Wow, I thought this weekend would be easier and less exhausting, but boy was I wrong. It's the little things that really drain my energy: the constant background Japanese speech that puts my brain on "foreign environment" mode; the city roads which differ so much from my hometown; and the panic of speaking and listening to Japanese.
Friday night, we were exhausted from the week of classes and assignments. Saturday night we were exhausted from walking around the city, going to an art museum and a science museum, and standing in a long line to go the top of the Umeda Sky Building. We needed Sunday to truly be a day of rest, and it was, and that was good.
First, we visited an art museum. They had a lovely little cafe where we ate lunch, and then we went through an exhibit on Modern Japanese art. It was amazing.
We couldn't take any pictures of the art, and I can't find non-copyright images easily online. But we got postcard versions of some of our favorite paintings. We are learning about art in one of our classes, and we could see the influences of Confucianism and the earlier artists/art works that we talked about in class in the modern pieces. You can see in the boat picture below how the boat in the foreground is below you, the house, dock, and bridge are all on eye level, and the suggestion of the mountain in the background is far away and above you.
Right after that, we went across the street to the famous Osaka Science Museum. The museum was full of highly interactive exhibits and displays, which was super fun for us but more fun for the many families who were visiting. It was fun to see how excited the little kids got about science.
This exhibit showed you a colored image of the infrared spectrum. Definitive proof that Miranda's hands are colder than mine!
This exhibit allowed you to see the different phases of the moon by rotating the device. Clearly, I enjoyed it a lot.
We went to the Umeda Sky Building to see the sunset. It took a little bit longer that expected to get to the top of the tower, and we missed the actual sunset (which was fine because it was cloudy). We spent some time looking at the beautiful city of stars below us, and then headed back to Hirakatashi.
Truly, a model building.
Lots of fun, tiny toys to buy at the top of the tower!
By the time we arrived at the Osaka train station, preparing to return to our dormitory, Miranda and I were both hungry, but we were too stressed to try and find food in the city. We pushed through our hunger, boarded our train, and grabbed some street food near our dorm. Wow, food always tastes better when you're exhausted.
Sunday morning, on the way to church, we stopped at a donut shop (titled Mister Donut, which I think is funny) for breakfast and a dumpling shop for lunch. Both were incredible. If the food here wasn't so good, I don't know how I would survive.
It was a great weekend, and this next week of classes is shaping up to be really fun also.
Signing off,
Nick
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Comments
Wow! Art and science museums, sightseeing, classes, eating out all tell me you are immersing yourselves in the culture. Great! Be thankful for the experience and soak it up. "The mind expanded never returns to its original state."
We appreciate the updates.
Nick Grabar
Was that a Gen 1 reference in the first paragraph? Lol. Love following these adventures you’re having. And so glad you’re recording them for posterity!