of stone so burning them isn't much of an option. Plus by the time one actually gets to the castle, there are supper steep steps and a lot of hiding places for defenders to launch sneak attacks. It was fun and adventurous to clime it all~ After stocking up on Omiyage, souvenirs, we headed back to Kobe to see the luminarie.

The Luminarie was a little better on Monday. We decided to try and get in line early, around 5pm instead of the 6:30-7pm we tried on Sunday. After about 30 minutes of wandering around in an ever moving light we finally got to see the start of the luminarie. Then everyone started to stop and take pictures every two meters. But it was awesome and very pretty. There was also a little matsuri, festival, near by so we grabbed some snacks before continuing out wandering. (I am only posting one picture for the sake of length, but I have many others to show~)
On Tuesday we got packed and ready to leave. Then we visited Charlies's college and ate with one of the professors that did the teacher exchange to Evergreen. We also did last minute shopping and brousing. I bought gloves because I was tired of my hands freezing off every night in Kobe. But they created a nice little Murfie-field and it has been warm in Miyazaki ever since I returned. We headed to the ferry on Tuesday evening. A nice lady helped us find the right bus stop to the ferry, and showed me how to fill out the form. The ferry ride was uneventful. I tried out the onsen on the ferry. It was interesting, but it felt nice. The same lady who helped us find the ferry also gave us a ride back to the dorms. It was an amazing stroke of luck. It was nice to return to Miyazaki after all the hustle and bustle of the large city. There are positives and negatives to each setting. The trains are more convenient in the Kansai area, but Miyazaki just has a nicer more laid back atmosphere.

I am glad to be back in Miyazaki, and spend the Chirstmas holidays with Anthony :)

Visit to Kaori's part 2~

Sunday!
Sunday started in a flurry of waking up late and trying to leave on time. The house was very cold in the morning and the blankets were so nice and warm~ I wanted to stay under the warm blankets for a while longer. We all ate breakfast and packed in the car to start the adventure to Oita prefecture. Oita prefecture is the neighboring prefecture to the north of Miyazaki.

We started the four and a half hour adventure around 8am. We realized that we had gotten a little turned around when we passed a sign saying "Welcome to Kagoshima" the prefecture north of Oita prefecture. After looking at the maps for a bit we got back on track and made our way to the longest and highest suspension bridge in Japan. It was recently built so it was packed! As we walked across the bridge we could feel and see it sway with people walking on it. It was kinda scary, but the view was amazing. It was just past the fall colors but it was still spectacular. We ate ate one of the little restaurants near by then started on our way to the next sight seeing area.

Driving through the country side of Oita really reminded me of the mid west in America. It was full of rolling hills, surrounded by very large mountains. After taking some lovely pictures of the country side we made our way to a little tourist town near the bridge. It was full of people as well. And there were many large buses trying to navigate the small roads crowded with people. It was a cute place with lots of omiyage, souvenir, shops.

Once we broused a few shops we continued onto the next tourist location. We drove through an "African Safari" zoo. This was indeed interesting.... For one, half the animals in the zoo were not animals that belonged in the savanah. But it was fun and we got to see a lot of animals. I kinda felt sorry for them being cooped up, but they all had a lot of free ranged. We went at feeding time, and the black kites and ravens were all hovering around waiting for left overs.

Once we finished at the "African Safari", we made the long trek home. On the way I saw some real hot springs on the side of the road which we spewing steam and sulfer. It kinda stank but it was cool and you could see the sulfuric build up on the rocks. The funny thing is, is that this was in the middle of a town. We stopped at an izakaiya for dinner, kinda like a fancy Japanese bar, they are really popular and sell a lot of yummy food, and of course alcohol.

Sorry this entry is rushed, I am about to leave to get on a ferry to Osaka to meet Anthony :) I will edit it when I get back with more pictures and information about the trip~ I will also write about the adventures in Osaka :)

Bye bye for now!

