Cherry Blossom Adventures

In an effort to improve on my writing I have decided to sign up for Encyclopedia of me which started over at Bella Dia (and which I found out about by reading Laura`s blog here...) I am now almost half way through at K and while today`s entry is not so much about me, it has been very difficult to come up with a K something to do with me….so I present K is for Kokyo!

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Today Shumpei and I went to the Tokyo Imperial Palace, also known as kokyo…although we only went into the gardens! We were going to have a picnic but by the time we got up and left the house it was almost 2pm so we stopped and had Chinese food on the way! Spring is definitely in the air and it was nice to be out in the sunshine especially since the rain is meant to start again tomorrow (It rained from Wednesday afternoon to Friday last week!)

Some of the sakura were already blooming and it was nice to walk around, take photos and just take in the atmosphere. I have only been to the gardens once before, several years ago, with my mum while she was in Japan….I would love to go on the emperors birthday when they open up not just the gardens but the most of the palace…

I took heaps of photos and you can see them all here but these are a couple of my favourites! I suppose this is where the encyclopedia of me part comes in even though I am not in any of the photos….but I did take them all! I have always liked to take photos but have gotten a lot more interested in the last couple of years…

Sakura season is just starting here but I think next weekend or the weekend later will be the best weekends for hanami (flower viewing!)……this is by far my favourite time of the  year in Japan! I will miss it next year since I will still be back in Australia!

It was nice to have the day out with Shumpei too!!!!

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In an effort to improve on my writing I have decided to sign up for Encyclopedia of me which started over at Bella Dia (and which I found out about by reading Laura`s blog here...)

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J is for Japanese…

I have a love hate relationship with language learning….technically Japanese is the only language I have actually tried to learn (apart from some basic phrases while going through Europe and a couple of Maori words). I have talked a lot before on this blog about why and how I came about studying Japanese but hey, who wants to hear it again?

Like most people when they finish high school I really had no idea what I wanted to do…but I had decided that doing a course in Business/Creative Industries at QUT was what I wanted to study….but I didn`t get in…..In fact I didn`t get into my next four choices either. I got into my last choice, which I had put as a safety net (lucky huh?) and it was a straight up arts degree from Griffith University. I just want to say I have nothing against Arts Degrees (In fact I am so happy I did it because if I hadn`t I wouldn`t have ended up in Japan)

I was more than a little upset about it but by the time I started I figured that I better make the most of it and I had also discovered that I could do a PR major or Journalism major through the arts degree at Griffith which was something I had thought about studying if I had gotten into business! In my senior year at school I had also met Kanako a Japanese exchange student and had admired the fact that she learnt to speak English so well in her year in Australia. So I enrolled in elementary Japanese classes as well for my first semester as well as some psych courses and simple journalism/media courses. I had no intention of staying in the arts degree, I still had dreams of transferring out, that was until about three months later…

Uni wasn`t my first time studying Japanese….technically we did some basic Japanese at school in primary school (With good old Mrs Shield!) and also at my high school studying Japanese and German once a week was compulsory in year eight! But studying Japanese at uni, five hours on campus a week, plus home study was completely different! I loved it…and I was actually ok at it!

I applied to go on exchange mid year and left the following year for a year abroad at Seikei University in Tokyo….I hadn`t realized how hard it would be….Seikei didn`t really offer courses for beginners and that pretty much still what I was…( It didn`t help that I had not studied from Nov-Mar while I was on summer break waiting to go to Japan)I had one on one tutoring for the first couple of months because I wasn`t up to the same level that others on exchange were….Most of the friends i made in the first couple of months always spoke a little bit of English meaning I didn`t have to use my Japanese…..and my foreign friends all spoke English and Japanese really well so they could translate for me. I was gradually improving but not nearly as fast as I would of liked.

I loved Japan, I love the culture and the people and I was gradually getting a hang of the language and making friends that only spoke Japanese forcing me to speak more and more and then one day it all seemed to fall into place over the summer….and I could hold conversations and communicate and order in restaurants and read the menus and ask for help at the train station if I needed it. I think anyone that is learning another language gets to that point…where everything just clicks…

I am still a long way off from being fluent…and I still have a love hate relationship with Japanese study…..sometimes I love it, get right into it will study for a couple of hours a day and then it goes away again. I hit a brick wall and just give up on it for awhile……I always go back to it…..and I hope one day to pass level 1 of the Japanese proficiency test!!! Obviously the fact that Shun and I talk to each other in Japanese 95% of the time helps my Japanese except he knows the Japanese I know and talks in a way that is easy for me to understand!

My dream is to become fluent enough to read the newspaper and pass level one of JLPT….the problem is if I achieve that once I might just give up, and from what I have heard, If you don`t continue to study then it all just goes out the window!

