Cousins

Tonight my host father's sister and her family came over for dinner. They have two girls, ages 10 and 7, and they live in the area. Satoshi, Shun and the girls all get along so well, it's always a good time when they come over! We ate pizza and then the kids all went into the ofuro together. These pictures make me envious of those who grow up with lots of cousins to play with.

Before I forget: This afternoon I went with Masayo, Shun, Satoshi and their younger cousin, Mana-chan, to a local Halloween event. As of three years ago (according to my host dad), Halloween in Japan has gotten really gained popularity. Instead of going trick-or-treating, however, the kids often have parades and dressing up is the main focus....plus getting candy, of course. We had a map of the neighborhood stores, with which we went to each one and collected their hanko (stamp). One is then able to earn a bag of candy. There was a parade in a local shopping center, all performed by the local preschool kids! I really wish I'd had my camera---I had no idea there was going to be a parade! The kids were all decked out in identical shimmering capes, party hats and flags. They paraded around once and then played some music---some kids on drums, others on cymbals, or pompoms. I was amazed at the precision that these little kids had; they must have practiced a lot! We also saw Spider Man and other characters I didn't know. Satoshi and Manami, on our way back home, contemplated whether Spiderman came (by helicopter) from Russia, Kenya or America (!!). All in all, it was a really fun day.


This is what happens when you have older cousins who are girls.

And then this.

Such a goof.

Mana-chan laughing about something (as usual).

Bubble beards for the ladies!

Satoshi

They were pretending to be dogs.

BUBBLES!! L-R: Manami, Shun, Misako, Satoshi

Hiroshima

Sorry for the lack of updates lately; life has been keeping me busy.

Here are pictures from Hiroshima two weekends ago. The trip was intense, particularly since we had the opportunity to hear a hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivor, speak. Paul Scott, our political science professor, arranged the entire thing. The woman, Miyoko Matsubara, was one of the Hiroshima Maidens after the war; she was severely disfigured after the bombing and underwent many surgeries. At one point during her speech, she held up her hands and said her fingers were stuck together after the bombing. It was inspiring to see this woman, who was has obvious health problems (she had trouble speaking and walking), come talk. Not only for an hour, but a prepared speech in English! She is one of only 87 or so hibakusha left today, and, according to Paul Scott, only 20 or so agree to talk about their experience. The story was emotional and sad, but she was so glad that we all came from many different parts of the world (hence why the speech was in English), because she wanted us all to go back to our countries and tell her story.

Shinkansen!! Also known as the fastest train in the world: a 6 hour bus ride or take this for an hour and a half!

Very large hanging ad for beef!

Lots of mikans on our way to the museum.

8:15am, August 6, 1945

This was the only thing I'd remembered about the museum from when I was little...only a small part of the display and artifacts!

Tricycle

Model of Hiroshima before the atomic bomb was dropped.

After

Memorial to all victims affected by the atomic bombs.

The flame of peace (if you can see it).

Atomic Dome, looking up

An alarm system was placed around it a few years ago.

The river next to Peace Memorial Park

The statue built for the Children's Peace Memorial

The girl atop the statue is the famous Sadako Sasaki, who was diagnosed with and died of leukemia ten years after the atomic bombing (she was 12 when she died). When she was in the hospital, she set a goal to fold 1000 origami cranes before she died (cranes are a symbol of peace and good luck). She did not make it to 1000. Afterward, her friends and other children built the memorial in her memory and hundreds of cranes are folded each year.

Stone under the memorial. Reads: This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world.

All made of paper cranes: these characters together (left to right here) stand for "peace" (heiwa)

Only a handful of origami cranes there...

There were SO many...

The banner hanging on the left is from October of 2007

These ones have "peace" brush painted on each wing

...and more of the same

With atomic bomb survivor Miyoko Matsubara after her talk.

Miyajima

Now that I survived the long insane week from hell of midterms and getting my medicine issue resolved, I have time to post some pictures! Here is our trip to Miyajima. Miyajima is located next to Hiroshima and you take a 20 min. ferry ride to get there. It has the only Shinto torii, or gate, Itsukushima Shrine, in the world that is in water! It was very cool. The water level was down, and the lighting was kind of awful for taking pictures, but I am posting them anyway!
Love,
Monica

Getting on the ferry

Yay, Obies! With Dan on the ferry

With Andrea!

A boat!

Deer eating paper found on the ground. At first there were two...

And then there were three! And cars drove around them while they stood in the middle of the street eating paper!

Blurry picture take while walking

With one of the funniest girls I've met, Margarita, from Bolivia

Lots of lanterns

Lantern with Itsukushima Shrine in the background

Istukushima Shrine torii

You can see how high the water was during the day...

Reflections

Looking up

A very blurry me in front of the torii... The End :-)

Himeji Castle

I visited Himeji Castle with Yoshiko when I stayed with her last weekend. Inside we took our shoes off and climbed the very steep six flights of stairs. On the third floor we had to wait for 20 min. because it got so crowded at the top. The ceilings are very low because Japanese people from the time of the castle were very short. There were signs saying Mind Your Head with red strings hanging down as a reminder to duck. It was a great day, weather wise. We did not eat lunch until 4:30pm because the tour took so long! It is one castle in Japan that is pretty much the same as when it was built in the 14th century---very different from the Osaka Castle. The Himeji Castle is also a World Heritage Site and there were LOTS of foreigners, more than I'd seen in a while.

The pictures are not in any kind of order. Some of them are not the best of my best pictures, but I figured I'd rather post them than not. Enjoy!

A good frontal view of the castle, minus the tree branches on the left.

A view before we left when the sun was setting. Pretty, eh? :-)

All the different holes to peek through and (perhaps) shoot the enemies from.

According to legend, a girl drowned in the well, and ever since then, her ghost haunts the place.

It says stone coffins are embedded in the walls. Kind of creepy!

View from the top.

Fish tail on the roof at and a view from the top floor window.

Just in case you forget, a sign reminding you to put on your shoes at the end of the tour. The last Japanese character is missing, but one can still figure it out.

Going down the stairs. They are MUCH steeper than they look!

Shinto shrine on the sixth floor.

Very old footwear. Ouchy looking.

A shooting hole---there are many different shapes: circles, triangles, rectangles...I think that was about it.

Since one is not obligated to wear slippers, only to take off his/her shoes, there were many bare feet. I went in my socks. You can see slippers in the background of the picture.

An important notice inside the castle (!) 

Stairs

A water drain. I guess maybe it should be horizontal. Sorry.

See that narrow horizontal slit above the stone wall? You can throw rocks down on enemies from there---very clever!

A display of all the family tiles---each royal family has its own mark, which becomes part of the roof decorations(?) on the castle.

View from afar.