tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130156072011-04-22T11:34:42.547+09:00Completely random drivel in my life in JapanStanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.comBlogger1261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-68895752985343632142009-03-04T10:18:00.002+09:002009-03-04T11:03:12.077+09:00

Things have taken a big change since coming to Tokyo. It's been quite the roller coaster of events in 4 months of arriving here from country-side Mie. In short, I had to put myself back onto the job market just when the economy really tanked with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy announcement. Bad enough as that was, the situation that put me there was far worse. To be honest, I had left my

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-8818736544410283112009-01-02T10:47:00.007+09:002009-03-04T10:17:58.032+09:00

This Xmas season we had some furry visitors from an animal rescue center in Tokyo. Megan convinced me to agree to be a co-temporary foster parent to a cat or dog during the holidays. Apparently many of the regular foster families either to their home countries or on vacation during the holiday season. Initially we were told that we would be fostering an adult cat. We both were ready to

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-54747968573753144242008-08-30T11:15:00.000+09:002008-08-30T11:27:58.613+09:00

Well it has been almost 5 months since the last blog entry. To tell the truth, there has been a lot of things going on that have kept me busy. I'll hopefully revisit the past and put in some more details of these past 5 months. In the meantime here are a few thungs that have changed:(in no particular order)※I am no longer teaching English in Japan※I am still in Japan and have moved to Tokyo※I

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-30747233840262980842008-04-17T10:31:00.000+09:002008-04-24T10:32:59.567+09:00

This week I just met all the new 1st year students at one of my schools. I did my standard self intro about myself, America, and Boston. At the end I also introduced "Stan's mailbox" - a decorated box where students can write questions to me about myself, Boston, America, etc. This usually gets a few students to write in English outside of their textbook studies. The 1st year students are

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-9827461855777799082008-04-02T14:45:00.003+09:002008-04-15T14:51:58.951+09:00

Went to my first concert in Japan. First concert anywhere for that matter. The band that was playing was remio romen（レミオロメン）. They probably don't have a lot of exposure outside the country but here they are pretty popular. When I came here last year it didn't take long for me to hear one of their most famous songs 粉雪　(kona-yuki or powdery snow). This time around they were doing a tour for

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-54192238316457250662008-03-31T09:37:00.001+09:002008-04-01T16:57:17.088+09:00

(scroll down for translation)今回ちょっとだけ日本語で書きたいと思った。日本に一年半ぐらいすんでいた。もちろん日本で日本語をしゃべらなくていけないだ。その間に、僕の日本語能力が段々あがってきたとおもう。でもよく疲れて、勉強のやる気はあまりない日がある。日常生活には出来るだけ日本語を使うようにする。おそらく日本に来る理由の一つは日本語が上手になることだ。この一年半間を考えれば、日本語でいろいろなことをできた。例えば：ピザを注文電話でツアー予約仕事で外国人の生徒に試験の翻訳同じく生徒に通訳アメリカ姉妹都市の生徒に英日通訳国際調理クラスを教える東京での研修会報告日本語で書いた生徒からの手紙（Stan's Mailbox)の返事英語でも日本語でも書く　（最近の「ワックスをいくつぐらいを使いますか」って質問が面白かった）自分で外国免許証を日本免許証を変わりました友達に

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-66851882384718225362008-03-28T14:43:00.006+09:002008-12-09T10:01:19.057+09:00

Unfortunately the snowboard season is over. *sniff* But I thought I'd share a few of these photos from basically my new favorite place in Gifu, Washigatake. Why, you ask? Well there are a few reasons. First, it's a smaller place than some of the other big mountains in the area. For some that may be a turn off but that's more than ok for me. The smaller the mountain, the smaller the crowds.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-23791902132246126502008-02-22T08:52:00.000+09:002008-02-26T08:53:44.030+09:00

Winter isn't officially over yet but so far I've counted 13 riding days for snowboarding. 13 days in one season and counting - that's really good for me. It's actually more snowboard days than my college and working in Boston years combined (9 years!!) It's really quite amazing to think that this type of chance would be available in Japan. Hands down, with the ease of access to mountains and

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-37671279965144647642008-02-03T14:38:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:19.370+09:00

Nice surprise this morning - snow outside the window. It almost never snows here in Mie, let alone Taki. According to the locals here, it almost never snows here. Most of the snow in Japan hits the northern prefectures. Makes for a nice sight to wake up to.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-53999551927165714642008-01-15T15:06:00.000+09:002008-01-24T11:16:33.328+09:00

Another year, another Mie JET trip out to Nagano. Last year fellow ALT Doug led the charge (and about 25 other JETs) out to Nagano for a snowboarding/ski trip out to Nagano. This year it was me. While last year was pretty easy since I was a participant, being the Snow trip leader this year was a lot more difficult. Basically the following factors made this year a bit more difficult to plan

