5/12/15-25/12/15 - Christmas in Japan

I celebrated Christmas throughout the month of December and every celebration was just as great as the last. My first celebration was at my part-time job. A job that I have grown to really enjoy. Me and my coworkers were invited to a Christmas party on the 5th of December. We were told to wear something red for the occasion. The night consisted of eating, playing games and talking with guests. The games we played earned our team points, and whoever got the most points was allowed to choose their presents first from under the tree. My team won! So, we were able to choose first. I managed to get a really cute cup. I was so happy! It was a really great start to the month.

My friends and I decided to have a Christmas party between ourselves, since most people were going away in December. We had it at Georgia's apartment, and it was a secret santa! So, we all had to buy gifts in secret (which ended up being really difficult!). I bought a Japanese Christmas cake for the party which was around 35 dollars. It was quite small, but it was a seriously delicious cake! Plus, we couldn't have a Japanese Christmas without one. We listened to Christmas music, ate and opened presents. It was really fun. I got Rhiannon for my secret santa, and she couldn't guess it was me! Actually, pretty much no one could guess who had who, because literally anyone could've gotten us the presents we got. I got a really cute Gudetama toy from Sophie - it's literally the cutest. One of the best Christmas' I have had.

For our dorms Christmas party, it was a big celebration like always. We ate together and played little games in a group. In order to go to the party, we had to bring a 200 yen gift. I bought some chocolate from the supermarket. When it came to receiving gifts, we did a pass the parcel and whatever we had last was our present. I got a really cute santa candle, but unfortunately I cannot light candles in the dorm so I'll have to wait until I get home.

Finally, real Christmas arrived. Pretty much everyone was in Tokyo, so just me, Georgie and Rhiannon were left. I had saved the Christmas presents Dad and Jo until Christmas and got to open them under the tree in the multipurpose room. I felt really happy because I could open them with friends around listening to Christmas music, which is how I like it. Then, while I prepared the room, Rhiannon and George bought some groceries so we could make a semi-roast. It wasn't anything magnificent but it felt so good to be eating a roast on Christmas. We all felt a little homesick, I think. Watching Christmas movies until midnight, it was a really good way to spend the day. I didn't know what to expect of Christmas in Japan, but I was so happy with how I spent it.

16/12/15 - Universal Studios Japan pt 2

My second visit to Universal Studios Japan was with all of my friends this time. I always look forward to going there, but it was nice to go with more and more people. Since it was December, it was completely Christmas themed now. With visual displays everywhere (including a wreath around the Jaws shark's neck).We rode rides all day together. The highlight was literally as we entered the park, our friend Kazu almost got kicked out for filming us on the ride. But, he secretly sent it to our group chat before being told to delete it. It's really funny to watch!

Later in the evening, we separated so it was just me, Georgie, Misaki and Kazu. I think we had so much fun staying behind as everyone else went home. Since we stayed so late, no one was riding any rides so we ended up riding Space Fantasy three times in a row. By the time it was closing, we were lucky enough to see the closing parade. It somewhat felt like a rip off of Disneyland but, we forgave them because it was really fun to watch.

11/12/15 - Kobe Illuminations

Kobe is a really beautiful place. When I first went there, the Western looking buildings really reminded me of Australia. We visited the harbour and ate hot chips - it made me really homesick, I think because of the salty smell in the air.

On the 12th of December, I went to Kobe for the second time to see the Kobe Illumination display. It's famous in Osaka and attracts thousands and thousands of people. I was late in meeting my friends so, in my rush to meet them, I somehow missed half the illuminations. But, what I did see was amazing. The display was really beautiful and more impressive than I thought it would be. Although, I didn't really expect anything less from Japan. I got to eat Taiyaki from the food stalls and it's quickly becoming one of my favourite foods.

 

13/12/15-14/12/15 - Lindzi

I was really happy to hear that Lindzi was visiting Japan briefly for a holiday. I hadn't seen her in over a year, or maybe more? I had planned to meet her on the 14th, but since I was alone in Umeda I messaged her and found out that she was in Shinsaibashi! So, I took the trip and found her and Thali.
They were just doing some shopping (which I am always happy to do). She showed me some stores I had never even seen before, and so now I feel like I'll go to Shinsaibashi more often.

For dinner we went to Sweets Paradise. It is essentially an all you can eat buffet with sweets, curry, pasta and salads. There is so much food to eat and you can eat as much as you want for 70 minutes! If I'm being honest, it wasn't the best food ever but I didn't have a bad meal.

The next day, we met up and had Kushikatsu for lunch! It was my first time going to Kushikatsu (because I was in Australia when my friends went last time), and I was so excited. It took a while to get into the restaurant because it is so popular, but it was well worth it. The food inside is deep fried vegetables, meat and other foods (my favourite the mozzarella) served on sticks. It was so tasty! Afterwards we did more shopping in Umeda.

