Osaka and Orientation in Tokyo

Eeeek, sorry for the delay. I haven't posted these since I started classes. My bad. Onward march!

Going waaaay back in time to before orientation, here are some pictures from Osaka! Pre-swine flu apocalypse, natch.


































































And then we finally arrive in Tokyo! Herein are some pictures snapped on the way to Yotsuya with the entire exchange program (and a cold that just about knocked me on my ass,) and some shots of the host family when I first met them.

Also, no, I don't know what those two boys in shorts are doing. I took that picture in the hopes of figuring it out someday.































We'll stop here today, if just because I'm lazy. More to come~

We interrupt this program for a pointless clothing post.

So since some of you were asking for this: here are all the clothing items I've obtained here in Tokyo thus far! Don't ask me how. I'm still shocked that I fit into things here.


Here's a shot of everything lined up. You can also see that my bed is giganto-normous.



A dress I bought while outlet-shopping with Michiyo, a poncho that Michiyo bought me (GAHHH so expensive! and yet there she was going "Oh it was so cheap" WTF MICHIYO-SAN) and three pairs of socks that are just long enough to poke out of a high heel or flat.



Bought the blue dress in Shibuya - because it's the only dress in Japan with an empire waistline that's built for someone like me, and because the salesgirl was damn good. And the silvery-black one is from a department store near my house. It's very comfy.



Another dress from the department store. V. SHORT. Will put on jeans if I plan to leave the house.



Sockssss. All knee-highs. Harajuku is a dangerous place. That said, anyone have any good ideas about what colors the navy blue argyle would go with? I liked them too much to pass them up, but I don't really have any skirts with me that work too well.



A scarf (from Harajuku again) and the handbag I got from the Nomuras for my birthday. THAT WAS EXPENSIVE TOO.

Yay pointlessclothingpost! The next picture post will be actual Japan-things, I promise.

The Last Few Weeks, Post the Third

So all sorts of things have been going down. Kamakura on Monday (gorgeous, but had to get up WAY too early), a taiko lesson (with the hottest brothers I've ever met, ohgod those ARMS, and I got a semi-hug from the little brother), Japanese placement test results (got placed in a higher-level class, yay!), joining clubs (still have no idea which to go for yet, but it was amusing to wander around and get chased by various representatives)... I thought that while I had two seconds to breathe, I'd continue my picture posts. Enjoy!

Next up are some pictures from Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist shrine. It's an interesting little place: one part of the temple has a statue of a Bodhisattva, and another part is an offshoot shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of love, Oukuninushi. At Oukuninushi's shrine, you can walk between two "love stones" with your eyes closed, and if you manage it, there is love in your immediate future.

There was also a stand with the best udon I've ever eaten. It was the first (and one of the only) meals I finished in Japan!















































































































































Kurama and Kibune: Two mountains surrounding a more rural area outside of Kyoto. We started in the Kurama area and then walked to and partially climbed Kibune.

















































































































































WOW. If you guys looked at all those, you deserve a prize. More to come another time!