The only way, for me anyway, to really learn a language is to immerse yourself in a country that speaks that language….so to all those language learners out there…..go spend six months in Spain or South America if you are learning Spanish, or a year in China if you are learning Chinese….It will make the world of difference to you language study…Not to mention it will be an experience you will never forget!

I am a little stuck with K is for….I haven`t decided what I will be doing yet! I can not believe I am almost half way though this writing exercise already!

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I think it has been about six months since I felt an earthquake….and then on this past weekend I felt two. One on Saturday (I think) and the other early Sunday morning about 6am…It actually woke me up because the window shook and some of my books fell from their shelves to the floor! Apparently where we were it wasn`t actually very big, only about a 2…

I do wonder if this is a sign the big one is coming….

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Photos from today- Hinamatsuri or Dolls Festival, March 3rd.

Hinamatsuri, also known as Doll Festival or Girls Day, is celebrated on the third day of the third month every year. People with daughters often display elaborately designed dolls on red, stair like furniture and depending on where in Japan you are from then the way in which the dolls are displayed is different! I ate Hinamatsuri cake at my private students house today after the lesson! And was given doll rice crackers! Cute huh?

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After dropping my friend off in Shinjuku so he could catch the Narita Express to the airport I went over to Kinokuniya to pick up some Japanese text books (decided to start studying again) and stumbled upon `The Tokyo Look Book` by Philomena Keet with photography by Yuri Manabe….It wasn`t the first time I had seen the book…I had even seen it reccomended on a couple of blogs and had flicked through it a couple of times either in Kinokuniya or Tower Records in Shibuya….There are several English language books that delve into the Tokyo/Japan fashion scene but this is by far the best I have seen so far in my travels. So I bought it because my stomach was starting to hurt again and I wanted to get home to my warm (Ok well warmer than outside at least) apartment and sit down.

I like reading about fashion, while I am not a very fashion concisious person, nor do I know much about Japanese fashion labels or the styles of fashion seen in Tokyo, this book was easy to understand and a very fun read. Consisting of over 200 photos by Yuri Manabe and writings by Philomena Keet a British national who has a PhD in Anthropology the book takes you on a journey through the Tokyo fashion scene from the well known Shibuya Girls, the Cos play kids of Harajuku and the decked out Louis Vouiton and Chanel females of Omotesando and Ginza fame. Not to mention the last chapter titled `Young Men at Work`….I am always up for a look at the hot Japanese guys in suits and Nikka (work men pants). I live in the city and some of the things Ms Keet spoke about I would never have known if I hadn`t read her book….while I had heard of Sibuya girls, and the Lolita Cos players I had no idea that they were so influenced by their favourite music bands (most of which are visual-kei) or that certain brands were held at such high esteem.

I bought this book Sunday and had it finished by Monday morning (Monday was a public holiday) and I would of devoured it in one sitting If I hadn`t been so sleepy on Sunday night! Anyone into fashion, or who likes looking at pop culture or Japanese culture should check out this book….In fact anybody who is anybody should check out this book because I think you would be hard to find someone that walk away from reading it without feeling at least something!

The book also consisted of some profiles of popular fashion designers or shop owners here in Tokyo!

This book made me want to go out and take photos of all the crazy and cute fashion I see on the streets of Tokyo…although I am not sure if anybody would pose for me if I asked!

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Firstly, I still hate skiing…I did have a great time away for the weekend though! I have come to the conclusion that snow sports are not for me…

We went to an awesome place in Niigata in which we had to leave our car at the bottom of the mountain and catch a crazy snowmobile up the mountain….our ski ryokan was literally on the side of the mountain…go outside and you are in the middle of the snoboard/ski path! It was great….

Check out my photos of at flickr here…

Here are a couple of my favourites though…

Due to the heavy snowfall in Niigata, Nagano, Saitama and Tokyo it took us nine and a half hours to get home….(to give you some idea I think it took us 3 and a half hours to get there in the early morning on Saturday) The drive home was an experience…Junni lost control of the car at one stage and we ran into a snow bank….luckily we were not going very fast and there was no damage! Just a bit of a shock!!!! I know how to put snow chain on the tyres now though!

B for…. in my encyclopedia of me will be coming up soon!

