Christmastime is here

Hey everyone!

First, I should update you all on what's happening next year: I'll be coming home, and I'm super pumped about it! My current contract was extended just a wee bit, to April 10th instead of the 1st, but I was not offered a contract for another year at USJ. Of course I was a bit disappointed not to receive an offer of any kind, as no performer ever enjoys getting a "no." In all honestly though I wasn't sure whether or not I would have accepted one had I been offered anyway, especially if it was for the same role. I think doing the same show five times a day, five days a week for ten months is already kinda nuts, and more than doubling that might have made my head explode. I would have been more tempted to stay with a new role in a different show, but everyone in the Frog Choir was either offered more of the same or nothing at all. Staying another year would have been a good safe option, especially financially, but I'm not sure my heart would have really wanted me to stay. I was pretty relieved that the decision was made for me, and I'm sure by April I'll be so thrilled to board a plane back the states and see my family and friends back home.

I haven't left yet though, and my flight home is still four months away, so let's get back to my adventures here in Japan. As it does in the states, late November and all of December means that Christmas is coming here in Japan. With Japan being a mostly Buddhist nation, I wasn't expecting Christmas to be a big deal here, but decorations are everywhere, stores are having sales, and a lot of the guests at USJ come to the park dressed in Santa outfits or other Christmas-y costumes. There is even a German Christkindlmarkt near the Umeda Sky Building that a friend and I decided to check out one evening earlier this week.

The Colonel is in the Christmas spirit

I'm not sure how popular it actually is, but I've heard that a lot of people in Japan get KFC for dinner on Christmas

We started the evening with a little ice skating (not real ice, some sort of weird plastic, but still fun)

They had mulled wine (in heart-shaped mugs! d'awwwww)

There were actual Germans running these things, not sure if they just come seasonally or live here, but the exchange went a little bit like this: "Arigato gozaimasu. I mean... thank you! I mean... Danke!"

It's not a German Christmas market without bratwursts and pretzels

I'd imagine Japan's interest in Christmas is all about the commercial/secular aspect, but they even had a manger display

Mason made me stand on the lower step so he didn't feel so short

Santa!!!!!

I treated myself to a gingerbread snowman

Look, I'm from Chicago, and trust me, we are not known for our Butter Chicken soup. And I'm pretty sure France isn't known for their corn soup either, BK Japan.

Found in a little shop in Amerika Mura

Also in Amerika Mura. Yeah I'd say this shirt is a good representation of people in the U.S.

I haven't been doing any traveling outside of Osaka lately, but I feel okay about that as the holidays are a bit crazy, even when you're off in a foreign country. Plus, I'll be going to Tokyo in early January, with my FAMILY! My dad, stepmom, and little bro fly into Japan just after Christmas and are going to be here for New Years and then flying out on January 7th, and I'm so incredibly excited to see them again and to show them this crazy, amazing, totally-different-to-what-they're-used-to country. I'm so grateful that they're traveling all that distance, taking all that time, and spending all that money to come here, as I know it isn't easy for all of that to work out, and I can't wait for them to have two weeks that they'll never forget.

Kyoto and Harry Potter World

Hey y'all!

Time is flying by faster than ever, unbelievable that we're already nearing the end of November. The halfway point of my contract has come and gone, but in just about a week I have a meeting to find out about next year's contracts. Even though the audition was back in August, we've been waiting all through October and November wondering when we'll find out, and finally just yesterday we were told to sign up for individual five-minute meetings with casting on the 28th. I'll either be offered a contract for next year with three days to think about it and decide whether or not to accept, or I'll be informed that they didn't have a role for me next year and given all the info I'll need about going home in a few months. All of us who auditioned for next year are getting pretty anxious, and we've been speculating about what roles we might or might not get for so long that my head is about to explode. I'm relieved to know when we'll know, if nothing else, and a week from tomorrow morning I'll actually know what the next year of my life will (or won't) be. 

