Mai is a sweet girl I met in Arao. She is a family friend of my host family and we are close in age. When I first met her we visited the local amusement park over the summer. So, when I came back to Arao we hung out again!

We visited Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine which houses the god of literature and calligraphy. It was packed when we went. Just to give our respects of ten yen and make a wish we had to wait. My host mother was saying that, in the new year last year, she waited an hour to give thanks to the god because there were so many people in line. Normally you toss money into a large box, maybe three feet wide, by two feet tall, but they had a whole barrier around the front of the shrine where you could toss money so there wouldn't be a line just for the box.

We visited here specifically for Mai's game match. She plays Hyakunin Isshu which is essentially a card game made up of matching poem card. I really can't explain this game and couldn't figure it out from watching, nor from reading descriptions. It's fast paced and players slap and smack the cards in front of them. Cards go flying so it's entertaining to watch but I have no idea nor understand how to play.

Mai is on the left

Sitting like that takes a lot of strength, as it kills your legs after only a few minutes. It's a super intense game and lasts a while! To be honest I can't tell how people win either. It's very formal so no long sighs from the loser, no big smiles from the winner.

After that, we got the local specialty sweet which is Ume ga e mochi. Which is plum (flower) picture mochi. It's mochi, with a picture of a plum on it. We went to a small Japanese style cafe, where you can sit outside with hot tea, on the same table you eat off of.

Left is the mochi, you can see little indents. Those are the plum flowers. There is anko (sweet red bean paste) inside.
The green stuff is green tea which I love very much. It is bitter and goes good with sweets.
The two little things are umeboshi. Pickled plums. I don't like, but I ate anyways because it's fun to pucker!

Mei and I!

It's fun to speak English and Japanese with Mei, as she doesn't know much English and my Japanese isn't perfect of course. I had so much fun with her! When I come back to Japan I will come to Arao to visit my host family and Mai!

お節料理! Osechi Ryori! (New Years feast!) I tried my best to label things that readers wouldn't know by sight maybe. The main focus of the dinner was the crab, but there were many delicious foods! We did make a few things, but mostly it comes in a large stacked box resembling a set platter of food! We separated it into smaller boxes too.

Kamaboko: Processed fish cakes made into loaves and are pretty colors! They have a festive look, don't they? (Left)
Takoyaki: Is a ball shaped snack with a wheat flour-based batter. On the inside is octopus! (Right)

Kinpira Gobou: Carrot and Burdock root (gobou) sauteed together in soy sauce. We made this! Very easy and tasty! (Burdock Root, Left)
Karaage: Basically fried chicken, famous in Oita! (Right)

Tamagoyaki: It's basically scrambled egg made into a loaf and cut in an aesthetically pleasing manner. (Left)
Edamame/Kuromame: Beans! Kuromame are sweet black beans. Edamame are soy beans.

Mochi and Dango: I typically eat it when it's in a sweet/candy form, covered in, or filled with something sweet, but it can be used in soups, or grilled, basically anything. Here is what Wikipedia has to say: "Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki."Dango is made from a mochiko, related to mochi. Both are very chewy and glutinous!

I drank sake out of a crab head. Apparently that's a thing. According to my host family, crab and sake go hand in hand and I can assure you, they do. Hot sake is best. For the new year, of course there were fireworks. Always fireworks. In Arao, there is an amusement park that shoots of fireworks. We didn't go into the amusement park, but we went to a shrine near it and watched the fireworks from there. They were short, but very pretty. After that we visited the shrine we watched from and asked for good luck/health/fortune for the new year.

On new years day we visited a local shrine. Yotsuyama Shrine which was built nearly 1000 years ago. It's a shrine that has a god for small business owners. So at the beginning of the year many shop owners go there to pray for a good year. It's a small shrine up a small mountain. It's a steep walk, but many elderly people still made it with ease. By elderly I mean like 80 and 90 years old.

Yotsuyama Shinto Shrine

In front of a 5 yen coin!

I prayed for a happy new year for my friends and family, as well as good health! I hope I got that, because the fortune I got said I'd have a bad year with money. I got the worst one for money. Go figure! I hope everyone had a lovely New Years!

Tofukuji

To start my day I went to Tofukuji which is a zen temple with a beautiful garden area. It's tucked away by residential houses which makes it a beautiful walk out of the city. There are two sections of this temple, both require different entry. Both are 400 yen for a total of 800. I was a little surprised by that but it wasn't very expensive and was still interesting to see.

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Next I walked down the road about fifteen minutes to Fushimi Inari Taishia which is the the number one place to visit in Kyoto. I think maybe all of Japan as far as shrines/temples go. It's famous for it's thousands of bright red gates and the large foxes who are said to be messengers for Inari. It's a long, beautiful walk upstairs and it's totally free! 

Gion

I then took the bus home that afternoon and walked aimlessly around Gion. The main roads are busy, full of tourists and locals all looking for places to eat, to go to bars and tea houses, but back a few streets were my hostel is, there are old Gion streets which are beautiful restaurants and shops and homes. 

