Field trippin' day 2! Instead of a day in class we spent half the day at Tsukuba mountain. We were told the story of Tsukuba mountain, aparently once a god came down to rest and Mt Fuji refused to let him sleep but Tsukuba mountain did so as repayment, he gave Tsukuba 2 peaks that are actually lovers embracing so that the mountain would never be alone, while Fuji remains alone. Aparently Tsukuba is also famous for holding some of the oldest written passages in J...

An inactive day today - we just had class again! We discussed environmental ethics in international laws and then we had a brief discussion on animal rights and their position in cultural pratices, I definitely had the chance to speak up, it was a good discussion! Just had dinner out on town again and have started plans for the last leg of my trip in Nagano and Tokyo - very exciting! I'm yet to find my missing earring so it looks like a trip into Tsukuba centre a...

We got thrown feet first into study again today! Class started at 8.30am, and the rain has persisted for the 5th or 6th day in a row and it's not looking like it will let up any time soon. It's ok, I kind of prefer it to the sweltering heat and humidity. The course itself is very agriculture based which I was not at all expecting. Today we touched on ethics and business, I was a bit miffed that we didn't touch on the ethics of animal testing and their use in agr...

Today was definitely a catch up day! After a lateish start, I spent a couple of hours catching up on emails and with friends, including a skype with my sister before the internet cut out :( After that, we head into the town of Tsukuba and did some shopping - grabbed some delicious lunch (seriously, I have to stop with the tempura) before getting back and skyping Kris and Nat which was really wonderful and made me terribly homesick, I'm looking forward to seeing...

Question: A good day always starts with being soaked through, right? Answer: Right! Today started with a brisk walk in torrential rain with no rain protection or an umbrella to our meeting spot, assuming the field trip would be cancelled - fun fact, t'was not! I was kindly donated a plastic poncho with the sporty 'Colour Run' printed on it, and as I pulled it over myself and my backpack I could faintly hear Katy Perry in the background with her 'do you ever fee...