So here I am - finally posting from Japan!
Granted, I've already been here for over a month, but training for the job was intense (see further on) and I hadn't/haven't (I may end up posting this from my iPod from a street corner…) managed to get internet access set up in my apartment now that I've moved all the way down to a small town near(ish) Fukuoka.
So anyway, I rocked on over with Alitalia around the 18th October, and it was all good unlike my nightmare travelling with Iberia to and from Argentina (I will dedicate a post to this, as it is still an as yet unresolved issue). Alitalia isn't quite as good as the Asian airlines I've travelled with, but for a European carrier they weren't half bad despite being pretty tight on the luggage allowance - I was made to empty 1kg from my suitcase so that it would be 23kg, and take stuff out of my hand luggage to get it to 10kg. Yes that's right 33kg to PACK YOUR LIFE AWAY FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
Tokyo was much unchanged. I took a trip to my old apartment and the university to see how stuff was (pretty much the same), and I met with some old friends for a few drinks and food before getting the overnight bus to Nagoya to start training.
Now in England as far as I'm aware we don't have any overnight buses but I have experienced a fair few in Argentina and they are often phenomenally good. Japan's overnight bus was OK. OK if you are under 5'4". Unfortunately I am not and I practically had to crawl to my seat as I was too tall to stand up, and then I had to take up the whole of the aisle with my legs as there was no way on earth they would have fitted in the "space" i had been allocated. All I can say is I'm thankful to whoever gave me the aisle seat, as there is no way I would have fit by the window.
Nagoya was a new experience to me as I had never been to the city, and it remains a new experience as I still haven't really been to the city. I arrived at 6am having had barely any sleep, and tried to go to the office after having leisurely breakfast/sleep at the station only to be informed that I wasn't expected until 3pm… Lame. They said I could fill in the paperwork early and find my own way to the accommodation, but I assumed it was a bit of a hike and I didn't really fancy it with my 23.2kg suitcase and 10kg hand luggage (Hey, I had barely any sleep!) so I left my stuff in the office and set about getting an early lunch and drinking a looooong coffee while watching episodes of The Wire on my laptop (thanks Matt for the suggestion).
Come 3pm I was back in the office signing some forms and then I was taken by car to the training centre/accommodation which turned out to only be a 10 minute walk away. I spent the rest of that Saturday and Sunday overcoming the jet lag that I hadn't yet managed to kick, and meeting some of the other trainees. Had I realised training would be so intensive, I would have made more of a point of partying during those two days, as they were pretty much our only free days, aside from the following Sunday, during the whole of training.
I spent the first two days staying at the training centre attending seminars there, but on Tuesday afternoon I was told to pack my shit up and take the shinkansen to Osaka with half of the other trainees in order to continue my training there. We were put up in a hotel and from then on it was either attending group training sessions from 10am or going and viewing actual teachers teaching classes for the rest of the two weeks training. Doesn't sound like much, but when we were perhaps getting back at 11pm one night only to have to prepare lesson demos for the following day, and then getting up at 6am to get to the classroom for 9am - it took a lot out of me.
Thats not to say that I and the other trainees were not able to squeeze in a bit of the Big Ones., but they were quite literally squeezed in. My first day off was a Sunday, but people got back really late from visiting classrooms on Saturday, so there wasn't really much chance to have some Big Ones - I ended up going for a couple of brewskis with one of the other trainees and then calling it a night.
The next day off was after training finished on the following Saturday. We had a test in the Osaka office (I got top of the group with 92% - BOOM!), went over some last minute admin and then were finally released with train tickets to our various locations for Monday morning. The plan was to go and get the Big Ones started… Big Time. But unfortunately we started to shed people who didn't want to go out, until it ended up being just the 'LADS' - me, another English guy and a Canadian. The girls had all bailed for various reasons, and the Canadian guy was quick to point out that 'girls are like money - you need them to make them'; suggesting that our prospects for the evening were unlikely to be very good. However, he was able to remedy the situation somewhat by suggesting that we meet with two female friends of his that he had met the last time he was in Osaka.
We turned up half an hour late, and spent an hour looking for them before we finally found them and were able to get our first celebratory 'training is over' beer. The plan was to get the last train back to where our hotel was (at 12.10am), so at around 10.30pm we decided to go and do an hour of all-you-can-drink karaoke (Big Mistake).
Now, its at this point that I should explain the term 'Gaijin Smash'. Its a term I had heard before, but never really fully appreciated until this night. Gaijin Smashing, as far as I understand it, is breaking Japanese social norms by living up to the Japanese people's stereotypical views of foreigners being loud, forward and entertaining. Its not about being rude or offensive, or about breaking laws, but it is about doing things that normal Japanese people wouldn't do due to social expectations - such as talking on the train, walking down the street while eating, crossing an empty street when the red man is showing etc.
Anyway, so the five of us went to all-you-can-drink karaoke and did indeed proceed to drink all we could. I think we got through 5 pitchers of beer and 4 cocktails before our hour was up. We stumbled out of the building and proceeded to piggy-back each other all the way to the station (I think). It is at this point that my memory becomes a little hazy, and I am unsure exactly when we went our separate way from the girls, but we ended up taking the correct subway back towards the train station from where we would catch the last train back to where our hotel was. So far, so good.
Unfortunately this is where our luck ran out. You see, as we were all slightly inebriated, we proceeded to chat loudly on the train and ended up attracting the attention of a good looking Japanese girl (and her boyfriend, and the rest of the carriage) who was sat right next to where we were stood. All three of us then began talking to her, joking about how rubbish Canada was and how great the UK etc etc, until one of us suddenly questioned what station we were supposed to be getting off at - drawing our attention to the fact that we had been on the train for a lot longer than the two stops we were supposed to take. We charged off the train at the next station to the laughter of the Japanese girl and the evil eyes of her boyfriend, and jumped on the train heading in the opposite direction. This slip-up had cost us, and after having asked some of the passengers on that train, it turned out we had 2 minutes to get off the underground at the right stop, get through the ticket barriers, buy a train ticket and get the last train back. Not impossible, but bloody hard. Too hard it seemed, as we arrived to find that no train was now heading to our stop until 5am (in 4 hours and 50 minutes).
There was a train that was terminating 5 stops before our station, so I had the bright idea of catching that and then following the tracks the rest of the way home - a solid plan I'm sure you'll agree. Feeling confident once again, we spoke loudly in the carriage and attempted to strike up conversation with anyone who was close to us. This resulted in a lot of laughter when we explained our plan, as it turned out it would be at least a 2 hour walk from the final stop… Oh well, we were too far to turn back now.
I'd like to be able to sign off by saying that we got off at the last stop, followed the tracks and made it back in good time. But that would be incorrect.
One of us (I don't remember who) had the bright idea of buying a couple of 'beers for the road' and after about 40 minutes or so of walking, we were still drunk and pretty damn lost.
We stumbled upon a convenience store that was just off some major road, and popped in to... Get even more beer and ask for directions. The guy behind the counter was helpful and pointed us in a direction and even gave us some free snacks that had to be eaten before 5am, but insisted we still had a 2 and a half hour walk...
We set off again, but this time we became hopelessly lost. We passed various residential buildings and a few factories that were still open (2 in the morning!). In our drunken and lost state, we decided to inquire once again for directions at one of these factories. The guys were helpful, and showed us on google maps the marathon we had to walk. We set off again, and one of the guys even ran after us having printed off a map for us to use.
All was looking good. We took what we felt was the correct path for about 40 minutes, finally coming across another convenience store. We headed in to ask for further instructions, and seeing the guy behind the counter's shocked expression we realized it was the same one we had been in an hour earlier... Classic.
Well that was the last straw. Clearly without phones, gps and a clear head we were never going to find our way home (the guy insisted it was still at least a 2 hour walk). So we asked him where the nearest station was and set off towards there (with even more free onigiri/sushi).
The station was only 15 minutes away, but by then we felt like failures and couldn't be bothered to walk anymore. The first morning train would get us home faster than if we were to continue walking, so we entered the station and fell asleep next to some lockers (I tried to sleep in the photo booth, but my legs wouldn't fit!)
And that was that. We got the first train back, went straight to sleep and woke up around 2 feeling much better. Despite our shortcomings it was in hindsight a good adventure (at the time it was bloody awful!) and i feel it certainly deserves to be credited as a Smashing Big One.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Back Once Again for the Renegade Master
Well, I am indeed sitting here with a brew next to me, the window open and the grey sky of England above, but I never expected for this new entry to have been such a long time in coming.
Its been well over a year since my return to Blighty, and in that time I've drank copious cups of tea and coffee, successfully graduated from Japanese Studies with Spanish at University of Sheffield (2:1 - Boom), and done not a lot else really.
Big Ones have been few and far between with final year proving to be a right bitch with the work load and dissertation writing. However, I have been able to have a few, including the Lads Tour to Prague (Oi Oi!!), some Big Ones on the Welsh coast, and once again increasing my chances of high blood pressure through consuming copious amounts of wine and red meat in Argentina.
'So what next?' I hear you cry. Well, I wouldn't have started writing this entry if there wasn't something Big coming along and after having been on the dole for the last month or so, I am finally once again heading off east.
Unable to land a serious job in London I have decided to become an English teacher in Japan for a year in the hope of gaining some fluency to my Japanese, getting some work experience, and generally letting the Big Ones role once again. This means that I'll once again be putting pen to paper, or rather finger tip to keyboard, in the hope of providing an entertaining insight into my experiences for anyone who cares.
So grab yourself a glass of juice (Heg, I'm sure you don't need telling) and join me once again as I resume my search for the Big Ones.
Its been well over a year since my return to Blighty, and in that time I've drank copious cups of tea and coffee, successfully graduated from Japanese Studies with Spanish at University of Sheffield (2:1 - Boom), and done not a lot else really.
Big Ones have been few and far between with final year proving to be a right bitch with the work load and dissertation writing. However, I have been able to have a few, including the Lads Tour to Prague (Oi Oi!!), some Big Ones on the Welsh coast, and once again increasing my chances of high blood pressure through consuming copious amounts of wine and red meat in Argentina.
'So what next?' I hear you cry. Well, I wouldn't have started writing this entry if there wasn't something Big coming along and after having been on the dole for the last month or so, I am finally once again heading off east.
Unable to land a serious job in London I have decided to become an English teacher in Japan for a year in the hope of gaining some fluency to my Japanese, getting some work experience, and generally letting the Big Ones role once again. This means that I'll once again be putting pen to paper, or rather finger tip to keyboard, in the hope of providing an entertaining insight into my experiences for anyone who cares.
So grab yourself a glass of juice (Heg, I'm sure you don't need telling) and join me once again as I resume my search for the Big Ones.
Monday, 30 August 2010
That's All I Kansai!
Well, with only 5 days left my time in Japan is finally drawing to a close. I still can't believe a whole year has passed by so quickly!
Anyway, this entry is not intended to be about recollection - I'll save that for my follow-up entry in England. Instead, I am going to continue from where I left off last time.
If you will recall, I ended the last blog having just kicked Mt. Fuji's ass. Like I said previously, the downward journey took slightly longer for some, and this resulted in us not being able to set off home until 3pm.
The problem here was that many of us exchange students had been invited and were planning to attend the IFL's (Japanese international society at Rikkyo University) farewell party that evening which was due to begin at six. Our return to Ikebukuro (where the university and party were) took around 3 hours and we ended up cutting it pretty close. The main problem though, was that we had intended to shower and sleep a bit before going, but ended up not being able to. Nonetheless, the party was good fun (if not a little depressing) and we were all able to celebrate the "Big One's" of the year.
A few days later, on the 27th of July I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the wedding of two of my very good Japanese friends. Keiko and Daichan met in Sheffield during my first year at Sheffield. They were exchange students, Keiko having come with Naoko from Seijo University for a whole year, while Daichan had come from Hosei University for just six months. They stopped going out when Daichan returned in January, but once Keiko came back they got together again and have been with each other ever since.
This being my first ever wedding (not just in Japan, but anywhere) I wasn't really sure on what to expect. They had decided to go for a western style wedding, and the way this works in Japan is you rent out the services of a "wedding-chapel-resort-place" where they have a wedding chapel (obviously), banquet facilities, and they generally take care of all the preparations.
The whole thing was great, and I was really happy to have been invited. What I found unusual though was that both of the marrying couple's bosses and fellow employees had been invited to the ceremony - I was under the impression that it was only the nearest and dearest were invited (at least in England).
The food at the wedding (sorry Josephine!) was absolutely great. Having not been to any other weddings I have no real comparison, but every dish I had was delicious. The menu included foie gras with truffle sauce, filet mignon, and some incredible desserts.
Lucy and my mum came to visit soon after the wedding and we had a pretty rad time. It gave me the opportunity to show them around the city that I have been living in for the past 11 months. It also provided the chance to do a final bit of travelling, and so I took them to the Kansai region of Japan - more specifically, Kyoto and Nara.
