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.

Lanta sunset

Rock on

Cool chalk bag!

At the climbing centre

The thrills of elephant "trekking"... Thankfully not experienced by us


Living the dream


Boat ride to Koh Lanta

Longboats on Koh Phi Phi



Trouble












The sisters on the bus




First meal in Thailand









The dusky cliffs at Railay, Thailand

Dear Everyone, especially those who have been on my case, (including Shea, Marion, Lindsay, Mom and Dad), and those who have been on my case in spirit,
I'm terribly sorry for my part in the inadequate care and maintenance of my blog. If blogging were a job, I would have been fired long ago, if it were a relationship I would have been dumped, an olympic sport, been given the rusty-bottlecap medal. If it were a reality tv show, I would have been emphatically and unanimously voted off the (blog) island.
I am on my knees, truly.
Indeed, many a thing has happened over the seemingly barren past two months. In fact more than what can be recounted in a single entry. While I am not one to choose favourites, perhaps the most vocal in its demand for attention is my 8 day vacation at the end of March, so I'll start with that. Yes, you guessed it, I was able to trade my kidney for a plane ticket to the 38-and-humid paradise otherwise known as Thailand. There I was met at Bangkok airport by my good friend Heather and her dear sister Christie, who had graciously booked me a plane ticket to Phuket. From there we traveled by ferry and longboat to Koh Phi Phi, then on to Koh Lanta, and finally on to Railay, stirring up all kinds of trouble wherever we went. It was a marvelous 8 days- my only regret was that it couldn't have been longer. Sat on the beach, haggled with vendors, ate spicy curries, COOKED spicy curries, bought bottled waters, got sick for a day, received (deadly but cheap) Thai massages, drank cocktails out of pineapples, snorkeled, rock climbed, read The Count of Monte Cristo, enjoyed sunsets, purchased pirate DVDs, choked on hot peppers, got sun-burned, found sunscreen and sat on the beach some more.

It has been wonderful to receive your emails and comments. Indeed, I miss most of you very much! (ha!) Happy trails until we meet again.

Hiroshima: More than Sadness

Tree in Hiroshima
Hiroshima Museum of Modern Art

Enjoying the afternoon

In accordance with the strange tradtion of photographing one's meal while traveling


Free advertising for a cool little cafe












Five-tiered pagoda
Floating torii, Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima
Weird shaped shrubs at the Peace Park
The Atomic Bomb Dome
A popular site for school fieldtrips



At the Children's Memorial











Paper cranes. Make a thousand, make a wish- here that wish is "peace".

By a stroke of luck I was given a four day holiday at the end of January, during which time I traveled to Hiroshima with my friend Hannah. We had a wonderful time full of great parks, hip cafés and world-class art museums, punctuated by our stay at the nicest, most friendly family-run hostel in all of Japan (I'm sure it is! ["J-Hoppers" is the name in case you're interested]). Of course, we also visited the many memorial sites around town including the Peace Park, Atomic Bomb Dome, and Atomic Memorial Museum to name a few. All of these sites were quite moving and despite the unavoidable sadness that came along with seeing them, they were extremely valuable and well worth the visit.
Hannah and I also traveled to the nearby island of Miyajima by ferry, where more parks, more temples, more museums, and more bloody deer awaited. This island is also the site of the famous Itsukushima Shrine, known for its "floating" torii, which you will surely recognize in the photos.
All in all it was a great trip. I finally played Pachinko in Hiroshima, a very popular VLT-type machine that ate my 1000 yen bill in less than 5 minutes, and I also got to travel there and back by shinkansen (bullet-train)! Though expensive, it was impossibly convenient, and because of that I highly recommend it (it's so choice!).
Hope you're all having fun, wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Have a steak for me if you can- I just got a sudden craving...

Beware of Crabs!

Yes indeed, this (intuitive) warning sign was posted on the door of an elevator.

Lost in Translation?

I hope so.

Nihongo Sensei

Considering my level of "proficiency" in Japanese, I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've been doing Japanese lessons (and English exchange) once a week with my friend Misa since mid Novemberish. My low ability to communicate has nothing to do with her skills as a teacher, but rather with my capacities as a student. She has been a fantastic help in every way, introducing me not only to the language but also to Japanese food and culture. Thanks Misa!

So here we are we are at a café in Sannomiya.

My Japanese New Year: A Photographic Adventure

I burned some incense for you... Make a wish! Dear friends, dear family: Happy New Year!


The Hondo, or main hall here at Horyuji Temple is said to be the world's largest wooden building, and it houses the biggest bronze buddha I've ever seen (which isn't saying much, I suppose). Judge for yourself: no picture of it here, but I promise to take you if you come to Japan!


This shot wasn't staged: one of the little buggers actually took a bite out of my map. I literally had to fight the thing for the scrap shown here.


A little blessing


You think that's beef you're eating, Lindsay?









The deer in this park were at one time considered sacred, but are considered more of an attraction now, and even a pest...



A walking garbage machine? Sadly, the deer in Nara Park eat everything


Five-tiered pagoda in Nara Park















Ocha at our ryokan in Nara













Leaving our "hostel" in Kyoto (it was far too nice to be called that. Thank you Sachiko san!)


The Grand Splendour of the Kyoto Municial Museum of Art (the inside was a far sight better)



Every bus/train ride was the same


Cell phones: they can do everything but heat up your bento (that model comes out next month)



Along with a million others at Kinkakuji- the Golden Pavillion




Kimonos on white manikins in Gion


A dusty antique store in the Gion district, and hell to navigate with a backpack




At the entrance to Kiyomizu (a prospective New Wonder of the World, I might add!)














In the leaves. Away from the crowds. Off the beaten path.










A torii at Kiyomizu temple. Bonus points if you can read the kanji.



Could it be? You better believe it.







Yes. A two-bite hotdog. For hungry Lindsay, anyway.






Fast food? From a vending machine? Here in Kyoto, anything's possible.




Enjoying the afternoon of New Year's Eve Day




Lindsay and I taking advantage of the oh-so-efficient Japanese train system


Available at every shrine is your fortune for the new year. Take your chances and if it's bad, be sure to leave it behind. (and yes, mine was bad)


Though it's not so new anymore, New Year's in Japan has been an experience I won't soon forget. My lack of blog updates is proof of just how great of a break it was!: full of friends and food, shrines and shopping, rest, relaxation and ryokans, I couldn't have asked for a better two weeks. However I could've asked for more a bit more than two weeks, but I wouldn't get too far- even after an excessive amount of planning, I was very lucky to get the time off that I did. Thank you Nova, and special thanks to Ken, James and Brian, for their generosity in shift swapping with me.
Through the grace of her good planning, Lindsay was able to get a reasonable ticket to Japan for a visit. I'm so glad she could make it as it truly wouldn't have been the same time without her. Together we made it to the legendary temples of the old capital, Kyoto, the deer-infested parks of Nara, the hills above Himeji, and to just about every bloody boutique in the prefecture (see Lindsay's wild new styles for proof).
So, without further ado I give to you: My Japanese New Year.