Hello all, it's been a while. These past few days I haven't done anything of particular note. I've gone to cafes a couple times to study with Nobuko, had lunch with Rie, Maki-sensei, and Min Jeong, and went out to Shibuya with Aya, but there hasn't been any sightseeing or anything lately.
I did make a strange observation when I was grocery shopping after work yesterday, though. I took a class on Caribbean literature last year and we spent a period talking about the economy, bananas in particular. (You know that 'daylight come and me wan' go home' song? Not so happy.) So basically Chiquita has taken over the banana market, effectively destroying that market in the Caribbean. (And how that leads to a bad economy and things like importing dry milk instead of buying regular domestic milk, selling off the cows and things like that. It's amazing how well banana growers know about the world economy, put me to shame. Anyway...) I knew that last year when I bought bananas and actually felt kind of bad about them being so cheap and everything. So, how is this related to Japan? When I was in the Seibu store I was going to buy apples, but they costed 100 yen EACH (about a dollar). So I look around again to see if there's anything else I might want. 2 oranges are 250 yen. And then there it is, nice yellow bananas. 5 for 97 yen. I was excited for about 20 seconds, then I looked at the sticker and of course, it's Chiquita and I feel bad again, but buy them anyway. Isn't that messed up? I'm conflicted about bananas.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
靖国神社＆新宿！
On Friday, I met up with an old classmate from UCI who's teaching English in Akita. He came to Tokyo, so we spent a few hours walking and subway-ing around. We stopped at Iidabashi (where I spent summer going to my Japanese intensive class) and visited Yasukuni Shrine.
Yasukuni Shrine is the controversial shrine dedicated to the soldiers who died in World War II. (Remember a few years back when the prime minister got crap for going there?) It was much more...regal looking than I expected. There's a museum right next to it that has relics and things from that time period. I only went on the first floor though, since the rest of it required a ticket to get in. Overall, it kind of gave me the creeps. Usually Nick and I both go throw money and pray at shrines, but decided not to at this one. Here's a picture of the statue for mothers, who took care of everything while the men were out at war.
It's pretty 'fancy' leading up to the actual shrine since it has statues and things in front of it. The lighting was horrible because of the placement of the sun, so a lot of my picturs are backlit, but hey, what can you do? Anyway, there were also a bunch of statues that I couldn't read, so I'm not sure I got a full understanding of everything there, but there was a Kiwani's fountain that I thought was odd. Tokyo is the first place to have an international Kiwani's Club, apparently, though I'm not sure why they chose to add to all the memorial type things in the Yasukuni Shrine precinct. It looked neat though.
And being the Tokyoites that we are, we met up with friends later that night to go to Shinjuku. (Oh, Kabuki-cho...>_<) We had some awesome Thai food that was nice and spicy, then made our way over to Ikkyu, which is apparently the cheapest drinking establishment in Tokyo. (Don't worry, no one got plastered.) We closed off the night with an hour of karaoke, which was amazing since they had my current favorite song, Heart Station that came out only 3 days before. I made it back just in time to catch the last train home. ^_^
For more pictures, check my Flickr.
Yasukuni Shrine is the controversial shrine dedicated to the soldiers who died in World War II. (Remember a few years back when the prime minister got crap for going there?) It was much more...regal looking than I expected. There's a museum right next to it that has relics and things from that time period. I only went on the first floor though, since the rest of it required a ticket to get in. Overall, it kind of gave me the creeps. Usually Nick and I both go throw money and pray at shrines, but decided not to at this one. Here's a picture of the statue for mothers, who took care of everything while the men were out at war.
It's pretty 'fancy' leading up to the actual shrine since it has statues and things in front of it. The lighting was horrible because of the placement of the sun, so a lot of my picturs are backlit, but hey, what can you do? Anyway, there were also a bunch of statues that I couldn't read, so I'm not sure I got a full understanding of everything there, but there was a Kiwani's fountain that I thought was odd. Tokyo is the first place to have an international Kiwani's Club, apparently, though I'm not sure why they chose to add to all the memorial type things in the Yasukuni Shrine precinct. It looked neat though.