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-63978440411910651162008-01-10T11:23:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:20.497+09:00

Happy new year everyone. Things are going well in Japan, especially after taking a 6 day trip up to the north in beautiful Hokkaido. Megan, Molly, Chito and myself all went up for 5 days of snowboarding in Niseko. Personally, I had been looking forward to this trip as soon as it was booked. I missed my chance to visit Hokkaido last year since I had to take my Judo shodan exam the same time a

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-60476096570576351872007-12-03T23:03:00.000+09:002007-12-03T23:04:03.278+09:00

I survived it. The 4 hour grueling mental test known as the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test)This time I signed up to take the ni-kyu level. This is pretty much the magic level for people to pass - once you get here then people can consider your Japanese level to be business capable. Two years ago I passed san-kyu. That went without a hitch. In a matter of fact, after 3-4 yrs

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-51849270975355478592007-09-23T20:35:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:21.940+09:00

This past Sunday the local elementary school held their sports festival. I learned about this from one of my coworkers at the BOE since he was planning on helping out with the events there anyway. There is also the other little fact that it is about 3 minutes away from my house by car. What is an 運動会 (undokai/sports festival)？ Well to put it simply, it is a day long event where all the students

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-81660045863536837512007-09-17T22:51:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:22.089+09:00

The All Japan ALT soccer tournament has passed. This year FC Mie (the men's team) sent in about 30 men across 2 teams (11 per side). The Mie Mamas (women's team) sent a massive 20 girls all on one team (6 per side). I would say the worst part of this tournament was getting there. it was a fun 5 hr drive down to Awaji island in Hyogo prefecture starting well before dawn (3:50am to be exact)

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-79651448496710323732007-09-09T22:43:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:22.938+09:00

Well it is now nearing mid-September here and in rice land Mie this means it's time to start harvesting all that rice that has been growing all season. Here are some photos of the freshly harvested rice fields around my house. (I'm surrounded by rice on 3 out of 4 sides of my house BTW)Things will look pretty ugly come winter time when these fresh rice fields will be barren and frozen over. I

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-41337962197589116732007-09-05T12:22:00.000+09:002007-09-05T12:25:00.183+09:00

Well it is official; I have been drafted by our new Mie JET FC team captain into starting soccer. Let me say I have never played soccer in my life. In addition, I have been drafted into playing in the Fall All Japan ALT competition on Awaji Island in about 2 weeks. Initially I had thought of playing soccer last year for fun, but I am a bit apprehensive about playing in a competition,

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-34820387709918498062007-08-26T15:51:00.001+09:002008-12-09T10:01:23.185+09:00

Tonight was the Sayonara party for all the Matsusaka local residents. About 35 of us arrived for dinner at a local izayaka, Ton ton byoshi. Ton ton is a nice local joint that many of us go to chill out and have some nice food. Anyway, our time there was limited to about 2 hours for all you can eat and drink. Although it was a great time being with friends at a place with fond memories, it was

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-5454896134123560452007-08-26T12:04:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:23.808+09:00

During the national holiday Marine day (umi no hi/海の日, July 16th) I went out to watch sumo in Nagoya. This morning I was still quite tired from waking up early, despite doing practically nothing on the Saturday and Sunday prior due to the typhoon. (a well needed rest at that) Anyway, upon reaching Nagoya, we found out that the general admission seats were all bought out. So instead of buying

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-51546016155422073372007-08-17T20:59:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:23.974+09:00

Shortly after the New Mie JET orientation some of us went down to Kumano city for their annual firework festival. From what I have been told this firework display is the event that pulls people from all over the prefecture into Kumano. Other than that it is supposedly pretty empty. I'm not sure how many thousands upon thousands of people were there to watch the fireworks, but one thing was

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-22626997732794128112007-08-07T17:25:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:24.624+09:00

If you don't live within Japan then this post will seem incredibly geeky. I went and bought a dehumidifier a few weeks ago for the house here. So far it has been a great investment. It is common for days to hit 95% humidity during the summer here. It can be quite brutal. Not only that the rainy season during June makes it impossible to dry laundry outdoors. I must say for about 20,000 yen

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-6980290981994353792007-07-20T15:09:00.000+09:002007-08-07T17:23:20.592+09:00

Today I finally passed my drivers test for my license. For those who have never gone through the process in Japan, it is possibly one of the biggest bureacratic nightmares anyone will go through living here. At a minimum you need to go to the licensing center for 3 times before you can get your license (as an American). The process goes something like this;pre-visit to JAF (Japan equivalent of

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-88060712817470429232007-07-13T09:29:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:26.270+09:00

For two weeks (golden week in Japan and the week after) I went with 10 others to the Philippines. For all of Golden Week we were part of Habitat for Humanity. Basically we went to help build homes for people less fortunate. It was a extremely strenuous and rewarding experience. But anyway let's go to the photos:Ok here is our team. Besides Joe in the back (who is a local volunteer from the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-2436624352789939902007-07-13T09:27:00.000+09:002007-08-07T18:22:55.373+09:00

