March is here, and the weather is starting to finally take a turn for the warmer. This marks my 7th month in Japan!

February was a fun month. I went bowling with my friends at Beppinsan, and somehow managed to not come in dead last (though the first game I got an embarrassing 67, by the 3rd game I got up to a less humiliating 116). I hadn’t been bowling in a long time, but it was a lot of fun, I should do that more often. In Japanese bowling alleys, or at least the one I went to, the shoe rentals are dispensed out of vending machines, though I had to go ask the guy at the counter for shoes that were big enough.

Kazuki, my Hiroshima friend, also came by for a weekend. We ended up doing a bunch of Osaka touristy stuff, like going to Universal Studios Japan, Osaka Castle, and Kaiyukan (the giant aquarium). This was the first time I’d ever been to a major theme-park, unless you count Canada’s wonderland. I couldn’t believe how much work was put into the overall buildings and feel of the different sections of the park. Since Kazuki wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t ride any roller coasters, but I look forward to trying them out next time. I also look forward to going during a time when the line-ups for rides are not as crazy, instead of on a Saturday. I think some of the wait times were around 3 hours!

I also ended up seeing a couple movies. The Greatest Showman, which was really good, and the Black Panther, which was a good one of those movies.

I went with a couple friends to Kyoto for Hina-matsuri. It’s a festival for at young girls, where there is often a bunch of (creepy) old fashioned dolls put on display. We watched a ceremony where children had written their wishes on papers that had pictures of dolls, and had them float down a stream, supposedly to carry their impurities and sins with them (according to wikipedia). Something about paper dolls floating down the river of the temple on bright red paper plates seemed a bit out of place, it was kind of funny.

Of course, the big thing I’m looking forward to is coming back to Canada for Vedran’s bachelor party for a couple weeks, followed by a return back here with my Mom in April, just in time for cherry-blossom season. I’m looking forward to a lot of fun, and I’ll see you next blog post.