Moments of serendipity.

Ok, so I really should have posted this last year, but you know me, I'm terrible at keeping this thing up to date. 

Anyway, I don't know if you remember me taking about going to the Japanese embassy in London a few years back to see a Shishi Odori performance? (To cut a long story short, a friend and I had entered into a competition that was run by the embassy. It was to go to London  and watch a dance performance from a group of Japanese dancers. 

They were visiting the UK to help raise awareness after the tsunami. My friend had won the tickets but couldn't go, so gave them to me.) I distinctly remember being stood at the embassy watching the dancers perform and knowing that Japan was where I waned to be. Shishi Odori was therefore one of the driving forces that kickstarted my JET application in 2012. 

Sometimes you find little things along the road in life that remind you that you're going the right way. This was one of them.

The very first day I arrived at my school in Sendai, I was taken on a tour of the premises. I stepped out of the staff room and glanced up at a painting on the wall in front of me. To my huge surprise it was in fact a painting of some Shishi odori dancers. I asked my JTE at the time about it. She was surprised to hear that I knew of the dancers, they were mostly from more rural areas of the Tohoku region.

The dancers wear a traditional costume that resemble deer. They dance to the beating of drums that they carry with them, whilst on their backs are the 240cm long bamboo and paper sasara, similar to what many Japanese priests use at shrines. As they dance they hit the ground in front of them with the sasara which is meant to bless and purify. It's quite a mesmerizing experience.  

Last summer a friend of mine invited me to go with her to an iris garden in Kurihara, north of Sendai.
She told me there was to be a dance competition held there too. I check out the information on the website to discover that it was in fact a Shishi Odori dance competition. of course I had to go! 

We took the bus for an hour or two north to Kurihara, which is pretty far out into the countryside. The iris garden itself is really pretty in June when we went. But I will say though that you're likely to be done viewing it within an hour at the most and the park doesn't really have an awful  lot else to offer. In my opinion you'd be better off renting a car for the day and exploring some other places in the area.

Nevertheless, I got to see the Shishi Odori competition and it was absolutely amazing to have a chance to witness the dancers here in Japan too. It might not sound that special or important to most of you, but to me, Shishi Odori is a little reminder to myself that I am meant to be here right now doing what I'm doing. Sometimes in life it's these little serendipitous moments that wake me up and help me to recall the fact that, whatever we choose to believe in, life always has a way to carry you to where you need to be at the right time. 

Rinnoji Temple

So last weekend (or the weekend before, I've lost all track of time recently) a friend took me to Rinnoji Temple near Kita Sendai station.

It's not a huge place, but the gardens are quite pleasant for a nice afternoon stroll. It's hydrangea season here at the moment so there were plenty of dazzling blue flowers to be seen.

There are a couple of small pagodas and Japanese style buildings, and a rather large koi pond with some very friendly fish too.

I also highly recommend another small temple a little further down the road. There's some really pretty flowers around this area.

Anyway, if you have a chance at all to visit Sendai, you should check it out. 

久しぶり!

Long time no see, right! I know, I know, it's been over a year. Every time I come back here after a long absence I always promise to begin posting more regularly. I never do. So I am not going to promise this time. In all honesty, my life is just too hectic to make such promises. But I really do want to update you all every now and then.

So anyway, yeah. Life is good, busy but good. I'm really enjoying living in Sendai. It's such a beautiful and amazing city and I'm so glad that I had the chance to come here. I wouldn't change things for the world.

...I actually don't know where to start telling you about everything that's happened. So much has come and gone that I can't possibly tell you everything. So I will give you a run down:

I'm currently nearing the end of my second year here in Sendai. I re-contracted back in January for a third year, so my new contract will begin as of August. Sendai ALTs have to move schools every two years, and so right now I am waiting eagerly to find out where I will be placed for the next school year. (Kind of worried too because I might have to change apartments. -But that's another story!) I'm going to be quite sad to say goodbye to some of the people at my current school. There are some amazing students there.

Over Golden Week this year I got to visit Kyoto and Nara. It was an amazing trip that lasted 5 days. I had previously spent some time in Kansai the year before, but I hadn't had the chance to see all the temples I had wanted to. Kyoto is an amazing place and if I ever have the chance to live there I would be so happy.

April brought lots of cherry blossom viewing and picnics with friends. April and May are my most favourite times of year here. There are so many flowers, it's simply beautiful. It's also the best season temperature wise. If you're ever planning to visit Japan, I always recommend coming at the end of April/beginning of May.

Cherry blossoms in Ogawara

January and February weren't as cold as the previous year, which was a bit of a relief. My first winter here had been so cold that every day had been a big challenge to stay warm.

I also joined a gym at the end of January with my friends. Japanese gyms are an interesting experience!

Miyajima, Hiroshima

Over Christmas I went on week's vacation, touring the southern end of Japan. I stayed at a friend's house in Shimonoseki and also saw places like Fukuoka, Iwakuni, and Hiroshima. It was an amazing trip and I had a chance to see some amazing places.

In the autumn I visited lots of temples, including Hiraizumi in Iwate. We rented a car out and went on a road trip for the day. It works out pretty cheap if everyone contributes. There are some really beautiful, scenic spots in Iwate and Yamagata over the autumn period.

My cello!

I began taking cello lessons in October. I had wanted to play the cello since I was a child. I had played violin for a year or two when I was about 11, but I was never really any good at it. ...8 months later and I am still going at it. It's not easy though. Whilst my Japanese skills have improved a lot, I'm still not fluent and sometimes communication between my teacher and I can be tough. But I am always so grateful to her for her patience with me.

During the summer I went back to the UK for two weeks. It was amazing to see my friends and family after being away for a whole year. It's funny how many things can stay the same, and other things change. It was strange being back in my old room with all of my things that I'd left behind. It was like having another life, one that was on hold. After spending time with my family and readjusting back to the noise and mayhem, it was really hard to say goodbye again.

In June I had the chance to see Shishi Odori at an Iris garden in northern Miyagi. I don't know if you recall a previous blog post mentioning Shishi Odori. I had seen them perform at the London embassy a year before I applied to come to Japan. Seeing them here in Miyagi really felt like things had come full circle. It also made me realise that I am exactly where I am meant to be.

Shishi Odori

 ...I think that pretty much brings us up to date with the major events of the past year. In all honesty there's just way too much to share. This year has been an incredible journey of both discovering Japan, and discovering myself. I hope I can try to keep this blog updated more regularly. I think that sometimes I lack discipline in getting the things I say I want to do completed. More focus!

Until next time, fair ye well!