An Afternoon in Himeji

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to Himeji this afternoon to meet up with my partner from work. Himeji is her hometown, and so she showed me around a little bit.  This was my second time in Himeji, but the first time I went I wasn't really able to do or see much because there were so many people out and about. 

Howeer, this time, much more happened!  When I first met up with her, we wandered around for a while looking for somewhere to eat lunch, and she kept talking about how strange it felt for her to be there with me, and how things had changed a lot.  We eventually settled on a cafe, and got ourselves some pizza! (I honestly can't rememer the last time I ate pizza!) 

Also, I have to give a shout out to her mom!! The reason for that is because her mom gave her some money so that she could buy us lunch, admission to the castle, garden, and whatever else we wanted.  I was incredibly surprised, but it turned out that she said her mom wanted to thank me for always looking after, helping and being nice to my partner. Isn't that something I should do anyways???  Well, whatever the reason, it was definitely appreciated! Her mom is so kind!! Thank you so much for today!! It was fun!!

After lunch, we went to Himeji's main tourist spot -- Himeji Castle.

This time (unlike the last time I was there), we went inside the castle (the line wasn't too horribly long). The signs they had around said that it would take us about an hour to get in, but it was only maybe 20 minutes or so.  Once you get into the castle (the section we stated in was really dark), there's a designated circuit to follow, and it takes you up to the top of the castle, and eventually back down again.  There were quite a few people inside, but we were still able to enjoy the views and the cooling breeze that was coming in through the windows.

Some views from (and of) the castle

After the castle, we went back down the main road, where we spotted some fortunes (for love), and so, this happened:



After paying, reach in, grab your fortune, and then go check it out!

So, apparently the fortune (which is super cute by the way!) that I got is one of the best ones possible.  The main part of the fortune said that things will go well/smoothly for me and I just need to have confidence or believe in myself.  Underneath that, is my lucky item: soap! Next it says that the hint for the lucky item is 'blue'.  And the final section at the bottem says that "Miracles will happen". 
This was actually my first time to do this, and it was really interesting and fun!

The next thing we did was go over to garden which is just down the road from the castle.  It's called Koko-en.  My partner told me that the best time to see it is in the fall at night time, when all the trees are colorful and illuminated.

There were so many koi!!

Part way through the gardens, we could hear some traditional Japanese music and went to go check it out, but it was in an area that we didn't have access to.  So instead, we found a little tea house, and got out of the heat for a few minutes by going in to do tea ceremony (drink some matcha and eat a sweet).

Tea ceremony time!

Also, if you were wondering why there are uncharacteristically so many photos of me...it was so my partner teacher could show her mom the things we did, and that we had fun...

As we were walking through the gardens, I took the opportunity to ask about some Japanese things, such as, why does the castle have things that look like horns on top.  I'm not sure if I actually got an answer to that question though.  Because....when I asked I made a gesture, and she thought it was too cute, and then so many pictures making that pose.  Like this:

 

Look! Me and the castle are the same!!



After the garden, we walked around a little bit more, checked out some of the souvenir stores, and eventually stopped one more time for a drink in a cafe.

Writing a thank you to her mom....

It was a fun day!!  Thank you so much!

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As a rather unrelated aside, on my way back home, I decided to take a bit of a long cut, and came across a lot of people clustered around for some sort of event.  But at that point, I didn't know what it was, whether it hadn't started yet, or had already finished (and I wanted to eat too...) so I kept walking.  When I got to the other side of the water, it had started.  It was some kind of light/water/music show.  Seemed kind of interesting, but I didn't really want to go back to all of those people, so I watched for a little bit from where I was.

 

If this video isn't working, try clicking here to watch.

 

On the way home, the lighting was also really nice, and the clouds kind of cool, so I got this photo too!

 

 

 



I ❤ Music!! (私は❤音楽!)

This Friday marked the beginning of the Obon (and in many cases summer holiday) period in Japan. 
I am reallly lucky because I don't have to go back to work until next Monday (10 days off!!!)

Although I was a little bit frustrated at the beginning, (mostly because of my feet), it has turned into a wonderful weekend to begin the holiday!

I started off my holiday by going to the beach Friday and Saturday morning/afternoons (although, I imagine that's not really surprising to anyone...). 

Friday evening, I went to Pinot, and spent an hour or two talking with Tatsu-san.  Since there wasn't anyone else there, I got to talk and laugh a lot (and practice my Japanese!) That talk also helped me feel much less frustrated, so thanks for that!!!

Saturday afternoon, I went into Osaka because I wanted to listen to Tyotti and contEEgo calm's music.  There was a nice breeze blowing and lots of people around, and it was a really nice atmosphere!!  They were also performing together with another musician who only plays guitar. (I've seen him before a time or two, but haven't actually talked with him...he seems shy).  I was really happy and enjoying the music!!

contEEgo calm, Umamichi Masataka, Tyotti
*Photo from Facebook*

This group of people!

If the video doesn't work, click here.

At one point, when Tyotti was singing on his own, Elly and Kubota Atsushi (contEEgo calm) came over to where I was and told me that when I saw them a couple weeks ago in Kobe, they had looked for me afterwards but couldn't find me....probably because I left quickly after they finished...so many things I wanted to do that day....They are a really happy, energetic and calm couple!  I met Atsushi-san maybe 2 years ago at one of Yoshida-san's lives, and although I'd heard about Elly (or seen her name around anyway), I only met her for the first time earlier this year.  Anyway, as I was talking to them, Elly suddenly mentioned that Yoshida-san was also supposed to be performing at Grand Front with FASE that evening as well.  Then she even went as far as going to check the schedule so she could tell me exactly when and where he would be performing (even though I didn't ask or say anything at all).  She is so kind!!  It turned out that their performances overlapped by an hour or so though.  But because I don't see them so often, even though Yoshida-san had started, I stayed to watch them for a little longer..

