Wow... has it really been that long?

Ok... so here are the long awaited pictures... The first is of rice fields "back home" in Yamagata. I was there in June (yeah... JUNE!!!) for a wedding. Aaaaah... it's so peaceful there... not quite like Tokyo.

Second picture... it's an odd tradition at weddings, but a lot of times there are goofy dances, skits, or songs that are performed for the bride and groom. The guys with the multi-colored wigs are all the grooms' friends from high school. Hahaha... the made me laugh SO hard!

The last picture is of a turtle. I like turtles... and you see them in parks here in Japan all the time. Thus, the picture. Now when my mom was here we used her camera and she didn't have a cable with her so I couldn't transfer any of those pics to my computer. But they will be coming soon.

Also, big news... I'm staying here in Japan to finish my degree. I am looking forward to finishing here and also getting to meet more people and maybe even have people visit me! That's an open invitation!!

Wow!

It's been an awfully long time since I posted anything. Pictures or messages. For that I must apologize. Things have been busy but not THAT busy! I'm just lazy.
So, I'm going to do one of those crazy updates of what I've been doing since May!
-I finished my midterms and have gotten the results back (for the most part)... grades are good and I'm doing well in all my classes.
- Went to my friend Nami's wedding in Yamagata... wow! That was a major event... Had a total blast!!
-I had a friend visit for the last 10 days... Ted. He's been studying in China and wanted to see a bit of Tokyo. It was fun, but exhausting because I didn't get nearly enough sleep while he was here.
- Kendo's good, but KILLING me because I've not adjusted to the heat (I don't think you really can!) and I end up a sweaty mess by the end of EVERY practice. But I love it still.
- Did and interview to get into Waseda last weekend... have been accepted. Now for figuring out the money situation. :-) Doesn't everything all come down to money??
- Am trying to figure out what to do with my mom while she's here... she's got a list a mile long and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to be able to play with... I'll still be in classes!

That's the REALLY short version... I promise there will be pics!

When Japan gets the measles...

So... About 20 years ago the Japanese government made the measles vaccine optional. That only lasted a few years and it's now mandatory again, but there is a small portion of the population that has not been vaccinated.

This spring has seen an elevated number of measles cases on the university campuses here in Tokyo. Which means that in order to prevent a real outbreak, many universities have cancelled school.

Yup, Monday school was cancelled for the week. It's funny because there have been 12 cases of measles reported at my university. 12 cases out of a student body of 55,000 people! That's what it takes to get school cancelled I suppose. On the one hand not having school has been good. I could get a bit caught up on classes. On the other hand, my busy week that was supposed to be over today has been postponed for a busy week next week! Argh!!

Ma, shoganai ne! (can't be helped)

Hiking... in Tokyo!!

So... everyone thinks that Tokyo is just a big city with lots of neon lights, concrete and karaoke joints. Not so!! Tokyo is quite a big place... big enough that there's even some countryside. And I have proof! I went hiking in Tokyo today... there was lots of nature and sun!! Skipped rocks and had a great time... I've got pics to prove it!

And you can't even see any concrete down near the river... nice!




You can't get by without fire hydrants... even in the middle of the country!! :-) Thank you Will for accentuating that point! Haha...



















Despite Kassandra's cheery expression... the water was pretty cold!



















I was not happy about the bridge. I'm not as scared of heights as my brother... but a rickety
wooden bridge is not my idea of fun!

i think it's here...

Yep, I actually think spring is here. The day is gorgeous! Weather's great... wind isn't too bad... and the sun.... shining, shining, shining!! I LOVE this time of year. I can't get enough of it! I don't have any pics right now... but I think I will after I go and have a day just enjoying it! :-)

Hope spring's happening where you are too! :-)

A

What constitutes burnout?

I think that I'm seriously close to burnout. Does that sound like I'm being a serious weenie?? I have intense classes this term. Eeek! AND... I've been rushing around trying to apply to Waseda to transfer here. I'm still missing one essential bit of the application, but will turn it in and wait for the last crucial piece of information. AND I have a huge article to finish reading for my IR and Security class... and I've been going to be after midnight and getting up before 7 the last few days. I need sleep and less stress!!

HELP!!!!

