Pictures (part three): Nara and kimono day/Nijo Castle

For the record, the pictures in this post correspond to this post, this post, and this post. Yay. However, because I fail, they're backwards in chronological order. SORRY.

In other news, I'm going to try to post only pictures of things that I haven't posted pictures of before. So, yeah. That ought to explain possible big holes in story telling. Sorry again.

So travel back in time to kimono day and Nijo Castle, which apparently I skipped over too quickly for Certain People's tastes. So, here, have lots of Nijo Castle.

The outside!

Don't scribble here.

We mean it.

Here's a big gate that led inside.

And here's the actual castle. It has nightingale floors, which means that the floors sort of squeak when you step on them. But it's not exactly a squeak. It's more like a squeaky moan thing. Kind of hard to explain. Anyway, the floors were made that way so that no one could sneak up on anyone else.

Have I mentioned how much I love Japanese gardens? I love them so much.

A moat! It's a moat, you guys!

(No pictures of the inside of the castle, 'cause we weren't allowed to take pictures in there. Wish I could, 'cause it was cool.)

(Happy now, sir?)

Okay, now let's all hop in our time machine and go back to Nara.

What do you mean you don't have a time machine?

Get on that.

Geez.

Pictured here:

A man-eating deer eating our residential director's map.

Not pictured here:

Our residential director FREAKING OUT and attempting to reason with the deer.

Kind of awesome hand-washing place (for purification). Just with a deer.

It was a really long walk to Kasuga Taisha, but totally worth it.

Secret agent deer! Secret agent deer!

...

I'm not the only one thinking this, right?

A tree growing out of a tree!

Yes, I take pictures of strange things.

Some of the charms they were selling at Kasuga Taisha. As you can see, it was quite an assortment.

The sacred tree which apparently grew one of those offshooting child trees WHICH GREW INTO THE SHRINE. But they couldn't cut it down (what with it being sacred and all), so instead they just build bracers so it wouldn't collapse the wall and let it grow into the shrine.

Remember how people were tying fortunes to trees at Shimogamo Shrine? Well, Kasuga Taisha was such a big shot shrine that it made a special place for people to tie their fortunes.

You probably can't read the sign ('cause it's so small), but it says that if you tie your fortune there, it will come true in a year.

Stone lanterns!

Also, remember how back here I said that the sky turned red? Well, here are pictures.

I'm not sure whether it's really cool or really creepy. Probably both.

Next is Arashiyama. And probably something else with it. Dunno. We'll see.

Need to go work on my Fulbright proposal. Laters.

Well, I'm not dead

YET.

I survived the midterm exam, although I think I probably created a metric ton of those little pencil eraser shreds. At least I was able to answer all the questions, which is better, it seems, than most of my classmates were able to do.

Well, we'll see when I get the test back. Hopefully it won't be a 0/100, 'cause that would be embarrassing.

So after our midterm examination, we met up with some students from the other KCJS class (not the CLS class) and headed out to a kimono shop, because someone decided that it would be an awesome idea to make all of us go on a kimono field trip. And it probably would have been awesome, if it had been, oh, you know, WINTER when wearing kimono won't make you die of heat stroke.

OH WELL.

And guess what! For the first time ever, I have pictures to show you along with telling my story! SWEET!

So we made it to the shop and split up into a boys' group and a girls' group and headed inside to pick out our kimono.

Hey, guys! We're gonna put on kimono now! It's gonna be so exciting! We're definitely not gonna die of heat stroke!

First they gave us a demonstration of proper kimono-putting on...uh...I'm forgetting English. The right way to put it on? Yes, that was what I was looking for. 着方。

So we all got tabi (these nifty white socks) and managed to put them on with no problem. One step down, forty thousand to go!

So then we put on our kimono. AND TOOK FRIGGIN' FOREVER. Even longer than yukata, 'cause there were multiple layers. It took so long that the guys gave up waiting outside in the heat and waited in the (air conditioned) entrance way to the shop.

So after an age of tying and retying and trying to figure out a way to get a kimono to look relatively decent on someone with massive hips, this was the result. (As long as I keep my arms in front of my hips, it doesn't look that weird...)

HE HAS A SWORD. (Actually, it's an umbrella. It'll come back later, just you watch.)

So then we walked over to Nijo Castle, where the temperature was approximately VERY WARM. People kept taking pictures of us, which was a little bit weird. And then this super enthusiastic Chinese woman wanted to take pictures with us. That was also a little bit weird. OH WELL. I guess that's the kind of reaction gaijin in kimono get.

Here's the whole group looking all snazzy in front of Nijo Castle.

We're wearing kimono guys! And, yeah, it's getting a little bit warm, but I'm sure we'll be okay. Right?

And here are all the boys (minus one)...

...and all the girls.

Notice how people have already started to wilt.

Here, have some pictures of the gardens at Nijo Castle!

He will stab you with his umbrella (でござる). (Told you the umbrella would come back.) There's actually a story behind this picture, but I'm sure that whatever you can come up with will be more amusing.

It's pretty ridiculously hard to climb stairs in kimono! It's ridiculously hard to the point that as I was walking down the stairs, I overheard two older Japanese women commenting on how good I was at walking in kimono. SERIOUSLY.

Also, by this point, everyone was complaining that they were dying and thirsty and hot and auuuuuuugh how much longer did they need to wear these things anyway?

The castle was closing at four, so we all headed back to the kimono shop to disrobe. And, man, we could not get them off fast enough. Seriously, those things are SO HOT, I don't know who it was who decided that we would wear kimono instead of yukata in summer.

Everyone was really happy to be back in their normal clothes.

Tomorrow we're going to Arashiyama, so (if Hu-san posts pictures early) I might have more pictures to show you then.

Until then, g'night! (Or good morning, I guess, 'cause most of you will be reading this in the morning. I don't know.)