現代の歌姫The Diva of the Modern Age

Miku Hatsune is so cute!

初音ミク、かわいいな！

Okay. Got that out of my system. So yesterday, there was a concert: Miku Hatsune Live Party 2011, in Tokyo. Sadly I couldn't go to the actual event itself (I'll save random trips to Tokyo for the weekends), but I was able to go to the movie theater in Kyoto and watch the concert live from afar. And I'm very glad I did.

さあ。とにかく。昨日はコンサートがありました。それは初音ミクライブパーティー2011。本当のイベントは東京にあるから、行けなかったけど、京都の映画館でライブを見ることが出来た。本当にすごかった。

I got to the theater around 6:45; the show was supposed to start at 7. After meeting a friend who was also going to the concert, we headed into the movie theater. We got a free little glow stick and a tote bag when we went in, because it wouldn't be a Japanese concert without glow sticks to wave around in the air. And yes, we did. The movie theater was a field of little glowy lights during the entire concert.

僕は6時45分に映画館に着いた。ライブは、7時に始まる。友達と会って、映画館を入った。入る時、トートバッグとケミカルライトがもらった。そのケミカルライトはとても日本的な物だと思った。いつも、日本のライブで、みんなはそのライトを振る。私たちも。ライブ中で、たくさんのキラキラと光ってるライトがあった。

Why was this concert so cool, you ask? Simple. Hologram. The Vocaloids are not human beings, after all. We're referring to computer programs designed to synthesize voice, primarily for singing. I say "primarily" because Miku did greet us after her first song ("Good evening everyone!"), so she's certainly capable of "normal" speech, although it does sound a little awkward.

なぜそんなにかっこいいだと思うかと聞いた？実は、一番かっこいい点はミクだった。ホログラムだった。ボーカロイドは、人間ではない。声を作るためのコンピュータのプログラムだ。大体、この声は歌声だけど、普通の話すこともできる。というのは、ミクは、「皆さん、こんばんは！」と話したからだ。もっとも、ちょっと不器用だったけど．．．

Of course, Japan being Japan, said computer programs are given the face and form of a 16-year-old girl with bright blue hair that's probably longer than she is tall. According to the booklet I bought at the concert, Miku is 16, is about 5'2", and weighs less than a hundred pounds.

まあ、日本らしいプログラムだ。そのプログラムは、16歳の長すぎる青い髪の毛の女の子の形だ。パンフレットによると、初音ミクは、16歳で、158センチの高さで、42キロの重さだ。

... If they're trying to get me to see her as more "human", it's working. I mean, there's what I started this post with...

．．．「ミクは本当の人間」という影響を与えたかったら、よく出来たな。まあ、これの初めの文は．．．

伏見稲荷大社Fushimi Inari Shrine

（なぜか分からないんですが、これを翻訳したくない．．．すみません。）

Finally, I do something other than go to the arcade.

As is typical, the weather refused to cooperate. The fact that I could see snow falling when I got on the train at Kutsukawa should tell you how cold it was today. At least it was sunny when we got to the shrine itself; that and the hiking I did went a long way towards keeping the cold off.

Anyway. I went with my host mom to Fushimi Inari today. Apparently she has a friend who works at the gift shop there. In practice, that means "free stuff", and while it was a little embarrassing to be getting free stuff from someone I'd met literally a minute ago, I couldn't really get a word in edgewise to say "no thank you". Besides, the water came in handy.

You see, the actual main shrine at Fushimi Inari is at the base of a hill. I mean, it's called Mt. Inari, but it's not really a mountain. 233 meters is not worthy of being called a mountain, as far as I'm concerned. I did end up spending around an hour walking around up there, but I did a lot of looking around and praying at shrines along the way and other things that weren't "walk from point A to point B".

My host mom didn't even start up the hill. She got as far as the rear shrine before turning around. Of course, this was hardly the first time she'd been to Fushimi Inari, and the rear shrine is plenty far enough to see one of this shrine's major selling points...

 ... the Senbon Torii, one thousand of these easily-recognizable gates. (Apparently my host mom tried to count them once. Got up to around 300 before giving up.)

Frankly, after that I feel like not much happened. I mean, it's a shrine. I've been to plenty. There were the ema, the little wooden card things that you write a wish on and hang near the shrine. They were in the shape of a fox, since foxes are important at this particular shrine. You could draw to get a fortune; mine was excellent. There were protective charms; none really interested me.

There were these "Heavy-light Rock" things (Omokaru-ishi). Apparently if they feel light when you pick them up, then whatever you were praying for will be easily granted. I mean, they weren't impossibly heavy, I suppose. But now I forget what I was wishing for. Well, even if I remembered, I seriously doubt I'd share it here.

What else happened... Oh right. Cats.

So according to my host mom, people do abandon cats at shrines like this. Because they're, well, shrines, people don't just kill or chase away the strays. Divine messengers, and all that.





I of course realized none of this at the time. I was in my usual frame of mind. Which could probably be summed up as "here kitty kitty... aww cute kitty"... yeah, I have a weakness for cats. (Or there's this XKCD comic.)

It was an interesting little hike, and a cool shrine to be sure. But I worry that shrines are getting to the "seen it all before" stage. I don't know what to do about that. Other than find a few more (like, oh, Ise) just to confirm my suspicions...

春休みの予定Plans for Spring Break

I don't have any.

無し。

Okay, well, more seriously... a lot of my friends are in Tokyo right now, and in all honesty I would have liked to go with them. But, I've been in Tokyo twice now, and I keep spending too much money, both in the process of getting there and in shopping once I'm there. There are still places I want to go in Tokyo, things I want to see, yes. But I'll wait on the next Tokyo trip. Which, actually, might be soon... there's a certain event coming up...

