That circular thing is the bus station. It looks a lot prettier at night, I'm told. But there we go.
Below, you can see the Denny's which is very near my apartment.
And here is my block of flats. Very modern-looking, eh?
I have walked to and from town many times now. It only takes about 10-15 minutes - I have been really lucky with my placement!!! I see the 7-11... then the Denny's, the Family Mart, and the friendly Yakitori place... plus a tiny house-like pub that sells Guiness... and then I'm home!
As you can see, I've moved my stuff in properly now so it's starting to look more like somewhere you can live!!
I feel as if I know my way around Hamamatsu now already. Yesterday, I gave a brief tour to some of the new trainees... I took them to the castle park, and later on I took them out with Hangmates (a group of Japanese people who like to hang out with English people and make friends!).
As for my LeoPalace... well, I've never had a place that was truly my own before! I just hope I manage to look after it properly and don't mess things up. The loneliness is a bit frightening but it's all part of the learning experience!
"Note the lovely stone statues, who have been given bibs. I feel this symbolises the Western influence on Japanese culture... how pretentious did that sound?"
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, this is actually very traditionally Japanese and has nothing to do with any kind of Western influence! Red is the color in a lot of traditional shinto/buddhist things for repelling demons and illnesses, so statues at shrines are dressed in red clothing to symbolize this.
Ah, yes, I did find this out later, and felt like a total idiot for posting it!!! :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your blogs. I lived in Hamamatsu in in 1995-96 and I remember the experience fondly. Have you discovered Dotour Cafe yet? (Locals pronounce it "Do-to-ru".)
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