My Little Mind Map (Ari)

Despite Akita’s rural situation, there are still so many places that I yearn to explore. AIU’s campus in itself is full of many hidden wonders -- I am always surprised with how many new nature trails I keep running into, and how many wild animals I have met in passing.

I met this little guy at the front door of the student center. Don't worry -- he was by no means aggressive.

A Japanese friend of mine took me here. It's a sacred natural well that neighbors a Shinto shrine. I hope to return here one day.

I have also familiarized myself with the Aeon (pronounced as “eon”) a little too well. After all, it is the easiest point to access when traveling by bus. Everything I could possibly want and need is there, so it is a good place to run errands. Sometimes, when I know that the bus that returns to campus is a ways off, I find a good spot to sit back and people watch. It’s enjoyable to observe what people are wearing, doing, saying, and buying.

So far, I have been to downtown Akita a total of two times. Every Sunday, there is a free bus that goes from the Aeon mall to the Akita train station. This train station is the heart of the my own map. Facing the. . . south, I believe? . . . is a variety of shops and restaurants, meeting a river swarmed with lotus flowers at the map’s edge. I have only driven by this river, but I long to see it and its lotuses again.

Currently, my preferred destination is a small ramen shop, no farther than a block or two from the train station. I happened upon this place purely by chance -- some former friends and I were looking for dinner before going to karaoke, and we chose this humble, inexpensive eatery. It was only until today, when I tagged along with a few Japanese friends, that I found out that this place was locally famous. I would like to visit that place at least once a week. Who knows, maybe the chefs will start to recognize me. 

Home to the best fried rice and ramen I will ever taste in my entire life.