Sakura: BBQ fever strikes again...

Today Was super sunny again, and near my Dormitory there is a Park with Cherry Trees. This weekend was a Gift, because normally the Cherry flowers after blooming, disappear quickly. Since there has been no raining during the past week, the flowers are still on trees. No need to say that this weekend, too, the BBQ fever spread everywhere.

Pictured above in the first picture, the nice set-up that a Japanese group managed to prepare in just 20 minutes: Table, two charcoal grills, a lot of meat (see pictures below) and party mood. Another group on the other side of the fountain, was having a BBQ as well. It was the birthday of one of them. At first, the birthday guy got two cakes and a third one in his face! This was supposed to end there, but eventually the guy threw the (remaining) of the cake to another one, that threw it to another one...and so on. It went on for a while... in the end, i took my camera and shot a picture. Can you believe it? They caught me...that's why they are looking in my direction...

I noticed something interesting: The guys with the two BBQs, brought a third one that they used to warm up the charcoal first. The two grills on the table, have no active fire, but just the hot charcoal has been put inside. I found it interesting. To warm up the charcoal, they had a GAS tank. I feared for the worse when they were connecting the whole thing smoking nearby...but i guess they are experienced on this and nothing happened ;)

Other "amateurs" had a small sized grill, in particular there were three girls doing their own small barbecue...but man! how much did they eat? They went on barbecuing for a couple of hours...

The smell was really inviting: slices of meat with soya and sesame oil flavour... i should really go to have Yakiniku some time soon!

Restaurants: The amazing Dishes Art

In Japan, is really interesting when looking for a restaurant. Biggest restaurants, have a display window where you can see some of the dishes you can eat there.



What i mean for "see" is that the are actually fake, but looks real!

I always wondered if those dishes are actually real dishes then plastified in a certain way, or really completely fake.

School Rules

Today at the school we had to fill-in various paperwork and we got the Class Rules. Believe it or not, among other things it said that is "not allowed to wear caps or hats", "Not Allowed to Eat during the lesson" and "you are not allowed to sleep in class" . Well, i guess one of my roommates didn't make it very far...

Lunch Box: Japanese Bento

This Was my Bento today. I bought yesterday "Korokke" (smashed potatoes burger), fresh sesame seaweed and Edamame (Some kind of beans) and white rice. As a drink, Momo-mizu (Peach flavored Water).

In the end at school, i was put in the A- Class, which is Beginners. I know, I know...i was hoping to go into level B, but apparently you really need to know how to write a consistent number of Kanji (japanese Characters) to join class B. For your info, most of them are Chinese or People that took 2 Years Japanese at the university, so no chance for me with only 5 Months of study. Anyway, i guess it will be a little boring for a couple of months or so, so during that time i think i will better do some study on my own to have it easier later...

Transportation for this month: Train

For this month, i finally went for the "Train Option". I bought a ticket for unlimited travel for 30 days between Shin-kobe and Sannomiya (1 Stop). Priced at 7800 Yen (CHF 90.--).

I guess that what japanese save in drinks (see previous post) they pay it out in train fare ;)

If I recall correctly, In switzerland, we can travel all over the city of Lugano for 1 month at the same price...

The procedure to get the monthly ticket is not that easy. You must first fill-in a form that you deliver at the counter. It seems easy, but the paper is all in japanese. When done, at the counter, they scan the form and your name, sex and age appears on the ticket with your own writing! (see above).

You can see above that the ticket will expire in the year "21", month "5", day "7". This because the japanese Year is currently 21. "21" corresponds of the number of years of reign of the current Emperor.

My Roommates went for the bicycle and bought it for about 20,000 yen (CHF 240.--), Lock included. Apparently is not the cheapest model, but still a good deal...

I've read a while ago that people should carry the bicycle purchase receipt at all time, so in case the police stops you and checks if the bike was stolen, you can prove with the purchase receipt that the bike is, indeed, yours.

One more thing i forgot to mention earlier today...the school warned us that if we park at a wrong spot, the police might remove and tow away your bike (!!). The cost to get it back is 2000 Yen (CHF 25.--).

Vending Corners Everywhere!

In Japan there are vending machines everywhere, and every 50 or 100 meters or so.

The reason they are so popular is the products they offer and their prices (hot and cold drinks during winter/spring time and only cold drinks during summer time).

Prices my vary between 100 yen and 150 yen (CHF 1.20 and CHF 1.80). Normally the price is around 120 Yen, but near schools or special places the price drops to 100 yen. This price is quite cheap, is the same price as one can find at the supermarket, therefore convenient.

Interesting to note that all drinks are in PET bottles or Aluminium Cans. Yes, even Hot coffee is available in Cans. besides Coffee, other choices are: Green Tea, Chinese Tea, Vitamin Water and Various Sodas.

Europe should learn a little from this, as in switzerland, vending machines are usually quite expensive (double of the retail price).

Dormitory: The Outside Look

Before i posted some pics of the inside, here is how it looks on the outside.