During the week I have classes, which are going well. I had my first Japanese test last Friday, which went relatively okay (I got a B). The Japanese classes are really hard, and they're also in the mornings, which make it a bit difficult for me to stay awake. Not that they're not interesting, it's just that I have the natural circadian rhythm of an opossum, and as such have the unfortunate tendency to cease functioning from 6am-11am.
On the weekends I typically go out and explore by myself. I've made some friends with other students in the program, but I haven't really gone out with them much. So far I've gone to:
(1) A cat cafe in Koshienguchi.
Koshienguchi is one stop after Nishinomiya, where I usually get off. Around two weeks ago I was zoning out while on the train and missed my stop, but decided to walk around for a bit. I came across a cat cafe, which is a sort of cafe unique to Japan, although they've started spreading to other countries as well. Because lots of people in Japan live in apartments, it's hard for them to have pets. So "cat cafes" came about, where you can pay a certain amount of money and just sit in a room full of cats for an hour. You can also get coffee, and treats to feed the cats.
I talked with the lady who owned the shop, and she explained to me that most of the cats were adopted strays from the area, though some were purchased special breeds, like a pair of Russian blue siblings and a Scottish fold cat. The cats were all pretty friendly, and one climbed into my lap almost immediately. There were also several kittens, as one of the cats had given birth recently. It was fun and I'm glad I went!
(2) Another place I went to (and then went back to again and again and again) is Amemura in Osaka.
Amemura is the nickname of the west Shinsaibashi area in Osaka, an anagram of America (Ame) and Mura (village). There are lots of trendy fashion shops, most of which used to (and some still do) sell American and European styles, hence the name Amemura. Nowadays the stores cater to fashionable young people, as well as people interested in alternative fashions, such as punk, lolita, visual kei, goth, etc.
Since I wear lolita, this place was pretty much heaven. There are several lolita clothing stores all within several blocks, as well as the famous store Closet Child: a secondhand lolita and goth/visual kei store. There I bought a rare, older dress from 2007 for 800 yen (around $7.50)! While walking around the area (wearing lolita of course) I also spotted several other lolitas, which was really cool. When I've gone to Harajuku in Tokyo before, I rarely saw other lolitas except for other foreign lolitas, probably because of the amount of tourists. However, apparently Amemura hasn't suffered the same fate (though I did see several tourists), and still serves as a haven for lolitas and other alt-fashion wearers!
Also in Amemura is a pancake restaurant called "gram," famous for their fluffy Japanese-style pancakes. Apparently whipped egg whites are added into the pancake batter, and then they are cooked in a certain way, making them super fluffy.
(3) Hiking at Nunobiki Herb Garden and Nunobiki Falls in Kobe.
During the original orientation at Konan University, I mentioned to a Japanese student that I was interested in hiking and if he knew any good trails. He told me he didn't, but introduced me to his friend who I'll refer to as S-san, who loves hiking. We exchanged contact information, and around two weeks ago she invited me and another student to go hiking with her.
The other student invited a couple friends, who then also invited friends, and when S-san and I met up at Shin-Kobe station, we were greeted with nine other international students, some of whom did not realize we were going to be hiking and came utterly unprepared. To me, this was a bit irritating, but S-san took it all in stride and adjusted the plans. We ended up taking a ropeway (cable car) up to the top of the mountain, where there were gardens and such that one could walk around in, and then some of us would hike down the mountain after exploring the gardens, and some could just take the ropeway back down.
(selfie from the cable car)
The Nunobiki Herb Gardens were very beautiful, but felt slightly bizarre. On top of the mountain, a sort of faux village had been constructed in a European style, so that it felt like I had just stepped into a miniature Disney version of 19th century Amsterdam, and then a Victorian style English rose garden, and then perfectly sculpted and pruned Versailles-esque gardens.
Nevertheless, it was beautiful, if a bit unsettling. After walking around for a couple hours, we split into two groups and one group took the ropeway back down the mountain, and the rest of us began our hike.