A weekend with Kaori's family :) part 1

This past weekend I was invited to spend it when Kaori's family. We drove up on Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday night. They showed me around the area and we went on a day trip to the Oita prefecture just north of Miyazaki prefecture. I got to experience their home life and learn more about her family.

Saturday we, Kaori, her two sisters, and I traveled up to Hyuga, where her parent's live. Her father has lived in the same house sense he was a high school student. We pasted the high school and middle school where all of Kaori's sisters and her went to school. Their hows was old but very large and nice and comfy. They had many flowers because Kaori's grandma really enjoys planting flowers. They also had two small fields where they planted veggies and fruits. Her mom grows azuki beans, red beans that you mix with sugar to create a sweet dessert, green tea, soba, and many other veggies. The community they live in is a little country side community. All of the neighbors know each other and stop by to chat anytime. I meet a few of them :) It was really nice to see such a tightly close knit community.

After meeting a few neighbors, relaxing and chatting, and playing with their little bunny Kerosuke-chan, we went and toured around the area near by. The ocean here is really beautiful and clear. We drove around this loop that stopped at many of the popular view points. After doing a bit of sightseeing, we went to pick up ingredients for dinner. They taught me how to make Chicken Nanban, a famous Miyazaki dish. It is a lot of fun, and relitavely easy! I want to teach and cook some U.S dishes for them as well. We also ate hand rolled sushi. It works kinda like making your own burrito. Add rice, pick the insides and roll it up. I ate way too much, and it is a trend that followed through the whole weekend. I think it is time for me to take up jogging again.

Once we finished eating we all sat around and chatted for a bit, and ate cake... I helped teach them some English words and they helped me with some Japanese. The whole day was a lot of fun and exciting. Thank you so much everyone ! :)
Next time: Sunday, the trip to Oita prefecture and beyond!

Harvesting of Soba

Sunday December 2nd was another short story in the long novel of my adventure here in Japan. I was invited by my friend and tutor, Satomi, to go with her family to help harvest soba. Well to be more precise, thresh the soba. Soba is harvested when the flowers wilt and the little seed pods appear. The soba is then cut and the seeds removed, and separated from the bits of vegetation left over from whacking the plants. We were helping with the seed removal and separation. The event was a small community event in the mountains of Miyazaki. It took us about an hour to get to the field where the soba was grown. When we arrived there were already a bunch of people working. We placed the cut portions of soba onto a tarp and started whacking the seed ends with sticks to make the seeds fall off. After all the seeds were removed we sifted out the larger plant material that we didn't want, and then put it through a hand-powered-wind-tool-thing to separate it further. The machine was a large box with a papeller in one end and a shoot for the seeds to fall down in the other. When the papeller was turned it created a wind that separated leaves and small debris. The seeds are heaver so they fall down the shoot. It is amazingly effective and easy to use. The machine was invented about one hundred years ago during the Edo period and they are still using it today.

After the harvesting was complete, we went down to the town community building to eat lunch and make mochi. It was a tasty lunch that consisted of miso soup with soba dumplings and pork, onigiri, and some veggies. People are always amazed when they see I can use chopsticks. They are always saying 箸がじょずですね！translation: wow! You are good at using chopsticks! But it never really fails for me to drop something after someone says that...

Once we were all finished eating, people moved outside to help make mochi. Mochi is a rice cake made by mashing cooked rice until it becomes a sticky past. The rice is put into a large stone bowl (see picture for better explanation) and then mashed with a very large hammer. Everyone took turns mushing the rice. It was difficult but a lot of fun. The hammers are pretty heavy :P It was fresh, warm and delicious~

I feel as though I am really luck to see this side of Japan. The small town and the community that comes together to harvest the soba. While there I felt a feeling of sadness, wondering whether or not these small traditions and communities will be able to survive the ever-changing world we live in today. I think there is hope though. There were some young families that attended. I believe that as long as people are curious and interested about their communities and culture that it will survive. Japan still has it's most unique culture and I believe they will never lose that. Urban culture and rural culture are closely intertwined, thus effecting each other in both negative and positive ways. Hmmm I do believe I have another interesting topic to look into~

Until next time~

December is here!

