I was talking with a friend who is from Germany and here on a working holiday visa. Her year is almost over and so I asked if she planned on staying for longer. She said that she had indeed planned on staying as she had fallen in love with Australia and was contacting farms already. I was confused as to what farms had to do with her wanting to stay but she informed of the process of renewing a visa in Australia:

A recent trip to Hikone (彦根市) and Kanazawa (金沢市) started off with rising early (much earlier than I even wake up for school) and meeting up with my friends at Nagoya Station (名古屋駅). After a semi-long bus ride, we found ourselves at Hikone Castle (彦根城). The entire castle and grounds were really beautiful. We even got a chance to see a small performance from the cute Hikone Castle mascot, Hikonyan (ひこにゃん). After exploring the castle, a friend and I decided to have lunch at a small takoyaki shop (たこ焼き屋).