Then it was the weekend, which was probably the most interesting weekend I've had so far in Japan. Friday night I stayed home, I had three classes that day and just wanted to chill. Plus I don't like rain =(
Saturday I went to Tsudanuma and Funabashi to go shopping and to look for a costume. We went to this pretty cool store in Funabashi where I was able to find a white wig for less than 7 dollars. The party was called Tokyo Decadance and it's supposed to be based on some famous movie, and the party travels around. I don't really know but it was crazy stuff. I thought my wig was pretty crazy but I was pretty normal compared to the other people who went to this event. There were half naked men and women, and crazier wigs than mine. There were scary looking people and sailor moon people. I took pics with the scarier looking bunch =D I thought their costumes were coooool!! One girl had blinking ears. Anyway I put the majority of the pictures on facebook.. but here is the crazier pic of the night as well as a pretty good shot of my wig staying in place.
Then on Sunday we went to Roppongi to watch the Keith Sweat concert. We arrived there pretty late and only caught the last 3 songs, but they were the ones that I kind of knew so it was all good. It was in the Tokyo Midtown Tower in the Billboard Tokyo Live Concert space. We got in for free thanks to Kristen and we also got backstage passes. The place was pretty nice, my first time in Roppongi. We didn't get to explore too much today since we got there around 7pm and we have classes tomoro. Ahhhh random story. So on the way home we were riding the train and I was sitting by the door when all of a sudden I see and hear splat on the floor. Someone just threw up by the door. I've never seen people move so fast before, everyone just kind of scooted away. It was pretty funny but I couldn't laugh because the smell was pretty intense. I had to move to the end of the train car to get away from the smell and my stop was still pretty far away.
What will next week bring?
Narita Drum Festival =D
Today as part of the IES Tokyo Program we were taken to the Narita Drum Festival in the town of... you guessed it Narita. 
It is literally one train stop from the International Airport, so I learned very early where to go once the program ends =D. Anyway it's referred to as the town of Eels, with numerous restaurants having eel dishes on their menu. Why? Because Narita is located between Tonegawa-river and Imbanuma marsh so eel is pretty much caught throughout the year. Random lesson learned today during lunch where we ate at the Surugaya restaurant. We all got Unagi Bento Boxes. It was really really good, I liked eel to begin with so I was really excited about it. Free lunch is always something to be excited about!!
Then after lunch we
wandered around the Naritasan Temple. Although it was a drum festival I was more interested in the Temple structures than the actual people performing so I don't have many pictures of the drummers. Actually I probably have like three shots of them all together. The place was really big with numerous halls and pagoda's. The Great Hall was where the main drum performance was held, but seating was for certain VIP's only. So we got stuck standing on the outer edges, and I got stuck in front of a tall Asian person. WTH? I didn't get to see much of the performance but from what I saw, it was pretty cool.
They were mostly female teenagers who performed and they were really into it.
There were also an area surrounding the halls and pagodas that we walked into. It was filled with these stones that had writings on them worshiping deities, but mostly Fudomyoo. We attended a Goma or Sacred Fire Rite at the Great Main Hall today as well. The chief priest was burning Gomasticks and then after people could have some of their personal belongings blessed. Fudomyoo is the main deity of the temple so the Goma rite is performed a few times a day. We weren't able to take pictures of the ceremony though. This is a picture of the three-storied pagoda and me and Rumi. More pictures but I'll probably update on facebook after this weekend. I'm going back to Harajuku to see some cosplay as I am highly curious and to check out more costumes for a costume party next weekend. 
I'm still recuperating from my previous illness but I am definitely doing a lot better than I was two days ago. The fever has subsided and all that is left is my throat. I pretty much sound like a man at the moment. Hot stuff though ;)
Finally just wanted to tell you guys about Japan's police academy. They were at the temple today and I was able to take a picture of two of their cutest officers today. It was awesome!...
