Silver Week

Due to a fortuitous confluence of holidays (which apparently only happens every six years) this past weekend was "silver weekend" and we got five days off from school, which gave me the opportunity to do a little exploring in Osaka, a city about an hour away from Kyoto, and to hang out some more with my host parents. On Friday I went with Max, Adam and Meli to see "Buranden" (a friend of Max's) sing in a concert in Osaka. It was at this snazzy place called The Pink Flamingo and at the beginning it seemed as if we would have the place to ourselves, but eventually more people started to come in. What's interesting is that Branden is actually from Texas and he isn't Japanese but he's trying to make it as a j-pop singer in Japan. Here's a link to his music video if you want to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzhj2eLq3uU.

I have to say, Japanese people - or at least the ones at the concert - are a tough crowd to please. As we were moving along to the songs, I happened to look at the others in the room and they were as stoic as if they were watching c-span. It was kind of weird, and the songs weren't even bad or anything! During the next two groups, however, everyone seemed to perk up a bit. The last group was pretty funny. They sang all American songs like Poker Face by Lady GaGa and Umbrella. At one point the girl, who was in three inch heels and a shiny tight little skirt, attempted to do the moon walk while singing Billy Jean in a bad accent.

The Pink Flamingo

On Sunday I went with my host parents for a hike in the mountains around Lake Biwaco, Japan's biggest lake. It was a gorgeous day and the mountain air was incredibly refreshing. The green hillsides were covered with susuki, or japanese plume grass, which have long slender stalks that flair into a burst of soft whitish-silver sprigs at the top, kind of like horse tails. They were quite beautiful and it was nice taking a break on the side of the mountian and watching them sway under the ski lifts as we ate melon milk candy.

One thing I love about hiking in Japan is that there are little statues everywhere of gods, one of the most prevelant being Jizo, the guardian of paths and children, and the one that helps you find your way in the afterlife. Despite signifying places where people have died, I didn't find the little Jizos to be creepy or anything at all. There, stoically biding their time through the years and the weather with their little bibs tied around their necks, watching ennumerable amounts of visitors pass through, they seem to me little pockets of stability and quiet calmness that then reminds me of the anchored strength of the surrounding mountains. It's comforting, to bear witness to something so solid and unperturbable, or at least, in comparison to the ephemeral quality of human life...

Me and my host parents after lunch

For lunch we sat by this little lake and ate rice balls and drank tea. It was cute. And so incredibly peaceful.

Other than that, my host dad has been taking me around the city to various shrines and temples. Like I've said before, my host dad is fit! He just zooms around the streets and it's hard to keep up with him, especially since I haven't had much experience biking around in a city. There are so many hazards with people and cars! Today I actually collided with another biker, but nothing bad or anything happened; we were just both a bit surprised.

Anyway, my Otoosan is really into making a "Kimie-chan in Japan" Album and so gets a kick out of making me take pictures at every opportunity. Today, he thought it was incredibly funny that this other Japanese couple asked if we wanted our picture to be taken, because they probably thought that I was his granddaughter, which, naturally, has never happened before when he's taken other study abroad students around.

Syokokuji Temple

Well that's it for tonight, until next time then, oyasuminasai!