Jun in Japan (now with 50% more fiber!)

New Digs!

2008-02-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

After playing around with Wordpress for Nippon Foodie and Yum Honey!, I was really impressed! 3 gigs of storage, and a much more organized efficient layout for posting and managing multiple blogs. So I moved!

My new address is http://junsiew.wordpress.com

Happy 2008!

2008-01-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

Happy belated 2008! It's hard to believe that in a week, I'll have been in Japan for 6 months. And what a lovely 6 months it has been . I have traveled much more than I imagined, and saved much less money than I had hope d to. I guess traveling is not all that conducive to saving money. :) I am sitting at school, enjoying the half foot of snow that has fallen during the course of the day, and at the same time, I am wondering how I am going to get home on my bicycle . Since coming back to Japan, I think I've realized that life here is full of dualities. Every day is an interesting mix of ups and downs, and my New Year's resolution for 2008 is to look a bit harder for the positives. And what better case study than my winter vacation trip?

The day after Christmas, we headed off to the airport from Yamanashi. It took us 4+ hours to reach Narita, and only 2 hours on the plane to reach Seoul. It's the first time in my life that it took longer to reach the airport than to reach my destination. The plus side? The food. The food was amazing. I was a little distressed because we had only so many days, and so many meals in which to try and eat our way around Seoul. I even made a list before I left, so I wouldn't forget important names or place. How far did I make it down the list? Not even halfway. Am I tired to Korean food? The fact that I am looking at the above picture of the suntubu (spicy tofu soup) and drooling a little bit should tell you the answer. :P
We did many other things besides eat, including an exciting (a truck blew up!) trip to Panmunjom and the DMZ, having our feet nibbled on at the Doctor Fish cafe, and getting baked, boiled and scrubbed at the jjiljimbang (a Korean combination sauna/hot spring, genius!).

While out at the night market at Dongdaemun, I caught a cold. It was so bad that I went back to the hotel early and slept away our last night in Korea. When we arrived back in Tokyo on New Year's eve, which I had originally planned on spending temple hopping and shopping. Instead I spent the majority of the time between the 31st, and the 2nd of January sleeping. I missed the beginning of 2008!
Thank goodness I was well enough to board my flight to Taipei on the 2nd. I was still a bit too tired to take photos, but I rode the Hello Kitty plane :) Nothing like Hello Kitty pink toilet paper and strawberry Hello Kitty lotion in the lavatory to make a girl feel better. Once I arrived in Taipei, I saw some very expensive jade cabbage at the National Palace Museum, ran up the stairs at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial hall, ate stinky tofu and little soup dumplings, and saw Taroko gorge.
Wow, this is turning into a bit of a novel, so I'll wrap it up. Now I am back, safe and somewhat sound (pesky cough still won't go away) in Yamanashi, and already planning my next trip!
Hope your New Year's was just as exciting and full of good times and good food!

明けましておめでとう，今年もよろしく！
-Jun

Akihabara and Asakusa

2007-10-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

The capsule mall at Akihabara's Yodobashi camera.One of the large paintings on the ceiling of Sensouji Temple.

Outside of the temple.

A display at a senbei store on the nakamise street on the way to Sensouji Temple.

Visiting Akihabara and Asakusa in the same morning is a bit like culture shock. One moment you are surrounded by blinking lights and shiny electronics, and the next you are eating ningyoyaki and the smell of incense.

All night at a manga cafe in Kabukicho!

2007-10-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time not laughing out loud at Tokyo orientation when one of the orientation volunteers cautioned us against going to Kabukicho, the night district of Tokyo. Of all the places in Tokyo, outside of Takadanobaba, I think I know my way around Kabukicho the best.

Why? Where do you think the majority of the drinking parties were held when I was at Waseda? Also the Okadaya (large craft store) as well as the large 24 hour Don Quixote is located quite close as well.

We ended up picking a pretty nice manga cafe called Gran Cyber Cafe in the Oriental Passage building, because they had a shower room, and free ice cream.

One of the two main gates for Kabukicho.

My tiny padded flat for the night, complete with computer.

Unlimited free drinks, from melon soda to hot corn soup.

The manga cafe was actually pretty comfortable. However, I don't think I actually slept very much. There was so much manga to read, and internet to surf. Not to mention the free movies on demand and video games to play. I definitely recommend checking into a manga cafe if you want to spend a night in Tokyo. We stayed from 8:30pm to -8am for just under 35$ a person including a shower.