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Lately Shumpei and I have been talking about marriage and getting engaged a lot more. We plan to get engaged sometime this year .I think we could just do it now but he wants to wait until we are in Australia (A lot of it has to do with asking my father for permission…and part of it is that he is worried that is is not a good idea for us to get engaged until he can speak English…I am not really worried about this at all but I think what worries him also is that if I go back to Australia I might want to stay while he would want to return to Japan. The thing is, I want to come back to Japan….and he knows this but is still worried a little I guess)

With Nay, talking about her wedding plans and Sara talking about signing the papers this year but waiting for 2010 for the marriage ceremony it has given me a lot to think about. Nay, Sara and I are all of similar ages and in similar situations. We are all in serious relationships or engaged to Japanese men and planning on living in Japan after we are married. Nay will be having her ceremony in Australia (In Brisbane actually, where I am from!) while I think Sarah plans to have it here in Japan. Nay will also have a small Japanese ceremony in Japan at a later date. We keep in contact via email, facebook and our blogs and while none of us have ever met I know that we feel a connection due to our circumstances….We were hoping to meet up before Nay headed back to Australia to finish her studies but we have left the planning a little late….However I hope to meet Sara later in the year and Nay when I go back to Brisbane (Since she will be there until September, when she will get married)

Shumpei and I have tosses up the idea of getting married late next year in September or October (2009). If we were to do the ceremony here in Japan (Which has been the plan)…I know my family would fly over for it but I feel bad that so many others would be left out so there has been talk of maybe having a small party/reception type thing while we are in Australia. Plus, if we did it here it would be in Japanese meaning that my family would struggle with language and language barriers that they would have with all of the other guests.

There is a lot of things to think about. Where to file the papers for instance? In Japan or Australia, or both (Can you do both?) How much money we could afford to spend on ceremonies etc (At the moment is is close to zero)…..Also if the wedding is here in Japan what sort of wedding should it be. Traditional? I don`t think I could wear the traditional wedding kimono…..I could do it, especially if that is what Shumpei wanted but in the past when we have discussed it he has said he doesn`t necessarily want a traditional wedding….but white weddings here in chapels have fake ministers that do the ceremonies…and I am not sure I could handle that either. I think outside would be perfect…..or in a proper church with a proper priest. If it was in Japan that is…..If it was in Australia, despite being raised Catholic would I want to have a wedding in a Catholic church, especially since Shumpei is not Catholic…and has no intention of becoming Catholic.

I have never wanted a big fairytale wedding…..In fact the whole thing scares me a little because I would be so worried that after a lot of planning that the day itself would not live up to the expectations we had. I am all for garden weddings, with only a close couple of family and friends and a small reception at a restaurant. Here most of the time you can not invite so many friends to your wedding because extended family, business associates etc come higher up on the invitation list….

International weddings are a difficult thing to deal with. Most people I know have either had the weddings in their home countries or in both their home countries and Japan….Japanese weddings are absurdly expensive and I really wouldn`t want to spend that much money on one day. Shumpei and I are both young, i have no savings to speak of and Shumpei did have savings but has used a lot of it in the past couple of years by flying to Australia or for when we set up this apartment….I know he still has some but when we go to Australia later in the year he will do an English course and I will work so we will be living on one salary for a little while.

In Japan, like I said wedding are absurdly expensive….Shumpei`s brother`s wedding was so expensive it was unbelievable. And while it was really pretty, and a beautiful day…but I do not want to spend that much wedding on one day.

Are you married? What did you do for your `big day`? Are you in an international marriage…how did you please everyone? It would be interesting to hear what others did…especially those who entered or are entering kokusai kekkon themselves (International marriage)!

There is so much to think about and it is hard to know where to start!

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It snowed in Tokyo today….It was snowing when I woke up just before 8am and was still snowing in Kichijoji at 2pm until it turned to rain…

I am not sure when the sight of snow will stop turning me giddy with excitement but being an Aussie girl from QLD who had not seen snow until 19 it just feels I have a lot of snow viewing to catch up on!

Tokyo rarely sees snow even in the height of winter…and some years it will not snow at all!

Shumpei had my camera….for a work project which meant I couldn`t take any photos…BUT i did take the following on the school camera (Actually Ai took the first one)

School garden- Probably the only time this year it will be covered in snow (This was taken at 10am too, there was a lot more snow on it by 2pm)

Girly girls checking out the yard

The girl in the middle and the girl on the end with the white jacket whose face you can`t see speak English very well….with mini Australian accents. They also call each other sweetie since I tend to call them that

Conversation from the other day

`Asuka, can you pick up the blue one sweetie`

`Sure sweetie`

`Thanks sweetie`

They might be taking it a little bit far!

Since it snowed or rained all day we couldn`t take the kids outside to plan in it (Since no child in Tokyo really wears water proof snow gear to school) so we put some in a container from outside so that they could play with it on top of the tables in the craft room. There were mini snow ball fights, snowman and one girl who put some on the floor, took off her inside shoes and socks and walked on it `To see what it felt like….The kids loved it! The snow will all be gone by morning due to the rain and 3 degree temps.