A

True life

So, I've decided that soap operas are actually inspired by true life events. Why?? Well, I'm having a mini-soap opera experience. Let's see what you think...
A) I am currently seeing a guy that is really amazing. Nice, good looking, treats me well... and I like him too. Bonus: He asked ME out! (big deal in Japan)
B) A guy I met in December is suddenly single. I liked him when I first met him, but he had a girlfriend at the time. (they were only together 2 months or so) He's great and I always have a good time when I'm with him.
C) The Wild Card. A guy I met over a year ago in Hawaii just admitted that he's liked me since he met me. He's back in Japan for good and regrets not having acted sooner. But has now joined the mix. This is the most unexpected. It hit like a brick wall! :-)

Evidence says real life is as messed up as the soaps! :-)

A

Sadness

It seems even when bad news is expected, it still catches you off guard.

Someone I knew from home disappeared in November and his body was finally found recently. Being missing that long during the winter meant he probably wasn't still alive. But until you know definitely there's still hope. And now that hope is gone.

My prayers go out to his family and friends right now. It's a tough time in Fairbanks right now.

A

Birthday, part 2

Now for the more subdued birthday celebration... Sunday in Japan is Saturday in the United States... which means that I get a SECOND birthday on the 15th in Japan. Heehee...

My Sunday started early with me waking up at 6am, drinking water and taking ibuprofen... and then going back to bed for a bit. I got up around 9ish or so... and got some breakfast together. Shortly afterwards I got to talk to my parents. That was nice because it's been a month since I talked to them. Haven't bothered buying a calling card since I got back from Alaska. :-)

After that I had to get ready because I had a date!! Yep, you heard correctly... I had a date. Now, I've been dating this guy for a little while now and really quite like him. He just started a job on April 1st, so we haven't gotten to spend too much time together recently. Anyway... I had a date.

We met at Shibuya and had some lunch... then we headed out to Yoyogi park, the weather was beautiful so what better way to enjoy an afternoon!? We walked around for awhile, but being a bit tired from the b-day activities the night before we decided having a seat on a bench and people watching would be just the thing... and so we did.

One thing that's really nice about Yuki is just being around him. He's so relaxed and easy to be around... gotta love that... we spent the afternoon wandering around and being in each other's company. Much more subdued than the other celebrations.

I headed home around 6:30ish or so... had homework and other things to do and that concluded my birthday weekend! I loved every minute of it!! :-)

A

Birthday, part 1

The odd luxury that one has when living a whole day ahead of the United States is that I have a birthday in Japan... which extends through the entire NEXT day because of the time difference... LOVE IT!!!

So... part 1 of my birthday was really something. Yeah, that's pretty much the best way of saying it. The entire day I pretty much relaxed and saved my energy for the evening. I knew I would need any extra strength that I could muster.

The evening's plans kicked off with kendo. Kendo was a great practice. I got to practice with 5 people (in an hour), then went with my friend Daisuke afterwards to make the grand total 6!! Wahoo!! After kendo was drinking with the kendo kids. Now... birthday drinking is different than normal drinking. And it was even more exciting/entertaining because there were two birthday kids: me and Murai-sempai (he's one of the group leaders, thus sempai).

So, the tradition is... you drink the same number of glasses of beer for the number of years you are turning. In my case, 27. Eeeek! An aside, the glasses are very small and the amount of beer is only a swallow or so. Promptly at 10pm, Murai and I were called up in front of everyone and as the entire group sang Happy Birthday on repeat... Murai and I drank... sad thing is... I was done before Murai, who had fewer glasses to finish... but we ended together with half a bottle (think bottles that are 1.5 litres) of beer in unison. Then came the presentation of the presents... from 1st, 2nd, 3rd years and alumni members. Murai totally got hit hard... he had to drink bloody mary from a bottle, tomato juice, sake, and beer... he did get sick. I only had to drink (on top of what I'd already drank) half a bottle of plum wine. After all that, cakes were brought out. Lovely, really tastey looking cakes. And... we ended up with our faces in the cakes and not getting to eat any of it... :-( SO sad!! (I even got frosting up my nose!!!)

Heehee... But that was enough... both of us were REALLY drunk by the end. So drunk, I nearly forgot a present from my friend Toda at the end of the night.

So... there's part 1... part 2 is more subdued, but nonetheless exciting/good. :-)

A

Back to the grind...

