Weddings to purikura

Anyone who knows me, knows that I constantly go on tangents.  I'm easily distracted and it's evident when I tell stories or try to hold a conversation.  When I have conversations, I could start off talking about school lunch and 15 minutes later I'll be talking about Bhutan.  Thus, my conversation with Tracey while running after school.  The subject of weddings came about and about 15 minutes later we were talking about purikura.  How did that happen?  Well we both thought that a cool favor for wedding guests would be a picture booth.  I thought it would be even more awesome to have a purikura machine(s).  Purikura is a picture booth taken to the next level =)

This purikura was taken in March so it's a tad dated.  Look at my Japanese eyes -_-

Atarashii keitai charm

When I came back to my apartment after my one week road trip, this was waiting in my mailbox.  Yes, my kareshi sent me a new omamori ^_^  Remember my leaf charm fell off (few posts back)?  Well, he sent me more leaves on this charm!  I really like it because of its design, colors and the huge bell in the middle.  Today was the first day of school after Golden Week and I noticed that the P.E. teacher across of my desk has a similar sounding bell on his keitai =p

While on the subject of kareshi, I found out tonight that his application was processed and approved.  I'm really happy and proud of him!

2 hr. walk

Over the newly (well not that new) built bridge, across the river, over the 105 bridge, to Nakamura bakery, back to my neighborhood then back to my favorite spot atop the mountain.

Things I learned from this walk:
-I get emotional and tear when I think about leaving in August.
-Kids say 'ohayou gozaimasu', 'Konnichiwa' or 'doumo' while adults just look. If I'm lucky they'll look at me.
-Nakamura bakery's cream puffs are more expensive than 150¥. 168¥ to be exact.
-Music really does set the mood.

Picture is of the new bridge. Can't wait for the sidewalk area to be finished so I don't feel guilty about walking under ropes in between construction barriers because I don't want to walk an extra couple of blocks :p

Hidden treasures

That weren't really hidden at all. I just didn't go out to find them. Just about a 5 minute walk from my apartment lies many walking trails and viewing points of the beautiful 'city' I live in.

Actually it made me feel quite melancholy thinking that I have just a couple of months here to enjoy this beautifulness. I wish that I found these places sooner so I could see them in all four seasons.

This picture is of my favorite place that I found in the area. It's atop a hill. It reminds me of the tree in 'My Sassy Girl'.

Niigata to Akita

Finally back home in Akita. It's been an eventful road trip week starting in Akita, driving to Iwate then Miyagi then Yamagata then Fukushima then Niigata. Today was the last leg of the trip from Niigata through Yamagata to get back to Akita. I surprised myself by driving the entire trip too.

I wrote a post while I was half asleep in Healthland last night. I guess I fell asleep before I pressed post.

This picture is of pear flavored KitKat. It's only found in Niigata :)

Arrived in Niigata...

And spent my evening at Health Land. Not the ideal way to spend my evening but I must say that I love relaxing. This place is all about relaxation. Six different ofuro, restaraunt, gym, arcade, massage rooms, food and drink vending machines etc. Everyone wears these uniform terry cloth tops and shorts. It reminds me of jimjilbbang in Korea.

The picture is of my dinner here in Health Land.

Bye bye Miyagi

And hello Fukushima. Right now I'm camping out in my car with Tracey in this car park in Fukushima. After a long day of driving to different sites, it was nice to enjoy onsen and then some conbini food.

This picture is of Akiu waterfall. Supposedly it's one of Japan's top 3 waterfalls. Personally I like Nikaho's better ;p