Explore Cute Japan

Hello. So Yesterday I had my first field trip on my Explore Japan seminar which is basically sightseeing for free (yesss!) First of all we went to shrine quite near the university.

It was for the god of Academia and people come from all over the country to pray to get into the university I'm at here (although it was a lot easier to get in as an exchange student.) As it all seemed so relavent, I decided I would pray to this god. First of all you chuck a coin into the big box (mine bounced off the back whoops) then bow twice. Then clap twice, slowly. Then make your wish, bow once and walk away. Apologies some of the photos from this trip are not so great, this is because we didn't have time for me to hang around checking exposures etc haha.

At the shrine they sell all sorts of commercial things like little charms to protect you from very specific things (a car crash!?!) and also something which tells your fortune which I just couldn't resist. You shake this box and a certain stick with a number falls out and then it corresponds to a slip with your fortune on it. I haven't translated it all yet but in the section about birth it said that giving birth would be safe for me- what a relief!

Then we went to a Japanese garden which was very nice- very mini, kind of like a scaled down landscape.

At the top there was a Japanese style building which had lots of old people eating their lunch in it. Food tourism is MASSIVE in Japan. If you ask anyone why they went on holiday to anywhere, especially within Japan, they will say because of the food. We have done grammar exercises which say things like "I d

o not really have any hobbies other than eating food..." and one of my teachers introduced her hobby as food and another as making Italian food. They are literally obsessed. In a good way though. I do like the way that the bullet train is designed to stop in each station long enough so you can nip off and buy some local delicacy then continue. Speaking of food, I remembered to photograph my noodles from when I met up with my friend the other night. It was udon noodles with seaweed, some other spinachy thing, an egg, soupy stuff (I don't know what it is exactly- like soy sauce but different.) and some batter sprinkles. It was oishii! (delicious, although this should be oishikatta because it is past tense.) I am just getting used to using chop-sticks but they still hurt my hand a little bit after a while.

Today I needed to go and pick up something from the post office (my health card, correctly stating I am a man, along with a badly translated apology letter) Then I went to the city hall to make sure they say I'm not a woman on my alien card. The man bowed VERY low because it was their mistake. On my way there I did see a bus designed like a dog. Please all google image Neko bus (Neko means cat) which is a thing from a very famous Japanese cartoon film. It was very similar. Just as I took the photo, a hello kitty bus went past in the opposite direction. Then I realised they were school buses. Shame.

By the way, here is my shiny new phone on which I can watch TV, scan barcodes (why?!?!?!) and do all manner of things.
Well I need to do some work now, so byebye.