HELLO!!!!  Today was a fabulous day here in Hikone! It was the first mostly warm day, so Kristen, Dawson, Paul and I decided to go on an adventure and walk around Hikone!  We walked along the lake for a while and saw a Shinto Shrine (the first picture).  Then we saw the Castle (second picture) and decided that we wanted to walk towards it.  We found Castle road, which had a bunch of really cool shops, and decided we wanted to take a look around.  We found this little pastry shop that had the best deserts EVER and it was really cheap! I also got a really pretty wall hanger that wishes good luck with studying, and I'm hoping it really works!  On our way back, we took a different route, towards Shiga University, and found a Buddhist Temple (the last picture). We all love it here so much and are having so much fun!  Oh, and today we got asked to take a picture with a group of Japanese people.  They were so nice and so excited to see us! 

There is never a dull moment here in Hikone.  I've met so many nice people, and have seen and been to so many cool places.  Classes start on Tuesday, so we are dedicating Monday to studying and reviewing.  I'm looking forward to starting classes, especially because now that I am here, I want to try as hard as possible to break the language barrier and learn as much about the language and culture as possible.  

Welp, time to go make dinner!  Konban wa!!