If you are planning on staying on a Friday, Saturday, or holiday weekend, make sure to get there before 10pm to get a spot. There are different kinds of seats, from a literal office chair desk set up, to a bench booth for two, to the flat style cubicles that we stayed in. I recommend the flat style, because you can lay down full out and sleep. Amenities include pay as you use showers and massage chairs, complimentary blankets, slippers, drinks and ice cream. If you want to shower, bring your own shampoo and toiletries, as they are not provided, and toothpaste. I recommend going with some one who speaks Japanese, as the staff rarely speaks English, and you cannot make reservations for the manga cafe. If one cafe is full, don't despair, there are several cafes in the same block area in Kabukicho.

Tokyo Trip: Harajuku, Shibuya + Yamanashi: Hottarakashi, Kofu Castle

2007-10-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Waseda Yosakoi team!!!!!
We happened to visit Meiji Jingu on the day of the annual Yosakoi competition. Feeling refreshed after a soak in the Hottarakashi Onsen in Yamanashi City. The onsen has one of the three best night views in all of Japan. I would have taken a photo inside, but I couldn't quite work up the courage to bring a camera into the onsen itself.

The strange obelisk at Kofu Castle.

The famous Shibuya crossing

We decided to grab a better view from the Starbucks that faces the crossing.
It's a interesting sight, watching several hundred people cross every couple minutes.
It was not even rush hour when we arrived at the station.

Yamanashi City Station

2007-10-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

The front of the Yamanashi City station.

The main road that runs by my apartment building.

The front of my apartment building. The second floor is a cram school, and on the first floor there is a houtou restaurant, a clothing store, and an izakaya.

The view from my front door on the 6th floor.

Home sweet Yamanashi-shi

2007-08-25T10:39:00.001-07:00

This is a little cellphone photo from the balcony of my apartment overlooking the station building. I've been in Yamanashi-shi about 3 weeks now, and am finally getting settled into my new apartment and into being back in Japan. I still don't have the internet, but hopefuly it will get installed sometime this week or next week at the latest.

Yamanashi-shi is in the Kofu basin area, surrounded almost 360 degrees by mountains. It is a bit strange, but it's a bit unnerving to me to be living in essentially a large mountain spiked bowl . It's the first time I've lived somewhere not bordered at least on one side by a beach of some sort.

More pictures to come soon, once internet permits :)

where did the time go??

2007-08-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is the state of my room. Note the knitting on top of my carry on luggage.
The reason?

Oh dear.

Asian Blepharoplasty

2007-07-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

While I was studying at Waseda University, I wrote a paper and did a presentation on Asian Blepharoplasty, or the surgery used to create a double eyelid, and the social commentary surrounding body image. I created the above image thanks to the help of my classmates in a language class I was taking to illustrate the diversity of eye shapes and eye color and how the double eyelid, or lack there of, was perceived in an Asian society.

When I presented this image to my mostly Japanese classmates, I also asked for descriptive words that they could associate with the images of eyes. The most common descriptor for the eyes possessing a double eyelid was "awake", which is also one of the top reasons patients who elect for the double eyelid surgery give for wanting the procedure. For more information about plastic surgery in Asia, take a look at this article in Time Magazine, Changing Faces.

Social commentary aside, I found this image while organizing my files, thought it was interesting, and wanted to share.

Knitting is postponed until I finish packing up for my move back home tomorrow.

one cup Harry Potter, one cup Japan, a pinch of Ravelry and a dash of knitting

2007-07-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

So I've been keeping a bit of a secret from you all (well, most of you already know ) but I was accepted into the JET Programme in April, and I'll be living and teaching in Yamanashi prefecture come the beginning of August.

I am very excited and not at all done packing yet! It's been a hectic past couple weeks, and I can only expect things to get a little crazier as my departure date gets closer. I've been working almost full time at a summer conference job at my university, and while things have been fun, it hasn't left me with a lot of time for packing and preparing to move to Japan.

On the knitting front, I've been working on my Earth Squared Blanket

I finished my first brown square, and started right into the next white (beige? tan? toasted pine nut?) square. I had to order more yarn for this blanket, because I mistakenly thought 6 balls of Patons Classic Merino would be enough. Only after I finished one square and realized I had used almost half of one ball, did I finally come out of my delusional state.
I think I would have progressed much faster on the blanket if I had not received an invite to Ravelry a couple days ago and spent the better part of my online time looking at other people's projects. Feel free to add me as a friend. (just search for my blog)

With this :
Hopefully arriving in my mail box tomorrow, I don't see my knitting getting any faster, since I haven't quite figured out how to knit and read at the same time. Though I might try and learn :)

Warm weather = decreased knitting impetus

2007-05-12T03:53:00.000-07:00

I finally cracked open a ball of the Chestnut Brown!

