Ok so Japan could easily be black and white and explain the rules about how to behave around monkeys at Miyajima. But it wouldn't be Japan if we didn't have some kind of cartoon to show us, and some funny subtle ways of explaining them. If you can't read the sign you could just see by the digrams that the monkeys are crazy and if you stare at them, horrible things could happen! or perhaps if you feed them they will get really fat and show you their bum? hmmmmmmm Another reason why i love Japan! Even the most boring things such as a sign about behaviour can still be really amusing!

 
This sign was on the door of the luggage room in a hostel in Hiroshima! Just incase you felt like taking someone elses luggage today instead of your own, there is a sign to remind you not to! In other words... ''Don't steal other people's stuff!'' ?

Ok is this really neccessary? lol i mean yes, if you jump over the fence and jump into the creek / river, a few things could happen. There is a slight chance there could be some rubbish ('trash' for the Americans lol) along the bottom, but probably unlikely considering how clean Japan is, i really couldn't imagine seeing a Japanese person toss their rubbish into the river. And there is also a possibility that one could slip on a rock, i'm not sure a bout the death eyes though, could you really die from slipping on a rock in the creek? And then there is the strange looking animal coming out of the water. I didn't realsie Japan had scary swamp mammals in their creeks. I guess it does it's job, you would have to be an idiot to go into the creek when all those horrible things could happen! But i also thought it was common sense anyway! I guess 'only in Japan' :)

Ok so i really shouldn't complain that Japan doesn't accommodate for foreigners in regards to clothing or shoe sizes! When there is Japanese people as small as this couple, why would Japan need produce a size 9 in shoe (26, japan size) ? Or sweat pants (trackies in Aussie slang lol) that fit someone as tall as 6ft? Now i understand! :)

Ok so here is the sign for the women only boarding point on most trains in Japan. How CRAZY! I would never see this in Australia! if there was 'women only' carriages it would probably still be inhabited by men! Im sure most girls have at some point felt uncomfortable on a train with men, but to actually accomodate for that is really interesting!

My roommate showed me this video, sooo funny, what a great way to wake up in the morning! please watch!!                       

Ok so here is something i found very suprising! An ALCOHOL vending machine...that is out the front of an Alcohol Store! So just incase you can't be bothered going into the store to buy some booze you can just get it from a machine out the front of the store! But its not only the location that is strange, at night time the only people that use it are us foreign students!
If that vending machine was anywhere in Australia it would either be 1. Out of order because someone broke it and stole all the alcohol out of it, or 2. Be surrounded by drunk, rediculously underage kids buying more cans until the machine runs out of cans !!!
But i guess in Japan the kids are very obediant and understand the concept of obeying the law!!

Well what a journey it has been, after 4 weeks of intense sightseeing and crazy partying in europe, visiting barcelona, ibiza, madrid, san sebastian, paris, amsterdam, berlin, prague and rome i have surprisingly arrived safely at my final destination...JAPAN!!!
It took a while to catch upon the large amount of missed sleep, having slept 15 straight the first night i arrived, i have settled in and would just about call Japan home for now.
I mean i'm in my element... all of my favourite food, (and super cheap!) lots of japanese people to practice the language with, lots of new friends from all over the world, a FREE gym on campus and cheap shopping, although i never thought trying to find a normal size pair of shoes could be so difficult, since when do i need X X X L size anything? makes me almost not want to make that purchase!
Although there has been some adjusting to do, coming from living in a 1 bedroom apartment with a boyfriend right in the city and spending a few days here and there in my hometown, 10 minutes away from heaps of surf beaches in a nice quite country town, called wonthaggi, to living in a dorm style accomodation with a massive shared kitchen, lounge area, bathroom, and 1 bedroom shared with 1 other girl, has been very different. Although i am blessed to have a roommate that is super cool, friendly and always excersises - great motivation to get back to the gym and work off all those takoyaki (deep fried octopus dough balls things that taste way too good!).
Even sleeping on the floor has been a different experience but yes the futons are really comfortable! The weather conditions have been difficult to adjust to as well. After being in Japan for only 1 day, i instantly broke out in a horrendous heat rash, and then i was attacked by mosquitos, followed by some strange bug type insect that left small clusters of little really itchy red bites...everywhere! But luckily after 2 weeks they are slowly clearing up! The fact that the weather is cooling down probably helped with the heat rash, although it is a different type of heat here. It is really humid, like you can't breathe because it's so muggy, you have a shower but you are never really dry afterwards because of the moisture in the air! luckily though we have only had a few days like that! Back at home, Melbourne, Australia, the heat is so different, in summer its hot but not muggy hot, just really dry, and when laying on the beach you can literally feel the sun burning your skin, almost as if you could put a snag on your skin and it would sizzle!! So very gelous it is becoming summer now! while my thong tan (flip flop tan to the Americans lol) is slowly fading, everyone at home is building a nice solid tan for what will be a very hot summer! 
So the next big thing...i purchased a bike! Having not riden a bike in over 10 years, apart from the bike tour i done in paris after free wine on a cruise along the sienne river, making it very easy, and fun to ride around and see the sights lol, it was quite daunting. Especially when there are random poles in the middle of the foot path that suddenly appear last minute giving the breakes a great workout.
But what is even more amusing is the fact that there are grandmas riding bikes that easily look to be around 98 years old! they are all just so mobile! I would never ever see a grandma riding a bike back in Australia, our grandmas all use the motorised scooters and ride them on the footpath at dangerous speeds, those lazy daredevils! lol But it has just been so convenient! it takes half the time to travel places, when there is a down hill you just cruise along using no effort at all! seriously why dont more people ride bikes in Australia! And it strangley enough has given me another form of independency.
I have my own key to the bike, just as i would with a car, i need to look for a park, to park the bike, i then remove the key which locks the bike, as i walk away, i check to see if i have parked straight, and take note of the location in which i have parked it and place my key in my handbag. I basically have the responsiblity of owning my own car! I even had to register it, and get a parking permit to park it out the front of our accomodation! And wait...there is more! we also have to follow the road rules...that is, no drink driving! being caught under the influence of alcohol while behind the wheel is a serious offence and it is possible to be put in jail for it!
Although it seems crazy, i completely see the sense behind it, yesterday i casually rode to the supermarket to get some hangover food, after all you can drink on saturday night in Osaka (a story for another time!) and i almost fell sleep at the wheel, not to mention the fact i was wobbling all over the footpath and couldn't seem to ride straight even concentrating really hard! So Rules, keys, parking, and registration...about the closest i will probably ever get to actually understand (to some extent) what it is like to have the responsibility of being a proud car owner! 

  So thats about most of the excitingly new cultural experiences for now, i guess tune in next time for more in the life of Kymberly Semmens...in Japan!! I know there will be much more to come! ja ma ta ne !