Hakodate: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 11pm

So a lot has happened since last week when I wrote my first blog. I think I am starting to get used to this country a little more. I didn’t realize how relaxing it is to be in Japan. Unlike America, or rather NY, I don’t feel overwhelmed most of the time. I think just being in NY is nerve racking.

During my last days of freedom, before school (intensive language and cultural classes) started, I spent my last few days of freedom exploring. I went to a regular onsen (public bath) and a brown onsen. I went to the regular-clear onsen first, which was in Yunokawa, Hokkaido. It was here I sat in the 100+ degree water for 2 hours while I dehydrated myself with a bottle of sake. It was nice, but I thought I was going to pass out. Note to self: Do not drink an alcoholic beverage while boiling like a crab in a hot pot. It was an outdoor onsen by the sea, but if you stood up anyone who happened to pass by will be able to get a good look at your nude figure. Yes, you go in the onsen completely naked! Which is wonderful.

The brown onsen is brown because of the minerals it contains. I prefer it to the regular-clear kind. The one I went to was in Yachigashira, Hokkaido, I think. After a bit in the brown onsen, your skin feels soft and you feel completely rejuvenated. I wish America had onsens. It’s amazing how Japanese people are able to relax after a hard day’s work.

I also climbed the Hakodate mountain. Although it’s a pretty small mountain in my eye, my friends and I took the long route to the top, so it took forever. But, you wouldn’t believe what was on top of the mountain. Apart from the view, which I missed out on because it was so foggy you couldn’t see 30 feet in front of you, there are a ton of vending machines: Everything from ice cream, to cigarettes, to drinks. Also there is a store that sells various goods such as candy, corn ice cream, whole dried squid, and bite size baby crabs that you pop in your mouth. Going up was so steep it took us 4 hours to get to the top. So we decided to take the ropeway back down.

We also went to the museum, and apparently the day we went it was free. It depicted the Ainu people of Hokkaido, the natives of the area. Painted as brown, hairy, half naked, and almost animalistic, the Ainu were seen as savages that wrestled bears. They were basically the Indians of Japan. So I was witness to a bit of history…

We also tried to go to the zoo, which was next to the museum, but it was being repaired. But we did see a really sexy albino peacock, who was separated from the females, but strutting his stuff and showing off. I think the peacock came from India. It’s strange, because around a church at Columbia University, they have the same albino peacocks, except the one I saw in Japan was bigger. Next to the zoo was an amusement park, and I got on one really old-looking kids ride. The amusement park was worn down, but in and of itself it looked like an antique. The ride cost 250 yen, about $2.50. Not worth it.

We also went to this soba noodle place. It was a restaurant run by an old couple within the comfort of their home. Soba noodles are supposed to be really good for you because they use buckwheat to make it. At the place we went to, they made the noodles themselves and they were so friendly and talkative that we managed to speak to them in Japanese for about 2.5 hours. After we took a picture with them and they took one with their camera as well.

We also went to a bar/food place run by Markkun and Hiromi. And although the drinks are really good, even when they put a lot of sake, it just tastes so good (but alcoholically speaking, soo weak) you want to drink it all in one gulp. They loved all of us, and we took pictures with them too. Japan never IDs and the legal drinking age is 20 years old.

I went shopping and got a really nice green scarf for about $7.50. It was at a thrift store, but it was 50% off and new. Apparently a lot of Japanese people like thrift stores and they are all over the place. They are also pretty pricey. They can be more expensive than new clothes, but a lot of the clothes they sell have American logos on them. Japan loves clothes with English on them, even though they are misspelled and/or the grammar/meaning is embarrassingly off.

The sushi here is amazing. Anything seafood here is incredible. My host family told me that Hakodate is known for their squid.

So anyway, I started my first day of official school this past Monday, June 15th. There are only 10-12 people per class so it’s nice. We have class Monday-Friday from 9am to 12:15pm. Then we have cultural classes or kendo/judo/kyudo (Japanese fencing, martial arts, or archery).

Today I learned the art of Japanese ceramic pottery. In Japanese they told me the way to make it is by building it up and then killing it (the word they use literally means to kill). You squeeze the clay together as the machine moves it round and round and so the clay becomes tall or long, then you let go and hold onto it as you push it down to kill it down.

I wrote too much.