It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas

This weekend flew by. I didn’t really do anything special, but it was nice to stay in the area. On Friday, I went to Kobe to pick up my new electronic dictionary (yay!) and met some friends in Sannomiya (the main area of the city). ]
Ikuta Shrine and Kobe Luminarie
I am by no means an expert on Japan yet, and there is a lot I have to see, but I go to Kobe a lot and was previously pretty confident that I knew the city well. Until my friends and I decided to walk to the city mosque (in search of good middle eastern food) and subsequently passed through the Ikuta Shrine. How I have thus far failed to visit this immaculate structure, one of the oldest shrines in Japan and quite centrally locally located, I have no idea. Set in an urban neighborhood, the white and orange-colored classic design is peacefully surrounded by lanterns and a backdrop of a small pine forest. I need time to go back and explore in detail, but I have pegged it my new escape from the energy of the city (if I ever need it).
While the city is usually pretty calm, it is just so crowded this time of year; worthy of Toyko. I think the crowds are just people coming into the city for the holidays, but I know the Luminarie has a lot to do with it.
The Kobe Luminarie is a massive light festival that was founded in 1995 to raise moral after the Hanshin Earthquake destroyed the city. It consists of massive structures (mostly paths of gateways) decked with thousands of sparkling Christmas lights. They play classical music over loudspeakers, almost giving the scene an angelic quality. Actually, if it weren’t so chilly these days, I could see one of the large corridors as an interpretation of the pearly gates in some movie. The eve takes place in a park in the city of the city, and the whole area is surrounded by food stands.
After dinner my friends and I walked around the structures, enjoying the atmosphere and taking some pictures with the hoards of smiling tourists, although we didn’t make it to everything. Learned the hard way that everything (light, music, the whole shebang!) shuts down promptly at 10pm. Nonetheless, it was great fun. A very peaceful experience and definitely in the holiday spirit (a reminder I appreciate with the complete lack of snow here).
Marathon Update
Takiko and I went for our first slightly longer run. We did an hour and a half this time. I like running by time rather than distance, and it truly does help to have a friend instead of music. Takiko is really nice and I like talking to her anyways, so it makes the time fly. I needed to keep working if we are going to do the 3 hour trip to downtown Akashi and back next month, but I am now determined. With Thailand only a week away, I think my biggest obstacle will be keeping up the routine when on vacation. Running is a great way to explore, though (presuming I can get myself out of bed to go) and it would be a great workout (and a gorgeous view) if I can run on the beach.

Pictures of IkutaJinga (Shrine): http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/kobe/ikutajingaindex.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikuta_Shrine
Hanshin Earthquake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_earthquake
Kobe Luminarie: http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/