Week 55: I didn't do anything!!

Hm. I know that I've had some boring weeks before, but this one takes the cake! I really didn't do anything exciting. We have a meeting in the lab tomorrow so I spent the week preparing. Then I cleaned my apartment. Then I made dinner. The end! Next weekend should be more exciting :)

I'm pretty settled into my new apartment. I mostly don't get lost when I leave anymore!! I'm really enjoying having some time on the subway to read. This week I finished the book I have been reading since January, then read another book entirely and am now halfway through another one. I might burn through my ebook library before the end of the summer at this rate!

I have also gotten settled into my new routine. I need to leave much earlier in the morning now, but I have discovered the joys of Japanese morning television for children. My new favourite show is 0655, a five-minute block for very young kids that is kind of like Sesame Street. I like shows aimed at 3 year olds because that's about my level of Japanese understanding. I also saw some great 70's cartoons that were filler between shows, such as "Hasta Luego: sayounara moon cat."I checked but I could only find the audio on youtube, and the video is what really makes it. Here is the star of the song:

A very special cat

Now it's time for my favourite show, which is called 差, Sa, or "What's the Difference." They basically bring up two similar things (e.g. cat skin and dog skin) and then bring in an expert to explain the difference (the blood circulation is different, which is why dogs like playing in the snow and cats don't). Educational!!

Week 54: Back to the beer factory!

Overall, it was kind of a boring week! On Monday I ran around from one government office to the next to renew my working visa and to register my new address. I had an adventure filling out some forms in Japanese on my own. It took me a few minutes to figure out which form was even the correct one to use, but in the end I managed to fill it out on my own!! Of course, this led the employees to believe that my Japanese abilities were significantly better than they really are, so the rest of the trip was pretty tricky. But I think it worked out in the end!

I also got a transit pass!! Actually, to be honest it is the weirdest transit pass I have ever heard of. It's a monthly pass, but apparently I can only use it to travel between my registered stops (so between work and home)??? I have never heard of such a thing. But anyway, it allows me to take the bus between the subway station and work, which is sort of nice because it cuts my commute down from 90 minutes to 60, so I guess it's worth it. 

On Saturday I helped my friends to book a trip to Kyoto!! And on Sunday we went back to the Sapporo Beer museum!! 

It was nice to have a bit of a more relaxing weekend!

Week 53c: Kyoto trip day three

On my final day, I went to Northern Kyoto. My first stop was Kinkakuji, the golden temple.

On my way to the next shrine, I found a Big Boy restaurant!

Anyway, my next stop was Ryoanji temple.

This is one of the most famous zen gardens in Japan.

I had a nice walk to the next temple. Even the street was beautiful!

My next stop was Ninnaji.

As it happens, there was going to be a display of flower arrangements, so the artists were busy at work!

Next, I high-tailed it across town to Nijo Castle. 

My final stop was Heian shrine, after I went to the museum of modern art.

I really loved Kyoto!!