Mountains, Prime Ministers, and Turtles

The Pretty leaves

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Abe Shinzo

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Su Climbing

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Me and what looks like a danger sign.

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Me and David at Temple

Hello All! How goes it? It has been seriously a very strange week....but because I am late, you will just hear about last week for now. :)

I was finally able to go hiking! I recently discovered that at the end of my train line, there is actually a hikable mountain! So I wrangled up some friends and and we made the 30 minute trains ride journey there.

For the beginning of December, it was surprisingly warm, and a very clear day. I was immediately surprises how crowed it was! I guess coming from Alaska, I am really not used to hiking in crowds. But this is Japan, and there are only so many places to hike.

For this mountain, there is a "tram" option, in which you can just ride up. Of course we hiked up on one of the many trails. Before we began the hike, however, there seemed to be some commotion by the tram area. We were curious, of course, and saw a bunch of people greeting this middle aged guy. We were very confused, for we thought he looked familiar but could not quite place him. When I asked someone nearby, he said it was "October Man" which of course made absolutely no sense to us. We snapped a few shots so we could ask out host families later, and headed up trail #6.

As we were going up, at an a very quick pace, this "October Man" and his 4 bodyguards (they had cool ear things) passed us on our way up. We were still very confused, but continued up on our own. Then, some random hiker flys past us as asks us if we had seen Abe Shinzo, and ran ahead to catch up to him.

We were aghast! Abe Shinzo was the recently resigned Prime Minister of Japan! When we first arrived, he was all over the news because of his sudden resignation. This is basically like seeing George Bush randomly climbing Flattop! Abe claimed health as a reason for his resignation, but the way he flew up the mountain made me think otherwise. Anyways, probably the most important person I have ever seen!

Anyways, it took us about 2 hours to reach the summit, where we had a delicious lunch. We planned to go to the Summit of mount Jimba, further somewhere, but ultimately couldn't find the trail. So we headed down, which was good, because we had no idea there was a temple on the mountain! It was very impressive, and looked amazing with all the fall leaves. we spent awhile here.

we finished just as it was getting dark, and made the journey back. Su invited us to her host family's house for some Korean tea, and it was really fun. Japanese people are famous for hospitality, and they kept giving us more and more and more sweet snack up until the moment we left. They were very nice people, and I could tell they really enjoyed interacting with us.

Later in the week, I went with my Host Mom and Tsuki-chan to a New Years Mochi party. we rode about 40 minutes by bike to reach Asagaya, which is a significant distance away. The party basically consisted of people pounding the mochi, and then creating snacks out of it. While it was fun, the main mochi making guy was really strict about it all. The mochi I made was not good enough, and I had to eat it instead of putting it in the main pile. He was also strict with Tsuki-chan, who was trying his best.

Unlike the usual events I go to, people were not really wanting to socialize much (except a crazy old man and a nice lady who kept giving me food). So I mainly stuck with Tsuki-chan and Mama, which was fine with me. They created dishes for us to eat, a Mama made sure I tried them all. One, in particular, she told me the meat inside was turtle-like (かめみたい) I was like sure, I am willing to try anything. I ate it, and crunched on a few bones, and I decided (by looking at the bone) that maybe it was part of a cows spinal cord, which I guess could look like a turtle (?). A while passed, and someone came up and offered Mama a piece of meat of the bone. I looked, and guess what? It was a turtle shell!!!! I asked my host Mom how that was not a turtle! She thought it was hilarious, and we looked it up in a dictionary, which turned out to be "snapping turtle!" Why would anyone eat a turtle??????? Well, I ate one. And it tasted like chicken.

Righto, that is all the interesting parts of my week. Stay tuned!

Malls, Castles, and Extended Family

Me and Asuka at the Ladaport Mall

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Me in front of Matsumoto-jo-It looks like I am in front of a green screen!

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Matsumoto-Jo

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Photo From on top of the castle. See the snowy mountains?

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Me and Papa at the castle. I am a giant!

Hello Everyone!

Last weekend was really busy and really fun!!!

First, on Friday, I went to a fancy mall with Asuka and Su. It was called the Ladaport, and it basically had a cruise ship theme- the pavement outside was rolled up and down like real waves! Basically, everything in the mall was super nice and super fun to look at. I especially enjoyed the various accessory shops! We ate lunch at a really cool European styled restaurant! I did not realize how much I missed silverware! (Using chopsticks is difficult!)

After the mall, we went down the street and did some good old Karaoke. Su and Asuka are such good singers! I am lucky if I can even hit the note...not that that stops me! After Karaoke, we then ate some dinner, and headed home.

When I got home, my Host-Mom (who I had not really seen in awhile.....She was gone overnight on Wednesday, I was gone late on Thursday because of Thanksgiving) and she asked if I would like to go to Nagano to visit my Host Dad's family for the weekend! (She could not go though, she had school).

I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but I had already made plans with another friend who I kept cancelling on....but I decided of course to go to Nagano. Nagano is about 3 hours north in the "country" and really reminded me a bit of anchorage because of all the mountains. It was very beautiful!

