New Year's Day!

hello. It's 2008 and I'm still in Japan. Damn. Only one more month. Anyway. I woke up late and decided to go to Dazaifu Shrine. Look it up. It was snowing but it was worth it. I had to buy a 400yen ticket to go from Hashimoto to Dazaifu. The subway was fine, not that crowded considering everyone usually heads to the shrine for the new year. But when I transferred to the train, it was packed. I was nice enough to give my seat away. There were a few cute babies dressed up in kimonos. But I felt creepy if I took their pictures. Anyway, it was a short 20 minutes to the shrine. Very fast these trains.

When you get there you can see the snow has been falling since the morning. It was real beautiful. There was an 80km walk to the shrine from the station and it was laid out in shops and restaurants. These were packed too. the shops were selling the mochi you have for the new year and the shops had souvenirs. I also noticed the smaller food stands, but I was getting pushed along with the new crowd towards the shrine.

We crossed the bridge over the lake and it was real pretty. The time I forgot my hat, it was snowing and under the trees the melting snow rained on us. One person was nice enough to put their umbrella over me for a bit. I love this country. When you get to the front of the shrine, it became a frenzy. Not a real crazy, mad frenzy, but the kind where you see so many lines and booths, you don't know which way to go first frenzy. I decided to head for the main shrine where you pray and toss money for offerings. I also bought a wish you can tie to the tree, or bull as some people did.

I went to the Kyushu National Museum. Very nice, but I was strapped for cash and didn't buy a ticket for the exhibit. I walked around and looked at the things we can look at. Also, we couldn't take any pictures inside. Too bad, they had a lot of old buddhas and sculptures from a castle. Sorry I can't read the kanji yet.

I came back down the hill and ate the food from the stands that were right outside of the shrine. mmmmmm. they had everything. Takoyaki, okonomiyake, yakitori, hotdogs on a stick, corndogs, okonomiyake on a stick, bbq corn, candy... it almost felt like a fair. Of course I brought money for food. I also bought mochi for my roommates. They were fresh too. mmmmm. I do have to laugh at one thing. THey had numerous stands on selling stuffed penguins. I thought it was the year of the mouse. oh well.