I do like how the blanket is going so far...but it is slow going!
I haven't had much desire to knit lately, and my free time has been spent watching episodes of the new Doctor Who and sleeping.

The entirety of April was spent furiously job hunting and resume writing, and eating far too much dessert. Apparently when stressed, I turn to sweets. ^_^;; This has led to a rather embarrassing amount of weight gain in only a month! Time to get back to gym, and use those sugar craving to fuel unprecedented knitting speeds! (I'm only half joking ^_^）

Cookies!

2007-04-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

When I was working in Cornwall, I was introduced to Jaffa Cakes by a British coworker who swore they were the best thing the English had ever invented. Jaffa Cakes are a small cookie shaped snack, which is a 2 inch or so disk of sponge cake covered with a tangy sweet orange jam, and then covered in dark chocolate. Addictive to say the least, and it's been almost 3 years since my last Jaffa Cake.

Unfortunately I've never seen anything like them here in the states, or in Japan. So I was surprised to see Jaffa Cake look-a-likes at the market today.
They are LU Pim's (which are described as soft biscuits rather than cakes.) They are very very good! The molded chocolate with the Pim's logo on it kinda takes away from the Jaffa Cake experience, but it's still a good match. Talk about fulfilling food cravings! All I need is to do now is find me a place that sells lamb and mint pasties and I'll be happy ^_^

reasons why knitting is not getting done #245

2007-03-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

When the weather is so beautiful out,
can you blame me for venturing outside instead of knitting? ^_^

In Oregon, spring weather is so temperamental,
you've got to enjoy the sunshine and summer like weather when you have the chance. :)
We went for a walk out to the Willamette river and looped back through campus to see this gorgeous tulip tree. I don't know exactly what kind of tree it is, but it has huge flowers blooming on it that look like tulips.

20 page paper = procrastination = knitting?!?

2007-03-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

Forgive me, I've been reading and writing about nothing but syphilis and prostitutes in early modern Japan for the last 2 weeks. So I have this 20 page essay in this Medical and Social History of Japan class this term. It's worth 40% of my grade for the term...and it is killing me to write it. Did I mention it's due in on Monday?

So instead of writing, I keep taking ~~one hour~~ 20-30 minutes breaks to knit the Earth^2 blanket. There is so much blanket love right now.Instead of keeping with the straight stockinette I had planned (it was boring me to tears) I snitched the waffle stitch from cosmic pluto's amazing Thermal sweater, and added some big waffley stripes!

And back to radio silence until this paper is done!

Grey's Anatomy is ❤

2007-02-25T03:19:00.000-08:00

I found this button here.
I admit it, I'm a little addicted to Grey's Anatomy.
Since I'm also a little addicted to knitting, why not combine the two addictions, right?
Apparently I'm not the first one to think of this!
It cracked me up when Meredith and Izzie randomly started knitting on the show, even in the observation deck of the surgery room. (^o^)

The doggie sweater is done!

2007-02-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this very pink doggie sweater was promised sometime in the summer of 2006.
I didn't buy the yarn for it until November, and didn't start knitting it until the beginning of December.

Regardless of the amount of time I spent procrastinating knitting this sucker, I am really happy it's completed without any major hitches. I just hope it fits the cutest dog in the world, since I can't try it on her in person. Normally I avoid anything that involves seaming and shaping and picking up stitches, hence the lack of sweaters and other large knitted pattern heavy FOs.
Let's just call this mini-sweater a small step toward the garment making direction.

Casey's Coat from Stitch n' Bitch Nation
Yarn: Less than a ball of some generic sport weight acrylic i found at Ben Franklin's
US 4/3.5mm bamboo circulars and dpns
Because I knit this sweater at a much smaller gauge than the suggested pattern, I knit with the instruction for the medium size dog sweater.Other than that, I followed the pattern pretty faithfully.

I finished the sweater last night, and started on the afghan I've been dreaming of!
I'm using Paton's Classic Merino in Natural Mix, Deep Olive, and Chestnut Brown,
some very earthy mellow colors.
I'm thinking stockinette squares alternating colors with a seed stitch border.

And now there are two!

2007-01-28T00:44:00.000-08:00

Against all odds, the long suffering toe up socks are done!

I was about to rip them out when two knitting friends talked me out of it. Not only that, but the decrease portion of the heel which were giving me the most problems, was generously knit by a friend. (Em, you are awesome!)
I finished up the cuff of the 2nd sock tonight, and bound off too tight, so it's a little bit of a fight to get one of them over my big heel, but I'm not undoing it! These things are done !

