Last year should have been the year of the rat (it was actually the pig.) Chinese astrology plays a large part in the culture in japan, so the new year brings in the new zodiac sign, the rat. Along with various lame and dumb television shows.
Made it back late saturday night from Akita. We weren’t able to have reserved seats coming back, so we had to hop between open seats until the train was full and then we had to stand (or sit in the changing areas..) Ended up spending about an hour actually standing. Not too bad since the trains were book to 150% capacity..
Anyways. The 7 days I spent on vacation were fabulous. I didn’t do anything except go to onsens (hot springs) everyday, a splendid fish market, play othello, go to 寒風山（ mountain on the coast) and eat way too much really fresh fish. There was plenty of snow outside and the pleasant odor of sandalwood wafting throughout the house.. perfectly refreshing!
-Things learned:
Women take a long time (up to 2 hours) to put on a kimono.. (however, they are easy to get off! giggetygiggety )
In traditional japanese homes, it is expected that if a girl brings a guy home, they are going to announce their engagement.
Akita has a lot of good food, but it is very salty. ( Due to the coldness, pickling of foods is common..)
I can play the shakuhachi.. (it is supposedly extremely difficult to produce sound on it..)
Pictures to come soon.