Week 65: Adventure again!

This week was MUCH better!

I'm gonna show you a few snapshots from Sunday quick, because when I was coming back from church, I ended up walking through a local festival!  It was VERY small, and nothing really enticed me to give it more than a passing glance, but there was some cute stuff, like...

a mascot of some sort.

rummage sale

There were also little kids trying on child sized police and firefighter uniforms and posing on vehicles, and this guy giving what is, I think, a home safety lecture.  This particular one is on grease fires in the kitchen.

mini kitchen!

Anyhow, fun!

Monday was off, because I had school on Saturday.  So I went to Mino-o!

There's some argument as to how to spell it, because half of them say "Mino-o" and half way "Minoh".  Very frustrating.  Anyhow!  Mino-o is THE place to see Maple leaves turning colors this time of year!  No, really.  I went last year, and EVERYONE was there.  SO crowded.  Which is why I went on a Monday.  Because no one would be there.  And it was MUCH nicer.

and a lot less people.

leaves!

easy incline

It's a lovely little hike!  And I saw a Monkey!

its up there, trust me.

don't feed it.

And there's a waterfall!

ooOOOoooo

And there's deep fried maple leaves!

Japanese Maple

fried maple leaves

And a bridge!

And it was just very nice.

I was a little sad, I'll admit, because I had invited lots of people to go, but since it WAS a Monday, no one could make it.  Still, I had a good day, and I finished it with pad Thai. :)

Tuesday, the kids took the musical instruments from the gym back to the music room.  And I got to help!  Anything that was light enough got carried and the other stuff was rolled. (Like the xylophones)  This was especially entertaining because the music room is on the fourth floor.  So the kids hauled stuff up 4 flights of stairs.  I got to use the elevator, because xylophone.

The best part was the kettle drums because they're light but bulky.  So it took 3-4 kids to make sure it didn't bump into walls, and I could basically tell their conversation when the teachers told them they couldn't use the elevator....

Wednesday, I had off!  Two days in one week!  I'm getting spoiled.  Not that I'll complain.  Thursday was Thanksgiving, so a friend and I went into Osaka for a turkey sub.

ah well.

Still didn't feel too Thanksgiving-y to me.  Nice to have a sandwich though.

Then I went to a "Vintage Jazz" festival!  Good luck keeping the swing dancers away from THAT.

Glion Museum. It was an old warehouse.

Jazz! (it was cold!)

vintage clothes! Nothing fit and it was all too expensive.

And there was, of course, dancing!

no pictures of me dancing, because that would require a selfie stick...and skill.

best way to stay warm!

I was the only dancer NOT wearing vintage clothes, but in my defense, it's really HARD to find vintage my size!  WHY is that?  I KNOW people my size lived back then, what happened to their clothes?!  They still let me dance, jeans and all.

And in between sets, I got to check out the museum!

vintage cars!

and entire ROW of different incarnations of Rolls Royce

SO GREEN

A bear in his natural habitat.

a Studebaker

They even had a dealer room where they put vintage cars they were SELLING

IT'S SO TINY

it was so much fun!  There was an "event" later on, but I think that was just the performing of Jazz, and I had come for the dancing, (I peeked in, there was NOT enough space for dancing) and so I happily went on my way!

Thursday was fun because that school hadn't done their arts day yet, so I got to see them perform!

they did so well!

Friday was Friday.  Not much to say about that.

Saturday was fun!  It was a ceramics festival!  Now, I had gone last year, but couldn't FIND the blamed thing, BUT this year I was better prepared, AND I remembered the leaves had been just lovely, so I figured if nothing else, I could enjoy the foliage.

leaves!

Tofukuji temple

Tofukuji temple gate

Wait, is that signs of a festival?

food booth. Yep.

Then I found it!

all the ceramics one could want!

This is a lovely temple, so I kept looking around.

And at these festivals that cover a lot of area, they'll often give you a map so you know what to check out.  I got one last year, but it didn't help much...

now I know what I'm looking at though!

So I checked out the little highlighted sections, and got stamps at all of them!

I wanted to buy ALL THE THINGS

When you finish getting all the stamps, you go to a booth! (also marked on the map)

you roll the wheel and a random pellet pops out! 

Depending on the color of the pellet, you get to choose a leveled prize!  I got a "participation pellet" so I could pick from a grab bag of "surprise" options.

what is it?!

it's a chopstick rest. :)

And there was wheel throwing!

I haven't done this in AGES!

And I made a cup!

YAY!

I did not get to keep it, but it was free to try. I'm kinda glad I didn't get to keep it, because it's WET CLAY. I would have had a glob of wet clay to carry around. :P

I did get some loot,

ooOOOoo

this bowls especially cool

But it was lovely, and then I walked back to the station.

love the colors on those kimono.

And then there's the main reason I try not to visit Kyoto on the weekends.

wee.

But yeah! fun week!  I did not get a Thanksgiving dinner, but I really enjoyed myself anyhow.
Of course, Christmas has busted out all over.  I mean, it started after Halloween and is gaining momentum...

Yes, that is a wanted sign on that snowman.

Hope all is well and you don't run into any "wanted" snowmen!