Yes (Wo)man

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the inconsistent verb tenses used throughout this post. I am now officially one week behind on my life, and depending on the topic, some things are better described in present tense. Anywho, annnnnddd awaaaaaaayyyyy we goooooooo!

Day three of my 30-day yoga challenge was completed on Saturday morning. Ideally, I would like to get into the habit of doing yoga in the mornings to start my day, and especially so when school starts, which would mean I would need to wake up by 5 AM at the latest. Fingers crossed!

Today, Kevin and Julia (another returning teacher who is incredibly intelligent and friendly) offered to take anyone who was interested to Himeji castle and the famous gardens outside of Himeji at 8 AM. Because I am adopting a yes-man attitude in order to get a fuller experience of the city and of my colleagues, of course I opted to tag along. Pictures of the castle are attached at the bottom of this post. We did not go inside the castle during this trip because many tourists opt to see it first when it opens at 9 AM. Instead, because the Himeji Castle Nishi-Oyashiki-Ato Gardens also open at 9 AM, we decided to visit those first. If you ever have an interest in visiting these gardens, I highly recommend going when it opens at 9 AM; it is beautifully zen and peacefully. There is absolutely nobody touring the gardens in the morning, so you can have an unadulterated experience. If you don't have an interest in visiting these gardens, I highly recommend that you visit them anyways because they are too incredible to not experience. I personally am not a "tour botanical gardens"- or "walk around to look at nature"-type of person, but these gardens are absolutely magnificent. Images are also attached, but just like Himeji castle, the pictures do not do the subjects justice, especially the food pictures. I tried my best, but I am also a horrendous photographer. As a side note, the reason the exhibit is named as gardens instead of garden is because there are nine different, individually landscaped gardens within the one exhibit area, each garden with a different theme/subject. That is why it is named the Himeji Castle Nishi-Oyashiki-Ato Gardens rather than one unified garden.

After a nice morning stroll, a few teachers and I went back to Cafe Muche for the sole purpose of eating their almond bread. I don't think I have loved a piece of bread more than I did today when I tried Cafe Muche's almond bread, and for those are know me well, you know I have a profoundly high expectation for bread. I had ice cream and whipped cream on top of my almond bread, but really, eating the bread alone would've sufficed my craving for pure deliciousness. An image is attached.

After digesting the sweet and savory goodness of almond bread, Clay and I went on a running workout. Now, I must point out that Clay is also a returning teacher who loves to lift at the gym, which makes me happy that he decided to tag along for a run in the first place since gym-goers usually try to avoid cardio at all costs. From the Shirasagi residence, we did a warm-up to the "stairs of hell" (as Julia calls them). These infamous stairs are deemed the stairs of hell for a reason, and today, I found out why. First of all, they go on forever, and by forever, I mean at least 150-200 meters. Second, the height of each step is slanted and just short enough to make taking a full step feel awkward. Third, the length in between each step is long enough to make it difficult to one-step them but is short enough to make two-stepping them an infuriating task. There's just no winning with these stairs. With both our egos pumped, Clay and I decided to try for a full sprint all the way up the stairs, and as we both gassed out halfway up the stairs, so did our egos. We basically crawled the remaining steps to get a view of Himeji from one of the tallest points of the city, but at least for me, I barely enjoyed the view during the time that I was grasping to get air back into my lungs. Coming to our senses, Clay and I decided to do sets of stair sprints on a portion of the stairs for our workout. I came back humbled by the infamous stairs as well as determined to train up to being able to run all the steps in one go.

Later that night, I finally experienced the magic that is Koba's. Koba's is a place where all your problems go away, and it has nothing but good vibes and sweet music. When you walk in, your eardrums are filled with jazz and relaxation, and your nostrils are filled with the smells of a cuisine you never knew you were missing until then. Koba's is a ramen noodle restaurant ran by Koba, and that night, I had the absolute best ramen of my entire life. Koba, the owner, knows the Shirasagi residence and adores its teachers from all over the world. In the past, he has closed his doors to make a private experience for the teachers, and he has turned away customers for the opportunity to enjoy the presence of this guests. Because Koba's was closing soon, Zach messaged him letting him know that we would be there by 7 PM. When we arrived, the sign on the door said closed, but to our knowledge, it was closed for us. We entered, and at that moment, it was like entering the closet into Narnia or crossing a bridge to Terabithia. Jazz filled out ears, and divine food filled our stomachs. I drank every last drop of the broth; it was THAT good. Walking out of Koba's felt like walking out into a different world entirely. It is said, if all of Earth's crust was flooded, the only thing left standing (or floating) would be Koba's restaurant.

As we began making our way back to the Shirasagi residence, we passed an arcade and decided to play a few racing games. There were the infamous claw machine games, and in one of them, one of the prizes was a bread pillow. Yes, it was a piece of bread in pillow form, and it was adorable. I forgot to mention, the bread here is outrageously thick. The packets of bread comes in six pieces. SIX! I found one that was eight pieces once, but that just comes to show you how incredibly thick the bread pieces are. Also, I've never been able to toast such a perfectly toasted piece of bread until now. Image is attached because I'm just blown away by the art of toasting bread. Back to the arcade, you can really tell that there are some intense gamers here. There was one kid who was wear Michael Jackson-looking gloves to play a sliding piano game, and it was amazing to watch. The game is comparable to guitar hero, but this kid played it on the piano at 1,000 times the speed. I could barely comprehend what was coming on the screen while he was comprehending and executing the actions. Unbelievable! For arcaders out there, this kid got to a combo hit of 400 in less than a minute; THAT'S how fast the game was being played.

Continuing to make our way back, I was instructed to walk into a place called a Pachinko parlor. From the outside, it looked like another arcade room, but when I walked past the sliding glass doors, a loud sound mimicking slot machines and cigarette smoke filled my ears and lungs. I took one step into the parlor and another step out, and that was my first and last time entering a recreational arcade game parlor filled with gambling devices comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gaming.

It was an eventful day, always being filled with great company and new experiences. Having the returning teachers be so friendly and open is made the transition much easier, and I am so thankful for them. Also, having WiFi since the second day I arrived has also helped with making home not feel so far away. Looking ahead, I hope to continue this momentum of experiences and to embrace the cultural connections.