As they had bought the Japan Rail Pass (something I highly recommend if you come to visit Japan), they were able to ride the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto for free, while I had to fork out £85 each way. Once we got there though, we did the usual touristy Kyoto tours to all the major shrines, castles and temples.
Kyoto really does have some beautiful temples and shrines, but due to the heat and high humidity it was hard to stay enthusiastic after seeing so many temples. I personally find Kyoto is never as incredible as people make it out to be - yes there are lots of nice old buildings to see, but apart from that if feels a lot like any other big Japanese city. Still, it is certainly worth the visit, and both my mum and sister enjoyed what they saw.
Nara on the other hand was much more to my liking. Perhaps it's because I have been to Kyoto 3 times now while that was my first trip to Nara, or maybe it's because Nara is much smaller, but either way I thought it was a much more relaxing place to go. In essence, Nara is a smaller version of Kyoto - it was once the capital of Japan, and has many old temples and shrines, including the famous "daibutsu" (a huge bronze statue of the Buddha) housed inside the biggest wooden building in the world - an impressive sight.
What makes Nara particularly good for sight seeing though, is that the majority of temples and shrines of interest are found in Nara Koen, a huge leafy park which lies to the east of the city. The park is also home to hundreds of wild deer which are not afraid to pester those who go to visit the park and temples. It was a pretty sweet place to go, and even though I got pretty badly sunburned while there, I would love to go back.
We only spent 3 nights in the Kansai region before returning to Tokyo (which is in the Kanto region), but upon our return I was able to organise a small day excursion to the mountainous "city" of Nikko along with my Japanese tutor who drove us. Nikko lies about 3 hours away from Tokyo, but has one of the most beautiful shrines I have ever seen, as well as a pretty epic waterfall.
The shrine is called Nikkō Tōshō-gū, and the complex contains the mausoleum of the final unifier and first major Shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
It also contains the famous carving of the "Three wise monkeys" who see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
The waterfall, known as Kegon Falls, is in a leafy area to just outside the main city. The touristy surroundings make it a bit commercial, but it is still a great site to see. There's a lift that takes you to a platform right at the base of the drop and the spray hits you right in the face.
All in all, I'm pretty sure my mum and Lucy really enjoyed their time here. I know for a fact Lucy is already looking for a way to come back and stay a bit longer some time. Their coming though, made me realise that my time here is very almost at an end, even though I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of what this country has to offer.
I took them back to Narita airport (which is in Chiba prefecture, next to Tokyo) on the 9th August to catch their 9am flight (which meant that we had to leave Tokyo at 4.30am) only to find that the flight had been delayed by 3 hours. That worked out OK with me as I was going to hang around Narita until midday anyway as I was staying going to the coast of Chiba in the afternoon for my Spanish circle "camp" (basically, an night on the beach with the Rikkyo Spanish Society). This meant I kept them company until their actual flight, and then headed off myself.
What I have found on my year abroad so far, is that while it is easy to make acquaintances with the Japanese, it is hard to be accepted as a "friend". Due to the social norms here, everyone treats you very politely and warmly, but tend to keep you at arms length. by being invited on the Spanish circle "camp", I felt somewhat that I was being accepted.
One thing to point out though, is that while it is called the "Spanish circle", they don't really speak much Spanish. I found this out the first time I went along to their meetings.
Anyway, the camp proved to be a lot of fun. We went to the beach during the day, and had a bit of a drinking fest in the evening which went on though the night (although, the number of people kept dropping as people went off to sleep, be sick, or couple up...). Basically, the circle had rented a small dormitory right near the beach which had food and bedding provided. We turned up and made the most of what was on offer, and had a pretty fun time while doing it.
Basically, that's what has been going on. Obviously the days in between have been peppered with the usual Karaoke nights, all night sports, eating of sushi and what not - as well as having to say goodbye to the exchange students I have met over the year who are leaving early. It's a bit of a depressing time as I know that I too will soon be leaving, but a small part of me is looking forward to not have to put up with the insane level of humidity here at the moment.
I'm going to be realistic and say that this is probably my last entry from Japan. I haven't been great at getting a regular system of blogging done, but at least I have more or less managed one a month. This year has been really great, and I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to come out here again and live some more big ones.
So this is it from Japan! Sayonara people - the next time you hear from me, I'll have a brew sitting next to me, the window open, and the grey miserable skies of England above me - big ones in their own special way!
Anyway, this entry is not intended to be about recollection - I'll save that for my follow-up entry in England. Instead, I am going to continue from where I left off last time.
If you will recall, I ended the last blog having just kicked Mt. Fuji's ass. Like I said previously, the downward journey took slightly longer for some, and this resulted in us not being able to set off home until 3pm.
The problem here was that many of us exchange students had been invited and were planning to attend the IFL's (Japanese international society at Rikkyo University) farewell party that evening which was due to begin at six. Our return to Ikebukuro (where the university and party were) took around 3 hours and we ended up cutting it pretty close. The main problem though, was that we had intended to shower and sleep a bit before going, but ended up not being able to. Nonetheless, the party was good fun (if not a little depressing) and we were all able to celebrate the "Big One's" of the year.
A few days later, on the 27th of July I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the wedding of two of my very good Japanese friends. Keiko and Daichan met in Sheffield during my first year at Sheffield. They were exchange students, Keiko having come with Naoko from Seijo University for a whole year, while Daichan had come from Hosei University for just six months. They stopped going out when Daichan returned in January, but once Keiko came back they got together again and have been with each other ever since.
This being my first ever wedding (not just in Japan, but anywhere) I wasn't really sure on what to expect. They had decided to go for a western style wedding, and the way this works in Japan is you rent out the services of a "wedding-chapel-resort-place" where they have a wedding chapel (obviously), banquet facilities, and they generally take care of all the preparations.
The whole thing was great, and I was really happy to have been invited. What I found unusual though was that both of the marrying couple's bosses and fellow employees had been invited to the ceremony - I was under the impression that it was only the nearest and dearest were invited (at least in England).
The food at the wedding (sorry Josephine!) was absolutely great. Having not been to any other weddings I have no real comparison, but every dish I had was delicious. The menu included foie gras with truffle sauce, filet mignon, and some incredible desserts.
Lucy and my mum came to visit soon after the wedding and we had a pretty rad time. It gave me the opportunity to show them around the city that I have been living in for the past 11 months. It also provided the chance to do a final bit of travelling, and so I took them to the Kansai region of Japan - more specifically, Kyoto and Nara.
As they had bought the Japan Rail Pass (something I highly recommend if you come to visit Japan), they were able to ride the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto for free, while I had to fork out £85 each way. Once we got there though, we did the usual touristy Kyoto tours to all the major shrines, castles and temples.
Kyoto really does have some beautiful temples and shrines, but due to the heat and high humidity it was hard to stay enthusiastic after seeing so many temples. I personally find Kyoto is never as incredible as people make it out to be - yes there are lots of nice old buildings to see, but apart from that if feels a lot like any other big Japanese city. Still, it is certainly worth the visit, and both my mum and sister enjoyed what they saw.
Nara on the other hand was much more to my liking. Perhaps it's because I have been to Kyoto 3 times now while that was my first trip to Nara, or maybe it's because Nara is much smaller, but either way I thought it was a much more relaxing place to go. In essence, Nara is a smaller version of Kyoto - it was once the capital of Japan, and has many old temples and shrines, including the famous "daibutsu" (a huge bronze statue of the Buddha) housed inside the biggest wooden building in the world - an impressive sight.
What makes Nara particularly good for sight seeing though, is that the majority of temples and shrines of interest are found in Nara Koen, a huge leafy park which lies to the east of the city. The park is also home to hundreds of wild deer which are not afraid to pester those who go to visit the park and temples. It was a pretty sweet place to go, and even though I got pretty badly sunburned while there, I would love to go back.
We only spent 3 nights in the Kansai region before returning to Tokyo (which is in the Kanto region), but upon our return I was able to organise a small day excursion to the mountainous "city" of Nikko along with my Japanese tutor who drove us. Nikko lies about 3 hours away from Tokyo, but has one of the most beautiful shrines I have ever seen, as well as a pretty epic waterfall.
The shrine is called Nikkō Tōshō-gū, and the complex contains the mausoleum of the final unifier and first major Shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
It also contains the famous carving of the "Three wise monkeys" who see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
The waterfall, known as Kegon Falls, is in a leafy area to just outside the main city. The touristy surroundings make it a bit commercial, but it is still a great site to see. There's a lift that takes you to a platform right at the base of the drop and the spray hits you right in the face.
All in all, I'm pretty sure my mum and Lucy really enjoyed their time here. I know for a fact Lucy is already looking for a way to come back and stay a bit longer some time. Their coming though, made me realise that my time here is very almost at an end, even though I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of what this country has to offer.
I took them back to Narita airport (which is in Chiba prefecture, next to Tokyo) on the 9th August to catch their 9am flight (which meant that we had to leave Tokyo at 4.30am) only to find that the flight had been delayed by 3 hours. That worked out OK with me as I was going to hang around Narita until midday anyway as I was staying going to the coast of Chiba in the afternoon for my Spanish circle "camp" (basically, an night on the beach with the Rikkyo Spanish Society). This meant I kept them company until their actual flight, and then headed off myself.
What I have found on my year abroad so far, is that while it is easy to make acquaintances with the Japanese, it is hard to be accepted as a "friend". Due to the social norms here, everyone treats you very politely and warmly, but tend to keep you at arms length. by being invited on the Spanish circle "camp", I felt somewhat that I was being accepted.
One thing to point out though, is that while it is called the "Spanish circle", they don't really speak much Spanish. I found this out the first time I went along to their meetings.
Anyway, the camp proved to be a lot of fun. We went to the beach during the day, and had a bit of a drinking fest in the evening which went on though the night (although, the number of people kept dropping as people went off to sleep, be sick, or couple up...). Basically, the circle had rented a small dormitory right near the beach which had food and bedding provided. We turned up and made the most of what was on offer, and had a pretty fun time while doing it.
Basically, that's what has been going on. Obviously the days in between have been peppered with the usual Karaoke nights, all night sports, eating of sushi and what not - as well as having to say goodbye to the exchange students I have met over the year who are leaving early. It's a bit of a depressing time as I know that I too will soon be leaving, but a small part of me is looking forward to not have to put up with the insane level of humidity here at the moment.
I'm going to be realistic and say that this is probably my last entry from Japan. I haven't been great at getting a regular system of blogging done, but at least I have more or less managed one a month. This year has been really great, and I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to come out here again and live some more big ones.
So this is it from Japan! Sayonara people - the next time you hear from me, I'll have a brew sitting next to me, the window open, and the grey miserable skies of England above me - big ones in their own special way!
Sunday, 25 July 2010
What the Fuji?!
Wow.
When I decided to write this blog, I aimed to be getting an entry done once every fortnight(ish) - just to let people know how things have been going and what I have been up to.
Well, that plan has certainly been a complete failure.
Nonetheless, I aim to remedy this recent drought of blog news by providing a good update (most likely in two parts) right now. I would like to mention that since the last time I spoke here, I have indeed been pretty bloody busy (not that that is any form of excuse...)
So anyway, you will recall that last time I was singing Argentina's praises regarding their world cup performances. Well, Germany provided a cold hard slap in the face to wake me from that ridiculous dream. Yes, Argentina were playing very nicely up until that match, but realistically they were completely flawed and the defence was just waiting to be taken apart - which is exactly what happened. (i'm not posting a video of that monstrosity, but I will link to it). Suffice to say, it didn't put me in a very good mood for my Japanese exam the following day - I took the JLPT test a second time, but I have a strong feeling it will be "third times the charm".
With England (who were really should have been the ones to lose 4-0) and Japan (who did extremely well) both already out, I really had no one else really to support, and ended up watching most games impartially (although desperate for Germany to lose obviously). That's probably a good thing, as the final 4 games were somewhat of a let down, and culminated in a very slow and boring final which seemed to just drag on and on - that sensation was most likely added to by the fact the sun had already come up here.
Aside from the football, I was interviewed and appeared on Japanese TV (sorry, no link people, but it is on my facebook somewhere), and had university exams to contend with until around the 10th of July. I'm pretty sure they went OK - the revision for the JLPT helped, but I'm pretty sure I ballsed up the reading exam.
So what happened next?
To "celebrate" the completion of our studies at Rikkyo University (I'm not really sure that was the real reason), Lina organized a Mt. Fuji night climb for 26 of us exchange students. This was seriously going to be epic - reaching the top for the break of dawn apparently "blows your mind".