Also, I don't think I've put up any of contEEgo calm's music on my blog yet, so here's one sample of them:

If the video isn't working, click here to watch directly.

And that's where it got more interesting.  One of the older women who is also a fan of both Yoshida-san and FASE, (well, and other musicians too, but that's where I met her) came over to me, and she also let me know that Yoshida-san had arrived and would be performing soon with FASE.  Everyone has gotten to know me well, but it kind of felt like they were pushing me in that direction (just a little). 笑  I talked with her for a while.

Eventually, I went over to where Yoshida-san and FASE were. 

These boys.
*Photo from Facebook*

Actually, this day, Yoshida-san didn't sing so much because he had caught a cold and his voice wasn't doing so well.  But I was able to enjoy FASE's music (and it's been a while since I've seen him too).  During this time, the other group finished up and Elly and Atsushi-san came over and sat next to me to listen and talk a little!  When FASE finished up I went and talked more with Sakie (the older woman from before), and she ended up introducing me to a couple other women who were both FASE's fans.  We also talked for a bit.  It turned out one of them had spent some time in Calgary, and that gave us more to talk about!  After that I talked with FASE for a minute, and then got spotted by Kiyo-san (another older woman who I know from various lives), so I ended up talking with her as well. In the middle of all of this talking, Elly came over to me one more time to specifically say goodbye to me. So nice!!! Anyway, I also talked together with Kiyo, Sakie, and Kanami (one of the women I just met) for a while, until they asked me if I wasn't going to talk to Yoshida-san today.  For some reason, I was feeling kind of shy about that on that particular day, but they kind of pushed me to do it, and even forced me to do it by making me introduce Kanami to Yoshida-san. He was really surprised though.  At first he asked if she was my friend, and when she said we'd just met that day and was FASE's fan, he was more surprised, and asked if we had become friends just after talking today. haha... The other thing that was kind of funny was that pretty much everyone I knew there greeted me by commenting on my tan.  Yep.  I've been at the beach.  One more amusing comment though, was when Kiyo reassured Kanami that I was usually much more white in color.  Ah, Japanese values.  I happen to like this summer color.  hahaha....

I really love the atmosphere at Grand Front!!
*Photos taken from Twitter*

It really was a really nice day!! I was so happy!! Maybe excessively so....I may have had a comment or two about how they'd never seen me quite so genki before. hehehe...

Then today (Sunday), Yoshida-san had a live in Kobe (and a rare type --- it was in the afternoon).  He had invited me to this live a couple weeks ago.  Unfortunately, he still wasn't feeling 100%.  It was still a good afternoon though.  Including him, there were 4 different groups that performed, and they were all really energetic!  The last one (初芝崇史 (Hatsushiba Takashi)), was practically bouncing off the walls though.  But I enjoyed it.  Even if it went on for MUCH, MUCH longer than I expected.  (It was 4 hours!!) Usually with that number of people it would be 2-2.5 hours....  Good times though!

So much music in the past couple days!!  I'm probably going to be sad there's not so much for the rest of the week though.... But I do have many other plans for the rest of the week, so look forward to hearing about that!!  (Next up will be a visit to Himeji with my partner teacher---it's her hometown, and she's going to show me around a little bit!!)

Fabulous Fireworks! (神戸花火大会 2017)

Saturday turned out to be an absolutely wonderful day!! The morning/afternoon was spent soaking up the sunshine at the beach, and the evening was an awesome fireworks display!

Every year Kobe has a fireworks display (and it's one of the more famous ones in Kansai...incidentally I also found out it's always held on the same night as the big fireworks display in Osaka--you have to choose!) Since fireworks are extremely popular, I was expecting there to be an insane amount of people there. Even more so because it's Kobe's 150th year. I was not disappointed--it was packed!

This year I decided to go to the fireworks by myself. There were a number of reasons for that, but the main one was that I didn't want to get frustrated and disappointed like last year when I went together with a big group. Anything that happened this year was to be my own fault or my own problem. Not to mention it's much easier for a single person to find somewhere to sit.

The spot I chose had a nice view, although it was occasionally obstructed by people walking by through the pathway of people. (The people sitting next to me complained about it a lot!) Overall I was incredibly happy with the evening.

The fireworks themselves were amazing, and the colors were extremely vivid. I enjoyed them.

The display went on for an hour. They would do a set for maybe 10 minutes, then had a five minute break before the next one.  After the first set, it got better because they turned out all of the big lights in the park so it was easier to see and focus on the fireworks!

Here's a video (kind of long) with some clips of the fireworks throughout the evening:

If the video doesn't work, click here to watch it.

It was also really nice because the moon was also included (although occasionally obscured by smoke) in the backdrop of fireworks.

And an explosion of photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the display was finished, there was one more challenge. Get through the throng of people to get out. 

 

Let me say, I am so incredibly glad that it wasn't necessary for me to take a train to get home. It must have taken at least 20 minutes to get across to a road that would normally only take about 5 minutes. After that I did a lot of zigging and zagging down side streets to avoid the crowds. Of course there were many people on the side streets as well, but it was much easier to move. After the train station, there was much fewer people around, but I ended up getting back into some crowds as I unexpectedly ran into a festival at a local shrine.