Week 7

Just when I though things were calming down a bit, I had another busy week this week. Overtime, museums, snow, concerts, weekend trips. I think I need a break after all the time off I had this week.

Things kicked off this week when I accepted an overtime shift last Tuesday (on overtime days we typically go teach someone else's class if, say, they're on vacation.) To make a long, shop-talk filled story short; materials were not prepared and I had to improvise right off the bat. Luckily I'm pretty easy-going and everything turned out okay in the end.

Wednesday I went with a friend (the same one who joined me at the earthquake museum the week before) to see the Modern Transportation Museum here in Osaka. The M.T.M. isn't much to write home about but for 400 yen it's worth a look. Being partially sponsored by JR (Japan Rail) there'a a heavy bias towards trains over other froms of transportation and I suppose it's great if trains are your thing.

Thursday I had to (ungh) work. On the bright side I went out afterwords (my shift ended at 11:05) and chilled with friends in my favorite watering hole until 3am.

Friday (the National Foundation Day holiday) was greeted groggily until I looked outside and saw a beautiful blanket of snow covering the city. I threw on some warm clothes, grabbed my camera, and ran out the door. I ended up walking around my neighborhood and up to Namba Parks (a big mall with a park on top.) I was the last person to climb the slippery snow-covered stairs before security cordoned everything off as a safety precaution. I spent the afternoon relaxing and anticipating the concert that evening. The Band this time was "The King Brothers" and it was in the same location as the last concert I went to (though the venue had been re-painted/branded in the short time since January.) The band was pretty awesome, played a long set, and even played two encores.

The original plan for Saturday/Sunday called for driving to Awaji Island and spending the night in a Japanese style inn. Unfortunately, with Friday's snow it was unclear how easy it would be to get around on the island. In a fantastic bit of last-minute planning my girlfriend and I decided to take the train to Kyoto instead. We left late in the morning and made it to Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion) shortly after one. Contrary to weather forecasts it was only partly cloudy with only about 5 minutes of sleety-snow mid-afternoon. After Kinkakuji we walked down the street to Ryuuanji (home to Japan's most famous rock-garden.) By the time we got on a bus bound for Kyoto station the clouds had cleared and it even got a little warm out. We arrived at our hotel (just around the corner from Kyoto station) at about 4pm. I thought we were a bit early but it was nice to have a chance to use the hotel's spacious Japanese-style bath before dinner. Dinner was, in true Japanese-inn style, served in our room. The chanko-nabe (the type of Japanese stew often eaten by sumo-wrestlers) served was quite delicious and very filling. After dinner we relaxed and watched TV. Sunday morning we slept in and lazily took another dip in the Japanese-style bath before packing up and heading out. The first stop on day two was Touji (home to Japan's most famous 5-story pagoda.) followed by the site of the Rashoumon (see the Kurasawa movie of the same title.) There's nothing left of the old gate, but there is a stone marker designating the place where it once stood as the South entrance to the old capitol. After lunch we walked along the Kamo river up to the Sanjo shopping area. Here we strolled around for a while before taking the subway back to Kyoto station. We ended our stay in Kyoto with a nice view of the city from the top of the station. A great end to a great trip.