According to the typhoon/tropical storm watch radar, the first typhoon of the season will hit Mie this weekend. (the long weekend of all times!) Let'see how bad this will be. Actually this will be my very first typhoon in Japan; all the typhoons late last summer when I arrived fizzed out or blew out towards the ocean.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-56289237282499387452007-06-07T16:22:00.000+09:002007-06-07T16:27:00.256+09:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. This past month and a half has been incredibly busy due to the following:*I went to the Philippines to do some volunteer work for a week and for another week I went on vacation over there (complete with kidney infections and everything)*Made preparations to move to Taki, the town I work in*Actually pulled off the move to Taki without any problems*Went to a 3 day

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-71203340964924019432007-06-01T23:25:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:27.616+09:00

Ok I finally decided to move a while ago from Matsusaka to Taki. I won't go into detail but let's just say that someone high up the chain thought it would be best. I must admit it turned out for the better, as some of the people involved looked really hard to find a decent place. As a result I am in a house. A rather nice house at that. Although I had no problems with the apartment that I was

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-5612082897657438082007-04-27T11:12:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:27.824+09:00

As if Sports Day wasn't enough to keep me busy on a Saturday, tonight was the Poker Tournament that I had spend a few days organizing. This tournament was actually set up to raise some charity money for the habitat for humanity group(which I am a part of this year). As if 5 years of working at a financial company didn't teach me anything, I stupidly suggested to try poker to raise money. Well

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-21694744629610061602007-04-15T17:00:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:30.031+09:00

Today was a full day off in Iga city （伊賀市）for the International Ninja friendship walk. Iga is the birth place of the ninja. So as a result, Iga city's tourism is chock full of ninja related history, events, and trinkets (think toy ninja weapons) 1000 yen (~9 dollars) got all of us a ninja costume to wear for the day, tours of the museums and some localities, lunch, and practice at some ninja

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-88321754772204714002007-04-14T17:00:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:30.542+09:00

Today was the 2nd Sports day event held by AJET. Well when I say AJET I guess I am included in that pool since I will be part of it as one of the sports coordinators next year. Anyway after gathering with the other JETs for a meeting I found myself tasked with getting the key to the equipment shed for the park that we were going to use. Apparently the grounds required you to clean up the dirt

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-36827983214381458372007-04-09T11:07:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:31.494+09:00

Here are some shots of sakura (cherry blossoms) over the past weekend in Kameyama.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-60695888929425955942007-04-01T11:03:00.000+09:002007-04-09T11:07:44.425+09:00

Here in Japan April is a big deal. It marks the start of the fiscal year, school year, and other things. It also means that people move around offices, schools, etc. It is quite trippy actually. So far people in both the town office and one of my schools have transferred around. I don't know about my second school as they haven't told me (this school doesn't actually tell me much of

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-83981148241426189852007-02-26T10:44:00.000+09:002007-08-07T19:51:06.057+09:00

This weekend I had booked a trip to go out to 白馬八方尾根 (Hakuba-Happo-one) This was the location of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano prefecture. With some other friends I managed to book a 2 day trip out there for some snowboarding. Unfortunately this also involved an overnight bus from Nagoya. I have heard there are some comfortable overnight buses in Japan, with some double deckers and fully

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-88653627258196307632007-02-16T22:19:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:32.023+09:00

Today I went snowboarding in Gifu prefecture with fellow Taki-partner-in crime Brian, as well as fellow Board of Ed worker Tomita. We hit a resort called WingHills. It is a smaller snowboard/ski resort out in Gifu. But anyway, the day before I crashed at Brian's place. Early the next morning (5 i think )Tomida picked us up and took the 4 hr trip to Gifu. Here are their ugly mugs for fun.One

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-49577806072299003612007-02-04T12:28:00.000+09:002007-03-19T09:48:44.807+09:00

Today was the nage no kata exam for my Judo shodan. I was quite nervous for it for the following reasons:1. lack of time to prepare (3 weeks)2. inconsistent training time in those 3 weeks with my partner3. catching a cold the week beforeIt was especially tough with the lack of training time. My partner happened to be one of my students. The thing that troubled me was my rotation between

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-83954274187301277642007-01-13T09:20:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:32.860+09:00

Well there was a prefecture wide mid year seminar for everyone on the program in the pref. capital of Tsu. After the second day however we had a nice trip up to Nagano prefecture to the Hakuba mountain area (specifically the Goryu and 47 mountains) for 2 days of snowboarding. Overall the trip was decent. We had (thankfully) a good dump of snow the week before which gave the resort a good

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-21361439463396921562007-01-01T10:59:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:34.012+09:00