When we arrived at my H-Dad's family's home, I was struck by how traditional it was (compared to my H-mom's family home, which is more modern). Because we were a little more up north, it was kinda cold, and these old houses only have little in terms of heating. Basically, they have one room in the house that is warm because it has a heater and a Kotatsu (table that heats up and has a blanket over it). The other rooms have no heat, and are basically colder than the outside! Why central heating has not caught on yet I will never know....everything else here is very high tech!

My H-Dad's family is also very different than H-mom's- first of all, the spoke next to no English (except for my host-cousin, but I think he was too embarrassed to use it). This meant that if I did not understand something, I had no one to translate it for me! I got confused a lot, but it was nice to practice my Japanese a bit.
In the beginning, the we also very formal. There was a lot of bowing and gift giving-but after that they seemed like a big family. Basically, H-Dad's brother lives in the house with the grandparents, his wife, and 3 children. They seem to get along very well.

If everyone in America has a hard time telling Japanese apart, I think it really goes both ways. Host-Uncle said I looked Like Princess Diana...lol. Yeah right! Very funny though.
Also, Tsuki-chan's cousin is so much calmer than him. He was very interested in me, and loved all my photos and fireworks videos I had on my cell phone. Tsuki-chan got a bit jealous, but it was refreshing to see a calmer kindergartner for once.

We had dinner, and then we went to sleep. The next day, Papa took me around his town, and we went to this awesome castle called Mastumoto-jo. It is the oldest castle of this type still standing, and it was basically amazing! We climbed all the way to the top, and it was an awesome view of the surrounding area. We then went to the adjacent museum for it....which cost like $6 to get in (which is expensive for museums here!) and it was a let down. As many of you know, one of my biggest pet peeves is when historical objects are not displayed or preserved correctly. They had some Jomon vessels (8000-3000 BC) literally out in the open for any child to touch! I was horrified!

After the museum, we explored a little and had lunch at a Soba shop which was pretty Delicious. We then returned home, where we decided to go to an Onsen (hot spring). I had not been to one here yet, so I was eager to go. They were surprised I wanted to go, because the exchange students in the past did not like the fact that you would be taking baths naked with strangers. But I wanted to try at least once. So off we went!

It was nice, but it really felt like a glorified bathtub. And it was indoors...but I have heard of nicer ones which I will try to get to in time. Host Aunt helped me out a lot with the procedure, which was very nice. :)

On our way back we went out to dinner, which was delicious. But I had eaten a lot that day already, so I was kind of full...as usual. After dinner, we loaded up the car and headed back. We got home at around midnight, but I still had Homework to do....so I really got to bed around 1:00 am. It was worth it though!

On another note, I have finalized my plans for going to Kyoto this winter break! I am very excited and am going to plan a long list of things I must see. Roxy from AK is coming as well, as well as 5 other people on my exchange should be fun!

It was my Host Dad's birthday yesterday, and I printed out and framed a picture of my Alaskan backyard than he liked so much. He seemed to like it! I was very happy. :)

Right O! We are actually going out to birthday dinner tonight! Very fun! See you guys later!

Susan, Cake, and ESPN2

Me and Susan at her hotel

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Some of the Sweets at the Cake Shop

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Some of us outside the shop

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Me playing pool

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Bowling screen, I am the one in the middle

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Pie!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope you all ate a lot of turkey!

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Well, last week was busy busy busy for me in Japan!

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An Alaskan family friend came to Japan for a conference and I was able to hang out with her on Friday! We had a tough time finding a good meeting time and played a lot of phone tag, but it all worked out in the end! I met her at her conference center in Odaiba and from there we made our way to Asasuka to meet the rest of her group. It was funny because you could tottally tell they were all Alaskan just but the way they all dressed! First of all, they were sweltering hot on a day that was kind of cold for most Japanese people. They also all had little hiking day packs that you dont usually see here (most people use shoulder bags). It was nice to see them all!

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It was also cool because Susan was able to bring stuff from america that I cannot get here....like a whole box of fruit leather from my Dad! Delicious.....

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I was only able to see Susan that one day because they were all moving on to Kyoto, but it was a really fun day!

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The next day I went to a Cake Tabehodai with some Oregon kids and some Japanese students. (Tabehodai=all you can eat!) The shop we went to in Shibuya was packed and we had to wait about an hour to get in, but it was worth it. For about 15 dollars, you could eat as much cake and snacks you wanted for 90 minutes. This may sound expensive, but it is very cheap, considering it was the only meal I required the whole day and I at way more than 15 dollars worth. It was very fun! The shops theme was really funky and modern as well, which made it extra fun!

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After cake, a few of us went to this entertainment center by our school and played pool and went bowling. Pool was a pretty good deal (9 bucks for 2 hours) but bowling was a bit expensive (9 bucks for one game!) But we had a good time!

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The next day I tried to make a Grandma Apple pie for my host family. I had a couple of problems, however....First of all, the container I had to cook the pie in was metal, and I usually use a glass one. This made me not sure what temperature to cook it at....not that I could really understand the temperature, since everything was in celcius! Also, the "oven" we have in our house is not an ordinary oven....maybe a glorified easy bake oven. (and also a microwave!) So, the heat comes from the top of the oven and not the bottom....causing the top part to be way more cooked than the bottom part!