So... Monday was the first day of class for the spring term here. If that sounds confusing, the run-down is that Japan's school year runs from April to March with breaks for summer, New Year and Spring. (That's the short version!) Like I was saying, classes start Monday. And it's Wednesday... and I'm TOAST!! Seriously... I am SO tired it's not even funny. I woke up to my alarm this morning and just remember thinking... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I know that's the normal reaction for most people, but generally I'm ok with waking up. This morning is probably a result of kendo last night (intense and wicked!!!) and having just started classes again.

Anyway... I don't have anything else to report other than that. Oh... my birthday is Saturday. I keep being reminded by the kendo girls... what's better is that the tradition is to drink the number of small glasses of beer for every year. So... my birthday twin, Murai, only has to drink 22 glasses... and I get 27. I have a feeling Saturday is going to be interesting. :-O

A

Here we have some examples of the lovely sakura, cherry blossoms, in Yoyogi Park here in Tokyo. They are really beautiful and everyone seemed to be having a great time. That will happen when you have nature mixed with copious amounts of alcohol. No one can accuse the Japanese of not knowing how to have a good time!! Hope all's well where you are! :-)

Fun Day!

So, yesterday was a really great day. The weather was really great (kind of windy, but good none the less). The cherry blossoms were blooming all over Tokyo and I was on a date with a really nice guy. :-) We went to the opening of a newly renovated section of Tokyo... it has very posh shopping and posh restaurants. It also has a new building designed by Ando Tadao, a world-famous Japanese architect. After going there, we went to Roppongi Hills and went to the Mori Art Museum... on the same floor is an amazing viewing area. You can see all of Tokyo! It's great! I have some fuzzy pics (I forgot my camera!) taken with my cell phone. What's the killer is that Mt. Fuji was out and looking awesome, but because I didn't have my camera you can't see it. :-( Oh, well... another time.
This was just a few minutes before the sun really went down... we got an awesome show while we sat there... every few minutes the horizon would change. It was really cool.
Tokyo Tower... very fuzzy... but you can make it out!!





Night sakura (cherry blossoms)... I actually took this two nights ago after kendo. Really pretty, eh?? The whole city is in bloom!!













This is Tsumabuki Satoshi. He's one of my and Lauren's favorite Japanese actors and is the new face of Pepsi Next! The new billboards are all over Tokyo. Heehee... they are REALLY amusing. :-)


Yesterday, in addition to just having a great day. I saw tons of little kids out and about. They are SO cute!! I want one... my date kept insisting that white kids are cuter, but I totally disagree!! Japanese kids are SO adorable... you just want to take out home. :-) Anyway... hope everyone likes the pics...

A

A Japanese Wedding!

I had the great experience of being able to go to my friend Peter's wedding yesterday. It was amazing! Very Japanese, but with the addition of several Americans it had a touch of "American-ness." If you'll allow me a word creation. Even in America, the bride should really be the most beautiful woman at the wedding. Well, in a traditional Japanese wedding, the bride wears the most beautiful and elaborate kimono... which means that she really is the most beautiful person present... hands down!!
The reception was amazing... the food was good, the drink flowed freely and everyone seemed to have a great time. I can't wait to go to my next Japanese wedding... in June! Yay!!

Here are a few pictures....















After the ceremony (l to r): Me, Peter, Sam and Junko















Peter and Junko. Junko has changed into her colored kimono.















You can only kind of see the men onstage... we had a great drum and flute/shamisen (3-stringed Japanese instrument!) duo for entertainment. Really great!!

Lethal combination...

St. Patrick's Day was quite the occasion!! I made Shivani a shirt that read "100% Irish" and we headed out to hit up the best little Irish pub in Shinjuku. Ahhh... it was a glorious night... until right near the end. We ended up having 3 pints of Guinness and 2 Irish carbombs. I'm blaming the massive hang over I had the next day on the carbombs! :-) BUT... we had a great time. Who can argue with 500yen (roughly $5) a pint Guinness?? Not me! Hope everyone else had a great St. Pat's too! Here's to the Irish!!

Alaska Pictures!!! and a Massive Update!

So, I just returned from 3 weeks in Fairbanks, Alaska... my old stomping grounds! Hahaha...
The first weekend I was back, I went to see the formerly UAF Nanooks (now, Alaska Nanooks!?!) play a bit of hockey. Unfortunately they handed the hometown crowd a couple of disappointing losses. Booo... but the following weekend, on the road... won in the first round of the play-offs. Go figure!?!