Toe-up Socks with a Sherman Heel
Yarn: 1. 5 skeins of a Japanese extra fine merino
Japanese size 2 Clover bamboo dpns
Magic 8 cast on, 60 st. foot, modified no wrap Sherman Heel

Honestly these were the single most frustrating items I've ever knit. I started them in May 2006, and it took me almost 10 months.
I think if I had not started and stopped so many times, it would have been much easier. I didn't have time to knit for a good couple months, and had forgotten exactly how to do the heel. The toe and foot were actually quite simple, and painless.
I'm just not a sock knitter, is the conclusion of this experiment. The teeny tiny needles, the fiddly-ness of dpns, the heel of doom, and the simple fact that I have to make TWO socks.
A sneak peak at the little Casey's Coat from SNBN. One sleeve down, one to go!

Soon to be extinct

2007-01-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Toe-up socks of doom, your time has come to an end. I started you last May (that's 2006 people!) and you have sat gathering dust on my desk, taunting me with your unfinish-able state since September, the last time I deigned to knit you. Your second heel is the bane of my existence. I tried, really tried to finish the heel. I've spared the close-up pictures of the loose, holey excuse of a heel. The short row decreases are done, but I can not remember if I have switched to increases or not, and your tiny, tiny stitches tell me nothing. Which is sad because your yarn is absolutely gorgeous.
The part that annoys me the most? Count the number of Clover size 2 double pointed needles in the picture.

4
I bought a set of 5.

I finally get the urge to just finish you off, but I've lost a needle. I've torn my room apart looking for it, and can only wonder if the needle has wormed it's way into a hole in the space-time continuum.
I've never lost needles before! I almost bought a new set of needles in a moment of weakness last night simply because not having the full set of 5 irritates me to no end.
Yes, I know I can still use my set with only 4 needles, but still. That was my last drop of motivation for these doomed from the start socks.

So, tonight, the frogging will begin. Any suggestions for the yarn? I'm thinking mittens, or a hat.

Happy Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve,
and didn't party too hard!

In 2007 I will :
1. Graduate from college!
2. Turn 23 years old o_o;;

and try to:
1. Find a job after graduation >_<
2. Spend less money
3. Keep my room clean for more than a week at a time
4. Sleep at night, not in class
5. Exercise more!
6.Speak more Japanese/Chinese/Korean!

★ Happy Holidays from Portland! ★

2006-12-24T01:42:00.000-08:00

The pretty tree in Pioneer Square

I wish I had thought to take a picture of the creme brulee we had before it disapeared!
It was delicious though!

I actually knit up two more gift hats, but was in such a rush to finish them before the gift swap,
I didn't take any photos!! ;_;
I made the Beehive hat from SNB Nation, and a clover lace hat..that ended up being woefully too short.

I received a bunch of yarn for Christmas, and now I'm thinking of things to knit.
I suppose I should finish the projects that were put on the back burner in favor of X-mas knits, and have been sitting in my "Making" list for the last couple months.

★ Happy Holidays! ★

Slightly Girly Hat 完成！

2006-12-15T02:08:00.000-08:00

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cranberry
(only 1 skein! with about a yard left over)
US 6/4.25 mm circulars and dpns

Made up the pattern as I went along,
inspired by the cabled wrist of Fetching

CO 100, 6 cabled rows, decreasing from 10.

I've been feverishly knitting away at holiday gifts, so this hat was knit in only 3 days!
A new record for me, the world's slowest knitter. Speedy progress brought to you by Chappelle's Show Season 1 & 2 on DVD ^_^ One hat down, one more to go!

[Edited to add short pattern 7.30.2007]
I received an email asking for a pattern for this hat, so here it is!
(I really just made this up on the fly, so be gentle)

Slightly Girly Hat

Worsted weight yarn 110 yards (Used one ball of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for the small size)
US 6/4.25 mm circulars and dpns
1 stitch marker
1 tapestry needle
1 cable needle ( or learn to cable w/o a needle!)

CO 100 (I used the long tail cast on o make it nice and stretchy)

Cable Repeat
Row 1-4: K4, P1, repeat until end of row.
Row 5: C4B [slip the next 2 stitches purlwise to a cable needle, move those slipped stitches behind the work,knit two stitches. then knit the 2 stitches on the cable needle], P1, repeat until end of row.

work this repeat 6 times.

knit 4 rows normally in the round

Begin decreases
Row 1: K10, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 2: K, repeat until end of row.
[move stitches to dpns]
Row 3: K9, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 4: K8, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 5: K7, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 6: K6, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 7: K5, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 8: K4, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 9: K3, K2tog, repeat until end of row.
Row 10: K2, K2tog, repeat until end of row.

cut working yarn about 6 inches from work, and use a tapestry needle to thread through the remaining live stitches. Pull tight to form top of hat, and weave in the ends on the inside of the hat.