実は、僕の友達は今、東京にいる。本当に行きたかったけど、もう東京に二回行った。東京に行くたびに、買い物とか新幹線とかお金を使いすぎる。行きたい所や見たい事はまだある。でも、次の機会はいい。実は、この機会は今にもあるかもしれない．．．とあるイベントはもうすぐだ．．．

One good idea I had was to go the other way, to Hiroshima. I do need to go there sometime. Of course, I can't ever seem to plan ahead, and so I have no actual plans. I'm almost tempted to use the shinkansen's speed to make it a day trip (it's less than two hours away on the Nozomi) but then I don't know what there is to see there. I'd hate to miss something because I was trying to fit everything into one day.

いいイデアの一つは、広島に行く事だ。いつか行かなくちゃ。でも、まだ予定を立ててなかった。新幹線の速さで、日帰りをしようだと思う（のぞみで二時間以下かかる）．．．しかし、見なくてはいけない場所、まだわからない。

Or I could just stick around in the Kyoto area and do as little as possible. Somehow, I still haven't been to Kiyomizu-dera or Fushimi Inari Taisha, both of which I really do need to go see. Or there's Ise, which is only one of the most important shrines in all of Shinto, period. Well, now that I think about it, that would also be a day trip, two hours away on a Kintetsu limited express train...

まあ、京都で何かをしてもいい。なんとなく、まだ清水寺と伏見稲荷大社に行ってない。行かなくちゃ。しかも、伊勢神宮に行ける。これも日帰りかな．．．近鉄の特急で二時間くらいかかる。

Well, whatever I end up doing, I'll post about it. Unless I end up doing nothing. I imagine everyone has better things to do than read a blog post about me sitting around eating Pocky and reading fanfiction. (Heh.)

何かをしたら、ここで何かを書くよ。まあ、何もしなかったら、何も書かない。多分、みんなはファン・フィクションを読んだり、ポッキーを食べたりしたについてのブログ、読みたくないな。（笑）

ゲームセンターに行こう！Off to the Arcade!

Finally, I get promoted to Commander!

やっと、中佐に昇格しました！

Hah. Okay, let me explain. I mentioned the one Gundam arcade game a while back, right? Well, I've still been playing it. Probably spending too much time and money on it, in fact. I could go on and on about the abilities of close-range combat type mobile suits, and how they compare to a long-range bombardment type tank, or I could explain the quick draw ability that only melee type mobile suits have.

えへへ…説明する。先、戦場の絆というゲームについて話したね。まあ、まだしてる。多分、しすぎる。近距離戦型の能力とか、遠距離砲撃型と比べとか、クイックドローと言う格闘型の能力とかについて話せる。

Anyway, I went to the arcade today. Same one as always, the Namco Wonder Tower at Shijo and Kawaramachi. I actually started the day with some DDR, mostly because I felt like it. I wanted to play this one Riyu Kosaka song called Love Shine, but I couldn't find it... and then this Japanese guy goes up after I'm done and what's the first song he plays?

とにかく、今日ゲームセンターに行った。いつもどおりと同じ、四条河原町のナムコワンダータワーと言うゲームセンターだ。最初は、DDRをした。Love Shineと言う小坂りゆの曲をしたかったのに、見つけられなかった…しかし、僕が終わった後で、日本人の男はその曲をした。

I really don't like talking to people I don't know all that well... I always feel awkward. But, lacking any other ideas regarding the mystery, I managed to ask him about it. After talking it over a little, he realized that you have to reach a certain level to unlock some songs, and even spent some time checking the Internet (on his phone) to find out what those levels were.

僕は知らない人と話すのが好きじゃない。不器用って感じ。でも、その人と話すしかないから、聞いた。話し合ったら、解錠しなければならない曲があることに気づいた。そして、その人は携帯を使って、インターネットで条件を調べた。レベルの条件がある。

Short version of the story: I need to reach level 46 already. (I'm level 19ish, I think.) At least I get Break Down at level 30...

縮めて、僕はレベル46に上がりたい。今のは、16ぐらい。まあ、30に上がるとBreak Down!を解錠する…

After that I picked up lunch and went back to the arcade for the Gundam game. With six battles since I had last been promoted, I needed to play twice more (two battles per play) to even be eligible for promotion. On top of that, I needed two victories, an A, and no more than one C.

その後、昼ごはんを食べて、戦場の絆をするためにゲームセンターに帰った。先の昇格は六戦前から、昇格するために二回しなくてはいけない。（一回で二戦する。）しかも、二回勝つのと、一回Ａランクが必要だけど、Ｃランク以下のはだめ、二回Ｃランクもだめ。

I mean, I did it, obviously. First battle kind of didn't go well; my team lost, and I got that C. But then I switched to a long range mobile suit and went after the enemy base for the second round. Things got messy real fast. I got myself destroyed twice, and with less than 100 points I was on my way to getting a D. But, I managed to finally destroy the enemy base in the last ten seconds of the battle, pushing my score up to an A-worthy 300-some and giving my team the victory on top of that. You're welcome, everyone. God knows you could have actually, oh I don't know, defended me a little so that I could have done that without getting myself killed twice.

もう話した。もちろん、やった。一回目の戦闘はちょっと悪い…負けて、Ｃランクを取った。でも、二回目は、遠距離を使った。最初はやばい。二回も撃破された。しかも、僕のスコアは100以下あったから、Ｄランクを取る恐れがあった。だけど、最後の10秒の間に敵の拠点を破壊した。スコアは、300ぐらいになって、僕のチームを勝った。どういたしまして、皆さん。次回、僕をちゃんと守ってくれたら、どう？

The remaining two battles were actually kinda easy. Don't know why. Matching gave us enemies that weren't all that good, I guess. So not complaining though. Not after getting promoted.

残りの戦闘はちょっと簡単だった。なぜかわからない。ちょっとうまくなかった相手と戦った理由は、マッチングのシステムのおかげかな…でも、平気。問題なし。昇格したから。

... rather than writing this, I should probably be doing homework...