This next picture was taken from a moving car. I think I saw Denali more times when I was home this time, than I saw it over the summer when I was home for 3 months. Hmmm... very odd. Anyway, this would have been a great picture if I'd only managed to not be in a moving car. Oh, well... Still, it's a pretty picture.





I wanted to ski a lot when I got home, but unfortunately I only managed to go a few times. -20F or colder is no longer a temperature that I function at. Nope... don't like it!! BUT... the skiing was really fun. It's such a good workout. It's just a shame that I couldn't do more of it.
I also got a really cool picture of the full moon while I was home. It was cloudy, snowy... and the moon's pictured through the trees... but I still think the picture works. :-) What do you think?


The last thing I did while I was at home was went to the ice park. Every year Fairbanks holds the world ice art championships. It's amazing... the sculpture at the left is Mt. Iditarod. It has the faces of former Iditarod champions Susan Butcher, and 3 others (can't remember all of them) in the ice. It was pretty cool. There was also a Susan Butcher tribute ice carving as well. That one was AWESOME!
Overall my trip home was good. It had one startling consequence though... I really don't think I could ever live full time in Alaska again. As much as it pains me to say that... I just don't think it's possible now. I like normal seasons... summer, winter, fall, spring... not WINTER, spring, summer, fall, WINTER... sorry folks. NORMAL is ok when it comes to the weather. ;-) There's more to it than that, but that's a major factor for me. Anyway... hope all's well with everyone out there. I'm having a great day... the weather's killer today!! :-)

Back in Alaska...

So... I've been in Alaska for the past week. It's been VERY relaxing... in otherwords there's not much to do. hahahaha... but I have been sleeping in, watching Scrubs and just generally enjoying being in a relaxing environment. It's pretty nice actually...
However, I am missing kendo in Japan. And that I am dying over... oh, well... every day I'm doing a bit of suburi (basic movement) practice. And if all goes well... my left arm will be much stronger than it used to be and I will have managed to make some real improvement in that area before I return to Japan. Yup, I'm a kendo-baka (someone who only thinks about kendo) alright. Heehee...

As soon as I have some good pics... I'll post them!! ;-)

GOMEN!!!

Sorry it's been SO long since I've written on my blog. It's just been one whirlwind after another since Christmas. That AND... all my pics were lost when my hard drive broke. Nope, not crashed... I had to replace my hard drive in order to finish my papers and things for end of semester. :-) Wheee... gotta love technology. There are students all around who have these really flash, tiny Sony Vaio laptops... and all I think is... I REALLY want one!! But have NO money. So, for about $120 dollars I got a much bigger hard drive. Could have been worse.

I'm really loving my time here in Tokyo. I really wish there was some way that I could stay here and not have to go back to Hawaii. Not sure that's possible, but I really wish there were a way. Oh, well... we can't have everything we wish for, can we?? ;-)

In just over a week I'll be going back to Fairbanks for just over 3 weeks (counted it, it's 24 days!). I think I made a bad judgment call when I booked my tickets for that long, but I can't really go back now. Not without quite a bit of expense. SO if there's anyone who will be in the Fairbanks area from Feb 19th-March 14. Let me know... I'll be very bored a lot of the time. However, I'm going to try to improve my fitness level over this break by xc skiing as much as possible. I've been telling all my kendo friends that I'm going to come back with more muscles in my arms and shoulders. So... here's to hoping for some decent weather when I'm back.

I had a really funny experience the other night at a drinking party with the kendo kids. Funny, flattering, interesting... these kinds of things always happen over drink here in Japan. Anyway, I got to talking with Yoshida-sempai (the word for someone of a higher rank than you). And we started talking about how Japanese girls are way TOO skinny... and that it's really bad. That and then he was saying how one of the other, girl, sempai was saying how she was really sad because I am skinnier than she is. :-( I felt bad, it may be true, but it's tougher for Japanese girls to be a little bit bigger than it is for American girls. Then... Yoshida-sempai gave me a huge compliment. He said that whenever I practice with the kids group (an hour before the university kids start) all that they can hear in the changing room is my kiai (the sounds you make when practicing kendo). I was a bit embarrassed until he said it was a good thing.

So... funny stories.

