秋吉台 - Akiyoshidai

"Slow down at the turn." For about 20 minutes on the way to Akiyoshidai we decided to take a quick detour through Rohan. 

 Peter Jackson would've been proud, though I suppose we were lacking in the excessive helicopter tracking shots department.

 This tree though.

 In Akiyoshidai there are many attractions including a zoo,

 ...that we didn't visit. Instead we went to the highest point in the town and home of the Youth Nature Center. Somewhat ironically it seems as though all the trees had been removed within maybe a 5 kilometer radius of the place, but nevertheless it was beautiful. I very much enjoyed the treelessness. Also the geography of the area was very interesting to see, as the basalt karst topography resulted in some interestingly shaped rock outcrops.

 After that windblown experience we decided that a better way to continue our journey would be to go through the mountain, somewhere Peter Jackson's helicopter could never follow. Thus we entered the Mines of Moria Akiyoshidai Dokutsu.

I didn't have tripod for this 2 sec exposure so it took me 16 tries to get this shot.

 4 tries. There was a post I could rest it on thankfully.

 3 tries (another post). It may not seem so amazing, Moria Akiyoshidai Dokutsu, but to try and give some perspective the outcrop in the distance is taller than me. Additionally, at it's deepest point, the cave is more than 50 meters (more than 160 ft.) from floor to ceiling. 

 After our adventures in the cave we left for the comfort of the car. And actually ended up going over half mountain again. (Sound familiar?)

And thus returned home to the Shire, I mean Yamaguchi, and ate some delicious dinner. 

長崎・留学フェア２０１５ Nagasaki - Exchange Student Fair 2015

On the 13th our class traveled to Nagasaki with some students from other schools to visit the Exchange Student Fair 2015. 

 I learned some pretty interesting things about exchange students in general, and I took some nice pictures.

 There were booths for each country. I visited the booths for Germany, France and Korea respectively.

 #noedit

I really enjoyed the Korean booth. I had a nice conversation with a Korean man in Japanese about the beauty of language and the process of doing foreign exchange in Korea.

 I also spoke with a women at that booth in English, which she was more confident in than Japanese.

 It was interesting to speak with a person who was Mongoloid in appearance but wasn't native Japanese.

 My experience conversing though with the other man in Japanese shows that it's not always English that's the key to opening up other cultures.

 I think that students in countries other than America, should look to experience an other culture through the eyes of it's own, unique language, as opposed to just learning English because it's common. If you want to go to France, or Russia, than you shouldn't start by learning English. First, try learning French, or Russian, because you never know how that might open up new communication.

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela. It's an overused quote, but it represents why I myself don't strive to learn a language for the sole reason that it would seem to be universal, or always practical. 

 I choose to speak the language in order to live in the culture and ideas of an other people. And because speaking a language has to change the way you think, 

maybe, 

it will help me to understand my own culture likewise in a new way.

宮島・しかを信じられない Miyajima - I Can't Believe The Deer

Two week's ago I visited Miyajima in Hiroshima, Japan. It's a very well known island and tourist attraction, particularly due to it's it's very own, very large Torii, situated about 30 meters off shore. The small island is a short 10 minute ferry ride from the mainland Hiroshima city and offers great views of the surrounding port and sea. You can also bring you car on the ferry, though it's quite expensive. On Miyajima there is one town who's economy is fueled, I'm sure, by at least 97% tourism, as there is no other industry present on the island.

Seeing as how a single-resource economy is always potentially unsustainable, I myself thought of a potential way to diversify the Miyajima island economy.
Deer.

These guys straight live on the streets in Miyajima. They're surprisingly clean, and very well tempered.

The opportunities are endless: deer-draw carriage rides, deer races, deer for the blind (guide deer), therapy deer, and so much more...

And then there was also this lamp.

And this Ginko leaf.

Oh yeah, and also the giant Torii. (As soon as I took this picture about 32 tourists immediately swarmed the spot where I had been standing.)

ことの歌 - Song for Koto

この楽曲は日本で作ったさいしょの楽曲です。野田学園高校のこと部はアートふる山口でその楽曲をひきました。この歌のはっそうは自然の色や、四きのユニークな美しさとか、小川のせせらぎと他の自然の音です。”ことの歌”は僕の日本で作曲したさいしょの作品です。このように作曲するのにがんばっています。
This is the first piece that I've written and finished in Japan. The piece was performed by the Nodagakuen Koto ensemble at the Artfuru Yamaguchi festival on Halloween. This song was inspired by, among other things, the colors of nature along with the unique beauty of the four seasons, as well as other sounds in nature like the murmur of brooks and the banter of streams. This song is the first I have composed in Japan. I will continue to work diligently at composition. 

Silver Week Part 3 - シルバーウィーク ３パート

We rode the SL, steam engine home through the mountains of 山口. It's always so wonderful to hear the sound of the engine starting up, as each rotation of the wheels lurches the train forward only slightly.

On the train I met a man. A sort of middle aged man, who was seated across from me. We talked about how long I had been in Japan and such. It was pleasant. I snapped this photo at just the right moment to capture these to people riding a motorbike, though I meant to take a picture of the window, (auto-focus got the better of me).