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All in all it was OK....My host mom seemed pretty excited about it, and even taped the whole pie making process! Tsuki-chan and the little girl next door helped out a bit, but they mostly just ate apples as I peeled them. They really enjoyed the little biscuit snacks you make with the extra dough.

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On Monday after class, I hung out with Asuka a bit, which was really fun! We ate at a cafe, and them did Karaoke! It was a blast, I just wish I could sing a bit better! We are going to hang out again tomorrow as well, which should be fun!!!!

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Yesterday, I went as finally saw Resident Evil 3! For those of you who dont know, it is basically a zombie movie, and I love zombies! Overall I thought it was good! Movie theatres here are so serious though! When you buy your ticket, you can choose you seats! Also, they had little pampering areas like a "powder room" and a posh little cafe. very strange! Today I go out with my group for thanksgiving dinner at an American Restaurant called "The Pink Cow." I am super excited, for I really crave good old american food!!!!

Museums, Sharks, and Ping Pong

The Museum I went to with Host Mom

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The Sealion balancing a tennis racket

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Me is the "Shark Tunnel." See the Shark above me?

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Me Practiceing Ping Pong with Su

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Su and Asuka

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Flower picture I took for Tammy! It is the imerial flower of Japan.

Hello all!!!
This post is concerning last weekend and week! Yep....a little late....

On Friday, Instead of going to my Donald Trump class, I went with my host mom, Tsuki Chan, and Mama's friend to a museum in Roppongi. We went to the particular museum because I kept taking pictures of random buildings I thought were cool, and it turned out they were all by the same architect, as Mama pointed out. So, she took me to the museum with this same architecture, and it was really beautiful! They also had a Vermeer exhibit going on, which made it extra awesome!

Tsuki-chan, being five, is not really on for museums, but we had a good time anyways. After the museum, we went to Roppongi Hills, which is a really big posh mall that dwarfs any other mall I have ever seen! As Mama seems to like expensive things, we went into a fancy jewelry/accessory shop. It was very cool seeing all the fancy jewelry!

Also, because I love commercialized Christmas, I was happy to see that all the stores now have cool Christmas decorations!!! (Yes, I know, even before thanksgiving! crazy, huh?) Very pretty!!!

The Next day, I went to an Aquarium in Shinagawa with some of my classmates. This aquarium is famous because it has a "Shark Tunnel," which is basically a glass passage way the gives the illusion you are hanging out with a bunch of sharks, manta rays, and giant fish. In addition, they had a really cool dolphin show! We sat in the front where you are likely to get wet (luckily I had my raincoat!!! ) and enjoyed various types of dolphins doing impossible things. This was fun, but there were also a lot of creepy clowns in the audience for no good reason. I did not like that very much, as the dolphins really don't need any support!

After the show, there was a couple who got married right next to the dolphin pool! So, the dolphins did another cool encore performance. It was very cool! (except that the stupid clowns stuck around! :(

The next performance we saw was a sea lion who could do really cool tricks. If anyone needs a Christmas hint for me, I would like a sea lion, please!!! They are so cool, really just a big kitty!

In addition to all the fish, there were also penguins. My camera had died by this point, so I have no pictures! But they were very cute. (how could a penguin not be?)

After the Aquarium, we had some time to kill, so we tried to find a road that used to be a part of the Tokaido road, and remains the same width. Little did I know, but it was quite the expedition to get there, and when we did get there, it was nothing like the picture made it out to be! I was the only one who really thought it was cool...

I had to return home early, because my host family was going out to a big family sushi dinner! I think it was kinda in celebration for my host uncle's birthday, but it was really just an excuse for us all to get together. (My host family and my host mom's family: Mom, Dad, and 2 brothers). It was in a really fancy sushi restaurant where we were in a special room with our own cook right in front of us making the sushi fresh! It was very cool and very fancy!!! I ate sooooo many different raw fish, and have developed a liking to it. I think they (including the cook) were very surprised that ate everything served! It is a good thing I am not picky with what I eat! The chef we really nice too, and very interested in Alaska and the fish there. :)

The previous week I had signed up me and Su for a ping pong tournament, because I thought it would be fun. We tried to practice over the weekend, but we could not find a place to practice. So on Monday, the day of the tournament, we located the ping pong room on campus (yes, it has its own special room.....ping pong, as I have found, is VERY serious here!) and practiced for 3 hours prior to the tournament.

When the tournament began, we were ready to go. However, as we had been just practicing singles together, we found it difficult to transfer our skills to doubles! Every player has to switch on and off, and we kept getting confused about whose turn it was. In the end, out of the 3 games we played, we lost them all!

We were a bit demoralized at losing our games after we had practiced so hard....
However, as they were giving out prizes to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, they called us up for the MVP award! I guess someone had seen us practicing for so long, and decided to give us prizes too. We were very happy!!! We one a cool mirror, a pen, a folder, and a key chain with the date and school name on them. !!!

This week, I was also able to have lunch with Asuka! She took me and Su to a cool Spaghetti restaurant which was delicious! We have made plans for Karaoke next week! I cant wait!!!

Righto, that's about it! Stay tuned for this weekend's fun!!!

