We all had to work on Saturday from 9 - 2 as they were holding the entrance ceremony for the incoming kindergarten students. Every school has an entrance ceremony for the new students and it's a very big deal.
children having lunch
the helpers, who are also students at the school
the entry way
upstairs hallway
my room (with way too many Easter decorations, not my doing)
It was a beautiful morning (it seems the weather forecasts here cannot be relied on, just as at home) which made it really hard to go to work. But it was nice for the ceremony because they were able to have outdoor photos. The adorable kindergarteners (who had already been to school for 3 days) sang a few songs, the older students who have been at school for a year, answered questions in English, and lunch was served along with a COSTCO cake, Interestingly COSTCO cakes in Japan are not quite as sweet as those in the US. Kids were rounded up, pictures were taken, we were given lunch and then had to clean up and put all the furniture and things back into the classrooms. By which time the sky was gray again! AAAHH!!!
But, it was warm so I quickly biked home, changed my clothes put some rain gear into my basket and rode back to the castle area. It was packed!!!! It had been fairly crowded on Friday but Saturday was unbelievable! The Castle Road, which is lined with old fashioned looking store fronts - they call it 'The New Old Town' or 'The Old New Town' I forget which, was also really crowded. I ended up walking my bike in a lot of places, partly because of the people and partly because I kept stopping to take pictures!
 |
| sweets at the souvenier shop |
 |
| fish at the souvenier shop |
 |
| inside one of the castle buildings |
 |
| Hikonyan |
Inside the walls they had closed off some of the roads to cars and there were people everywhere, picnicking, admiring the flowers, riding boats around the moats, riding in 'rickshaws' and taking pictures. It was quite the scene.
I didn't go back up to the castle but rode/walked here and there and then tried to decide if it was worth it to wait (2 or 3 hours or so) to see the castle and flowers lit up or to go home and maybe come back (which I knew I wouldn't do).
I decided to go to the library which was close by and get my card. I then went over to the tourist center which was closed (it was after 5 by then) but it turns out their wifi can be accessed outside - really good to know! So I sent a few pictures and emails and was then approached by a man who greeted me in English. Turns out he studied in New Zealand for a year when he was in his mid-30s (which I thought he still was but he was 54!). He wanted to talk and I was looking for a way to spend some time so we chatted. Then I went across the street and bought a potato croquette and then some kinako mochi which would be dinner, or at least tide me over for the time being. It was finally starting to get dark and I found a spot behind some photographers. The castle was lit up (but not colored as it evidently had been a couple of nights before) and the sakura were also lit from underneath.
At around 7pm I decided I'd had enough, I went back into the inner moat area to see what was happening there - people drinking, picnicking, etc. and headed home with some nice photos, just as it started to sprinkle. It actually stopped right away and didn't start raining until later. Yeah.
I woke up after a nice sleep to rain and simple plans for the day. Write this, go to the store to get a big bag of rice, a big bottle of soy sauce and a big bottle of sake - it's amazing how much of those one goes through when cooking Japanese food all the time!
Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate!
No comments:
Post a Comment