first field trip

this weekend i have wonderful news to report! i was lucky to go on a field trip my school was putting on the beautiful countryside of gifu prefecture. we went to a world heritage site/historical site called suganuma village that had gassho-style houses. for reference what a gassho-style house is, i bring you pictures of the houses:



gassho-style houses are known for their roofs as they help utilize space and are perfect to protect from severe weather in which this area is known for (VERY cold winters and humid summers). they were also famous for the raising silkworms and the silk that came from them. they are not made with any metal, not even nails, just rope and wood.















they were very tall














these are the sticks put into the roofs


this is still used today by residents as their actual houses. these houses were in danger after WWII, so it was placed that these and a few others in other areas of japan would be become national historical sites. we went to two different parts. the first part was more like an actual small rift in time to the past. the scenery was amazingly beautiful all around and it was extremely peaceful.

then it was time to go to another area of the village. this village was actually rather large, but there weren't that many houses. an entire section was almost entirely surrounded by water, however, because of the time we were visiting the village, the waterbed was very dried up. in the spring it's full and brimming with fish of all kinds.

at the second part of the village, it seemed a lot busier. cars were very present in the streets as residents were starting to come home and many tourists were walking around. almost all of them were japanese, but they still stared at the rather large group of gaijin (foreigners). one old man even pointed in disgust as my legs (i was wearing a skirt that day) and another old lady glared at my friend for showing a little cleavage.

however, the day was still wonderful. here are just a few of the sites we saw inside the houses that we were allowed to go into. they were all famous for their raising of silk worms and their creation of the silk back in the older times (circa Edo era)

this area was purely for decoration and did a good job at it













such detail in such a small part of the house













and even in the screens were so decorated














this is an old fire pit were food was cooked













old shoes. the ones on the right were for the snow













the silkworm eggs. no they're not alive anymore













giant table in the middle of the room that i sat around

















where the wall met the ceiling. it was really large at the top floor

















the family shrine inside the house. it was amazing


so this was only a few of the things that i saw and experienced while out at the world heritage site. it lasted all day and the bus ride was 2 hours one way and 2 hours back, with bathroom breaks where a japanese man approached me and talked to me in japanese. i was so surprised that i forgot to speak japanese and fumbled like a stupid foreigner.

after we got back, i ventured out to get drunk for personal reasons as well as it being a resident's birthday. it was a lot of fun and we even found freshmen at the school i attend, so we exchanged phone numbers and i invited them to visit at my dorm. it was very fun.

all in all, i learned a lot and had a wonderful time going back in time. the second place was a lot more of a tourist trap, but it was still very fun with a lot of delicious food. i managed to buy a LOT of things for friends and i even nabbed the item i wanted most while visiting japan: a traditional japanese umbrella. it's purple (though i kinda wanted the red too) and has a design of flower petals wafting across the fabric. i also bought some postcards, so to a few of you, expect a few nice postcard coming your way from these beautiful places

this upcoming week is a holiday and i finally start my real classes on thursday. this week, though, is going to be full of trips. tomorrow, i'm going to osu and hunting down new places to job and, apparently, a very large anime store around there. i think it's the animate store. if that's true, i'll be able to find a crap ton of hetalia. i won't be buying any until next month when i get more scholarship money...unless i really want it RIGHT NOW (like an iggy plushie or the iggy cd)

that's all i have to report. sorry it came a day late, but it was busy today too. look forward to more reports and pictures!

~星子☆