あけましておめでとうございます！ Happy New Year! There were a couple of things that happened over new years eve and new years day.First met some friends that were still around for the holidays at an izakaya for dinner:Afterwards we hit Ise to check out the festivities. Check out the clock showing the countdown:There were some bonfires going as wellBrian, Chito, Doug and myself next to the bonfire. If we stood

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-40465714858482756292006-12-31T10:58:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:34.156+09:00

Well after the rather lopsided tsukinami shiai I received a black belt from my sensei at the matsusaka budokan. It was really a non-event really; at the beginning of class sensei walked over to me and asked if i had a black belt with me ( i was wearing my trusty brown belt at the time) I said no, and all I heard for a response was 'ok Ill be back' and dissappears for the next some hour. When

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-59462160087824276702006-12-27T18:03:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:34.403+09:00

First ride of the season to Takasu in 'nearby' Nagano prefecture. It took a while to get out there, Doug and I took the 5:40 train out of Matsusaka out to Nagoya. Chito jumped onto the train from Tsu (about 20 minutes later) At Nagoya (and after a healthy breakfast of macdonalds) we jumped onto the 8am bus from Nagoya station to Takasu mountain.Truth be told, conditions kind of sucked. There

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-31620755426311742822006-12-25T11:01:00.000+09:002006-12-25T11:03:58.394+09:00

Well here it is...Christmas in Japan. Today I am still in the office like everyone else. To be quite honest, today is not a holiday like it is in the states, despite how hyped up this country gets. Ok, maybe not as hyped up as the states, but you do see xmas lights, some sales, and of course christmas cakes. For some weird reason, bakers and cake makers get all hyped up about the Xmas season.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-40207372654086761002006-12-24T21:26:00.000+09:002006-12-25T11:29:52.182+09:00

Well just put together all my snowboard gear which arrived in the past few days. I thought I would stop snowboarding now that I'm out here in Japan, but the call of the snow has apparently has gotten the better of me. I initially didn't bring any of my gear over from the states, mainly due to the problems of transport. In fact, someone I know went through a lot of trouble and a lot of money

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-65264721906554069282006-12-23T11:00:00.000+09:002006-12-27T10:13:08.302+09:00

Last night was the boenkai party (literally translated as forget the year gathering) It is one of those typical Japanese customs where everyone from work gather together to eat, drink, and socialize to forget the old year in preparation for the new one. One of the interesting things, at least in terms of Japanese society is how people's personalities change at some of these events. There is

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-76218171347014986632006-12-19T10:54:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:34.713+09:00

Well I finally have a car. It is like my whole world just changed in one instant. Yes you will probably laugh at the so called 'car' that I have, but the truth is it is really tough to do anything without a car in the countryside. Basically life has been rough by foot. Let me explain:The bus to and from work comes once an hour if i am lucky. If i am not lucky, its more like one bus every 2

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-18089784748778861062006-12-02T23:04:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:35.249+09:00

I went with a few other JETs to nearby Ise for a mochi making event. Basically we met some Japanese people and we all helped make mochi and eat it as well. Traditionally you make mochi by pounding glutinous rice with a mallet until it becomes sticky. Playing with the mallet was lots of fun. It comes out plain at first, but you can decide to add things to it, for example azuki bean paste. We

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-57017860273655669122006-11-28T23:01:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:35.966+09:00

Went to Kyoto this past weekend to see the changing leaves. Almost everyone here in Japan says that Kyoto is exceptionally beautiful this time of year. It seems that they are right. This weekend was pretty much the tail end of the autumn time, but there were still plenty of people there. Even though it rained, I don't regret going. Here are a few shots below:

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-31092106099460059482006-11-23T15:20:00.000+09:002008-12-09T10:01:38.176+09:00

This past Labor Thanksgiving (which coincidentally fell on the same day as American Thanksgiving) I went on a bus trip sponsored in part by the Taki international association. This year the trip was to visit the Meiji mura and the Toyota museum, in nearby Aichi pref. There were many older buildings and things in the Meiji mura. Some things were circa 1800s or so, some things from around the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-28111827911555307292006-11-18T17:49:00.000+09:002006-11-18T17:52:45.268+09:00

Here are umbrellas decorated by elementary school students in Taki. This is in the lobby of the BOE cultural center, which happens to also be my home base for work.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-22464555807469633802006-11-18T17:19:00.000+09:002006-11-18T17:34:25.591+09:00

One thing I have noticed about Japan since coming here is the emphasis on locally made products here. For example here is ice cream made from neighboring Ouchiyama. Ouchiyama is known for its milk, and it also happens to supply milk for most of the school lunches in Mie prefecture. Honestly Ouchiyama ice cream is pretty damn good. It is also rather difficult to find. Anyhow, there is a big

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1163081480228466292006-11-05T22:55:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:08.170+09:00

