水族館

it's time for ANOTHER late update! this one's also a week old and i really am sorry, but it was finals week. i passed all my tests, though my big test i didn't do terribly well. i'll be studying my butt off whenever i'm resting from all my upcoming adventures this vacation. these are some of the upcoming entries i'll have up:

my x-mas here at the dorms
MOCHI MAKING WITH MY HOST FAMILY (so excited)
TOKYO
COMIKET
TOKYO
new years
TOKYO
and last but not least, TOKYO DISNEYLAND!

but that last one will come in january. once january starts, i'll be back in school for three weeks and then i'm off for three months! i'm REALLY excited!

anyways! on to my post here. the title says "aquarium" in japanese and that's exactly where me and my friends went. one of my friends had NEVER been to the ocean OR an aquarium so she was VERY excited and i was spazzing for her sake, getting her very pumped up talking about my times with friends back home at our amazing aquarium.

so we get to the place around 2 and have lunch and get all excited to see the ocean. it was so beautiful. and the port we were at was all decked out in holiday stuff. it was exciting! it was sweet because i didn't know we got a discount for something, but my friend did and told me to come back. the lady realized i was with my friend and gave me my money back as well as give us all discounts. it was really nice :)

once inside, we walk right into the dolphin area. there was a show getting ready to start and we were under it. it looked like there were a lot of people upstairs, so we stayed downstairs to watch the show on the t.v. and see the dolphins splash back down into the water. i was all giddy to see dolphins, but to see my friend look like a little kid on x-mas morning. it was so funny and i poked fun with her for it the rest of the day. it was great!

we then moved and saw a baluga whale and switched buildings to walk into the GIANT tank section where there were tropical fish, sting rays, sharks, tuna, and TURTLES! the best part was, at EVERY single section, i kid you not, every japanese person was saying (in japanese) "IT LOOKS SO GOOD!" or "I WANT TO EAT IT!" and certain displays actually showed what that fish looked like when turned into sushi or what not. it was HYSTERICAL! my friends and i laughed about it the entire time.

we then stumbled upon the fish of the past section and the section of "protect our environment". it was cool because the fish of the past part had HOLOGRAMS! and most everything was in japanese and english, so it was easy to understand. we found another section of turtles and right above was a food court where they sold turtle soup. my friends laughed, but i was sad. it just wasn't right...

the next section was a GREAT part of australia with the UGLIEST looking turtles ever. like, oh my god...pig snouts and long necks and just, ugh! so gross. we laughed until the aquarium said it was closing. we moved to the last part which was the penguin part. my friend, AGAIN, freaked out because she had never seen penguins. it was great and we named them for her enjoyment. we called the big tall one russia and the fat loud one america. those two were constantly trying to be the center of attention. then one of them, we named after a guy we don't like here at the dorm, and said it was funny because all the other penguins picked on him, including america, so we laughed and said, "THAT'S RIGHT! TAKE THAT! FEEL THE WRATH OF AMERICAAAA!!!!" so many japanese moved away, haha! that's ok, front row to the penguin exhibit. haha!

once we bought souvenirs, we headed outside to see the entire port COVERED in lights. it was beautiful. and there was a ferris wheel nearby (japan is OBSESSED with ferris wheels....it's the big date "thing" as well as the perfect thing to light up the night with) that just covered the area in these really pretty lights. it was so wonderful and we even went around the port area to look at the x-mas lights on some of the buildings and houses. (just for you dad, i said, "oh der's one")

in any case, here are some photos. all are on facebook.

PIG SNOUTED AUSSIE TURTLE! so weird...

it snowed today and i kind of got a white x-mas, but by 9 am (when i woke up) it was already all melted. i was REALLY sad...but hopefully it'll snow again.

either way, stay warm everyone!

