Pictures from Nagasaki

Okunchi 1

This is from the Okunchi festival, the main strip of activities and food stands was near the heart of the city, in front of a place called Yume-saitoMegane-Bashi

river front at Megane-Bashi

These shots are from a place called Megane-Bashi, translated from Japanese it means “Glasses Bridge”. This is a very famous place in Nagasaki, it was the first bridge to be built in Japan that used the roman arch. It gets its namesake from its appearance, when the double arch is reflected in the river they say it looks like a pair of glasses

main shrine at Koshi-byo

Koshi-byo lanterns

Koshi-Byo main gate

These images are from Koshi-Byo. It is the only Chinese Buddhist temple outside of China that was built by Chinese hands.

Oh where oh where have I gone?

To Japan actually.

I’ve been living in Nagasaki for a little over a month now. Nagasaki is a quaint peninsula on the southern island of Kyshu. It is wonderful to be living by the ocean again, but the mountains here are steeper than any I am used to in New York.

So far I have been soaking it all in, and experiencing everything I can. I went to Nagasaki’s Kunchi festival, which is one of the most famous in Japan. I got a prime seat for watching the Dragon dance and it went though downtown. A couple weeks ago I experienced an onsen in Unzen, which is a small tourist town on a volcanic mountain. The geysers were beautiful and the spring water for the onsen was fantastic. I climbed mount Inasa, I’ve seen a number of Buddhist and Shinto shrines, I’ve seen traditional musicians and a Jazz festival, I’ve walked down the streets of Dejima, and Huis Ten Bosch, I’ve pet a penguin, seen some Monkeys, I took a nap in a park, and have met indescribably wonderful people. I am grateful for all of it and everyone.

Last weekend I helped out at the school culture festival. Every language region had their own stand where you could buy food specific to that country; there were Korean foods, Chinese foods, English foods, French Foods, German foods, and of course American. The JASIN students bounded together under the strict command Megan, the student in charge of the stand. We Jokingly called her our Taisho, which is Japanese for General. had a food stand, we made hamburgers, blooming onions, We made hamburgers, cheeseburgers, crab rangoon, blooming onions, and cheesecake.

After the festival quite a few of us went with some friends to an elementary school to participated in Halloween activities with the students. Unlike America, Halloween isn’t very big in Japan but its gaining popularity.

Ive noticed that small children tend to be shy and a little frightened when they see foreigners. Misa, a Japanese friend of mine, says she thinks it because they don’t see foreigners very often, and that its even more surprising for them to meet foreign individuals that can communicate in Japanese. I suppose since I grew up in the world’s melting pot, I’ve always taken America’s cultural and racial diversity for granted.