Hello! ^-^
Today, I am starting my first post on life in Akita! *whoot* *throws streamers*
We arrived on August 23rd (Thursday) and orientation started the 24th! So far, everything has been pretty hunky dory - the food isn't bad, I'm getting used to my room and the small(er) campus, and making lots of new friends! :D
Here are some pictures of the campus I will be studying at this semester. :) (I apologize that there aren't more - it felt kind of awkward to pull out my camera and take pictures during orientation, so I had to take these when I was by myself. XD)
Komachi Hall, the dorm building I am living in. :)
It is directly connected to here, the cafeteria area, so I don't even have to go outside to eat.
Yay for being lazy! XD
The main road to the front of campus - there's a lot of greenery here! :3
The Multi-Purpose Hall, an auditorium of sorts.
The beginning of the Global Village, another housing option where a lot of my friends live. :)
Basically, everything looks very different from my home college:
Home, sweet home...♡
However, it's not in a bad way...I like things here. It's just...different. I don't know how to quite describe it. Both schools seem to have a lot of nature on campus, but maybe it's Akita's metal/dark wood decor that's throwing me off, but it seems less warm than the reddish brick of my home college, if that makes any sense. XD
Another thing that's different is this:
Warnings of bear attacks?? WTF????
I'mma gonna need to learn some survival skillz. XD
Orientation has been pretty normal so far - guided tours, workshops on how to use the internet safely, etc. The coolest part has been meeting all these new people from every place imaginable...including a few from places I had no idea where they were! *geography phail* I feel like I learn a lot just listening to stories about how stuff in people's countries work and their outlooks on things - and classes haven't even started yet! ^^;;
Thankfully, despite my university being rather small, there is still stuff to do! ^^ This upcoming Friday, the school has arranged a trip to Lake Tazawa, the deepest lake in Japan, and Kakunodate Town, a place famous for its samurai mansions. :D Because I am a short-term international student, this trip is FREE!!!! I'm so excited to go! It sounds so cool~
EDIT: Apparently, Lake Tazawa is also one of the locations of the Korean drama, IRIS. XD
EDIT: Apparently, Lake Tazawa is also one of the locations of the Korean drama, IRIS. XD
LOL? XD
Also, two days ago (the 25th), was the Omagari Fireworks Festival, which has fireworks shows that are ranked 3rd in the WORLD! ^^ Once we heard that, my newfound friends and I went to see it, of course! Planning was difficult because the trains to get to Omagari were not coordinated with the buses from the uni (abbreviation for "university" that I will be using from now on) to the train station. The trains were also very infrequent, which meant if we missed the train we were aiming for, we could possibly be stranded at the trains station for 2 hours until the next one came. X____X That, and the fact that there would be A LOT of people going meant that we may be super squished while on the trains and buses. My friend, who is more experienced in Japan, was giving us tips on how not to get trampled while on the train! It was all quite terrifying! D:
When we set out, it was 1:20PM, and the bus was super crowded, despite the fireworks not starting until 6:50PM! I was left standing the entire time squished between a bunch of people from my uni who were also intent on watching the fireworks. (So crowded that I couldn't whip out my camera and take a picture, even if I wanted to. XD)
When we got to the Wada train station, there were a TON of people. But thankfully, there weren't enough to super crowd the trains. I had to stand again, but at least we weren't all pressed against each other. XD
Our party of seven eventually got to the Omagari JR Station, and when we did, it looked like this:
Basically, to sum up these three pictures: FLOODS OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!! XD
Right outside the Omagari JR Station...
The outside...
was the street with a bunch of stores called (directly translated from the kanji) the "Fireworks Market Street". :)
My friends! :3
Thankfully, we didn't have rely on our maps too much for the walk over to where the fireworks were going to be because they had these helpful signs every couple feet:
Apparently, we're on the banana path! XD
While slowly making our way to our destination, we also looked at some of the shops lining the path. Many were selling fireworks merchandise! ^^
This is where I bought my fireworks postcard. :)
Belated postcard pic FTW!! XD
People were also setting up roadside shows as we walked by, which was interesting...
I like how the stage is the back of a truck. XD
They also had large areas where all these little stands were congregated, which were fun to look around. :)
It's almost like field day for Chinese school! ^^;;
My friend shows me how it's done...like a boss! ^^
Yummy~~♡
The melon soda flavor is the BEST! :D
And another shop area! This time with the Statue of Liberty! :P
So much yummy food~~~ *stomach growl*
And also live acts! This guy was pretty fun to watch!
He was so energetic! :D
Of course, despite being in Omagari, Johnny's continues to follow me wherever I go! XD
JUMP WORLD!! :D
Hey, what's Jang Geun Suk doing there?? XD
Arashi's Your Eyes! Not a super fan of the song, but it's ARASHI~♡
Meanwhile, the throngs of people continue on to the fireworks site, and we struggle to find an ideal place to sit. X____X
When will we be able to sit? X____X;;
We eventually found a pretty good spot where we could see the fireworks without their being obscured by buildings and settled down, taking lots of group pictures! XD
Group picture in the sun! XD
Our vantage point. :)
By this time it was almost 5PM, so we had pretty much another 2 hours to go before the start of the show. So, we quickly went to pick up some food. A friend and I shared some yummy yakisoba and takoyaki! :D
Enjoying yakisoba! ^^
Apparently, every region has its own distinctive flavor! Isn't that cool? :D
Takoyaki time~!
It was interesting to just sit there and watch he people, though. There were some people came dressed up in traditional clothing, while others came with their whole families, which was adorable! :3
Uwahhh~~ A couple! ^^
Awww....So cute! :3
But, I'm pretty sure the oldest sibling caught my not-so-sneaky picture. XD
The fireworks show itself was also super interesting! ^^ They started out with "daytime fireworks", which I didn't know existed! XD I had always thought fireworks were a nighttime thing! But these fireworks basically looked like puffs or trails of colored smoke.
"Daytime fireworks". :)
However, once it got dark, things became a bajillion times more EPIK!! :D (I took a BUNCH of pictures, but I'm only posting some of my favorites here to save space...and uploading time. XD)
The Omagari Fireworks Festival was probably the most impressive fireworks display I've ever seen! ^^ You see, each region of Japan sends representatives to compete in bringing the most spectacular fireworks show, which only adds to the high-level of wonder that witnessing it brings. And even though we didn't buy tickets to get reserved seating, we still sat close enough to hear the accompanying music and appreciate the epic-ness of the show.
Speaking of shows, this brings in the reason why this post is titled "Kyu☆Jo☆Show!!"! :D Kyu☆Jo☆Show!! (*sigh* I feel like Youtube is going to be very difficult when it comes to Johnny's videos >.>) is the name of a Kanjani8 song off of their album 8UPPERS, that album that was basically the soundtrack to a movie they made of the same name about a group of diverse assassins who end up taking care of a baby. You can hear Kyu☆Jo☆Show!! playing faintly in the background in the scene at the very beginning of the movie when Mac (Yokocho), Jacky (Hina), and Toppo (Yasu) are waiting in the van to pick up their new assignment. :)
Anyways, the reason why I picked Kyu☆Jo☆Show!! to be the title of this post is because of the Omagari Fireworks - I mean, there's a show if I've ever seen one! ^^;;
Watch as K8 demonstrates their hand flap dance! XD
Anyways, I will continue to update this blog periodically, especially if something exciting happens (the lake trip is definitely one of those)!
So, bye-bye for now!
sweet fireworks pics!
ReplyDeleteThank you! ^^ I was so happy when I discovered the "Fireworks Show" setting on my camera!
Delete