2016-02-14, A Cruise and a Class

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

We had a day off this week for National Foundation Day.  There really isn't a good English translation for this holiday but it's when Japan became a nation ruled by people rather than gods.  Something like that anyway.

Cindy and I wanted to get out of Hikone but we have very different ideas of a good time.  For me it's touring temples/shrines, gardens, or places with natural beauty.  For her it's shopping malls and good meals.  I wanted to go on a bus tour in Kyoto, she wanted to take a ride on a very expensive train where you are served crab.  In the end she decided to surprise me (I was a little nervous before I knew what it was) and we went on a lunch cruise.  Anything having to do with water (ocean, lake or river) is great with me, and she's been wanting to go on one of these cruises.

The main street near my house.  I'm at the bus stop.

We took the train to Otsu at the southern end of Lake Biwa and made our way down to the port.

We have sea lions under the docks, they have swans - which I have to say are just as noisy as the sea lions!

We were supposed to go on a ship that had a buffet lunch but it's under repair or something so we had a set course lunch with a choice of fish or beef.

The dining room.

She's ready to eat!

potato soup

Yum.

So pretty.  And delicious.

It was a beautiful sunny and calm (water) day and we couldn't feel the boat move at all.  So different from the whale watching cruises at home.  Actually it was very strange - the scenery changed but it felt like we were sitting still.  The cruise was too short.  By the time we finished our meal we were back at port!  It was a nice time but on a beautiful day like that it would have been nice to be outside.

This water is illuminated at night with colored lights.

We walked around Otsu before going home and happened upon this little museum dedicated to a festival that is held in the town every October.

For the festival there are a number of these floats that are paraded around town.

That's an embroidered hanging.

Some of the floats.

There was some interesting art displayed as well.  This is made from Japanese rice paper.

A very nice flower shop.

These are decorations for New Year's gifts.

Tanuki

Yesterday I skipped my Japanese class and went to the Culture Plaza for an event.  It was different groups and individuals, some playing instruments others singing different types of music.  Very nice.

Today I went to a workshop put on by the International Association.  We did ikebana and calligraphy.  My coworker Emily came with me and there were 4 others - 3 from Brazil and one from India.

Teachers and staff.

The ikebana teacher.

Mine.

This one was my favorite.  Very happy looking.
This nice woman from Brazil (in Japan 15 years) gave us a ride home.

Came home, straightened up, and I'm making some rosemary bread.  Hopefully that will come out well but since the recipe was in Japanese measurements and I used American measuring utensils I'm not sure...

Have a nice week everyone!