just a quickie for now...
We just got back a couple hours ago from Tokushima, a smallish island that's about a 2 and a half hour bus ride away from Osaka. It's where Aki was born, and where his Grandma lives. Anyhoo, it's really famous all over Japan for Awaodori festival which is part of Obon -- basically the Japanese equivalent of Halloween, in that it's the time of year that the dead come back to visit earth, although it's not a scary holiday here. So Aki and I decided to go enjoy watching all the dancing and music and go visit his grandmother for a bit.
It was so much fun, and it was so good to get out of this hellhole and experience some good traditional culture. I was so relaxed and happy, and actually didn't mind the crowds too much, it wasn't until we got back on the bus to return to Osaka and I had to endure the shriekingly loud high pitched nasal voices of two middle aged Osaka women that my seemingly ever present tension returned. This just rammed the point home that I have to get out of this city more often. Not only is the pollution bad for me physically, but all other aspects of life here are treacherous for my mental health. I can't wait to move away from here and never look back, I hate this city with every fiber of my being.
On a happier note I got quite a few pictures of the festivities, and as soon as my battery is done charging and I find my usb connector I'll post them here. Now I'm off to bed since we stayed out past curfew at Aki's grandmother's place last night and ended up spending the night at a media cafe. We had some pretty sweet massage chairs, but we still didn't get that much sleep and I'm dead tired.
It was so much fun, and it was so good to get out of this hellhole and experience some good traditional culture. I was so relaxed and happy, and actually didn't mind the crowds too much, it wasn't until we got back on the bus to return to Osaka and I had to endure the shriekingly loud high pitched nasal voices of two middle aged Osaka women that my seemingly ever present tension returned. This just rammed the point home that I have to get out of this city more often. Not only is the pollution bad for me physically, but all other aspects of life here are treacherous for my mental health. I can't wait to move away from here and never look back, I hate this city with every fiber of my being.
On a happier note I got quite a few pictures of the festivities, and as soon as my battery is done charging and I find my usb connector I'll post them here. Now I'm off to bed since we stayed out past curfew at Aki's grandmother's place last night and ended up spending the night at a media cafe. We had some pretty sweet massage chairs, but we still didn't get that much sleep and I'm dead tired.