So Saturday 4th February was officially the first day of spring. And this is what spring in Yamagata looks like.

You can probably understand my confusion.

I later arrived at Daitoku-ji. As with Myoshin-ji, this was a large complex of lots of temples. Unlike Myoshin-ji, this place was fabulous. from the incredibly friendly guard who gave me a map on which he kindly marked the buildings that were open, to all the people looking after the various temples, Daitoku-ji was friendly and alive. Although only 4 of the buildings are open to the public, all of the gates are open, enabling you to peer in at everything.

Daitoku-ji Butsuden

This complex will remain with me for 3 reasons: 1) The friendliness of everyone there. 2) Finally understanding Zen. A lot of the main Zen temples in Kyoto are incredibly popular (Ryoanji, Nanzenji) and it can be very hard to find the peace that you should whilst looking at the rock gardens. Daitokuji was quieter, and so the rock gardens were no longer just about squabbling for the best camera spot, but were also about sitting and quietly reflecting. The place has a large number of rock gardens, including the smallest one in Japan.

Smallest Rock Garden In Japan

3) The rebel temple! When Europeans first arrived in Japan, they carried with them religion. Some Japanese did convert to Christianity/ Catholicism and for a time it was ok. Then as Japan began to reject foreign people, so too did it reject religion. Those who converted had to ‘go underground’. Outwardly they appeared to convert back to Buddhism, but Christian altars were disguised under Buddhist coverings, Christian prayers said in a way that they would sound like Buddhist ones, statues of Mary and Jesus incorporated into Buddhist ones (no idea how). Daitoku-ji has lots of connections to people who converted, and who had family who did. In Zuiho-in, one of the temples open to the public is a garden that commemorates this. The founder was one of those who converted. One of the rock gardens has a cross buried in it, and the rocks form a cross shape, a reminder of the years Christianity was banned.

Garden of the Cross

I left Daitoku-ji happy. I got back on the bus, planning to get off in Gion to visit a temple I had missed a few days before. Instead I fell fast asleep, and didn’t wake up until the bus got back to the station. Aware of just how tired I was, I took it easy for the rest of the day, doing some last-minute shopping before having an early dinner, a very long bath, packing and going to bed early where I fell fast asleep……

….and didn’t wake up until someones alarm went off at 8am. I felt wide awake. I packed my last few things, and showered and dressed, breakfasted and caught the bus to Gion. First stop, Kodai-ji.

Steps to Kodai-ji

This place was beautiful. The entrance is tiny, leading off the streets of Gion, into stunning, sprawling grounds with beautiful views, dragon rock gardens and glorious buildings. (Do you get the impression I liked it here?)

Dragons!!

Kodai-ji

I left and caught the bus back to the station (btw, if you are planning in doing a lot of bus travelling in Kyoto, you can buy an all day pass for 500 yen – worth it if you’re going to ride 3 buses or more). After a quick coffee, I got on another bus and visited 2 shrines.

First up was Kamigamo-jinja. If I’m honest, I didn’t like it. The ‘big shrine’ feeling was back. But added to it was the feeling of being very unwelcome. The staff, mainly men, were stood around, looking very unfriendly, with their arms folded across their tops, standing around like bodyguards. I almost expected to see a mafia boss arrive, that’s what it reminded me of. Not of a shrine. Feeling a bit miffed, I got the bus to its sister shrine, Shimogamo -jinja. This was smaller and a bit nicer, a bit more lively.

But as I left, I felt sad. My last day was ending on a down note I had now been to everything I had planned to see. I went back to the station, unable to pick myself up. I had a quick bite to eat, and made a decision. I got on another bus.

I arrived at a bus stop. I walked up a familiar road, past familiar shops. Suddenly I felt myself lifting, I was grinning, I was nearly skipping with joy. Here I was.