Nikko

Nikko landscape from the bus
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Me and a sheep on the farm! I love sheep!
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Me and friends at Toshogu Shrine
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Me and Tokugawa Ieyasu! Yes, he is in there!
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A bunch of us at Kegon Falls. Isn't it beautiful?
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Me and "Jiji" at Tsuki-chan's Shichi-go-san
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Me and Family at Shichi-go-san. I look huge compared to them.....
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Is it just me or am I wearing the same thing in every picture? hmm....

日光行こう！！ Hello all! Sorry this update is so late, I have been really sick! I caught my usually bronchial fall cough/cold....but I am taking medicine ad should be better soon! Although, I did get my family sick...

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Anways, we had last Friday off, so everyone on our program plus our Japanese buddies all went to Nikko! Nikko is about 2 hours from Tokyo by bus, and it is very pretty! There is a saying that goes something like "you haven`t seen beauty until you have been to Nikko." They think a lot of themselves...

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The bus ride itself was long, but we amused ourselves along the way. It was on of those really fancy buses that are usually reserved for rich vacationers in the states, but are pretty standard here. It was cool being on a Japanese highway, and to see scenery that did not consist of skyscrapers!

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When we arrived in Nikko, our first stop was lunch at a Japanese farmhouse. It was cool, we even saw cows and sheep just hanging out on the countryside! The lunch consisted off beef, rice, vegetables, milk, and soup that we fried ourselves on a grill on the table. I am guessing the beef and milk were quite fresh....

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After the meal, some of us went outside to explore. To our surprise and delight, we found a playground! It was the type of playground that is probably allready outlawed in the states as too dangerous, which made it extra fun. For those of you who have seen "ninja warrior, " the playground wasn`t unlike some of the obstacle in the show. We got a little out of control we had so much fun!

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Next, we piled on the bus again to go and visit Toshogu shrine. Toshogu shrine is basically where Tokugawa Ieyasu`s ashes are....in a huge highly ornate complex his grandson Iemitsu built for him. It was pretty amazing! Other famous things there include the 3 monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil), the "sleeping cat," and a room with a dragon painted on the ceiling.

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I really like a kid in a candy store! I probably too 100 pictures....Ieyasu is my favorite.....Also, all the shrines have little charms that you can buy (basically souvenirs...) and I bought many from Toshogu. I was so excited, me and the people I was with were late getting back to the bus....oops. It was tons of fun though!

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Next, we headed to Kegon Falls, which is a famous suicide spot in Japan. I would say it was amazing....but there was way too much fog to even see the waterfall! We were really close too...it was strange being able to hear it, but not see it.....Regardless, there was a cool gift shop there and I bought a bag of apples (sounds weird, but they are expensive in the city! I miss fruit!) and some strawberry candies for my family.

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Then, we began the long drive back. I know when I described it it does not sound like we did much, but everything above lasted until dark. Everyone took a nap on the way back. The trip in total was very fun, but I could have used less time on the bus...this is why Kamakura was more fun for me. (the other group trip we went on).

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The next day, I went to Tsuki-chan`s Shichi-go-san, which is a festival for those turning 7, 5, and 3 years old. I didn't realize how formal it was supposed to be....so I only wore jeans, shirt, and my coat. However, my host family was decked out in kimono, a suit, and a hakama....which they didn`t change into until we arrived at my host grandparents house. oops! While they were changing, I hung out with host grandpa, or "Jiji." I met him once at the sports festival I mentioned in an earlier post, but he is really a pretty cool guy. He had an American atlas, and I pointed my home town, and we discussed American politics. We then went out around the corner to this quaint bento shop and brought home lunch before going to the shrine.

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At the shrine, tons of dressed up kids and family were waiting their turn to go in the shrine and do the shinto thing. I am pretty sure there was some kind of fee involved (there always is when it comes to shrines) and we entered the shrine with other families and watched a shinto dance and bowed our heads a lot. I really couldn`t understand what the shinto guys were saying very well....so I cannot go much deeper into it. When it was over, Tsuki-chan received a balloon, an arrow, and a medal. I have no idea what that is about.

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On Sunday, Mama, Tsuki-chan, 5 people from my group, and myself all went to the Zoo. (yes, again! it was cool, ok?) We got a bit separated because Tsuki-chan had a one track mind when it came to the Hippos, and one of the guys in my group had never been to a zoo before, and was taking his time. But it was a really fun time! I got to see more of Ling Ling the panda this time, which was cool.

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On Monday, we went on a field trip with my Japanese class to a natural disaster safety museum. It was REALLY cool....First, the decor was kind of "futuristic"....but what "futuristic" meant in the 1950s. We watched a cool 4D movie depicting an earthquake with a bunch of other groups. The other groups (mostly middle aged ladies ) seemed to be amused by us all...and the tour guide was impressed we could understand when he told us to take off our 4D classes....hmmmm....

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First, our group went and learned CPR techniques. I am pretty sure I am not qualified.....Next, we went to a "fire room" which was supposed to be practice if you are in a fire and there is a lot of smoke. Basically, in groups of about 4, we were sent into a smoky maze where we had to find our was out. However, we had to stay close to the floor, and if you stood up to much, a loud buzzer goes off and you would "die". It was cool because you could watch the other groups on a screen when they went into the maze. Luckily, my group made it out alive!