Happy Knitting, and let me know if there are any mistakes!

My 1st and probably last tapestry.

2006-12-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

3 months, working 12-16 hours a week in the weaving studio,

and this tiny 14"x14" tapestry is the product.
I learned a lot from the class, but the time
commitment was so much more than I expected!

A sneak peek at some last minute holiday knitting!

It was just an excuse to go to Seattle.

2006-12-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

I took the Japanese Language Placement Exam in Seattle on the 3rd of December. My brain still hurts to think about it. There is no hope that I passed, but it was fun times seeing friends from Waseda, and general excitement to be in Seattle.

At the base of the Space Needle
Yay for ramen! Excuse the tired faces all around,
all of us just came out of a 4 hour testing session.

The pretty view of Mt. Rainier across the fountain on the UW campus.

On the deck behind Ivar's Salmon House (the clam chowder is amazing!). You can see the Space Needle between us!

Bright Red Meathead!

2006-11-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

My finished Meathead!
Yarn: Lambs Pride Bulky
I knit the small size and still had a good 3-4 yards left after seaming.
I added some glass beads as embellishment.

Knitting for selfish purposes

2006-11-09T01:22:00.000-08:00

Yarn: KnitPicks Merino Style in Coal(only 1 skein, with a couple yards leftover!)
US 4/3.5mm DPNs
Pattern from Knitty
cabling w/o a cable needle (awesome!)
Added 2 extra rows to the body of the glove( 18 rows to 20 rows)
No picot bind-off
Picked up a total of 8 stitches vs. 4 for the thumbs
to account for the smaller gauge of the Merino Style.

It took me a month to knit these!
I think weaving and other homework got in the way.
Now I have toasty warm gloves to wear,
and the cabling w/o a cable needle was strangely fun to do.
The merino was a nice yarn to knit with, and now i'm a bit addicted.

A poor attempt at tapestry weaving

2006-11-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a beginning tapestry class through my university!
I was so excited to be learning how to weave, and it's a lot of fun.
Tapestry is turning out to be much more time consuming
and much slower paced than knitting.
To tell the truth, I get so overwhelmed with fiber
after class that I really don't feel like knitting.
I've gotten to the half way point of the circle since these pictures were taken,
but we are using LeClerc looms!

Shopping!

2006-10-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

I <3 shopping!
Above:
1st pic: My new favorite tea from Trader Joes
2nd pic: Nori (Teriyaki and Korean Style)
Corn Cream soup mix
Almond drink mix

Lace may just kill me

2006-08-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

7 hours of work, and only 3.5 repeats into this Branching Out scarf. I may well be ready to retire by the time this gets long enough to be used as a scarf on anything larger than a Barbie doll.

Mini-argyle my heart <3

2006-08-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Due to a bus breakdown, which turned a 1.5 hour trip into a 5 hour disaster,
the mini argyle hat got finished!

I did the decreases at the wee morning hours at the beach.
Pardon the resemblance of my head to a egg.
Though a snazzy argyle egg at that.
It's a lot harder to take picture of oneself in a hat than you'd think.

Yarn: Jaeger Shetland Aran in Linen Tweed and Charcoal Tweed.
US 8/5.5 mm circulars and dpns.
Made up the hat pattern as I went, mini-argyle chart from Eunny Jang
96 st. in the round (to go with the 12 st. pattern repeats. )

I really like knitting with both hands! What I mean is holding one color on my left, and one in the right. The balls of yarn don't end up tangled. Lovely ^_^

Argyle is a go!

2006-08-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Argyle!! Well, mini-argyle, since it's only two colors , not three. Using the chart I got from EunnyJang

2006-07-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

what do you get when you mix tapioca bubbles and mangos? Mango Bubble Tea!!!

What I've Been Reading 2007

2006-07-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

2006-07-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier from Bainbridge Island, WA

I spent the weekend eating a lot of great food, enjoying beautiful weather, and staying on a island that felt like living in a postcard. Oh, and I went to Pike Place Market in Seattle, and to this cute yarn store call the Churchmouse. ( I had to restrain myself from buying anything)
I am kicking myself for not taking more photos!

Pictures just because

2006-07-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

I love living in Oregon, and one of the reasons I love it here so much is the fruit in the summertime! The neighborhood Farmer's Market is always full of fresh fruit, veggies , and other produce and meats.
Fresh Blueberries!

Rainier Cherries!

A cat who doesn't look evil for the first time in his life.

This heel is going to kill me!

