Osaka aquarium!

I went to see a football match in Japan! I know next to nothing about football but my boyfriend got free tickets from a friend, so we got to see Osaka Cerezo vs. Tokyo FC (big teams in Japan I guess). It was a fun game and we were so close to the pitch so we could see everything really well.

I made okonomiyaki with my classmates from university. It is a fried cabbage/batter/meat/mayonaise dish famous in Osaka. I’m not a big fan of it but it is fun and easy to make.

Osaka castle, September 2012.

Osaka by night.

There was an event in Kyoto one weekend in October where we were able to try on kimono and learn a traditional dance for free. The dance was not so exciting but the kimono somehow made us all look very sophisticated I think :)

In October I went to Arashiyama, southeast of Kyoto. There is a famous monkey park, bamboo forest and many temples and shrines (of course).

The famous Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. There are hundreds of torii gates, painted red, leading up the mountain.

The temple behind my university. I didn’t even know it was there for a while - you can stumble upon temples and shrines everywhere you go in Kyoto!

In October I went for an overnight camp with my boyfriend and his family. We stayed in the mountains near Nara, next to a beautiful stream and a forest. We cooked over a campfire, watched the stars and lit fireworks, but it got really too cold for me in the evening.

Kinkakuji, the famous golden pavilion temple in Kyoto.

I came here with some friends from my dormitory

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, 16th September 2012.

A festival in Osaka where large floats are lit up and dragged across the streets by dozens of men in traditional outfits.

September 2012, took a trip back to Osaka for the first time since last year.

The Imperial Palace near my dorm.