Japanese Cultural Festival

Yesterday I woke at 8. Me, my flatmate and his friends headed up to Kyoto on the JR line. We got there at about 10 and headed to a cultural festival right near the station. We eventually made it after going in a few circles. It was inside a building, there was everything Japanese, including green tea ceremony, fan throwing, kimono wearing, calligraphy, incense smelling, wood block printing, instrument playing and flower arranging. It was great, my calligraphy was a bit wonky but I had fun.
After that we boarded a bus towards the main part of Kyoto, around Shijo and the Kamo river. We had a vague idea of getting a beer and heading to the river, but we soon realised it was a tad cold for that. Instead we walked into a art gallery. We soon learned that for 500 yen we could have a look, but more importantly have a drink. As we walked in I thought 'what have we gotten ourselves into', it appeared to be one of those weird art shows that I've heard about. I didn't want to be trapped in there for 3 hours looking at a blank wall while some sumo wrestler barred my way.
Anyway it turned out it was actually quite good, they had some pretty funny student films. We got a couple of drinks including one of he strongest gin and tonics I've ever had. We had to leave at the interval but the nice people gave us some cake before hand. It was beaut. I took a few wrong trains and got home in 2 hours instead of 1. I was pretty tired when I got home. A very busy and fun day.

Izakaya Bithday Beer

Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. We went to a Kyoto izakaya. An izakaya is a cross between a pub and a restaurant with equal emphasis on both. They sell many things, mainly skewered meat and chicken, you can even get gizzard or heart if that's you want. They also sell massive beers. After that we headed to karaoke for some good times. I returned to Osaka on the Hankyu train line, unfortunately it stopped many stops before my place. I had to take a taxi the rest of the way. 3000yen-what a heartbreaker!

Sore Rib

Yesterday I had to work for 6 and half hours, I was pretty relieved when it was finished.
At 7.30 we had an international party. All you can drink is always a good thing. There was a Japanese girl with an Irish accent, now I've seen it all. I was pretty tired when I got home.
My hand has felt like it has repetitive strain syndrome, I think it's due to all the tetris I've been playing. The other day I got a score of 90 000! Also my rib has been pretty sore from last week's knee in the back. I think I'll have to miss a few training sessions.

Footy

Yesterday we played the 'Nagoya Redbacks' in Australian Rules Football. I was really tired after going to USJ on Saturday so I really struggled out of bed. I got there a bit late because I misunderstood what time we were meeting, however I was pumped up and ready to play. It was really cold, on the way to the ground (at Miyashima Sports Island) it was snowing! The game was hard and fast and bruising. We ended up losing by 30 points, however it was a good, tough match. At one point I dived on the ball and a Redbacks played kneed me right in the ribs. They're pretty sore today. We finished up at about 2, then went to the 'Blue Billabong' for food and 'all you can drink'. By the time I got home I was absolutely knackered. I had a hot bath and watched some 'James Bond' before falling into a coma.

USJ Pics

Universal Studios

What a day! I woke up at 7.30 and headed to Universal Studios, Osaka. We got there before they opened. When the gates opened it was on for young and old. Nothing was going to stop us from getting to Spiderman first. Damn that was good!
We hit the rollercoaster which was beaut, 'Jurrassic Park' was good-it had very short lines, so we hit that 4 times. The only downside was getting a bit wet. That wasn't the best considering the snow that was falling!
The food prices were outlandish, but I soon got over my anger. How can you be upset when you have 'Back to the Future' waiting for you? We left at 5.30 and had tako yaki in the tako yaki museum. It was the equal best tako yaki I've ever had, a tie with the tako yaki in Korien. Came home and sunk a couple of beers while watching 'Jackass', the perfect way to cap off a wonderful day.
I couldn't be stuffed going out tonight, I've got footy really early so I'll rest for that.