さあ、これを書くより宿題をしなくちゃ…

一週間の活動One Week's Activities

This last week has just been pure chaos. Every day, there was something going on. So, the highlights...

今週は大混乱だった。毎日、何かしたよ。さあ、総集編は．．．

Tuesday was a day for teaching English. Well, that and a trip to the arcade... yeah, I spent too much time in the arcade this last week. Anyway, I went back to Rakuto Middle School for another day of helping to teach English. This time, it was just me. Since I had to do everything, I wonder if maybe I'm not quite energetic enough to really be a good teacher... oh well, I have time (and the chance) to practice, right?

火曜日には英語を教えた。そして、ゲームセンターに行った．．．多分、行き過ぎた。とにかく、洛東中学校に英語を教えに行った。今度は、僕だけ。もっと元気にすればいいかな．．．まあ、練習の時間があるね。

After that, I was planning to meet my language exchange partner late in the day for dinner. Since I had time to kill, I went to the arcade and played another round or two of the Gundam game. It's addictive, and expensive to boot... which means whoever made that game is certainly good at their job.

その後、ランゲージパートナーと会う予定があった。暇な時間があったから、ゲームセンターに行って、また戦場の絆をした。

Anyway, my language partner. He's a student from Kyodai who wants to learn English... our conversations are interesting, to say the least. His English pronunciation needs a little work, but I feel like he has a better grasp of vocabulary than I do... We met at a McDonalds at the intersection of Imadegawa and Kawaramachi streets; I tried their teriyaki burger. It was okay, I suppose.

とにかく、ランゲージパートナー。彼は京大の大学生だ。僕らの会話は面白いよ。彼の英語の発音はちょっと．．．でも、僕より単語が上手だ。僕らは今出川川原町にあるマクドナルドで会って、僕は照り焼きバーガーを食べてみた。まあまあだった。

Oh, and on the subject of "interesting conversations"... somehow a discussion on environmental problems turned into power sources, and from there into nuclear weapons. To be fair, he brought up the atomic bomb first... but how am I supposed to answer "we've had a nuclear weapon used on us"?

そして、「面白い会話」って．．．なんとか、環境問題についての会話は発電所についての会話に変わった。その後、原子兵器！まあ、彼は最後の話題を始めるけど、「日本は原子兵器を使われた」の返事はどうすればいい。

His topic was better than mine... I wanted to talk about Japanese schools and universities, but realized in short order that I didn't have all that many things to ask about. So that was also awkward, although for a different reason. I did learn that in Japanese universities, students will refer to themselves as fifth or even sixth year students if they end up repeating their senior year. Don't American universities kick you out if you have to repeat a year more than once?

でも、その話題は僕のよりいいと思う。僕は日本の教育を話したかったけど、早く何も聴きたいことがなくなった。違う理由だけど、その話題もばつが悪い。でも、面白いことを習った．．．日本の大学で四年を留年したら、五年生と六年生と言う。アメリカの大学は、一回以上留年したら、除籍しないの？

That was it for Tuesday... on Wednesday, I got sick. Ugh. Just a cold, but I felt kind of off all day... and then on Thursday I was completely out of it. It didn't help that I had to wait for my class at 5 in the evening. Both days were interesting... I went to a fire festival on Wednesday and worked on plans for fall break on Thursday. But I also went to bed about as early as I could manage both nights, which worked out to around 10. I don't think I've gone to bed around 10 since high school.

それは、火曜日の終わり。水曜日は、風邪を引いちゃった。うぐぅ．．．風邪だけ、でも、機嫌がちょっと悪かった。そして、木曜日は、めちゃくちゃだった。しかも、木曜日にすごく遅い授業があった。水曜日に護摩に行って、木曜日に秋休みの予定を立てた。でも、すごく早く寝た。まあ、10時ぐらい。そんなこと、高校生の卒業した後からしたことがないかもしれない。

Thankfully, I felt a little better today. Which was good because I had two midterms to take. Japanese came first, and actually wasn't all that hard. There were a few questions that I just didn't answer, but on the whole it was fine. The other midterm was my Japanese Religions midterm, and that... I don't know. Maybe. I probably wasn't detailed enough, but I wrote all I could.

今日、もっと元気になる。よかった。というのは、中間試験が二つもある。最初は日本語の試験だった。答えられない質問があったけど、大体だ丈夫だと思う。他のは日本の宗教の試験だった。それは．．．まあ。多分もっと詳しく答えればいいのに。

Also today: the Festival of the Ages, Jidai Matsuri. One of Kyoto's biggest festivals (alongside the Gion Festival), the Festival of the Ages features a procession of people dressed in historical costumes, from the time of Heian-kyo's founding up to the Meiji Restoration. About the only word that suffices to describe this particular festival would be "awesome".

そして、今日は時代祭りがあった。時代祭りは、京都の三大祭りの一つだ。歴史的な服を着て、行列する。その歴史は、平安京の創立から明治時代まで。かっこいいよ。

The costumes were beyond description. Actually, I went a little early with some classmates, because the teacher of our Kyoto history class wanted us to interview some of the participants in the parade. So we got a close look at the costumes. And we interviewed people. Mostly Meiji-era heroes, like Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro.

その服は．．．うまく言えない。すごかった。実は、僕はクラスメートと一緒に早く行った。というのは、京都歴史の授業のために行列の参加者をインタビューした。だから、服をよく見えた。僕の場合は、明治時代の志士をインタビューした。たとえば、坂本龍馬と中岡慎太郎。

So yeah, it's been a crazy week. And things aren't going to change, because this weekend will top everything I've yet done in Japan. You see, fall break is starting; I have all of next week off. But I've been to Osaka twice, climbed Mt. Hiei, gone to Okayama Prefecture, seen the Jidai Matsuri... what could possibly top that?

