The very first trip of the spring semester for IES was out to Nagahama, where we took an hour-long boat trip (where I fell asleep) out to Chikubu Island in the middle of the Biwa Lake.

Biwa Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and one of the oldest in the world. There was a temple on the island, but very few inhabitants, as it is now merely serves the small tourist groups that come by boat. It was very quiet, despite the 30 or so people that came with us. Very steep stairs, quiet foresty areas, and stunning views of the lake. The lake itself is so huge that it felt like we were in the middle of the ocean, rather than a secluded body of water.

The main attraction to the temple is that you receive 2 small clay plates at the entrance. You write your name on one, and a wish on the other. Then, you go out to the temple and attempt to throw these plates through a gate that’s by the lake. I missed on getting my name plate through, but my wish plate made it! Here’s to hoping my wish of meeting my favorite Korean pop start, G-Dragon, will be fulfilled.

From there, we took the boat back to shore and went out to Kurokabe Square, a small shopping district. It’s an area known for glass blowing and sculptures, so of course, we rounded off the trip by going to a glass workshop and we put designs on glasses that were then sand-blasted. The process was done by sticking tape to the glass; whatever was covered came out unchanged and clear, while the rest was blasted into until it looked frosty. Mine came out surprisingly well, despite my lack of skill in design!

It was a fun day trip, despite many of us being sleepy from our in-progress school break. Next trip is Hiroshima, and we’re going by Shinkansen, which is really exciting!

The next day also happened to be my birthday. As far as birthdays go, it was spent quite simply, as I like birthdays to be. I went out for lunch at a nice place at Sakae with friends, who were nice enough to give me a small gift and a card.

Then I finally went to go see the Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban movie by Nagoya Station. I’ve been dying to see this movie for months now, and it did not disappoint.

Afterwards, I got home to see a lovely sign, hand-written by my host mother, as well as some nice birthday art of sorts drawn by my host kids. We also got home-made cake (with strawberries, due to strawberry season) and I think okaasan spoiled me a bit by giving me plainly American food. The corn dog and pizza may have given something away.

Overall, it was a nice way to turn 21, despite the lack of fanfare and to-do about legality.

Location: Nagahama, Japan