Weight lifting

I have been to three gyms in Hirakata-shi and found out that weight lifting is not as big here as in America. Exercise is big, but not weight lifting. These are some pictures of the equipment in one of the Kansai Gaidai school gyms. Machine exercise is the most popular because of a few reasons.
The first reason is that machines are safer than free weights. People can go to the gym by themselves and not need to be spotted by a second person. It eliminates the risk of having the risk of the weights being to heavy for a person to hold and them falling unto them and injuring them.
The second reason I found out is that in the facilities
around here people are for the most part beginners in the gym. I have been in the gym working out and watched people doing there exercises with free weights. They do things that are risky to their bodies and may in the future cause serious injury. This is a good reason to eliminate the problem of safety by using mostly machines.
The third reason is for the trainers. This is so the trainers can keep watch over the people lifting and make sure it is not too heavy for them and if it is they can quickly change the amount of pressure to ensure safety.
I have seen three types of machine with the options of how to switch the weights. The first and oldest here is the actual weight with a bar pushed through to choose how much you lift. The second is a dial with six options of pressure. Finally the third is pressure gauge with controls on the floor that you can press with your foot to change it.

Safety fence with reason!

This is a picture of the fence around the Seminar House I live in. What gets me is that there are metal spikes on top of the fence that look like they would completely shred anybody that tried to cross over them. When I first saw them I was curious of what was trying to be kept out. It turns out that some men around the Seminar Houses follow the women to the Dorms and try to attack them. I talked to a few Japanese lady friends and they told me about some encounters they have had with men in the Hirakata shi area. One was grabbed from behind and attacked by a man that held her around the throat with his arm and started to try and touch her sexually, but luckily she was able to make enough noise to get neigbors outside and call the police. She got away unharmed physically but is still hurt emotionally.

Even now (February 26th) there is a man around the neihborhood of the Seminar Houses that a few days ago was flashing some of the foreign students. The man has not been caught and could do it again. A few months ago there was another man that was flashing the students of Kansai Gaidai. One time the gate was left open and a male passerby found it unlocked and tried to get in the dorms and look for women. To me it seems the spikes on the fence probably do prevent some men from entering the premisis. I am glad the spikes are there and I hope they continue to prevent injury to the students.

Jinja

This is the closest Shrine to the dorm I live in. I find this shrine so interesting because of the things in the shrine. This shrine has become a park as well as a place of worship. This to me says a lot about Japan. By putting the swings and slide in they made this place more enticing to others as well. Now kids will want to go and pay here while maybe there parents pray or do something. I have only seen 20 or so people in this park and most of them being kids using the swing and slide.

I look at this and think of all of Japan though and how it is really holding traditional values and modernizing at the same time. It also makes me wonder though if they could change this place into a park, would they do that to all of them and would that change the actual people that live in this neighborhood?

Kurumazuka park.

This is Kurumazuka park, located behind Hirakata Central Library. Kurumazuka park is a very popular park and visited by people everyday even if the weather is bad. The park is great for visitors! It has a track that goes around the park and is 450 meters long and marked at every 50 meters. This makes it easy to monitor how far you have walked and there is a clock to keep time of how long you have been there. Along with the track there are various things for helping people to exercise and keep fit with signs explaining how to use them. There is also a place to stand that pokes into your feet to relieve pressure and ease tension. I find this very interesting because there are so many Parks where I am from but I have never seen a park so dedicated to the health of people. When I come here and see the people I think of how much Japan is concerned about health. All day long you can see people in this park either walking, jogging, playing soccer, or there to relax and talk with friends.

Along with being a good place for exercise this park is well known for its benches next to the beer vending machine. The park is conveniently located right next to all four Kansai Gaidai Seminar Houses, where of course drinking is not allowed. The parks second name known by the students of Kansai Gaidai is "The Beer Park". Just about every night you can walk by the park and find a few students there taking a break from a long day of school or maybe just wanting to get drunk.

If you are ever in the neighborhood you may want to stop by there is also a restaurant called Cafe De Raffiene with a viking style lunch (all you can eat for 90 mintues) for around 1200 yen (about 12 American Dollars). I am told by one of the employees that the food is delicious and 1200 yen for all you can eat seems to be a good price.

Sandoru- The well priced meal that fills

This is the local restaurant that I go to often in my Hirakata-shi neighborhood. The restaurant`s name is Sandoru and it is a great place to eat for a very good price. The meals are mostly 500 yen, which is about 5 American Dollars. The size of the meals here are bigger than most of the restaurants I have been to in Japan for the cheap price. The type of meals here are teishoku, which is set meals. Sandoru is not a very big place but you are always able to find a seat. It is mostly visited by the students from Kansai Gaidai University, but there are often others that visit there. From what I have noticed it is always the same two people working there, which is a nice lady and her husband. The lady is the one that takes the orders and the husband cooks. The service here is pretty good. I think the average time for people to enter, eat and be on their way is about 20-30 minutes. Sandoru shares a building with apartment so it is not always possible to park your bike in the covered bike parking area, but you can still park right in front or across the street. Sandoru is not the most healthy place to eat, but it is delicious, close, and cheap. You should try it! From the Kansai Gaidai Seminar Houses 1, 2, and 3 it is up the street until the road T's and you take a right. It is the building right after the Kusuri(Medicine store).

Working together with courtesy.

This picture was taken in Fukui on one of the early days of my arrival to Japan. I noticed instantly the size difference in cars and roads. Roads in Japan are very narrow, which the reasons were obvious to me( very limited space). I was happy to see that people were very mindful of other drivers. By this I mean that when the parts of the road were very narrow and it was hard to pass someone would pull as far over as possible and stop to make it easier for the other driver to pass. Bikers on the roads here also get a lot more courtesy and space.

This is one of the first days I was in Japan. This picture is taken in Kyoto of the Aoi Festival on the road that goes around the Imperial Palace. I was surprised that instead of shutting off the road and rerouting traffic cones were set up and traffic directors worked to keep the flow going. People still gathered and took pictures and watched the parade and there were no accidents at all. Two things stuck out to me from this- Being Respectful and Public Order. Nobody showed anger or honked because they were being delayed. People just accepted what was happening and dealt with it like mature adults