December is here! It is hard to believe I have been in Japan for two months now. Sometimes it feels like more, sometimes it feels like less, but it almost never feels like two months. I have been doing so much I feel as though time is flying by. My Japanese has improved and I am starting to formulate a more consistent study schedule. I am going to focus on learning more kanji, because in the time that I have been here, I have found it to be very important in everyday life, as well as a good tool for learning vocabulary.

This past weekend and part of the week, Thursday through Saturday, my friend Charlie from the Kobe exchange with Evergreen visited Miyazaki. Kaori and I showed him a round to some of the nice sight seeing areas close by. On Thusday, we visited the Udo jingu just south of Miyazaki city. It is the large shrine that was built on the side of a cliff inside a cave. The weather was rainy and windy, but the view of the waves was spectacular. The powerful waves crashing against the rocky shore seemed to fill the place with power. We also tried to throw little rocks into a small pool of water on a rock in a little out cove. If you make it, you will get good luck for the year or an upcoming event or something a long those lines. It is really hard, but Kaori made it in on the first try! Yay Kaori! For those of us that don't make it, we can buy our luck with little charms that are filled with the clay balls that made it into the pool of water . After the Jingu we stopped at a road stations, a supper rest stop basically, and grabbed some ice cream and a few omiyage, souvenirs. The rest of the weekend was full of more sight seeing and yummy foods. We went to the Haniwa peace tower, the shopping district downtown, and the Miyazaki prefecture natural history and cultural museum. The Haniwa peace tower is pretty awesome. It does this cool little buzzy sound when you stand in a particular spot and clap your hands.

The shopping district downtown is full of cute stores and yummy foods. I was successful in fighting the urges to buy many a cute thing~ For lunch downtown we went to a cute little cafe that sells chicken nanban, a famous Miyazaki dish. It was very deliciouses~ I think that cafe was probably one of the most fancy places I have ever eaten but it was still very affordable~ After lunch we did some more souvenir shopping for Charlie at the Miyazaki train station. Bellow the platforms they have a large area shopping area for little souvenir gifts and such. Lastly we took Charlie to the Miyazaki prefecture history museum. It is a very awesome place that has information about Miyazaki's natural history, including plant and animal species for many different ecosystems, geological history, and endangered species. The second floor has the cultural history of Miyazaki dating back to the first peoples. It is a very detailed museum and it is free! They also have traveling exhibits, but those cost money. After the museum we showed Charlie off at the ferry terminal.

It is nice to have someone visit and show them around the place. Thank you Kaori for driving us everywhere and hanging out with us! :) I feel like I have learned my way around Miyazaki city pretty well. From Miyazaki station there are a lot of nice places with in walking distance or a short bus ride away. As I start to feel more comfortable in town I feel like I can do more exploring to learn about the areas near by. I will keep exploring through out my time here in Miyazaki!

Sunday sunnyness

I can not believe that November is almost over. I have already been in Japan for two months. I feel as though my understanding of Japanese is getting much better. I try to speak as much as I can with my friends, but I also help them with English sometimes which is a nice trade. I hope to expand on my vocabulary by studying because I am finding grammar rather easy to pick up on. I am excited to continue to learn while I am here. Sadly I have not been able to study the environment the past few weeks because I have been so busy and the students who I do field work with are busy preparing for a large science exhibition next month held in Miyazaki city.

