日本の秋 ーーー ハロウィーン・紅葉 etc

It’s autumn! I’m really happy because autumn is one of my favourite seasons. Although the typhoon came over the weekend, I explored some more of Inokashira Park and I keep being surprised by how beautiful it is! I also found this small cute place that served really delicious udon and hot soupy udon feels so great to eat in cold rainy weather. I know Halloween is coming up really soon too and I hear there’s a big celebration in Shibuya, which is interesting because I haven’t really celebrated Halloween before! It’s not as big of a holiday in New Zealand as it is in America. It’s funny because in New Zealand, Halloween always happens during spring time, so this is the first time the feel of Halloween matches up with the season and atmosphere! Also, now that it’s autumn, I’m really looking forward to seeing all the beautiful autumnal colours throughout the different places in Tokyo. Tomorrow, I’m planning on going along with some friends to Hakone so I’m really looking forward to that; the venetian glass museum sounds so beautiful! Another friend and I are planning on going to Nikko soon which I’m really excited about too! I’m glad there are so many places filled with nature in Japan. The diversity between the urban city environments and the quieter, less busy places is truly amazing.

華道部の活動

On Monday this week, I had the opportunity to visit Ikebana Club! I was so interested in seeing what it would be like because I have never done flower arranging before, and we don’t really have anything similar in New Zealand. It turns out you need a lot of patience and attention to detail for it! It was so cool to see the pile of leaves and flowers coming together beautifully while trying to follow the right angles and positioning. Since it was only my first time doing it, I wasn’t that good, but it was pretty amazing to see the students’ arrangements and all the things they’ve learned to do with the flowers over time! Namiki sensei’s arrangement was beautiful too! I also read up a little bit on the history and meaning of flower arrangement and I thought it was really great how the arrangements are a reflection of your personality. I had a lot of fun meeting everyone in Ikebana Club and I hope I can visit more clubs soon and learn more about the students and what they like to do. I’m especially interested in learning more about dance club!