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Monday 7/3/06
Wow, What a weekend, well, Saturday actually…!!!
The day started at 10am when everyone met up at Mos Burger in Gifu station. Our group for the day was me, Charlene, her friend Helen, Mike and Asai. It was so much fun! Everyone rented bikes from this little place next to the station so we could tour Gifu. Well, everyone except me that is, because I had one : ) We spent the next three hours seeing loads of stuff around Gifu, some that Mike had shown me before, and some that he hadn’t. Mainly the tour consisted of a few temples, some really pretty parks (Gifu Koen being the main one), the river, and Gifu’s famous daibutsu--which is this giant Buddha statue. Getting to see all the temples was great and at one of them I even saw a bunch of Miko (japanese priestesses/shrine maidens)!!! They looked just like Kikyo from InuYasha anime!!! It was so cool!!
Gifu Koen is the main park in Gifu and also the location of one of the skytrans that takes you up to the castle. It is also home to an insect museum which has some really amazing and giant
insects!!! We didn’t actually go in the museum but we did look around the gift shop a bit and play with all the chotchkys. However, my favorite part of the day was when we went to the main temple in Gifu which is located on the base of the mountain. I think it is actually my favorite place, too. Its this HUGE temple that is situated at the base of the mountain and is surrounded by nothing but lush greenery. The temple must be really old, and extends pretty far back up the mountain. There are lots of quaint buildings spread over a pretty decent size area. Lots of waterfalls and pools and gorgeous architecture everywhere!
While we were at the temple there was this little stand selling fortunes in pretty little bags. I was standing with Asai and asking him what each one was for and he was explaining them to me. Then I saw little zodiac bags and asked if these were fortunes as well. He replied yes, asked me what my animal was, and, when I told him, he bought one for me!!! I was so thrilled!! He is such a nice person. After the temple
when we were at Gifu Koen I bought him some dango to thank him. (Dango is mochi on a stick dipped in Teriyaki sauce, I wasn’t a huge fan but it could be good if youre really hungry.) While we were eating our dango, we saw these 2 girls surrounded by all these guys with cameras. At first glance it looked like a model shoot, but Asai kun told us that they could be student photographers or just a bunch of guys who are "fans" of this girl. Apparently, really popular kids in Japanese schools are known as "idols" and they actually have fan clubs who follow them and take their picutres and everything!!! Crazy huh??
Anyway, after the temples and the parks we went to the river, which was awesome!! Everyone put their feet in and cooled down, and we all sat and chatted for a bit. One of Mike’s friends was there and they sort of went off and talked by themselves for a bit while us young’uns played in the water 😊
Our last stop on the tour was the Gifu daibutsu, which is situated in this little run down shack looking place. You would
never have imagined that this rusted old building housed such a HUGE Buddha statue!! It was big. And gold. And big. And gold. Surrounding it were lots of little wooden priests made to look like they were sitting on bleachers and in some kind of raptures or heated discussion I guess. On the back were these tapestries depicting heaven and hell and the judgement. Definitely some Christian influence because the heavenly beings weresporting halos and the hell was all fire and brimstone and the lot. Definitely interesting to see. Anyway, after that we met Keiko at the station. Hahahah! Asai didn’t recognize her, and introduced himself to her!! It took us like three times trying to explain it to him, but I finally managed to tell him that Keiko worked with us and in fact sat right next to me!!! Hahaha poor guy was so embarrassed !! But is was really funny…teeheehee Anyway all in all it was a great morning.
After lunch we split up for a bit. Charlene, Helen and I went to Charlene’s place and showered/chilled for a bit before going to a Japanese lesson in Sakae. Her apartment was really huge!! She lives there with
kids playing on the train ;) 2
Mike's bum and Helen's back :) her boyfriend and 2 sweet Persian cats!!! It was really nice just relaxing for a bit after such a long day. Then around 5:30 we went to lesson in Sakae. However, Charlene and Helen had started drinking beforehand so I’m not sure how much they actually learned…haha! I had quite a good lesson with a Canadian engineer and it was taught by this nice old retired teacher. His English was ok and I learned some really useful things. Also, the lessons are given in a lounge type space that is used for teaching English during the week, and when you’re there you get a complimentary drink, which is super nice! These lessons are a little more expensive than the ones at Gifu station—500 yen to join and 1000 yen per month (this equals a little less than $15)—but it’s also quite a bit more professionally organized.
After the lesson, we met up with a bunch of Char’s friends for the party. Asai kun also showed up!!! Soooooo cute!! However, when we got there, the bar was packed and really uncomfortable. Also it was only foreigners there (mostly Canadians and aussies) and I felt bad for Asai, who doesn’t speak
Main Gifu shrine
my fave place..these pics honestly don't do it justice any English (well very little at any rate), so the 2 of us decided to go for coffee at starbucks. This ended up being the way better option!! Asai and I sat and talked for a really long time and I got to know him a lot better. He’s a really nice guy and way cool! He plays the drums and likes cooking, kampecki!!!! Also, he’s definitely the gentleman! He paid for everything for me—coffee, snacks, even my train tickets home!!! After coffee both of us were way tired so we headed back home on the train. The whole time we were together I felt so bad though, because I always had to ask him what he was saying or what he meant. My Japanese is so bad!!!! But little by little I’m learning and getting better!!! Luckily he is very patient and kind and knows enough English where we can get by 😊 Kawaiiii!!!!!!!
However, by the time we got back and I had ridden my bike home, I was exhausted, but I have to say, it was a great day!
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