My shot of Fuji from when I went to Hakone
We figured it would be a bit of a mission and so decided to plan a bit before hand. We already had the coach journey there and back sorted out (thanks Lina!) - leave from university at 6pm getting there for around 8ish to start the 6+hour climb to the 頂上. But before we could do that, we each needed to prepare a few essentials. Now two things were clear with regards to what I needed to help kick this mountains ass - I hadn't packed for Japan with mountain climbing in mind, and I wasn't about to splash out big dollar to make up for that fact. Being in the same situation as me, and thinking along the same (stingy) lines, Ramses and Boyd joined me in hitting up the 100 yen shop the morning of the climb and we each spent about 1000 yen (£7.50ish) on cheap crappy torches, bottles of water, snacks, and rain ponchos. That along with a rucksack full of warm clothes, and my really knackered pair of pumas on my feet was all I (thought I) needed.
There are a total of 10 stations on the way up Mt. Fuji (3,776 m), and we arrived at station 5 (2,300 metres) by coach at around 8.30pm (the first 4 stations aren't really worth it - 5 is as far as a car can go). After a thirty minute pause for everyone to get used to the higher altitude and use the 30yen toilets, we got started.
The beginning was pretty easy, and we were able to stay as one big group, but it soon started getting pretty steep and we split up a bit. I wasn't at the front, but I was in the second small group of around 5 people heading up, and we were able to make good time. The route varied from gravel slopes to rocky climbs that needed you to use your hands to pull yourself up. Somewhere early on, there was a small panic that we wouldn't make it for daybreak, and this spurred us on. By around 11.30pm we had more or less got half way through the climb, and not only had the route become more narrow, but the temperature had severely dropped. The small group I was with was coping fine and we kept pushing on until we reached station 8 or 9 (around 3,250m), where we realised we were going to be far too early to the top for sunrise, and so decided to rest a while where we were as the temperature wouldn't be as low as at the top. We ended up waiting for an hour, allowing many of the others to join us before we made the final push to the top - arriving around 3am.
Sunrise was due at 4.30am, and we still had a bit of a cold wait. I was a bit disappointed to see the bright lights of vending machines at the top, but I have got used somewhat to seeing them everywhere in Japan, and the sight of them here didn't really surprise me.
Colours in the sky began to appear at around 4am - teasing us while we practically froze in the cold temperature and strong winds. The fatigue from the 5 hour climb was also beginning to set in, and if it hadn't been so cold I'm sure some of us would have fallen asleep.
The sun did finally show itself, and it was certainly an epic feeling watching the colours play out on the hills and mountains around us. Those of us who had brought a cheeky beer cracked it out in celebration and just enjoyed the moment.
I have to say that the beauty of the sunrise was again somewhat soured by the shops behind us opening up to try and sell us tacky charms and well overpriced food. Nonetheless, we were able to take in what we were experiencing, and once the sun became to bright to look at, we left the viewing area to take a look at the actual volcanic crater.
The journey down was a lot more straightforward than on the way up. It was a series of zigzagging gravel slopes that you could almost run down if it weren't for the danger of slipping. The view as we descended was also incredible - we literally walked through the clouds.
The first lot of us made it back to the at precisely 8am - a total of 5hours up, 3 hours at the top, and 3 hours down. However, some of our bus group took slightly longer, and we weren't able to leave until 3pm.
There is apparently a famous saying regarding Mt. Fuji that I am inclined to agree with: "He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool". For me it was a great experience, being able to do it with lots of the people I have spent my year abroad with - and I would recommend giving it a go to anyone. But I don't think I can be bothered to try it again... too much of a mission.
When I decided to write this blog, I aimed to be getting an entry done once every fortnight(ish) - just to let people know how things have been going and what I have been up to.
Well, that plan has certainly been a complete failure.
Nonetheless, I aim to remedy this recent drought of blog news by providing a good update (most likely in two parts) right now. I would like to mention that since the last time I spoke here, I have indeed been pretty bloody busy (not that that is any form of excuse...)
So anyway, you will recall that last time I was singing Argentina's praises regarding their world cup performances. Well, Germany provided a cold hard slap in the face to wake me from that ridiculous dream. Yes, Argentina were playing very nicely up until that match, but realistically they were completely flawed and the defence was just waiting to be taken apart - which is exactly what happened. (i'm not posting a video of that monstrosity, but I will link to it). Suffice to say, it didn't put me in a very good mood for my Japanese exam the following day - I took the JLPT test a second time, but I have a strong feeling it will be "third times the charm".
With England (who were really should have been the ones to lose 4-0) and Japan (who did extremely well) both already out, I really had no one else really to support, and ended up watching most games impartially (although desperate for Germany to lose obviously). That's probably a good thing, as the final 4 games were somewhat of a let down, and culminated in a very slow and boring final which seemed to just drag on and on - that sensation was most likely added to by the fact the sun had already come up here.
Aside from the football, I was interviewed and appeared on Japanese TV (sorry, no link people, but it is on my facebook somewhere), and had university exams to contend with until around the 10th of July. I'm pretty sure they went OK - the revision for the JLPT helped, but I'm pretty sure I ballsed up the reading exam.
So what happened next?
To "celebrate" the completion of our studies at Rikkyo University (I'm not really sure that was the real reason), Lina organized a Mt. Fuji night climb for 26 of us exchange students. This was seriously going to be epic - reaching the top for the break of dawn apparently "blows your mind".
My shot of Fuji from when I went to Hakone
We figured it would be a bit of a mission and so decided to plan a bit before hand. We already had the coach journey there and back sorted out (thanks Lina!) - leave from university at 6pm getting there for around 8ish to start the 6+hour climb to the 頂上. But before we could do that, we each needed to prepare a few essentials. Now two things were clear with regards to what I needed to help kick this mountains ass - I hadn't packed for Japan with mountain climbing in mind, and I wasn't about to splash out big dollar to make up for that fact. Being in the same situation as me, and thinking along the same (stingy) lines, Ramses and Boyd joined me in hitting up the 100 yen shop the morning of the climb and we each spent about 1000 yen (£7.50ish) on cheap crappy torches, bottles of water, snacks, and rain ponchos. That along with a rucksack full of warm clothes, and my really knackered pair of pumas on my feet was all I (thought I) needed.
There are a total of 10 stations on the way up Mt. Fuji (3,776 m), and we arrived at station 5 (2,300 metres) by coach at around 8.30pm (the first 4 stations aren't really worth it - 5 is as far as a car can go). After a thirty minute pause for everyone to get used to the higher altitude and use the 30yen toilets, we got started.
The beginning was pretty easy, and we were able to stay as one big group, but it soon started getting pretty steep and we split up a bit. I wasn't at the front, but I was in the second small group of around 5 people heading up, and we were able to make good time. The route varied from gravel slopes to rocky climbs that needed you to use your hands to pull yourself up. Somewhere early on, there was a small panic that we wouldn't make it for daybreak, and this spurred us on. By around 11.30pm we had more or less got half way through the climb, and not only had the route become more narrow, but the temperature had severely dropped. The small group I was with was coping fine and we kept pushing on until we reached station 8 or 9 (around 3,250m), where we realised we were going to be far too early to the top for sunrise, and so decided to rest a while where we were as the temperature wouldn't be as low as at the top. We ended up waiting for an hour, allowing many of the others to join us before we made the final push to the top - arriving around 3am.
Sunrise was due at 4.30am, and we still had a bit of a cold wait. I was a bit disappointed to see the bright lights of vending machines at the top, but I have got used somewhat to seeing them everywhere in Japan, and the sight of them here didn't really surprise me.
Colours in the sky began to appear at around 4am - teasing us while we practically froze in the cold temperature and strong winds. The fatigue from the 5 hour climb was also beginning to set in, and if it hadn't been so cold I'm sure some of us would have fallen asleep.
The sun did finally show itself, and it was certainly an epic feeling watching the colours play out on the hills and mountains around us. Those of us who had brought a cheeky beer cracked it out in celebration and just enjoyed the moment.
I have to say that the beauty of the sunrise was again somewhat soured by the shops behind us opening up to try and sell us tacky charms and well overpriced food. Nonetheless, we were able to take in what we were experiencing, and once the sun became to bright to look at, we left the viewing area to take a look at the actual volcanic crater.
The journey down was a lot more straightforward than on the way up. It was a series of zigzagging gravel slopes that you could almost run down if it weren't for the danger of slipping. The view as we descended was also incredible - we literally walked through the clouds.
The first lot of us made it back to the at precisely 8am - a total of 5hours up, 3 hours at the top, and 3 hours down. However, some of our bus group took slightly longer, and we weren't able to leave until 3pm.
There is apparently a famous saying regarding Mt. Fuji that I am inclined to agree with: "He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool". For me it was a great experience, being able to do it with lots of the people I have spent my year abroad with - and I would recommend giving it a go to anyone. But I don't think I can be bothered to try it again... too much of a mission.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Tsuyu Hot!
It is hot.
It really has become bloody hot.
About three or four days ago the "tsuyu" - rainy season, started here in Tokyo. What that means (apart from the obvious rain), is that the humidity becomes almost unbearable. The temperature hovers around 20-30 degrees, but the humidity makes this feel a lot worse. My apartment doesn't face the sun so it remains relatively cool, but as soon as I step outside I start working a sweat, and by the time I get to the station my T-shirt is soaked.
Not nice.
The frequent downpours don't provide much relief though, as the humidity remains and all that really changes is that you can't tell if it's the sweat or the rain that's responsible for your T-shirt being stuck to your back. (Most likely, it's a combination of the two).
The heat, along with the awkward times of the world cup matches, have resulted in me having pretty bad sleeping patterns for the past week or so. The match times here are 8.30pm, 11pm and 3.30am - not the best really if I intend to do something the following day... Nonetheless, I've been able to watch most of the matches (I rarely stay up for the 3.30 ones unless they're big games, or I have the chance to sleep the following day).
So what do I think? Well, firstly ARGENTINA are immense. Their first game against Nigeria was pretty crappy in my opinion, but i felt they more than made up for it by their performance against South Korea. Yes, the goals were not the best, and the cause of the Korean goal was awful, but at least they played real football (not the defensive rubbish most teams have been choosing to play), and they looked great for it.
ENGLAND on the other hand, were utterly rubbish (as usual, I might add). I stayed up last Saturday to watch the USA England game and was quite disappointed with the match as a whole. Yesterday's draw to Algeria was apparently even worse! (I failed to watch that as all night karaoke took priority). The highlights proved too boring to watch so I just skipped straight to the analysis and watched Lineker, Hansen and Shearer complain about how badly England played. (Don't worry, I won't link to that as it's not worth it).
JAPAN seemed pretty fortunate to grab that goal against Cameroon last Monday - their first goal ever in a world cup match outside of Japan (ie. not scored in 2002). I was a bit shocked at the lack of noticeable support for that game by the Japanese. I saw 2 people wearing Japan shirts all day - one of which was Ramses, and when we were watching the game at home, apart from us, we could hear nobody cheering or celebrating.
Kick-off for the The Netherlands-Japan game is in 25 minutes, and I don't think Japan will get quite so lucky this time around (although, The Netherlands didn't play too convincingly against Denmark...)
In other news, I was invited to be "interviewed" for a Japanese TV show. I basically just had to talk about something that I liked about Japan in Japanese. (I ended up choosing the fact that bicycles are registered here, so people are less likely to pinch them). The show either aired last night or will be airing this coming Friday - I'll try and record what I can so you guys can check out my awesome Japanese skillz!
Also, someone stole my shoes the other day - the second time in my life that I've had my shoes stolen (the last time was two years ago in Kyoto). I had a sports class so I left my shoes on the "shoe shelf" and changed into my trainers. When I went back after class they were no longer there...
Who the hell steals shoes???
Oh well. I filed a report and if they haven't shown up by next Thursday I'll just have to go out and buy them again. (I don't think they would fit many people here either - I have to go to a specialist store to find my size of shoe)
Anyway, kick off time...
頑張って日本！
It really has become bloody hot.
About three or four days ago the "tsuyu" - rainy season, started here in Tokyo. What that means (apart from the obvious rain), is that the humidity becomes almost unbearable. The temperature hovers around 20-30 degrees, but the humidity makes this feel a lot worse. My apartment doesn't face the sun so it remains relatively cool, but as soon as I step outside I start working a sweat, and by the time I get to the station my T-shirt is soaked.
Not nice.
The frequent downpours don't provide much relief though, as the humidity remains and all that really changes is that you can't tell if it's the sweat or the rain that's responsible for your T-shirt being stuck to your back. (Most likely, it's a combination of the two).
The heat, along with the awkward times of the world cup matches, have resulted in me having pretty bad sleeping patterns for the past week or so. The match times here are 8.30pm, 11pm and 3.30am - not the best really if I intend to do something the following day... Nonetheless, I've been able to watch most of the matches (I rarely stay up for the 3.30 ones unless they're big games, or I have the chance to sleep the following day).
So what do I think? Well, firstly ARGENTINA are immense. Their first game against Nigeria was pretty crappy in my opinion, but i felt they more than made up for it by their performance against South Korea. Yes, the goals were not the best, and the cause of the Korean goal was awful, but at least they played real football (not the defensive rubbish most teams have been choosing to play), and they looked great for it.