だから、今週は大混乱だった。そして、今週末も．．．今週末は、今前のすべての活動よりかっこいいよ。秋休みは始まるから、来週は全部休みだ。でも、大阪に二回行ったり、比叡山を登ったり、岡山県に行ったり、時代祭りを見たり．．．全部より何のほうがいいか。

Next up: Tokyo.

次、東京。

同志社大学Doshisha University

Finally I have decent pictures of the university where I'm studying abroad. Only took me, what, a month?

やっと同志社大学についての写真がある。一ヶ月かかるな。

This is pretty much the center of Doshisha. I took this picture at 8:30 in the morning, but had I taken it in the middle of the day, there would be teeming masses of students lining this boulevard.

これは、同志社の真ん中だ。この写真は、8時半に撮ったから、だれもいない。昼間にとったら、多すぎる学生がいるはずだ。

And the building where KCJS is housed. In fact...

そして、京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアムに含むビルだ。実は．．．

... we're so important, we get a sign.

(It's not visible in the last picture; it's hidden behind the pillar with "Fusokan" on it.)

僕たちは大事すぎるから、サインがあるよ。

（先の写真で見えない、扶桑館を刻んでいた柱の後ろに隠れた。）

The same building.

同じビル。

The entrance to the campus on Karasuma street. It's the best way to get to Imadegawa Station on the Karasuma subway line, so it's my preferred route into campus.

烏丸通の出入口だ。今出川駅をよく使うから、一番いい出入口だと思う。

There's this cute little park or something next to Fusokan. There's even a pond with koi in it!

扶桑館の隣に、小さい公園がある。鯉がいる池もある！

And finally, the most important building on campus. The basement of the Meitokukan is home to the cafeteria, you see. That, and a convenience store, and a campus bookstore-like place... really, the Meitokukan is awesome.

最後に、キャンパスの中で一番大事なビルだ。明徳館の地下で、食堂があるよ。そして、コンビニも、本屋みたいな店もある．．．便利ね。

So yeah, this is where I'm studying abroad.

これは留学する場所だ。

日本の学校Japanese Schools

All KCJS students have to do this thing called a "Community Involvement Project", which is basically an internship. The point of it is to give us more experience in actually using Japanese in conversation, especially honorific and humble language, since a workplace is filled with "keigo", as it's often called. Really, my Japanese class could be the worst in the world, and I'd still be learning Japanese because of all of these special activities. And it isn't, it's pretty good.

京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアムの学生は「コミューにティ・インヴォルヴェメント・プロジェクト」と言うことをしなければならない。インターンシップみたいだ。目的は日本語で会話の経験だ。仕事みたいだから、尊敬語と謙譲語がたくさんあるから、いい敬語の練習だ。まあ、たとえ日本語の授業は最下でも、特別な活動があるから、日本語を上手になる。そして、日本語の授業はいい授業だと思う．．．

Since I've been considering becoming a teacher sometime in the future, I chose to help teach English at a school in Kyoto. So on Monday, one of our Japanese teachers took myself and two others to Rakuto Middle School, out in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward. We met with the school's principal and two of the teachers to work out the details. Since I wasn't the only one there, I didn't have to talk all that much... I'm still as quiet a person as always. 

先生になろうと思っているから、僕は京都の学校で英語を教えたい。だから、月曜日に、日本語の先生ともう二人と洛東中学校に行った。その学校は京都の東山区にある。活動の相談をするために洛東の校長と英語の先生と会った。一人だけじゃないから、僕はあまり話さなくてもいい．．．いつも通り、僕は大人しい。

Basically, once a week I'll go and assist the English teacher there with class. My first time is next Thursday, the 14th. That time, I'm going with one of the other two people that are also doing this, but occasionally one of us will go there by themselves. My first time for that is the Thursday after next, the 21st. I'm looking forward to it!

基本的に、一週間に一回行って、英語の先生を手伝う。初めては来週の木曜日、10月14日。その時、僕はもう一人と行くけど、時々一人だけを行く。そんなのは、初めては再来週の木曜日、10月21日。楽しみにしてね。

Then again, in some sense we've already started. On Wednesday, the three of us went to Rakuto's sports festival, kind of like the field day that a lot of American elementary schools have. And we introduced ourselves there in front of the entire school and some of the parents to boot. That introduction was a little harder than most.

まあ、もう始まったって感じね。水曜日に、洛東の体育大会に行った。アメリカの小学校のフィエルド・デイみたいだ。そして、学校の全員の前に自己紹介をした。その自己紹介はちょっと難しいな。

On the up side, we got to participate in a tug-of-war, the PTA against the 3rd-year students. We were on the PTA team, which won. Twice. Yeah, that was satisfying. Although according to one of the teachers, the PTA team wins every year. Sadly, we left shortly after. I would have liked to stay, but I had to go deal with some homework that necessitated going to a museum in the city.

でも、綱引きを参加したチャンスがある。PTA対三年生。僕たちはPTAチームで、勝った。二回。楽しかったよ。でも、先生によると、PTAチームは毎年勝つそうだ。残念だけど、もうすぐ後で出た。もう少し待てばよかったのに、たくさん宿題があるから．．．

And that isn't even it... on Friday I went to Momoyama Middle School in southern Kyoto, Fushimi ward. Apparently, at Momoyama, there's an English club of sorts, and I can go and chat with the students there. It's a different kind of activity, so yeah. That won't start until November, since I do have Rakuto stuff to do.

そして、それだけじゃない。金曜日は京都の南にある桃山中学校に行った。桃山で、英語のクラブがあるし、僕は行って学生としゃべることが出来る。違うタイプの活動。洛東の活動もあるから、その桃山の活動は11月に始まる。

Finally, my CIP activities can begin, and I can go see Japanese schools in action... this will be fun.