An other accidental cameo by some random people. After talking with the man sitting across from I then met a family whose youngest was interested in English and had thus learned quite a bit of vocabulary. We talked in Japanese but he was able to show me his vocabulary knowledge of individual words, which I found to be quite impressive. 

Anyhow after about one and a half hours the sun had begun to set and we had thus arrived home. And so concludes the Silver Week saga.

Silver Week Part 2 - シルバーウィーク ２パート

 This is probably how I look most of the time outside of 山口市(Yamaguchi City). 

Firstly I have to apologize for the lack of any posts lately. I have recently switched host families so I've been a bit of a busy bee. 

Anyhow...

Thus continues the continuation of the Silver Week saga.

 After walking around and being scared by the ridiculous quantity of Koi fish, we continued onward to the historically significant very old palace-castle thing on the hillside just outside of 津和野

 The thatching was especially impressive, being on such steep and large roofs.

 This is something like an Asian stereotype, I guess, architecturally.

 おはかです。Then we saw a cemetery...

 ...and also the first signs of Autumn...

 ...in late September. 

Also, I love bamboo.

After looking at the historically significant aforementioned things like bamboo and such, we proceeded to look at an other unique place just outside of Tsuwano.

 This structure was seen on the way to the site of the that other unique place, The Memorial Chapel of Mary, located in Otome Pass in Tsuwano. It was built in 1951 on the site of the torture and martyrdom of some 25 Christians during the Meiji Era in Yamaguchi. It's said the the Virgin Mary appeared to Yasutaro, one of the victims, every night during a week of unimaginable torture. And likewise The Chapel at Otome Pass was thus named, as Otome means virgin girl.

 Then we saw more bamboo, during the descent from the Chapel at Otome Pass. After which we prepared to depart for Yamaguchi City and return home.

Silver Week Part 1 - シルバーウィーク １パート

シルバーウィーク - (Silver Week) is a three day holiday at the beginning of the second to last week of September. Because the separate holidays of Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day are only one day apart (Monday and Wednesday respectively), that Tuesday is then deemed a citizens holiday, and thus Silver Week is formed. It is a popular time for both travel and recreation. As well as being a popular holiday it is also a somewhat rare holiday. It so happens that Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day are only so near to each other once every 5 or so years, meaning that the next Silver Week won't be until 2020. 

On Monday, I traveled with  my host mother and two friends by train to the town of  津和野 - つわの - ツワノ - (Tsuwano). 

This is the station in 山口市の湯田温泉 - (Yuda Onsen, Yamaguchi). The train ride was about an hour and twenty minutes. 

 This is the Parking in 津和野. 

 津和野 is somewhat famous for the local Sagi-lore as I like to call it. The brickwork here shows a Sagi, which is like a crane. On special occasions people dress as the Sagi's and dance around on the streets ceremoniously.

Trees.

 Fuji Curry. It's awfuji delicious. (I didn't actually eat there.)

 Serious respect for the trees in Japan. This tree is hundreds of years old.

 In 津和野 there is a famous shrine overlooking the town - 太皷谷稲成神社 - （たいこだにいなりじんじゃ）-  (Taikodani Inari Jinja) - the kanji translate more literally to something like - The Shrine of The Fox God Overlooking the Taiko Valley. There are over 1040 （鳥居）Toriis and over 260 flights of stairs on the way to the Shrine.

 Less stairs.

There are over 300 Koi fish in 津和野. And the numerous gardens and small streams are full of them. 

After exploring the Shrine and places on the way to and from the Shrine we proceeded to venture more within the town.

The Left Side

In Japan everything near the road or on the road is opposite of what it is in America. That's what I thought, but one interesting thing I've observed is that that thought's wrong. This is largely due to the fact that roads in the more developed or population dense areas like Yamaguchi tend to be incredibly narrow by American standards, therefor there is only room for one vehicle of any type traveling in one direction at any given time. 

As I ride my bike to school and from school I've also observed the lack of any sort of lines painted in the roads. This is again due to the the aforementioned characteristic, which also means that if two cars meet on one such road going opposite directions, then that encounter often results in some very skillful car maneuver-ship (a lot of backing up and the like). I have not once seen a one way road, though I have not seen any road as wide as most highways in Vermont. It's very intriguing. I will continue to observe the true Japanese style of on-road travel for as long as I am here. 

My Japanese skill is constantly improving, and my English is likewise becoming cruder. I apologize for my future deficiencies.

Please enjoy these mostly unrelated pictures.

At Tokyo's Olympic Youth Center Day 2 - "Don't smoke kids." - Einstein.

In Asakusa Day 3. It's a Mangi. 

Bird.

Tourists and Japanese bonding under the giant paper balls in Asakusa.

Still in Asakusa.

The ghetto of Asakusa. (Cars go here)

My house in Kurokawa, Hirakawa, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi, Japan.

Birds.

Day 10? Sun.

It's bā-chan and the palm tree.

The front yard.

Again the sunset.