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Published: October 22nd 2007
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Himeji Castle
Definitely worth the train ride. One of my favorite parts of the castle was the smell of the old wood on the inside. The past week and a half or so in Kyoto has been very eventful. I started off by visiting Himeji Castle which is about a 2 hour train ride away from Yamashina. We ended up getting off the train two stations too early and at that point we were out in the boonies so it was forty minutes until the next train arrived! But Himeji was well worth a visit and as the lonely planet says, if you are going to visit only one castle in Japan it should be Himeji. Plus along the way we past the world’s longest suspension bridge - larger than the Golden Gate!
At Nova, teachers were supposed to be paid on Monday the 15th, but the previous Friday we received notice we would not be paid until the Friday. So after this notification, I was the only English teacher coming into work. Luckily the French and German teachers continued to come in so I wasn’t completely alone and I think my go with the flow attitude helped lighten the mood for them. Since I have no hope of a pay check, I did figure out how to get paid ¥240 per day. Because I
World's Longest Suspension Bridge
Look closely and you might be able to see it. We just past by in the train so I couldn't get a better shot. started mid month, they reimburse me in cash for transportation so I tell them I take a more expensive route than I actually do. At this rate it is going to be a really long time before my student loans get paid off!
Anyways, since I was the only teacher going into work I could get away with anything so I ditched the dress code, burned the nylons and have been wearing my flip flops to work. It was nice because everyday the students were so grateful that I was there. Some of them have over 300 lessons left that they have prepaid for. My favorite student, Miho, owns a restaurant and she knows our situation so she told me to come over after work and she would provide dinner. It was the most amazing meal I have had in a long time. It was a traditional Japanese restaurant/bar which means to say it was really small. I met a couple of other Nova people there and someone from Seattle! It was a great night talking with some of the local Japanese people and trying some very interesting food. Miho has a patent (I did not know you could
Gate Number Two
Hemiji had four gates to block invading soldiers before getting to the main castle patents food) on baked chicken skins which she created. I thought they were crackers at first but they were really good. I also tried some pressed fish eggs. Luckily they told me what they were after I ate them.
On Wednesday I met up with Sarah Farber and her family, which was amazing. Farbs is actually the person who told me about Nova and the great experiences that she was having with the company. It’s okay Farbs, I don’t blame you 😊 We met outside of Nanzen-ji and went to an excellent tempura restaurant. Part of my meal was a really good corn tempura which I have never seen before. It was really nice to catch up with them and I couldn’t help thinking back to my freshman year at UPS and who would have thought that five years down the road we would be meeting for dinner in Kyoto.
Thursday morning Yasuhiro, our family friend who lives in Kagawa, came and got me from my apartment. He is such a nice person and I always have a great time when he is around, never knowing what to expect. We went into Kyoto went up the Kyoto Tower
Gardens Around Hemiji
I already went past the gate, I don't know why I didn't go all the way to the center (their equivalent of the space needle). It was a beautiful day so we had really great views of the city. Aiya, his daughter, met us for lunch and then we spent way too long working with a travel agent. I felt horrible but it finally got worked out, or I should say it will be in six days. Many travel agents in Japan do not take credit cards! I couldn’t believe it, I thought Visa was everywhere you needed to be. Since there isn’t exactly any Bank of America’s in Japan I have to use a foreign ATM, which only allows you to withdraw 30,000 yen per day. Very annoying! But the good news is that on November 15th I will be on my way to Thailand! I’m returning to Japan on January 11th and will be in Seattle on the 13th. Whoever Sarah Carnahan is using for a reference in her job search please make her look bad so she will join me on this adventure instead of entering the working world! After figuring everything out with the travel agent I went with Aiya and spent the night at her apartment in Osaka.
Friday I returned to my
Sanjo Area
I love the streets in Japan. Sanjo is the best place for people watching. On a Friday night you will see break dancers, fire dancers/throwers, guitars and on one special occasion we saw a group of college students getting engaged....Not quite my style but it was interesting none the less. apartment to find out that teachers had not been paid! I hadn’t talked to anyone from work and decided to go in on Saturday to see what was going on (and also because I hadn’t gotten my transportation money from Tuesday - pathetic, I know). I was the only teacher there. It was a good day though because I had all of my favorite students. It was very interesting and a little sad that all of the students were very surprised that it was an American still coming to work. I was a little offended of the American stereotype they hit me with, but hey I’m just doing my part get rid of the bad rap that Americans have overseas.
I asked my branch manager a while back if I could take a Nova Usagi, the company mascot (Usagi means rabbit in Japanese). Since she has already put in her resignation she told me to take whatever I’d like. I ended up going home with the giant usagi for the guys who live above me. I usually attract a good amount of attention and stares walking down the streets of Japan when I’m walking in general. Walking with the
Lanterns
Lanterns in the shopping district near my work. usagi was definitely an exception to the normal, somewhat discrete stares. I ended up having someone take a picture of me out of the second story of a building.
After taking some good pictures with usagi we took it to the Sanjo bridge on Saturday night. Sanjo is the nightlife area of Kyoto and has a large amount of pedestrian traffic so it was the perfect place to give usagi a final resting place. We ended up hanging usagi from the center of the bridge and it was great because Nova is the largest language school in Japan so everyone knows what the usagi is and the message we were sending. We went back the next day and the rope was still there but usagi had gone MIA.
Today I realized that I don’t have that much time left in Kyoto and since it is such a culture rich city there is still a lot that I need to see. I've made a list of the must see places before my time is up and began with the Path of Philosophy. The Path of Philosophy, or Tetsugaku-no-michi, is a lovely walking path that follows a river and has
Miho
One of my favorite students who owns a restaurant...now thinking about it that might be why she is one of my favorites :) many shrines and temples along the way. At the end of the path is Ginkaku-ji, the silver pavilion. The shogun’s ambition to cover the buildings with silver was never realized, but the name stuck. The gardens at this place were very impressive. It had the raked sand gardens which were quite spectacular. A few of the leaves have started to change colors, but in two weeks it will be absolutely gorgeous there.
That’s all for now in Kyoto. Since I am going back into tourist mode I will hopefully be having updates a little more often.
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Farbs
Sarah Mariko Farber
Gomene!!!
Jess, I am so sorry I recommended this crazy company!! But I am glad I got you over to Japan for a bit and that we got to have a mini reunion in Kyoto!!!