Sorry for the lack of posting! Last week I had a few tests, and I've been really under the gun until today, so I've been unable to keep in touch. I'll try to start from last weekend though and work my way back. So if I remember correctly, the big highlight of my weekend was a trip to Kobe on Sunday the 5th, and what a highlight it was. As most of you know, Japan hasn't had the best relationship with China in history and such. That being said, in Kobe there was an awesome Chinatown which had the best dim sum in the world, no doubt. Moreover there was a cool tower of Kobe, and I had the pleasure of going on a harbor tour to see the city. Kobe is one of the biggest import/export cities in the country, so it was no surprise that everything was on the harbor. Moreover, as I'm sure you'd all guess, Kobe beef is famous here, and after having some, I see why. Granted it was only a quick bite, but it was some delicious stuff, very sweet. All in all, Kobe was cool, but I doubt I'd go for sightseeing back unless I wanted to get some beef.
This past weekend was a lot of fun as well. Friday I spent the evening with my speaking partner Ayuna and her group of friends at a hanami picnic (cherry blossom viewing). Now I wasn't really into flowers or foliage when I was a kid, but in recent years I have really enjoyed the foliage in New England. Now I found my springtime equivalent: Japanese cherry blossoms in April. No disrespect to this country, but during the winter the scenery seems downright bleak at times. Then, towards the end of March, something amazing happened. All the cherry blossoms start blooming and time slows down for the students to enjoy the sights. It really is an incredible feeling when you are standing in a park when a breeze blows cherry blossoms all over you, surreal almost. This may be off topic, but last year I took a class in Japanese culture where we looked into the study of evanescence and form. At the time, I didn't really comprehend the full meaning (and still managed a good grade, heck yeah), but I feel like having these moments watching the beautiful blossoms die in front of me is showing me the meaning of that class and evanescence in general. It really shows how beautiful and fragile life is, that we don't have much time here so we must enjoy it for what it's worth. Anyway, enough of my life affirmation talk, back to sightseeing. Oh but first, enjoy the photos!
So those were great cherry blossoms, and like I said, the only thing akin to it is fall in New England in my eyes. Oh by the way, I also saw a Shinto shrine honoring Thomas Edison and another one honoring airplanes...oh Japan, you slay me. Anyway, later that weekend there was more Karaoke (as always, god did I miss singing a lot), but on Sunday I went on a trip with my speaking partner and friends to Universal Studios Japan. It was a lot of fun and actually surprising how similar it was to American version. That is, minus the Japanese introductions haha. It had Spiderman, ET, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, a great new roller coaster names "Hollywood Dream", and a cool parade at the end.
That was it for the weekend, I have really done a boatload of sightseeing up to this point, I think all that's left for me is Ninja Town and Hiroshima, with maybe some other bits of debauchery along the way, not to mention my triumphant return to Tokyo in two weeks. What I'm saying is that because I've done a significant amount of sightseeing up to this point, I won't have a whole heck of a lot to report scenery wise in the coming posts. That being said, I do have a ton to report about the culture, so I still intend to keep updating as often as I can. Last but not least, enjoy a terrific picture of the week, mata ne!
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