This past Sunday, the 25th, I went to a Kimono Festival with several other exchange students from China and Korea. It was a lot of fun! We had to make the train at 6:50am in order to make it to the festival in time. From the Miyazaki Jingu station it was only about a ten minute walk to the There were a lot of beautiful people in Kimono. We got to put on a Kimono and get our hair and make up done as well. The Kimonos are all so beautiful. Before we put on the kimonos we had to do a walk through rehearsal, which I didn't understand any of but it was all pretty simple so there were no problems. Everyone is so pretty! There was a competition for people to tie their own obis. We didn't get to compete because none of us knew how to tie an obi hehe. There were also different examples on how to tie the obi in different ways and how to put on different kinds of kimono. It was all very fun and I had a great time! The women who were looking after us were very nice and helped out a lot by showing us around and helping us into the kimonos. Putting on a kimono is no simple ordeal. It probably took each of us about 15-20 minutes to have someone help us put it on. But it was worth waiting because they are so beautiful. Also, all those anime where you see women running around with long strides in a full kimono are a lie! It's rather restrictive in leg movement and even people who are used to wearing them have to take small steps because of how the kimono is wrapped. They are very elegant though, and I got to learn a few customs of how to wear a kimono, such as bowing and how to walk properly. The whole festival was great fun and a wonderful learning experience. I really want to buy a kimono for nostalgic reasons, but I know they are far too expensive for me~

I am having a wonderful time here in Japan and I want to bring back good memories for all of my friends and family:)

Friday madness

Today was the end of another fun filled weekend. I visited many places and saw many people. I got to experience more of Japanese unique culture and learn the language. On Friday we, Satomi, Oo-san, a student from China, and her tutor, went to Takachiho to sight see around the area. Friday was a holiday for the Japanese labor thanksgiving, this made every where we went quite crowded but we made it through some how. (Below, a common traffic jam in the place we were, looks dangerous huh) Takachiho was about eight hours away by car so we started the adventure quite early, at seven in the morning. It was almost like a mini road trip. There were conbinis, Japanese coveniant stores, about every ten or fifteen minutes while we were on the road. We visited the Takachiho gorge, but we weren't able to ride in the boats because there were so many people. It seemed rather dangerous at times with a very thin road and tons of cars and people, but it was very beautiful and lots of fun :)After visiting the gorge we went to watch some Kagura, traditional Japanese song and dance, at one of the many shrines around the area. It was ... very interesting. Suposidly this is a different type of Kagura than what is in other parts of Japan. It was quite comical, and people seemed to understand what was going on. Two of the actors, if that is what they are called, were carried around on large bundles of branches which I believe were a suppose to represent hourses. They asked people in the audiance to help take them around out side and then carried them inside the shrine. It was very entertaining. Once we finished the kagura, Satomi took me to an Onsen, Japanese hotsprings. It was my first time so I was unsure of what to do, but it was fun and very relaxing. After that we started the long journey back to Miyazaki city.

While I was away I asked my friend on the same floor as me to baby sit Shiva-chan and make sure he got fed so he was well taken care of while I was away for many many hours. He is still very energetic as always, as is any kitten. I miss Thanksgiving in the states, but I am thinking of cooking some Thanksgiving foods for my friends in Japan. I think they would find it very interesting.

The kitten has a name!

Today was a day full of ups and downs. It started off by waking up at 5:30 because the little kitten wanted to play. I have been thinking for a while about taking this new kitten to the animal hospital to see a vet, because it was abandoned at the dorm about two weeks ago. I did a little research on some pet vaccinations here in Japan and discovered that Japan does not have rabies. There are only several parts of the world that can boast this status, some Pacific islands and a few countries in northern Europe. Most of the countries are islands and have very strict pet immigration proses to keep rabies out of their country. I am still not quite sure what sort of vaccinations would be good to give this little kitten.