やっと、CIPの活動は始まるし、日本の学校を見に行けるし．．．楽しみにしてね！

北野天満宮Kitano Tenmangu

On the 25th of every month, a large flea market is held at Kitano Tenmangu, a large shrine in northern Kyoto. Being that today was Saturday, I had absolutely no reason not to go. I mean, I could just be a shut-in anime fanatic that leaves their room for food, maybe, but that would just be stupid.

毎月、25日に、北野天満宮でフリーマーケットがある。その北野天満宮は京都の北に大きい神宮だ。今日は土曜日だから、行けない理由がない。まあ、引きこもりになるけど、その仕方は絶対バカなんだ。

I took my usual route into the city, Okubo to Imadegawa by train, and got on a city bus at Imadegawa over to Kitano Tenmangu. The bus was packed. I mean, I'm used to crowds after riding the subway every morning, but this was ridiculous. Let's just say I wasn't the only one going to the shrine.

いつも通り、大久保駅から今出川駅まで電車を乗った。今出川駅で、市バスを乗って、北野天満宮前に降りた。そのバスに、人が多すぎた。毎日電車を乗るから、人がたくさんいることは問題じゃないけど．．．僕だけ神宮に行くことじゃない。

Pretty much right after getting off the bus, I took this picture, of the torii gate next to the road. Sadly, you can't see the taiyaki stall that I made a beeline for right after taking the picture. All the food was out front; all of the stalls visible in the picture were selling food of some kind. And I love taiyaki, so of course I had to get a snack! (uguu~)

バスを降りた後で、この写真を撮った。写真で、北野天満宮の鳥居が見える。残念だけど、たい焼きの店が見えない。その屋台店は全部食べ物の店だ。そして、たい焼きが大好きだから、もちろん食べた！（うぐぅ～）

And right after I bought my taiyaki, I ran into a friend purely by accident. I hadn't really contacted anyone else, so I wasn't planning to meet anyone, but it wasn't at all surprising to learn that I wasn't the only one there. There were a lot of places to buy kimonos, and a ton of food places too. I didn't really see much I had to have... I do want a kimono, but I'd rather have help from my host parents for that. I did buy a small fold-out fan, which is probably not necessary now that it's starting to get cooler.

たい焼きを買った後で、友達を出会った。誰も連絡しなかったから、会う予定がないけど、友達がいるのはびっくりじゃない。このマーケットで、着物の店と食べ物の店がたくさんあった。買いたいものがあまりない．．．着物を買いたいけど、僕のホスト両親を手伝った方がいいと思う。涼しくなるだから、多分必要じゃないけど、扇子を買った。

Oh, and I kind of got lunch... the taiyaki wasn't the only food I bought. A little while later, I picked up a pork bun and ate that. It wasn't great (auuu~), but I felt like I should at least try it. Anyone care to guess why I felt like trying the pork bun?

そして、昼ご飯を食べた。たい焼きだけじゃない。後で、肉まんを買って、食べた。あまりおいしくない（あううぅ～）けど、食べてみたいと思った。まあ、「なぜ肉まんを食べてみたいか」とは答えられるか。

The shrine itself was also packed almost beyond belief, which I imagine is part of the point of having this market. I thought about buying a protective charm and praying at the main shrine building, but I'd rather do those kinds of things when there aren't long lines involved.

神宮も人は多すぎた。僕はお守りを買おうと思ったけど、そんなことは人が少ない時にした方がいいと思う。

Besides, I took some cool pictures. Are those naginatas?

まあ、かっこいい写真を撮った。こんなのは長刀か。

Well, anyway. I had fun. The flea market was really interesting, but I would kind of like to come back and see the shrine when it's not filled with people. So I bet this isn't the last time I'll be going to Kitano Tenmangu.

とにかく、楽しかった。フリーマーケットは面白かったけど、人が少ない時の神宮も見たい。だから、この時は最後の北野天満宮に行く時じゃない。

定期券で一日の冒険One day's adventure, with a commuter pass

I've already mentioned that my homestay is not exactly close to Doshisha University. And it would be nice to live closer to Doshisha. But it does have one perk: my commuter's pass. Okay, yeah, I had to buy it. And at first glance, it costs a fortune: nearly 13 thousand yen for a month-long pass. That little card, though, is perhaps the most useful thing in my wallet, bar none.

日本にいる時、僕の家は同志社大学から遠いね。もっと近い家に住んでいるのはいいかもしれない。でも、一つの恩恵がある：僕の定期券。はい、はい、買った。始めは、「高いよ」と思った、13000円ぐらい。でも、その小さいカードは財布の中で一番便利なものだよ。

Why? Because I can use it to go nearly anywhere in Kyoto. That little card will let me in and out of any station on the subway's Karasuma Line south of Imadegawa, and any station on the Kintetsu line between Takeda and Kutsukawa. That means I can go to Kyoto Station or Shijo (yay shopping!) for free, essentially. "Free" isn't quite right, I suppose. Like I said, 13 thousand yen. But it'll save me money in the end.

なぜ？と言うのは、京都の中で、この定期券を使って、どこでも行けるからだ。そのカードは地下鉄烏丸線の今出川駅の南で、なんでも駅で使えるし、近鉄線で竹田から久津川まで使える。それから、京都駅や四条駅に行く時、お金が要らない。まあ、「無料」はちょっと違う。13000円ね。でも、お金を節約出来るよ。

For example, today... I was particularly indecisive today, and ended up taking the subway a lot. First, the trip I have to take every day: Okubo to Imadegawa in the morning. I'm pretty sure that's about 500 yen. After classes were over today, I went down to Teramachi and the Nishiki market, so Imadegawa to Karasuma Oike... 220 yen, I think?

