So - Tuesday was Setsubun. The girls and I went to Asakusa, where I bought a bunch of gifts for people back home (there are a lot of market stalls in front of the temple - definitely a good place for souveneirs). There was no bean throwing, except a few by various people (monks? celebrities? I couldn't understand but they didn't look like monks!) to the people in the front of the crowd. There was a little parade. We mostly just wandered around the area and bought things. Oh, and I had an older man tell me I made his heart go "doki-doki" (beat faster, I think. I tell ya, these older Japanese men. I've never had things like this happen in the US!) and a Japanese lady asked me if she could snap a photo with her cell phone - the latter right after the three of us were taking inappropriate pictures with chocolate-covered bananas... Oops.
When we got back, two of the girls bought beans and attacked me when I went to meet them later in the evening. Then the three of us attacked Jess. And I called out another friend because we wanted someone else to throw beans at. (Technically I think you're not actually supposed to throw them people, but in your house/at someone with a demon mask in order to drive away bad luck/bad spirits - but ah well. You're also supposed to eat as many beans as your age for good luck.)
We bought chocolate-coated bananas and took inappropriate pictures with them (mostly not with my camera though, it's dying :(
ATTACKING FRIENDS WITH BEANS MEANS LOVE.
Wednesday we went to Kichijouji, a nice shopping area. I bought a bag to use as a second carry-on for going home/for schoolbooks next semester. We also went to Inokashira Park, which contains a shrine to Benzaiten - a vengeful goddess of love. It's said that couples who go boating on the lake will soon break up (we didn't see anyone boating since it's winter, but we still saw plenty of couples at the park, so I don't think that's really followed anymore :p).
Slightly blurry picture of the shrine...
Ducks and huuuge~ koi!
Thursday we went to the onsen at Urayasu. (I especially recommend it for people who want to go as a co-ed group: most onsen do not have co-ed sections, or if they do they are tiny. This one has a huuge outside complex of baths, including one that runs through a cave). Spent a lovely, lovely time relaxing and soaking. We decided we especially liked the collagen bath, which was a violent, almost opaque purple-pink-red but it makes the skin feel soooo soft. The yellowy-green jasmine bath was nice too. I love onsen. <3 I hope I get a chance to go again before the weather gets much warmer and you don't really feel like broiling in hot water.
Dressed in yukata at the onsen
So there's most of what I've been up to lately. It's a quiet weekend, which is good since I still have to finish cleaning my room and packing. Trying to bring home most of my winter stuff since it'll be warmer by the time I get back and it takes up so much room. I'm trying to avoid shipping things home since it's so expensive (I managed to come here with just 2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons).
No comments:
Post a Comment