~星子☆

そば

so this article is all about one of my favorite meals out here in japan: soba. i LOVE soba sooooo much (not as much as udon, though). it's buckwheat noodles and is really good for the skin and has a lot of vitamins. last week we got the awesome fortune of making soba! (yeah, another rather late post. sorry. finals)

we were taken to gifu (a prefecture that's rather far away) and the ladies there spoke NO english, but they were so kind and patient with us and told us that no matter what, because we're there and we're doing what so many japanese don't even do, we're already awesome.

yeah right. i was at a table with three other perfectionists aside from me. haha!

so we go in and the room has many tables with big wooden bowls on top with a giant rolling pin (i mean, almost longer than me giant) sitting under it. three much smaller bowls were on the top filled with flour, buckwheat flour, and bread flour. i shall now show the steps with the pictures :3

so here we have the bowl of the three stuff to mix it.
because i mixed it, i didn't get a picture of me actually mixing it or what it looked like while in the bowl, but it was REALLY thick and hard to mix once it got the hot water in. we have to mix the two in the bowl together, pour 100cm of hot water in, put more of the mixture on it, pour more hot water in, and mix until "it's the thickness of an earlobe". the little on the right is just flour to powder the table for a later step

here's the mixture just before we pour in the water. once it was thick enough, we got to throw it all one at a time into the bowl REALLY hard. that was the part i had the most fun at :)

rolling out the "dough". so that rolling pin is different (as you can see). you spread your hands across it to keep it rolling, that way there's even pressure on it. when i did it, i didn't do it correctly and it kind of went...odd. needless to say, once i did it, i didn't do it again. this step literally took up most of our time... UGH

once it's 1cm thick, we fold it over on top of itself and use this SUPER sharp knife to cut up the dough. the thinner, the better. it was tedious, so i went and washed while it the others cut it up

here they are after. that little piece after wards is the part i messed up on and fell off. but that's a lot of noodles :)
おいしそう！
(looks good!)

while waiting, i had tea! :)
see the little blue bowls in the background? we poured special sauce into them and would dump green onions and the soba noodles in there and eat them. was SO good. i tried it without the sauce and it tasted so...gross... yuck. with the sauce, is soooo good!

the end result! IT WAS REALLY GOOD! and because they were so thin and long, we were told we did a GREAT job and that even most japanese people when first starting out don't do that well. i was so happy.

sorry for the late update. as always, check my facebook and to my friends/family back home, please remember when commenting not to write my real name.

to wrap things up, i will include my lovely engrish on clothing special:
the other day, i saw a boy wearing an awfully nice attire, but then when i saw his pants (i was behind him), i saw he was not only wearing sweat pants (a rare sight in japan during the day), but that there were golden angel wings going down from his butt to the back of his calf. pretty, right? couldn't help but look at the butt and then i noticed there was writing right at the top of his butt. it read:
ABSOLUTE EXPLOSION

light a match, boy

STAY WARM!

~星子☆

茶道

this is a little late, but i've found that i'm starting to get busier with school work and with socializing. in any case, it's here now.

so last friday i got to go to a tea ceremony (that's what it says at the top, by the way) and it was one of the many things i wanted to do before i came to japan. i was extremely excited. the entire process of the tea ceremony is to be stiff and know all the rules of formality. why does this sound exciting? i know this kind of stuff isn't for everyone, but as loud and obnoxious and crazy as i am, i love the formal stuff. i can't get enough of being all dressed up, doing the high class stuff, and just calming down. in sadou it's all about nature and the sounds. the sounds in sadou are horribly important.

for instance, the sound of boiling water is very soothing and an essential part of the process. there are many steps in making the tea and it takes decades to be considered a master of the tea. it's rare to see a male tea master as it is more of a woman's "place" to do something like this.

when we went, we found out that it's an extremely historical site of a battle that took place in nagoya over 400 years ago back when tokugawa was taking over japan. we even got to visit the place where he planned out military strategies, but more on that later.

after going inside we were split up into groups. group one would make the tea, group two would go to drink from a master, and group three would drink the tea made by group one. i started in group one. making the tea is hard because no matter what i did, i was wrong, but i've come to accept that no matter what i do in japan...i'll always be wrong (because i'm a foreigner [but that's ok because i get away with a lot for the same reason]). luckily my teacher was really nice to me.

