Day 31: Semester Final Exam and Tanabata Matsuri

Breakfast:

We had yummy open faced sandwiches today:

Our Tanabata Matsuri bamboo:

We had our semester final exam today. It was long and tough, but I thought it went alright. Afterwards I tagged along to the bigger Lucky Peirrot with Nick, David, and both Michaels. (There is a small Lucky Pierrot a block from the foot of the hill HIF is on, and a much larger one a block farther than that). The view was really pretty today:

I'm not entirely sure what these are made from, but they're cheap (about $0.50), yummy, and are kind of like a chewier version of the rice candies that come in the little green and red boxes.

Lucky coffee:

Lucky egg burger:

There are little statues all over Hakodate:

I bussed home early today, and had some lavender tea (that my mom sent with me as a present for my host family) with my host mother:

I got this juice thing from a vending machine on my walk home from the bus and drank it the next day on the bus to Sapporo. It was grape flavored and pretty good, but I actually wasn't too fond of the little gel cubes and jelly goop inside.

I also got a bunch of snacks from the 7-11 in Hakodate Station while I was waiting for my bus that I tried over the next few days:

I didn't really like the bubble tea because the bubbles were kind of tiny and hard, but the mango pudding that Mary recommended was really yummy.

The natto sushi roll was actually pretty good, and the strawberry chou was good at first but quickly became way too sweet.

These dark chocolate candies were really bitter but pretty fantastic, and the two flavors of galbo mini were yummy and kind of like a cookie wafer covered in a soft, sweet, flavored coating.

More natto sushi pictures. I like that it was packaged so the seaweed didn't touch the rice and become soggy:

Dinner:

The treats my host family handed out for Tanabata Matsuri:

We hung the bamboo outside to show that we were participating and handing out treats:

My host brother really likes this series of books. They're about various influential people in history:

Tanabata Matsuri was kind of like Halloween with a bunch of little kids dressed in yukatas running around going from house to house singing the Tanabata Matsuri song and receiving treats:

Even when people weren't home and there was just a box of treats outside all the kids still sang the whole song.

たっくん taught me Hakodate's Tanabata Matsuri song's lyrics:

「竹に短冊七夕祭り、

大いに祝おう、

ろうそく一本頂戴なー」

"Take ni tanzaku tanabata matsuri,

ooi ni iwaou,

rousoku ippon choudaina"

"Tanabata matsuri strips for/on bamboo,

greatly celebrating,

give me a candle."

(very, very roughly translated)

Afterwards, my host mom and I sorted the treats that my host brothers got. We drank cans of Calpis while doing this. It's kind of like a sports drink.

Their treats:

(Note: They got fireworks too)