書道 (calligraphy)

Today the weather is perfect. It is really clear here, with only a few scattered clouds here and there - which has been a rare thing lately.

I thought people reading this might be interested to see a picture of my classmates, and my teacher, Oda Sensei.

There are also some views from my classroom window.

After class today I went to a 書道 class. At the beginning of the class the teacher held a special demonstration for us. Some of the calligraphy club students demonstrated how to use a very large calligraphy brush. I can't remember exactly how much he said the brush costs, but somewhere around $3,000.

Japanese calligraphy is really hard to do well. Depending on how you hold the brush, the amount of ink in your brush, the amount of pressure, the age of the brush hairs, the quality of the paper, etc....are all variables that masters take into consideration when composing a piece. For us though, it's just about getting the brush wet and slopping it on the paper.

I also threw in some random pictures of the morning market area. I walk through this maze of street vendors everyday to go to school. Apparently people think I'm from Scotland most of the time. Most vendors sell crab both alive and dead. There are also many opportunities to buy live squid. For breakfeast you can eat a large bowl of fish eggs, topped with slices of sashimi (raw fish) for about 6 dollars.

It's festival time here in Hakodate. Starting yesterday the streets are filled with people wearing kimonos, street vendors selling everything from cotton candy and corn dogs to yakitori and donburi mono. Today there is a parade in which everyone does something called the squid dance. I have seen the squid dance, and it looks something like the hokey pokey.
Probably the most humorous thing is seeing the old people getting drunk and dancing. They are lovely.

It looks like I'll also be going back to Sapporo this weekend to visit another friend I missed when I was there over the semester break. Her name is Junko, and is a friend I met in Tokyo about 8 years ago. Being this close and not having the opportunity to meet would feel like such a waste...

I had a nice experience this morning. I was running a little late to school, so when I got out of the train station, rather than taking the 20 minute walk, I decided to call a taxi. It was a nice experience because it made me realize how much my Japanese has improved since coming here. The conversation I had with the taxi cab driver was rather simple, and as my Pops likes to say, we didn't solve the world's problems, but I understood everything he said and he thought I had been living in Japan for a few years. Mostly he asked me about feeling homesick, and what I'll do about my parents if I end up living in Japan and working. So, mom and dad, what do you think? You want to move to Japan??

Hope you enjoy the pictures ~