Weekend Fun

     Three day weekends are amazing. But oh so tiring. Since I'm usually done with class at 11am on Fridays, this one felt like a four day event. And now for the regaling.

     Friday was quite fun. After school I went with some of my friends down to Shinsaibashi, a major shopping district in Osaka, and walked around for quite a while. Getting there and back took way too much money, and on top of that I had to buy a Monkey Majik CD I'd been wanting. Before we headed back we stopped and listened to a street band who had set up shop on the main street.

     Saturday consisted of sleeping late, eating, taking a nap, eating, going to bed. It was good I got plenty of sleep since Sunday was Danjiri day. For those who don't know, Danjiri is a festival in Osaka where Japanese people with large wooden carts push/pull them at high speed through narrow streets and around sharp corners. It was quite a sight even though it was extremely hot.

     After baking in the hot sun at Danjiri, the group headed to Nanba to do a little light shopping. The mall there is nine floors of amazing shops. Part of it is even an open-air walk.

     Today was the final day of my long weekend excitement. I went to the mountains with my host family for a Japanese style BBQ. The food was wonderful: grilled fish and yakisoba. Following the food I was able to go on my first ever chestnut scavenger hunt. Just a short way from where we had eaten there were chestnut trees with the spiky pods hanging.

     After the mountain my family decided a trip to the local bath house was in order, so we packed back into the car and drove a short while to my first public bath experience, (the place I went before was technically and onsen, or hot-spring). The bath house had everything. A dining court, barber, confectionery, and masseuse were all nestled together right outside the baths' entrance. The whole experience was very relaxing.