The last one of these filler "I need to catch up on all previous posting" entries....for now.

Yes, I have four, count them, FOUR entries that are filler that basically say among the lines that "I need to catch up on posting I have never did/have finished, because tonight is the night I am neglecting all other duties (except sleep and food of course) to actually catch up on previous posting. With my way of taking 1 hour per post, it will be impossible to actually catch up. My first entry will be finishing my Fourth of July post that I didn't finish (>__>) and from there, working on entries that were in the past that the longer I dwell and dillydally on them, the harder it will be to remember what happened later.

This really isn't a filler, as I have basically other things to say than just "filler!".

For instance, I learned a fun card game today from Saori and some other girls in the language lab today. Basically it involves famous mukashibanashi (fairy tales) in Japanese. You lay out a deck of playing cards in a circle (or a doughnut as was explained) and someone decides on the game. For instance, in the game Shichigosan (also name of a Japanese holiday) you are looking for sevens (shichi), fives (go), and san (3) that are drawn. The order of whom goes first is decided by janken (rock-paper-scissors), and each person in turn takes a card from the circle and reveals it in the center of the ring. Whatever game you're playing, when one of the cards that you're looking for is revealed, you slap your hand on the card. You want to be quick, because the slowest person (i.e. last person) to touch the card gets the card. The winner is the person with the least amount of cards.

I have learned since being here other Japanese games to pass the time. But, that will be for another entry.

Tomorrow, I go to Utsunomiya for my final interview for a English-teaching job, so wish me luck!

In keeping with the fact that this will probably be a "photo" journal, here's a picture for you. The most random picture because this post doesn't have a picture the suits it.



This is at the top near the Tokugawa Ieyasu's shrine. A all green tea vending machine.