so i had to sit in the traditional style and first wash the bowl. these bowls are over 100 years old and handmade and can't be replaced. i didn't wanna hold this bowl for very long or else bad things would happen. cleaning the bowl is special. you have to first dip the wooden ladle into the boiling bowl before you, move your hand back to you, pour it into the bowl, wait until the last drop falls, move your hand back to you, put the ladle back on the boiling bowl VERY carefully (almost like it's too heavy for you), and then swirl the water very slowly around the bowl. you then pour the rest of the water into a side bowl. then you pull out your towel (my teacher had one for me), and carefully clean it by spinning the bowel clockwise in your hand.

you then put the green powder that is the tea into the bowl. apparently it's really important that you lightly hit the bowel once with the spoon after it's hit since sound is really crucial here. you then finally pour the water in (i'm skipping steps for time sake) and stir it making sure it gets a lot of bubbles (more important sound things here). the most important step is to spin the bowel around in your hand three times clockwise so that the design is facing out to the drinkers.

after i was done, i was shooed outside where i met a lady from the culture festival i had met a few weeks prior. she surprised me by speaking all english and saying, "yup, i knew english, but i wanted to see if you knew japanese" and laughed. i then got to take some pictures of the area around, but they'll be at the end like always.

me and the group was then taken into the small house in the back where the master was. she prepared us a tea and we were told how to drink the tea which was it's own ritual on its own. we were first given soft candy that changes with each season. it was so good. the lady with us spoke really good english and explained certain historical facts about sadou, such as tokugawa loved the art of tea ceremonies which was why it became so big in the first place and why it made so much sense to have a tea ceremony house on a battle field where he once was. in any case, after the tea (that was SO good), i was taken back to the room where i made the tea and given tea made by someone else.

to drink the tea is where the formality comes from. the candy comes your way and you have to pick the plate up, holding it slightly above your face, bow to the tea master, and say...something. i forgot that part cuz i did it wrong anyways. then you put it back down, take one, put it on your napkin in front of you, then take another. you then slide it to the person next to you. after you eat the candy, the tea is ready. you take the bowl and place it directly your knees, making SURE that you turn the bowl around in your hand clockwise three times so that the design is now facing out (since before it was facing you). that's when you bow to the master and say, "ちょうだいしつれします。" (please excuse for drinking before you). you then turn to the person next to you and give a small bow saying, "おさきにちょうだいしつれします。" (meaning the same thing, but of a higher level of politeness). then you drink (after saying "いただきます" of course). you're not supposed to chug or move your head a lot when drinking. when done you use your index finger and thumb to go across the bowl where your mouth was. you do it once forward and then again backwards. you then wipe your fingers on the edge of your napkin. VERY IMPORTANT is you turn the bowl back around in your hand counter clockwise so that the design is facing you again. you place is down on the tatami mat and look at the design once on the right, once on the left, again on the right, and once more on the left. you then thank the master.

that's all just to drink the damn thing that takes about three or four sips to finish off. but it's so much fun and i enjoyed it immensely! now onto the pictures! (don't forget to click on them to enlarge them!)


the changing leaves are so beautiful
SOUND IS IMPORTANT
this nice japanese lady took my camera while i was drinking the tea to take tons of photos during the ceremony
decoration in the tatami room
CANDY
i asked (in japanese) if i could take her picture. she had such a pretty kimono!
all of the lovely ladies that were at the house. they've been doing it all together for 15 years
a flower picked fresh from the garden that day
the entire tea set
the sky was so beautiful...
looking out across the land. there was a terrible battle here that killed over 3,000 japanese men
the thin stone that's standing up is where tokugawa sat and drew out military maps
the man himself. an engraving near the house depicting the battle.

unfortunately, there isn't anything planned for a few weeks as it's almost finals time (4 more weeks of school) and i'm mainly going to be going christmas shopping, but i'll have a few status updates and my lovely engrish shirt updates! thursday we're celebrating thanksgiving here at the dorms and i'll update a small bit about it, but pictures will mainly be on my facebook. (there will also be more pictures from the tea ceremony on facebook as well). also, i saw my host family again and i might be seeing them over new years. i'll be sure to have information then!

until then, stay warm!

~星子☆

hiroshima

sorry for the long delay. many of you know that i went to hiroshima this past weekend and i've been due to update you all with pictures and lovely history and what-not.

