My work days are crazy: I leave the house at 6:10 am and rarely come back before 8:30 pm, sometimes 9:00 pm. Then I take a shower, maybe go to the supermarket or do laundry. Then I cook some dinner and the bento for the next morning, and it has never happened that I ate before 10 pm. After that I prepare everything for the next day, so I have a smooth start in the morning. I have already a routine and feel at home in my new life although it hasn’t even been a week since I set foot on Japanese soil.

The working days are long, (some) people in the company are very strict, but the work is good. People walk by, stop and say hello, ask where I am from, etc… So many people say: Gokuro-sama desu. This is one way to say: Thank you for your hard work. I think there should be a phrase for it in German or English.

This is the best part:
When I dug out some mushrooms that were growing in the precious moss in the garden of the Hojo (Main Hall) today, this is the view I had when I looked up:

Behind the scenes shot from the garden of Kodai-ji’s Hojo.