In the meantime…

I have the second Golden Week post written up, but technology isn’t exactly on my side.   I hope to fix my technology problems by September.  The photos I took are saved on on external hard drive and need to be run through Photoshop and uploaded before I can publish the post.  So in the meantime…

Summer is hot this year.  In my part of Japan, there wasn’t that much rain this past rainy season. Typhoon season is also remarkably quiet.  There has only been one typhoon and it was late.  Despite the lack of rain in my part of the country, the humidity levels have been high.  This has made drying laundry a difficult task.  Everything takes a day longer to dry. Most of the time I dry my laundry inside.  Yesterday I managed to dry a load outside.  I plan to do the same today.

August and the beginning of September are both looking busy with lots of big and little things happening.  Well, lots for me since I have to fit it all in around work.    I’ve finally figured out the night bus options and which company I prefer.  This has made getting around cheaper and a bit easier.  I really like the Shinkansen because it is faster and more comfortable, but it’s also much more expensive.  The Kyoto route is only slightly cheaper by bus since Kyoto and Kanazawa are linked by an express train but not a Shinkansen.  So it’s a balancing act between schedules, comfort, and cost.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  I hope to be able to upload the photos from external drive soon.

I Think I’m Settled

Kanazawa

As I write this post I’m sitting in a hostel in Kyoto over the Obon holiday.  No, the above picture is not from Kyoto, it’s from just outside of Kanazawa.  However, back to the current post…I woke up at five this morning to catch the 6:11 Thunderbird from Kanazawa to Kyoto.   I then went on to Osaka to the Nikon Salon and Service Center to try and fix a camera issue.  The camera issue isn’t fixed so I’ll be posting pictures from both my D90 and my V1.  Up until now all the photos from this year were taken with the V1 (the earlier photos from last year were taken with my D90).

Things have fallen into place.  I finally bought myself a garbage can and some more cleaning supplies as I started to run out of what was left in the apartment for me.  I reorganized my closets again to make them a bit more tidy and compact.  The more compact I get my stuff the better I feel about the space issues that come with living in a Japanese apartment.  I’ve also settled into a kind of a schedule.  I have a route I walk five to six times a week.  It’s a nice twenty minute or so walk that I can vary to make it longer or shorter if I feel like it.  In addition, I try to go to the sentō once a week.  I found another one near my apartment, closer than the one I go to, but I still have only gone to the one.  I like it, it’s comfortable and relaxing.  Maybe one day I’ll branch out and try some of the others around my neighborhood but for right now I’m content visiting the one I’ve been using.

I’ve taken a bunch of photos from a few places I’ve visited.  I need to get them edited/converted to jpeg and then I can post about some of the places I’ve gone.  Last Sunday I ended up in Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO site.  The day before when I left work there was some sort of festival happening in Kanazawa.  The weekend before I took the train to Takaoka to see the fireworks.  So I have much to write about and much to post!  And photos to share with you all!

It’s getting late here in Kyoto so I’ll leave you all with one more photo (again, not of Kyoto but of Kanazawa)…

Getting Settled

Ozaki Jinja Shrine, Kanazawa

I made it to Kanazawa by train from Okayama on Sunday, June 30th.  On Tuesday, July 2nd I began work.  The past one and a half weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.  I managed to get internet and phone on Sunday, a process I did not begin until I had my banking setup.  My banking could not be setup till I had my hanko.  I’m sure you can see where this is going…everything needs to be done in the right order and that takes time.

I did manage to finish unpacking on Monday.  My apartment is now setup and organized.  It is small but cozy.  The location is good.  I’m not far from work, less than a fifteen minute walk.  There is a dry cleaner behind the building and a convenience store about a block away.  If you know anything about Japanese convenience stores, you know that they are truly convenient.

So how was my trip from Okayama to Kanazawa?  Very comfortable.  I took a Shinkansen from Okayama to Kyoto.  The train really is both fast and smooth.  The seats on the train are comfortable and despite the luggage, I had enough room that I did not feel as cramped as I might have looked.  In Kyoto I transfered to the Thunderbird.  There is no Shinkansen in Kanazawa so I had to take a slower train.  The second train was as comfortable as the first, just slower.  I look forward to traveling by train in Japan.