Anyways, I asked a few friends about local veterinary clinics. I was referred to another exchange student who is currently studying veterinary science at Miyazaki University. I started off by visiting the clinic at Miyazaki daigaku, but allas they had changed their policies and only take animals that have been referred to them by a privet clinic. But the exchange student offered to take me to another veterinary clinic in a part of town near by. We got there right when the clinic opened at 3:30. Being the first one to take the little guy to the vet, I got to name him :) His name is Shiva (or シバ in Japanese), named after the Hindu god Shiva. I also got to claim a temporary ownership of him because he was abandoned. It was a basic exam for ears, eyes, etc. He does have a slight infection in his left ear, but I was able to get some medicine from the doctor to put in his ear three to four times a day. He also has some flees so I was able to get some flee medication as well. The doctor confirmed him to be about four months old. I was wondering if I should get him neutered or not... It would probably be a good idea if he is going to visit my room a lot hehe. Right now Shiba-chan is having a nice long and deserved nap on my bed after a bit of soft food for doing such a good job at the veterinary clinic.　　(below is the same but shorter explanation in Japanese) (also below, Shiba-chan right after we got back from the clinic. He is tired from the adventure)
今日はおもしろい日でした。５：３０時起きましたが、新いねこはあそびたいんです。二週かんぐらい、ねこちゃんはまいのりょうにあきらめる。：（　私は動物病院（どうぶつびょういん）にねこをもってきたいです。でも。。。動物病院しりません。＞＜　それから、私の友だちに聞きました。２：３０ぐらい動物病院に行きました～。先生はねこちゃんは四月かんさいと言っていました。ねこちゃんは元気ですよ～でも、左耳は伝染（でんせん）があります。でも、大丈夫～耳の薬があります。ねこの名前はシバちゃん～

The trip to the animal hospital was very fun and interesting for me, but maybe not for Shiba-chan. He did very well in the car though, just sat in my lap and looked out the window. Luckly for me the vet knew English, but I tried to communicate in Japanese as much as possible. Although, sometimes it just got too complicated with all the specific scientific information. I am glad that I was able to take Shiba-chan to the vet today. It makes me feel much better knowing that he isn't sick or have any infections.

Tomorrow is the start of the Miyazaki University Festival. I'm sure I will have plenty to post on when it is over as well!

Wandering weekend

I have not posted in my blog in what seems like quite a while. Things have calmed down over the past few weeks. My life in Miyazaki is starting to form a pattern, class, homework, hanging out with friends. I am still busy pretty much everyday of the week so time flies by, but I feel as though I am starting to get used to life here. One of the challenges that I have is cooking. It is not that I don't enjoy cooking, but finding the proper sauce and ingredients in the grocery store is rather difficult. I am going to cook and swap recipes with my friend which will be fun and help me with the cooking :)
On Sunday, the group I went hiking with held a nabe, a soup dish with various vegetables and meat cooked in a broth, party. We went to a stone river bank and cooked four large pots of nabe. It was a lot of fun and I got to practice a lot of Japanese. On our way back I saw my first traffic policeman. He was catching people who were going under the speed limit... Mostly scooters and bicycles.
There is a new kitten around the dorm now. Before there was only an adult kitty, but someone left the kitten in a box next to the dorm :( But the students take good care of the cats. The cats never need to worry about having enough food. I believe that some of the students take the kitties to the vet to get shots sometimes, but I am not sure. I hope they get well taken care of. Older kitty, Sei-chan (below) New kitten (above)
I am preparing for a trip in December to Osaka to pick up Anthony when he comes to visit me for Christmas :) My friend, Midori, is helping me with travel tips and with booking hotels and such. She has helped the previous greener exchange students as well. I am looking forward to the trip and to up coming events in Miyazaki! I will continue to post in my blog as these new adventures happen.