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Next, we went to the "earthquake" room. Basically, it is a room that shakes at the degree of a 7.0 earthquake, and you have to get under a table and protect yourself. I was surprised a 7.0 was that intense, it was very scary! (and kind of painful...)

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Last, we went to a room that displayed a simulated fire, and we used fire exstinguishers to put it our. As I have never used one before it was really fun! And yes, I prevented the building from burning down! yay!

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At the end of the tour, we took a test on what was learned on these weird 5os futuristic computers. After the quiz, you get a cool certificate!

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Well, that has been the week so far! This weekend is going to be busy as well! I promise I will try and post sooner this next time!

Waseda Vs. Keio: Baseball Showdown

My Paparazzi Shot of our Players

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Standing in Line

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Cheering (the game has not yet started...)

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Waseda Flag

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Me and Su: Towel Pirates

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Cheering Cheerleaders

Just today I went to the biggest baseball game of the fall season: Waseda (my school) vs. our biggest rivals, Keio.

First of all, let me explain how if works. We play 2 games, and the winner of both wins. If we both win one, another game is played. Now, the game I went to today was supposed to be the second game, but the typhoon cancelled the one that was supposed to be on Saturday, so we were actually now watching the first game.

The typhoon, oddly, lasted exactly one day, and now it was extremely sunny and extremely hot. Not what you would be expecting for fall weather. There was not a cloud in the sky, and we all got sun-burned!

We were supposed to arrive and meet out Japanese friends at 7:30am at the location of the match, which meant I had to get up at about 6:00am....which was a bit difficult. I, of course, arrived late, but it was OK because there were still people there. However, we were held up at the konbini (convenience store) and 4 of us were left to find the place on our own. You would think this would be easy, for a stadium is really big, right?
Well, the place we were going was a baseball stadium part, so there were about 5 to choose from. We walked around a bit, and found people clustering around one of the stadiums. However, we could not find out group (which should have been easy, they had on neon orange jackets...) but we didn't see them right off the bat. So, we took a walk around the circumference of the stadium. Then, we suddenly came upon our Waseda players! It was very cool, they were warming up and stretching. It was very Paparazzi! When we showed out Japanese friends the pictures later, they were very excited! I guess getting lost wasn't so bad after all!

Continuing our walk around the stadium, we found the other group (with neon pink jackets) and joined them. They took us to the real line (which was about a block away....) and we were finally in the right place. We stood in the line here for about 2 hours, and then moved up into the stadium. Our Seats were not great (were were maybe looking at center outfield, but we were pretty close up) but they worked for us. As I will explain later, seats don't really matter...

In our seats, we waited maybe an hour and a half before the game started, but we were not just sitting there. There was a complex heirarchy of cheerleaders (both male and female) conducting a series of cheers. Basically, this is practice for the real game. These cheers are not simple the University of Oregon "Ooooooooooooooooooo" or clapping our hands. There were perhaps about a dozen songs that everyone same that had a system of complex hand gestures that everyone seemed to know. It was very serious! It was the first time in years where I realized cheerleaders do have a purpose....to lead cheers! Not just jump around and look pretty. Very different!

Now, I know I am making this sound like a big rivalry, and it is. However, this is no Civil War or Apple cup. It is a FRIENDLY rivalry! It was very strange, but before the game we did several cheers wishing the other team luck and cheering for them! The cheerleaders even switched places for awhile, and we sang some of their cheers! I am telling you, it was refreshing. No mascots beating each other up, no cussing and profane language,. Just singing and cheering.

Right before the game starts, both schools sing their anthems (which we sing every chance we get... not just at games, but EVERYWHERE). The opposite teams stood politely while this happened (no booing, just quietly watching). Then the game began.

Now, I am not sure how many people actually watched the games....all the effort was spent on cheering. Sometimes, you would be so caught up in the songs and movements that you would entirely miss a strike out. When our team was at bat, our cheerleaders dance continuously until we are no longer at bat. I do not know how they did it! Every time a new played was at bat, we would do a cheer with their name in it. When our team was in the outfield, we mostly just chanted our pitchers name. Our Pitcher, Saito Yuki, is pretty famous, and is only a freshman. Because he uses a handkerchief a lot, his nickname is "The Handkerchief Prince." .........it sounds cooler in Japanese, I promise.

The game itself was kind of boring. we went 0-0 into overtime. In overtime it heated up a bit, and our cheers became more constant and long. However, Keio finally won, 0-1.

At this point I felt like....well....you know Peter Pan? The part where you have to clap REALLY hard in order to save Tinkerbell's life when she is poisoned, and then she comes to life? Well, we clapped ourselves to death out there and Tinkerbell still died. We were all a bit dumbfounded, especially since we were supposed to win this game.

But there were no hard feelings, as you would not expect. Even after the players were well off the field, we listened to each others schools songs and cheered for the other team some more. Then, we all stayed seated so the alumni could leave first, and we all left in a nice orderly fashion. I swear, I will never ever see this at an Oregon game.

On another note, dressing up in school colors is not very important in Japan. There were a few in baseball tees, but overall people were dressed casually. This is weird, because I would argue that Waseda has more school spirit than Oregon....

