1 April 2009

It is hard to believe that today is already the first day of April. Today was actually the first day it rained here in Kyoto as well, so I guess we had our first taste of April Showers. I had Japanese language class in the morning and studio in the afternoon at 2pm. Japanese language class is going very well, but today’s lesson was also very intense. We are really learning a lot in a very short amount of time, but it is also a lot of information to retain since we are so busy.
In studio today, we received our first mini project. We are partnered with our roommates, and we are designing an infill retail store in the Kyoto shopping arcade. Since we only have a week to completely the mini project, it will be interesting to see what the outcome is. While at the Kyoto Community Center for studio, I also purchased a map of Kyoto for 400 yen, which is already proving to be very helpful in showing great sites to visit. On the map, I found the location of the Kyoto Cherry Blossom Festival, so Trudy and I went to find it after we were done with studio. The Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Matsuyama Park, and it will still be going on for about a week. We had no idea what to expect, but it ended up being very low key and simple. The cherry blossoms were absolutely beautiful, and many people there seemed to be tourists as well. Trudy and I decided not to eat at the festival since we hope to go back during the afternoon when it is warmer outside. Instead, we explored a new street in Kyoto and tried dango from a street vendor for 120 yen. It was really soft and delicious, and I think it is really similar to mochi. I might just have to go there again to get another in the near future.
After getting the light bite to eat, we wandered into the Kyoto Geisha District. We actually encountered a real geisha with her boss, but we weren’t able to get any good photographs of her. I had no idea that it was very rare to see a real geisha, otherwise I probably would’ve been a bit more aggressive at trying to get a photograph. Oh well. It was definitely a very memorable moment. The cherry blossoms in the Geisha District were equally amazing, and I took many beautiful photographs of the flowers in full bloom. I realized it is only two blocks away from our hotel as well, so many of my classmates want me to take them there to see the cherry blossoms since they haven’t seen them in that quantity yet.
It was really cold outside tonight, so we decided to head back a bit early. It was already dark outside, but we stopped at the convenience store next to our hotel to get a small bite to eat. Convenience stores never mark down the prices of their bento boxes, but two of them were marked down from 498 yen to 249 yen. What a deal! They were one day past the expiration date, but they tasted fine. It had so much food that I could barely finish it, but I was very determined not to waste.
When I got back to the hotel, Norio informed me that someone was staying at the hotel that had something for me. They said they were a friend of my Uncle Masaru, and the lady wanted to meet me in the lobby at 8pm. She didn’t speak English, so Norio translated. She had pictures with her of my dad, Auntie Meddie, grandpa, and grandma, and she gave me an envelope from my Uncle Masaru; it had 20,000 yen in it! I thanked her many many times, and I wish I could’ve talked with her longer. It was pure coincidence that she was staying at the same hotel as I, but it was really cool that I was able to meet her even for just a short while since she is a friend of Masaru. I immediately emailed him to thank him for his generosity, but I also have a very hard time accepting such a gift.
Tomorrow we visit Nara, so I can’t wait for another exciting day trip with Don. Hopefully we get back somewhat early so I can do my Japanese homework. And I have to remember to wear my ojuzu… on my left hand! Hahaha.