Living with the land

Today I was invited to go bird watching with Kawano-sensei, a retired professor from Miyazaki University, and a group of bird watchers from around the Miyazaki area. There were about ten people including me. We were bird watching a long a river near Kawano-sensei's cabin in the forest by Aoshima. Kawano-sensei and his wife picked me up at the dorms around 10am, before we headed to the cabin, we stopped by a sort of farmer's market to pick up some mandarin oranges for the meeting.
The walk it's self was very educational. We identified more plants than birds I do believe, but the Japanese names escape my memory. I was shown many plants that were edible and ones that weren't. It is a good thing I know the meaning and difference of たべられない、(cannot eat) and たべられる (can eat). We picked wild strawberries, other fruits, and these little things that grow on vines that you cook with rice. There was also lemon balm and I believe some sort of plant from the mint family. Plants here confuse me a bit. Some of them look as though they are from Washington's evergreen forests, and some look as though they come from the tropical rain forest. I have decided to invest in a Japan plant field guide to help me in identifying these mysterious planties. Other than the plants we did identify quite a few bird species as well. Mostly by call and sound. We heard and saw a total of seventeen species, including one goshawk, several species of tits, two common kingfishers, a few brown dippers, and some other various birds.
After we finished birdwatching, we cooked and ate lunch together. I got to see several more traditional ways of cooking food, and several more dangerous ways as well... I wanted to help but I feel as though it might have burned down the forest if I did. So, I figured I would just help with the clean up and take a lot of pictures in the meantime. We had more food then I knew the names of, and all cooked in a variety of ways. The fish was cooked "Hokkaido style" I believe, from the few words I could understand. A grill is put over hot charcoal and you let it cook and just flip it over every once and a while. Sometimes the juices from the fish will fall down into the fire and start a flame, which can burn the fish, so it needs to be watched. The way the rice was cooked was interesting as well. There is a mettle sort of casing with a grill at the bottom where a fire is lit. The rice pot sits on top and is cooked from the heat of the fire. I got to help light the fire with a flint and striker set, or what ever those fire making thing-a-ma-gigs are called.

Well it's sideways but you can get an idea of how it works. It only looks slightly dangerous... Once the cooking was finished we all sat down to a rather healthy meal. It was fun to watch the interaction of the people there. Most were husband and wife couples in their 50s to 70s. I was able to understand an occasional word or so but most of it was a little to fast or complex for me to fully understand. While we were finishing up a Goshawk, オオタカ, flew over head so we all got up to look at it. It is a winter visitor to Miyazaki, but is rather uncommon. For dessert we had fresh baked yams. They were about as fresh as one could get. Pulled from the ground washed and put in the pot in all under five minutes. They were delicious!

After lunch, we got to learn about a tea ceremony. Two women in the group knew it, so they helped teach everyone else. It was funny because everyone was trying to figure it out with written instructions while the women were preparing the tea. It is rather complicated, but we tried with the written directions at first. I believe we made a few mistakes because she explained the proper way to do things, and we tried it again. The second time went much more smoothly than the first. We also got to snack on sweet candies while they prepared the tea. To conclude the day we all sang songs about nature, I think. Mrs Kawano-san helped me by telling me how to pronounce the Kanji as it came up hehe.
I enjoyed spending time and learning from this group of people. The day was full of new and exciting experiences. I hope that I will be able to join them on another excursion of theirs some time soon.
Also, I finally figured out how to post pictures!

Adventurous Weekend

This past weekend was rather busy. There was a bus tour for the international students on Saturday and hiking on Sunday. The bus tour first took us to the disaster preparedness center, were we got to try out simulations or different situations. There was a room with smoke in it where you had to find your way through as if you were in a fire. My friend and I had a little bit of a hard time with this part. No one should ever paint their house purely white inside just in case they have to find their way out when it is smoky, it's rather difficult. There was also an earthquake simulation in the back of a truck. A group of four would sit in the simulation room and it would show you the straighten of the earthquake it was simulating. It was pretty cool~ We got to tour around the different emergency vehicles as well. While one group was looking at an ambulance it was called out to duty.
Once we were finished at the disaster preparedness center, we ate lunch near a field of cosmos flowers. There was some sort of event going on there as well because there was a bunch of booths and a stage with people preforming. After we ate lunch we went of a tour of the burial grounds that were around the fields of cosmos flowers. We also visited the museum of history or the burial tomes and the surrounding area. On the bus ride back to school there was the option of Karaoke but I think everyone just wanted to sleep after such a busy day.