I made it to my 2nd Tsukinami shiai for November. This time there were actually people to fight! However there was good news and bad news - the good news was that I won all my matches - 10 in a row, which satisfies my point requirement for shodan. The bad news though, is that all the people I fought were all students. You can see by the videos below the lopsidedness of the fights. One of my

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-11108795415815126232006-11-03T17:52:00.000+09:002006-11-18T18:00:14.372+09:00

Met up with a few other JETs at Nagoya. For 1 day they allowed the public to play upcoming Wii and DS titles. The aim of course was to generate buzz about the Wii before its release. Well since it was on a holiday, and a free event, there were lots of people there to test the demos. What was an especially long wait was for the new Zelda - Twilight princess game. When we went past that line,

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1162216906855669912006-10-18T22:01:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:08.021+09:00

 Well, due to pressure from the Judo sensei in Matsusaka, I went to my first Judo competition since arriving here on a full time basis. Basically I went to compete to collect points towards shodan. Unfortunately after warming up, getting psyched, as well as doing a nice tape job for my fingers there weren't enough people registered at ikkyu to fight. Still, I went through the paperwork to

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1162211391421917582006-10-07T21:28:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:58:36.365+09:00

Went to my first Matsuri for the first time. This festival was held in the neighboring city of Tsu, which also happens to be the capital of Mie prefecture. Travel to Tsu is rather straightforward; prob a 15-20 min ride by local train. The basic formula for a Matsuri in general involves local peformances, such as dancing, lots of food stands, and a whole mess of people. I got to a point where

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1161094897853545732006-10-07T15:14:00.000+09:002006-11-15T22:00:14.546+09:00

 I went to the F1 qualifying race in nearby Suzuka. This was the last time that F1 was held here; the event will be moved to another prefecture from now on. This track here in Suzuka is the only F1 figure 8 track so it is special in its own way.The weather was quite good although it did get cloudy in the afternoon. As you can see from the stands it was crowded (something you learn to get used

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1160798051752095632006-10-06T21:44:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:07.290+09:00

 Now to backtrack a bit, I went to the Saio moon festival earlier this month. This was in the neighboring town of Meiwa. This festival consisted a lot of traditional song and dance. In this photo you can see the 12 layer kimono being worn. From what I have heard you can also pay some money and try it on. I can't imagine how difficult it would be putting a single layer kimono let alone 12.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1159714162549780402006-10-01T23:46:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.911+09:00

 When I saw this I had to take a picture. Vending machines are everywhere here, but the ones that dispense beer are not that common; they appear to only be near liquor shops from what I can tell. That is probably a good thing considering how easy it might be for minors to buy beer out of a machine. Haven't bought beer out of a machine yet, but I'll have to do it sometime just to say that I did

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1159713954979307972006-10-01T23:25:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.766+09:00

 I figure this is as good as a post to start off since being in Japan for the past 2 months. Here is a view of the area I live in Matsusaka, Mie prefecture. See all that greenery? That is a rice field. Mie prefecture is known as 'inaka' or country side in Japan. So you can see craploads of rice fields here. Matsusaka city in general is not like this, but many parts of Mie pref. definitely

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1159259243354168952006-09-26T17:25:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.623+09:00

Well this is first post since I've arrived in Japan. I now have internet access via the local cable TV company as well as cable tv. Now I can actually connect to the outside world and watch weird variety shows too. There will be more posts to follow on what has transpired in the last 2 months. But for now, time to get ready for Japanese class.(now only if certain friends would not fall off

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1160008719406102342006-09-15T21:35:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:07.161+09:00

Originally when I moved out of the states I called Verizon to cancel my cell phone service. The rep said that as long as I could fax over some utility bill, apt lease or employer letter stating that I was outside the country they would waive the early termination fee. I had already translated a copy of my water bill here in Japan and sent it over. Told them the name, which city it was, the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1160008494387195082006-09-14T21:33:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:07.040+09:00

Wonderful. I just found out I have one of those fabled exploding Dell batteries. Apparently they shipped a battery to my U.S. address. When I first heard of the recall, I checked the website and supposedly my battery was not affected. Oops. Change of plans, time to get a battery from the U.S. over to Japan before my recalled one explodes and kills me.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1161095614699900892006-09-13T23:31:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:07.690+09:00

 Here is a shot of Osaka at night near doutonbori. 

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1161095487844404742006-09-13T16:28:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:07.569+09:00

 Here is a shot of me in front of Osaka castle.  

