Six Weeks in Yonago: Daily Life

I realize its been a while since my last post, so I plan on making this one a big one. I've settled into daily life here in Japan. With school and Kendo after that, I haven't had much free time on weekdays. However, the time I've been spending at school is a ton of fun (compared to American school at least)

School

As I said above, school is a lot of fun. My school operates on a block schedule so every day is somewhat different. Most days have 7 45 minute periods with a 30 minute lunch period between 4th and 5th period. I was surprised to find that my math classes contained subjects that I had already learned back in America. I even taught my host brother a trick for memorizing the sine, cosine and tangent values on the unit circle. In my English classes, my teachers are taking advantage of having a native speaker in class, and often have me read out loud for the class to listen to. I also understand a lot of what's being taught in my biology class as I remember it from GBBE. I'm still very popular among the girls at school. Many of the guys find it amazing that I'm not that popular in the US. To be honest, it's really funny.

Kendo

Kendo meets daily after school until about 6:30. Kendo is relatively unpopular at my school with only 7 people aside from myself. As such, its very easy to become friends with all the members. Most of them don't know very much English, so communication can sometimes be hard. However, we're very patient with each other, so we can figure out what we are trying to talk about. The object of Kendo is simple: land a direct hit on the opponent's helmet, chest plate, or gloves. Doing so earns you a point. The first person to two points, or the person with more points when time runs out wins. I've been learning the basics such as the foot movements and how to properly strike. I've gotten blisters on my feet and hands from the practice, but it's worth it. I have so much fun whenever I'm at Kendo practice. I wore my helmet for the first time today and also got hit on the head for the first time today. I'll be honest, it hurt. However, I'll power through that and continue to have fun.

Food

Food here in Japan is fantastic. Over the past couple weeks I've been here, just about everything I've eaten or drank tasted great. The only exceptions have been asparagus and grapefruit juice and those I didn't like only because I don't like asparagus or grapefruits. Above is a picture of melon soda. If you ever have an opportunity to drink this stuff, do it. It's great. The third picture down is okonomiyaki. If you ever have an opportunity to eat this stuff, do it. It's great. Seriously though, I think melon soda is now my favorite drink and okonomiyaki is now my favorite food. Yeah, they taste that good. Also pictured below is conveyor belt sushi. Japanese seafood is extremely fresh and also extremely tasty. Everyday for school, my host mother packs me an obento lunch. It is pictured below the cake. Authentic Japanese food is definitely something I'll miss when I return to the US.

Karaoke

The other day, I went to a karaoke place with Riku and a couple guys from the kyuudo club. As you may or may not know, karaoke is a Japanese invention. In Japanese, karaoke means "empty orchestra." Japanese karaoke varies greatly from American karaoke. Whereas in America, karaoke is typically performed in front of a crowd of people you probably don't know, in Japan, karaoke is a much more private activity. You and some friends pay for a room with a karaoke machine and spend time just having fun singing karaoke. I find the Japanese system much more enjoyable as it's not nearly as embarrassing when you screw up on a song among friends compared to when you screw up in front of complete strangers.

Scenery

Japan is a beautiful place. Among the following pictures, the first 5 were taken at attractions within the Tottori Prefecture. However, the rest of them were taken as we were driving or on my bike ride to or from school. I'm not one to usually sit and just look at my surroundings to take in the beauty of them. However, I find myself doing just that here in Japan. Everywhere I go it seems there's something nice to look at.

GeGeGe no Kitaro

If you ever visit Japan's Tottori Prefectue, you will quickly become aware of the existence of Kitaro. GeGeGe no Kitaro is a horror manga written by Shigeru Mizuki, a veteran was born in Tottori. Mizuki lost his arm in an air raid, so Mizuki wrote Kitaro single-handedly. Kitaro stuff is everywhere in Tottori. I became acquainted with Kitaro the moment I got off the plane. The hallway leading from the plane to the baggage claim had Kitaro wallpaper. It turns out Yonago's airport is named "Yonago Kitaro airport." On the road that drives past the airport if you drive a certain speed, grooves on the road literally sing the Kitaro theme song. I saw Kitaro characters on road signs, Kitaro characters in stores, I even saw Kitaro characters in my host family's house! I was intrigued so, before I started school when I had plenty of time to kill, I read Kitaro. I quickly became a fan. So, last weekend we went to Kitaro road. It's exactly what it sounds like. A road completely Kitaro themed. The entire road is studded with bronze statues of Yokai characters from the manga. It's an experience unique to the Tottori Prefecture, and one I'm glad to have taken part in.

4th of July

When July 3rd came around, I told my host family about the 4th of July and what most Americans do to celebrate it. Fireworks that is. We went out to get fireworks and on the 4th we set them off. It was a great time. I was able to share a part of American culture while at the same time I was able to see Japanese fireworks. We didn't get anything huge nor did we have to. An interesting example of Japanese fireworks is the octopus sparkler pictured below. It's five sparklers tied together with the outer four attached to the body via springs. Once lit, it will burn through the tie releasing the springy sparklers in a tentacle like wavy fashion. It's really amusing to watch.