After the game (which ended about 5:00) I headed home to do my dreaded homework because I have a test tomorrow. Bleh. That's about all, next week we go to Nikko!

Museums, Typhoons, and Donald Trump

Me and Rodin's thinking man (although not on the day of the typhoon...I was way too afraid for my camera!
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Me on the train during rush hour.
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Another view of my room: the closet.

Like last week, I think I will again do this blog in two posts, because a lot has happened! I should be updating sooner....I will try my best next week!!!

This week at school went by without much problem. Japanese is going well, and I think i am getting better every day. Recently, I have been a bit Japanesed out, and often revert to English when I don't have to. Hopefully, this will pass soon....

As usual, my history class is homework free, so nothing much to report there. Although, let me tell you, early Japanese history is full of melodrama. Betraying brothers, ghost hauntings, husbands sleeping with their wive's mothers.....BIZARRE. Whatever....

In Art History, we have a test this week!!! I have yet to study at all, but she basically gave us all the info that is going to be on the test, so if I just sit down and study for about 2 hours I should be OK. I keep getting good grades on the papers, and I have no idea why...my homework effort is virtually non-existent. This school year is not about school in the traditional sense...in my opinion. (and, it seems, everyone in my program...)

For a little extra under-the-table cash, I have been helping out a Japanese Business class. Basically, this involves (I kid you not) watching "The Apprentice" and explaining what happened to a group of Japanese students. I guess they are comparing American business and Japanese business....hmmm...I really hope they don't get the wrong idea! I had a bit of a hard time because I have no business related vocabulary, but some of the students knew a little English so I could get the point across. You try explaining "Protege" in another language...it is very difficult. But all went well and I made 3000 yen!!! (about $30). I go again the week after next.

On Friday after the class, I went to a "nomikai" (drinking and dinner party?) with the other Oregon students and one of the Japanese student groups. The restaurant was very strange....it kind of had a "prison" theme (the rooms were separated by bars) but it wasn't very clear....For example, they had bunny and squirrel lawn ornaments, treasure chests, and luggage in these "cells" as well. I have no idea...but it was fun!

On Saturday, I went with Asuka and Su to an art museum in Ueno and saw a special Munch Exhibit!!!! Munch is my FAVORITE, so I was very excited that they were showing his works in Japan! (Munch is the guy that painted "The Scream"). It was basically the best thing EVER! It was also lucky we had Asuka with us because she translated some of the plaques for us, which made our viewing experience even better. I had no idea, for example, that Munch painted with a couple of his paintings with crayons on cardboard! Basically, he is amazing!!!!!!

We also saw the regular exhibits as well, which included some 16th century christian pieces, Monet, Gauguin, Renoir, Manet, and I am sure many others that I just don't remember. They even have original Rodin statue of the thinking man! It was very cool. Basically, so rich Japanese man awhile back bought them all up, and now they are on display. I really wish Sonya (my roommate 2 years running and an enthusiastic Art History major) was here, because I know she would appreciate all this so much more than me!

While I made the museum seem all peaceful and posh, outside was a different story. Little did I know, but there was a full fledged typhoon going on outside!!!! (Ok, Asuka said it was a little typhoon, but for me it was a huge storm! Nothing like it in Oregon or Alaska!) I had my umbrella and my raincoat, but I still became soaking wet! The wind was blowing the rain everywhere, and my umbrella kept threatening to fly out of my hands! It was very scary! Asuka, Su, and I were going to do Karaoke, but Asuka was afraid the trains might shut down and we would be stranded. So, we all went home, and luckily our trains were unaffected (although several others were not!) If that was a little typhoon, I would hate to see what a big one is!!!!!! Papa, as a fireman, had a very difficult day at work...I can only imagine!!!

Alright, that's all for this post, stay tuned for SO-KEI-SEN!!!!!!

Odaiba, 125, and Neighborhood Party

The long awaited "people sleeping on the train photo"

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Me, Su, the Waseda bear, and Okuma Shigenobu

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Me and the Ferris Wheel in the distance

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Su and I at a photo op at Fuji Tv. We have our own talk show.

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Statue of Liberty and Rainbow Bridge

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Race course at Toyota

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Su and I at Venus Fort

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Me at a slot Machine!!!!

Hello again! Sorry it took awhile to update, this site's picture loader-upper thing was down for awhile, so I couldn't post!

Saturday and Sunday were very busy!

First, Su and I went to Waseda's 125th anniversary festival! You may wonder, why 125? Well, the school's creator, Okuma Shigenobu, had a hypothesis that if a human being lived correctly throughout their life, they could potentially live to be 125 years old! Although he died at 83, he made a big impact on the school and the world! The clock tower I posted awhile back is exactly 125 shaku (an old Japanese measurement) high, so this is a huge occasion!

All of our Japanese buddies had a series of boothes that sold various country's food. I am pretty sure they were competing to sell the most...My buddy worked at the German booth, and coerced me into buying a cake. It was very delicious! Su, being Korean, tried the Korean food, but didn't like it...however, she bought all the different types of food (Russian, French, German, Korean, Chinese) and gave Germany the best grade.