And being the Tokyoites that we are, we met up with friends later that night to go to Shinjuku. (Oh, Kabuki-cho...>_<) We had some awesome Thai food that was nice and spicy, then made our way over to Ikkyu, which is apparently the cheapest drinking establishment in Tokyo. (Don't worry, no one got plastered.) We closed off the night with an hour of karaoke, which was amazing since they had my current favorite song, Heart Station that came out only 3 days before. I made it back just in time to catch the last train home. ^_^
For more pictures, check my Flickr.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
台場
Yesterday, I went to Kameido and Odaiba. =)
It's been a while since I've been back to Kameido, but it's nice since I know my way around; I'm very comfortable there. Before meeting up with Nobuko and David (who is currently visiting from Kyoto), I walked around the shops, drank some coffee, and stopped by Book-Off to get another book. This one seems easier than 星の王子様.
I forgot how expensive it is to go to Daiba. Since you have to take the sky train it's a little more expensive than just taking the regular train or subway. Anyway, David treated us to a great Indian dinner. (Naan and curry!!) We also did a bit of shopping. 2 sweaters for 1000 yen...that's ridiculous! XD Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower look really pretty at night since they're all lit up, but I still think Rainbow Bridge isn't colorful enough to be called that. =X
Inside DECKS in Odaiba Park, there's a shopping street that's completely retro. It's decorated as if it's a school (check out the 'cafeteria'), and there's even a restaurant that's cafeteria style, complete with desks. Walking around the shops there was really fun since it has a bunch of character and joke goods. My favorite were the candy shops since they had all the retro candies I like. Botan Rice Candy, fortune candies (the little colored circles), sour powder, whistle candy, neba-neba (sticky) candy...yum! Nobuko got her portrait drawn by one of those little booth people, which I think is a little gimmicky (you know, like the ones at state fairs and stuff), but I guess they aren't that common here. Lastly, we stopped for a couple of drinks, and finally made our way home, just a few trains before the last one. ^^ Overall, a good time. David's not too crazy about Tokyo in comparison to Kyoto, so hopefully he had fun too.
It's been a while since I've been back to Kameido, but it's nice since I know my way around; I'm very comfortable there. Before meeting up with Nobuko and David (who is currently visiting from Kyoto), I walked around the shops, drank some coffee, and stopped by Book-Off to get another book. This one seems easier than 星の王子様.
I forgot how expensive it is to go to Daiba. Since you have to take the sky train it's a little more expensive than just taking the regular train or subway. Anyway, David treated us to a great Indian dinner. (Naan and curry!!) We also did a bit of shopping. 2 sweaters for 1000 yen...that's ridiculous! XD Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower look really pretty at night since they're all lit up, but I still think Rainbow Bridge isn't colorful enough to be called that. =X
Inside DECKS in Odaiba Park, there's a shopping street that's completely retro. It's decorated as if it's a school (check out the 'cafeteria'), and there's even a restaurant that's cafeteria style, complete with desks. Walking around the shops there was really fun since it has a bunch of character and joke goods. My favorite were the candy shops since they had all the retro candies I like. Botan Rice Candy, fortune candies (the little colored circles), sour powder, whistle candy, neba-neba (sticky) candy...yum! Nobuko got her portrait drawn by one of those little booth people, which I think is a little gimmicky (you know, like the ones at state fairs and stuff), but I guess they aren't that common here. Lastly, we stopped for a couple of drinks, and finally made our way home, just a few trains before the last one. ^^ Overall, a good time. David's not too crazy about Tokyo in comparison to Kyoto, so hopefully he had fun too.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Lethargic and watching TV
I feel very lethargic lately, and I thought 21 was going to be really exciting. I think part of it is because it's still so cold and I'm getting tired of it. I don't like going outside anymore, which is really unavoidable if I want to go anywhere. >.< haha.
I spent a bunch of time yesterday waiting for a plumber to come to clean out my drain since I couldn't reach what was blocking it. That was awkward. It was really confusing for me to find a plumber, so I had to call Nobuko and she helped me to find someone and have them stop by. The plumber probably thought I was stupid for not being able to clear out the drain, but it's okay. I thought he was stupid when he was confirming my credit card. It has an MTV image on it, so when the guy on the other end of his phone asked what kind of card it was he said "MTV....oh, wait...maybe it's Citi," and was a bit confused for a minute. XD
I just got a little distracted by the tv, but just a random thing I noticed (since 3 Korean artists will be on Music Japan next time, according to the announcer lady). There are an insane number of Korean artists trying to make it in Japan. It's ridiculous. Besides BoA, who I think is fine since she actually knows Japanese, I always see things for 東方神起 (TVXQ, 동방신기, whatever their name is...), John Hoon, SS501, Rain and more recently, Big Bang and SG Wannabe. But particularly 東方神起. They've been in the front of Shibuya's HMV and Tower Records, on the posters at the Shibuya crosswalk, on the register screen at Lawson's, in the Edwin store and their ads, on television, in magazines, and in other people's songs (i.e. Koda Kumi). But it isn't really that they're Korean, it's that they can't speak Japanese. It doesn't really make sense. Big Bang's first Japanese release is in English. I don't really understand why they'd try to cross over, except for money, but I don't think the Kanryu going to stay that strong...maybe it is, but it's crazy how many Korean artists are popping up everywhere.
