April 8, Sunday Outing

久しぶりですねえ。Hisashiburi desu nee. It's been a while, hasn't it?

I've been spending my weekends going places, and this past week was Golden Week, so I haven't had time to update. But now, loyal followers who have been waiting for my next post, your patience will be rewarded.

Sunday, April 8th was a whole month ago, and I have to admit, if I didn't take pictures I would remember nothing to tell you.

I had run out of food in my room, so I went out in the nice weather to find a store to buy food at. The sakura were still blooming, the sky was clear, and it wasn't too hot. I finally explored the local area a bit.

I hear cars in Japan are smaller than in America, but without an American car next to it, I can't tell. At the very least, the license plate number has a lot fewer digits, probably because there are fewer cars here than in America.

I went into this restaurant since I was so hungry and it was the first place I saw. I didn't know how to order or what was on the menu, so I sat on a bench at the back to read the menu at my own pace and watch the people in line. I was lucky there was a menu of the back wall next to the bench, since unlike in America, only the special items are shown up top. The rest of the menu is on the counter, so you only get to see it once you're at the front of the line.

I ended up ordering what the people in front of me in line ordered: a chicken bento. When I was paying, I embarrassingly got the 50-yen and 5-yen coins mixed up. After I paid, I returned to the bench to wait for my food.

I was curious about the sink, since there were no places to sit and eat nearby, and the employees probably had a sink in the kitchen. Who would wash their hands?  I didn't see anyone use the sink while I was there.

I can't get over how nice the scenery in Kobe is. The sakura and the rivers give me a calming feeling.

The van says "Oriental Bakery" in katakana. I don't know what kind of food a place called that would sell.

It seemed that there was a celebration of some sort going on this side of the street, but I decided I would check it out later.

Bus stop in front of the shrine.

The way they trim trees here is baffling to me. In America they cut off the lower branches, but in Japan they often seem to  cut off nearly all of them.

Food!

They look like Bugles, but they're called Tongari Corn.

Fruit-flavored "Fettuccine" gummies.

This seems intended for children, but frankly, I find the idea of eating something decorated using a syringe a little offputting. Especially when it's filled with a reddish fluid.

Canned vegetables and bottled coffee.

I recently tried that Healthy Milk Tea on the top left and was dismayed to find it was lavender flavored, which is (1) a flavor/scent I don't like, and (2) a flavor/scent I associate with bath soap or perfume. The drink didn't actually taste bad but the smell/taste of drinking soap/perfume made me feel like it did.

C.C. Lemon is a watery soda that kind of tastes like Sprite.

A telephone booth! I don't even know if those exist in America anymore.

I know the phone is green for a reason, but I don't remember why. The poster on the right is a campaign poster for some minor official. I saw them everywhere, so I asked a Japanese friend if it was an election year. It is, but at least to people my age, it's not an important one.

It's weird to see a place that looks big and spacious. As usual, there are far more bikes than cars.

The red kanji say "Hana mi en," or "flower-viewing party."

I would have joined them to eat, since I hadn't found a place to eat yet, but I didn't have a blanket and it would be awkward by myself.

A grandmother and her grandmother going to pray at the shrine together.

The big black kanji say "uketsuke," which means receptionist. I learned later when I went to a shrine in Kyoto that you can get your fortune at a shrine, and after the receptionist gives you your fortune on a strip of paper, you read it and tie it to a stand such as the one you can see next to the elderly lady.

The map says "Roads to Mt. Maya (Maya-san)." According to Wikipedia Japan, Maya-san is part of Mt. Rokko's mountain range.

Some topped trees.

I need to ask someone knowledgeable what this contraption on the river is for. The colorful sign says the days of garbage collection for this spot, which is a "Clean Station."

I get to see lots of waterfalls <3

The sign says "When this neighborhood is under construction, please contact the following."

I've heard that it's generally looked down upon to eat while walking (I've never seen anyone do it), but at this point I was so hungry I decided to eat one of the onigiri I'd bought at Co-op.

See the plant at the bottom of the picture, on the wall? That's a giant cactus plant. Ironically, it's on the wall next to a river. I didn't notice it until recently, and I have a better picture of it in a later set.

All the driveways I've seen look pretty difficult to drive in and out of.

Strange ivy on a balcony. The rainbow on the bottom right is probably dust on my camera lens. It's pretty.

I just noticed the ladder now.

A futon hanging on a balcony. At the bottom, more election spam.

Neighborhood vending machine. Unlike America, in Kobe you find vending machines everywhere, not just public buildings.

In front of Gomo Tenjin Shrine.

Got distracted by a butterfly.

The part of the shrine where you wash your hands and mouth to purify yourself.

The shrine.

People with sons hang these carp-shaped koinobori outside for Children's Day on May 5. According to Kids Web Japan, "the carp was chosen because it symbolizes strength and success; according to a Chinese legend, a carp swam upstream to become a dragon."

Post office box.

 I decided that since the weather was nice, I would eat outside on the stairs to nowhere (mentioned in "Moving In").

Chopsticks I bought at Co-op.

Even cold, it looked delicious, and tasted pretty good.

The north half of Kokui Dorm.

After I got back to my room, I drank some milk coffee and did some organizing.

Kirin is as pervasive as Coke and Pepsi are in America.

Dessert--yum.

I used up my first toilet paper roll.

Green is such a nice color for toilet paper.

I always have to look up the kanji to figure out how to recycle the different parts. Sometimes I can't find the kanji combinations, so I have to guess and apply common sense. My electronic dictionary just pooped out on me today, and I'm too lazy to use other slower methods to look up the kanji. The general gist of the kanji: on the left in the arrows "kami" (paper), underneath is "hako" (box) and something about individual wrappers; on the right in the arrows "pura" (plastic), and underneath is something about outer film.

Top: in arrows "pura" (plastic), next to it "kyappu" (cap) and "laberu" (label). Bottom: to the right of the triangle "risaikuru (recycle) ni go-[something I'm too lazy to look up] kudasai (please)." Bottom next to PET: "botoru" (bottle).

The kanji for the flavor mean "high/expensive greens (like vegetable)," but they're not in my dictionary as a compound, so I'm not really sure what's in this onigiri.

I'm opening it properly this time.

High greens.

Experimenting with cell phone straps.

I decided to flip through KooBee, a magazine I got on the day of the Activities Fair, if I remember correctly. I found the names interesting, especially Fuzzy Navel. I don't know much of anything about cocktails, so if in America that's a normal name, let me know.

And that's the end of my slow-paced Sunday. Look for the exciting start of my second week in Japan in the next post: "April 9, Monday: Placement Test Part II, International Student Orientation (Before, During, After), Karaoke and Hanami"!