Ginkaku-ji

Ginkaku-ji. The Silver Pavilion. In my eyes, superior to its Golden cousin. The beautiful, oh so familiar grounds. I had banned myself from here, unless it snowed or if I saw everything else first. As soon as I arrived, I knew I had done the right thing in coming. The beauty of the grounds is incredible and put a smile back on my face that stayed there. A perfect way to end my holiday.

Me at Ginkaku-ji

I arrived back at the station. Dinner of curry noodles, New Year parfait for desert, Tea and cookies before collecting my bags.

One more bus, due in at Sendai station at 8am on January 1st 2012.

In the morning I washed, dressed and breakfasted, before heading out for some exploring. I got on a train and went to Iwakuni. A friend had recommended it to me as somewhere I might like.

The main attraction of Iwakuni is actually the bridge. A basic history is something along the lines of: ‘many, many years ago, the local leader got tired of bridges always being washed away by the river. He admired Chinese building styles, and built a bridge in a similar fashion. This bridge lasted for years, only being destroyed eventually by a typhoon. The bridge was rebuilt in the same way.’

Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni

The bridge leads into a park area, full of fountains, shrines, gardens and memorials to the Kikkawa Family, who ruled here. I spent the first few minutes being followed around by a very cute little grey cat. There were lots of cats wandering around the park. It stayed with me until I crossed over the road to the Kikkawa Family graveyard. This very fancy graveyard is the resting place of most of the Kikkawa Lords, their wives and children. It is both incredibly fascinating and incredibly morbid.

Kikkawa graves

After the graveyard, I walked around the shrines and temples and gardens. It was very pretty. There is also a castle in the park, but it was closed. After a bit more walking, I stopped at a cafe and bought some local lotus root food products, all very yummy, before heading back to the station and Hiroshima.

Once back in the city I caught a local train to Fudoin Temple. I was a little bit disappointed when I got here. The grounds were a bit run down, and there wasn’t really anything to see. I guess in a way I was comparing it to the temples of Kyoto. I went back into the main city centre and spent a ridiculous amount of time getting lost in the shopping streets whilst trying to find somewhere serving curry – I had a real craving for proper curry. An Indian restaurant was eventually found, curry was eaten and then I headed back to the hotel to sort myself out.

I spent the evening thinking about Hiroshima. I came to the conclusion that it isn’t really somewhere that I like that much. The reason I like Kyoto so much is because it’s old. I love Japanese history. Sadly, Hiroshima kind of lacks anything old. It isn’t the fault of the city. Everything was destroyed when the Americans decided to drop the atomic bomb. That Hiroshima is as amazing and lively as it is (and it is lively) is an example of the spirit of the Japanese people. Unfortunately, I don’t really have much interest in night life, it’s why I don’t really like Tokyo all that much, why I didn’t particularly like Sapporo, and why I’m not all that keen on Hiroshima.

The next morning I woke up, packed my bags and headed out. I stopped at a small cafe for breakfast before going to the most heartbreaking place. The first time I came to Japan, I spent a few hours in Hiroshima, walking quickly through the Memorial Park before spending a few hours in the Peace Memorial Museum. The park was beautiful. The museum was horrible. Split into 2 parts, the 1st detailing the history of the war and why the bomb was dropped, bravely not shying away from revealing the bad things that the Japanese army was doing. The 2nd part was a memorial to the victims, full of items that gave you a real idea of the destruction. The worst part was seeing a small bike belonging to a 3-year-old boy, who had been outside playing when the bomb was dropped. What did he ever do? This time I decided not to go to the museum. Quite simply I couldn’t face the emotional journey again. Instead I spent a while walking around the park. It was as beautiful as I remember, and it wasn’t long before tears were pouring from my eyes. That something so beautiful could be created from something so awful is incredible. Yet ultimately, this place shouldn’t exist. Because that bomb should never have been used in the first place. When here, I find myself feeling very angry towards America. I hate the hypocrisy of everything – how they preach at countries like Iran about nuclear weapons, when America is still the only country to have ever used these weapons.

