Ichigo Abroad Episode 10- Holiday Adventure

Ichigo Abroad Episode 9- Yay for Finals?

Ichigo Abroad Episode 8- Happy December!

Ichigo Abroad Episode 7- Takarazuka!!!

Ichigo Abroad Episode 6

Ichigo Abroad Episode 5

Halloween Fun

This past week was Halloween! Definitely a big holiday here in Japan. On Wednesday, Kansai Gaidai had a Halloween party on campus. Everyone dressed up in fun elaborate costumes and hung out together, laughing and taking lots of photos of everybody else! I went to school dressed up as Sailor Jupiter from the manga/anime Sailor Moon!

On Thursday I had the day off because the school was preparing for the festival held on campus on Friday. My friends and I went into Sanjo in Kyoto (it's a great shopping district) and had a lot of fun!

Much to our surprise, Japan seems to get ready for Christmas as shopping malls in America. It wasn't even November yet, but there were tons of Christmas goods and costumes in all their glory! I definitely know where to go shopping fro Christmas stuff when it is actually December!

There were plenty of Halloween goodies as well, which is why we had gone to the store. They had tons of fantastic costumes and wigs for sale, as well as adorable Trick or Treat containers and candy!

In the afternoon, we stopped at a restaurant for some delicious food! My stomach was so happy after eating at this place!!! The best part was the strawberry espresso parfait, which came with an actual cup of espresso to pour over the parfait! It was AMAZING.

Friday aka Halloween was the school festival! Tons of booths were set up with all sorts of yummy food for sale and inside buildings students were putting on art galleries and music performances. A Jazz Bagel cafe had been set up where you ordered a bagel and drink and were then able to sit and enjoy live jazz music while you ate- it was great!

This was a cotton candy booth and for only 150 yen (about a dollar fifty), you got this HUGE fresh made cotton candy! I devoured it within a minute haha!

Halloween in Japan was a ton of fun! The whole week was great after slogging through mid terms the previous week. Also, the weather was absolutely beautiful outside, so nobody had to worry about being cold in their costumes! It was a fantastic time seeing everybody all dressed up and having fun :)

Ichigo Abroad Episode 4

Ichigo Abroad Episode 3

Mid-Term Week

Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnnnnnnnn

*Ahem* Anyways, mid-terms week is here at Kansai Gaidai and I seem to be doing everything possible not to study :P First step on this journey to lack of studying was a trip to a clothing store! The temperature is finally starting to drop here in Hirakata, which means it's time for me to get some warmer clothing! 

I couldn't resist all the cute winter fashion!!! It doesn't help that I am a Vermont college student at heart and live for anything long sleeve and gloriously warm!

I was able to hide away from my studies just a little longer by going with a friend to a delicious yakiniku restaurant! Basically, you sit down at a table and order all sorts of different meats which are brought to you raw. You then cook then at your table to your liking and enjoy! It was a really fun experience and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Japan. The staff were very friendly and the meat was out of this world delicious!

Yesterday was a cold and rainy day as I took my first mid-term and then proceeded to huddle away with the warm comfort of a Maple Cinnamon Latte and a yummy bento from the cafeteria.

Afterwards, I decided to take a nap before my second class. This ending up leading to one of the most bizarre and crazy adventures I have had here thus far. When I woke up, I discovered that it was pouring rain outside. Unfortunately, I live twenty minutes from campus and wanted to take my bike to get there with time to spare before class. So I decided to do what I have witnessed others around me doing and, umbrella in one hand, began to bike through the rain. I can only say that biking with one hand on the handlebar and the other occupied by holding up an umbrella was a test of courage and exchange student insanity. Needless to say, I had a great time with this particular adventure :D

The rest of this week is just more prep for mid-terms. I have an exam this afternoon that I should probably go study for right now... :P

Show Notes for Ichigo Abroad- Episode 2

Knitting

• Sockhead Hat by bohoknits; yarn by Oh!Loops
• Geology Shawl by verybusymonkey; yarn by Yarn Hollow
• A skein of Skein yarn and bag

Travel

• Info on IC Cards- Japan Guide IC Cards 
• Town Information on Hiroshima- Visit Hiroshima 
• The KitKat Store Info- Nestle KitKat  
• Shinkansen Info- Japan Guide Shankansen 

A Trip I Will Never Forget

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to take a school trip to Hiroshima. As a person passionate about learning about history, I was over the moon about this once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to such a historical place. 

As a group, we took the Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima and headed straight for the Atomic Bomb Dome. This was a place I have always wanted to visit in person, having always seen images of it in history classes and in the History Channel. It was a awe-inspiring sight to see in person.

After the Atomic Bomb Dome, we walked around the park that had been built in honor of the tragedy and were able to take in all the views. A huge fountain had been built in the center and a long pool had been built in honor of all the victims desperately seeking water after the bomb had dropped, highlighting just how important water is. 