Anyway, Hikki's new album will be out next month, which is really what I'm looking forward to. =D
Okay, so I'm still watching NHK, and according to the international news, 南大門 (남대문, I'm not sure how to spell it in English...Namdaemun or Nandaimon?) in Seoul was burned down by someone. It's supposed to be one of Korea's national treasures that I actually wanted to go see next month. That sucks. ...And what's going on in China? I don't really understand what they're saying, all I know is that there's a lot of snow (some kind of snow disaster), food prices are going up, people have died, and they can't ride trains. o_O Time to do some googling.
Off to make curry for dinner~!
I spent a bunch of time yesterday waiting for a plumber to come to clean out my drain since I couldn't reach what was blocking it. That was awkward. It was really confusing for me to find a plumber, so I had to call Nobuko and she helped me to find someone and have them stop by. The plumber probably thought I was stupid for not being able to clear out the drain, but it's okay. I thought he was stupid when he was confirming my credit card. It has an MTV image on it, so when the guy on the other end of his phone asked what kind of card it was he said "MTV....oh, wait...maybe it's Citi," and was a bit confused for a minute. XD
I just got a little distracted by the tv, but just a random thing I noticed (since 3 Korean artists will be on Music Japan next time, according to the announcer lady). There are an insane number of Korean artists trying to make it in Japan. It's ridiculous. Besides BoA, who I think is fine since she actually knows Japanese, I always see things for 東方神起 (TVXQ, 동방신기, whatever their name is...), John Hoon, SS501, Rain and more recently, Big Bang and SG Wannabe. But particularly 東方神起. They've been in the front of Shibuya's HMV and Tower Records, on the posters at the Shibuya crosswalk, on the register screen at Lawson's, in the Edwin store and their ads, on television, in magazines, and in other people's songs (i.e. Koda Kumi). But it isn't really that they're Korean, it's that they can't speak Japanese. It doesn't really make sense. Big Bang's first Japanese release is in English. I don't really understand why they'd try to cross over, except for money, but I don't think the Kanryu going to stay that strong...maybe it is, but it's crazy how many Korean artists are popping up everywhere.
Anyway, Hikki's new album will be out next month, which is really what I'm looking forward to. =D
Okay, so I'm still watching NHK, and according to the international news, 南大門 (남대문, I'm not sure how to spell it in English...Namdaemun or Nandaimon?) in Seoul was burned down by someone. It's supposed to be one of Korea's national treasures that I actually wanted to go see next month. That sucks. ...And what's going on in China? I don't really understand what they're saying, all I know is that there's a lot of snow (some kind of snow disaster), food prices are going up, people have died, and they can't ride trains. o_O Time to do some googling.
Off to make curry for dinner~!
Tokyo Digenie Sea!
For my 21st birthday, I went to Disney Sea with Nobuko and Hannah! (Everyone seems to be busy, so nothing huge and crazy.)
Disney Sea is Tokyo's 'second gate', kind of like California Adventure in Anaheim. It's set up similar to Disneyland, but instead of 'lands' they have different water-related areas. For example, American Waterfront, Arabian Coast, Mystery Island, Disney Harbor, Lost River Delta, or Mermaid Lagoon. Disney Sea has a reputation for being a very couple-oriented theme park, which it definitely was, especially because it was the day after Valentine's Day. They had a thing called "Season of the Heart" where they basically make a bunch of cheezy love and friendship oriented areas like Sweetheart Fountain, Bridge of Friendship, or Precious Post (this one was cool...if you mail something from there, it'll be delivered exactly on White Day.) So here's a picture of Hannah and me on Friendship Bridge. Apparently by putting our hands in the box and shaking, we're showing that we'll be friends forever..or something like that.
