Arise Therefore (Dont remember where I picked that one up)

So I made it back to Osaka and then Tokyo safely without major incidents.

I must say my flight to Osaka was a lot more pleasant than my flight from Osaka.

On my way into Seattle I was sandwiched between an overly talkative middle aged Japanese woman on one side and an American man who would not stop talking about plane crashes and radiation poisoning. How lovely. While on one hand I was able to practice some Japanese but it was rather frustrating trying to get to sleep when all she would do it tap me and show me origami and ask me to fold her some. The only one I know how to fold is a paper crane so I taught her how to do that. The American man was fleeing the country with no intentions of returning and was telling me that we were all going to get leukemia. He was from Nagoya which is (I think) roughly 600km away from the Daiichi plant. Needless to say I was happy to get off that plane.

On my way to Osaka I was pleasantly surprised with a seat in Economy Plus right beside the emergency exit, the bathrooms and a chatty but interesting British man who lives in Kyoto. He and I managed to talk for the entire eleven hour flight while getting slightly pissed. As luck would have it the flight attendant missed us with drinks during the first service and felt so bad she was smuggling in things from first class for us and giving us extra drinks. All in all... one of the better flights I've been on.

I arrived in Osaka and was able to get out of the airport very quickly... through customs, immigration and baggage claim in under an hour! I hopped on a bus headed towards my hotel and managed to find it without incident. After that I went out for dinner with one of my new Osaka buddies, we went to two restaurants - one was kushikatsu (like kushiage - meat and veggies on skewers) and the other was Okinawan food (a lot of goya and tofu) both were delicious! After that I was exhausted so I called it a night and went to my hotel and crashed.

The next day (Saturday) one of my Osaka buddies and I went to Kyoto because we plain old had nothing better to do. It was really great for me because I had never been there before and had a tour guide to show me his favourite places. We didn't end up staying too long as I wanted to get back to Tokyo that evening. I saw some temples and wandered around Gion where I was able to catch a glimpse of a couple geisha/maiko (I dont know which one they were) so I can cross that off my list of things to do in Japan.

I bought my shinkansen ticket and boarded the train only to find that I was on the really slow one when I had paid for the fastest train... how nice. I ended up transferring to a faster train half way and arrived about a half hour later than planned.

It was eerie arriving in Tokyo. I couldn't even tell we were approaching Tokyo because it was dark out and the majority of the lights in the city were out. As I walked through Tokyo station the atmosphere was subdued and cold. The heaters on the train seem to be out and almost half the lights in the stations and in the city are also out. It left me feeling pretty uneasy. That night I had a terrifying nightmare about trying to escape radiation by scrambling to find a fall out shelter where I live. It was a mass exodus of people trying to out run an invisible poison. Of all the dreams to remember...

I have started work again. My students and most of my coworkers are happy to see me. My one twat of a coworker is griping and moaning about how I left and what a martyr he is for having stayed.

In the end the trip home was really good for me. It made me realise I want to stay in Japan as long as possible. I guess while I was gone I had been glorifying Vancouver and how great it is. While it is great because my parents live there and the food and views are phenomenal, my home is Japan for now.

Starvations - Kid's clothes store in Nanba, Osaka

So for the past week or so I have been observing the Japanese nuclear situation from afar at my parent's house.
The trek back home was a long adventure. Kansai airport was really busy with all the departures, but all in all it wasn't too unpleasant. I had to fly from Osaka to Seattle and then to Vancouver with a six hour layover in Seattle. I had an interesting time waiting around Sea-Tac airport and had a "Talking to Americans" moment with the gentleman sitting next to me. He asked where I was flying so I reply "Vancouver" and he asks "so that's what... a four or five hour flight?", I give him a dead pan stare "What?! No, it's 35 minutes."... his response? "I was always under the impression that Vancouver was directly above New York."
Excellent.
The week home has been relatively uneventful. It was good to catch up with some old friends, see the family (of course) and eat some delicious Canadian cuisine. It's funny how different everything looks, everything is so green and trees are everywhere, not to mention the mountains and ocean. Needless to say I was taking a lot of pictures. It was amazing how hard it is to tune out people speaking when they are speaking in English!
I'm on my way back to Osaka tomorrow morning bright and early. I know a lot of people are concerned for my health but after staying as updated as possible about the situation and a deal of consideration I've decided to return home to Japan. I wouldn't feel right staying in Vancouver much longer. I'm going to spend a day or two in Osaka and see how things are going up in Tokyo before I return. I'm really looking forward to seeing my adopted family in Japan. :)

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.

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.

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.