Sunday was the day of hiking. We traveled to Inohae valley about 50 minutes away from the campus. The group organizing it was a international student association where Japanese and international people staying in Miyazaki can go to events together. It is a good way to meet new people and make new friends. The valley was beautiful, we hiked a long the edge of a river up to the top where there are a series of three or four waterfalls. We criss-crossed back and forth over the river about six times a long the hike so we had a nice view of the river. Once we made it to the top we had a few snacks before we started the hike back. The full hike was only 5km, about 3miles, so we were able to have a nice leisurely hike through the woods.

The weekend was very fun but very busy. I am glad that I am meeting people and being able to see different sights around Miyazaki at the same time. I hope that my stay here continues to be an adventure!

Fashion and Shopping

I went shopping yesterday with Kaori, Satomi and Max at the Aeon Mall in Miyazaki. It is a large mall with many brand name stores and yummy restaurants. Something that was interesting was the fact that half the store names were in English. Now, having English as my first language I look at all these shop names and think...."huh?" A few examples are, Kuchiku (a children's clothing store), Know Beans (a fashionable clothing store), Drug stories (another fashionable clothing store). I was explaining to Kaori and Satomi the meaning of the names and they told me that they never really thought about the meanings before. I guess it is the same with U.S T-shirts with Kanji on them.
Japanese fashion amazes me. People are fashionable all the time. Whether they are going to do field work, or have a child, or in the office they always seem to be very fashionable. Not just the women either, the men too. The layered effect is also very popular in Japan. It lets you have many different combinations with only a few different outfits. I think I will have a lot of fun shopping in Japan!

Kojima Island

The island of monkeys. My teacher, Iwamoto-sensei, invited me to come a long with him and one of his students to the island. He was helping with a parent and child event teaching about the monkeys behavior and cultural aspects. It was a fun adventure. The monkeys would walk right up next to people and pay them no mind. It was quite amazing. We had to leave a little early because the tide was coming in and we were going to get stranded if we stayed too long. The road to and from Kojima runs directly a long the cost line. On the return trip we stopped at several "road stations". Basically they are really fancy rest stops for people going on drives around the cost. The views were wonderful. The ocean just seems so endless when I look out upon it. We also stopped at the Udo shrine. It was built in a cave on the side of a cliff. It was spectacular to see the way the shrine was built in the cave. At the shrine people try to throw small clay balls into a pool of water on a rock surrounded by the waves. It was definitely an adventure and I want to visit again!

English the international language

So English really is an international language. Each of the exchange students I have meet know their native language as well as English and are learning Japanese. It is amazing how they can learn all these languages. It makes me want to improve my Japanese quickly~ It has been great getting to know other exchange students because I can learn about their country as well as their experiences so far in Japan. It has been a great learning experience for me and I look forward to meeting more new people.

Other then meeting new people, I have gone sightseeing in the past few days. My tutor, Satomi, and I visited the Aya suspension bridge (I will post some pictures when I find a way). It was spectacular. It hangs 148m above the bottom of a river valley. The forest was bushy and thick and you could hear the birds, little waterfalls, and the large multitude of tours through out the forest. From a few places one can see the bridge spanning the gap far above. It was quite enjoyable, the hike through the forest is about three kilometers but rather steep in some places, but not as difficult to stop anyone who wanted to take the rather breath taking stroll around the forest. It is climbing in and out of a valley so there is a definite up and down slope. The view and scenery is worth the little hike.

I am having a wonderful time in Miyazaki and am excited to learn new things. I do miss family and friends back home but I know they are supporting me in my adventures in Japan. I want to make the best of my experience so I may bring them many wonderful tails when I return home.

