Vikingess Voyages

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Trying out the Kimono Club @ Ritsumeikan

Anette 10:27:00 PM

As I have explained about earlier in one of my post, it is quite typical for Japanese students to join a so-called circle (サークル) or club where they can practice things they like, or have an interest in. I just got myself a kimono a couple of months ago thanks to the Toka-Ebisu festival I participated in, so one of the things I really wanted to try out this semester was a club that could teach me how to actually put the kimono on by myself.

During the orientation week at Ritsumeikan I got the contact information to the leader of the kimono-club (circle), and I contacted her and asked if it was ok if I participated. Luckily it was, and so I dragged along my friend Larissa in the last moment to check it out! Turned out there were quite a lot of students interested in trying out the club, and for our first day we all got the chance to get dressed up by the other girls who already had been members for a semester or more.

Getting ready for kimono!

Larissa gets help with her kimono

Both of us all dressed up! Yay!

Almost done!

Photo time!

Some of the kimonos you might end up wearing if you join the kimono-club

It was really nice to try out the kimono-club, and the members were friendly too. We did feel welcome, and I would have liked to continuing going to the club if it weren't for my shoulder. I haven't really decided what to do yet, but I do think that I'll have problems putting the kimono on because the movement of my arm still is quite limited x(
Anyway, it seems like a good club! If you become able to put on the kimono by yourself they might even let you lend the kimono some time! Would be nice for instance if you want to walk around in Kyoto in kimono, wear kimono at a hanami or something like that^^..

Some more facts about the kimono-club:
Membership: 6000 yen for a year
Meetings: Every Wednesday
Contact information can be found on Ritsumeikan's home page!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Language

About Learning Korean!

Anette 8:43:00 PM

Since I decided to apply for the Korean university Kyung Hee for my next master degree (I'm planning to follow Ritsumeikan's DMDP-program) I have started to take classes in Korean!
The truth is, there is only one class in Korean for master degree - students at Ritsu, and that class is a "reading and discussion"-class. Yeah, right.. As if I have the ability to read or discuss in a language I've never learned.
However, the teacher of the class was very kind, he let me register for his Friday-class, but instead of going to the Friday-classes he let me participate in his beginner-level classes on Wednesday. This way I can learn some Korean and get grades as well! Yay..!

So far I have found that Korean grammar seems weird.. I mean, I had hoped it would be more similar to Japanese, but it seems that they use different verbs talking about others than about one self. Of course, you can find this in Japanese too, but then we are talking keigo (extremely polite language which you wouldn't use in daily speech). That is to say, I am currently using Pimsleur to learn Korean by myself, perhaps they are teaching me some phrases one usually wouldn't use..? Hmm..

Putting the grammar aside though, there are actually a lot of words that are similar in Japanese and Korean!!! Perhaps this just is the work of our teachers, because they tend to point to all the similarities instead of the differences between Korean and Japanese. I guess they just want to make it easier for us students..

Anyway, here are some examples on words you can use both in Korean and Japanese:
無理　무리 (muri) Impossible
安心　안심 (anshin/anshim) Relief
道路　도로 (douro/doro) Road/highway
家族　가족 (kazoku/kajok) Family
理由　이유 (Riyuu/Iyu) Reason

And by the way, did you know that Japan' ancient capital Nara actually got it's name from Korean? The original meaning of Nara (나라) is actually "country"..

It makes things a little bit easier knowing that at least there are some words I can understand just because I know Japanese. But on the other hand I know there is a lot of hard work ahead if I want to become fluent in Korean as well.
So.. I guess that means I should get back to studying..
나증에 봬요!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sakura

Sakura Season in Kansai - Hanami in the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park!

Anette 11:30:00 AM

This is the season when Japan's beloved cherry threes are in bloom, and people gather in parks and other public places to do hanami, or "flower watching" with friends and family. The second Hanami-event I went to this year was arranged by my friend Masaki from the graduate school, and I went there together with some of my good friends to spend a nice day in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park (Also known as Banpaku-Kinen Kouen: 万博記念公園) which is situated close to Osaka.

This park was the place of a World's Fair back in 1970, with the theme "Progress and Harmony for Mankind". At this fair they displayed technical objects such as mobile phones and the world's first IMAX-film, but one of the biggest attractions was a display of a moon rock brought back from the moon in 1969 by astronauts of Apollo 12.

One of the main attractions of the Expo '70 Commemorative Park: The Tower of the Sun (太陽の塔)

One of the biggest attraction in the park today, is the Tower of the Sun. This statue is the first thing you'll see when you approach the park, and it can also be seen if you the blue line by train to/from Kansai Airport (KIX). I have actually passed by the statue quite a number of time, wondering what the statue was supposed to be.. So it was kind of funny that I ended up in that park for this Hanami.. :)
Anyway, the statue was also designed for Expo 70', and it has become a symbol of the 1970 World's Fair.
The park itself is really huge, and it is divided into different sections as well. We mostly stuck to one part of the park where we pulled out our big, blue mat, along with snack and drinks.

