Exploring

I've been horrible about updating my blog, and it's been brought to my attention that half the people I gave the address to think it's broken because there haven't been any updates. Sorry! Today is the first day I've had completely to myself since arriving, I think. All the other ALTs went to the nearby island for a weekend festival. I'm all alone, with all the free time in the world and money in my wallet because I just got paid, and man does it feel goooooood.

First off, some everyday stuff.

This is where I live. I'm the house on the far right, with the car parked in front. The other three belong to other ALTs.

I don't want to post pictures of the inside until I've bought some more furniture and generally made everything look nicer, but I absolutely love the house--it has four rooms (entryway, kitchen, living room and bedroom), traditional Japanese-style, with sliding doors, shoji screens and two tatami rooms. 

This is the view from my front window--a rice field, a mountain and the neighbor's garden.

Some of the things I bought to brighten up the house when I got paid yesterday. I love the bunny glasses--so adorable and retro. And I am SO EXCITED about the little plants from the 100 yen shop. I will water them and love them and give them names. (Suggestions welcome!) The little green vase thing came with the apartment, and the paper Audrey Hepburn vase was a gift from Bri--she made it herself! (Thank you!)

To take advantage of my first free day in a month, I decided to go explore some random forest paths that I had noticed on my drive into town.

Path #1. This wasn't one of the ones I was originally intending to take--it's not really noticeable from the road, but it was right next to where I parked, so I walked down it for about 15 minutes before coming back to explore the others. There wasn't much along the way, but the forest was absolutely beautiful. I'm still really curious about where it eventually leads, so I'll probably be heading back at some point.

Path #2. This one went up the side of the mountain.

A shrine? A shack? I have no idea.

There are 33 somethings this way! But what could they be??? (On a side note, I miss being literate.)

Let's find out...

As I found out when I looked up the kanji on the sign back at home, they were 33 stone statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Apparently the idea of Kannon having 33 forms is a common one in Japan; there are other sets of 33 Kannon statues, even within Joetsu. Definitely the coolest thing I've stumbled upon so far.


After that I took another path that connected to the one I was on. It only ended up leading to a graveyard, but it was a hell of a hike, so after getting some katsu curry I pretty much spent the rest of the day hanging out at home reading and getting some much-needed rest.