I would not be surprised if we don`t see any more snow for the rest of winter!

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At the beginning of December I signed up for the Japanese Literature Challenge organized by Dolce Bellezza and you can read my post about it here (Ok the link for some reason will not work…Go to my Dec 4th post). The aim was to read three books by Japanese authors during December and January. I am happy to say i have now completed the challenge (I actually finished my final book on my return flight to Japan)

The three books I read were

The bells of Nagasaki- Takashi Nagai (Dec)

Snow Country- Kasunari Kawabata (Jan)

Kitchen- Banana Yoshimoto (Jan)

All three books were good and I think I read a good choice because one was N.F, one was more current fiction (well in the last 20 yrs), and an older fiction.

My favourite was definitely Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It was a short book and it is hard to believe it was written by somebody so young. Most Japanese fiction that I have read has always been a little weird (You just need to look at Murakami`s books!) and this was no different. The book dealt mainly with loss and grief..with the main character losing her grandmother and then the other character losing his transsexual father to murder (so she was now his mother…if that makes sense). It discussed what it felt like to be left alone in the world. I also felt that the translation of this book was really good. Whenever I read translated Japanese fiction I feel that I am probably losing a lot of the meaning….but the person that translated this done an excellent job because I feel I finished the book with the message that you were meant to get from it…I will definitely be picking up another Banana Yoshimoto book soon!

Snow Country by Kasunari Kawabata was a beautiful book about a man that has a love affair with a local geisha in a mountain town (I just read that the town was at the base of the mountains i between Gunma and Niigata). When I finished it my first feeling was that I needed to read it again because I felt I missed something….I will definitely have to re-read it. I felt it a Little hard to follow at times but I think this had a lot to do with the translations….Kawabata is famous for the way in which he writes as it is said to be like poetry and I guess a lot of this was lost in the translation. Geisha in these provincial towns were a lot more like prostitutes than the geisha of big cities (Who are more like entertainers/ hostess`s). That said the scenes described in the book were beautiful. I can`t really comment on much more on this because I still feel as if I need to re-read it. Perhaps I will understand it more next time.

The bells of Nagasaki was a non-fiction book written by a doctor who later died to to radiation poisoning. It is his story of the day the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and the days that followed. I have never been directly involved in war or directly affected by it so the bomb raids and deaths of war that are described by Nagai are sometimes hard for me to comprehend but the way he wrote made it seem like the readers were there with him. My history, especially Japanese history, is not great and reading books such as this that touch on such an important part of Japanese history always make me want to pick up a history book and get cracking. Anybody living in Japan or with an interest in Japanese history should read this book. I have never been to Nagasaki but I went to Hiroshima several years ago and my experiences there will always stay with me.

I am the worst book reviewer ever but thought I should do a wrap-up of the books I read so that others in the challenge can see what I thought of the books! I enjoyed all the books I read for this challenge and would recommend them to anyone. My only note is that if you were to read Snow Country make sure you read it in one or two sittings because I read it in short bursts over several days and I think this is one of the main reasons I had trouble understanding it.

Oh and in other news I have finished 6 or the 60 books I put down for m 888 challenge! Only 56 to go for the rest of the year!!!!

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Shumpei and I met three years ago today (yesterday) and I hate to say it but it was love (or at least lust) at first sight! For gods sake I still remember what he and I were both wearing when we met. We take the 15th of Jan as our anniversary because while we technically started dating a week later we met on th 15th and for us it seems to ring truer as an anniversary (That said for the first year I think we thought of it as the 14th before we realized that we must of definitely met after midnight…..I know this because I went to watch a soccer game an ebisu pub with some friends which would of been playing later…..and we went to another bar before heading back to where we lived at the time…..and Shumpei was at a party at the dorm I was living in at the time)…..I remember walking into the room (third floor kaikan kitchen) and thinking ” My god that boy is hot!”….My gay friend (which whom I have very similar taste) also took a liking to Shumpei….and I will never forget the conversation where he tried to tell him he might be gay! (I am serious about my friend and I having similar taste….his old bf was sooooo hot…….and he had seen pictures of some of my ex`s and had fallen in love by looking at their pictures…A little freaky deshou?)

I worked late tonight because I had a private lesson. I bought a bottle of wine on the way home before getting in about 8:30…..we had tea in the apartment and it was nothing real special but here is a pic

And our wine “乾杯！”　（Cheers!)to celebrate our three years

Oh and lets not forget the happy couple (By the way it is hard to look happy and half decent when you have worked 8 hours plus done a 2 hour private lesson, cooked dinner and not eaten until 10pm)

Love you Shun! Here is to many years to come!!!!

Lost of kisses and hugs!

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