love, love, love

So. I've decided to do a 'Things I Love Thursday' post much like Gala Darling, except that mine will be a few things related to my life here in Japan; thus - 好きなこと木曜日. I think I'll also contrast this w/ a weekly post about something that drives me nuts - but more on that later. Now for things I love this week!

★Tochigi Strawberries - They come in perfect little rows in their packaging and they are quite possibly the best strawberries I have encountered thus far in my existence.

★Claire's - Yes! There is Claire's in Japan! I bought these doughnut earrings there! They express my love not only for doughnuts but also for all things that doughnuts represent. Like Mr. Donut, or the Simpsons.

★The ADORABLE packaging on the Frito-Lay cheese balls. Come on Frito-Lay. You need to have cute packages like this in the U.S.!! Please?!

★Poupeégirl - My new obsession. Thank you, Taryn. It's a fashion community. When you upload photos of your real-life fashion items, you get ribbons and fashion items for your doll (which, btw is poupeé in French). You also get ribbons for commenting on other people's items. It's super cute and I love making outfits for my poupeé.

★Lastly, I received little presents from my students at school last week. A photo of Matsujun (the drama star) and these little Pokemon stickers w/ a note that says 「これあげるよ」. I felt so loved!

So how about you? What do you love?!

いや～だ！

I was walking home from the train station on Sunday night at around 9:30. I had just gotten back from hanging out in Tokyo w/ Taryn (which I will blog about later). I was along the main drag, in a well-lit area, not too far away from my apartment. Two people on bikes, a man and a woman, who looked to be in their late 30s or early 40s were riding behind me. I stepped to the left, thinking that they would pass me on the right.
The man rode up directly beside me and shouted in a heavily Japanese-accented English: "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?", startling me. Before I could form any type of intelligible retort in Japanese, he and his female accomplice had already passed me. She had said something to him, but inaudible to me, as they continued on their way down a side street.
So... I was freaked out by this incident and took an indirect, alternate route home.
It makes me feel only slightly safer knowing that I live close to a police box. I always have this horrible feeling that the fact that I am a foreign woman will always be used against me if there would ever be any kind of... trouble (but that's just my own personal hangup).
Just because you know HOW to say something in English (or any language for that matter), doesn't mean you should say it all the time, because one of those times may just be extremely inappropriate. You will scare the shit out of a well-meaning foreign woman who is teaching your children English. That is all.

足利学校

Ashikaga Gakko is apparently the oldest school in Japan! Right here in my city! Holla! I went on Showa day, when, unfortunately, everyone and their brother felt the need to get out and about.

According to the pamphlet, present records can't really support any theories prior to the year 1410, so there is dispute as to when the school was actually founded. So here are 4 theoretical dates:
1. The Ashikaga school is a remnant of the Kokugaku school that originated in the Nara period
2. The Ashikaga school was founded in the year 832 by Lord Ono-no (tee hee what a silly name) Takamura.
3.The school was founded in 1249 by Lord Ashikaga Yoshikane (who also founded nearby Bannaji temple)
4. The school was opened in 1439 by Lord Uesugi Norizane, Deputy Shogun of Eastern Japan.

The school taught Confucianism of the Han and Tang dynasties and also the I-Ching. Next to the school, there is a Confucian Shrine (that actually looks more like a small temple, complete with a butsudan-style roof and shibi on the top roofline) with a bronze seated Confucius inside.
You can gaze out of the Hojo and have a nice think while looking at the pond & garden in the front or the smaller pool in the back. There is also a library on the grounds, that comes complete with 12,000 separate volumes, including the Song Dynasty edition of the 5 Classics of Confucianism. Talk about classics. The library isn't called 'Toshokan' though. Its name literally means "Treasury of Chinese Books."

I don't want to re-type the entire brochure onto my blog, but it really is a neat place to visit and learn a little about Chinese influence on Japanese culture. I would like to go back when there aren't so many people there!















More photos on the Facebook!