2006-07-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

So I finally get to the last row of my first ever Sherman heel. What do i do with the extra stitches at both ends, and what do i do with my left and right wraps??

I tried to wing it and did a series of crazed k2togs and such, and ended up with huge holey stitches where the wraps were. Help!

I'm back!

2006-07-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

I flew back home to Oregon yesterday, and at this moment I am typing from my bedroom rather than the 24 hour computer lab in Waseda University. I am thoroughly jetlagged and tired, and I have a mountain of stuff to unpack and sort through. >_<

The motivation to maintain this blog has waned over the year, mostly because I really didn't want to make the 40 trek to school and back just to us e the computer.

However, now that I have broadband wireless at home, I really have no excuse, do I?

Happy 4th of July to those of you from the USA out there. I love BBQ, and no BBQ more than the pork spareribs my mom makes!

-Jun

More pictures!

2006-04-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I love about being in Japan, It's all the beautiful things that I get to see on a daily basis. After living in Oregon for 14+ years of my life, not that Oregon is lacking of beautiful things to see, it's still nice to see different sights that I can't see elsewhere.

1st pic: By the river near my house in Shinjuku

2nd pic: the stormy view of Sado Island

3rd and 4th pics: Himeji Castle!

2006-03-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

I love sakura(cherry blossom) season! There are so many sakura trees in Tokyo, and it's in the middle of full bloom. Everywhere you look, there are pink and white flowers everywhere!

2 weeks, 400$ and 26 hours on trains

2006-03-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

From the 24th of Febuary to the 11th of March, I did a trip from Tokyo to the island of Sado Island and back again, stopping a couple places on the way. Finally have gotten around to putting up some pictures! enjoy!
The view of Sado-ga-shima from the ferry
All dressed up in yukata!
We spend a night in Niigata
In front of a clock in Osaka Station
Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto
The Nara Daibutsu, the biggest Buddha stautue in Japan!

I got to take a picture with a geisha in Gion! We were wandering down to Yasaka jinja after seeing Kiyomizu-dera and randomly bumped into them! I was so happy to see geisha in Kyoto v^_^v

2005-12-30T04:15:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays from Japan! I hope everyone had a good holiday ^-^
1st pic: Its Colonel Santa!
2nd pic: The diamond light display in Ebisu Garden Place.
3rd +4th pic: We stood in this massive croud for 2 hours to see the Tokyo Millenario. Its 100-200 lit gates that cover a block and a half of the street by Tokyo station. It was so cold, and there were so many people, but it was worth it!
5th pic: everyone came to my host families house for a Christmas potluck party! I was so full >_< ;;

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year! I'm going to spend it with my host family in Niigata.

later
-Jun

2005-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from the Waseda Bear!

Interesting food

2005-11-09T00:18:00.000-08:00

There is always plenty of amusing and downright funny food in Tokyo.
1st pic: Look ma, Bollywood has invaded Tokyo, and they even have their own Masala flavored chips.
2nd pic: Yum, "Asse" chocolates!

2005-11-09T00:13:00.000-08:00

2 weekends ago, I went to the Waseda-Keio final baseball game at Meiji-jingu stadium! It was so crazy, loud and fun! Waseda won, ofcourse. ^_~*
1st pic: In the student section of the stadium.
2nd Pic: I've never been to a baseball game before, the field is so big!
3rd Pic: The huge Waseda sign. It says "Let's eat Keio!"

2005-11-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

Last week, a group of us went to Harajuku and Shibuya for the day.
1st pic: Had to grab a Marion crepe on my way to Shibuya!
2nd pic: The view at night fromt Shibuya Station, looking at the biggest crosswalk in Japan, maybe the world...about 100,000,000 people cross it every day.
3rd pic: The "America" store! ^_~

2005-10-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Last night, my host family took me to the Tokyo Opera City in Hatsudai for a concert! I snuck this picture of the main concert hall. It's so beautiful, and spacious. It was so big, that it didn"t feel like Tokyo at all, cause in Shinjuku, there is never so much space alloted for a building that isn't used to the last inch.

Yesterday, I went to the Tokyo University for Fine Arts and Music for my Arts Practicum class, and toured the different departments. It was so amazing, the work was so gorgeous, its hard to believe people my own age made them. I was really surprised that they have so many arts departments, from metal sculpture to weaving to traditional Japanese lacquerware. I forgot my cellphone, so i didn't get any pictures. I'm going there again next week, so I'll take some then. ^_^

I really want to go to a onsen soon...I think it's cause the weather is turning colder.

later
Jun

2005-10-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

The 1st pic is of all the lanterns that were set up right in front of the Takada no Baba station for the festival last monday.
The 2nd pic is the "Big Parfait" at Shakeys last Sunday night. Its 1800ccs of ice cream, brownie, coffee jelly, cornflakes, peanuts, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream, topped off with a sparkle! It took 9 of us just to finish it off!
The 3 rd pic is my host mom at Don Quixote, this giant store, kinda like a mix between Fred Meyer and Costco, but noisier and fun. We saw this super sized bag of Umaibo(a tasty cheeto-like snack) and I had to take a picture!