WELL TOO BAD!

you have to read through miyajima first! that place was were i visited first and (no offense) i liked it more.

so not far from hiroshima is this beautiful island called miyajima. it's famous for it's japanese maple trees and deer (shika) that just walk around freely in the town. but it's most famous for its torii (red shrine entryway) that's in the water. it's ENORMOUS and faces the ocean; almost like it's either having japan enter the world or the world is entering japan. either way, it's amazing. (click on the picture to make it bigger if you so wish)

here it is with the tide almost fully up. i eventually went down to it (almost right up to it) once the tide went out.

there we go. it's so large, i love it.

not only was there this torii, but there was a 5 story pagoda which is a narrow building with chinese designs. it's a pretty stereotypical aspect of japanese culture.

i loved this thing and constantly talked about going the entire trip. SO AWESOME! sadly, by the time we arrived, we couldn't go inside. i bet it was amazing in there, though...

in any case, the area around was just gorgeous. again, the pictures will be at the bottom since there are quite a few. as always, there are more on my facebook.

all right, onto hiroshima. this didn't make it on my facebook because...well let's face it. what does everyone know hiroshima by? not the beautiful and sprawling city it's become or the culture that's there, but instead, the A-Bomb. even the japanese think of it that way before anything else.

we had spent the night in hiroshima the evening before after being in miyajima and went awfully early. i was very nervous and prepping myself to be extremely sad. i had been to the holocaust museum in washington d.c. back in the States and now i was going to the A-Bomb museum. last on my list is the pearl harbor museum and i'm pretty set in WW2 areas (unless there's some fascists museum i don't know about).

anyways! so we get there and right off the bat i feel a lump in my throat at seeing the atomic dome. for those who don't know what that is or don't know enough, the atomic dome is basically the only remaining building still standing from when the bomb was dropped. it was hit by the blast only a few miles away and because of that, most of the structure stood. it burned for an entire day before anyone was able to put it out and another day to go inside. it used to be a building for city officials to use (not quite like city hall or anything).

here it is before

pretty beautiful, huh? at the time, it was considered an achievement to modern architecture.

here it is now


around this time, 15 high schools came along. i got even more nervous and knew things would end badly if i got too close. i already felt horrible that it had happened, but the fact that i was a foreigner at the area made it all the worse

so next we moved towards the museum across the river. we came across the children's peace monument. children from all across japan were inspired by a girl in japan who, when 2, was hit by the blast. she didn't suffer any injury and she seemed fine. she grew up healthy and strong until she was 10 when she developed lukemia and slowly began to die. by 13, she had passed away, but not before making over 1000 paper cranes. there's an old legend in japanese culture that if one makes 1000 paper cranes, their wish will come true. she kept wishing to be healed (even though they never told her that she was dying, she kept records that she hid under her bed showing that she knew something was up with her blood) and eventually made the tiniest paper cranes ever.
once she died, kids all over japan made the cranes wishing for world peace and complete destruction of nukes or bombs of any kind.


once done, we passed by the flame of hope and the tomb of all those dead. the middle schoolers had stopped there to put down flowers and do a simultaneous bow. it was a bit touching, so i quickly moved away. i was already feeling really sad.

we then moved inside. i'm not gonna show too many pictures because some are just so sad...

the time of when the bomb hit

pretty much all that's left of a 3 year old

a person used to be there in that darker area. that's all that remains of them- their shadow

before
after

WELL NOW! with that lovely stuff out of the way! i'll end with a few pictures and my fav. picture is at the end

DEER
bambi and his mom!
view from the top of a small shrine in the town
the leaves are changing colors. such pretty japanese maples

and finally, my favorite picture which really made me cry at the end of the hiroshima museum
(please enlarge and read the message. it's inspiring)



needless to say i cried at this place, but it was worse because around me where middle schoolers crying and old people looking ready to faint. one middle school girl glared at me which made me feel god awful. but when i saw the shadow on the ground, a little old lady who came up to me and asked if i was okay (in japanese). i replied that i'm trying not to cry. she pat me on the shoulder and said, "it wasn't you who did it". i looked at her and she gave me such a sweet smile and pat my hand.

~星子☆