There are a few rides that are the same as ones in America with only smaller changes to the storyline to make it work in Japan. (i.e. Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones) Mystery Island, however, is a little different since it's made up of a couple rides that have nothing to do with Disney. There's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both are interesting rides, though 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea freaked me out because I'm not so cool with deep sea (or deep sea appearing) things. Port Discovery isn't very Disney oriented either. There are rides called Storm Rider and Aquatopia. I guess it's supposed to be like Tomorrowland but with water instead of 'future'. Here's what Port Discovery looks like...
We ate lunch at a restaurant in Port Discovery called Horizon Bay. Yummy grilled salmon and seafood salad! While I'm on the topic of food, I continued my sampling of strangely flavored popcorn that's so popular here. This time I had Strawberry and Cappuccino flavors, but I like Honey from Disneyland the best. I also had a sesame churro and sea salt ice cream, both were pretty good, though the sea salt ice cream was a little strange. I'd say that this park is more suited for just enjoying someone else's company rather than running around trying to do everything. You can do almost everything without rushing and without even getting any fastpasses. Most of the interest is in the way things look and how they're done. Check out Mermaid's Lagoon...
There were also a couple of shows. The shows here are pretty funny, mostly because the character voices are exactly the same but in Japanese. The water element makes them interesting, though also very hard to take pictures of. During the day there was 'Legend of Mythica' which was a lot of different boats shaped as different animals that moved around and people dressed in bright costumes who ran onshore to dance. XD In the eventing there was BraviSEAmo! which is a water and fire show. It's not quite as fun to watch as Fantasmic, but it's definitely pretty. Dinner was chicken and roast beef at Cafe Portifino in Mediterranean Harbor. =) Yummy yummy. Lastly, we went shopping. I got these hilarious cups that have buildings of each 'land' on them made out of the genie from Aladdin. The cup says "Tokyo Digenie Sea" on it, which I didn't understand until I read it out loud. (In Japanese they say 東京ディズニーシー, which is pronounced Tokyo Dizinee Shee...which, when you say it like a Japanese person, ends up sounding like Di'genie'. Haha. Okay, enough with the lame jokes.) Overall, a very fun, relaxing time.
More pictures on Flickr!
Disney Sea is Tokyo's 'second gate', kind of like California Adventure in Anaheim. It's set up similar to Disneyland, but instead of 'lands' they have different water-related areas. For example, American Waterfront, Arabian Coast, Mystery Island, Disney Harbor, Lost River Delta, or Mermaid Lagoon. Disney Sea has a reputation for being a very couple-oriented theme park, which it definitely was, especially because it was the day after Valentine's Day. They had a thing called "Season of the Heart" where they basically make a bunch of cheezy love and friendship oriented areas like Sweetheart Fountain, Bridge of Friendship, or Precious Post (this one was cool...if you mail something from there, it'll be delivered exactly on White Day.) So here's a picture of Hannah and me on Friendship Bridge. Apparently by putting our hands in the box and shaking, we're showing that we'll be friends forever..or something like that.
There are a few rides that are the same as ones in America with only smaller changes to the storyline to make it work in Japan. (i.e. Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones) Mystery Island, however, is a little different since it's made up of a couple rides that have nothing to do with Disney. There's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both are interesting rides, though 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea freaked me out because I'm not so cool with deep sea (or deep sea appearing) things. Port Discovery isn't very Disney oriented either. There are rides called Storm Rider and Aquatopia. I guess it's supposed to be like Tomorrowland but with water instead of 'future'. Here's what Port Discovery looks like...
We ate lunch at a restaurant in Port Discovery called Horizon Bay. Yummy grilled salmon and seafood salad! While I'm on the topic of food, I continued my sampling of strangely flavored popcorn that's so popular here. This time I had Strawberry and Cappuccino flavors, but I like Honey from Disneyland the best. I also had a sesame churro and sea salt ice cream, both were pretty good, though the sea salt ice cream was a little strange. I'd say that this park is more suited for just enjoying someone else's company rather than running around trying to do everything. You can do almost everything without rushing and without even getting any fastpasses. Most of the interest is in the way things look and how they're done. Check out Mermaid's Lagoon...
