completely adequate

.. as far as the government is concerned, anyway.

the one with weird things from Japan

So, after nearly a month, here's an assortment of random bits of bizarre that we've collected so far.

April flowers

Jason wanted to hit Kiyomizu Temple up again and check out the sakura (cherry blossoms); we'd gone with the group last year, but that was a) in June, and thus the approximate temperature of the sun, and b) crowded. So we went mid-day on an April Monday. Eschewed such modern conveniences as a bus and just walked from Kyoto Station, which wound up being something like 2 kilometres; nice day for it, though.

insert clever pun-reference re:schedule

I'm lacking in a witty post title. Alas.

the baffled cook composing hallelujah

Found an international-y grocery in Kyoto.

THANK THE GODS. All of 'em. Especially whichever ones are in charge of cooking.

Can finally get some freaking kosher salt. Alton Brown has ruined me when it comes to generic table salt.

this is the sound of me coughing up a lung

Since the roommate had a cold, I got a cold. And despite the 120lbs of random crap I brought with me, I neglected NyQuil.

No problem, right?

miscellany

On.. I don't even know what day it is; a few days ago, picked myself up a bike. Pretty happy with it. Only one speed (which is kinda blargh for Seta's mostly-flat streets) but it was cheap, came with a little kinetic headlamp, a lock, and a basket. Makes some of the trips around town quite a bit faster, which will be good when hell's own weatherfront moves in around, I dunno, May. And stays until late September.

induction junction

So, yesterday was the welcoming ceremony / ..whatever the opposite of the graduation ceremony would be. Big auditorium filled with a thousand-odd students in dark suits, and their parents in an upper balcony row. Started off with a Buddhist (Bukkyo) monk performing some ritual (cleansing? start-fresh? blessing?), and ended with some kind of school-spirit cheerleaders doing a routine set to some dance-y Brazillian number. Took hours for the word "surreal" to finally pop into place.

not-airport

36 hours in airports, airplanes, and trains is not a thing for the weak. Maybe a think for a week, if you can stretch it out. But not continuous. I swear I'm just taking a boat next time.

Haven't done a hell of a lot since setting down yet; did some light food/kitchen shopping, trekked around Kyoto yesterday for about six hours afterwards. Sore feet.

Have some kind of orientation-dealie in a few hours this morning, and then some likely crazy-time after that, but first: food.