ENGLAND on the other hand, were utterly rubbish (as usual, I might add). I stayed up last Saturday to watch the USA England game and was quite disappointed with the match as a whole. Yesterday's draw to Algeria was apparently even worse! (I failed to watch that as all night karaoke took priority). The highlights proved too boring to watch so I just skipped straight to the analysis and watched Lineker, Hansen and Shearer complain about how badly England played. (Don't worry, I won't link to that as it's not worth it).
JAPAN seemed pretty fortunate to grab that goal against Cameroon last Monday - their first goal ever in a world cup match outside of Japan (ie. not scored in 2002). I was a bit shocked at the lack of noticeable support for that game by the Japanese. I saw 2 people wearing Japan shirts all day - one of which was Ramses, and when we were watching the game at home, apart from us, we could hear nobody cheering or celebrating.
Kick-off for the The Netherlands-Japan game is in 25 minutes, and I don't think Japan will get quite so lucky this time around (although, The Netherlands didn't play too convincingly against Denmark...)
In other news, I was invited to be "interviewed" for a Japanese TV show. I basically just had to talk about something that I liked about Japan in Japanese. (I ended up choosing the fact that bicycles are registered here, so people are less likely to pinch them). The show either aired last night or will be airing this coming Friday - I'll try and record what I can so you guys can check out my awesome Japanese skillz!
Also, someone stole my shoes the other day - the second time in my life that I've had my shoes stolen (the last time was two years ago in Kyoto). I had a sports class so I left my shoes on the "shoe shelf" and changed into my trainers. When I went back after class they were no longer there...
Who the hell steals shoes???
Oh well. I filed a report and if they haven't shown up by next Thursday I'll just have to go out and buy them again. (I don't think they would fit many people here either - I have to go to a specialist store to find my size of shoe)
Anyway, kick off time...
頑張って日本！
Monday, 31 May 2010
The World Cup Looms
Yes I know I have been pretty bad at getting these entries done, and it isn't about to change now. Truth be told, not THAT much has happened since my last blog really. Classes seem to take up a lot of time and out side of that I've really just been doing the "usual", which involves the mandatory studying, but also lots of drinking, singing, dancing and what not.
I will get a full update nicely written for you soon, but with the world cup only 9 days away...
If you're wondering what team I will be supporting, could I support any country other than the one who to whom the scorer of this goal belongs?
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Well, maybe...
(But of course, Argentina are always my number 1).
I will get a full update nicely written for you soon, but with the world cup only 9 days away...
If you're wondering what team I will be supporting, could I support any country other than the one who to whom the scorer of this goal belongs?
">
Well, maybe...
(But of course, Argentina are always my number 1).
Friday, 16 April 2010
Island Hopping
Last time we spoke (you know what I mean), I was about to set off on a great and perilous journey north to the Island of Hokkaido, and more specifically Japan's fifth biggest city, Sapporo.
The name Hokkaido translates literally as "north sea way", and the island has strong ties with the sea (much like the rest of Japan), but it also has a very big link with dairy products and sheep (which are rather uncommon on the main island of Honshu). It is a lot further north than Tokyo, and therefore has a much colder temperature - it being around 7 degrees while we were there.
Naoko and I flew from Hanada airport early on Thursday morning, and arrived an hour and a half later in Sapporo. The first thing we noticed was that it was a lot more spacious than Tokyo. Perhaps spacious is the wrong word - it was simply quite empty. The main streets in Tokyo are always heaving with people, whatever the time of day. The main street coming out of Sapporo station was relatively deserted by comparison. The station too, seemed to lack the buzz that is always around the main stations in the capital.
The hotel we had was in a decent location, and was pretty swish for what we were paying. We dropped off the bags and head off back to the station to catch the local train all the way to Otaru.
Otaru is a much smaller city than Sapporo, located about 40 minutes away by train. It has a lot of history and is a major tourist destination because of the old buildings and scenic canal that runs through it. The fish in Otaru is also well known for being fresh, and I wasted no time in digging into a big bowl of "kaisendon" - raw fish and hot rice. In the evening after having wondered around the town and taken in the sights, we made our way back to the canal in order to go to the Otaru Beer Hall. Otaru beer comes highly recommended, and I have to say it was pretty damn good. We chose to stay there for dinner before getting a late train back to Sapporo and walking back to our hotel.
The next morning we got up early so that we could make the most of the day. We wondered around Sapporo, visiting the main sights including the old government building, the fish market, and "Sapporo Tower". For lunch, we went for "Soup Curry" - basically a very liquid Japanese style curry with a big bowl of rice. The restaurant we chose was rather interesting to say the least. It was recommended by one of the guide books we had, and the food didn't disappoint (I went for a "medium spicy" lamb ball curry - which proved to be ridiculously spicy), but the place was decorated with stained reggae and Jamaican flags, the seats were old and knackered, and this along with the reggae music that was being played didn't seem to fit with the business clientèle that were crammed in the dingy room.
We spent the evening with one of Naoko's high school friends who is studying in Hokkaido. She took us to a restaurant well know for its large selection of Japanese sake, and I made a decent job of trying a fair few.
Before catching our flight back in the evening, we spent the last day stocking up on as many of the other things Hokkaido and Sapporo have to offer, including ramen, yoghurt, pudding, milk, chocolate, and many other tasty treats. We also took a trio to Hokkaido university to look around, and marvel at the openness of the campus compared to how tightly packed universities are in Tokyo.
All in all, it was an awesome trip, and I recommend it if you have the chance, as it is certainly another side to Japan compared to the hectic life of Tokyo.
Since having got back from Tokyo, classes have finally started (3 months of holiday is too much in my opinion), and I am now well into my second semester - which turns out to be the first semester of the academic year here. I had to take a placement test again in order for them to decide what level of Japanese class I should be put into, and that turned out to be a bit of a joke. I was looking forward to complaining about it here at the time, but that having been three weeks ago, I've kind of lost the passion that it instilled in me. Suffice to say that it was well in line with the rest of the bureaucratic nonsense that this country seems to be plagued with. (I did manage to move up levels though).
So that's pretty much it folks. Obviously there's more to tell, but I'll keep some of it back so that I feel motivated to write another entry soon (yes that does make me sound lazy). Until next time!
Hells.
The name Hokkaido translates literally as "north sea way", and the island has strong ties with the sea (much like the rest of Japan), but it also has a very big link with dairy products and sheep (which are rather uncommon on the main island of Honshu). It is a lot further north than Tokyo, and therefore has a much colder temperature - it being around 7 degrees while we were there.
Naoko and I flew from Hanada airport early on Thursday morning, and arrived an hour and a half later in Sapporo. The first thing we noticed was that it was a lot more spacious than Tokyo. Perhaps spacious is the wrong word - it was simply quite empty. The main streets in Tokyo are always heaving with people, whatever the time of day. The main street coming out of Sapporo station was relatively deserted by comparison. The station too, seemed to lack the buzz that is always around the main stations in the capital.
The hotel we had was in a decent location, and was pretty swish for what we were paying. We dropped off the bags and head off back to the station to catch the local train all the way to Otaru.
Otaru is a much smaller city than Sapporo, located about 40 minutes away by train. It has a lot of history and is a major tourist destination because of the old buildings and scenic canal that runs through it. The fish in Otaru is also well known for being fresh, and I wasted no time in digging into a big bowl of "kaisendon" - raw fish and hot rice. In the evening after having wondered around the town and taken in the sights, we made our way back to the canal in order to go to the Otaru Beer Hall. Otaru beer comes highly recommended, and I have to say it was pretty damn good. We chose to stay there for dinner before getting a late train back to Sapporo and walking back to our hotel.
The next morning we got up early so that we could make the most of the day. We wondered around Sapporo, visiting the main sights including the old government building, the fish market, and "Sapporo Tower". For lunch, we went for "Soup Curry" - basically a very liquid Japanese style curry with a big bowl of rice. The restaurant we chose was rather interesting to say the least. It was recommended by one of the guide books we had, and the food didn't disappoint (I went for a "medium spicy" lamb ball curry - which proved to be ridiculously spicy), but the place was decorated with stained reggae and Jamaican flags, the seats were old and knackered, and this along with the reggae music that was being played didn't seem to fit with the business clientèle that were crammed in the dingy room.
We spent the evening with one of Naoko's high school friends who is studying in Hokkaido. She took us to a restaurant well know for its large selection of Japanese sake, and I made a decent job of trying a fair few.
Before catching our flight back in the evening, we spent the last day stocking up on as many of the other things Hokkaido and Sapporo have to offer, including ramen, yoghurt, pudding, milk, chocolate, and many other tasty treats. We also took a trio to Hokkaido university to look around, and marvel at the openness of the campus compared to how tightly packed universities are in Tokyo.
All in all, it was an awesome trip, and I recommend it if you have the chance, as it is certainly another side to Japan compared to the hectic life of Tokyo.
Since having got back from Tokyo, classes have finally started (3 months of holiday is too much in my opinion), and I am now well into my second semester - which turns out to be the first semester of the academic year here. I had to take a placement test again in order for them to decide what level of Japanese class I should be put into, and that turned out to be a bit of a joke. I was looking forward to complaining about it here at the time, but that having been three weeks ago, I've kind of lost the passion that it instilled in me. Suffice to say that it was well in line with the rest of the bureaucratic nonsense that this country seems to be plagued with. (I did manage to move up levels though).
So that's pretty much it folks. Obviously there's more to tell, but I'll keep some of it back so that I feel motivated to write another entry soon (yes that does make me sound lazy). Until next time!
Hells.
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Sakura
From mid January to early May, the bloom of the cherry blossoms occur in Japan. Starting in the south, the appearance of the sakura works it's way up north finishing in the northern island of Hokkaido around May. This year, they arrived in Tokyo around the 20th March, and we are now currently entering our second week of cherry blossoms. While this itself is no particular Japanese speciality (after all, the cherry trees blossom in any country in which they grow), the ensuing "hanami"celebrations are. Hanami literally translates as "flower watch", and this is basically what it is.
Go to any park or open public space during the blossoming period and you will see countless groups of friends huddled together under the pink trees drinking beer, eating snacks, and generally having a "rad" time. What is striking about this is the sheer quantity of people taking part in the celebration. I had my first experience of "hanami" yesterday in Ueno park, and the atmosphere and quantity of people was akin to the music festivals that I have been to. There were long queues outside the toilets, temporary food stalls, huge bins erected specifically for the occasion, and barely a single blade of grass visible due to the blue tarpaulins laid down by different groups of people there taking in the various pink and white shades of the petals.
The weather was buy no means perfect - it was cold and the sky was threatening to rain the whole time I was there, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience. We arrived at around 4pm and met with some friends who already had a decent spot with a large blue tarpaulin in place surrounded by other people on blue tarpaulins (blue seemed to be the only accepted colour of tarpaulin for hanami celebrating). There were plenty of drinks and snacks, and we were soon able to befriend everyone who was there, discussing all manner of things including the delights of beans on toast and marmite. I had gone with Steve, Ramses, and a couple of Japanese friends, and not soon after we had sat down and started enjoying the atmosphere, we were approached by a film crew from "Nihon Television" who wanted to find out what we foreigners made of the whole "Hanami" celebration. The three of us made reasonable efforts to give coherent answers in Japanese to the questions we were asked, and I think we came across as fairly decent speakers... although I'm not sure when it will be shown on TV. I have to say though, that while we were doing just as everyone else in the park seemed to be doing with regards to drinking, talking, and having a good time, there was very little actual "flower watching". I got the impression somewhat that under the pretence enjoying the bloom of the cherry blossom, it was simply another good opportunity for the Japanese to be able to gather together and have a good time.
The bloom will last for another two weeks(ish), and the moment near the end when the petals slowly fall from the trees is said to be the most beautiful. As this is the case, and I still have 2 more weeks of holiday (3 months has been a seriously long time) I hope to have many more opportunities to partake in this activity.
In other news, Ramses and I have successfully made the move into our new apartment and have grown accustomed to truly "living" in Japan. The freedom provided by not having a curfew, along with the decent location of the pad has certainly allowed us to relax somewhat and enjoy our time here more thoroughly. On Monday night we plan to throw a little house warming to show off the place, and hopefully this will be the first of many gatherings to be had.
For Naoko's birthday, we have also decided (her and I) to go to Sapporo which is the fifth largest city in Japan, and lies on the island of Hokkaido in the north. The place is famous for dairy products, crabs, and the Sapporo brewery - so I hope to get my fill of those things while we are there. We'll be going the weekend before the start of the second semester, which fits in nicely as I will have already taken my Japanese placement test the previous week on the 6th of April.
So that's about it really. I survived my first few earthquake experiences last month, although I think they were relatively small as the room barely shook at all.
I'll try and get another entry done on my return from Hokkaido, but going on my current run of updates, I wouldn't hold your breath. Take care, and hopefully speak to you soon.
Hells.
UPDATE:
Here's the photo from my interview!