The Children's Peace Monument - full of paper cranes from all over the globe, I can't not cry when I see this

The A-Bomb Dome - the bomb exploded directly above this

A memorial to the elementary school children who died - most of the victims of the bomb were school children, innocent beings who had never done anything wrong

When I couldn’t cope any longer, I decided it was time to leave. I collected my bags and boarded the street car to the port. It was time to go to heaven.

Miyajima. I could stay here forever quite happily. Seen by millions across the globe without many of them realising it, Miyajima is home to the floating torii gate (which doesn’t actually float).

'Floating' Torii Gate

I spent the ferry ride over chatting to a man who worked in trade and who spoke very good English. He and his family were off to the main shrine for their monthly visit, and their very cute 6yr old daughter was skipping around the boat. Saying goodbye to them, I checked into my guest house, which was right next to the port, and very nice, with incredibly friendly staff. having dumped my bags, I set off on a familiar trail.

I walked towards the main shrine, alternating between the waterfront, teeming with wild deer, and the narrow winding streets of restaurants and shops, stopping off to buy some of my favourite Miyajima sweets. Gradually I made my way to Itsukushima Shrine, a glorious orange site, right on the waterfront. The first time I came here I stood watching a traditional Buddhist wedding. Not today. Instead I could actually enjoy the shrine.

Itsukushima Shrine

From here, I made my way through the town, passing the very pretty Daigan-ji Temple, finally arriving at the place I’ve been desperate to come back to since the first time I came here 5 years ago. Daisho-in. My spiritual home as I think of it. I walked slowly up the stairs, nervous and excited at being back. This is a beautiful temple, with wonderful grounds, with little nooks everywhere full of statues. I love it. I went to the Maniden Hall, where 5 years ago, I had a very strange moment. I was in time for prayers, and I settled down feeling completely right. I was meant to be here.

Steps to the Maniden Hall

After spending a long time here, I walked to the newly reopened Miyajima Aquarium. Only to discover that the newly reopened building was closed. Curse the holidays!! Instead of looking at fish, I wondered around the islands pagodas, enjoying the views, avoiding the deer.

As evening came, the tourists left and I decided to find somewhere to eat. Slight problem with Miyajima. Everything closes when the tourists leave, including restaurants, with the exception of one, which serves eel and oysters. Not what I fancied. So, I caught the ferry back to the mainland and had a very cheap but very yummy dinner before getting the ferry back over again to my guest house. I think I could have actually eaten there if I’d have asked. Oops.

I spent a lovely night in a Japanese style room, and awoke to a delicious Japanese breakfast – rice, miso soup, fresh hot tofu, rolled omelette, pickles, fruit and a whole fish, complete with head and tail After finishing him off, I packed my bags, paid up, and leaving all my belongings with my host, who was a lovely woman, I went out.

Miyajima before the tourists arrive is like being on holiday at a beach out of season. Peaceful. I strolled around for a while before taking the cable cars up to Mt Misen, Miyajima’s highest peak. After cake and coffee at the station area, I went for a walk, heading towards the peak. I arrived at The Lover’s sanctuary, Kiezu-no-Reikado Hall, the home of the eternal flame, which provided the light for the Flame of Peace at the Memorial Park.

Kiezu-no-Reikado Hall

I was talking to a little old Japanese woman who asked if I was climbing all the way to the top. Being conscious of time I decided not to, and instead followed the Daisho-in path back down the mountain, enjoying the view, the scenery and the friendly Japanese people. Back at the bottom, I called into a tiny okonomiyaki shop for the local speciality – okonomiyaki with noodles – food heaven. I was sat at the counter, and enjoyed watching the family cooking everything. The little grandma applauded my efforts at eating with chopsticks. Okonomiyaki are not the easiest thing to eat with chopsticks. I’ve seen Japanese people eat them with knives and forks. So bravo me. After I collected my bags, and very reluctantly got back on the ferry

After a boat ride and a long street car journey, I was back at Hiroshima station. I ditched my bags and visited the information counter for what felt like the billionth time (if you are stuck in Hiroshima, not sure how to get somewhere, go the information counter on the JR side of the station – the staff are wonderful). How do I get to Hiroshima Castle? Gaining 2 separate leaflets, exact stops and prices, I was about to leave when the helpful lady told me that the castle was closed (!!!!) but the grounds were still open.

