May 20, 2011 Living My Life Like it’s Golden [Week]
Oh Golden Week… Thank you for existing.
I’ve talked about the beauty of Golden Week before – May 3rd, 4th, and 5th are Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day, respectively -3 holidays in a row that equal, for those of us lazy enough to take vacation when it’s given to us, 3 consecutive days off. I say lazy because there are those overachieving (aka “hard-working”) people who work through the holidays, coaching their sports teams and making sure those of us vacationing are fed and properly transported, who make the rest of us look bad. What’s up with those guys? To them I say, “This nap is for you.”
We got really lucky this year, and Golden Week was preceded by a 3 day weekend. Showa Day fell on a Friday, so we had 3 days off, 1 day on, 3 days off, 1 day on, and then 2 days off. Some of my friends took vacation on the 2 days on and had a 10 day holiday. Nice, right?
I have no idea what I did for Golden Week last year. I probably sat around my apartment in an attempt to save money. I say probably because my usually quite detailed planner gives no hints either way. This year for Golden Week, I had a really good balance of chillin out [maxin, relaxin all cool] and living it up. A definite highlight was my trip with some JET friends to Iga-Ueno, where we gallivanted as ninjas for a day. It was fun, and yet a little embarrassing. In my mind, at a Ninja Festival, everyone is dressed up as a ninja, and we all run around town like…ninjas, I guess. Turns out the only people wearing ninja outfits were little kids, their parents, and the four of us. That’s cool.
In addition to my ninja-fication, I went to my student’s Kendo tournament and I went shopping with one of my teachers who was recently placed at a different school. I think I just skyped and sat around on Saturday, and then on Sunday I went to the Kishigawa Line Festival. I also went in search of taiyaki, which was a bit of a fail, but since I had some time until the train came back around, I went to the shrine nearby and took some pictures. All in all, a pretty good week!
Here are some pictures from my week of good times…
- 4 comments
- Posted under Life & Such, Oh, Japan., Travel
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InsideJourneys
said
Love your photos and love to read more about your experiences in Japan, a place that’s on my list. I’m subscribing to read more…
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Kaila
said
Wow, thanks!
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InsideJourneys
said
You’re welcome, Kaila! I forgot to mention – I work at a Japanese bank and have made some great friends. Another reason to put Japan on my list.
Marcia
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ben
said
That Ninja festival sounds really cool. I agree with you though, that every one should dress as ninjas, not just the kids! It’s kinda like Halloween. In Japan, just the kids dress up…..and foreigners!