It's really nice seeing friends who you haven't seen in a while, especially while you're overseas. I wish more friends could visit.

27/11/15 - Golden Temple

A week after visiting the Silver Temple, we finally made our way to the Golden Temple (Kinkakuji). Personally, I was the most excited to see this temple. I've heard that it's most beautiful when the sun is setting and so we timed our trip to arrive just a little before it closes.

Seeing the temple was everything I had imagined and more. I think pictures can't really do it justice, because it's really just magnificent. When the sun sets, the light hits the temple in such a way that makes it look like it's glowing. I'd recommend anyone to go see this temple at least once.

The garden here, for others, wasn't as beautiful as the Silver Temple. However, I really felt that everything was just perfect. I felt that what people enjoyed most about the Silver Temple was the sand garden. But, I personally preferred the simplicity of the garden at Kinkakuji.


Afterwards, we walked around Kyoto and while it was really enjoyable, we experienced Japanese people saying "foreigner" at us every 1 minute walking through the busy streets. We were getting really mad and confused so we ended up going home. We get called foreigners a lot by strangers and while we know that it's obvious, it's still pretty annoying after a while.

22/11/15 - Silver Temple

Early in the morning, we set out to see the Silver Temple (Ginkakuji) in Kyoto. It took almost 3 hours to get there by train and bus. It was really a terrible experience. Buses in Japan are really small, and everyone is tightly crammed into it. You enter through the back and get off at the front, so when you have been shoved to the back it's a challenge to get off. I started to feel sick on the bus because there didn't feel like much oxygen was flowing through there. After that we made a group decision to find a different way home.

When we got off the bus, we had to walk up a long street of food vendors. They sold ice cream and souvenirs and different kinds of common snack food. It was really nice and it made me seriously hungry. But, we carried on towards the temple.

There was a huge line to get inside, and I was getting so excited to go inside. But, after paying my 500 yen and walking inside, I found that the temple that I thought would be covered in silver was actually just wood. It was kind of disappointing, but nonetheless. Apparently, it was meant to be silver (like the golden temple is gold), but it was unfinished because the man who was making it died before it could be painted.

While the temple isn't that impressive, most people find beauty in the garden that surrounds it. Because we went there in autumn, the leaves in the garden were red. We had hoped that they would be more red when we went, before falling, but apparently due to weather it wasn't going to happen.

We wanted to go to the Golden Temple that day, however it took unexpectedly long to get there. Since the temples close at 5, it was impossible to get to the other temple in time (since they are quite a distance). But, it was a really nice day anyway.

22/11/2015 - Christmas Markets

It’s really fun seeing how different countries celebrate Christmas. Before coming to Japan, I knew Christmas was big and that they decorated the cities, but I also knew of it being only a couple’s holiday. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect of Christmas. Since it was only November when my friends decided to take me to the Japanese Christmas markets, I was suddenly so excited.

My friends from Europe told me all about their Christmas and how amazing it is, with light displays and markets. With it being cold, it also has a different atmosphere. I was jealous, because I think in Australia, it’s not as spectacular. I’m not sure what I expected from the markets – probably just some stalls with the theme of Christmas, but it ended up being so much more than that!

When arriving, I think my German friends felt especially at home. The market was set up with stalls like I thought, but they looked like little houses instead of regular stalls. They were all snow topped and sold lots of German desserts – including green apple popcorn! But, it was the tree in the middle of the markets that really made me so happy. It was large and important and beautiful and I loved it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry a little, but I think I was just overwhelmed since it was my first Christmas away from home. I didn’t want to leave.

21/11/15 - Expo City

 Sometime during the week, we discovered that the first ever KFC all you can eat buffet was opening in Osaka. To our excitement, it was not even 15 minutes away. So, we decided to go and experience it. It was myself, Misaki, George and Rhiannon who took on this adventure. But, we didn’t expect to discover the greatest mall ever.

Expo City is a new mall, built where an old amusement park used to be (which had an unfortunate beheading incident on one of the rides). This mall has everything you could ever want and more. The wait for KFC was 3 hours, so we were really lucky that it was at a place with so many things to do.

I go there regularly now, and sometimes I wish we lived even closer. It’s one of those places you just always want to be! We walked around the shopping centre and discovered so many new stores. We shopped for coats because it was freezing outside, but I didn’t have any luck. It’s so big, I doubt we even scratched the surface of the place. It’s really hard to tell just how far you have gotten and how much you have seen because it really is the biggest mall I’ve seen.

It eventually became time to enjoy what we had been waiting so long for. The KFC all you can eat buffet seriously was all you can eat. They had chicken (obviously), pasta, chips, salad, curry, desserts. I was completely stuffed after those 70 minutes of heaven. I’ve never been back since but I definitely think about it!

Afterwards, we didn’t want our night to end so we headed back to Minami Senri and did karaoke! It was expensive, but it was worth it because George and I could finally sing Marilyn Monroe by Nicki Minaj. We were so good.