Rawr~ Toyohashi Zoo~!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments
One of the interesting places in Toyohashi is the Zoo. It consists of a great botanical garden, a zoo, and a theme park all rolled into one large attraction. The Ferris wheel is one of the landmarks of Toyohashi that reminds me of the outskirts of the city.

The Zoo is an excellent destination; it's a cheap entertaining local trip that one can take if living in Toyohashi. Just take a couple friends and a couple bucks and you'll be entertained for a day.

The condition of the animals weren't the greatest especially for the large cats, but a lot of the animals had decent habitats. Space is a precious commodity in Japan after all. The animals seemed to be in good health and lively.



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Gamagori~

Saturday, January 2, 2010 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments
We decided to head to Gamagori after karaoking all night. Gamagori's always an interesting destination. According to Shimon it's the home of the One Piece anime.

It's a port city with a nice shopping center in the middle. I don't think there's much else besides the shopping center in the middle, but I have yet to explore the city.
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Happy New Years~!

Friday, January 1, 2010 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments

Happy New Years~! After waiting in the cold we finally welcomed the new year at a shrine in Japan. The best way to start a new year is with friends huddled together for warmth. I really don't think that we have events like these in America. There were a ton of people in line waiting in line to make a wish a pray for the new year. Food and sake was also provided for free. I was amazed at how much commune that people had.

We stayed for a bit then karaoked for the rest of the night.
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New Year's Eve~ Hot Ramen~!

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments

Tosh, Shimon, Annie, and I decided to bring in the new year Japanese style. We went to a local shrine that was suggested by Shimon and Tosh. We waited for a bit at the shrine, but we were too cold so we decided to get something warm to eat.

I had the best Ramen in the world at the shop that was located near the shrine. It was spicy, hot, savory, and the best thing I have ever tasted. I have yet to find a Ramen that compares to it.

After eating we went back to the shrine to participate in the festivities. We mainly huddled close to some burning logs and just talked.

I thought about the year that had gone by. I thought about the friends that I had made and the life I was living. I was thankful for everything. I just was glad to be living in that moment. Even though things might change in the future and we might all drift apart, I was grateful for having everyone that moment and I was thankful for being there.

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Warmth of Family During the Winter

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments
I went to visit my host family in Nagoya the day before Christmas eve. Who else would you rather spend your Pre-Christmas eve with?

I was happy that no matter what happened with my life in Toyohashi, I always had a wonderful family in Nagoya that I could count on. This kind of family life was something I didn't get to experience much of back in the US. I know that even though she's not my real mother, I really love her as much as anyone else who I consider to be my mom.
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A Christmas Party~

Sunday, December 20, 2009 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments
Gabby's Christmas Party 2009~!
Wonderful friends, foods, drinks, and presents!
I invited my Japanese teacher to the event and he seemed to enjoy himself. There was a random gift exchange for the party as well. I got a cat that Nancy (Shimon's Mom put into the exchange). All around a fun and jovial time.

Click the picture to see the album.
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Beautiful Downtown Toyohashi

Monday, December 14, 2009 Posted by Digital Katsu 0 comments
Toyohashi, my windy home for the year, has a spectacular downtown. There are shops for almost everything you could need, amazing food vendors and restaurants, and a station that can take you almost anywhere in Japan.

The view was especially amazing this winter. They really go all out with the lights and Christmas spirit (Japanese style of course). The crisp winter days and nights are contrasted by the warm lights and beautiful decorations all down the main street downtown. No matter how cold it got, and believe you me it got really freaking cold during the winter months, the warm lights always gave me a boost of warm energy and invigorated
me, reminding me that I was living in such an amazing place.

I always loved walking downtown during the winter because it was so calm and beautiful. Sure, it was lively near the station during the day and early evenings, but when I got back late some nights around 10ish and walked back to my apartment; the calm streets and beautifully lit buildings made my walk home almost like a time for meditation and self-reflection.


Click on the Pictures to see more.
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