Off I went. This area was destroyed by the bomb, although some trees survived to tell the tale, and are marked in the park – amazing that nature can survive what mankind can’t. Crossing over the moat, I found myself talking to some school kids. Then I was amongst the hustle and bustle of new year preparations. Here was Hiroshima’s main shrine, Gokoku Jinja, a shrine dedicated to (rather fittingly given the history of this city) the war dead. being late afternoon, the shrine itself, ignoring all the preparations going on, was very quiet. From there, it’s only a short walk to the castle. For obvious reasons, this is a reconstruction, not the original. But it is a very impressive and imposing building.

Me at the Castle

I eventually arrived back at the station at about 6pm. I had to kill 4 hours. First up was dinner, which by eating very slowly got rid of an hour. Then an even more slowly eaten desert got rid of another. Then an hour and a bit in Starbucks. Then eventually to the bus stop.

Another night bus would return me to Kyoto.

First up was a bus to Kiyomizu-dera (WHS – World Heritage Site). This very big temple is always busy, mainly because it’s grounds are stunning, especially during spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and in autumn, when the reds and oranges are everywhere. Kyoto was still moving out of autumn, so the trees still had a bit of colour. As such, I was able to understand the attraction.

Kiyomizu-dera

It was very busy, and I was slightly put off by all the maternal names for buildings here – things to do with easy labour etc. As I’m about as maternal as a gravestone, I had a quick green tea and cake before heading off.

I made my way through the streets of Gion, and felt like I was in a different era. The beautiful old shops lining the winding streets transport you to a different world. And suddenly I caught my breath. Maiko. The apprentice Geisha. They were being pestered by Japanese businessmen for photos, and I felt rather bad for doing the same thing.

Maiko

I arrived at a small temple, Entoku-in. It had beautiful dragons painted on the screen walls throughout. Being dragon obsessed, I liked this. I left and carried on into Maruyama Park. During cherry blossom season, this park comes completely alive with people, today it was quiet. I visited Yasaka Jinja within the grounds. I didn’t like it. Sometimes the larger shrines feel very impersonal, and this was one of those cases.

Leaving the park, I made my way out of Gion, walking down streets for the first time in 5 years. Yet everything was so familiar. I passed the Minamiza Theater, where on my first visit I had watched a Japanese national treasure perform.

Minamiza Theater

I turned off the main road and wandered into the grounds of Kenin-ji. So peaceful after Gion’s liveliness. And the most beautiful dragons on the ceiling, I was in heaven.

The beautiful dragon ceiling

From Kenin-ji, I ended up on a train to Tofuku-ji. This was a huge place, but quieter than Kiyomizu, and with superior grounds. They were stunning.

Tofuku-ji

By now, it was late afternoon. Having walked for most of the day, I was frozen solid, and exhausted from lack of sleep. So I headed back to the station, and popped into my favourite Irish pub for fish ‘n’ chips and cider, before having a bath and going to bed.

Waking up on the 24th, I washed and breakfasted and caught the bus to Arashiyama. If you are coming to Kyoto for a few days, I highly recommend keep a day for coming here. It’s Heaven on Earth. You get off the bus, cross a bridge and are in such a beautiful area, it’s incredible. It was peaceful, traditional (temples and maiko), but with fun and quirky elements of life (a woman dressed in a Santa suit winding a music box up outside a restaurant). Small coffee shops are mixed in with shops selling traditional crafts. Guides are on hand to help you get your bearings, so I got a new street map off one and went to my first destination.

