Naginata and Pachinko

みなさん!

So today's activities began with our 2 hour class once more.  Again it really isn't so bad.  If anything I am quite determined to improve my Japanese so I will be sure to study hard!  Afterwards we grabbed lunch at a Bento place..essentially it is a "fast food lunch joint."  That's the best way I can describe it.  It sold foods ranging from curry rice and chicken to shrimp and noodles.  Basically..there are a ton of choices for pretty cheap.  Of course..it was delicious. :)

At around 3:00..or 14:00, we headed back up to Shoin University for a Naginata demonstration.  A naginata is a long spear like weapon which was commonly used back in the day for warriors on horseback as it gave them the range that a normal sword would not.  Eventually women were taught to use the naginata so that when the men of the villages left for combat that if their village was to be attacked the women would be able to defend it as well as themselves.  


Today naginata has become a very popular sport for women comparable to kendo.  The general premise is that each match lasts about 3 minutes and 3 "resets" and the first opponent to gain 2 out of the 3 rounds wins.  A round is won by using the naginata to hit the opponent's "kill spots" which are the head, a thrust to the throat, the mid-section, the wrists, and a slashing motion at the shin/ ankle area.  You are not allowed to step outside the designated playing field, push, or attack while the opponent is unarmed.  2 fouls and your out!  

This was both an exciting and wonderful display of precision and accuracy.  The students who were running the demonstration even invited us to put on the armor and hold the naginatas!  I had never heard of this sport before but it sure was a lot of fun and really gave us an insight into Japanese history.  

Afterwards we were allowed to set off on our own once more.  Chris and I decided to take a scenic route down the mountain.  We returned to the dorms and rested up a bit.  After taking a nap..and completely failing to wake up at a normal dinner hour (chris called me but i mistook the phone for a non-exsistent alarm clock and by the time i realized he had already hung up...I then tried to return the phone call but the Japanese dial tone sounds like a busy signal back in the states..and in my half-sleeping state it took me nearly 10min to figure that out nd call him back haha...yea fail.) We returned to the ramen shop that we had eaten at the first night.  The food was still as delicious as we had remembered! :)  We then wandered over to a pachinko and slots spot.  I guess...a Japanese casino of sorts. 

 Pachinko..is a pinball game..kinda.  Basically you get like 30 tiny metal pinballs and can shoot them into the machine which contains a maze of litte plastic knobs.  The goal is to try and get them into a small slot in the center of the machine.  I'm sure there must be some sort of skill and a bit of luck...but Chris and I just weren't getting it at all haha.  It was certainly an experience though.

To end the night we stopped by an arcade and played games that can only be described as "This game would only be found in Japan" type of games..,it was definitely a lot of fun nonetheless.  My favorite by far was a giant japanese drum rhythm game.  The music was obnoxious and adorable and totally Japanese...my fave tho...was that CARAMELLDENSAN was on it!!! I got sooo happy at that second.  If you don't know what caramelldensan is just think back to my adorable/ extremely happy phone ringtone.  And for those of you that may remember...it was my favorite video on youtube with the pokemon singing and dancing?  Well look it up if you don't know wat im talking about!!! 


NEW FOOD OF THE DAY:

Ebi furai!!!! yummm!!!  Its very similar to shrimp tempora.  The difference is the type of bread crumbs that are used.  The ones on Ebi furai are the same ones used in the tonkatsu from yesterday.  The ebi(shrimp) came with a tasty creamy sauce and lemon.  It was quite a flavorful little thing :3

Yep today has been another wonderful day in Nippon.  Tomorrow we will be meeting our language partners!  I can't wait!