Go to any park or open public space during the blossoming period and you will see countless groups of friends huddled together under the pink trees drinking beer, eating snacks, and generally having a "rad" time. What is striking about this is the sheer quantity of people taking part in the celebration. I had my first experience of "hanami" yesterday in Ueno park, and the atmosphere and quantity of people was akin to the music festivals that I have been to. There were long queues outside the toilets, temporary food stalls, huge bins erected specifically for the occasion, and barely a single blade of grass visible due to the blue tarpaulins laid down by different groups of people there taking in the various pink and white shades of the petals.The weather was buy no means perfect - it was cold and the sky was threatening to rain the whole time I was there, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience. We arrived at around 4pm and met with some friends who already had a decent spot with a large blue tarpaulin in place surrounded by other people on blue tarpaulins (blue seemed to be the only accepted colour of tarpaulin for hanami celebrating). There were plenty of drinks and snacks, and we were soon able to befriend everyone who was there, discussing all manner of things including the delights of beans on toast and marmite. I had gone with Steve, Ramses, and a couple of Japanese friends, and not soon after we had sat down and started enjoying the atmosphere, we were approached by a film crew from "Nihon Television" who wanted to find out what we foreigners made of the whole "Hanami" celebration. The three of us made reasonable efforts to give coherent answers in Japanese to the questions we were asked, and I think we came across as fairly decent speakers... although I'm not sure when it will be shown on TV. I have to say though, that while we were doing just as everyone else in the park seemed to be doing with regards to drinking, talking, and having a good time, there was very little actual "flower watching". I got the impression somewhat that under the pretence enjoying the bloom of the cherry blossom, it was simply another good opportunity for the Japanese to be able to gather together and have a good time.
The bloom will last for another two weeks(ish), and the moment near the end when the petals slowly fall from the trees is said to be the most beautiful. As this is the case, and I still have 2 more weeks of holiday (3 months has been a seriously long time) I hope to have many more opportunities to partake in this activity.In other news, Ramses and I have successfully made the move into our new apartment and have grown accustomed to truly "living" in Japan. The freedom provided by not having a curfew, along with the decent location of the pad has certainly allowed us to relax somewhat and enjoy our time here more thoroughly. On Monday night we plan to throw a little house warming to show off the place, and hopefully this will be the first of many gatherings to be had.
For Naoko's birthday, we have also decided (her and I) to go to Sapporo which is the fifth largest city in Japan, and lies on the island of Hokkaido in the north. The place is famous for dairy products, crabs, and the Sapporo brewery - so I hope to get my fill of those things while we are there. We'll be going the weekend before the start of the second semester, which fits in nicely as I will have already taken my Japanese placement test the previous week on the 6th of April.
So that's about it really. I survived my first few earthquake experiences last month, although I think they were relatively small as the room barely shook at all.
I'll try and get another entry done on my return from Hokkaido, but going on my current run of updates, I wouldn't hold your breath. Take care, and hopefully speak to you soon.
Hells.
UPDATE:
Here's the photo from my interview!
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
The Japanese Tradition
When I say the word "Japan" to you, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Fast trains? Mt. Fuji? Or what about sushi?
Sushi, now I would hazard a guess that that is certainly going to be a common reply. Outside of Japan, sushi is regarded as something special. Yes, I know that of late with the popularity of places such as "Yo! Sushi", it is far more available to the masses and is therefore losing that magical spark, but it still retains the notion of being something different. (I would like to take this opportunity to point out that the vegetables rolled in rice and seaweed that they sell in your local Tesco, are not "sushi", but rather some western invention made to give the impression of eating something "foreign")
My dad recently directed my attention towards an article in the guardian magazine some time ago. It talks about sushi, and the idea of "tourist anxiety about eating in Japan", as the article puts it. It suddenly occurred to me that I too have suffered from this while being here. I found out last year that leaving rice grains in your bowl/dish is considered rude - during the shogunate it was something only the rich could afford, and the concept of it being a privilege to eat has continued to this day (highlighted by the use of the honorific "go" in front of the actual word for rice - "gohan").
The article also directs readers to this video (at least, the online version does):
I remember watching this before going to Japan, and not knowing how much was actually "for real". While they make jokes about the etiquette of the people here, there is some truth in what they say. This obviously adds to this whole sense of anxiety, not only when eating, but generally while living in Japan. All Japanese people seem to be aware of a certain code of how to act in public - something which as a foreigner, I have no idea about (other than what I have learnt from my parents). The irony is, that as soon as Japanese people get drunk, this "code of behavior" is permitted to be thrown out the window, and all manners of behaviour are permitted (to an extent obviously).
Therefore, it appears that a good remedy for this anxiety would be to be drunk all the time - thereby excusing your actions. Of course, this is not a feasible idea, especially when factoring in the ludicrous price of beer in Japan. Luckily, there is another option which requires very little effort - being foreign. As a foreigner in Japan, you are somewhat immune to social expectations on how to behave. Obviously extremes of behaviour will not generally be tolerated, nor will any illegal activity, but on the whole you can get a way with a hell of a lot simply by shrugging your shoulders and saying "hey, I'm foreign".
There is a third way - actually learning what to do in each situation. This however, is extremely difficult, as half the time Japanese people don't even know what to do, they simply do it by instinct.
So how am I getting by? Mostly by using the second option with occasional attempts at the other two, and eating a lot of sushi as I do it. Before coming to Japan I was never that enthralled by sushi, and I would still take yakiniku or a few other types of Japanese cuisine over it, but I have certainly acquired a taste for it. A nice bit of Toro (tuna sushi) is simply delicious (yes I know I am contributing to the problem, but it's just so damn good).
Anyway, so what have I been up to (besides eating sushi and shrugging my shoulders)? I hear you ask. Well, New Years Eve was certainly eventful. We decided to head to Meiji jingu for midnight - supposedly a "Japanese Tradition". But it turned out to be filled with foreigners and not really amount to much other then chucking some coins over a large crowd of people. After that we didn't really know what to do, so we walked around for a while, sat in McDonalds, and ended up in a darts bar at 4am drinking champagne (thanks Dries!). So yeah, not the best - but New Year's eve is always a big let down.
Around the 8th of January, I went with a few friends from the dorm to a mountainous region west of Tokyo called Hakone. We only went for one night, but were able to take in the countryside, visit the hot springs, and eat eggs cooked in the natural sulphurous springs of the mountains.
It was a pretty nice place, and it even snowed on the second day, providing me with my first snow of the season (big ones for sure)! After getting back, we all had two weeks of exams/papers, but they proved to be pretty easy, and having completed them we are now on holiday until early April (hells)!
Regarding my moving out of dorms, I am unsure at what point I was at the last time I mentioned it, but thanks to a friend we have been able to obtain an apartment in a posh area of Tokyo called hiroo. What's best about the place is the rent - half of what I am paying now, equating to about £200/month. I'm moving with a Belgian friend I have made here in the dorm, and we are able to move in any time from now, so I have been taking occasional trips over there with a few of my belongings.
The place isn't big, and it's pretty old by Japanese standards (from the 60's), but for that price in that neighbourhood, it is an amazing deal. It will allow a lot more freedom in how we live, and will ensure no worries about missing curfew, or the last train home - so we are bloody happy.
I think I'm going to call it a day for now as I've been writing this for well over an hour, and I want to cook my dinner. But I will hopefully get another post up telling you all about the rad South American food I've been eating, the all-night karaoke sessions I've been put through, and the dodgy robberies that have gone on (not to me thank God, but still... pretty dodgy).
So I leave you with a handy "how to" video showing you a speedy way to fold your T-shirts (a lot of you will have already seen it, but pfff, can't hurt to watch it again eh?):
take care guys.
Sushi, now I would hazard a guess that that is certainly going to be a common reply. Outside of Japan, sushi is regarded as something special. Yes, I know that of late with the popularity of places such as "Yo! Sushi", it is far more available to the masses and is therefore losing that magical spark, but it still retains the notion of being something different. (I would like to take this opportunity to point out that the vegetables rolled in rice and seaweed that they sell in your local Tesco, are not "sushi", but rather some western invention made to give the impression of eating something "foreign")
My dad recently directed my attention towards an article in the guardian magazine some time ago. It talks about sushi, and the idea of "tourist anxiety about eating in Japan", as the article puts it. It suddenly occurred to me that I too have suffered from this while being here. I found out last year that leaving rice grains in your bowl/dish is considered rude - during the shogunate it was something only the rich could afford, and the concept of it being a privilege to eat has continued to this day (highlighted by the use of the honorific "go" in front of the actual word for rice - "gohan").
The article also directs readers to this video (at least, the online version does):
I remember watching this before going to Japan, and not knowing how much was actually "for real". While they make jokes about the etiquette of the people here, there is some truth in what they say. This obviously adds to this whole sense of anxiety, not only when eating, but generally while living in Japan. All Japanese people seem to be aware of a certain code of how to act in public - something which as a foreigner, I have no idea about (other than what I have learnt from my parents). The irony is, that as soon as Japanese people get drunk, this "code of behavior" is permitted to be thrown out the window, and all manners of behaviour are permitted (to an extent obviously).
Therefore, it appears that a good remedy for this anxiety would be to be drunk all the time - thereby excusing your actions. Of course, this is not a feasible idea, especially when factoring in the ludicrous price of beer in Japan. Luckily, there is another option which requires very little effort - being foreign. As a foreigner in Japan, you are somewhat immune to social expectations on how to behave. Obviously extremes of behaviour will not generally be tolerated, nor will any illegal activity, but on the whole you can get a way with a hell of a lot simply by shrugging your shoulders and saying "hey, I'm foreign".
There is a third way - actually learning what to do in each situation. This however, is extremely difficult, as half the time Japanese people don't even know what to do, they simply do it by instinct.
So how am I getting by? Mostly by using the second option with occasional attempts at the other two, and eating a lot of sushi as I do it. Before coming to Japan I was never that enthralled by sushi, and I would still take yakiniku or a few other types of Japanese cuisine over it, but I have certainly acquired a taste for it. A nice bit of Toro (tuna sushi) is simply delicious (yes I know I am contributing to the problem, but it's just so damn good).
Anyway, so what have I been up to (besides eating sushi and shrugging my shoulders)? I hear you ask. Well, New Years Eve was certainly eventful. We decided to head to Meiji jingu for midnight - supposedly a "Japanese Tradition". But it turned out to be filled with foreigners and not really amount to much other then chucking some coins over a large crowd of people. After that we didn't really know what to do, so we walked around for a while, sat in McDonalds, and ended up in a darts bar at 4am drinking champagne (thanks Dries!). So yeah, not the best - but New Year's eve is always a big let down.
Around the 8th of January, I went with a few friends from the dorm to a mountainous region west of Tokyo called Hakone. We only went for one night, but were able to take in the countryside, visit the hot springs, and eat eggs cooked in the natural sulphurous springs of the mountains.
It was a pretty nice place, and it even snowed on the second day, providing me with my first snow of the season (big ones for sure)! After getting back, we all had two weeks of exams/papers, but they proved to be pretty easy, and having completed them we are now on holiday until early April (hells)!Regarding my moving out of dorms, I am unsure at what point I was at the last time I mentioned it, but thanks to a friend we have been able to obtain an apartment in a posh area of Tokyo called hiroo. What's best about the place is the rent - half of what I am paying now, equating to about £200/month. I'm moving with a Belgian friend I have made here in the dorm, and we are able to move in any time from now, so I have been taking occasional trips over there with a few of my belongings.
The place isn't big, and it's pretty old by Japanese standards (from the 60's), but for that price in that neighbourhood, it is an amazing deal. It will allow a lot more freedom in how we live, and will ensure no worries about missing curfew, or the last train home - so we are bloody happy.I think I'm going to call it a day for now as I've been writing this for well over an hour, and I want to cook my dinner. But I will hopefully get another post up telling you all about the rad South American food I've been eating, the all-night karaoke sessions I've been put through, and the dodgy robberies that have gone on (not to me thank God, but still... pretty dodgy).
So I leave you with a handy "how to" video showing you a speedy way to fold your T-shirts (a lot of you will have already seen it, but pfff, can't hurt to watch it again eh?):
take care guys.
Friday, 25 December 2009
Merry Big Ones
Well, a tad late, but I figured I'd treat you all to a nice Christmas gift in the form of another lovely blog entry. I hope you all had an awesome Crimbo, filled with many Big Ones, and that you'll be getting ready to see in the "one-ders" in style come December 31st.
As you no doubt have gathered based on my last post, this Christmas was most definitely not to be like any other. There was no turkey (goose, duck, or any for of poultry) planned, no gifts under the tree (no tree for that matter), and no family with which to take it easy and be merry. In fact, the only indications that I have in my room that it was/is the Christmas season, are the two Christmas cards on my shelf, and the Christmas hat I got from my secret Santa. Nonetheless, it was a wholesome Christmas which I spent with my girlfriend (and her family), and one that I shall not forget. Italian and Japanese Christmas dinner was more than satisfying, and I was very grateful to have such considerate people to spend Christmas with.
