22 May 2009

I woke-up around 8am this morning to make sure I was able to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast before we met with Don at 9:30am. This Toyoko Inn served plain rice, daikon salad, tsukemono, fish cake in scrambled eggs, sausage, miso soup, three types of rolls, plain yogurt, and vegetable fruit juice. It was really filling so I was glad it was going to hold me over for the majority of the morning. Once meeting with Don at 9:30am, we walked as a group to Kenrokuen Garden. Kenrokuen Garden is one of the three most famous gardens in Japan, so it was really large and beautiful. Don paid for our admission, and we were free to wander at our own pace. I wandered around with Derrick and Blake, since Norio had to complete a group project while within the garden area. It took us a little over an hour to make it through the garden, then we walked to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa by SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa). Not only did the museum have some of the coolest exhibits I have ever seen, but it also had another one of James Turrell’s works. This one didn’t seem as impressive after having the opportunity to stay in the House of Light, but I still enjoyed it. The design of the structure itself was also very impressive, and I’m really glad I was able to visit it today.
Unfortunately after leaving the museum, it had begun to rain. The weather was no longer hot, and it was surprisingly cold and windy. By the time we left the museum, our group had grown to include Norio, John, and Scot. All of us did not have a jacket and were not really prepared for rain. Luckily I had my umbrella, but that was about it. We miserably made our way back towards the hotel in hopes of finding reasonable food somewhere. We ultimately decided to eat at a ramen and gyoza place within Kanazawa Station, but we made a quick snack stop at Mister Donut on our way since we were all starving. I tried the new honey tofu donut, and it was really good. Once arriving at the station, I ordered the ramen and eight piece gyoza set for 720 yen. I was really hungry, and I finished all of it. Scot was so hungry that he ate 32 pieces of gyoza, so that was really impressive.
We originally had plans to visit other parts of the city today, but since the weather was so miserable, we decided against it and instead headed back to the hotel. I got back just in time to Skype with Jenna, so that was really nice. It was only the second time I’ve been able to talk with her since arriving in Japan, so we had lots of catching up to do. Other than that, I rested and tried to catch up on my photos and blog. Dinner was provided by Toyoko Inn again, and tonight it was ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Japanese curry with rice. The portion was small again, but since both Scot and Zach didn’t want their meals, they gave their plates to Seth and I. I therefore got to eat two plates of curry instead of just one, and I saved money by not having to buy a second dinner. The rest of the night was a lazy one for me. I worked on my Arch 420 assignments, Arch 480 travel journal, student blog for the class website, and on my Arch 453 design project. There is a lot to do. Tomorrow we have to get up early in order to catch the train at 8:20am, so I made sure to be all packed before going to bed. The rain continued for the rest of the night, so I’m hoping that tomorrow will be dry when we’re moving.