Food, Mishima, Parks, and Mishima Grand Shrine

Hello!

Wow it has been forever since I've posted. I've been pretty busy with classes, alien registration, buying basic necessities (like towels >_>), and making friends. There is a small number of other international students, one from France, four from America (including me), and one from Hong Kong who also studied in America. We are pretty closely knit now, and we hang out a lot, although we are trying really hard to make Japanese friends. There are also some Korean students here too but they aren't part of the group, although we (or rather I) talk to them on occasion. Also, there is a student from Mexico, who is kind of in our group but not really because he always disappears to do his own thing. xD; Anyway my point was that the Americans (and Frenchman) that I hang out with are very active people and I have little time to blog, unfortunately.

In any case, I am having a blast. Mishima is a pretty great city. There's not a WHOLE lot to offer but still a lot of great stuff; it has lots of basic amenities (grocery stores, 100 yen stores, department stores, bars, karaoke places, etc etc) so you can never get bored, PLUS there's a TON of restaurants. Unfortunately most restaurants are noodle restaurants, so we get tired of going out quickly, but there is an Okonomiyake (Japanese pancake) restaurant near the department store (a 10 minute walk) that we have been dying to sample and will definitely do so tonight.

Speaking of food, here are some things I have eaten since I've been here:

Yamakake Soba (Soba noodles with raw egg) and I dunno what it's called (fried chicken breast cooked in egg)

Negi Chashu Ramen (green onion and pork) and supremely delicious ice cream with chocolate and cookie pieces from 7 Eleven

Also, things I have cooked:

Omelette rice, Yakisoba, Chahan (Chinese fried rice, Japanese style)

And now, Mishima!

The walk to school: Not especially exciting, but I thought it might be nice to show you. Also, I didn't take pictures of the school because I don't want to stand out even more than I already do....xD;







Points of interest: small Japanese parking lots, small Japanese cars, generous amounts of greenery despite the city setting, (last two) middle school right before the university, elementary school right across from it. There is also a high school right after it. xD;

Also, more greenery! Mishima has several parks, and yesterday my friends and I went exploring and looked at two very nice ones. I don't know what they are called, but they are all very nice:

The library:


The first park:


The second park:



Also, Mishima Grand Shrine! (三島大社)

This is what you see right at the entrance


Ancient sacred tree, with shrines to forest spirits


Beautiful red shrine situated in the middle of a giant koi pond.


(Left) Place where you wash your hands and purify yourself before entering the main shrine, (Right) place where you can pray to the spirits for whatever you need. The bell is used to call the attention of the spirits. To the right of that is a stand where you write a wish on a wooden block and hang it up at New Years so that it might come true.


(Left) place where you can buy amulets for good luck, health, fortune, etc; (right) shrine attendants preparing for a ceremony.


There was a traditional wedding ceremony happening. It was super cute.


(Left): When you get a fortune telling from a shrine attendant, you can get very good, good, bad, and very bad. Here is where you tie the bad ones so that you don't actually get bad luck. (Right): Women praying at the main shrine. First you throw a coin in (usually a 5 yen coin because they are luckiest), then you pray and bow.


Since deer are a sacred animal, they kept deer at the shrine. Visitors can feed them pieces of bread. There was a very nice old woman who seemed to take care of them and who could get them to bow to her when she said "Konnichiwa" (Hello).


Wellllll that's all for this post. I shall follow up with another one because I don't want to make this post ENORMOUSLY large. As if it isn't already. xD;