Mid-Autumn Festival on a moonless night

Typhoon No. 17 was last heard heading for Kanto. My friends had planned for a moon viewing party by a nearby river today to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But the rain and strong winds brought by the typhoon kept everyone indoors. 

After hearing the rain and strong winds for most of the day, the silence outside in the night seemed unnatural. When I sensed that all was quiet, I quickly dropped by at the 24-hour supermarket to do my groceries.  The streets were quite a mess with fallen leaves and tree branches here and there. Bicycles parked along the streets were knocked over by the winds.  Few people were out in the streets. Those whom I saw walked with a sense of urgency, as if the quiet might bring with it another storm.

At the supermarket, tsukimi dango was being sold at discounted prices and I bought a packet to try. I had received numerous flyers from supermarkets which featured a range of traditional foods that were being sold for moon viewing (or tsukimi in Japanese). They made me very curious.   Unlike the Chinese who eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Japanese have the custom of eating tsukimi dango during their moon viewing gathering.  Moon viewing, or tsukimi, was said to have spread from China to Japan during the Heian period.  In addition to tsukimi dango, another common traditional food in Japan on Mid-Autumn day is taro roots or satoimo. These foods along with a vase decorated with susuki grass and autumn flowers are placed on altars as offerings to the moon for abundant harvest.

 

 

 

My neighbour had also treated me to some of the mooncakes that she had made earlier that evening. They contained meat fillings. I learnt from her that there were many types of mooncakes in China and those containing meat was just one type.  It was interesting how a tradition that originated from China was celebrated with different foods in different countries. The aroma of my neighbour's moon cakes still lingered in my apartment. It tasted so good that I am going to try making them one of these days. I don't think we have meat moon cakes in Singapore, do we?

 

 

 

 

Although we had the traditional foods all ready, the moon was not in sight at all. My first Mid-Autumn Festival in Japan and it had to be a moonless night.

 

Accessing Japanese TV and radio on the internet

When I first came to Kyoto, I considered for the longest time if I should get a television so that I could watch Japanese TV shows and improve my listening skills. But I didn't want to spend money to dispose of the TV set when I leave so I didn't get one in the end (yes, you need to pay to dispose of electrical appliances such as TV, fridges etc).

 

I also tried to tune my mobile phone to receive radio signals but could only receive the signal of one boring radio station.

 

Not too long ago, my school mates shared two websites with me where I could access Japanese TV shows and Kyoto radio networks for free.  I am sharing them here, if anyone's interested.

 

• http://www.myniji.tv/
• http://radiko.jp/#
   

Lunch time musings

 

One thing I really dislike about school life here is the lunch time. Lunch time is fixed at 1210-1300h so almost everyone would try to have their meals during this time. Although we have two cafeterias and one small cafe, these are extremely crowded during lunch. There are other options such as the convenience store in school, and the food kiosks set up around school grounds to sell bento sets and convenience foods. However, long queues are a common sight too.



Students queuing to buy food from a food kiosk set up outside the cafeteria.

 





A simple lunch prepared on the late night of
27 Sep for lunch on the following day. 

I have classes before and after lunch and I really don't like to rush through my meal. From the onset, I made the decision to bring my lunch from home.  To my own surprise, I actually managed to keep that up for one whole semester. Last semester, I prepared my lunch in the morning just before going to class and it was often a mad rush. I subsequently learnt from school mates that they would prepare their lunch the night before. So for this semester, I am adopting this new practice.

 

A quiet lunch in the classroom.

The school recognises the problem of crowding in the cafeterias and classrooms are open for students to use during lunch. Hence, it is a common sight to see students bring their trays of food from the cafeterias to eat in classrooms.

 

I usually spent lunch time in the classroom as well, away from the crowds.  Last semester, I had a few classmates who would do the same and we would chat as we ate during lunch time. This semester, the new classmates seemed to prefer eating among the crowds.

 

While I still sat at my favourite corner of the classroom eating my shoddily prepared lunch, the people who used to share that time with me were not in the seats where they used to be.  I wonder if they thought of me back home just as I thought of them while I was eating my lunch.

The first day of the second semester

 

Received an encouraging message from a friend 
- "Let's work hard together this semester!"

The attitude of a "returning student" towards a new semester is totally different from that of  a new exchange student.  I not only lost the enthusiasm I used to feel on the first day of class, I also lost the impetus to make new friends.

When I first started out on this programme in spring, I was anxious to know people. Now that I am into my second semester, I have sort of taken on the perspective of the onlooker, smiling to myself at the familiar scenes of new students busy exchanging contact details and chatting about where to go after class.

I am now back in my comfort zone because there are some wonderful people from the last semester who have become my friends. Even my self-introduction in class was over in a matter of seconds. I used to put alot more effort into it but now, I knew that everyone would be too nervous thinking about their own self-introduction to care about what I had to say.

There were the usual comments which still surprised me even though I had them from classmates and teachers in the last semester. A new classmate asked me today if I had studied in America as I was speaking in English to an American classmate, while another asked if I were from China, as I was conversing with my Chinese friends in Mandarin. And then there were the usual reactions when I explained Singapore's bilingual policy - "I didn't know that!"

Classes were as interesting as they could be. In my class, there were 15 classmates from 13 different countries spanning the US, Middle East, Europe, Northeast and Southeast Asia and Oceania. A multi-cultural mix of students, just like the last semester in which I got to know people from 9 different countries.

Our Japanese sensei was a humorous gentleman who started the class explaining the geography and history of the prefectures in Kansai region, and then an account of how he met his wife when he was studying abroad.  He shared abit of trivia about Kyoto, that it is not just temples and shrines but also an important education hub with close to 40 universities and the base for major companies such as Nintendo and Wacoal.