例えば、今日．．．今日に、僕はちょっと煮え切らないから、地下鉄をたくさん使った。まず、毎日の必要な通い、大久保駅から今出川駅まで。これは、500円ぐらいかかると思う。授業の後で、僕は寺町と錦通りに行ったから、今出川駅から烏丸御池駅まで地下鉄を乗った。220円、と思う。

When I was done there, I wanted to go to the post office, and I knew that there was a post office outside Kyoto Station. I mailed a gift to my twin brother today. But on that first trip to the post office, I forgot my address, so I had to go back to Doshisha to get Internet access. Shijo to Kyoto Station: probably about 250 yen; Kyoto Station to Imadegawa: again, 250 yen or so.

その後、郵便局に行きたかったし、京都駅の近くに郵便局があることは知っていた。今日は双子の兄に贈り物を送った。でも、郵便局に行く時、住所を忘れたから、インターネットを使うために同志社に帰らなくちゃ。四条駅から京都駅まで、250円、京都駅から今出川駅まで、また250円ぐらい。

Once I had looked up my address, I went back to the post office to send my brother's stuff out. That was kind of awkward, actually, because I had to ask the employee about getting an envelope... and because I used the word for "box", he thought I wanted an actual cardboard box rather than the little cushioned envelope. Oh well, I learned a new word today! Imadegawa to Kyoto Station: again, 250.

住所を調べた後で、郵便局にまた行った。今回はちょっと恥ずかしい．．．封筒は要るけど、どこがあるか知らない。郵便局の人を聞いたとき、「箱」を使ったから、段ボールの箱がほしいと思っていた。まあ、今日は新しい言葉を習った！今出川駅から京都駅まで、また、250円。

After my post office adventure, it was about 3 in the afternoon, and the plan was to meet my host mom for dinner at 6:30. It was too early to go back home, so I went back to Doshisha to hang out and play Pokemon Black. Kyoto Station to Imadegawa: really, do I need to repeat myself?

郵便局の冒険の後で、三時ごろだった。お母さんと晩ご飯をレストランで会う予定があるから、早すぎた。だから、また同志社に帰って、ポケモンブラックをした。京都駅から今出川駅まで．．．本当に繰り返すことが要るか。

Finally, it was 5 in the evening and people were starting to leave Doshisha. I decided that, even though it was early, that I should be heading back anyway. So I got on the train for Shin-Tanabe, which I can ride all the way from Imadegawa to Okubo. But, since I was early, I decided to waste time and go one more stop, to Kutsukawa. When the weather's nice, I can walk from Kutsukawa to my home. The bus is cheap, but nothing's cheaper than "free". Imadegawa to Kutsukawa: 500 yen or so, I think.

五時ごろ、同志社でだれもいなくなるから、僕は帰ると決まった。だから、新田辺行きの電車を乗った。その電車は、今出川駅から大久保駅まで乗れる。でも、早いから、久津川駅に行った。天気がいいなら、久津川駅から家まで歩ける。バスは安いけど、無料の方が安いよ。今出川駅から久津川駅まで、500円ぐらいと思う。

... But, I was meeting my host mom at a restaurant closer to Okubo Station. So after staring at the map outside Kutsukawa for about a minute, I got back on the train, one stop, from Kutsukawa to Okubo. Probably a waste, but hey, I have a commuter's pass, right? Kutsukawa to Okubo: ... I don't actually know, so I'll tag it as 130. It's probably more than that.

でも、レストランは大久保駅の方が近い。だから、久津川駅で一分待って、電車をまた乗った、久津川駅から大久保駅まで。まあ、もったいないかもしれないけど、定期券があるでしょ？久津川駅から大久保駅まで．．．知らないから、130円を書く。多分、それ以上だ。

So the total cost for my adventures today: 2350 yen. One. Day. That little card really is convenient, isn't it?

合計：2350円。一日だけ。その小さいカードは本当に便利ね。

カラオケKaraoke

Karaoke is perhaps the most enjoyable form of entertainment known to man. That's what I think, anyway.

世界の中にカラオケは一番楽しいことだと思う。

Last night, there was a KCJS welcome party at Kyoto University, more often just called "Kyodai" (Kyoto Daigaku). That was pretty interesting; we got to hang out and meet Kyodai students, make new friends, etc. But after that, we went to do karaoke.

昨日の晩、京都大学（たいてい、「京大」と呼んで）で京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアムのパーティーがありました。そのパーティーでは京大の学生を会ったり、新しい友達を作ったりするから、楽しかった。でも、その後、カラオケをしに行った。

That was awesome. I've now done karaoke twice here in Japan, and every time I go, I end up having a great time. I mean, I like singing, and I like anime theme songs. And the karaoke places in Japan have pretty much any song you could think of, which means I can sing anything I want.

それはすごく楽しかった。カラオケを二回しって、しに行くたびに、楽しすぎた。僕は歌うのが好きだし、アニメの曲も好きだ。そして日本に、カラオケ屋は曲がたくさんあるから、何でも歌いたい曲が歌える。

Last night... I sang a few different songs. Nana Mizuki, as always... she is my favorite J-pop artist after all. If I remember correctly, I sang three of hers: Eternal Blaze, the opening to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, Don't be long, an insert song from the Nanoha 1st movie, and Young Alive!, from her most recent album.

昨日の晩、色々な曲を歌った。さすが、水樹奈々。一番好きな歌手だね。思い出は確かなら、三つ．．．ETERNAL BLAZE、魔法少女リリカルなのはA'sのOP。そして、Don't be long、なのは1st MOVIEの挿入歌。さいごに、Young Alive!、八つめのCDの曲だ。

Then there were the well-known songs. I make it a point to sing Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis and Hare Hare Yukai whenever I get the chance. Everyone knows those songs. Or at least, they should. The Kyodai students sang the Dragonball Z theme song, too, so I wasn't the only one going for anime songs.