Anyway, I'm sure you're all anxious to know what the crack was with Shanghai.
Shanghai is a pretty rad place. It was however, not what I expected. I'm not really sure what it was that I had expected, but suffice to say, I was wrong.
The first thing I noticed upon my arrival was the haze which covered the city. It was as if there was a permanent fog in the distance. I had heard about the effects of pollution on the cities in China, but this was the first time I had seen it for real.
We arrived at Pudong International Airport about 9pm local time, but it was then an hour coach ride to our hotel and by the time we arrived, we were to shattered to do much and so went practically straight to sleep. The following day we had a city tour, and were therefore woken at 7am. The hotel breakfast consisted of toast, jam, noodles, fried rice, sweet an sour sauce, Chinese dumplings and various other foods that I would not have classed as "breakfast cuisine".
The tour was a mixture of cultural sites and advertising. By which I mean we toured zen gardens, and latex mattress show rooms. Nonetheless, it was an exciting experience. One of the areas we visited had somewhat of a local market street where thy sold all manner of foods, including small roasted birds on sticks. Lunch and dinner was much the same as breakfast, minus the toast and jam, but it filled a hole, and was interesting to try the various dishes which were laid out on our table. I would like to point out here that, contrary to what I had been told by certain friends, Chinese food in China IS similar to the stuff we get at home. The flavour is more "authentic", but it still seems to be the shiny, greasy food you can buy at the local Chinese place in England.
The second day was our "free day", and we got up early to go to a clothes market Naoko had read about on the internet. It was basically 5 massive multi-floor buildings, each housing a variety of stalls and "shops" (much like suppa-shoppa in Kings Heath, but a lot less organized and a lot noisier) which sold a multitude of knock-off goods, and tack. Some of the "finer" establishments sported shop names such as "Armarini", and "Dainholl", and sold things that appeared to be of passable quality.
We then got a taxi to the other side of town, which was almost the exact opposite of the clothes market. The shops were all designer (Gucci, Rolex, Omega, Maserati), and it was a much cleaner and well kept area of the city. I hadn't expected to see such a place in Shnaghai. The architecture was European, and the road and city layout only added to this. We even stumbled upon a Marks and Spencer, complete with food floor and all.
Just before dusk, having walked from the expensive posh area to the "normal" Shanghai, we got lost and ended up wondering down another market street. This time it was a food market held in front of people's houses, and it was fascinating to see the different kinds of fish and meat on sale (including dog). They also hug a lot of the fish on washing lines, right next to the clothes that were drying.
The last major thing we did on our free day was to go and see the view from the highest observation platform in the world. Visitors are allowed to travel up to the 100th floor (474 metres), and the view is pretty incredible, despite the high level of pollution/haze.
Our flight was a 10am the following morning (Chrsitmas day), and so we didn't really get a chance to do much else, but all in all, it was pretty cool. One of the things I noticed though, is that China is by no means as cheap as I thought it would have been. Most of the stuff you buy (apart from food), whether made in China or not, is of a similar price to that in Japan/UK, and for that reason, I wasn't able to go on a mad shopping spree as I had hoped.
Something else i noticed as I walked down the street, is that I often heard people hucking up lots of phlegm, before planting a fat glob right in the middle of the pavement. Nothing wrong with getting rid of the phlegm, but a little decorum if you please.
All in all though, Big Ones, as you can no doubt tell.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year guys and gals.
As you no doubt have gathered based on my last post, this Christmas was most definitely not to be like any other. There was no turkey (goose, duck, or any for of poultry) planned, no gifts under the tree (no tree for that matter), and no family with which to take it easy and be merry. In fact, the only indications that I have in my room that it was/is the Christmas season, are the two Christmas cards on my shelf, and the Christmas hat I got from my secret Santa. Nonetheless, it was a wholesome Christmas which I spent with my girlfriend (and her family), and one that I shall not forget. Italian and Japanese Christmas dinner was more than satisfying, and I was very grateful to have such considerate people to spend Christmas with.
Anyway, I'm sure you're all anxious to know what the crack was with Shanghai.
Shanghai is a pretty rad place. It was however, not what I expected. I'm not really sure what it was that I had expected, but suffice to say, I was wrong.
The first thing I noticed upon my arrival was the haze which covered the city. It was as if there was a permanent fog in the distance. I had heard about the effects of pollution on the cities in China, but this was the first time I had seen it for real.
We arrived at Pudong International Airport about 9pm local time, but it was then an hour coach ride to our hotel and by the time we arrived, we were to shattered to do much and so went practically straight to sleep. The following day we had a city tour, and were therefore woken at 7am. The hotel breakfast consisted of toast, jam, noodles, fried rice, sweet an sour sauce, Chinese dumplings and various other foods that I would not have classed as "breakfast cuisine".
The tour was a mixture of cultural sites and advertising. By which I mean we toured zen gardens, and latex mattress show rooms. Nonetheless, it was an exciting experience. One of the areas we visited had somewhat of a local market street where thy sold all manner of foods, including small roasted birds on sticks. Lunch and dinner was much the same as breakfast, minus the toast and jam, but it filled a hole, and was interesting to try the various dishes which were laid out on our table. I would like to point out here that, contrary to what I had been told by certain friends, Chinese food in China IS similar to the stuff we get at home. The flavour is more "authentic", but it still seems to be the shiny, greasy food you can buy at the local Chinese place in England.
The second day was our "free day", and we got up early to go to a clothes market Naoko had read about on the internet. It was basically 5 massive multi-floor buildings, each housing a variety of stalls and "shops" (much like suppa-shoppa in Kings Heath, but a lot less organized and a lot noisier) which sold a multitude of knock-off goods, and tack. Some of the "finer" establishments sported shop names such as "Armarini", and "Dainholl", and sold things that appeared to be of passable quality.
We then got a taxi to the other side of town, which was almost the exact opposite of the clothes market. The shops were all designer (Gucci, Rolex, Omega, Maserati), and it was a much cleaner and well kept area of the city. I hadn't expected to see such a place in Shnaghai. The architecture was European, and the road and city layout only added to this. We even stumbled upon a Marks and Spencer, complete with food floor and all.
Just before dusk, having walked from the expensive posh area to the "normal" Shanghai, we got lost and ended up wondering down another market street. This time it was a food market held in front of people's houses, and it was fascinating to see the different kinds of fish and meat on sale (including dog). They also hug a lot of the fish on washing lines, right next to the clothes that were drying.
The last major thing we did on our free day was to go and see the view from the highest observation platform in the world. Visitors are allowed to travel up to the 100th floor (474 metres), and the view is pretty incredible, despite the high level of pollution/haze.
Our flight was a 10am the following morning (Chrsitmas day), and so we didn't really get a chance to do much else, but all in all, it was pretty cool. One of the things I noticed though, is that China is by no means as cheap as I thought it would have been. Most of the stuff you buy (apart from food), whether made in China or not, is of a similar price to that in Japan/UK, and for that reason, I wasn't able to go on a mad shopping spree as I had hoped.
Something else i noticed as I walked down the street, is that I often heard people hucking up lots of phlegm, before planting a fat glob right in the middle of the pavement. Nothing wrong with getting rid of the phlegm, but a little decorum if you please.
All in all though, Big Ones, as you can no doubt tell.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year guys and gals.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Winter Woes
Well, it has certainly been a long time coming, but I shall finally allow for another glimpse into my life out here in Japan. The past month and a half of not blogging has been filled with various events, some good, some bad, and some... well, pretty ordinary.
First things first, I have decided and confirmed (by handing in an official notice), that I am definitely moving our of this dorm come the end of February. The decision came about based on a number of factors, and it is a choice I am yet to regret (although saying that, I am still currently in the dorm).
- A lot of the friends I have made in this dorm are leaving/moving out come the end of February. This is either because they too, have grown sick of being treated like a child, or it is because their year abroad time has finally come to an end.
- The "Ryoucho" (Dorm boss) and the rules he imposes are beyond a joke. I appreciate that they are not HIS rules (they are the rules laid out by the company that owns the dorm), but his strict enforcement of the rules just ruins the whole "living" experience. Not being allowed to go to the rooms of the opposite sex, and not being allowed to stay in the common area after half 11, forces us to either go out, or to just go back to our own rooms. We went to another dorm for Rikkyo students yesterday for a party (something we could NEVER do here). The Ryocho there actually came up to the room, bringing some alcohol and snacks and joined in with the party!
- Naoko has practically given up coming here any more, due to the fact that it's becoming increasingly hard to sneak her in. My friend here managed to sneak his girlfriend in, and was called down to the Ryosho's office at midnight to be told that she had to leave, despite the last trains having already gone, meaning she wouldn't be able to get home. He ended up arguing, and finally convinced him to let her stay until the next morning. (If you're wondering how Ryocho knew she was here, there are camera's all over this place).
Rant over, I'll be moving to an apartment with a Belgian guy, and hopefully there we will be able to have whoever we want over, whenever we want. It also gives us the opportunity to provide temporary accommodation to any friends who happen to be visiting...
With Christmas only 6 days away, I am afraid to have to disappoint you all as I will not be honouring you with my presence. I chose not to split my year abroad in two by going home for Christmas. That said, I am somewhat regretting the decision, as it doesn't feel very Christmassy here. The streets are all decorated, and the shopkeepers wear Christmas hats, but there is a lack of that Christmas rush that you always feel around mid-December. Japan, being a non-Christian nation, treats Christmas very differently to England. New Years Day is more like the Christmas day I am used to, as Japanese people get together with their families to see in the new year. The 25th on the other hand is supposed to be a "couples" day, much like Valentines day, which they also celebrate here. The exchange students at the dorm have organised a mini Christmas dinner for this Sunday, but with the lack of an actual oven, there's no chance for turkey or any of the normal roasted delights. (Japanese cooking doesn't tend to require an oven, and so most houses don't have one!). Even so, it's an interesting experience, and while I long for mince pies, roast turkey and all the trimmings, I find the differences fascinating.
(It's small, but I've never heard of turkey and paella for Christmas dinner...)
With the lack of any concrete Christmas spirit here, I feel less guilty about going away just before the 25th. SO, leaving on Tuesday, Naoko and I are going to Shanghai for 4 days getting back on Christmas day itself. I've been told mixed things about Shanghai, but am looking forward to in nonetheless. It's supposed to be a lot cheaper than Japan, and will provide a good opportunity to buy some cheap goods, and experience a different Asian nation.
In other news, I had a bash at the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (level 2) a couple of weeks ago. It's an internationally held exam that certifies your Japanese ability. There are (currently) 4 levels, 1 being the hardest. Suffice to say, I'm pretty sure I failed, as it was bloody solid. It doesn't matter though, as I planned to use that as a practice, and take it again in June next year (when it's held again).
Well, I hope that's enough of an update to keep people happy for a while, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I'll leave you with a photo of the effects of an all night clubbing session:
Oh, and one last thing. RAGE for NUMBER 1! I bought my copy.
First things first, I have decided and confirmed (by handing in an official notice), that I am definitely moving our of this dorm come the end of February. The decision came about based on a number of factors, and it is a choice I am yet to regret (although saying that, I am still currently in the dorm).
- A lot of the friends I have made in this dorm are leaving/moving out come the end of February. This is either because they too, have grown sick of being treated like a child, or it is because their year abroad time has finally come to an end.
- The "Ryoucho" (Dorm boss) and the rules he imposes are beyond a joke. I appreciate that they are not HIS rules (they are the rules laid out by the company that owns the dorm), but his strict enforcement of the rules just ruins the whole "living" experience. Not being allowed to go to the rooms of the opposite sex, and not being allowed to stay in the common area after half 11, forces us to either go out, or to just go back to our own rooms. We went to another dorm for Rikkyo students yesterday for a party (something we could NEVER do here). The Ryocho there actually came up to the room, bringing some alcohol and snacks and joined in with the party!
- Naoko has practically given up coming here any more, due to the fact that it's becoming increasingly hard to sneak her in. My friend here managed to sneak his girlfriend in, and was called down to the Ryosho's office at midnight to be told that she had to leave, despite the last trains having already gone, meaning she wouldn't be able to get home. He ended up arguing, and finally convinced him to let her stay until the next morning. (If you're wondering how Ryocho knew she was here, there are camera's all over this place).
Rant over, I'll be moving to an apartment with a Belgian guy, and hopefully there we will be able to have whoever we want over, whenever we want. It also gives us the opportunity to provide temporary accommodation to any friends who happen to be visiting...