Day one in Kyoto happens to be Christmas day!
I woke up early this morning to talk with my parents and at the time it was still Christmas eve for them. It's really not Christmas without them, but I guess I skip Christmas this year.

I headed out a little before nine in the morning. I bought a 500yen (5 dollar) bus pass for the day and visited a flea market that morning! At Kitano Tenmangu Shrine was a large year end flea market. I ended up buying a few things!

Top Left: Tiny sake cup
Top Right: Matching tiny sake cups
Bottom Left: Temari Ball (traditionally a hand ball, but it's an art form now.
Bottom right: Another sake cup.

I then visited Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) which was in the same general area. The bus pass is definitely recommended when you get here. Chances are, your hostel or hotel will sell one for 500yen. They are a deal because anywhere you go is 230. Therefore, if you ride more than twice a day, which you definitely will, it's a deal. I think I saved at least five to seven dollars. It's also quicker than counting out change all the time.

I headed back to Gion after that and visited their local shrine which I hadn't last time I came here. It's spread out and quiet but a very pretty walk.

The weather today was off and on drizzly, sort of breezy and sometimes sunny. In the city it's always shaded anyways and the wind is typically tunnel wind. It is late December but these photos probably look like early fall. It was fairly cold today but I was fine in a coat and sweater.

After walking around for a while and going down old Gion which is the Geisha district with old tea houses, a theater and other shops, it started to rain. My shoes have holes in them so I decided to call it a day.

I am here long enough that I don't need to move around quick and I can actually enjoy some time at my hostel. It's nice to walk around in the morning to early afternoon and head back before it's too cold or too dark.

Today was the day of getting lost. I got so lost, so often that I started thinking: "Well, it could be worse. At least I am in the right country."

I went to Shinjuku, Harauku and Shibuya today.

Shinjuku and Shibuya has the famed, terribly busy crossing that we think of when we see Tokyo. It's used in movies, almost as a symbol of Tokyo. In my whole time in Japan, the most homeless people I ever saw was here, and there were two. (Or maybe they were just passed out drunk, I don't know.)

Yes I walked in it, but no, I didn't stay for long. I took this from the window (you can see the X shadows from the window) from the station.
Shinjuku station is also famous for Hachiko (the dog who waited at the station every day for his owner even after he passed away). It's the number 1 meet up spot in Japan. (And of course it took me forever to find the damn exit)

After getting lost, and more lost, and so very lost. I ended up taking a train to Harajuku to see Takeshitadori which is a street known for shopping, crazy clothes, music and youth. Many people cosplay here, dressing as their favorite anime character. The latest trends are said to come out of this street, but sometimes the fashion seems a little too wild. (Or maybe I am being old.)

Takeshita Street

Half of them are foreigners

A typical storefront

You crazy kids (and the foreigner taking a photo with you)

The fun didn't stop there. After I was done with the crazy crowded youth, I went to Meiji shrine. It was hot. I mean, really hot. The sky was blue, but it was so bright that it looks bright white. My sunglasses were not enough. The walk is beautiful and rather long. It was high noon so not much shade.

THAT IS ALL SAKE

BEAUTIFUL SAKE

Less crowded and so beautiful

I did a loop around the shrine, out the back, went back through Takeshita street the back way, then went across the street to Yayogi Park. I didn't stay long because there were many mosquitoes and it was getting late afternoon. It's a beautiful active park, filled with joggers, kids playing catch, or the occasional students doing homework.

Oh. And these rockabilly groups who, despite the painful heat and humidity, still danced for us foreigners.

I had maps, I had train tickets, I prepared everything, but still got lost. I constantly got turned around and spent a lot of time wandering. I was able to do all of these in a day, but it was definitely tiring. I came back a little early to shower, get dinner at a small restaurant and went to bed early.

Why early?

Because tomorrow...

DISNEY LAND!

After a long day in Himeji, we went to Osaka. We never stayed in a hotel in Himeji, as it was only about an hour and a half between there and Osaka on the local JR Sanyo. (So on one ticket we went from Okayama to Osaka at less than 20US.)

I stayed with my friend who lives in Osaka! She was very kind to let me stay!

The first day we were prevented from much because the typhoon hit. It was basically a bad hurricane, as typhoons are pretty much hurricanes. Lots of rain, lots of wind, trains were shut down. We stayed in, slept in, relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. My American friend, Jenny, who traveled with me up until Osaka, had to leave just two nights later.

Naruho and I visited Fushimi Inari Shrine in Southern Kyoto. (Kyoto is near Osaka.) It's a brilliant red shrine with several thousands of red gates. Each year there is a new one. You can walk up the mountain under them, then back down. There are two sets of gates (an up one and a down one, although some foreigners made their own rules). 

Fushimi Inari Shrine

And it goes on and on and on and on

Inari is the Shinto God of Rice and a fox is said to be the messenger for this god, therefore there are many fox statues. There are thousands of shrines for Inari, but this is the most important. This shrine has also been labeled as one of the top shrines for foreigners to visit. (Kyoto is the most popular city, not Tokyo!)

Fox!

**A Shrine is Shinto, a Temple is Buddhist.