そして、人気がある曲を歌った。チャンスがあるたびに、残酷な天子のテーゼとハレ晴レユカイを歌う。誰でもその曲を知ってる。まあ、知らなければならない。京大の学生はドラゴンボールZのOPを歌ったから、アニメの曲を歌いたい人は僕だけじゃない。

But I sang less well-known ones too. There was a song called True Blue, the ending theme to Sky Girls, and LEVEL5 ~judgelight~, the second opening to To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. And then there was an older one: the opening theme to the original Space Battleship Yamato anime.

でも、僕はあまり人気がない曲も歌った。True Blueと言う曲はスカイガールズのEDとLEVEL5～judgelight～、とある科学の超電磁砲のOPを歌った。そしてもっと古い曲、宇宙戦艦ヤマトのOPを歌った。

In between the songs I sang and the ones everyone else sang, we started at eight in the evening and didn't finish until one in the morning. Nothing like doing karaoke for five hours straight.

カラオケは、午後八時に始まった、朝の一時ぐらい終わった。五時間もカラオケをした。

In sum: whenever anyone wants to do karaoke, as long as it's okay, I will quite gladly come along.

だから、カラオケを行きたい時、よかったら、僕と一緒に行こう！

授業Classes

I've been here a week already, and yet I haven't talked about some really basic things. You know, classes, host family, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Joyo... Now is as good a time as any to start fixing that, and I'll start with my classes. I would go for Doshisha first, but I want to take better pictures before I get around to that.

一週間日本にいますけど、とても基本的なことをまだ話してない。例えば、授業や僕のホストファミリーや同志社大学や京都市や城陽市．．．今はこんな事を話し始める。まず、僕の授業。同志社のことを最初になるのに、前にもっといい写真を撮りたい。

Anyway, here at KCJS, everyone has Japanese class in the morning. I can't speak for how it compares to other universities, but it's certainly harder than Brandeis's Japanese classes were. (I hear that Columbia's Japanese classes are even harder...) There are five classes, A class through E class; E is theoretically a fifth-year level. I'm in B class.

京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアムで、誰でも朝に日本語の授業があります。この授業も他の大学の授業もどちらの方が難しいか知らないけど、ブランダイスより難しい。（コロムビアの学生によると、この大学の授業の方が難しいそう。）日本語の授業が五つあります、AクラスからEクラスまで。Eクラスは日本語の五年生の授業だ。僕はBクラスにいます。

The class meets for about two hours every day. In true Brandeis style, it starts at 9:10 and runs until 10:00, at which point we get a break. Most of the time that break is just ten minutes, and we start up again at 10:10, but occasionally we have the time from 10:00 to 11:00 off and we have class again from 11:10 to 12:00. What can I say, I didn't create the schedule.

平日に、毎日授業が二時間くらいあります。ブランダイス的に、九時十分に始まって、十時に休みがあります。たいてい、その休みは十分だけ。でも、時々授業は十一時十分から十二時まであります。まあ、予定を作る人はコンソーシアムのスタッフ。僕じゃない。

So far, in B class, we've been learning new grammar and doing reading practice. Unfamiliar kanji are everywhere in the reading practice, but it doesn't look like there's going to be any active kanji teaching. We can learn them on our own though, if we're so inclined. Our teacher is an interesting guy; he's fairly young and certainly likes having fun. Although sometimes, the E class teacher comes in and takes over; she's also a great teacher, although much more strict.

Bクラスで、新しい文法を習って、読む練習をする。この練習に、知らない漢字が多いけど、漢字の練習があまりないみたいだ。したかったら、漢字の独学が出来る。先生は面白い方ですね。若くて、楽しみが好きだと思う。時々、Eクラスの先生に来て、教えます。この先生はいい先生だけど、ちょっと厳しい。

After Japanese class is over, we have time off for lunch. Then in the afternoon, there are several classes taught in English covering Japanese culture and history. Every student picks two of them to take. I chose a class on Japanese religions and a class on the history of the city of Kyoto.

日本語の授業が終わったら、昼休みがあります。午後に、色々な日本の文化や歴史の授業があります。その授業は、英語の授業だ。誰でも午後の授業が二つ取っている。僕の選んだ授業は日本の宗教と京都の歴史の授業だ。

The Japanese Religions class looks interesting. I mean, there's not much to say, it's a class on a specific part of Japanese culture that I wouldn't be able to take at Brandeis. Right now we're covering Shinto, and we'll get into Buddhism later. Oh, and we get to take field trips. We're in Kyoto, surrounded by temples and shrines, we practically have to go out and see them in person. The history of Kyoto class is also going to be kind of interesting. I can't really explain it all that well, actually. Certainly, I'll know a lot more about the city I'm studying abroad in by the time it's over.

日本の宗教の授業は面白そう。それだけ言えるかも知れない。ブランダイスにその授業がないから、取りたい。今、神道のことを勉強してる。その後、仏教を勉強します。そして、見学旅行があります。京都にいるし、寺や神社がたくさんあるから、見学はたぶん必要ね。京都の歴史の授業も面白そう。うまく説明できないけど、この授業の終わりに、僕はたくさん京都のことを知っているはずだ。

I mean, I'd be happy just to be in Kyoto, and not have to worry about homework (like the reading practice I should be doing right now...) But since I have to have classes, I'm glad that I get to take good ones.

とにかく、ただ京都にいるだけはいいし、宿題とか授業とか心配しなければよかったのに、授業があります。だから、楽しい授業の方がいいだと思う。

寺町通、新京極通Teramachi, Shinkyōgoku

Who wants to go shopping?

買い物に行きたい人は誰？

Classes were over quickly for me, today. I was done by lunch. But I don't yet have a key to the house, and my host father wouldn't be home until around 4. I had to do something, right? So instead of taking the subway all the way back to Okubo Station, I only went as far as Karasuma Oike. I proceeded to walk down Oike to Teramachi street.

