Usual

Usual Friday (with 1 class, and playing basketball) except...

I had something that tasted like squid.  Frozen dinner.  Ate them with rice of course, and side veggies.

Basketball was very exhausting today.  Usually we'd do two games, maybe one game up to 20 points, the next game up to 10 points (total of 30 points).  Or three games, usually one game up to 15, the next up to 10 each (total of 35 points).  But today we did two games, one up to 30 points, the next up to 10 points.  Very tired now.  Anyways, my teammate and I won the first game.  But the 2nd game mattered more, because 140 yen was on the line for each of us (140 yen being the cost of one 500 mL PET bottle of Pocari Sweat, one of my favorite Japanese drinks, which I find more thirst quenching than Gatorade!).  Unfortunately I was so tired already, and we lost.  

Have to sleep early tonight because tomorrow I have to be up early, we're going to this TPU-organized trip to Hakone for the foreigner students.  We're leaving from Hon-Atsugi station at 9am.  So, I have to take the 8:30am bus at the latest.  The bus ride is 20 minutes, plus there's some walking, and of course a little bit of waiting, and contingency.  But I have to be ready to go by 8am, ideally.  Now my problem is, my normal getting-up time here is 9am!  Yikes!

Anyways, Hakone is famous for...  its "onsens" - hot spring public baths with everyone in the nude - men separate from women, of course (I don't plan on going to one, not in Japan, or other nude-only places)...  for Lake Ashi(noko)...  There's a cable ride called "Hakone Ropeway" that goes down from one of the hills/mountains there...  and depending on where you are and the weather, you might have good views of Mt Fuji!  There's also I think one famous shrine/temple (there's a difference).  And more.  But nature is more of the attraction at Hakone.  We only have one major activity on the intinerary tomorrow: to learn how to make traditional Japanese pottery!  (Actually we'll be making some traditional Japanese coasters.)  I don't know what else we can and will do tomorrow.  We'll see.  But first things first, I have to wake up early!  

Until then...