Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Who the hell cares set tripping silly - T-shirt on a guy riding the subway






I'm back from Osaka! It was a short whirlwind trip but quite nice to get out of Tokyo for the day and a half that it was. We went to see the whale shark, went to the food amusement park they have and then to Dotonbori to see the big glico sign and to the American village they have... which wasn't very American haha.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Off to Osaka!

Today I'm off to Osaka. I'm pretty excited. I dont have any solid plans for while I'm there. Unfortunately but fortunately the travel agency lost our reservation for the overnight bus to Osaka so we're hitting the bullet train. I'm pretty ok with this. Basically all I have in mind for the trip is learning some Kansai-ben (Osakan dialect), Kuidaore (ruining onself through the extravagence of food) and seeing the huge whale sharks in their aquarium. I think this leaves room for other exciting things too. I'll post pics when I get back.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Feliz Cumpleanos!


Not much is new but I find myself with some free time at the moment before work. What's new? It was Take's birthday a few days ago. I got him a cake. 82 years young haha. I got some strange looks at the cake shop when I ordered not only my message in Spanish but also insisted on them drawing a music note. Take had a good laugh so I'm pleased.

In other news. I booked my tickets to Osaka! I'm going for three days next week. I'm very excited because word on the street is there is a whale shark in an aquarium there and I'm going to take me some pictures of it! I hear the food down there is pretty awesome and the people are all really friendly so I'm sure good times will be had. My coworker and I are going to go together. I'm trying very hard to refrain from spending money until I go. The tickets and hotel were only 12,800 yen which is apparently very good. I'm hoping to check out the Glico man.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Good Luck to All Who Ride - T-Shirt in Shibuya

So I have another cold. I think it's because my apartment is so cold all the time.
This weekend was a very interesting one. After work on Saturday, Take met me at the train station and we went for dinner... That is the last time I let him order even if he is the one with superior Japanese abilities. Over the course of dinner we ate: Karaage, Gyoza, steak, Buri sashimi, whale bacon, pig intestines, raw horse and deep fried oysters (Done in the Hiroshima style so I had to try them because that is where Take is from). The first few dishes were all fine and dandy... the last ones I struggled with. The whole dinner was like Take trying to see what he could get me to eat because I was being stubborn after he gave me the gears about not being open minded. "I'll show you open minded... pig intestines, wow they're lovely... I wish we had more" *gag*
Yesterday before my students house I went to Tachikawa with Take for an epic shopping trip. We went WINDOW SHOPPING for about three and a half hours and he didn't complain once. I am still shocked about this.
Last night I went to my students house. It was alright. I ate more food I wasn't too happy about lol. Steamed fish paste with fish eggs on top. I hate fish eggs. The night went alright, we sat on the floor the whole time so by the end of the night my legs were hurting pretty good. After that I went home and ate pizza lol.
Today I think I will go shopping some more. I have a 5000 yen gift card I want to spend.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Everybody Must Get Stoned - Shirt on a guy in Shibuya

I know I've been extremely neglectful as of late with updating my blog. (I think this is how I start every entry I write) Sorry!
I have been extremely distracted lately with my social calendar. I have been entertaining guests from out of town on the weekend, working overtime all week and having Halloween parties (those fell somewhere between work and play). I went to my first Japanese rock concert and I tell ya, that was very entertaining just watching the crowd. The band's name is Mucc... I enjoyed most of their songs even though they were all in Japanese. I think my favourite part of the concert was when the lead singer was trying to explain "trick or treat" to the crowd and then threw candy at them.
Recently, I've met a number of people into the music scene in Tokyo which has been awesome. I've met various bands and DJs from all over the world including one from Canada! Wooo. That brings the count of how many Canadians I've met here to three. This past Wednesday was a national holiday so I managed to swing partying for four days (with a short break to teach on Tuesday). I met so many people but unfortunately have another cold as a result.
What's on the up coming calendar?
-Tomorrow my friend Take is coming over, hopefully we'll take it easy.
-Sunday I have to go to a student's house for some dinner thing (blah)
-Monday I'm going to go shopping to find a birthday present for Dan, Takumi and Take. November is birthday season.
-Later this month I get a three day weekend so I'm hoping to hop on a bus/train and go to Osaka or Iwate.