JamieJakov Blog

Fukurōka 福ロ岡

April 28th, 2014

owl

Now that Tac has arrived in Japan last week for the JET program, we can once again go out to anime shops and arcades together! And thats pretty much what we did this weekend. Not quite. It all started in Saga. I came to see Amy and we went around Saga castle and Saga shrine. Very nice places: pretty, calm, beautiful; just like most of the things in Japan. The next day was more interesting, but also more painful (for our feet). We got to meet up with Tac in the (early) morning and catch a train to Hakata (Fukuoka). There was a rose exhibition there at the station, so we managed to get a lot of beautiful photos of roses! And you know what else they have there? A POKéMON centre! It is beautiful! So many Pikachus, Froakies, Chespins, Fennekins, etc… My love for Pokémon, which I thought to have died when I was 10 years old came back so I couldn’t help but spend a bit of money on some gorgeous goods.

Climbing Mt.Takachihonomine 高千穂峰登山

April 19th, 2014

Takachihono

Today we went hiking in the mountains, walking up a mountain to be precise. In a car with 5 people we drove to Kirishima National Park and climbed (walked) to the top of Takachihono-mine mountain. After waking up at 8am, gathering at about 8:45, a almost 2 hour drive to the mountain, our walk to the top began. Tip for anyone who wants to go up mountains in Japan, buy these sock things that cover your shoes that prevent pebbles from getting in, by the end of our descent my shoes were completely full with pebbles and that was really annoying a bit painful. Unfortunately it has been really cloudy the past few days in Kagoshima, so we didn’t get any view from the mountain, but when we were going down, we got to see the crater of the volcano (the mountain used to be a volcano), which was at least something! We also visited a farm there, which is apparently really famous for their ice-cream, but we didn’t have any, we just bought some souvenirs (food).

It was definitely a fun thing to do, and I would love to go there again when the sun is out so I can take some amazing pictures! I did take some, so here they are:

Full moon over Kagoshima

April 16th, 2014

Full Moon over Sakurajima

Today, on the 15th of April, most of world could witness the lunar eclipse. We managed to get some great shots of the full moon in yellow and red colors. It was another great event/gathering organized by our friend Çağcan, thank you for organizing. Looking forward to spending the next 6 months with you, Calvin and other ryuugakusei who will only stay for another semester, and the next year with all the other newbies like me. Also cheers to Enchan for the tripod, without it I would not have been able to take such beautiful photos, which you can find right here:

In other news, I have almost finished settling in. Just need to receive the credit card from Kagoshima Bank (which they said might take up to 3-4 weeks) and buy myself a phone sim from bmobile as SoftBank does not allow me to use my own phone… Aside from that, I am done. And so my new life in Japan has officially begun!

Brand new day, brand new life!

April 10th, 2014

Sakurajima

素晴らしい日々よ感謝してまだまだいける

So here I am, in a new city in a (not so) new land, starting off my 1 year of exchange in Kagoshima University. This past week has been really busy. I can tell you guys, settling down in Japan is much harder then in Australia. Japan sure loves its bureaucracy, but I did manage to have fun with new made friends and I am sure that I will have even more fun from now on.

Final Destination: Kagoshima

April 2nd, 2014

fujisan

(Photo from the window of my plane, you can see Mt. Fuji)

After a whole 4 years in the planing, 2 months worth of packing and preparation, and a 16 hour flight with 2 stopovers, I have finally reached Kagoshima! Here I will be studying as an exchange student for the next 10-11 months. A big big thanks to all my sempais who helped me out to prepare for this and a thank you in advance to the new sempais I have met here today, who will be helping me from now on.

I have settled into my dorm and just finished unpacking all my luggage. Now for some well deserved sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day of shopping and meeting with teachers.

Preparations for Japan – Farewells

March 30th, 2014

Visa and plane tickets have been acquired, packing has been done, all my boxes have been moved to my Imouto’s and Lexi’s place, and now all the farewell lunches, dinners, and parties are now done. I have 1 day left in Sydney and then I am off to glorious Japan. Thank you to all my friends who took the time from their busy lives to meet me one last time this year, before I head off. Thank you for giving such a wonderful experience in so many different restaurants. Thank you to the anime club, drawing circle and JASS people (especially Ritchi) for organizing a farewell party last week before the Kyary concert. Thank you to all my friends from urbanest, all my Russian friends and my friends from back home for this last week.

Also 2 of my closest friends had their birthdays this week. Ruben and Tac.

Preparations for Japan – Packing

February 27th, 2014

packing

Yesterday I started putting away all the figures that have made my shelves their home. Now they are back in their cramped up boxes and those boxes are in another box (Yo DAWG~). Now my shelves are so empty and soon my whole room will be as well. It is sad to leave the place that you called home for over 3 years now, but I must look ahead and welcome my new place in Japan!

Today I must start sorting though my endless pile of clothes to pick what I can give back to my parents to take back to Latvia, what to leave in Sydney and what I need to take with me to Japan for my ICS. This will be tough task, but somebody’s gotta do it!