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1154673442528927272006-08-04T15:07:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.474+09:00

Last night was my last workout at Tohoku for a while. Nice day to top it off - the dojo hit 105. Still, I'm sure the old school Kodokan people in the pre-war time would have laughed that off as a walk in the park. Kind of sad though since I won't be seeing anyone for a while. I will have to make them proud when I find a dojo in Japan.For the time being though, here was a photo from that day:

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1153843279928199952006-07-26T01:01:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.365+09:00

I've been here packing for almost the last week straight. Of course I've packed before for trips, but never for one at least a year out. The last time I packed for something this substantial was the trip to Tokyo last November, and even that was for a month. It's rather difficult to try to figure out what you might need in the span of a year, let alone a month. Still, murphy's law dictates

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1152938148228905482006-07-15T13:10:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.245+09:00

Well I'm a free man now. Today was the last day at work at my company. It was quite anti-climatic actually. It was definitely a slow day, and I spent it basically getting ready to go out the door.The main highlight of the day was going to lunch with some coworkers. Usually what happens according to unwritten tradition is that everyone in the office takes the person who's leaving out for drinks

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1152504104613559692006-07-10T13:01:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.141+09:00

I need to figure stuff like this out. I bet the kid in that video gets all the girls. YouTube - PenSpinning (Japanese TV show)

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1152246928181804112006-07-07T13:32:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:06.042+09:00

Things have def. changed around the office after handing in my notice. I was kind of nervous at first considering that this had been my 1st real job since college. But management took it surprisingly well as I described the reasons for leaving being 'strictly personal' In many ways this is true; life in itself has been quite a rut, and it is long overdue for a change. For now my coworkers all

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1150689014280125712006-06-19T12:34:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.919+09:00

Well yesterday was orientation for the programme. Around 40 people were there for former members to discuss what it was like to live and work in Japan. This whole thing was to help better prepare us for what to do between now and the trip, as well as what life will be like in Japan. At first I noticed out of the whole group the majority were caucasian, with maybe 3 people including myself that

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1149560695278175212006-06-06T11:24:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.823+09:00

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1149052165301717182006-05-31T11:42:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.703+09:00

Had a BBQ this past holiday weekend with some friends. Things worked out rather well. No flash fires, earthquakes, alien invasions, etc. I must admit the grill book that I have (how to grill everything) has been great for everything I've tried making out of that book; everything has been well received. The menu originally planned was this:hamburgers - stuffed w/ herb butterhot dogs stuffed w/

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1147891293599689722006-05-18T03:32:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.600+09:00

Great...the weather has gotten me sick. Actually it is most likely a combination of all the rainy weather and a contagious person in the office. Monday afternoon I went home early feeling a bit under the weather. 4 hours later I was ready to drop dead and went to sleep. Finally another 16 hours of sleep later, I manage to make the decision the next morning not to show up for work. I swear I

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1147659577513750392006-05-15T11:10:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.468+09:00

It has been raining for almost the past full week. Whereas rain is nice for all the plants, it sure puts a damper on the weekend. Enough of a damper to make you stay in almost all weekend long to just go out for groceries and such. Still, I'm getting some things done, and resting well for the first time in several weeks. (can't remember the last weekend I slept in) From now on in though, I'll

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1145938923751855312006-04-25T12:59:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.343+09:00

Well 2 weeks ago I managed to go to Hong Kong with my family. The whole trip lasted about a week. Basically the trip ended up being walking, eating and shopping. Ok, those things and for my parents to see old friends and stuff. My parents got a kick out of seeing old friends, and funny enough, some of them told my dad that he got fatter. The weather was unbearably humid for the first 3 days and

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1144199556865584802006-04-05T09:59:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.240+09:00

Well I finally heard back from the interview I went to in February. I just received word through email that I made it through the interviews and that I'm going to Japan this August. It was a wave of relief reading the acceptance letter. Today I'm one step closer to doing two things I've been meaning to do; get out of my current job which has been holding me back and basically robbing me of my

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1143783284471618612006-03-31T14:31:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:05.112+09:00

Just found this video of a robot wrestling competition. Pretty cool watch, especially the takedown in the middle of the clip. Although I have to admit, the orange robot in there moves like it has to go to the bathroom badedit 4/05: looks like the link is dead. I'll have to search around for it again and repost.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1143694095882741572006-03-27T13:23:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.980+09:00

Sunday turned out to be a sudden project day. My PS2 decided to take a dive and spit out disc read errors for anything and everything. It had been going on and off for a while with certain games but but today it had decided to completely quit. Kind of frustrating seeing something like that die on you.But anyway, with some Google searches I managed to find out this wasn't a rare occurrence.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1143002330842809352006-03-22T13:19:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.854+09:00

Well in spite of all this stuff going on I managed to get the results of the Japanese Language Proficiency test back in December. After waiting almost 3 months for the results of a computer graded test I got the certificate in the mail. It was kind of a non event getting the piece of paper with stamped w/ the language ministry's seal and getting the pass result for the 3rd kyu level. What a

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1140821665222983222006-02-25T07:52:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.747+09:00

Great....last night just found out someone broke in and stole all the laptops in the place. Not fun. I'm now out a laptop, all my computer peripherals and cash. It definitely could have been worse, but boy do I wish I could have found the piece of shit in the process, along with a baseball bat in my hand. That would have been fun. Now onto the fun process of working with the police &