2005-10-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

I'm so lucky! My host mom is a sado(tea ceremony) instructor. I take lessons from her every Monday and Thursday. The 1st picture is the tatami tea room in my building, you can kinda see the heater that heats the water for tea. The 2nd picture is my host mother's collection of tea pots and bowls. the 3rd picture is a almost complete tea set...it's missing a ladle for the hot water...

2005-10-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, It was a holiday in Tokyo, so entrance to the Ueno zoo was free!
1st Pic: The view of the lake in the middle of the zoo.
2nd pic: A photo of the okapi billboard, since i couldn't get a good shot of the real one...i guess it's a mix of a giraffe and a zebra? or a horse and a zebra? anyone know??
3rd pic:After the zoo we went to Asakasa, a traditional district with a famouse temple, Sensoji.
The road that takes you to the temple is a traditional market. This man is handmaking manju, a kind of cake with red bean paste in the middle.
4th pic: The huge lanterns that mark each gateway to the temple.
5th pic: Me, under the giant golden poo of Asakasa...>_<

2005-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, all of the OUS students went to Nikko, about 3 hours away from Tokyo. It was so cold there, and completly foggy.

1st pic: Lunch! Yakiniku, and milk...Niko is famous for cows, and dairy products.
2nd pic: At the Tokugawa shrine, you can pay 100yen and get a mikuji (fortune) If your fortune isn't that good, you tie to one of the strings, and let the wind blow your bad luck away! I got a pretty good luck mikuji, so it's staying with me ^_^
3rd pic: Don't these monkeys look familiar? Yup its the "Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, See no Evil" monkeys!
4th pic: One of the entrances to the main temple...the buildings are all decorated, and cover in carvings or paintings. unfortunaly you can't take pictures in the interior of the buildings, which are just as gorgeous!
5th pic: we drove up this crazy road with 47 gut twisting curves, to catch this view of the mountain...

2005-10-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we went to Tokyo Tower!
1st pic: A view from the glass bottomed observation deck, roughly 125meters up!
it is so scary to stand on it...
2nd Pic: The biggest AnPanMan I've ever seen !
3rd pic: A view of Tokyo Tower from the ground...i feel so small...

2005-09-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, a group of us went to Hatagaya for the Higan Matsuri. It a festival where the people of the town carry the gods in the mikoshi 8The house like thing everyone is carrying) around the town, and to the shrine and back, for about 7 hours! They stop every 30 minutes or so for a tea and ber break, but then it's back to carrying the mikoshi again. Everyone is suitably genki, and probably a little drunk, but we all pitched in to carry our district's mikoshi around. There is also a selection of food stalls and carnaval like games near the shrine, my favorite being the food stalls where you play a game of chance to see if you can score more food for the same price. At night, as you can see in the first picture, the lanterns are all lit up on the mikoshi, and everyone helps to carry it to it's final resting place before going to a huge hall to binge on beer and fried food. It was a lot of fun, but I was so tired by the time I finally got back home!

2005-09-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

From top to bottom:
1st Pic: My first ever nomikai! It has got to be the Japanese college students favorite activity, outside of karaoke. The deal is you pay a flat fee (around 2500yen) and then you can eat and drink all you want for 2 hours. I've never seen so many people get so drunk, so fast! I can't drink, so I think I downed a pitcher of oolong tea and ate my weights worth of nabe, the hot pot like stuff you see in the pic.
2nd +3rd pic: Gorgeous Shinjuku at nighttime, I can't wait to see what it looks like around X-mas/NewYear's.
4th pic: The Waseda University Glee Club, a awesome all-mens choir that sang at the SILS opening ceremony.

2005-09-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

I am alive and well! I'm all unpacked and moved into my host family's house in Shimo Ochiai, which is about 15 minutes away from Waseda University. I have 3 host brothers! I actually live a a house by myself that is next door to my host family's and head over there most of the time for meals and such. It's weird for me to be in a place just by myself. It's way too quiet and half the time the floor will creak and I'll get scared.

I experienced my first Japanese earthquake on Tuesday night! It was only a level 2 and lasted only a couple seconds, but it was scary! The house was making all sorts of weird popping noises and our poor cat was hiding under the dinner table.