Tenryu-ji (WHS) – The Heavenly Dragon Temple. And heavenly it was. You can’t take pictures of the dragon, but it was glorious. The buildings are old and the grounds are stunning. Wondering through the garden, there is a small building where you could have a very traditional lunch, which was worth every yen that I paid for it. All fresh and delicious.

Tenryu-ji grounds

Lunch at Tenryu-ji

From the north gate of Tenryu-ji, which walking through its garden will get you to, you can walk through the bamboo groves that have made this area famous. The path through them leads to the other temples in Arashiyama.

Me at the entrance to the bamboo grove

After a short walk, I arrived at Jojakko-ji, a small temple with grounds that rise up right into the bamboo, giving you a stunning view over Kyoto, and making you feel all alone, as it’s so peaceful. There is a small pagoda here, which for some reason, I decided it was quite cute. I think it was because it wasn’t as bright or gaudy as some pagodas can be.

The pagoda

From here, I went to Rakushisha, the home of Mukai Kyorai, who was a disciple of Basho, one of Japan’s Haiku masters. This place was only small, but very peaceful. A nice place o sit and rest for a few minutes. All around were trees shedding their autumn colours.

I then went to Nison-in, which had wide stone steps leading up to a beautiful main Hondo. From here I went to somewhere that in all honesty I wouldn’t bother with again. Lonely Planet says that if you can only go to 2 places in Arashiyama, you should go to Tenryu-ji and Gio-ji. Don’t bother with Gio-ji. It’s dark, damp and covered with moss. There isn’t a whole lot to see here, and I felt it was a bit of a waste. Next door to it is somewhere almost as small, but much nicer, Takiguchi-dera, steep steps leading up to a small temple building. Just down from both of these us Danrin-ji, which was like a treasure trove. The main hall contained lots of things from Todai-ji in Nara. They were displayed in the most haphazard way, and I just wanted to burrow through everything and explore.

Danrin-ji Hondo

I began to make my way back to the station. It was now late afternoon and I had frozen solid. I went into a very sweet coffee shop and had a delicious piece of apple cake whilst looking out the window at a lemon tree. I stopped at one more temple, the huge Seiryo-ji. In one side of the grounds there were monks chanting, on the other side someone was playing a flute, giving me a bit of a ‘Red Cliff’ moment. I entered the Hondo, and toured around looking at pictures, before finding a door at the back to the gardens. On the way out I was taken to the altar to burn and inhale incense.

Seiryo-ji Hondo

Seiryo-ji gardens

Finally I made it back to the station. I was reluctant to leave. Within the busy life of Kyoto, Arashiyama is like a whole other world.

Christmas Day arrived with me feeling very sleepy and with legs that just wanted to stay still. So I dragged them off for more temples, shrines and walking. On the 25th of every month, there is a huge flea market at Kitano Tenmangu, so there I went. The size of this place cannot be described. It’s huge. The market was bustling, lively and packed with people, so much fun and so inviting. It sold all the usual things – local crafts, fresh food.

Market stalls, people and the shrine gates

Eventually, you reach the shrine, which despite its size, is incredibly friendly, the grounds are nice, people everywhere. I liked it here. However, I headed out in the direction of Kinkaku-ji. I had no real idea of where I was going. However, there was a high school running race happening in the area so the streets were lined with wardens so every few metres I would double-check the direction I was going in. And eventually, after resisting the urge to cheer the students on, I arrived at the Golden Pavilion (WHS). I had been here on my first trip to Japan, but never since. It had been really busy then and as such was difficult to enjoy. Not a problem this time. It was much quieter and as such you could actually look at the building and the grounds. I still think that the building is quite disgusting being all gold, but the grounds are beautiful.

Gold Leaf

The same can be said about the grounds of my next stop. A straight road from Kinkaku-ji takes you to another WHS, Ryoan-ji, the famous stone garden. A Zen temple, but a bit too busy to feel very Zen like, the grounds here are unbelievably beautiful.

