Kyoto: days 2, 3, and 4

These are all my dad's pictures from his camera, because I forgot the connection cord for my own. I'll post my own shots when I get home.
Today, I shopped with my sisters (Danielle whining all the while), and my parents went to a museum and some temples, so I have no photos from today. Tomorrow we are off to Himeji.

On the train:


In the grounds of the Imperial Palace:

There were lots of plum blossoms out on the grounds and even some cherry. The weather was sunny and almost too warm!



Kinkakuji!

Note how sunny the weather is here. Only 10 minutes later the sky clouded over and it started raining.

By the time we got to Nijo-jo there was thunder and lightning!


Girls in the gardens at Nijo-jo:



Fushimi-Inari Shrine:



Kiyomizudera Walls:
Most of the sakura at Kiyomizudera unfortunately weren't blooming yet (they looked at least a week away), so it looked pretty much the same as it did when I saw it in January--only this time we payed and walked through in the right direction.




A trip to McDonald's for Danzie:

Kyoto, day 1

With my sisters, on the stairs in Kyoto Eki:


Top of Kyoto Eki:


Breakfast:


We went to the Steam Locomotive Museum!




Dad in one of the trains:

7 more hours

Only 7 more hours (and only 2 more hours of sitting in the office) until I get on a bus to Osaka! I'm looking forward to spending a day alone there just taking pictures. Will meet my family at the airport in the late afternoon and then head to Kyoto for the week, followed by Hiroshima, then back here. I may try to post some photos while I'm there because my dad has a lovely new digital camera which I'm hoping to borrow*.



*steal for the duration of the trip

St. Paddy's

me, Anita, Angie

St. Paddy's in Fukuoka. We were also celebrating Becky's birthday! Anita and I made her a big sash to wear (we decorated it with glitter glue! ;)

More Ikebana

This show was a few weekends ago now. It was fantastic! The arrangements were all huge and gorgeous!

















If you look closely you can see a little bug crawling out of one of the flowers in this shot!

Fun with Clay!

Last weekend Becky and I headed to Fukuoka with Becky's teacher friend to try making some pottery (it was free, so how could we refuse?!).


Just like making pie crust!

Here I'm trying to make a rectangular ikebana vase, but apparently square/rectangular stuff is more prone to breaking. I made two the same, so hopefully one will survive! I'll find out next month when we go back to glaze everything.





And the onsen we went to afterwards (which is in Fukuoka-ken but very close to Oita-ken):

Post-Kencho Pub Quiz

Team B-lieve (minus a few members) eating our winnings:





And these are some crazy (and very intoxicated) girls we met as we were coming out of Shimonoseki station on the way home.

I like how the ones on the right decided to try to eat each other's faces(!?) for the photo...not sure what that was about...

Friday Night at YoumeTown

Becky and I spent a fabulous evening scouring the shelves of Hard Off, the Japanese equivalent to Value Village (though maybe a bit pricier and classier).

Interesting finds included a genuine Harrod's teddy, a furry jacket and parasol, and some fabulous platform shoes. I came away with a nice winter coat for only 1000yen!





Finished the evening at MosBurger. In case you can't see the text, it says "hamburger is my life."

Letters

The first is a letter from the two 1-nensei special needs students at an elementary school I visit once every couple of months (I also walk by it on the way to one of my other schools, so sometimes stop by to chat on the way back). I was sick with food poisoning or something a couple of weeks ago and had to cancel a visit to this school, and they sent this letter to the BOE.

The second is a letter that one of my Junior High 2-nen students composed for his future host family. He will be going to the States (Seattle) on a homestay during spring vacation, and was asked to write something about Japanese culture or school life in Japan.

Hina Matsuri

Hina Matsuri ("Girls' Day," "Doll Festival" or "Peach Blossom Festival") was on March 3rd. If you have daughters, this is the day to pray for their well-being. Families with girls set up a display of traditional dolls in their houses, with the princess and prince at the top, and their servants on the descending steps. There is also a special kind of colourful sushi rice with different toppings which is a traditional dinner dish on this day.


This is a set of dolls which is over 50 years old! Not sure if they are handmade or not, but they look like they may be.





This is a very expensive set of dolls at the local ToysRUs.


One of my students with the Hina Masturi rice crackers that the students got with their school lunch.


Hina Masturi Mochi, filled with white sweet bean paste (I bought these at 7-11).