Vidal, YonBanCho Square, and Other Delights

Konnichiwa! Or, according to the time in the US right now, konbanwa!

Yesterday was one of my short class days so Amanda took me to City Hall to submit my Alien Registration stuff. I should get my card back the first week in February, which is good for 2 reasons: I can legally be here as a student (yay!), and I can get a cell-phone. It's a little daunting to go on random adventures to the middle of nowhere when you have no way to call anyone for help. So, City Hall is an important place to go. On the way, though, we stopped by a little bakery called Vidal. Vidal is actually run out of a woman's house - she sells all sorts of sweet and savory concoctions and all of the old JCMU students rave about how good her bread is. So we got some, then had lunch out by the lake. :)

Biwako! Or Lake Biwa, to English-speakers. I find the waves mesmerizing, probably because I've never lived so close to water.
Lunch buddies Sarah and Amanda (my roommate), as well as the conveniently-placed park benches for our eating pleasure. :)

Pizza bread! Japanese pizza is not at all like American pizza, but this tastes a lot like the real thing. Delicious. :D
For dessert, I had an-pan, which is bread with red beans. Red beans are common in Japanese desserts. If you've never had them, they're kind of hard to describe. They don't have much flavor beyond being really sweet, and their texture is a little strange...sort of an acquired taste. I've grown to love it, though.

Vidal has tons of types of breads and I intend to getting around to most of them before I leave. The woman also makes an orange-chocolate bread, and that's definitely on my list.

Next stop, City Hall! It was pretty uneventful, and afterwards Amanda and I didn't want to head home yet so we went back to Castle Road to do a bit of shopping. Sadly, a lot of the shops are randomly closed on Wednesday (and no, I have no idea why) so we didn't have much to do along the main thoroughfare. There was a random alley at the end of Castle Road, though, so we decided to explore it. We ended up stumbling across this really cool other area for shopping/eating. It's called YonBanCho Square (#4 street, maybe? Or district), and it's apparently brand-new. It reminds me a lot of the European shopping districts.

Because most places were closed and it was in the middle of the workweek for most people, it was pretty much a ghost town but we got to do some wandering. I'd like to go back when it's more populated!

Here's a really random(but cool!) fountain. Not too much else to say here. XD

Today was a lot less eventful - I had both classes so now I'm just chilling and trying to find the motivation to study. I am learning a lot in both my classes. In Japanese I'm filling in the gaps of the random things I missed learning the first time around. And in my culture class we're speeding through Japanese history, which is fascinating. The best part is that because all of the previous capitals of Japan (Asuka, Nara, and Kyoto) are fairly close to Hikone, we're literally surrounded by history. Most of the sites Professor Morris mentions in class are close enough to take a day trip(or even an afternoon trip) to see.

This weekend should be pretty good. :) We have our first exam tomorrow, but after 10 I'm done with class. I will need to do some studying, but because I'm not being graded for this course the pressure is totally off. :) We also have a "cultural activity" - this week it's ikebana (flower arranging). And my roommate's birthday is on Thursday so I'm making her a carrot cake. In our microwave-thing. I'm not entirely sure how that's going to work but there is a "Cake" button (like there's a "Toast" button and a "Hot Drinks" button), so I guess I'll just use that. I'm going to try and make it on Sunday so if there's a fiasco I have time to recover from it. We're going all-out - cream cheese icing and everything.

Also, remember how I said I wanted to go to Kyoto? Well, guess where I'm going this weekend! :D A friend of mine had her wallet stolen(with passport) in Kyoto so she has to go pick up some bureaucratic paperwork to go about getting a new one. We're just going up for the day, but we're going to see Fushimi Inari and Ginkakuji. :D I can't tell you how excited I am. Kyoto is one of my FAVORITE cities, and I've been dying to go back and see Fushimi Inari. So, on Saturday I will be in heaven, and I will probably just post lots and lots of pictures upon my return. Until then, enjoy the rest of your week!