I'm getting used to riding the train everyday, I take the Seibu Shinjuku line to Takada no Baba and walk to school from there. In the mornings, and around 5-6pm, you feel like a sardine in a can, there are so many people. I shouldn't complain though, my commute is only 3 minutes. Most of the other exchange students have a hour to an hour and half commute every day.

The Japanese mosquitoes have already found me, and given me 2 lovely welcoming gifts. >_<

I'm pretty much on vacation right now, except some short orientations in the mornings, I can do pretty much whatever i want ...but classes start on the 30th of this month!

-later
Jun

2005-09-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Top to Bottom:
The 1st picture is the tiny fridge hidden in the desk cabitnet,
Pic #2 is my temporary roomate Jamie at the sweet PC/TV in our room, we can use free internet!
Pic #3 is our tiny but squeaky clean bathroom in the hotel! The toilet has so many buttons...

2005-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yum! Melon Soda!

I took this picture with my new cellphone! I ended up getting this phone instead, because they didn't have the phone I wanted in stock. They are both pretty similar, so I'm not complaining. I got it in"Primary Red", and the thing holds more pictures than my digicam!

Here is the break down for how much the phone is going to cost me,

Cost of the phone itself: 1yen
Cost of charger for phone: 945yen
Cost of Opening my phone number: 2890yen
Cost of Monthly service - 50% student discount: 3454yen

In bold are the one time fees for this month, and then the last figure is how much i will pay per month after this month. So for this month, I'll be paying roughly 7290yen, or around US$70.

Time for me to stop playing with my phone, and go to sleep!
-later
Jun

I'm alive!

2005-09-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

I'm alive and well in Nishi-Waseda at the moment!

I arrived on Friday, and have been in endless orientations since then. Right now, I'm staying at the Hotel Sunroute, which is right by the Takada no baba station. The university is about a 25 minute walk from the hotel, not too bad since it's all pretty flat.

The past couple days have been kinda hot and muggy, but i'm doing fine. Today was a trip to Shinjuku, one of the busiest parts of Tokyo, even on a Sunday afternoon. Riding the Yamanote line was an experience, I'm really glad there were some Waseda students there to show us the ropes. Hopefully it will be easier tomorrow when I can buy my teiki (commuter pass), then I don't have to buy a ticket every time.

I'm getting a sweet cellphone tomorrow too! Hopefully this one in blue.

I find out who my host family is tonight, and get to meet them tomorrow! I'm excited and kinda nervous at the same time...

Sorry, no pictures this time, since I'm on a public computer, and my laptop is still packed up. ^_^;;

wish me luck!
-later
Jun

2005-09-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

My mom is a Coca Cola collecting addict!

Tminus 19 hours

2005-09-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

The state of my room and packing as of now. Yes, I am aware that I am a lazy butt and need to finish packing...and that it looks like a laundry machine EXPLODED in my room.

2005-09-13T03:25:00.000-07:00

Is it bad that I totally covet the iPod nano? It is tiny and has a flash based memory, and it comes in black!

Yes, I am aware that I should be saving money and not looking to blow 200$+ on a gadget .
But it's so damn shiny. >_<

Getting my PDX fix!

2005-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

A replica of a Shang elephant statue, somewhere near Powell's.

2005-09-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Powell's City of Books, my favorite bookstore! I can spend a entire day inside! I'm going to miss the Gold and Blue rooms..

2005-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

The statue of Portlandia on the Portland Building downtown! It's the 2nd largest hammered bronze statue in the US (The Statue of Liberty is the largest).

2005-09-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

yum! it's a yarn donut!

2005-09-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hoshi says hello!

::waves to the internets::

2005-09-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

[updated 7/21/2007]
Hi!

You guys can prolly guess from the title, my name is Jun and i'm heading off for a year or two teaching English to Japanese junior high school students on the JET Program.

In the spirit of sharing my exchange experience, and keeping a journal of my trip that won't take up space in my measly suitcases that no doubt will be put to better use. (yarn >_<)

10 things about me:
1. I love to travel, anywhere, any time, almost any place.
2. I'm a proud alumnus of the University of Oregon.
3. I've donated my hair to Locks of Love. (and planning on doing it again!)
4. I like to knit and crochet.
5. I am a foodie wannabe.
6. I love television. (Doctor Who ★)
7. I'm a laptop user. (Sony Vaio FZ140e)
8. I like to read murder mysteries. (Tess Gerritsen!)
9. I ♥ public libraries.
10.I don't think I could live anywhere that didn't have a beach close by.

Back to packing!
Later,
-Jun