Beautiful

A short walk and I arrived at Myoshin-ji. A giant complex of temples, I hated this place. It was so big, but most of the temples are closed to the public, and you end up walking along roads devoid of life. It was almost like one of those films where all people have disappeared. I couldn’t wait to leave.

It was the afternoon. I had plans to talk to my family in the early evening, so I ate and then talked and then had an early night. The next day, Boxing Day would be spent sat on a bus to Hiroshima.

Join the next blog for Hiroshima and Miyajima.

Am back in my much beloved Shirataka, and having spent the last few days trying to get sorted a bit, I’m now ready to begin my winter holiday blog.

I’m going to do it over 3 parts as I did quite a lot and it will take a while to write.

I would like to make a few points before I write it.

1. I realise that people reading this may use it as a basis for ideas of where to visit if they come to Japan. As such, if you have any questions about anything mentioned, or indeed anything not mentioned, please feel free to send them to me. I’ll do my best to answer them.

2. Please remember that what I’m writing is just my feelings and thoughts. You may not agree with it, but this is my blog, so I’ll write what I want. Post responses if you want, just be aware that I’m not going to apologise for anything I write.

The last week has been a bit of a planning week. I had a practice packing session in order to work out a) what clothes I was taking so that I wouldn’t end up wearing any of them now, and b) so that I could sort out what bag to take – big handbag or small suitcase? I settled on the handbag. With the clothes sectioned off, that was all sorted.

Then I started thinking about where I wanted to visit while I was there. I was once criticized by someone because I had made a list of places that I wanted to visit and made a rough plan of when to go. It isn’t a rigid schedule, nor do I fully stick to them when I make them. However, my logic is this: I have limited time in these places. I want to be able to see as much as possible while there. Kyoto is not a small city. And everything worth seeing is not conveniently in one area. As such you can spend an entire day just travelling around to places, going from one side of the city to the other and back again. I like to work out what places are near eachother so that I can do them on one day. It saves time and money and to me just makes sense. This time, I’m going to lots of new places, and a couple that I haven’t been to for a while. I made a list and then started looking at maps to work out where they were. Eventually I realised I was getting nowhere and had a new idea. Out came a street map of Kyoto and a pack of post-it notes. I put a post-it on every site I wanted to visit, and was then able to see which ones were by eachother. And then my plan was made.

Kyoto street map with colourful dots for temples etc

The last few days has been a finishing off tasks series of days – finish studying that had been neglected, do last minute shopping, sort out money, sew buttons onto coat, update this blog etc etc etc.

Today after school I went out for dinner. Having eaten plenty of pasta the last few days in order to avoid buying too much fresh food, I decided to treat myself. For pudding I had the Coco’s Christmas mudpie. Mudpie in my mind means chocolate and lots of gooey mess. The one I had tonight was strawberries and bits of sponge cake and vanilla ice cream.

mud pie (apparently)

I’ve come home and got my ‘to do’ list out. It had 10 points on it. I’ve crossed off 2, and once this is done, I’ll cross off a 3rd. Tonight I can do 2 more, one being the most important – pack – the rest have to be done tomorrow.

I’ll go to school in morning, sit in the teachers room for 3 hours before going to one class. I’ll then eat lunch very quickly, and leave school. I’ll get home have a shower, do one last washing load, then get the 2:52 bus to Yamagata. Then from there, I’ll get another bus to Sendai. From Sendai, I’ll get a bus at 7pm, eventually arriving in Kyoto the following day at 7.

12 hour bus journey. Fun

When I first got here, this system greatly confused me. Some items would seemingly have 3 different categories that they belonged to. At times I would collect a pile of stuff to throw out and have a Japanese friend come and explain what everything should go out as. Now I’m more sure of things. Occasionally something will make life a bit difficult, but thats where dark coloured plastic bags come in useful.

