Hanami

Yes, things have happened since Tokyo! And no, I do not have to look through my camera to remind myself what... The truth is I've been sooooo busy between then and now, and now that it's Golden Week, I finally have a break! If you're not sure what Golden Week is, you're not alone. I've been told countless times, but I still don't remember very well. All I know is there are a lot of national holidays this week, one of them is called midori no hi(green day), and the exchange students only have class on Tuesday and Wednesday. So naturally, everyone's skipping those pesky 2 days and traveling to Okinawa, Tokyo, Korea and the likes. Everyone but me. Oh yeah, I'm just that majime. Or I don't have the money to blow on a plane/shinkansen ticket...

So back to those things that have been happening. Let me run and get my camera.

HANAMI!

Flower viewing is a really big deal here in Japan. Remember my posts on Kouyou in the fall? The red and orange trees in the mountains? This is basically the spring equivalent. In Japan, there are clearly defined seasons with distinct events and festivals, and in the springtime, everyone goes to Hanami. It involves sitting under a cherry blossom tree(sakura) with friends and enjoying the view, usually with booze and snacks. It's been said that, while drinking in public isn't illegal here, its only really socially acceptable during Hanami and festivals. That was said by a fellow gaijin, but I think it still applies...

Anyway, first, I went to Osakajo(Osaka castle) for a friend's birthday. For some strange reason, they had decided to sit under the dead plum trees instead of one of the many sakura, but it was fun nonetheless. We had about 3 cakes, lots of junk food, and a HUGE bottle of umeshu(plum wine) which was basically downed by one of my friends. Who I  helped home later that day.... But there were a lot of us, and I learned a very important lesson that day which is: Japan is a relatively safe place. That being said, I wouldn't recommend traveling alone as a foreign young girl. Almost every time I have done this, I have been harassed by an old man, this time one who wanted to show me all of the best places to take pictures and got mad when I told him I had to meet a friend.  Which was harmless, but it becomes tiresome when these things happen all the time.

Thanks, random Ojisan!

Osakajo

A few weeks later, I went to Nara, famous for its deer park and giant Buddha statue, in search of an art piece for a report. Nara is one of the oldest cities in Japan, and I think it has a nice atmosphere, especially with all the cute little deers roaming around. I actually had no plans for Hanami, and I was traveling alone, but I got really hungry and tired on the way back from the museum, so I decided to stop at what has to be the prettiest place in Nara, Ukimido. I'm still not sure what purpose it serves, but it's a pretty pavillion surrounded by water with gondola-like boats and grassy hills full of sakura. I ate a nice quiet lunch(peanut butter jelly sandwich and pretzels shipped from the states) before continuing my journey around Todaiji, the home of the big Buddha. However, I did not actually see the Buddha, as that would have cost 800 yen. Instead, I walked around the premises and found the cutest handmade accessory shop on a side road near Shosoin.

Overall, it was a successful day of soul-searching and *not* getting lost! I felt proud. And to top it all off, I was not bothered by any creepy old men!

Nara

Ukimido, Nara

Sakura 'Carpet'

The sad thing about Hanami is that it is very short-lived. Sakura come and go in a matter of weeks, and before I knew it those pretty pink petals which lined the sidewalks fell to the ground, flooded the roads, and were eventually replaced by... whatever sakura turn into. Buds? Something dull and green I think.

The moral of the story is: life is fleeting, like those delicate pink blossoms that bloom and wither in the blink of an eye, leaving us with only their memory until the coming year.  That and I have really bad allergies. Seriously. Hanami is pretty and all, but I was kinda dying.

Tokyo Part 5: Ghibli Museum(and final day!)

Everyone has a favorite Ghibli movie. Not ringing a bell? How about Miyazaki Hayao? My Neighbor Totoro? Seriously, if you haven't seen a Ghibli movie I *highly* encourage you to watch one. And since the only people who read this are my family and boyfriend, I'm talking to you, Andrew!
I think everyone on the trip was waiting for this day especially. The day when all of our childhood memories would come to life...in the form of over-priced gift-store purchases. But no, really, the Ghibli museum was a great time! We were told you have to buy tickets way in advance(like 2 months!), but we bought them from the 7/11 2 weeks before and were fine.