 

A monument was erected in honor of children who had lost their lives to the aftereffects of the radiation. A movement to build this monument was started by the classmates of a young girl named Sadako who had passed away from leukemia and has inspired many novels including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. The legend goes that if you make a thousand paper cranes, you will have your wish come true and so while in the hospital, Sadako folded over a thousand paper cranes, wishing for nothing more than to live. On the top of the monument is a girl holding up a paper crane. 

I also went to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, which had many objects donated by the families of victims, such as clothing and even real skin. It was a moving museum visit and I am so glad I was able to go there. To get this up close and personal with history was absolutely amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Hiroshima, I highly recommend it. 

Ichigo Abroad- Episode 1

Episode 1 of my new podcast on knitting and life in Japan!

Tokyo! Tons of Photos Time!

It's been a long time since I lasted posted- sorry! Things have been busy and lots of traveling has been had! I was so thrilled that I spent a weekend four hours away in Tokyo!!! I had an incredible time :)

I was able to go to a Pokemon Center in Tokyo, which was crazy nostalgic because it was the same Pokemon Center I went to the first time I came to Japan! 

Below are images of the Kit Kat Store. Yes, you read that right. There is an actual places dedicated solely to the glory of Kit Kats. They sell flavors exclusive to this little store in Tokyo which includes a chili flavor the packs quite the aftertaste! 

Back in America, I work at a Ben and Jerry's. So I totally geeked out when I came across one of only three Ben and Jerry's in existence in Japan!!! I would have gone in, but I was with my boyfriend who is currently studying abroad in Tokyo (I went to Tokyo to visit him) and we were headed to a really cute parfait cafe!

The cafe was absolutely adorable! The inside was decorated like a little cottage and the tea pots and cups were Alice in Wonderland themed!

I had this absolutely delicious orange tea- yummmmmm!

 Next up was the dessert! There were both sundaes and parfaits on the menu. My hardcore sweet tooth decided that I wanted the Strawberry Banana Chocolate sundae and it was as good as it looked!

After the cafe, we wandered around Shibuya, which is a famous district of Tokyo. One of the biggest attractions of Shibuya is the world famous Shibuya Crossing, which is the crazy all-way street crossing that can been seen in almost any film about Japan. For example, you can see Bill Murry standing lost in the midst of Shibuya Crosing in Lost in Translation. A great movie, by the way!

Below is a statue of Hachi, a famous dog that waited by the train station for an owner that never returned because he had passed away. I had been wanting to visit the statue since before I arrived in Japan! It was great ti see in person!

Shibuya 109 is a huge shopping center for women's clothing. If you are in the mood to be at the heart of Japanese fashion, I highly recommend shopping here! I didn't have time to go inside, but sometime I will! Hopefully I will have more than a college student budget to get some awesome outfits there someday haha!  

I had a wonderful time in Tokyo! There is tons to do, way more than can be fit into one weekend, but we did as much adventuring as we could and I loved every minute of it :) I can't wait to go back there again! This weekend I will be headed on a school trip to Hiroshima and will share my experiences there with you all next week! I have so been looking forward to this trip :) In the meantime, enjoy my spamming of photos :P

Catssssssss

Anyone who knows me knows that I love cats. I have been going through cat withdrawal since coming to Japan and was finally able to spend time with cats again thanks to a cat cafe! In Japan, animal cafes are extremely popular. There are everything from owl cafes, cat cafes, doctor fish cafes, and even reptile cafes! You pay for the amount of time you want to spend with the animals and, since these are cafes, you may pay extra to have a drink and/or snack as well. The cafe I visited is called Neko no Jikan (which literally means Cat Time). 

One hour with the cats costs 900 yen (approximately $9) or you can pay 1100 yen ($11) for and hour with the cats plus a drink of your choice. I decided on the drink option and got to sit in a small cafe area drinking a caramel latte while waiting for my turn to see the cats. Only so many people are allowed in with the cats at a time, so you are put on a waiting list and must wait in the cafe area, so the drink option makes the waiting much more enjoyable! One of the cat cafe staff calls your name when they are ready for you and you remove your shoes and wash you hands so as to not bring any germs in to where the cats live. When you walk in, there are cats sleeping on cat beds and on wall shelves, along with playing with the other customers. One even decided to take a nap in a man's lap for his entire hour!

Zzzzzzz

This guy was super soft and fluffy!

The white cat was coming over to everyone and seemed really curious!

Visiting Neko no Jikan was a really cool experience and definitely something you wouldn't be able to find in America! I love everytime I get to try out something new to me here! Spending time with the cats was lots of fun and I am planning on visiting the cafe again for sure!