With Christmas only 6 days away, I am afraid to have to disappoint you all as I will not be honouring you with my presence. I chose not to split my year abroad in two by going home for Christmas. That said, I am somewhat regretting the decision, as it doesn't feel very Christmassy here. The streets are all decorated, and the shopkeepers wear Christmas hats, but there is a lack of that Christmas rush that you always feel around mid-December. Japan, being a non-Christian nation, treats Christmas very differently to England. New Years Day is more like the Christmas day I am used to, as Japanese people get together with their families to see in the new year. The 25th on the other hand is supposed to be a "couples" day, much like Valentines day, which they also celebrate here. The exchange students at the dorm have organised a mini Christmas dinner for this Sunday, but with the lack of an actual oven, there's no chance for turkey or any of the normal roasted delights. (Japanese cooking doesn't tend to require an oven, and so most houses don't have one!). Even so, it's an interesting experience, and while I long for mince pies, roast turkey and all the trimmings, I find the differences fascinating.
(It's small, but I've never heard of turkey and paella for Christmas dinner...)
With the lack of any concrete Christmas spirit here, I feel less guilty about going away just before the 25th. SO, leaving on Tuesday, Naoko and I are going to Shanghai for 4 days getting back on Christmas day itself. I've been told mixed things about Shanghai, but am looking forward to in nonetheless. It's supposed to be a lot cheaper than Japan, and will provide a good opportunity to buy some cheap goods, and experience a different Asian nation.
In other news, I had a bash at the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (level 2) a couple of weeks ago. It's an internationally held exam that certifies your Japanese ability. There are (currently) 4 levels, 1 being the hardest. Suffice to say, I'm pretty sure I failed, as it was bloody solid. It doesn't matter though, as I planned to use that as a practice, and take it again in June next year (when it's held again).
Well, I hope that's enough of an update to keep people happy for a while, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I'll leave you with a photo of the effects of an all night clubbing session:
Oh, and one last thing. RAGE for NUMBER 1! I bought my copy.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Time is of the Essence
A new entry is on the way, I promise. Things have just been pretty hectic around here at the moment, and I haven't really had time to sit down and write a nice long tale of all my goings on. (Well, I have had time, but have filled it with other mindless activities which seem to whittle away the time.)
Well, talk to you soon.
Well, talk to you soon.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Camp, football and Happy Halloween
Howdy folks.
I figure I should round of the end of the month with a new blog entry, just to keep you all informed of my goings on.
Well, I ended the last blog entry saying that I was about to take part in the sports day football team. You'll be happy to hear that I did indeed take part, and thanks to my superior goal keeping skills, were able to win our first match (a feat we didn't think possible). It was a close game, and we took the lead early on, only to concede a goal in the dying seconds (there's a video of this somewhere on facebook). Luckily though we won the penalty shoot out and progressed to the second round where we were soundly beaten 3-0. Oh well, we got a lot further than we had expected.
That following weekend was the international societies "autumn camp", so we headed out on Saturday for a countryside-ish region of Tokyo, where we had a barbecue, drank lots of alcohol, and slept in log cabins. It was quite a nice area right next to a river, so we were able to have the barbecue on a "beach", and then head inside for some drinking games. I was able to teach some people "ride the bus", and I was introduced to the real way to play beer pong (although, it didn't last too long as most of use were pretty knackered by then).
It was a good night with lots of drunken debauchery, and by about 3am most people were asleep, despite being woken up around that time by an uninvited guest.
Since then it's been pretty much standard living. I've gotten used to having to wake up at 7am to make it in for 9, and I've also got used to eating some form of rice every single day of the week (You can't escape the stuff here).
Two nights ago was the international society "Halloween Party", and while it only ran from 6pm to 8.30, it was OK. Afterwards we ended up going to Karaoke, and not getting back to the dorm until 3am. Luckily, we have a week off for autumn holidays at the moment, so I'm able to take it easy.
University starts again on Thursday with mid-term exams, so I should really get started on some revision.
Anyway, feel free to drop me an email/message on facebook to let me know how things are going back in the big UK (or anywhere else you may be).
Inabit.
I figure I should round of the end of the month with a new blog entry, just to keep you all informed of my goings on.
Well, I ended the last blog entry saying that I was about to take part in the sports day football team. You'll be happy to hear that I did indeed take part, and thanks to my superior goal keeping skills, were able to win our first match (a feat we didn't think possible). It was a close game, and we took the lead early on, only to concede a goal in the dying seconds (there's a video of this somewhere on facebook). Luckily though we won the penalty shoot out and progressed to the second round where we were soundly beaten 3-0. Oh well, we got a lot further than we had expected.
That following weekend was the international societies "autumn camp", so we headed out on Saturday for a countryside-ish region of Tokyo, where we had a barbecue, drank lots of alcohol, and slept in log cabins. It was quite a nice area right next to a river, so we were able to have the barbecue on a "beach", and then head inside for some drinking games. I was able to teach some people "ride the bus", and I was introduced to the real way to play beer pong (although, it didn't last too long as most of use were pretty knackered by then).
It was a good night with lots of drunken debauchery, and by about 3am most people were asleep, despite being woken up around that time by an uninvited guest.
Since then it's been pretty much standard living. I've gotten used to having to wake up at 7am to make it in for 9, and I've also got used to eating some form of rice every single day of the week (You can't escape the stuff here).
Two nights ago was the international society "Halloween Party", and while it only ran from 6pm to 8.30, it was OK. Afterwards we ended up going to Karaoke, and not getting back to the dorm until 3am. Luckily, we have a week off for autumn holidays at the moment, so I'm able to take it easy.
University starts again on Thursday with mid-term exams, so I should really get started on some revision.
Anyway, feel free to drop me an email/message on facebook to let me know how things are going back in the big UK (or anywhere else you may be).
Inabit.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Typhoon Trouble and All That Jazz
It has certainly been an entertaining couple of weeks since my last blog entry.
Firstly, something important that I failed to mention last time is that there has been an interesting change with the status of my "scholarship". Originally I had applied for 2 scholarships before coming to Japan. The first was a government offered scholarship of a little under £600/month with "no strings attached" so to speak (aside from having to write a report at the end of the year abroad outlining what benefits the year abroad had). Failing to get that, Rikkyo University offered their own "scholarship" to foreign students. I was notified that I had received the Rikkyo Scholarship sometime around May, meaning that I had not been accepted on the government scholarship (JASSO). I was perfectly happy with that, until I found out that it wasn't really a scholarship, but instead was a rent cover for staying at my current dormitory. The problem is that, you only receive it if you stay here, and due to the rules and regulations of the place, I was strongly considering moving out and finding my own place.
By some stroke of luck however, the Japanese government decided to invest more money in foreign scholarships, and when I arrived, I found out during orientation that I had actually received the JASSO, and so was getting more money, and more freedom. Hells. (I have no idea why the Japanese government offers such scholarships - there must be 70 recipients in my university alone, but why question it eh?)
The increase in money couldn't have come as a better time, as the pound (and euro, and dollar, and practically every other currency) seems to be getting a poorer exchange rate with the yen every single day.
In other news, classes were cancelled last Tuesday due to some massive typhoon. I would love to have been able to give you a detailed account of how loudly the wind howled and how heavily the rain poured, but truth be told, I was asleep. We got news of cancelled classes the night before when it was still dry and warm, so we all headed out to an all you can drink karaoke. When we left at 2am it was really heavily raining, but that's about all I remember. I woke up the following day at 1pm to clear blue skies. The wind was still pretty strong, and I could hear it blowing every now and again through my closed window, but that was about it.
Aside from that it's been the usual study/socialising mix that I've been doing more or less since I got here. Classes are generally relaxed and not too taxing, but I can certainly feel my grasp of the language is improving. My spanish classes are also going pretty well, apart from the fact that they are at 4.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which doesn't really fit with the Japanese classes which are everyday at 9am - but it does mean I hang around to university and get some work done.
Today was also a national holiday, meaning no university classes. On top of that, Thursday is Rikkyo University's sports day, so there won't be classes then either (although for some reason I have signed up to play for the international student's football team, and so will probably be playing then - what the hell am I doing??)
Anyway, hope all is well wherever you are, and I'll leave you with an important message.
Firstly, something important that I failed to mention last time is that there has been an interesting change with the status of my "scholarship". Originally I had applied for 2 scholarships before coming to Japan. The first was a government offered scholarship of a little under £600/month with "no strings attached" so to speak (aside from having to write a report at the end of the year abroad outlining what benefits the year abroad had). Failing to get that, Rikkyo University offered their own "scholarship" to foreign students. I was notified that I had received the Rikkyo Scholarship sometime around May, meaning that I had not been accepted on the government scholarship (JASSO). I was perfectly happy with that, until I found out that it wasn't really a scholarship, but instead was a rent cover for staying at my current dormitory. The problem is that, you only receive it if you stay here, and due to the rules and regulations of the place, I was strongly considering moving out and finding my own place.
By some stroke of luck however, the Japanese government decided to invest more money in foreign scholarships, and when I arrived, I found out during orientation that I had actually received the JASSO, and so was getting more money, and more freedom. Hells. (I have no idea why the Japanese government offers such scholarships - there must be 70 recipients in my university alone, but why question it eh?)
The increase in money couldn't have come as a better time, as the pound (and euro, and dollar, and practically every other currency) seems to be getting a poorer exchange rate with the yen every single day.
In other news, classes were cancelled last Tuesday due to some massive typhoon. I would love to have been able to give you a detailed account of how loudly the wind howled and how heavily the rain poured, but truth be told, I was asleep. We got news of cancelled classes the night before when it was still dry and warm, so we all headed out to an all you can drink karaoke. When we left at 2am it was really heavily raining, but that's about all I remember. I woke up the following day at 1pm to clear blue skies. The wind was still pretty strong, and I could hear it blowing every now and again through my closed window, but that was about it.
Aside from that it's been the usual study/socialising mix that I've been doing more or less since I got here. Classes are generally relaxed and not too taxing, but I can certainly feel my grasp of the language is improving. My spanish classes are also going pretty well, apart from the fact that they are at 4.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which doesn't really fit with the Japanese classes which are everyday at 9am - but it does mean I hang around to university and get some work done.
Today was also a national holiday, meaning no university classes. On top of that, Thursday is Rikkyo University's sports day, so there won't be classes then either (although for some reason I have signed up to play for the international student's football team, and so will probably be playing then - what the hell am I doing??)
Anyway, hope all is well wherever you are, and I'll leave you with an important message.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Turning Japanese
Hello folks, what's the crack eh? Well, I'll let you know what's been going on here, but first I'd like to apologise once again for my lack of recent blogging. Excuses aside, It's pretty bloody hard to write one of these things every week, so you'll have to accept a less frequently posted addition every so often when I have the time.
So where do I start? Last time I blogged, I mentioned my arrival at the dormitory and all the stupid rules of the place. Well, having met a few people and got a feel for just how far the rules can be bent, it's not as bad as I first thought. When they say you're not allowed people of the opposite sex in your room/ people in your room after 11, what they mean is "if we see this happening, we'll say no". Also, the curfew only really means "the door will be locked at 12, so get your pal to let you in if you come back after that". No real biggie. On top of that, I have my own little secret way in, which I shan't divulge here - just to maintain the secrecy of it, but to suffice to say, "s'all good in the hood". I've managed to have a few late night "parties" in here, and no-one has complained, so it seems like the rules are more relaxed than they appear.
There's a photo of my room as best as I could take right now. Like I said before, I have a massaging toilet seat, a electronic stove thing, shower, bed, fridge, desk and plenty of storage space.
I started classes last Monday, having sat a placement test during orientation to decide my level of Japanese. I'm not sure how exact the test, which took 4 hours and included an interview, was as there are people better than me in lower classes, and worse than me in better classes. As usual, I wound up slap bang in the middle class, and while I find some of the material a little easy, they say it is because some of my skills (such as listening and speaking) are pretty shitty, and so need the lower level to be brought up. I get another placement test before the start of the second semester, and I hopefully hould perform a lot better then. The biggest problem of the classes however, is that they are all at 9am. Had I been a lower or higher level I would have had a bit more of a lie in.
I was also permitted to sit in on some Spanish classes, and am now signed up for "Advanced Spanish Speaking", and "Japanese to Spanish Advanced Translation". The latter of which is causing me some concern as I don't think my level of Japanese is suffice to produce a satisfying Japanese translation, but I suppose it is some incentive to study harder.
Aside from the mundane educational aspects of this year abroad, I have also been partaking in much social revelry with some good friends that I have made at the dorm, university, and those that I knew before my arrival in Japan. I have so far had the chance to attend the time honoured traditional social activity of カラオケ three times in the last week, each time messier than the last. I also ended up going to a club last Friday night, which proved to be a rather unwise decision. Not only did it involve staying out until 6am (not due to curfew, but to having to catch the first train back), but the night itself was something I would rather forget. Nonetheless, an experience in itself.
As well as night time activities, I have been able to take advantage of some of my 9am starts to make the most of the days, and have been travelling around Tokyo, visiting the sites and what not. Also, I have just returned today from (not very proud to say this) Tokyo Game Show. A few years ago, I would have given up my kidney for the opportunity to go to such a place, but having matured a bit, and not really played video games for the past 3 years, I wasn't overly keen to fork out the £25 it cost to get there and back. But, Naoko insisted she wanted to go, and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. Yes, it was a complete nerd-fest, and there were a lot of creepy things going on there, but on the whole, I had a good time, and was able to rekindle the video-game-playing kid in me that I thought I had lost forever.
