Yesterday we participated in the annual "Sanaburi" festival to celebrate the completion of the rice transplanting. It was good craic and great food was to had by all. I'm surprised by international atmosphere here, much more international than I first thought. With many of the researchers and staff coming from different countries it was a great way to share and experience other people's culture and food. Many of the Japanese that worked abroad from some time brought back to Japan the recipes they learned while being overseas. A great way to broaden one's horizons.
Glad that it's Friday and I'll be moving out of the hotel and into a proper accommodation tomorrow (closer to Tsukuba station) which will make my commute into Tokyo that much more easy. I still plan on walking to JIRCAS as I don't have a car and the public transport is lacking here (one bus a day at an odd time).
The walk itself wont be bad at all, I even tried it last week, took about 50 minutes or so? Not bad at all compared to some of the previous commute-walks I've done in the past. Back when I worked in Tokyo I often opted walking the 2 hours back to my residence in lieu of taking the stifling trains that abound in Tokyo. After that when I found my self working in Melbourne I would often walk back to mt apartment while exploring new areas along the way. I still get a kick about telling the Japanese that I walk/will walk...in a country where it seems walking is a cardinal sin as people tend to take the elevator/escalator for one flight or take the train/bus to go less than half a mile. I guess they would prefer waiting then getting the job done. After all, this is the country where waiting for something and waiting in lines is the true national past time where sometimes people wait in line for more than 2 hours to get a special coffee. Guess my nickname, 'the harbinger of walking,' holds true once again.
Off to see the new Godzilla movie tonight, I mean how is watching Godzilla in Japan not the true Japanese experience.