After seeing our buddies, we visited the other boothes. Su and I got our portraits taken anime style, which was pretty fun! We also watched a string concert for awhile, and even met an Okuma Shigenobu man-statue walking around! We pestered him into taking a photo with us!

At around 3:00, we headed to the station to meet everyone who was going to Odaiba. We then took the train to Shinbashi, and then a monorail to Odaiba. For those of you who don't know, Odaiba is a man made coast thing created by the Tokugawa's as kind of a naval base in fear of all the foreign ships that kept coming. Now, it is an entertainment/shopping district, and houses many big Japanese companies!

When we arrived, our first destination was Fuji TV. Fuji TV is one of the biggest TV companies (on the level of CBS, FOX, ect). Inside, there was an extensive gift shop, and a photo op area where you could take your picture so it looked like you were on that show! We even saw this huge red monster thing, but it had to go on break and we couldn't get our picture with it!

Next, we went across the street to view the rainbow bridge and Japan's Statue of Liberty (yes, the have one too....French give them away like candy!). It was especially beautiful at night, as the rainbow bridge has cool lights on it. We then went inside Aqua City, basically a mall, and ate at the food court, where I had (big surprise) curry. The food court was very posh, and it felt like we were on a tropical island....

Next, we headed to Pallette Town, which is...kind of.....a place, I guess....Basically, it has attractions? I don't know how to describe it!!!! Well, first we went into the "Toyota Mega Web" showroom, which had all the up-and-coming cars for Toyota. Let me tell you, there certainly was some strange futuristic looking vehicles in there! We were even allowed to test drive Toyota hybrid cars, which looked at lot like a smart car. Although the test drive went automatically (we didn't have to steer) it was very fun!

After Toyota, we went just outside to the biggest Ferris wheel in the world! It was very exciting and we were very high about Tokyo, and could see everything! We could even see the fireworks from Disneyland in the distance. It was especially nice to see everything at night.

After the 20 minute ride, we went to Venus Fort, which is basically a Renaissance themed mall. It put me in the mind of a hotel in Las Vegas...For example if you have ever been at the Aladdin Hotel, they have a mall that has the sky painted on the ceiling so it feels like you are outside. This was the same thing! By this time it was pretty late (9:30....yes, it is late for us!) and all the shops were closed. However, to further my Vegas allusion, we found a random casino inside! And I am so allowed to gamble in Japan!

Japanese casino's are a bit different...For example, they had the poker tables and the slot machines, but they also have UFO catchers (aka claw machines) and other video games. There was even a game where you simulated being a bus driver....strange.....

After wasting a bit of money, we had to head home, or we would miss our final trains! (and if you miss your last train, you have to use a taxi. However, taxis are very expensive, especially since they raise their prices at night! Most people sleep in the station rather than take a taxi home!) I got home around midnight, which is pretty late for here. (usually we are all in bed by 10:00....very different!)

The next day, all the neighbors on our short street had a going away party for our neighbor, who is moving to Myrammar (Burma) for work. Since everyone on the street is roughly the same age (30s and 40s) they all have kindergarten to 2nd grade aged children. I am telling you, there were more kids than adults! It was funny to see everyone drink and have a good time! The children kept telling me "Hello, my name is _______. Hello. See you. Apple. Banana!" and then run away. It was very cute!

On another note, I seem to be visiting all these locations every weekend at exactly the right time! Odaiba was practically empty (my guidebook said it was supposed to be super crowded). It is weird to see these huge spaces, but nobody in them. We really have lucked out so far!!

Clubs, Aliens, and Sore Feet!

My Room!

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A weird sign I saw....

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Shoin Jinja

I am going to write two posts today because I seem to have a lot of pictures!!

Hello all! I am sorry I have not been replying to emails lately, it has just been very busy! Hopefully, if I finish homework, I will reply to some tonight....

This school week has been one event after the next! My Japanese class has finally stepped up a notch, and we are going to have tests soon! I wish they had started at this pace, because now I am in no mindset to study! We have an art history quiz as well over the readings I was supposed to have read, but honestly, I can probably get away with not reading them...hehehe. But I will anyways....maybe.

I have been attending "trans" club (not transvestite, I am pretty sure it stands for translation). It is really fun! You basically talk to Japanese people about a topic in English, the switch to a different topic and speak Japanese. It is nice, because it is easier for me to make friends if I speak English, but I also get to practice my Japanese as well. :) I met someone there who studies English 3 hours a day!!! I was inspired by this, but have yet to take action....

The club meets twice a week, but I think I will only go once a week. Because the club goes until late, I miss dinner at home!!! And it can be expensive eating out every night...

I also was able to have lunch with my Japanese buddy, Erika. (If you don't remember or I didn't tell you, we were all paired up with a Japanese person during orientation). In the beginning, I had a difficult time understanding her! She is studying Spanish, so she doesn't know how to talk in a way I can understand like some of the other buddies do. However, when I had lunch with her, I could understand almost everything she said! I was so happy! I still have a hard time understanding TV, but this is definitely and improvement! Anyways, we made plans to go to all you can eat cake next month! So exciting!

