Last time, I left off by mentioning how to take a bus from Hirakata-shi Station to the area near the Seminar Houses, which I did on the morning after staying the night at the Hirakata Sun Plaza Hotel. From there, it was a fairly short walk through the rain to Seminar House II, which is somewhat oddly positioned at the bottom of a hilly area and around a corner street, though it becomes easy to find once you've learned the way. When I arrived, I wasn't actually sure if it was the correct Seminar House, which had me worried a bit - A decoration on the inside, however, helped in confirming my location.
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| A decoration welcoming residents to Seminar House II. |
Something which has still been a bit strange getting used to was the customary action upon entering any Japanese-style home - Directly upon entry, I noticed a set of cubby holes for shoes, where I was directed to take off my shoes and put on a pair of slippers designated for visitors (or first-time entrants to the Seminar House). I've never actually worn slippers before, at least not that I can remember, so it was a strange feeling wearing them, though definitely not an uncomfortable one.
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| The shoe cubby/shoe locker at Seminar House II. |
From there, I met several new people with whom I would be spending the rest of the semester, and they are all pretty great people! While I was naively expecting the students to just be Japanese natives or American transfer students, there were also many international students from other countries as well, such as Germany, Korea, France, and other locations of the world! It's definitely been an interesting experience meeting all of them!
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| Friends from Japan, the UK, and America gathered in the TV Lounge. |
After checking out the bottom floor of the Seminar House, I went up to my room to unpack my clothes and other luggage. The room is a fairly small yet cozy space with an adjustable air conditioning unit, something for which I am very thankful! The weather in Hirakata-shi was surprisingly humid on the day I arrived, being around 4 or 5 times as humid as I had been used to in Florida, so it was difficult for me to deal with at first. The floors are comprised of tatami mats, and 2-3 futons (depending on the number of residents) are placed for bedding. A shoji separates the main sleeping area from a small space with computer desks, as well as the door to the balcony.
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| My room in Seminar House II, where my roommate, is currently at work at his computer. |
There is also a great view from the balcony, which overlooks a large portion of the Katahoko neighborhood within Hirakata-shi. From this particular room, the view is usually comprised of the tops of buildings and some natural features, yet by looking at a particular angle, some mountains can be seen in the distance.
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| A view of the Katahoko neighborhood from Seminar House II. |
After getting settled into my room, I decided to go downstairs and meet some more people, who decided to visit a local supermarket between the Seminar House and the Kansai Gaidai University campus. The walk to this supermarket, named Top World, is about 20 to 30 minutes, with the campus being an additional 10 to 15 minutes of additional distance. While there are a variety of supermarkets in the area, Top World offers one of the better selections for a fair price, and was the first that I visited during my time so far. Fresco and Sanko are also nearby supermarkets, offering a little less variety but somewhat better prices.
Something of great importance to note is that students are not allowed to use kitchen facilities for regular cooking until the orientation period has ended. This means that food items such as pre-prepared obento and instant rice are essential to surviving the first week at the Seminar House. Other foods, such as curry and sauce for hashed rice, are also available in pre-made, microwaveable packs - these are very convenient, and do not sacrifice taste for the sake of convenience.
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| A down-the-aisles view of Top World, focusing on its vegetable section. |
The next day, after buying necessary food products in preparation for the orientation week, I decided to go on a trip to a local electronics store with a few friends in order to buy something I had neglected to bring with me (the proper kind, at least) - A power converter. For many smaller devices, this may be unnecessary; however, in Japan, all devices are made to draw power from an electrical outlet with 2-prong openings. By taking the path to Top World and continuing on farther down the same road and going straight, I made it to a store called Edion which sold a very large variety of goods, including many modern and antiquated electrical devices, video games, and even anime posters!
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| An electrical converter for using 3-prong devices in a Japanese power outlet. |
Having access to this information is something that I believe will help future Kansai Gaidai students immensely - If there's anyone who is interested in more specific details, feel free to e-mail me at jkaltmix@gmail.com. That's all for today - look forward to the next post, where I'll be talking about my time so far in classes at the main campus, as well as other Kansai Gaidai Stories!
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