I know it's not a terribly long entry, especially since the long time between my last blog, but its almost 1am and I have to be up at 7, so I think I'm going to call it a night. Hopefully I can get something else written soon, but having learnt from experience, I won't make any promises about when I'll write the next one.
As they say in Spanish (as I am yet to learn the Japanese expression for it) "hasta la proxima", and I leave you with some sound advice from JR train's "JT group"
Speak to you soon(ish)
So where do I start? Last time I blogged, I mentioned my arrival at the dormitory and all the stupid rules of the place. Well, having met a few people and got a feel for just how far the rules can be bent, it's not as bad as I first thought. When they say you're not allowed people of the opposite sex in your room/ people in your room after 11, what they mean is "if we see this happening, we'll say no". Also, the curfew only really means "the door will be locked at 12, so get your pal to let you in if you come back after that". No real biggie. On top of that, I have my own little secret way in, which I shan't divulge here - just to maintain the secrecy of it, but to suffice to say, "s'all good in the hood". I've managed to have a few late night "parties" in here, and no-one has complained, so it seems like the rules are more relaxed than they appear.
There's a photo of my room as best as I could take right now. Like I said before, I have a massaging toilet seat, a electronic stove thing, shower, bed, fridge, desk and plenty of storage space.
I started classes last Monday, having sat a placement test during orientation to decide my level of Japanese. I'm not sure how exact the test, which took 4 hours and included an interview, was as there are people better than me in lower classes, and worse than me in better classes. As usual, I wound up slap bang in the middle class, and while I find some of the material a little easy, they say it is because some of my skills (such as listening and speaking) are pretty shitty, and so need the lower level to be brought up. I get another placement test before the start of the second semester, and I hopefully hould perform a lot better then. The biggest problem of the classes however, is that they are all at 9am. Had I been a lower or higher level I would have had a bit more of a lie in.
I was also permitted to sit in on some Spanish classes, and am now signed up for "Advanced Spanish Speaking", and "Japanese to Spanish Advanced Translation". The latter of which is causing me some concern as I don't think my level of Japanese is suffice to produce a satisfying Japanese translation, but I suppose it is some incentive to study harder.
Aside from the mundane educational aspects of this year abroad, I have also been partaking in much social revelry with some good friends that I have made at the dorm, university, and those that I knew before my arrival in Japan. I have so far had the chance to attend the time honoured traditional social activity of カラオケ three times in the last week, each time messier than the last. I also ended up going to a club last Friday night, which proved to be a rather unwise decision. Not only did it involve staying out until 6am (not due to curfew, but to having to catch the first train back), but the night itself was something I would rather forget. Nonetheless, an experience in itself.
As well as night time activities, I have been able to take advantage of some of my 9am starts to make the most of the days, and have been travelling around Tokyo, visiting the sites and what not. Also, I have just returned today from (not very proud to say this) Tokyo Game Show. A few years ago, I would have given up my kidney for the opportunity to go to such a place, but having matured a bit, and not really played video games for the past 3 years, I wasn't overly keen to fork out the £25 it cost to get there and back. But, Naoko insisted she wanted to go, and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. Yes, it was a complete nerd-fest, and there were a lot of creepy things going on there, but on the whole, I had a good time, and was able to rekindle the video-game-playing kid in me that I thought I had lost forever.
I know it's not a terribly long entry, especially since the long time between my last blog, but its almost 1am and I have to be up at 7, so I think I'm going to call it a night. Hopefully I can get something else written soon, but having learnt from experience, I won't make any promises about when I'll write the next one.
As they say in Spanish (as I am yet to learn the Japanese expression for it) "hasta la proxima", and I leave you with some sound advice from JR train's "JT group"
Speak to you soon(ish)
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Heading East
OK, so it's been more than 2 weeks since my last blog, and I am aware that many people are anxious to know how my life has been getting on - after all, I have been in Japan for a week...
My reasons for a lack of blogging so far have been primarily time constraints and the general absence of internet. But before I begin talking about my life in the east, I'll round up the end of my western adventures.
Since the return to Buenos Aires from Mendoza, and the writing of my last blog, I spent the remaining three days in Argentina saying goodbye to family and friends, and pigging out on as much cheap good food as I could. The weather was good, and on one of the days I visited San Telmo with a couple of my cousins to see the sights, and drink some mate in one of the plazas. Mate is the national drink of Argentina, and the drinking of it is a tradition of the Gaúchos - cowboys of the Pampas. Unlike drinking tea or coffee, drinking mate is much more ritualistic, with friends gathering in parks, gardens, houses in order to partake in the drinking of it. Someone brings along the mate (a hollowed out gourd used as the cup) as well as the yerba, hot water, and a bombilla (a metal straw with a filter on the end). This person then becomes the cebador, and is responsible for the preparation of the mate and it's serving. The drink itself has a strong taste described as a cross between green tea and coffee, but sugar or honey can be added to sweeten the taste. It is a highly social activity, and a walk though any park or plaza in Buenos Aires will reveal its popularity amongst the locals.
Anyway, I arrived back in the UK on a Thursday to many cheers and much applause. While I thought 9 days would be plenty to prepare myself for a year in Japan, the days seemed to fly by with very little being accomplished. I had to sort out insurance, money, documents, luggage allowance, packing and transfer files from my old PC to my new Mac (moving up in the world, some would say...). Though this doesn't seem like much, it seemed to take me a surprising amount of time, and until it was fully done, I could feel it all weighing on my shoulders, so to speak. On top of that, I spent a lot of time with friends, drinking, socializing, and generally having a good time - thanks to them for making my last week in the UK a good'n.
With more or less everything set in order, I left for Japan on Saturday afternoon, arriving in Narita airport on Sunday at 3pm local time after an 11 hour flight. I was lucky enough to be given the emergency seat with almost endless leg room, which made the journey a lot more bearable, even though I barely got any sleep. I was supposed to meet Naoko at 3.30, but due to "unforeseen circumstances" she was an hour late. Nonetheless, I was able to get to my hostel in time to drop off my things and go out for dinner. It was bloody hot, and I didn't struggle to soak my T-shirt despite it being late afternoon. We ate at a nice Japanese restaurant, but due to the long flight and lack of sleep, it felt more like a dream, and I fell asleep instantly when I returned to my hostel. For the next two days, I did a few touristy things with Naoko and some of her friends whom she had met at Sheffield and who had also arrived in Japan a few days earlier than me. We visited "The Great Buddha Kamakura" amongst other sites, and ate some pretty good food. With the "current economic crisis" of today however, the pound has weakened a lot since I was last here, and most activities have become a bit bucksy malone. Nonetheless, I've been able to get by, and I'm sure once I get into the swing of East Asian living, I'll be able to survive on minimal expenses. Hopefully.
I got to my dormitory on Wednesday, and discovered that it ain't really all that bad. It is on-suite complete with a heated Japanese toilet, and shower/bath room. There is a little "stove" thing that allows me to cook if I buy myself a steel pan, and the bed/study area is spacious. I requested to rent bedding, and on the whole it is pretty good, apart from the pillow. I had the same problem in the hostel, as it was the same kind of pillow there. It's about 30x50 centimeters in size (i.e. tiny), and rather than being filled with comfortable down pillows, it has the same hard ball things as a bean-bag. Not only that, but there isn't enough to actually raise my head any higher than the mattress. I've ended up stuffing some of my clothes in the pillow slip as a temporary solution, but will have to go out and buy a decent one at the next possible opportunity. Pillow rant over, there's not really much else to complain about, apart from the dormitory rules. The most annoying being the midnight curfew - something which I failed to adhere to on the very first night (luckily, a Japanese girl also arrived late at the same time as me, and was able to phone her friend to open the door and let us in). With the dormitory not actually being located in Tokyo but the neighboring prefecture of Saitama, it means having to head for home from Tokyo before 11.30. I have been told however, that there are ways around the majority of the stupid rules the place has, which I will no doubt learn during my time here.
I'm not quite sure when classes actually start, but I know I have orientation at the university on Monday morning, and a placement test on Wednesday. Other than that, I think I am free to explore and have a good time. Sorry about the long pictureless entry this time, I haven't yet got my camera out much, but will try to do so more often in order to provide some photographic evidence of my whereabouts for you guys. I'll also try to get another entry done soon, providing I get the chance.
Until then, take care folks.
My reasons for a lack of blogging so far have been primarily time constraints and the general absence of internet. But before I begin talking about my life in the east, I'll round up the end of my western adventures.
Since the return to Buenos Aires from Mendoza, and the writing of my last blog, I spent the remaining three days in Argentina saying goodbye to family and friends, and pigging out on as much cheap good food as I could. The weather was good, and on one of the days I visited San Telmo with a couple of my cousins to see the sights, and drink some mate in one of the plazas. Mate is the national drink of Argentina, and the drinking of it is a tradition of the Gaúchos - cowboys of the Pampas. Unlike drinking tea or coffee, drinking mate is much more ritualistic, with friends gathering in parks, gardens, houses in order to partake in the drinking of it. Someone brings along the mate (a hollowed out gourd used as the cup) as well as the yerba, hot water, and a bombilla (a metal straw with a filter on the end). This person then becomes the cebador, and is responsible for the preparation of the mate and it's serving. The drink itself has a strong taste described as a cross between green tea and coffee, but sugar or honey can be added to sweeten the taste. It is a highly social activity, and a walk though any park or plaza in Buenos Aires will reveal its popularity amongst the locals.
Anyway, I arrived back in the UK on a Thursday to many cheers and much applause. While I thought 9 days would be plenty to prepare myself for a year in Japan, the days seemed to fly by with very little being accomplished. I had to sort out insurance, money, documents, luggage allowance, packing and transfer files from my old PC to my new Mac (moving up in the world, some would say...). Though this doesn't seem like much, it seemed to take me a surprising amount of time, and until it was fully done, I could feel it all weighing on my shoulders, so to speak. On top of that, I spent a lot of time with friends, drinking, socializing, and generally having a good time - thanks to them for making my last week in the UK a good'n.
With more or less everything set in order, I left for Japan on Saturday afternoon, arriving in Narita airport on Sunday at 3pm local time after an 11 hour flight. I was lucky enough to be given the emergency seat with almost endless leg room, which made the journey a lot more bearable, even though I barely got any sleep. I was supposed to meet Naoko at 3.30, but due to "unforeseen circumstances" she was an hour late. Nonetheless, I was able to get to my hostel in time to drop off my things and go out for dinner. It was bloody hot, and I didn't struggle to soak my T-shirt despite it being late afternoon. We ate at a nice Japanese restaurant, but due to the long flight and lack of sleep, it felt more like a dream, and I fell asleep instantly when I returned to my hostel. For the next two days, I did a few touristy things with Naoko and some of her friends whom she had met at Sheffield and who had also arrived in Japan a few days earlier than me. We visited "The Great Buddha Kamakura" amongst other sites, and ate some pretty good food. With the "current economic crisis" of today however, the pound has weakened a lot since I was last here, and most activities have become a bit bucksy malone. Nonetheless, I've been able to get by, and I'm sure once I get into the swing of East Asian living, I'll be able to survive on minimal expenses. Hopefully.
I got to my dormitory on Wednesday, and discovered that it ain't really all that bad. It is on-suite complete with a heated Japanese toilet, and shower/bath room. There is a little "stove" thing that allows me to cook if I buy myself a steel pan, and the bed/study area is spacious. I requested to rent bedding, and on the whole it is pretty good, apart from the pillow. I had the same problem in the hostel, as it was the same kind of pillow there. It's about 30x50 centimeters in size (i.e. tiny), and rather than being filled with comfortable down pillows, it has the same hard ball things as a bean-bag. Not only that, but there isn't enough to actually raise my head any higher than the mattress. I've ended up stuffing some of my clothes in the pillow slip as a temporary solution, but will have to go out and buy a decent one at the next possible opportunity. Pillow rant over, there's not really much else to complain about, apart from the dormitory rules. The most annoying being the midnight curfew - something which I failed to adhere to on the very first night (luckily, a Japanese girl also arrived late at the same time as me, and was able to phone her friend to open the door and let us in). With the dormitory not actually being located in Tokyo but the neighboring prefecture of Saitama, it means having to head for home from Tokyo before 11.30. I have been told however, that there are ways around the majority of the stupid rules the place has, which I will no doubt learn during my time here.
I'm not quite sure when classes actually start, but I know I have orientation at the university on Monday morning, and a placement test on Wednesday. Other than that, I think I am free to explore and have a good time. Sorry about the long pictureless entry this time, I haven't yet got my camera out much, but will try to do so more often in order to provide some photographic evidence of my whereabouts for you guys. I'll also try to get another entry done soon, providing I get the chance.
Until then, take care folks.
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