Shinto, Sushi and stuff.

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Whoa, sorry, it's been ages since I've updated. Things have been a wee bit different since the holidays - I think my host family are feeling a bit sick of me, and I've just been trying not to step on too many toes, so... internet use is a bit limited now. I think the hardest part of this exchange is living with a whole different family; you just can't really ever fit in properly. It's interesting, but... tricky. You get really angry sometimes, and just feel like saying 'man, I'll tell you what you can do with your chopsticks...'
But sorry. I'll try to keep this as sweet and happy as possible. =)

Anyway, this is going to have to be fast. So, New Year was cool. On New Year's eve, we ate a special platter of raw fish (it was as yummy as it sounds - HA), the soba noodles, and prawn tempura. We watched on TV as a group of incredibly flamboyantly dressed Japanese rockstars counted us down to the New Year.
On New Years' day we woke up to heavy snow! That was cool. The roads were clear though, so we drove to Yamaguchi (a town near Hiroshima city), where my host family's extended family live. That evening we did the Japanese New Years' custom of visiting a Shinto shrine, which was packed with people. We threw money into a special gutter thing, clapped our hands and bowed. And voila, instant luck and fortune for the New Year. =D Supposedly. But ah well, I can now say that I was Shinto for 20 seconds. Which is pretty sweet.

A couple of days later we went to a special sushi restaurant, where the sushi whizzes past you on a conveyor belt type thing. It was the best thing EVER. SO DELICIOUS!!! Very popular though, we had to wait for an hour to get a seat! That was hard, you sit on the seats around the walls, watching the sushi float past... and after a while you start like, drooling. =D All I could think about for a start was the scene in the Rowan Atkinson movie 'Johnny English', where he gets his tie stuck in the conveyor belt, and knocks down all the sushi bowls as he gets dragged around the restaurant. And I chuckled to myself. =)

Also in the holidays we went to Osaka and Kyoto for two days, which was AMAZING. I'll have to summarise it quickly-
- I got a photo with Popeye at Universal Studios, and was very proud =D
- Waited in lines, rode rides, and walked around the theme park from 9am til 8pm
- It was tiring.
- But fun.
- Ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and nearly threw up.
- Went to Kyoto the next day by bullet train, dressed up as a geisha in a beautiful hot pink kimono, wig, and full Japanese make up.
- Couldn't really breathe at all in the kimono.
- I didn't really look very Japanese. Nevertheless, loved dressing up.
- At the geisha place I was still feeling a bit dodgey, and nearly threw up again, while wearing the 10,000 dollar kimono. That may have been disastrous. Luckily, I was allright. =D
- Visited temples in Kyoto which were gorgeous, and then went home at about 6pm.

So that was awesome. I really to go back and see more of the places someday, I loved it. I wish I could go into more detail, but I've got to go, so yes. Until next time!

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Comments

[Kim]

Oh jeez, that COULD have been disastrous! Are you feeling better now? Hope so. =D I wish it would snow here... LOL Johnny English, I haven't seen that for ages!

[Beckie]

Imagine if you'd thrown up on the Kimono... Oh noes. OMG a sushi conveyor belt! All the sushi spinning around would've made me dizzy! D:

[ratter_daemon(Hannah)]

Wotcha
Woop woop shiv, I've just had a catch up on all your blogs so I thought I'd post one mass out comment rather than loadsa small ones... anyway, johnny englishj makes me chuckle. And also, good luck with the kimono-ing - I've always wanted to wear them, I'm soooo jealous of all the amazing experiences you're having. But christmas away must've been weird - interesting though, are there more people you know from NZ out there, or is it just you? Good luck - keep smilimg and avoiding toe treading on! If you get homesick just lay back and think of Harry Potter... h.xox

[Monica]

Hey there. How are things now? Feeling better? It does sound pretty hard to live with a completely different family for so long. Don't worry about keeping thing cheery for us, you are more than welcome to vent as much as you need. Good luck for the rest of your trip!