The hike was pretty easy, around two hours and 5 kilometers (3 miles), but it was very steep downhill and it had rained earlier, making it slippery. However, the scenery was gorgeous. There was a lake/dam (the first dam ever constructed in Kobe!) and two waterfalls.
Interestingly, along the path there were several tiny shrines or rocks with characters or poems carved into them. Some of them looked quite old, whereas some looked relatively recent. There were also some small statues that were carved into the mountainside, and some just off to the side, covered with a small roof and with flowers or incense placed near them.
All in all, the hike was really fun and I saw some really gorgeous scenery. I hope I can go hiking with S-san again sometime.
(4) Shin-Sekai in Osaka.
Shin-sekai in Osaka, as I read on a travel website, is an area of Osaka which hasn't changed much since the 80s, and where one can get really great cheap Osaka food, such as takoyaki and kushikatsu. However, the website warned me, that it was a someone seedy area and one of the main hangouts for the Yakuza, so one should not go at night. Therefore, I went during the day.
The website was accurate in some respects. There were certainly things that hadn't changed since the 80s: retro game arcades, and I spotted two "pink eiga" (softcore pornography) theaters (apparently the last of their kind in Osaka), but the area was swarming with tourists. Therefore, the food was not as cheap as I had been told. It was pretty tasty, but nothing spectacular. It was a good place to take pictures (and play some retro video games like Street Fighter II), but if one was looking for cheap, good food, they'd be better off finding some back-alley izakaya.
However, I had fun wandering around and taking photos, so it wasn't a waste of a trip. I also talked to my host family about the place, and they told me that because it was featured on an NHK gourmet travel program, it's become a huge tourist area, and therefore the yakuza left and are now stationed somewhere around Nishinari.
(the two sides of Shin-Sekai: the tourist area and the residential area)
(5) Lolita meetup at Old Rose Garden in Osaka.
This Saturday I attended my first meetup with the Kansai International Lolita Community! We met at a teahouse called Old Rose Garden in Osaka for tea, and afterwards went to Amemura to visit the aforementioned lolita mecca Closet Child and do purikura. Purikura are Japanese photobooths, where you and a friend (or as many people as you can fit into a booth) pose in front of a green screen and get your picture taken by an automated computer. You can then choose backgrounds, stickers, draw on the pictures, write messages, and even add makeup and such to your face.
There were four other girls at the meetup: two Americans, both of whom were around ten years older than me (one was married to a Japanese man and lived in Japan permanently, the other was engaged), one Canadian girl (who was my age and is in the same transfer student program as I am!), and one Japanese girl from Kyoto who was studying English and wanted to speak with other lolitas in English. Everyone was very nice and friendly, and I had a wonderful time! We talked (and ate) for hours.
The afternoon tea was fantastic. It was 1,800 yen (around $17.50) and I got: one slice of cake of my choice (I got berry shortcake), two cookies, two scones + clotted cream (actual clotted cream!!!) and jam, three tea sandwiches (cucumber, we asked them to take the ham out), ice cream, and a pot of tea (I chose earl grey). We were at the tea house for around three hours, and the entire time we were talking and snacking. In summary, it was a lot of very tasty food for a very good price. For comparison, afternoon tea at The Drake in Chicago costs around $60, and includes much less food, and you have to leave within a certain time limit.
The teahouse itself was also impressive. It was painstakingly English-themed, with tiny Union Jacks everywhere and aggressively floral wallpaper. Walking in, I felt like I had intruded upon some elderly lady residing in Chorleywood's home. The outside was similarly decorated: there were plants everywhere, as if to give the appearance of a comely country estate. It was a striking difference from the polished metal skyscrapers and office buildings of the area.
Overall, it was really, really wonderful and I'm very happy to have made some lolita friends in Kansai! I'm already looking forward to seeing them again.
(my outfit for the meet. I wore a skirt with a rose design to match the "Old Rose Garden" tea house and coordinated with the colors wine and brown, matched with a blonde wig)
