So yesterday I met up with my friend from my old school. She spent a year in Australia on a language exchange. But unlike before she moved to Hokkaido for school, we spoke basically in Japanese all day haha. First at around noon my friend and her mother picked me up and we went for "Japanese style" spaghetti. I had carbonara but to make is Japanese style there was a raw egg on top. We also ate it with chopsticks which was a first for me haha. After we finished eating, my friends mom dropped us at the station so we could go to Ikebukuro to go shopping. We did a lot of shopping and I finished up my omiyage shopping. I really missed hanging out with my friend! We took some purikura and go to the book store before going home. She is going to come meet me tomorrow at the airport with a few other friends from my old school. I'm excited!
Anyway, I got home and was told that I had to get a shower because it was Obon. Obon is a celebration of the dead and it usually lasts a few days. I'm not really sure on the details but it was fun. We went to my host-grandmother's house and we lit incense and prayed for the spirits to come back next year. From the in-home shrine we carried a lit lantern through the side door (the spirits cannot use the front door) and we walked towards the graveyard. My host father had a eggplant and a cucumber with sticks in it so that it resembled a cow. I'm told that when the spirits go back to where they come from they ride horses and this is supposed to represent it. I was also told that at the beginning of Obon, people wantthe spirits to come quickly and when they leave the ride the cow to go back slowly and at their own pace. It was really interesting. We got to the graveyard and lit more incense and prayed some more. It was a first and even though I didn't understand a lot of it, I enjoyed the ritual.
So today is my last full day in Japan, and I have mixed feelings. I'll write again tonight.
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