Australia Week Taiko Performance

This September 16th to 23rd was Kumamoto Australia Week, which was put on by the Australia-Japan Foundation. One of the events was a taiko performance by the Australian group RINDO. Graham and I and a few other students went to see the performance at Kumamoto Castle on Saturday. 




This particular video is of a collaboration between RINDO, the Kumamoto Prefecture #2 High School Alumni taiko group, and the Kumamoto Hitsuyuukan Municipal High School taiko group.

Orientation Week at KGU

Now that we're good and settled in I figured it was about time for a blog post about stuff that has gone on since we've arrived here in Kumamoto. For this post, I’ll be talking about our first week at KGU, which was our orientation week. Our orientation ran from Wednesday, September 11, 2013 to Wednesday, September 18, 2013, excluding the weekend of course. There was a different activity or two for us on each day, so it was quite a busy week for us. After the cut, you'll be able to read about each of our orientation days detail.

Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival

Yesterday was "Respect for the Aged Day", and also the day that the main events of the Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival were held. In the downtown area, there was a huge parade, lasting most of the day. People dressed in festival jackets ("happi") danced down the street, and people chanted from floats. The focus of the parade was the horses that "danced" down the street. I posted a short video in the entry about Suizenji Park, but here it is again.

Another feature of festivals in Japan is food stalls (屋台）! People set up stands to sell various fried or frozen treats and drinks. There are also games to play and toys for sale. I was most looking forward to takoyaki and taiyaki, and I got to try both! The takoyaki was so great that I didn't get a picture of it before devouring it, and the taiyaki was cold and soggy, so I was disappointed and didn't take a picture. 


Graham and I both enjoyed some shaved ice though! I had mango flavour with condensed milk, and Graham had cola flavour.

I also took a video while we walked down the street with the food stalls. You can see some of the interesting things that were offered. Have a look!

We didn't get much good video of the actual parades, but some other students did, so if I can get a hold of one (or a link), I'll post it here!

Anyway, in the end it was a very eventful weekend, going to Suizenji, shopping, the castle, restaurants, the festival and more shopping. My legs still hurt, but we made a lot of good memories. We're back to orientation now, and classes start on Friday. I or Graham will write a bit about orientation soon, and we'll keep updating as interesting things happen! Stay tuned!

Kumamoto Castle

This weekend, in addition to going to Suizenji park, Graham and I also went to Kumamoto Castle with a few of the other students who didn't do homestay. 

Check below for more pictures and details!

Suizenji Park in September

Today, Graham and I and a few other students went to Suizenji Park and the downtown shopping area. Before we entered the park, we heard drums down the street and went to see what was happening. This coming Monday is the Fujisaki-hachimangu festival, which includes a huge parade of people, portable shrines, lion dancers, and decorated horses. All around town, we saw groups of people and horses practising for the festival. The particular group we saw at Suizenji was performing for the seniors of a nursing home. 


 
They get the horse to "dance" by pushing it around a bit and running with it. It might look a bit stressful, but the horse seemed fine, and it was pet and fed carrots by the seniors afterwards. I heard that in the past they used to get the horses drunk...? Not completely sure if that's true or not!

We'll be attending the festival on Monday with a group of students and friends. It will be extremely busy downtown then. 

There are a lot of shops and restaurants around Suizenji park, selling specialty products from Kumamoto (a ton of Kumamon-themed products) and other knick-knacks. I bought a little Kumamon to dangle off my backpack. Within the park, there are also souvenir shops, a large shrine, tea house, and a place where you can get good-luck charms and fortunes. It's an interesting place! We took a lot of pictures.


The best ones are here. 

After the park, we went to shop in the downtown shopping area. Tomorrow we're going to Kumamoto Castle, so we will have lots more to post about!

Narita Airport Rest House

Graham and I arrived in Tokyo at about 7pm last Wednesday, and the last flight to Fukuoka was at 7:45pm. Since we couldn't make that flight, we stayed overnight at the Narita Airport Rest House. It's a hotel located within the airport grounds. A shuttle bus takes you from the terminal to the hotel in about 5 minutes. It's really convenient, and reasonable quality. We also appreciated the breakfast that was included in the stay.

Here's a short video that we took at the hotel before leaving for the airport in the morning:

Arrival and Dorm Photos!

Now that we're a bit more settled in, we've got a few pictures to share of the dorm and the views outside it from our balconies (check the link below). Hope you enjoy it, and if you have any questions, ask away!

Photos here!

One important thing for incoming exchange students from Canada: there are three-prong outlets in your room, but they're by the bed, not the desk, so you might still want an adapter for your laptop charger (if it's three-prong). Most outlets are two-prong, polarized.

Arrival!

Graham and I are now in Japan! We arrived at the KGU International Residence yesterday and did a bit of unpacking, met some of our roommates, and tried out the KGU cafeteria (カレーライス!). It was a looooong journey, but there were no problems!  Here's how it went:

Packing

Packing for a whole year away has been a challenge! Between the two of us, Graham and I have one large duffel bag, one hiking backpack, one large, wheeled duffel, and one wheeled duffel with straps. I find that bags with wheels are easier to move around, but you should consider the weight of a bag and how much you need to pack. Bags with wheels and frames are normally heavier.

For most airlines, the weight limit per checked bag is 23kg or 50lbs. It's surprising how much clothes weigh! Thankfully, we're under the limit on each of our bags. As far as what to pack, we had to do a little bit of research beforehand:

Some of the things to consider when deciding what to pack include weather, sizes, and availability of your favourite products.


Kumamoto has a climate that is very different from Nova Scotia. Half of the year is hot and humid, the rainy season is long, and winters are mild and short (no snow!). Other parts of Japan have more severe winters, with lots of snow. Check out your destination well before packing, so you know what to expect.

You can find large clothes and shoes in Japan, but the availability is limited compared to Canada. I've heard that Uniqlo is a good store for larger clothes, but if you wear large shoes, pants, bras, etc., I get the impression that it's wise to bring a little extra when you pack. Of course, there's always online shopping if you can't find what you need in the stores around you. 

If you have certain products that you can't live without, you might want to bring a little extra in case it's not easy to find in Japan. Many Canadian/American cosmetic/toiletry brands are available in Japan, but the prices can be higher. OTC medications are similar to what's available in Canada, but painkillers are often in lower doses. Check the generic name of any OTC medicines you need, as brand names will differ. For prescription medications, you can check my previous blog post. For food, if you have the luggage space, consider bringing a couple of your favourite snacks for the times you get homesick.

NOTE: Make sure to pay attention to airline regulations and customs regulations to be sure you aren't bringing anything prohibited. 

Once you're packed, all you have to worry about is dragging all your bags around the airport and to your destination! In my opinion, that's one of the most aggravating things about travelling. Though, once my bags are checked, I'm a "happy camper".