My first official vacation in Japan has now come to an end and I had an awesome time exploring Hiroshima and Miyajima in the summer heat!
Some highlights of my time away were the friendly deer of Miyajima who tried to steal my food, the bicycle adventure through Hiroshima, and the amazing scenery around Miyajima on my long hike in the mountains.
Here are some photos of my adventures. Enjoy!
Yet another wild and wonderful fact about Japan summers is that they have an abundance of cicadas, which fill Akashi with their shrill cries on any given day. Since summer began in full, I have been ‘serenaded’ each day on my walk to work by trees full of cicadas. I realize that this is not a phenomenon specific to Japan, but in Victoria I don’t think I have ever seen or heard a cicada up close before. At first I wasn’t even sure whether the sound I heard was a natural sound or some sort of high-pitched electronic sound along the main street in Akashi. They also have a skill at changing their sound, as what I thought for a time was a sprinkler (highly unlikely in my neighbourhood anyway) was actually a cicada as well. Up until now I hadn’t had the pleasure (or maybe horror would be a better term) of seeing a cicada. But today on my walk home from the grocery store I stopped at a playground where I hear some noisy cicadas in the trees. I must admit, I was a little disturbed to come face to face with one these not-so-little creatures.
Strangely enough, one of my lessons this week was related to cicadas and one of my students expressed her distaste for cicadas. She also let me in on the next stage of their life cycle, where they die en masse and start dropping from the trees. Hmm… kind of makes their shrill cries of life sound a little better than the alternative.
Anyway, here are a couple photos of the cicadas I encountered today. Enjoy…?
In the summer, Japan is a world of fireworks. I’m pretty sure that every weekend since the summer began there has been a fireworks festival somewhere in the Kansai region. In fact, most weekends there are several fireworks festivals in various cities. Two weeks ago I went to the Tenjin Matsuri fireworks festival in Osaka. Yesterday after work, I went to the Kobe fireworks festival. And today I went with my friend/co-worker and his wife to the Awaji Island fireworks festival. The festivals are always filled with women in beautiful and elaborate yukatas, tons of incredibly cute Japanese children, and lots of delicious food! This almost makes up for the usually uncomfortable heat and humidity :S
Tonight I had my camera with me, so here are some pictures of Awaji Island. Enjoy!
In the past I have been known as having a knack for killing plants. However, when I started decorating my apartment in Akashi I was determined to have some kind of plant life to brighten up the place. Admittedly, I had a couple of unfortunate incidents with my first plants, but now I have managed to keep my orchid and lovely hibiscus alive for several weeks. I’m hoping this green thumb moment will continue. Either way, here are some pictures of my current success. Enjoy!