Guide to rubbish

This is the nice colourful chart which decorates my kitchen wall and explains what rubbish goes out on which days. I’m very very grateful to this poster as I wouldn’t have a clue otherwise. My rubbish is divided into 9 categories. That’s right, 9, which are collected as 8 different collections. Here is my guide, going from left to right on the wall chart.

1. Light blue – This is the recycleable stuff – paper, cardboard, tetrapack, and for some reason, clothes, blankets and towels. The first 3 are tied together by string, the fabric stuff is packed into clear plastic bags. This all gets collected once a month.

Cardboard, paper, tetrapack and clothes

2. Purple. This is tins and cans – ie beer and food tins. These are put in a clear bag and collected once a month. However, I don’t use many of these so rather than collect them in my apartment, I take them to the tin bin at the 7-11 convenience store and get rid of them there.

3. Dark blue. Glass day. What the name suggests. Glass bottles, jars etc. The day before these are taken, plastic crates appear in the rubbish cage where the rubbish gets collected from. You then put any glass you have in these. But same as the cans, I don’t get through many, so I use the 7-11 glass bin.

4. Yellow. Plastic category 1. Bottles. But not all bottles. Only ones that are definately PET. And this is where it gets confusing, as some say PET but aren’t actually PET. I gave up on this, and instead of saving all my bottles for a month (it’s a once a month collection) and bagging them up in the orange bags, I take them to the plastic bottle bin at the 7-11.

5. Orange. Plastic category 2. Plastic stuff. This is basically carrier bags and plastic food wrappings. The rubbish gets stored and packed into the orange bags and is collected every other Wednesday, which is a good job as this is the one that seems to take up lots of room. I store this one at home. I have a snazzy 2 layer bin, but close to plastic collection day the lid doesn’t like to shut.

Top layer orange, bottom layer pink

6. Pink category 1. General waste. Basically, food scraps, tissues, nappies, every day rubbish. This gets collected twice a week unless there is a holiday. Rubbish is put into a red bag and then put out for collection.

7. Pink category 2. ‘Dangerous’. Not really sure what to call this but it gets put into a little yellow bag with a danger symbol on it. It includes expired batteries and lightbulbs. It gets collected at the same time as pink category 1.

8. Green. Non burnable stuff. This is a broad category that covers everything that doesn’t fit into one of the above. It gets collected once a month, and sees bags full of broken small household things, aerosol cans, smashed up bowls etc.

9. Dark purple star category. This is one which differs from the above. It’s the equivalent of the rag and bone man from the UK. Big household items. The way it works is before the allocated date you phone up and say that you have stuff to get rid of, then on the collection day they come and take it. Downside, you have to pay.

Once you’ve sorted your rubbish, you take it an allocated point. Most streets in Japan are too small and windy for lorries so there are cages that serve several houses and apartment blocks where you dump your rubbish. It has to be properly sorted else the bin men won’t take it. And just to ensure that your rubbish is returned to you, you have to write your name and address on the bags!

Having initially hated this process, finding it confusing and difficult, I’ve gradually got used to it and see the huge advantages to having something that requires everything to be sorted so well. I’m not sure how well it would work in other countries. The Japanese have the personal discipline to do this. In the UK, people would definately not want to do it. Shame really, as it would help solve problems with rubbish.

Mister Donut is one of the fabulous things in Japan that I have realised I will miss lots if I ever leave. A place that does what the name suggests. It sells doughnuts. And they are yummy. It also makes very tasty, and very cheap coffee. And to top it all off you can get free refills, non-stop. And you can sit there for as long as you want. This picture is one of their Christmas snowmen doughnuts. There were 4 versions – I had chocolate cream, but there is also strawberry cream, green tea cream and another one. But how cute is it?!

 Yes, it’s a mummy!! Shirataka has a mummy. There are 7 altogether in  Yamagata-Ken, and we have one in Shirataka. I went to the temple to go and see it but unfortunately it was closed. However, a little old lady made a quick phone call and got hold of one of the monks in charge of looking after it, who came and opened the temple, and gave me a tour and explained all about the mummy. It seems he was part of a very large family, where there wasn’t enough food for the parents, grandparents and children. He is taken out of his glass case once a year, where his robes are changed and he is given all new charms.