Outside of Museum

Robot on the roof

First of all, the building itself is a whimsical structure in the middle of a small town(Mitaka) situated right next to a park and a tennis court. The interior is like a maze with winding stairs and rooms housing different wonders,and a big plushy cat bus for kids to play on! We even got to see an exclusive short video about a lost dog on an adventure back home. Ok to be honest it was kinda boring, but extremely cute! My favorite sections were the room housing original sketches and inspiration, the animation room(seriously amazing! I can't even describe it!), and the roof which leads to a garden with a really cool robot-statue thing. And I spent way too long in the gift store, but that's to be expected. P.S. my favorite is a toss up between Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
The next day was our last and craziest day in Tokyo by far. We all had a list of places we hadn't seen, and we scrambled around trying to visit all of them. On my list were the Pokemon center, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya. The Pokemon center in Tokyo is sooooo much better than the one in Umeda(Osaka)!! I'm not even the biggest Pokemon fan, but they have a lot of merchandise for the original and new Pokemon, and I have to admit I bought a Jigglypuff (called purin/pudding here) phone charm. Hehe, I'm so lame...
Ikebukuro is a trip. Like, it's trippy. At least the place we went to. It's called Namja-town, and it's basically a big amusement center in the middle of a mall with a gyoza-street, ice cream town, and some weird ninja-survival-game-thing. We mainly went for the ice cream, but the creepy cat and naked mermaid statues were an added bonus(seriously, this place gave us the creeps!). They had a bunch of different ice cream flavors, and a Turkish ice cream stand, and crepes, and everything else in your wildest dreams(about ice cream). We all ate soft-serve, and chose from a host of odd flavors, including sea-salt vanilla(which I heard was delicious), wasabi(!), and kinako(soy-bean flour). I chose the kinako. It was rich and creamy, and tasted a lot like kinako.
After Ikebukuro, I rushed to meet up with Tif at Shibuya. We met at the statue of Hachiko, a dog who supposedly met his owner at a station everyday, and continued to do so even after the owner's death. It's a pretty popular meeting spot. We spent our time at Shibuya walking around and window-shopping, especially at the huge multi-storied Forever21 and H&M. Shibuya is HUGE and very similar to Harajuku, but it felt more crowded and expensive.We shopped until we were extremely tired from our busy mornings, and then headed back to get our stuff from our hostel.

Shibuya cross-section

 After picking up a shirt from the Hard Rock Cafe, going to dinner, and getting a bit lost, we left to catch our 11:45 bus at around 10:30. The train ride was about a half an hour, and we had no idea where our bus location was. We rushed around asking every bus driver, but each one gave us a different response. We were short on time and running around frantically with big suitcases, crying out to random people in desperation. Yes, it was pathetic. Finally, our bus driver called Tif, and gave us a few clues as to where it was located. We were about 10 minutes late when we boarded the bus and incredibly thankful they hadn't left us. We spent a long time sleeping until we arrived and Kyoto, where we took another train and were finally greeted with heavy rain and ice-cold temperatures back to Hirakata.

Tokyo Tower!

Tokyo, Midday

Tokyo, Night

Ok, so this technically happened on day 3, but I completely forgot to mention it. We went to Tokyo Tower and saw a wonderful view of Tokyo! We went around midday and stayed until night, so we could see the view gradually get darker with shiny lights. Tokyo Tower is definitely a must-see for every Tokyo traveler, and I actually saw a lot of people from my school there. Hehe, Japan is a small country. Really. 

Tower, Midday

Tower, Night

It's embarrassing to say, but I first learned of Tokyo Tower from watching Sailor Moon.
From the elevator that flashes neon colors, to the snazzy jazz cafe, it was a fun time. I only wish I had been there with my bf, since it's such a great date place! Up next: Studio Ghibli Museum.