Takoyaki

Today, went out with one of the faculty to do some admin work. We boarded the school shuttle and first went down to the government center where I filled out forms for alien registration, then went to look for a cell phone. Unfortunately, I need to wait a few weeks to get my alien registration form before I can get a prepaid phone. I had thought about getting a nice phone which I can then change the SIM card on and use back in the US, but the phones that allow this require a two year commitment (obviously not something I can do). After that, we walked back to the school (with some joking about it being a 20min walk for her and only a 5min walk with my long legs) and passed some agriculture areas. It's interesting the melding of garden space with sub/urban space, thats something missing in every other city I've ever visited, with the exception of the little asian man I used to walk past every day in Boston and his small 6'x6' plot of garden. It reminds me of the artist Agnes Denes and Wheatfield, in which she planted one acre of wheat in an empty lot in NYC as a way to highlight land usage and priority.

After relaxing in my apartment for a bit, I went out again as the sun went down. I wandered and found myself at Nagaoka tenmanguu shrine. I heard laughter in the air from hanami parties as I walked on wooden footpath around a moon-lite pond. The sakura trees were illuminated and there were many japanese out enjoying the evening. It was a calm night and I continued to wander. I wasn't the only one out, and walking down one street I heard karoke singing coming from within closed doors. I bought my first beer from a vending machine, only 210¥, and Kansai-regional fast food, takoyaki, from a street vendor (who spoke the best english of anyone I've met so far). Walking around town was very nice, but I look forward to getting a bicycle to expand my range of exploration.