今日は授業は早く終わった。昼ご飯まで終わった。でも、家の鍵がないし、ホストのお父さんは４時ごろ家に帰る。何かしなきゃね。だから、地下鉄で大久保駅に行かなかった。烏丸御池で電車を降りて、御池通を歩いた、寺町通まで。

Teramachi is... interesting. It's called a street, and marked as such on maps. But in reality, it's a shopping mall. It and its neighbor, Shinkyōgoku, are home to dozens upon dozens of shops, some that are well known (Kinokuniya, anyone?) but many more that aren't.

寺町は面白かった。通って言うし、地図でも「寺町通」と言います。そうだけど、寺町はショッピングセンターだ。寺町と隣の新京極には、店がいくつもある。この店の中で、人気な店がある（たとえば、紀伊国屋書店）けど、たいていの店は人気じゃない。

I had three main objectives. The first, to find Nanoha StrikerS DVDs. The second, to find the Nanoha Force manga. The third, to track down a game store and buy a dōjin game called Touhou Sky Fight.

目的が三つあった。一つ、魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerSのDVDを見つける。二つ、魔法戦記リリカルなのはForceのマンガを見つける。三つ、ゲームの店を見つけて、東方スカイファイトという同人ゲームを買う。

The first was only a partial success. I mean, I've already seen the entire series, so it was low priority to begin with, and I did find some of the DVDs. But they didn't have the first DVD, and I didn't feel like getting any of the other ones. The fact that they were nearly 6000 yen didn't help.

一つのは、ミスじゃないけど、勝利もない。まあ、もうシリーズをぜんぶ見たから、最初から低順位だし、小さいマンガの店にDVDを見つけた。でも、第一のDVDがない。そして、僕は他のを買いたくない。というのは、DVDは六千円くらいだ。

The second was possibly the easiest. Kinokuniya is a bookstore after all.

二つのは一番簡単だ。紀伊国屋書店は書店でしょね。

The third was also a success, although it took nearly an hour of searching through Teramachi and Shinkyōgoku to find a decent game store. After the ridiculous price tag on the DVDs, it was nice to get two Touhou games for less money than it would take to buy one game in the U.S.

三つのも勝利けど、ゲームの店の見つけるために寺町通と新京極通を探さなきゃだめで、一時間くらいかかった。でも、そのDVDは高すぎるの後で、二つの東方ゲームを買えるのはいいね。

So yeah, I went shopping today. And I had way too much fun in the process.

買い物に行った。それは楽しすぎた。

始まりThe Beginning

It's still hard to believe that I'm really in Kyoto. (Well, technically, Joyo... I'll explain in a sec.) Let's see, what's happened so far...

京都にいるのがまだ信じにくいね。（まあ、城陽市にいる．．．後で説明する。）何があったんですか．．．

Trains here in Japan are really awesome. I mean, I already knew that, but it's one thing to know that, and entirely another to actually ride them. I took the Haruka train from Kansai International Airport to Kyoto after I arrived. They actually cleaned the train before we could get on, at the airport station. And I've ridden on Kyoto's Karasuma line, which is a subway line that's really useful for getting to Doshisha.

日本の電車はすごいよ。もう分かったけど、分かるとこの電車を乗るのは違う。日本に着いた後に、「はるか」と言う電車を乗った、関西国際空港から京都まで。空港駅で、乗る前に、電車の勤務者は電車を掃除しました。そして京都の烏丸線も乗った。それは同志社大学に行くためにとても便利な地下鉄線だ。

And now, I've been out to Joyo, south of Kyoto. Well, that's where my host family lives. So now I've been out on the Kintetsu Kyoto line, to Okubo Station. I'm sitting in my room as I write this. Later tonight, once I've unpacked, I'll take a few pictures.

そして今、僕は城陽市に行ったことがある。まあ、ホストファミリーは住んでいる場所だ。だから、近鉄京都線に乗ったことがある。これを書きながら、僕の部屋にいる。今夜で、荷解きした後で、写真を撮るつもりだ。

But that's today. I haven't said anything about yesterday. Yesterday was... interesting. We took a placement test in the morning. That was, I think, the single hardest test I've ever taken. I did passably well on the kanji questions, I suppose, but the reading ones were nearly impossible. I don't yet know the results, but I doubt I did all that well, at least on the written portion of the test.

これは今日だ。まだ昨日のことは話していない。昨日は．．．面白い。朝は、プレースメント試験を受けた。それは、受ける試験の中に、一番難しい試験だと思う。漢字の問題はまあまあけど、読むの問題は難しすぎた。まだ成績を知らないけど、成績は悪いだと思う。

There was also an interview portion of the test. That was actually, somehow, fun. Well, since I said that I liked magical girl anime, I ended up explaining Sailor Moon. I've said so many times that the words I learn from anime aren't ever going to be used, but when you have to explain anime...

そして、面接試験があった。それは何だか楽しかった。まあ、魔法少女のアニメが好きって言ったから、セーラームーンを説明した。何度も「アニメから習った言葉は全然使わない」と言ったけど、アニメを説明する時は．．．

The evening was also great fun. Why? I went out with some of my friends to a karaoke place. I've been wanting to do karaoke for a long time now. And it was amazingly fun. I repeatedly sung anime songs, like Hare Hare Yukai and Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis. I also sang some Nana Mizuki songs, and topped it all off with Caramelldansen. (And I did the dance to that last one.) I can't properly express how much fun I had.

夜も楽しかったよ。なぜって？友達とカラオケをしに行った。絶対にカラオケをしたい。そして、すごく楽しかった。僕は何度もアニメの歌を歌った。たとえば、ハレ晴レユカイや残酷な天使のテーゼ。そして、水樹奈々の曲を歌って、Caramelldansenも歌って。そして、Caramelldansenの舞も舞った。うまく言えないけど、すごく楽しかった。

So yeah... this is the start of one hell of an adventure.

これはすごい冒険の始まりですよね。