hairfish

- from my best friend’s balcony

- fog near the shedd aquarium
- esperanza spalding @ chicago jazz fest

Busy doesn’t even begin to describe today. I’ve been at the office since about nine thirty; it’s nine oh four in the pm and I’m still here. I LOVE MY JOB!!

Riding the Narita Express

An excerpt actual letter I wrote to a friend while we were flying somewhere over Canada

It’s still Saturday. That’s weird because it’s totally Sunday in Japan. I cried, of course. I honestly thought I wouldn’t until I got on the plane but saying goodbye was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Megumi, my host mom, got me a cute belt her friend made for me. She wrote me a nice letter in her best English. She signed it: “We love you. See you again.” My heart just about broke in two complete halves. I realized being here has given me my emotions back, or rather, the rich complexity of my emotions. I’m usually a very hyper sensitive person which is really annoying and a pain in the ass but somewhere along this trip, I learned to be in control of my emotions and not have them control me but I also re-learned how things feels: happiness, elation, fustration, confusion, excitment. A lot of it still doesn’t make sense but after spending much of last Winter completely numb, thie idea of feeling, of being aware of it, is so awesome.

–

Now, I’m actually back in the States. And it feels weird. Sleeping is an interesting thing because I do it in weird intervals, at weird times. I’ve been out at around 8pm, eastern time, only to wake up between three-thirty and four, stay up, crash around three in the afternoon and do it all over again. I’m going to try to reset my brain by not going to bed at eight and hopefully I will sleep solidly through the night but this remains to be seen. I really, really miss my host family. And my Japanese routine but I am very happy to be home. I have a feeling I’ll be very natsukashii for Japan within the next few weeks.

I’ve got a handful of more photographs to share and some questions about Study Abroad I’ve been meaning to answer, so please, stay tuned! Until then, have a happy holidays

Hayleigh and her new amazing DS that takes pictures!

Red Japanese maple leaves

My close friend Hayleigh, with her host sisters. Her host mother invited me to dress up in kimono and take pictures at a Japanese garden in Koshigaya.

Cheesu!~

More leaves! I gathered a bunch of them to dry in my travel journal

Hayleigh-chan~

Hayleigh's host family being adoreable

YELLOW!

Kimono covered bottoms.

the Garden was just gorgeous

Me.

I just finished a ten page history paper. Tomorrow is my last day of work and of school. Two weeks from now, Ieave Japan. To go home, that is. Crazy.

It was so refreshing to see the ocean again. I've missed it...

Small pond on the grounds of Hase-dera, a temple dedicated to the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Kannon (from which the Canon brand derives it's name), who is actually neither male nor female contrary to the widely held notion that Kannon is a Goddess, but does in fact represent compassion, love, and mercy.

Japanese maple leaves are gorgeous in the fall.

Figurines inside of benten-kutsu cave at Hase-dera.

Reading the wishes and prayers of visitors.

Happy smiles after seeing Kannon in Kannon-do hall.

A smaller representation of Kannon at Hase-dera.

A little friend at the site of the Great Buddha, or Daibatsu.

Daibatsu of Kamakura. This buddha used to be enclosed in a temple but it was destroyed by either very strong winds or a tsunami, and only the Daibutsu was left standing. It is MASSIVE.

Shopping on Komachi-dori. It started to rain by the time we got to the Kamakura stop on the Enoden line.

Rain and pokadots.

We took the Romance Car into Fujisawa and got on the local back to Shinjuku where we departed. We got the Enoshima-Kamakura Free Pass but the rain made it very difficult to explore Enoshima. It’s actually a much shorter trip than I had anticpated and much cheaper too. I’d like to go to Enoshima and see a beach before I leave but I may have to wait for my next journey here. I’ve got exactly seventeen days to go and it just doesn’t feel like enough time for anything.

Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, located in Taito-ku’s Asakusa District. The temple is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, and Nakamise-dori (pretty good for omiyage shopping) are also part of Senso-ji’s ground, and all are equally as infamous. Asakusa, to me, feels like Japan. Many of the buildings, however, are not that only, most being from the 50s and 60s due to the firebombing of Japan during WWII, nothing older survived; despite that, it still has that “old” feeling.

Nakamise-dori around 10am on a Saturday

Adventuring with crew in tow

Looking up at the huge lantern which has an impressive wooden carving at the bottom

Maneki-neko (good luck cats) with SOLAR POWER!

Purification ritual in Senso-ji. You have to wash your hands and your mouth before entering to pray at Buddhist temples.

All dressed up for her shichi-go-san

Bad fortunes are tied up in hopes of them not coming true. I had to tie mine up :3 lol

Incense used for good luck and for intelligence. There is a huge thing of incense buring and you walk up to it and use your hands to waft the incense over your head. This is said to make you smart. I was standing in front of that thing for a good five minutes

I don't know the significance of this particular ritual but its a pole with different colors, each one representing different Buddhist virtues I think. There was a very, very long line for this.

Inside Senso-ji, people praying, lighting cameras, tourists touristing

Kimono shop on another popular shopping dori

Clothing hanging to dry. My absolutely favorite small Tokyo detail.

Oba-chan and her dog near the Sumida River

Side street near Nakamise-dori

Creeepy...

Asking for donations, I think. Yeah, I know he looks like Rayden from Mortal Kombat.

If you go to Asakusa, shopping is best done on the side streets, away from Nakamise-dori. Food is also cheap and DELICIOUS, if you just look around a bit. I had the best curry rice for 500YEN I’ve had in Tokyo since arriving. I also managed to buy loads of omiyage for friends and family for a little under 10,000YEN ($100USD) — and I’m talking about over twelve people. Up next in sightseeing: Nikko (in a Day!), Kamakura and Enoshima (in a Day!), Tokyo DisneySea, and maybe some schoolwork in between

From 11pm to 5am, I karaoked with a group of friends in Shibuya. I highly, highly recommend trying this if you ever come to Japan. It’s a really fun experience. I usually karaoke for about two hours but it’s a nice challenge to try and do it for six whole hours. I took the challenge — and I conquered it!

Step 1: Hydrate yourself! Nomihodai karaoke, or all you can drink, during the weeknight cost us 980 yen. That's about ten dollars for six hours of karaoke plus all the Melon soda you can handle. For alcohol nomihodi, it's 1980 yen, or twenty bucks per person. -- this however is only offered during the weekend at the particular karaoke place we went to

Step 2: Everyone should participate in someway, preferably by joining in with the tambourine and sporadic yelling of song lyrics, as seen here.

Step 3: Cameras must be ready at all times to capture and record mayhem with in the karaoke room. (hide doll optional.)

Step 4: Lubricate those vocal chords!

Step 5: Sing your HEART out!

Like this.

Perhaps a more mellow approach...

Duets are always fun and encouraged

Solo air guitar to unleash the rocker within

Please feel free to bust a move

And finally, group participation is the key to a successful night of karaoke

Today, my younger host sister, Mayuko celebrated her shichi-go-san. Shichi-go-san, which literally means, seven, five, three is a holiday of sorts for children whose ages are seven, five, and three. Girls dress up in their first grown-up kimono and boys dress up in their hakuma. The festival itself is meant to bring longevity and good luck to the children celebrating it.

Mayuko looked like a tiny Christmas tree ^__^

Three generations

Mayuko-chan getting fixed up a bit

My host mom, Mayu-chan, great-grandmother, and Mii-chan

Little girl posing for pictures

Everyone was a photog today

More pictures, more posing

Detail of Mayu-chan's kimono. It was gorgeous!

Piggy back ride!

Mayuko reads her fortune

There were ridic amounts of girls squeeing "kawaii", and "kakkoi", and "ikimen" after the show. The kid is pretty gorgeous.

The show begins!