This past weekend Jordyn and I were itching to get out of Osaka for a bit, so we took a day trip back to Kyoto, as we definitely didn't see all there was to see when we first went in the summer. We started off with the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, known for its thousands of orange gates, torii. The shrine dates back to the ninth century A.D., which, for someone who comes from a country less than 250 years old, is practically unfathomable. It was a privilege to be able to see on of Japan's national treasures, especially one with such a long and rich history.

The first of  many torii gates

There were foxes on either side of several of the bigger gates in the shrine. Foxes were seen as the messengers of Inari, the Shinto god of rice

As with most (all?) shrines, there was a place to rinse your hands before entering

But this one had instructions, which was new for me. Apparently you are also supposed to rinse your mouth (but don't put your mouth directly on the ladle) and then rinse the ladle itself last. Good to know for the future, as this is undoubtedly not the last shrine I'll be visiting in Japan.

Another fox, this one with a key in his mouth. Apparently its the key to the rice granary.

You could purchase a small torii gate, write on it, and hang it up

The beginning of the really long torii path

Choose your own adventure, torii-style

The whole trip up the mountain would have taken about two hours, so we opted to head back down a bit before the halfway point

We made our way down and back into the town, and we soon found a spot to have some lunch. This is when all these plastic food displays come in handy.

Shoes off before we enter the dining area, of course

Sitting on cushions on the floor, very Japanese

I took a risk and ordered a dish that I wasn't super sure what it was, and I was pretty disappointed with it

So then I ordered this too. Can't go wrong with rice, egg, and shrimp. The menu said vegetables too, but I think "vegetables" just meant "a few chopped green onions."

After lunch we hopped on a bus that took us to the opposite side of town so we could see the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, aka Kinkaku-ji. The temple was in a beautiful area, made especially beautiful by the changing leaves. Autumn in Japan seems to last way longer than in Chicago. I'm a big fan.

The temple was just stunning, especially within the beautiful scenery

We chose a good time to go, too, (about 3:30 or so) because the sun was hitting the temple at a perfect angle to make the gold really shine

The path led us around the temple and then through a bit of the forest

On our way back to the bus, I spotted this sign for an ice cream shop. Harf & harf, please! Just delightful.

The next day was a "YES" day at USJ, meaning we could attend the park for free if we weren't working. We hadn't had yes days at all since Harry Potter world opened, so we took advantage of the opportunity to FINALLY go into the Harry Potter World as a park-goer, not as a working performer.

Despite the "YES" day for the park, Harry Potter was only open to anyone for the first hour or so, and once a certain amount of people got in, you had to get a ticket with a time reservation for Harry Potter World. We got there as early as we were allowed (literally ran through the rest of USJ to get to HP world) and were ecstatic to find we made it in time to get in.

First thing we did was get in line for the Hogwarts Forbidden Journey ride. The wait was only about 25 minutes, and during busy days at peak hours the time estimate outside the ride can get as high as 240 minutes, so this was a big win for us. Clearly I enjoyed the ride a bit more than Jordyn did.

Standing on the stage, NOT in my costume. Yeahhh!

There was a 30-minute line to get into the candy store. Yeah, a THIRTY MINUTE LINE to get into a STORE. Ugh, only in Japan. I wanted a chocolate frog, but eff that.

The line wasn't so bad for butterbeer though, so we finally tried some.

For winter months they serve it cold like normal or hot, and I chose hot. It was pretty delicious (would go great with some spiced rum :) but so sickeningly sweet that I only had half before I threw mine out, and my stomach didn't feel great for the next hour or so.

Got to see the other Frog Choir cast perform

We also saw the Tri-Wizard show, which we don't often get to see

We got some lunch at the Three Broomsticks, which had a 15-minute line outside the door

We saw all we wanted to see of Harry Potter World by about 12:30, then saw a few other shows elsewhere in the park before heading home. I was glad I finally got to get into the park that I work in every day, but I'm probably good for the rest of my stay here, honestly.

Saw this mysterious melon drink at the store and decided to give it a go. "Me Ro N Ra Te," or Melon Latte.

It's not coffee, though, it's basically a mix between melon juice and skim milk. Or melon-flavored extra-skim milk. Like, really really skim. A little bizarre, but pretty tasty too.