Back After the Silence

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. The best way to make up for that is to post right now.
I made a second trip to Akihabara and hunted intensively for a Nintendo DS. I ended up getting one (used) for about 12300 yen - which, combined with the train fare, added up to nothing by way of savings. But, I did get a Japanese copy of Pokemon Diamond and the famous kanji dictionary. (Don't know about this dictionary? It's a cartridge you plug into your Nintendo DS that allows you to write kanji on the touch screen in order to look them up. It does a decent job of recognizing the Japanese characters, although its recognition of English letters is atrocious. It's sorta cool.)
I have also discovered two used game stores. One was, well, a store, while the other was awesome. The latter is called "Super Potato," and it lures you in with a looping Super Mario theme. It has multiple floors of retro games, retro game console emulators, and even Game & Watch systems. (I almost bought a Game & Watch system, but they were expensive.) On top of all that, there was memorabilia, of which I bought a stuffed power-up mushroom. (I'm such a geek.)
This past weekend I planned on going to the Shibuya/Aoyama/Harajuku area, but the plan, for the most part, failed miserably. In the end, though, I did get to browse some antique shops in Aoyama. I bought an old miniature mask from one of them; another shop displayed old Japanese currency, but was auctioning it online. In any case, I plan to try visiting the area again this weekend, for a number of reasons which shall be revealed in the next post.
Then there was today. Today is the autumnal equinox, which merits a school holiday in Japan. Consequently, I had the opportunity to go to the Asakusa shrine area. A bit of background: the whole complex focuses on the bodhisattva Kannon, who is known for her mercy. (A bodhisattva is essentially a person who has attained enlightenment, but chooses to remain on earth in order to help others gain enlightenment.) The story goes that two fishermen found a statue of her in a river, and their village chief enshrined her in what became the temple complex. (The souls of those three people have been enshrined as well.)
As the word "complex" implies, there were many buildings to look at, ranging from the main hall to smaller temples. There were three gates to look at, one of which was the famous Thunder God Gate. This gate has a giant paper lantern hanging from it, and inside the sides of it are statues of the Thunder God and the Wind God. There was also a lovely little garden with multiple bridges over a stream containing koi. I even got to see what I believe was a man chanting a sutra. There was plenty of other worshiping to observe, too, ranging from rubbing a statue of Buddha to throwing coins into a collection and praying.
Unfortunately, many of the buildings are not the originals. Apart from various disasters, the Second World War led to the bombing of many of the buildings, save a few. A lot of what one sees now is made from concrete, but still looks fabulous.
There was a road leading to the temple which was lined with souvenir shops. Many different tourist-y things were offered, including swords, ninja stars, kimonos, fans, statuettes, toys, and more. I bought a paper lantern and two rubbery action figures, Godzilla and Gamera (another Japanese movie monster). I also bought an image of the bodhisattva in the temple.
Afterwards, I went to the Kappabashi area. This is a place where restaurateurs can stock up on supplies. Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed at the hour I was there, but I did manage to pick up what I was after: plastic food (like the stuff you see in store windows). I got a bunch of sushi fridge magnets. I could have done without the magnets, but oh, well.
As to my school life, I am now participating in the samba group and in the Model United Nations (ICUMUN). I'm not officially in the samba group, since I'm only here for the semester; I am most certainly participating in ICUMUN. (By the way, our topic is Climate Change and a midterm carbon emissions goal; my country is Venezuela. Fun fun.) The Early Music Society Concert is tomorrow, so we'll see how I get associated with them.
Sorry for the long post. The next one (hopefully to be written this weekend) should be shorter.