Last night was, hands down, of the best nights I’ve had in Tokyo. There was a torrential downpour during my walk to Akasaka with my friend Alyssa, which added the complication of getting dry while trying to get ready for the show. The temperature has finally decended into a crisp, fall coolness, so I knew it was going to be a good night based on that alone. My only, only qualm is that the show was so short — but any good concert is always a short concert!

Justin’s set was only an hour long and he basically sang all of Holly save for two songs which he replaced with covers (Ain’t No Sunshine and Sittin’ At the Dock of the Bay). Having had Holly and listening to it almost religiously over the past four or so months I was happily suprised to see two guitars and a keyboard on the stage. Astro Hall is suuuuuper tiny so the show was very intimate; he interacted with us throughout and we did back. I was really amazed how much better he sounds live, as in the album (which is wonderful, go get it if you haven’t!) does his voice no justice. You have to see him live to really appreciate the tone and texture of his voice. He sang one song, ‘Oh Momma’ with out the mic and it was just beautiful.

I waited a bit after to see if I could get an autograph but having to take a two hour commute back home, I really couldn’t wait very long, so I didn’t get my autograph nor did I manage to snag a setlist. However, the show is definitely one of the highlights of my time here and has made me fall all the more in love with the album. I’ll be excited to see where he’s at in the next few years; it seems he just gets better with time.

We weren't supposed to take pictures but I'm not one to follow rules often. Heh.

I was really, really close! This is the view from where I was standing

A really awesome woman let me take a picture of her setlist since I didn't get one. I think Justin wrote himself. LUCKY!

Ambience~

I finally visited Shinjuku although it may not be the Shinjuku you have in mind. I, myself, was completely suprised at the solitude and quietness of the Shinjuku go-chome area. It's primarily a business area. In fact, the Metropolitian government buildings are within walking distance of the area. The JR Yamanote line, which drops you off right in the heart of Shinjuku, is a good twenty minute long walk away so the area is seriously removed from the flashing lights, huge department stores, and constant flow of tourists. It was beautiful!

Serene.

Saxophonist in the park. He sounded really good!

Skater boys, busy being too cool for school

Fall leaves in Shinjuku Niagara Falls

More on these hooligans, later...

Neko-chan with statues. Cats aren't really kept as pets in Japan, but they're all over the place, just wandering about.

So those hooligans I mentioned before were models being photographed in the park. I've come to realize, photography is synonomous with older men in Japan. I have yet to see a woman with a camera who isn't part of my study abroad program.

A work of art made from umbrellas and garbage? I think...

Unlike in Chicago, it's very rare to see homeless wandering around the city here. They aren't even in the Subways either. Instead, they seem to be located in "camps" such as this one.

Shinjuku Niagara Falls -- No kidding, this is what it's called!

Another view of Shinjuku Niagara Falls

I love how hidden that couple was up there.

Finches! I love these little guys

Shinjuku traffic through the trees

On the way to Tokyo Tower

Paper lanterns at a Temple near the Tower

TOKYO TOWER

Blurry view of Tokyo from the Tower

I know I’ve been more than a little silent here lately. I’m finding my second month here, (six weeks into the trip to be exact) is hectic. I’ve had midterms over the past three weeks, I’ve managed to drop my keitai in the toliet twice thus rendering it non existant and I’ve had to deal with the inconvience of that (ie. waking up twenty minutes late, not being able to do anything but go to class and come back home, etc). I was supposed to video chat with the Japanese III class from my home school (Hey guys!) but due to my alarm playing tricks on me, I woke up too late to do it plus my connection was giving me ~issues~.

And if homesickness wasn’t enough, I encountered something truly horrific on Monday: a train “accident”. As the entire incident is still very fresh in my mind, I won’t be discussing it at the present moment, but if you’ve never been in Japan, and you don’t know much about what train “accidents” actually are in Japan-speak, do some research and you’ll understand why I’m just a bit hesitant to talk about it. Needless to say, it’s been a bit rough around these parts lately but I’m getting back on my feet, and looking forward to better things, for instance, that Justin Nozuka concert next Monday night.

Until then, get out and VOTE!