Mega (Fun) City

That's right... "Fooding"...


Arm and a... arm? - A high-priced boutique in Roppongi Hills


High above tokyo, the view from Mori Tower



Rock!








Digital earth, as it were...











Museum signage


Temple line-up shopping in Asakusa


Uh-huh. Cool...


Lights of Shibuya


Samurai-Darth... How cool is this?





In Ueno Park

Museum of Contemporary Art

Lookin' good (for 7:30 am after an 11-hour bus ride)


Before I get started with this update, let me just say this: I've noticed that I've only been posting good things on the blog (albeit slowly)- all the pretty sights and cushy vacations. Fun times only. I do, however, have a job here, and like all jobs it can get tiresome too. I just don't have any pictures to represent my not so fun days in Japan. So let it be known! Though coming next is a scene of fun and excitement, I am in the middle of a very ordinary month! In fact, I am soon to be transferred to a kids school on Tuesdays, which means I'll be running around for 5 hours straight jumping like a kangaroo for three year old kids who can't even walk properly, let alone learn English!
Now that your pity has expired, I can get on with it.

Last month, Lindsay and I got away to Tokyo for 5 days. To save some bucks we took the night bus there, and 11 hours later arrived at Tokyo station at 7:30 am. By the end of the trip we got smarter and somehow had a lot more money for travel expenses- we took the shinkansen (bullet train) home. The nice smooth three-hour nap was worth every Yen. Anyway, Tokyo was incredible- loud, busy and stressful in all the right ways, it's my most highly recommended destination in Japan. I couldn't believe how clean it was, how easy it was to get around, and how not-as-expensive-as-is-hyped-up-to-be it was. We went to world-class museums, ate at crazy underground izakayas (food/drink/party places), lived the craziness of Shinjuku and loved the craziness of Harajuku and Shibuya ("Lost in Translation" spot). Though I saw some great art and some amazing sights, the best part of Tokyo was the atmosphere. Anybody can be anybody there- wear what you want to wear, eat what you want to eat, speak any language you feel like, and you are still part of Tokyo. The crazy blue-haired, latex-clad kids I used to gawk at on TLC are just part of the cityscape- they walk shoulder to shoulder with 90-year-old grannies and nobody bats an eye. Remember that beloved Halloween costume at the back of your closet you've been waiting a year to wear again? Your wait is over.
The bottom line is, Tokyo is one-of-a-kind, and if anyone is thinking of visiting Japan, I insist that you put it on your top priority list.

In other news, I have recently been accepted to the Ed. programme at McGill, and am considering heading home in August to attend classes there. This is exciting news for me, but I'm very sad at the idea of leaving Japan- though the change of pace might be a good thing, I don't feel like Ive spent enough time here. My Japanese is still very mediocre and I was hoping to be conversational before coming home. Anyway. Nova has recently run into some big trouble with the government and as a result, the company is no longer allowed to sign new students for the next six months, I believe. This means no new money for Nova, which could also mean less jobs for foreigners, which could, in theory, mean lay-offs. We're being kept in the dark a little bit at the moment. But this could mean that my job isn't so stable anyway, and that a move (either back home or to a new job here in Japan) might be unavoidable. I might be seeing you all very soon!

Take care, dear friends and family, and so long for now.