There were also a couple of shows. The shows here are pretty funny, mostly because the character voices are exactly the same but in Japanese. The water element makes them interesting, though also very hard to take pictures of. During the day there was 'Legend of Mythica' which was a lot of different boats shaped as different animals that moved around and people dressed in bright costumes who ran onshore to dance. XD In the eventing there was BraviSEAmo! which is a water and fire show. It's not quite as fun to watch as Fantasmic, but it's definitely pretty. Dinner was chicken and roast beef at Cafe Portifino in Mediterranean Harbor. =) Yummy yummy. Lastly, we went shopping. I got these hilarious cups that have buildings of each 'land' on them made out of the genie from Aladdin. The cup says "Tokyo Digenie Sea" on it, which I didn't understand until I read it out loud. (In Japanese they say 東京ディズニーシー, which is pronounced Tokyo Dizinee Shee...which, when you say it like a Japanese person, ends up sounding like Di'genie'. Haha. Okay, enough with the lame jokes.) Overall, a very fun, relaxing time.
More pictures on Flickr!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
PIECE OF PEACE
I went out to Shibuya today. Unfortunately, it started to rain and my socks got wet, but before that, I was able to go to PARCO (department store) to check out the PEACE OF PEACE World Heritage Exhibit with Lego. It was a small exhibit, but it was pretty crazy. Lego made sculptures of famous world heritage sites like the pyramids or the Statue of Liberty. The plaques were in Japanese, so I couldn't read much, but it was cool to see the sculpture. There were also Lego works by other artists there. Tsuchiya Anna (the singer of a couple of the NANA songs) did a sculpture too. Cool stuff.
After that, I mainly walked around in PARCO and visited Tower Records and HMV. PARCO has some amazingly cute clothing, but it's so expensive. I spotted the Hysteric Glamour and BAPE stores. I also didn't realize the Tower in Shibuya is so insanely large. Made me want to buy more music. It would have been a perfect day to shop if not for the rain. Anyway, there's a few pictures, and for the rest of them click the Flickr. =)
Staying in.
After I decided to go on EAP, I talked to a guy who went to ICU the year before. The main thing he warned me about was getting stuck in your own apartment, forgetting to go out, make friends, and actually LIVE in Japan. I don't think his experience was particularly successful in the way he wanted it to be. I'm about halfway done with my year and I finally understand what he meant. Up until now, I've always been going out, going to school and doing things, but now that school is out for a couple of months, it's very, very easy to just not want to go out. I finally have the chance to just stop fighting everything here. If I stay in my apartment, I don't have to fight my sleepiness, get dressed presentably, fight the rush on the trains, or struggle to be understood. It's just easier to stay in sometimes.
But that's no way to live. I've had a weird pattern of going out one day and being a complete hermit the next, but I think that needs to change. It's very unhealthy for my sleeping patterns. I've had my week of being lazy and getting in touch with friends from the States. Time to go do things. ...Not that that is really 'work', but it can be expensive and confusing. I need to start speaking more Japanese. Really, Sophia makes it so easy to just...not.
Upcoming things for break: shopping for birthday presents, shopping for spring clothes (yay! I need new shoes so badly...), Disney Sea (for my birthday), Dean & Deluca with Aya, Hokkaido with Hannah, Korea with Monique, Yokohama with Nobuko, FujiQ, Nick visiting, Visit Kris in Gifu (Nagoya?)...
But that's no way to live. I've had a weird pattern of going out one day and being a complete hermit the next, but I think that needs to change. It's very unhealthy for my sleeping patterns. I've had my week of being lazy and getting in touch with friends from the States. Time to go do things. ...Not that that is really 'work', but it can be expensive and confusing. I need to start speaking more Japanese. Really, Sophia makes it so easy to just...not.
Upcoming things for break: shopping for birthday presents, shopping for spring clothes (yay! I need new shoes so badly...), Disney Sea (for my birthday), Dean & Deluca with Aya, Hokkaido with Hannah, Korea with Monique, Yokohama with Nobuko, FujiQ, Nick visiting, Visit Kris in Gifu (Nagoya?)...
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Tokyo Nights
Today was a lot of fun!~
I woke up around 10 this morning and got ready, then Sohee stopped by to say goodbye and drop of the television she wanted to give me since she can't take it back to Korea. (It's absolutely the most adorable television ever. It has Pooh on it and just looks really cartoony and great. =D) I'm sad she had to leave, but I'll probably be seeing her again when I go to Korea next month.
After that, I went to Takadanobaba to meet with Nobuko (and finally give her her one month late birthday present). We went to the ice rink to skate. I'm a really bad ice skater, but I definitely did better than last time. I love ice skating, and the little kids there are so pro. They're doing spins, going backwards, and jumping. I guess it's a little on the expensive side, but you can stay for as long as you want. Plus, we saw this guy do the most amazingly hilarious wipe out. He was jumping and waving his arms and we couldn't stop laughing.