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1139728904853033612006-02-12T16:03:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.634+09:00

Ok, I'm kinda bummed right now. I went to the local dojo tournament earlier Saturday morning. To make a long story short, I lost all my matches. I suppose the only thing possibly saving face is that I was by far the lightest person in the pool. In a way that's not so far off from all the normal days at the dojo where I always have to fight people that are heavier, but as a tournament this was

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1138340439212455162006-01-27T14:32:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.507+09:00

Found out yesterday I made it to the interviews for a certain program I applied for late October of last year. Basically this would give me an opportunity to be abroad in Japan for a year; potentially up to 3. Good thing too; I was starting to get worried not hearing from the program. I'm slightly nervous though; it has been a while since I've done an interview. I'll just have to try to

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1136764858529677032006-01-09T08:26:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.395+09:00

Yes, it's a bit late to look back at 2005, but personally I've felt the need to get things on track or at least prove to myself that I'm getting somewhere in life. So as a recap here are some of the things I've done last year that I can pass off as life goals as well as some other notables:*went to Japan and survived on my own for 3 weeks*went to the birthplace of Judo, the Kodokan for training*

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1134323658616285272005-12-12T02:35:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.253+09:00

Yesterday was the yearly holiday party at the dojo. Traditionally we hold a kids vs. adults workout followed by yearly promotions plus a potluck party for all the dojo members and their families. Unfortunately this was supposed to be on Friday but was rescheduled by the insane whiteout snowstorm complete w/ lightning. Subsequently last night's showup was smaller than expected. On another note

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1133839426822950852005-12-06T12:20:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:04.100+09:00

Just had to take this photo - this is a large draft beer with a pen next to it for reference. This was a 1 liter beer - probably another reason to like hanging out in Japan. These people do not screw around with beer sizes. One thing to note though, beer seems to be cheaper than in Boston; at least in terms of volume. The funny thing was, I had trouble lifting the glass w/ one hand; mainly due

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1133238816211301622005-11-29T13:30:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.974+09:00

Just had to take a shot of this in Amataro (甘太郎), one of the Izakayas near the place I'm staying at. It's the ordering system for the place - it's a touch screen PC of some sort. You can scroll through different categories and choose what you want to order. The ones from left to right and top to bottom are:Food/drink/dessertOriginalSalads/foodsGrilled/Fried/SushiMeats/Grilled meats/

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1132677793056245852005-11-23T01:00:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.734+09:00

Izakayas are definitely in my top 10 list about Japan. An Izakaya is something like a restaurant, but instead of ordering full course meals, the menu consists of many smaller portioned, cheaper items; and of course a full drink menu. The idea is this - instead of gourging yourself on a 1-3 course meal, you and your friend(s) can get to eat a lot more different things while drinking the night

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1132151280430884952005-11-16T23:19:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.247+09:00

Ok, the living situation I'm in is this: I'm renting a monthly apartment with roommates; basically people come and go depending on how and when they need to rent the rooms here (there are a total of 3 here) one of the guys that was here was from Bangladesh that was here studying and needed a temporary room before the school he was attending here got him situated with housing. However, the other

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1132504102143938092005-11-16T13:13:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.598+09:00

Now I know why I was told not to walk late at night around Tokyo. Apparently after dark there are girls that will hang out near street corners and stuff and when you walk by they'll start asking you if you want a 'massage' or if you want to drink with them. First time one of them asked me I wasn't sure what she was asking - I was thinking either 'What did she say' and 'Did she ask what I think

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1132488464701642102005-11-15T04:42:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.475+09:00

No doubt about it; Tokyo Disneyland is crowded like there's no tomorrow. This photo was taken while waiting for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride. It's amazing how many people are packed into this little theme park. It's also amazing to see all the lines - there were lines for food stands and restaurants too. I would have to say that part of this can be attributed to the smaller size of

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1132487026291434892005-11-14T22:36:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.365+09:00

Yup, I may have just done one of the most American-like things I have ever done; gone to Disneyland in another country. I suppose it's a pilgrimage for most people, but at least for me it was a day just to have fun and also see how different things were accross the Pacific. Anyway, most of the rides were the same, except there were a few missing. Apparently land is tough to get even by the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131718820542144232005-11-11T15:36:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.134+09:00

I have come back from the Kodokan tsukinami shiai (monthly tournament). As such, I have good news and bad news.The bad news is that I fought for a total of about 2 minutes through 2 matches.The good news is that I did not get completely killed and have one win from ippon (full clean throw). The pool for the mudansha (non-black belt) category was 32. There were no weight classes so they put the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131459676457436652005-11-08T23:15:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:03.035+09:00

Only two days left to go....I've registered for the monthly tournament at the Kodokan. I'm kind of nervous right now for two reasons, 1)This will be my first Judo Tournament, and 2)This will be held at the heart of the Judo world - the Kodokan. Why do this? Part of it is to the recommendation of the Sensei at the home dojo back in Boston. The other part is that it has been long due for me to