This Friday, (my wandering day) I went on an expedition to get my Foreign Registration Card. This sounds easy enough, but last time Papa took me by car, so now I had to find my way by train!!! Honestly, I was doubtful I would be able to find it. And if taking the trains isn't difficult enough, there is additional searching after you get off the train! I never know which side of the tracks to walk on...but, somehow, I found it! I was so surprised! Anyways, so now I am an official alien of Japan!!!

After I picked up my new card, I wandered around the area a bit and found......Yoshida Shoin's school and now shrine!!! I studied him in history class last year, and I was so happy to find such a historical place! (you should wikipedia him, he is amazing!!!!!!!) Then after the shrine, I heard this random flute music and went to investigate. Then I saw this business man just standing in the trees playing a Japanese flute! It was very odd...

I then got back on the train and went to Sangen-jaya, and couple of stops from Shibuya. I basically just walked around and looked at expensive things! There were not a lot of foreigners here, and the only sign I saw in English said "Do not Steal. The Cameras are Watching." awwww...

By this time I had done a lot of walking, and my legs really hurt!!! By the end of all this, I am going to be an expert walker! Asuka was telling me earlier that when she returned to Japan from Alaska she didn't realize how weak her legs had gotten! So if you come and visit, make sure you have good walking shoes!

Ginza and Tsukiji

Me and Hachiko the Dog

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The wine bar "PEE."

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Us and the street performers at the garden

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Me climbing a mountain

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Me on a bridge in the garden

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Me high-fiving Godzilla

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ME AND SPIDERMAN!

Today I went to Ginza and Tsukiji with some of the exchange students. It was tons of fun! Although a lot of the placed we tried to find we couldn't find or had something off about it, we had a good time.

When we arrived in Ginza, we first went into the Sony building. Here, they have all the up-to-date technology that is yet to be released. It was pretty cool looking at all the shiny gadgets! Also, Spiderman 3 is just coming out in Japan, so there were a lot of spiderman displays! My guidebook said there was a free virtual reality room, but we found out it didn't exist. We were a little disappointed...but then we thought, well, next is the Godzilla statue, and that should be MONUMENTAL!

However, it turns out Gozilla is far from life size. In fact, WE were bigger than Godzilla! Still, it was pretty cool seeing THE Japanese icon on display in the middle of the city. It couldn't stop us from laughing as we turned the corner, half expecting a 10 story version of Godzilla. I guess I should have taken the hint when I asked Mama about it--she didn't even know it existed! She had a good laugh when I showed her the pictures, though.

Next, we went to a nearby park, which was just like any ordinary part. Only there was some kind of train event going on....There was an aweful singer, and a bunch of boothes...

Next, we headed South to find one of the few Shrines left in ginza because of the fires, earthquakes, and modernization this part of Tokyo was involved in. My guidebook said it was hard to find, but we must have circled the block twice and saw nothing. I asked some Japanese businesswomen, and they pointed us the way, but we had no idea. So, we skipped it and walked further south to Tsukiji.

Since I had the guidebook, I was the navigator. While we were going the right way, my calculations were a little bit off...we were much further East than I thought we were! When we tried to visit the fish market (the biggest Asian fish market in the world) we came under the realization that it was Sunday and of course it was closed. This saddened us, but we headed to our next destination, the Hama-rikyu Gardens (which belonged to the Tokugawa Shogunate!!!!)

Although it cost about $3.00 to get in, it was worth it. We saw sites like Tokugawa Ienobu's 300 year-old pine tree, Tokugawa Ieyasu's port for when he needed to go somewhere by boat, Tokyogawa Hidetada's poppy field (we all know what THIS was for...he wasn't a worthless shogun for no reason...), and a shrine to appease all the ducks they hunted in the park. It was very pretty, and had a cute little tea house where they serve tea and cake. It seems this park was full of stray kitties, but none of them would come and see me!! Also, the park had some "mountains"......which actually were just glorified hills. The picture above shows me climbing this so called "mountain." :)

As we were exiting the park, there was a street performance type thing near the exit. They had Japanese umbrellas, and on top of them they juggled balls, tea cups, and rice boxes, which was really cool. They then balanced a glass of water on a long pole, which looked nearly impossible!!! It was very cool, and as you can see above, we got our pictures taken with them! They seemed excited that us foreigners had taken such and interest in their show.

After this park, we headed to Shibuya for lunch. There we visited Hachiko the Dog statue (2nd time for me!). For those of you who don't know the story, Hachiko was a dog that walked his master to the station waited, and walked him back home every day. However, one day, Hachiko's master died at work and never came home. So Hachiko waited, waited, and waited for 10 years before he died. Hachiko is kind of a Japanese hero! Anyways, nowadays this statue is used as a meeting point. And who knew Hachiko was the same size as Godzilla?

We then had lunch and walked around a bit as it started getting dark. We all laughed when we saw a bar called "P.E.E." Of course it is an anagram for something else, and they probably don't know the English meaning. Still, we won't be going there anytime soon....

Next weekend, tentatively we will go to Odaiba. Very exciting!

Also, if you haven't noticed, I seem to be making a peace sign in every picture I take! If I don't make the peace sign in a picture, it feels wrong! Japan is really rubbing off on me.....

Anyways, that's about all. See you all next time!!!