Afterwards, we walked to Shin Okubo and Shinjuku to look for a Korean restaurant to eat at. Along the way, we found Korean mochi and each bought a box. We ended up at one in Shinjuku. We ate BBQ (you know, the lettuce wrap things) and a soup with (I think it was pork) spine in it. Yummy. And a bottle of Chamiseul, because Korean food and soju are the best. Then we went to an internet cafe for an hour so I could teach Nobuko how to use facebook. Internet cafes/Manga cafes give me a really gross, weird feeling, so I don't think I'll ever be going back.
We ended the night with a couple of hours of karaoke at Karaokekan and got to the station just in time to catch our last trains. That, my friends, is a pretty good night out in Tokyo. (It'll run you about 5500 yen, but it's worth it.)
Japanese People and Trains
One thing I noticed is how crazy Japanese people are when it comes to catching their trains and how much tolerance they have for others while they're riding. I waited for a second train when I got to the station because so many people were lined up for the one that was already there. They squeeze themselves in there like there's no tomorrow. The station men even help push people in and once the doors close, the poor fool next to the door looks like one of those cartoon birds that ran into a window pane.
For a culture that is very 'hands-off', riding the train is uncomfortably crammed. I've been physically closer to complete strangers on the train than to some of my very best friends, and sometimes it HURTS. Japanese people also generally do not believe in holding onto the handles hanging from the train to help them balance, they'd rather just lean around on others or shuffle to catch their balance, which makes me crazy when I'm trying so hard not to get on others' nerves by leaning on them.
There also ends to be a very, very low tolerance for noise, like talking on cell phones, wearing loud headphones, or having conversations with the people around you, but a very high tolerance for reading material. Any reading material. I've seen older salarymen with some of the most inappropriate, restricted magazines sitting next to young women, other salarymen, or teenagers without showing the slightest bit of embarassment. I don't understand it. It's crazy. On one hand, they're ultra-conservative and on the other hand they're freaks. It seems like such a country of extremes, and its weird to see how that works itself out.
I woke up around 10 this morning and got ready, then Sohee stopped by to say goodbye and drop of the television she wanted to give me since she can't take it back to Korea. (It's absolutely the most adorable television ever. It has Pooh on it and just looks really cartoony and great. =D) I'm sad she had to leave, but I'll probably be seeing her again when I go to Korea next month.
After that, I went to Takadanobaba to meet with Nobuko (and finally give her her one month late birthday present). We went to the ice rink to skate. I'm a really bad ice skater, but I definitely did better than last time. I love ice skating, and the little kids there are so pro. They're doing spins, going backwards, and jumping. I guess it's a little on the expensive side, but you can stay for as long as you want. Plus, we saw this guy do the most amazingly hilarious wipe out. He was jumping and waving his arms and we couldn't stop laughing.
Afterwards, we walked to Shin Okubo and Shinjuku to look for a Korean restaurant to eat at. Along the way, we found Korean mochi and each bought a box. We ended up at one in Shinjuku. We ate BBQ (you know, the lettuce wrap things) and a soup with (I think it was pork) spine in it. Yummy. And a bottle of Chamiseul, because Korean food and soju are the best. Then we went to an internet cafe for an hour so I could teach Nobuko how to use facebook. Internet cafes/Manga cafes give me a really gross, weird feeling, so I don't think I'll ever be going back.
We ended the night with a couple of hours of karaoke at Karaokekan and got to the station just in time to catch our last trains. That, my friends, is a pretty good night out in Tokyo. (It'll run you about 5500 yen, but it's worth it.)
Japanese People and Trains
One thing I noticed is how crazy Japanese people are when it comes to catching their trains and how much tolerance they have for others while they're riding. I waited for a second train when I got to the station because so many people were lined up for the one that was already there. They squeeze themselves in there like there's no tomorrow. The station men even help push people in and once the doors close, the poor fool next to the door looks like one of those cartoon birds that ran into a window pane.
For a culture that is very 'hands-off', riding the train is uncomfortably crammed. I've been physically closer to complete strangers on the train than to some of my very best friends, and sometimes it HURTS. Japanese people also generally do not believe in holding onto the handles hanging from the train to help them balance, they'd rather just lean around on others or shuffle to catch their balance, which makes me crazy when I'm trying so hard not to get on others' nerves by leaning on them.