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131269618326040132005-11-06T18:23:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.898+09:00

Here's a glimpse into the insanity of the subway system in Japan. Again near my base of operations for this trip, Ueno station. If my memory serves me correctly, there are about 16 different tracks at this station along with at 3-4 different levels and 7 separate train lines including the Shinkansen. As you can see boatloads of people go though this station all the time - and it's big. The

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131268902553913202005-11-06T18:12:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.786+09:00

Today was Asakusa. Here was the main street in that area with lots of shops and the famous temple there. This is the gate going into the street - 雷門通(Kaminarimondori) The photo doesn't really give you the impression of the numbers of people there - man was it packed. Probably didn't help that today was a Sunday either - I might have had better luck on a weekday but that might have just meant

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131266486149276962005-11-06T02:21:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.654+09:00

Today's trip was in Ginza. This photo was in the Chuo-dori street (also known as Ginza-dori) What happens is a part of this street gets closed off on weekends in the afternoon. This makes for a pretty cool walk around in the city. Lots of big shops and department stores - especially the big brands and expensive names. There was also a live Jazz band playing at one of the corners of the side

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131265721351178912005-11-04T00:06:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.496+09:00

Today's stop was Yanagi. There were a bunch of shrines as well as a famous cemetery. Bad karma or not, I took some snapshots of everything around. As crowded as everyone thinks Tokyo might be, there was barely anyone around. In some parts of the streets I was in, I could see the next person maybe 50-60 feet away, versus Shinjuku or Ginza where if you spread out both arms and try to clap you'd

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131108995875895362005-11-01T23:48:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.150+09:00

Here is a photo from Ueno Park. I figured it was best to explore this part first after the initial adjustment to the new surroundings here in Tokyo. Ueno Park is actually walkable from the monthly apartment I'm staying at; probably 10 minutes at most. There was a good stretch of greenery along with some shrines, museums, as well as a zoo. Didn't check out the zoo though; that could be another

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1130851620208659362005-11-01T22:15:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.028+09:00

Just wanted to share some news that I just came back from the Kodokan. It was a great experience for the first day and I’m definitely going to try to get there often, especially since it's less than 5 minutes by train (from Ueno-Okachimachi station to Kasuga station) So tonight I registered at the international department on the 1st floor for the randori session. Actually I was a few minutes

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131264750132852882005-11-01T12:22:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.259+09:00

Went out to fast food in Japan for the first time. I met someone for lunch near Shin-Kashiwa station (新柏). We went to a place called Mos Burger. Apparently fast food chains like this one and also other imported ones like McDonalds cater to the different tastes here. Here you can see what I ordered - a fried-shrimp burger and a green tea latte. Turned out to be rather tasty actually - better

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1131265192423917742005-11-01T10:00:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:02.394+09:00

Here's the street outside the place I'm staying in Ueno. It's called Ameyoko - more literally translated as 'candy side.' It's basically a street filled with vendors and packed down tight with little shops and stalls. It doesn't look like much right now, as this photo was taken at around 8am, before all the vendors start setting up shop. I'll probably have to get another photo in the

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1130825508675652642005-10-31T15:05:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:01.916+09:00

Well I'm in Japan now. It took a while to get online with the traveling and all that. It was not completely incident free though; there was a plane delay in Chicago which cost me 2 hrs and a night stay in Shinjuku. If my flight was not delayed I would have been able to make it to the apt office to pick up my keys. Still i'm finally here in Ueno and I'm ready to start vacation! Photos to

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1130566110762665902005-10-29T15:05:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:01.812+09:00

Right now I'm finalizing all my packing for vacation. In 3 hours I will set off for Tokyo. I've been waiting for this for quite some time; it will be a good month off for exploring and relaxing. But anyway, time to do another check on what's packed. That being said I'm signing off in the western hemisphere....there will be more to come from the east once I arrive. I hope to keep this blog

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1130565889687669692005-10-29T13:50:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:01.656+09:00

Ok as promised, here is what happened to the toe after I cut off the ripped part. Actually it's not as bad as I suspected; I thought it would have been worse with all the blood. Oh well. It still is quite a hassle though, with changing bandages and using antiseptic all the time. I wonder how long it will take for this to heal.

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13015607.post-1130214278843675692005-10-25T13:19:00.000+09:002006-11-15T21:42:01.539+09:00

Ok new injury - fell with my leg tucked behind me attempting some half-assed counter on violence day today. So I had a big toe bloodied at the end of class. Something tells me that this will be a pain in the butt if anything else. Already cleaned out and cut off the torn part of the toenail. I'll send out another photo of the after shot - Not worth it now since it has just been bandaged.On

Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05260306519016838608noreply@blogger.com0