Gathered in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park for hanami!

We were by not the only people here this day..

There was also an area where they sold Japanese pottery!

We did however walk a little bit around in the park, and found one area where they were selling all sorts of pottery. Some of it was in really traditional style, and I just had to take some photos here too, of course^^

Japanese pottery dolls!

A wide range of traditional style Japanese pottery

But this is what we came for: The Sakura!

I guess if I had a lot more money and not to mention space to put things there is a chance I would have bought quite a lot of pottery this day. But I resisted it for this time..
The day in the park was really great, meeting both new and old friends and relaxing in the sun was a perfect way to spend the day! I took a lot of pictures, and here I have included some of them:

集合写真！

Entertainment in the park

Sunset and sakura!

In the evening they have light-ups in the park

..and they sell delicious Japanese food too

More pictures of food stands and sakura

The Tower of the Sun seen from behind, along with the sakura flowers

A light-up of the sakura, in different shades of pink and purple.

We stayed in the park until the sun went down, and we could see the park turning in to a light-show with the sakura as the main attraction. After having taken another bunch of photos it was time to return to Kyoto again for this time.. But the sakura season is still not over, so I will be back with some more sakura-related posts in the near future as well..! じゃ、またね！

Thursday, April 12, 2012

SKP

Spring in Japan: Sakura Season and Hanami in Kyoto!

Anette 8:04:00 AM

One quite particular thing about the Japanese culture, is how they like things that are pretty, but at the same time things that are fragile or fugitive, or in other ways imperfect. Perhaps that is why they like the sakura 桜 (cherry blossom) so much.. Every year the trees brings new and beautiful flowers, but the flowers only lasts for a couple of weeks, until their petals falls to the ground. If there is a heavy rain the long-awaited hanami might even get washed away along with the flowers. The sakura is a sign of spring, and Japanese people (as well as us foreigners) likes to gather in parks/shrines/etc to drink with friends and watch the pretty flowers. This event is called hanami, and it literarily means to "look at flowers" (花見). Like last year I have already been to a couple of hanami-events, and the pictures in this blog is from the hanami I went to with the Study in Kyoto Program (SKP)-students in the Maruyama-park (円山公園) behind Yasaka Jinja.

Compared to last year the sakura flowers bloomed really late, so I didn't get that many good shots this time. Anyway, thanks for reading my post, I'll be back with more soon;)

Sakura over a gate in Gion

One of the traditional streets in Gion

During hanami there are a lot of stalls where one can by small portions of different types of Japanese food, such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki, etc etc. Here is the stalls + the sakura

Nanzen-ji 南禅寺

Students ready for hanami

A group picture with some of my fellow students

Another 集合写真 with more or less all the hanami participants

The Yasaka-jinja exit

Related blogposts

All blogposts from Osaka

All blogposts from Kyoto

All blogposts about hotels

All blogposts from Japan

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a comment or question below!
~Anette

Sunday, April 8, 2012

University Activities

Japanese University Life: Choosing Between Clubs and Circles

Anette 11:15:00 PM

It is time for another semester at Ritsumeikan University, and with the spring semester comes the recruiting week where the older students tries to make the newcomers join their interest clubs or

"circles" (サークル). During this week the campus is filled with people wearing strange outfits, having performances or just trying to trick you into accepting their flyers. There are so many different kinds of clubs/circles, and it can be hard to know which ones you should choose.

The main difference between circles and clubs is the level of intensity. The clubs are known as being very strict; in some of them they might want you to go to all of their practices including the ones that are being held during holidays. They usually have practices many times a week as well.. Circles on the other hand is a lot more laid-back, and some circles only have practices a couple of times each month. People share a common interest, which they practice together only for the fun of it. Some join clubs/circles just for the social part as well, and mainly aim at making friends during the circle/clubs social events and parties rather than focusing on the circle's practices.

A Christmas tree at campus during orientation week in April..? Well, I guess it's Japan, after all..

However, you should notice that these are just a general distinction.. There are clubs that can be loose on rules, as well as stricter clubs. As a foreigner it might also be worth mentioning that not all of the circles/clubs have English-speaking members, but in general Japanese students are happy when they get the chance to get to know foreigners and practice their English. And it is a good chance for you to make some Japanese friends and practice Japanese too:)!

Some examples of clubs and circles can be: Sports such as tennis, basketball, swimming, baseball, soccer, material arts (karate, kendo, kenpo, judo, taekwondo etc etc), dancing, drawing, photographing, foot-massaging, you can learn how to put on a kimono, languages, acting, tea ceremony and you-name-it. There are all sorts of clubs and circles out there, and the school's introduction week is your chance to talk with club/circle members directly and ask them about their practices and rules.