There also ends to be a very, very low tolerance for noise, like talking on cell phones, wearing loud headphones, or having conversations with the people around you, but a very high tolerance for reading material. Any reading material. I've seen older salarymen with some of the most inappropriate, restricted magazines sitting next to young women, other salarymen, or teenagers without showing the slightest bit of embarassment. I don't understand it. It's crazy. On one hand, they're ultra-conservative and on the other hand they're freaks. It seems like such a country of extremes, and its weird to see how that works itself out.
Monday, February 4, 2008
もう少しだけ〜
Just a little more...
All that is left for me to do this semester is to go to school, print out my essay, and hand it in. It has to be one of the most painful essays I've ever had to write, but I blame that on not having written anything substantially academic in the past 7 or 8 months, a poorly formulated essay prompt, and of course, my lack of enthusiasm for the topic...but it is sitting in my inbox waiting to be printed and over with.
It's been a long while since I've actually written anything in here, and I'm sorry. Here are some things of note:
- Sohee is moving back to Korea on the 9th. It will be sad to see her go.
- Michael is returning to the States sometime near the end of March, but traveling beforehand, so I probably won't see him go. I wish he would stay.
- There are at least 3 others who live in Azalea going home, but in all honesty, I don't know them well. Nonetheless, it'll be emptier until the new exchange students show up.
- Karaoke at Karaokekan is very cheap if you go before 6pm on a weekday. 2 hours and a pot of tea later, I was only down 800yen.
- Tom bought a brown ferret. Her name is Anko and she likes to bite, but it will be fun to have a pet around to play with.
- I went to Gospel Night at Yohan Church and decided that Japanese people really can sing. Some of the people there have amazing, amazing voices.
- I visited Rie-chan's apartment and she made kimchi jjigae for Maki-sensei and me. It was delicious, and now that I know how to make it I'm going to give it a shot sometime soon.
- Never eat natto and kimchi in close succession. It is upsetting to the stomach.
- I will probably be going to Disneyland or Disney Sea (whichever is of Ayae's choosing) for her 21st birthday on the 5th.
- When I woke up this afternoon, I looked outside my curtains and it was snowing!
Now that break is about to start, I feel like I'll have a lot of time and should write about the more'meaningful' observations about Japan that I've had, but for now, since I'm a little tired from writing. Tomorrow I am off to buy a new commuter pass, but this time only one that goes until Ikebukuro. I need to find closer areas to explore.
All that is left for me to do this semester is to go to school, print out my essay, and hand it in. It has to be one of the most painful essays I've ever had to write, but I blame that on not having written anything substantially academic in the past 7 or 8 months, a poorly formulated essay prompt, and of course, my lack of enthusiasm for the topic...but it is sitting in my inbox waiting to be printed and over with.
It's been a long while since I've actually written anything in here, and I'm sorry. Here are some things of note:
- Sohee is moving back to Korea on the 9th. It will be sad to see her go.
- Michael is returning to the States sometime near the end of March, but traveling beforehand, so I probably won't see him go. I wish he would stay.
- There are at least 3 others who live in Azalea going home, but in all honesty, I don't know them well. Nonetheless, it'll be emptier until the new exchange students show up.
- Karaoke at Karaokekan is very cheap if you go before 6pm on a weekday. 2 hours and a pot of tea later, I was only down 800yen.
- Tom bought a brown ferret. Her name is Anko and she likes to bite, but it will be fun to have a pet around to play with.
- I went to Gospel Night at Yohan Church and decided that Japanese people really can sing. Some of the people there have amazing, amazing voices.
- I visited Rie-chan's apartment and she made kimchi jjigae for Maki-sensei and me. It was delicious, and now that I know how to make it I'm going to give it a shot sometime soon.
- Never eat natto and kimchi in close succession. It is upsetting to the stomach.
- I will probably be going to Disneyland or Disney Sea (whichever is of Ayae's choosing) for her 21st birthday on the 5th.
- When I woke up this afternoon, I looked outside my curtains and it was snowing!
Now that break is about to start, I feel like I'll have a lot of time and should write about the more'meaningful' observations about Japan that I've had, but for now, since I'm a little tired from writing. Tomorrow I am off to buy a new commuter pass, but this time only one that goes until Ikebukuro. I need to find closer areas to explore.
Friday, February 1, 2008
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