 

Scribbling in the notebook.

It looked like the classes with my new sensei would be very enjoyable.  "For the sake of world peace, please make as many friends in this international environment as possible and learn to appreciate the many different cultures. For the sake of world peace, please do your best towards international marriages!" And with those inspiring words, he ended the class.  We would be reading Japanese literature in his class and for the first lesson, we did a short story from one of  my favourite writers, Hoshi Shinichi. 

 

My second class with another sensei was alittle unsettling actually. It was conducted in the Japanese seminar style, and we could expect lots of discussions and project work with Japanese students on topics related to cross-cultural communication. We also had to write journals reflecting on every discussion in class.

 

 

After classes, I went around campus taking photographs. I know I would be very busy this semester with school work and my volunteer activities, which means time will fly past without me realising it. From the often-used staircase at the back of the classroom building where most of my classes were held, to the staircase landing where I love to stand after class to look at the view of the school grounds (and also because it reminded me of a scene in Hana Yori Dango), to my usual classrooms.  I wanted to remember every part of this school well. 

 

 

 

It was exactly six months since I first came to Kyoto for this exchange programme. In four months, it will all come to an end.

What I am looking forward to

There are a dozen things I am looking forward to in the next few months.

 

For example, the autumn colours in Kyoto, the famous Kyoto festival known as the Jidai Matsuri, the light-up at Arashiyama, the JLPT exam, the overnight disaster drill, trips with friends from Singapore, the resuming dance classes, the winter school vacation, the possibility of attending a concert of my favourite Jpop group in nearby Osaka, etc.  

 

But what I am most looking forward to is the sunflowers blooming outside the mansion. The sunflower seeds which I gave to my landlady after returning from the sunflower fields  in August seem to be doing well under my landlady's care. If all goes well, they are expected to bloom in autumn.

 

Can sunflowers thrive in the cold? I do get abit worried for the young plants when I see them outside in the cold of the morning. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

 

 

A symbol of autumn

This morning, I was on the way home from doing the groceries and I saw a few ojiisans and obaasans looking at this huge tree. I have often cycled on the bridge next to this tree but have never paid much attention to it. 

 

 

As I have come to realise that I share many interests with Japanese ojiisans and obaasans, a tree that is an object of interest for them must indeed be an interesting tree for me too.  So I stopped in my tracks and looked hard at the tree.

I couldn't stop very long as there were vehicles coming from behind me so I quickly took a photograph of it with my mobile phone.  

 

I will make sure I get back with my camera next time to get some better photographs of the ripen chestnuts.

 

Yes, autumn is here.

The Tango Region of Kyoto II : The tale of the Bridge to Heaven

To many of us, the mention of Kyoto most often conjures up images of ancient Buddhist temples, shrines and age-old Japanese traditions. But Kyoto, as a prefecture, offers alot more than history and culture. It is also a prefecture resplendent in natural scenic beauty.

 

I know people are going to say, which part of Japan does not boast scenic views? Well, the northern part of the Kyoto prefecture known as the Tango region is home to one of Japan's three most scenic views. A reputation not just any place in Japan is worthy to claim.

 

One summer day in early August, I decided to head for Amanohashidate where the famous spot of scenic beauty is.  Amanohashidate is not accessible directly on the JR train network. Instead, you need to transfer from the JR Nishimaizuru station to the private KTR or Kitakinki Tango Railway. As I had bought the KTR one day train pass (1200 Yen) to get to the Yosano sunflower fields in the Tango region, I used the same pass - which allowed for unlimited use on the KTR within the same day - to get to Amanohashidate.  

 

According to an ancient myth, the scenic spot in Amanohashidate - which is actually a sandbar covered with around 8000 pine trees - was once a bridge built by one of the Gods to connect Heaven and Earth. Due to the carelessness of the God, the bridge collapsed one day and fell to Earth, becoming the sandbar seen today.

 

The famous sandbar is said to be best viewed from the hills on either ends of it. From pictures I had seen of the spot, I thought the view was better from the south and so headed for the observatory on the southern hills. The only way up the hills was by cable car or chairlift. I bought a two-way ticket for 800 Yen which could be used for either the cable car or chairlift. The original price was 850 Yen but I got a discount coupon from the Amanohashidate Tourist Information Centre. It might be a good idea to head for Tourist Information Centres when sightseeing as you never know what kind of discounts you could get.

 

 

 

At the observatory, it was a common sight to see visitors bent over appreciating the scenic view of the sandbar from between their legs. Through that position, it was said that one could see the sandbar extended into the heavens. Of course I had to try that too! But I was so concerned about losing my balance and toppling down the hill that I could only stay in that position for a matter of seconds. I did manage to capture a photograph of the view when I was bent over though. A friend in Kyoto told me that it was just a stretch of land with sand. I guess it really depends on individual perspectives. I thought the view was fantastic.

 

 

 

 

There were various other ways to appreciate the views from the southern hills. There was a small amusement park with a ferris wheel and a cycling track in mid-air, as well as observation decks at greater heights where visitors could go to enjoy the views.  I didn't stay too long on the hill (probably 45 minutes or so), as I wanted to walk on the sandbar.

 

 

 

I went up the hills by cable car and came down by the chairlift so that I could take in the breathtaking sight of the sandbar both ways.  The chairlift made me a little nervous at first. As it had no seatbelt, I was worried that I might be flung into the woods below me.

 

 

 

 

But as usual, I worried too much. I survived the short 5-minute journey down and was able to experience the walk on the bridge that once led to the heavens.