The Japanese have a whole series of wagashi, traditional sweets. And they are all delicious. One type in particular is used at tea ceremonies. Traditionally it is made in the image of a seasonal flower. However, just before halloween, I popped into one of my favourite cake shops and came across the traditional sweet, in the shape of a ghost. He was so very cute, and so very, very tasty.

The Japanese shishi. Something I’ve become obsessed with since I came here. In September there was a festival at the shrine near my friends house. Her husband was involved in the festival, and while they were rehearsing, the shishi were kept at my friends house. I actually got to look in detail at them, and hold them. They were beautiful.

At the beginning of the year I began toying with the idea of doing the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). This is an exam which you can take all over the world to get an idea of where you are with Japanese. It has five levels, with 1 being the super hard level and 5 being the beginner level. When the application packs went on sale for the December test I decided to have a go. I signed up for level 4. I was fairly confident that I wouldn’t pass, but decided to do it anyway to get an idea of what the test involves. I went shopping, bought the books that told you all the grammar, vocab and kanji that I would need and settled down to study.

And then disaster struck. From the end of October I was ill. A fabulous mixyure of colds, flu, sore throats and horrific headaches meant that opening a book was almost impossible. I would desperately attempt to, but the only area that didn’t make my head hurt more was the kanji, which is the one part that I wasn’t overly concerned about. As the test date grew closer and my health finally started picking up, everything else was neglected as I attempted to make up for lost time and cram as much grammar into my head as possible.

The test date finally arrived and I headed to Sendai. The highlight of the day was discovering that the Tohoku Pokemon Centre had opened.

Bulbasaur - if only Pokemon could be real

The test itself was hilarious. I am ridiculously confident in the fact that I have failed. The idea of the level 4 test is that you should be able to follow conversations about basic daily things. To me, this suggests food shopping, what you did at the weekend. To the people writing the test it suggests passages about importing and exporting industrial goods, moving house and a whole pile of other very bizarre things. As such, this was probably the most relaxing test ever. The fact that it doesn’t actually have an impact on anything (unlike my GCSE and A-Level exams, which will directly affect my future employment opportunities etc) makes it less stressful, as does the knowledge that if I fail, I can do it again.

I left the Tohoku University in a calm joyful state, mostly because I could stop studying for a while. I had decided to give myself the rest of December as a break. My brain needed a rest. I also had a whole pile of things to do – read 1Q84 (amazing), read Inheritance (glorious), get ready for my holiday, and update this blog, as I was very aware that it had been rather neglected.

Alas, disaster struck again!! 2 days before the exam, my computer fell asleep and didn’t wake up. Literally. I basically ran the battery down, but when I plugged it in to charge, the adaptor was broke. Oh no!

While waiting for new parts, I was able to use school computers to check emails, an essential given that this is how the company I work for gives me my orders. But I didn’t think it would be a good idea tying up school resources to update this.

Yesterday, the new adaptor finally arrived and I spent an evening watching White Christmas. It makes me laugh that the reason I so desperately wanted my computer to work had nothing to do with Facebook, or emails, but was all about me wanting to watch Christmas films.

Anyway, all is good and operating again. There are several blogs in my head but how soon they will appear on here I’m not sure. It’s now Saturday evening. On Thursday afternoon I will be heading off on my winter holiday, and between now and then there are a few things that need to be done.

I hope I’m forgiven for blog neglect, and I promise that in the next few months I shall write as often as I can to make up for it.

As such, until it`s fixed, I won`t be able to update my blog properly. Currently I`m on a school computer that I`m borrowing to check my emails.

If you are someone who actually enjoys reading this blog, I apologise for this. Alas, there isn`t much I can do.

Please bear with me.

Merry Christmas everyone