Have more... like... A few weeks ago, was walking to the station mid-morning and I ran into a group of hoikuen (pre-school) kids and their teachers. Well, one very genki (cheerful, in this case) boy looks at me and says "konnichiwa!" That was all the invitation I needed to strike up a conversation. So, I asked him if he was good (Ro, I know that's not proper English - but how do you really translate "genki desu ka?") and asked where they were going. When I asked that, he turned to his teacher... she gave him the answer and he repeated it. It was SO funny! Every time I asked him something he looked to his teacher. Hahaha... That experience made me miss my old job... big time. I miss the energy that kids have for anything. They are amazing little people. And even when you're really tired... they can give you a boost. :-)

Anyway... there's more mini-anecdotes to be told... but this is already a very long entry, so I think I'll say toodles and try to do better with posting in the future.

love,

A

Christmas and other happenings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
This is Christmas Japan style. Kirsty and I are at an onsen, wearing yukata and about to enjoy a lovely Christmas Eve meal. Not anything that we'd be used to at home of course... but really very delicious all the same!






And here's the food... There's some shabu-shabu (hot-pot soup), tempura, sashimi, grilled fish, pickled veggies... it was delicious!! Much better than anything I've had in Japan since I came back. :-) Yum-O!!!







LOVE BEER??? You bet I do! And this was some really nice micro-brew from a local brewery. It was blueberry flavor... a nice mix of hopsy flavor and a bit of sweetness. Really delicious beer... though I was apprehensive at first. :-)










We had to go searching for some snow on Christmas Day because there wasn't any near where we were staying. So we drove up to the Naruko Gorge (a great spot for looking at fall leaves in October) and found some snow!! Here I am in my nice new hat, courtesy of Melissa. You rock girl!!!











Watch out!! Unlike Fairbanks, we can make snowballs in Japan!! And we did... ;-) But because we're nice we didn't actually throw them at each other. :-)



SO... there are some Christmas pictures. Just because I was having a good time here in Japan doesn't mean that I didn't miss Christmas at home. I'm becoming a firm believer in Christmases spent at home, in Alaska, with my family. :-)

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year!!

love,

A

things that make me smile...

Ok... most of you that know me pretty well, know that I'm generally a smiley person. Well... being in Japan is really interesting because I tend to smile here even more than in other locations. And here are some of the reasons why...

- Every day I see a dad and his son walking to school (probably pre-school/kindergarten). Now what makes me smile about them is that the dad is about 6' tall or even a bit taller and the little boy barely hits above his dad's knees. That picture is cute in and of itself... but then the little boy is so full of energy and spunk that it makes me smile.

- Little kids walking to school make me smile as well... they are so wrapped up in their own little worlds...

- A guy walking down the street today was wearing the coolest blazer... it was a checked blazer... and it showed that he was not conforming to Japanese boring black because it was a little darker than royal blue with light blue checks... he was definitely fighting the metrosexuals of Japan.

- Songs that I like to sing to. I generally put my ipod on shuffle... and sometimes even in the middle of being squashed amongst all the commuters on the train I smile when certain songs come on.

- The genki guys who serve up the coffee at Starbucks. I used to go to other coffee shops in Takadanobaba, but have recently started going to Starbucks because the staff is so nice! They just make me smile to go in there.

- Funny things that are green. As you all probably know, I'm a bit of a green freak. Maybe it's the fact that my hair is a bit reddish and my eyes are greenish, but I just like the color. So, whenever I spot something really cool and green - I grin!;-)

- Shinbo-kun (kun is a term attached to male names in Japan, used for people younger than yourself). At kendo, we are all supposed to cheer faito when we're not actually sparring ourselves. Well, Shinbo-kun has the loudest, most recognizable and consistent faito of anyone in the group. It's cute and makes me smile.

- The Iida's. They are a family that I was introduced to right when I came to Japan in September. They are amazing. The two sons played hockey, Yuto just finished his last season as a senior this week. They are so normal. AndI mean that as a compliment because they are normal by American standards and not Japanese standards. And I love going to their house because it's like I have a couple more brothers and a sister... and another set of Japanese parents. They are always SO amazing that I am always smiley and in a good mood when I'm around them.

Anyway... that's a "things that make me smile" list... hope some of them make you smile... or at least make you think of me! ;-)

love,

a