P.S I will find some ways to post pictures. My blog site is all in Japanese so it may take a little time :P

Japan has Mosquitoes just like anywhere else

Today was my first day of field work here in Japan. Like usual when working in a moist, warm conditions there were mosquitoes. Many many Mosquitoes. We worked in a 10 meter by 10 meter plot and did a vegetation sample in a middle succession forest in Aoshima. We picked a little place that was beside the road and blazed a trail to the site. We passed along a recently used wild boar trail. It was interesting to see what they do to the under story. luckily for us they are mostly nocturnal. We measured the standard DBH (diameter at breast hight) of the trees and also tree hight. Most of the trees were deciduous with a one or two evergreen trees. Where we are in Japan the evergreen trees are the most advanced stage of succession.
While in working we saw many birds. Including the Black Kite, Japanese wight-eye, Long tailed tit. We also heard a wood pecker and a bird called a bulbul. It was interesting to learn the birds by the Japanese name, much harder then learning the English names. These field days every Friday and I am looking forward to participating in many of them.

But other notices. I am setting into my dorm room. Besides the ants crawling in my bed and the cockroaches skittering around my room it is rather nice. I have no idea where all the ants come from. I feel as though I squish 20-30 a day. Hopefully as the weather cools the ants will disappear. I am making a few friends, few in the dorms and a few from school. I don't think I will have much problem living in Miyazaki. It feels much like Evergreen and Olympia. I hope to be able to improve my Japanese and learn about many more birds!

Crepy Crawlies

For being a small country Japan seems to have rather large bugs, especially spiders. While walking around the university campus I observed a large number of rather large spiders. They were yellow and black orb weavers. I am surprised that there are any flying bugs left in Miyazaki with the amount of spiders I saw. It seems as though they have created a net between the trees capturing anything that wanders in. I wonder if they have to build their spectacular webs again every time it rains, hopefully not judging by how often it rains. On the news today there were large bugs. There was a short program on large wasps. Very large wasps, probably 2-3cm long. They were showing them eating little honey bees. I never want to run into one of those, I hope they are far far away from me. At least the cockroaches are small. I have killed my fair share of cockroaches and ants crawling around my dorm room.
On other less creepy crawly topics~ There was a thunder storm today. I met up with my fellow exchange student from Evergreen, Max, today and we walked around campus attempting to find the library with the fabled internet access. We found it, but to our dismay with was closed to the national holiday.
I am slowly learning Japanese from Kaori and her sisters. I am very lucky I have a friend who is willing to help me while I am here. I am still getting used to my surroundings here in Japan but with time I will manage. I miss my friends at home and most of all Anthony. But I will pull through and enjoy my time in Japan to the fullest.

The First Day

Well I'm finally in Japan. I can tell because while starting a blog here the instructions were entirely in Japanese... I guess I should have set one up while I was in the U.S.A. It was a long journey but I arrived safely in Miyazaki airport at 9:00pm, surprisingly only 10 minutes late. One of the most memorable events on the plane was watching the parents place DS while their children read/slept. I met Kaori, Iwamoto-sensei, and Hirase-sensei at the airport and they helped me to the dorm. It was quite homely with the stuff left behind by previous exchange students. Among the treasures there is a fan, toaster oven, mini fridge, various kitchen (I think) cleaning supplies, a multitude of lamps, and a happy little plant.
This morning consisted of organizing said treasures and destroying the cockroaches and ants scattered around the room. I keep thinking the ants are going to plot revenge but that just be my slightly jet-lagged mind. The afternoon was filled with buying required living materials and exploring the large shopping mall on the outskirts of the main city with Kaori and her sisters. Most of the store names were in English which I found interesting.
After shopping we went back to Kaori's house and I made chicken strips for dinner. It was a busy first day. It has made all the difference having Kaori here to help me. It would have been much harder both mentally and physically without a good friend present.