Happy 2008!

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

All night at a manga cafe in Kabukicho!

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

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

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

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 :)

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

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

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

Happy Holidays from the Waseda Bear!

Interesting food

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!

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!"

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! ^_~

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

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!

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...

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...>_<