So, I suppose I'm supposed to write all these wonderful things about my first impression on Japan on how it's so different than my home country. How it's so clean, ancient, and how everyone is so nice and wonderful.  Well being here for quite a decent amount of time I suppose it's kind of hard to remember the first impression I had of Japan.

I have never written a blog before, nor have I ever really been interested in writing one.  However I could make a guess that blogs are made for other people to read, look at and learn from.  So I figured I would base my first post on something that would be a little different than what other foreign exchange students from Kansai Gaidai are used to, or what they have been up to during their first month or so in Osaka.   Also I participated in something that I personally have never done before, therefore it could be considered my "first impression" of a certain part of Japan. 

This entire week it felt, especially today that I just had too much stress built up.  With the semester well on its way, and a combination of personal things I felt like a had to go on an adventure.   I ended up getting out of class in the early afternoon and the weather seemed right I decided I would go to Kyobashi.  I felt as though the destination for this adventure was a good choice so I decided to pack up my backpack and head down to Hirakata station.  However I had no intention on getting on a train.  I had a good plan of finding my way down there on my bike.  I was a little nervous at first considering I have never taken this route and also I was riding on a broken bike.  But of course it all worked out the same.  Thanks to the running club I had known about the Yodogawa trail that follows the Yodo river and leads from Kyoto to Osaka and luckily for me there is a nice entrance to it behind Hirakata Station.   

I entered the trail and enjoyed the entire ride.  It’s amazing how quiet the trail is compared to the roads above and the city around it.  I passed people walking their dogs, cycling on their bikes and running what seemed to be miles.  I passed people smoking cigarrets while fishing in the river, and old ladies gossiping together while their grandchildren played together in the grass.  My personal favorite part was passing the little homeless people village that was set up in a little clearing in a thicket next to the river.  There were tents, bicycles and clothes hanging to dry surrounded by little fences of tarp.  It was quite an amazing sight.  Right around Kyobashi I realized that the sun was starting to set so I decided to turn around and head back.  I arrived back in Hirakata just as the sun was fully set.  The entire ride took around three hours, however it was an incredibly good time.   I personally felt as though I saw a part of Japan that not many people have seen before, and I plan on doing it again sometime in the near future.