It is literally one train stop from the International Airport, so I learned very early where to go once the program ends =D. Anyway it's referred to as the town of Eels, with numerous restaurants having eel dishes on their menu. Why? Because Narita is located between Tonegawa-river and Imbanuma marsh so eel is pretty much caught throughout the year. Random lesson learned today during lunch where we ate at the Surugaya restaurant. We all got Unagi Bento Boxes. It was really really good, I liked eel to begin with so I was really excited about it. Free lunch is always something to be excited about!!Then after lunch we
wandered around the Naritasan Temple. Although it was a drum festival I was more interested in the Temple structures than the actual people performing so I don't have many pictures of the drummers. Actually I probably have like three shots of them all together. The place was really big with numerous halls and pagoda's. The Great Hall was where the main drum performance was held, but seating was for certain VIP's only. So we got stuck standing on the outer edges, and I got stuck in front of a tall Asian person. WTH? I didn't get to see much of the performance but from what I saw, it was pretty cool.They were mostly female teenagers who performed and they were really into it.
There were also an area surrounding the halls and pagodas that we walked into. It was filled with these stones that had writings on them worshiping deities, but mostly Fudomyoo. We attended a Goma or Sacred Fire Rite at the Great Main Hall today as well. The chief priest was burning Gomasticks and then after people could have some of their personal belongings blessed. Fudomyoo is the main deity of the temple so the Goma rite is performed a few times a day. We weren't able to take pictures of the ceremony though. This is a picture of the three-storied pagoda and me and Rumi. More pictures but I'll probably update on facebook after this weekend. I'm going back to Harajuku to see some cosplay as I am highly curious and to check out more costumes for a costume party next weekend. 
I'm still recuperating from my previous illness but I am definitely doing a lot better than I was two days ago. The fever has subsided and all that is left is my throat. I pretty much sound like a man at the moment. Hot stuff though ;)Finally just wanted to tell you guys about Japan's police academy. They were at the temple today and I was able to take a picture of two of their cutest officers today. It was awesome!
Labels: Narita Drum Festival
Classes
So classes officially started this week. Had my first lecture on Tuesday with Prof Clammer on Contemporary Urban Society of Japan. It's pretty cool this guy is British but he teaches in Japan. He says he's part of a research team that works for the UN. 
The classes here are only once a week but they're like 3 hours long!! Then after class I went to a Tea Ceremony at the Millennium House on the Kanda campus. We all got to try to make the tea. You have to mix the tea and the hot water really fast using only your forefinger and your thumb. We also ate these sweets with it which were shaped like sakura and lily flowers. There are certain things that you have to do during the tea ceremony (depending on the type of school you go to) and becoming a tea master takes a really long time. Usually most tea masters are over 50 years old.
Then on Wednesday I went to my Field Placement Interview which is on the Yamanote Line. The commute is about an hour and it totally sucks. I really really don't like public transportation. I had to leave my dormitory around 10:30 am to get to the closest station. Then I had to transfer twice. I met up with one of the IES staff members Yamamoto-san so that she could take me to the interview location. A lot of the streets in Japan don't have any names and most people will tell you how to get to a certain location by using stores... Anyway while I was riding the train to get to Shin-Okubo where my interview was, I was feeling progressively warmer. By the time the interview finished I was burning up. I had to go back to where the IES center was so that another staff member could take me to the clinic. My temperature was 38.9 C.. which is equivalent to 102 F. At first they thought I had influenza.. which would have been HORRIBLE, but I didn't so it was all good. I was just given a bunch of pills to take.
Today I stayed home to recuperate and missed my first day of Japanese class. =P Hope it goes away by tonight!! Need to go to class tomorrow....
The classes here are only once a week but they're like 3 hours long!! Then after class I went to a Tea Ceremony at the Millennium House on the Kanda campus. We all got to try to make the tea. You have to mix the tea and the hot water really fast using only your forefinger and your thumb. We also ate these sweets with it which were shaped like sakura and lily flowers. There are certain things that you have to do during the tea ceremony (depending on the type of school you go to) and becoming a tea master takes a really long time. Usually most tea masters are over 50 years old. Then on Wednesday I went to my Field Placement Interview which is on the Yamanote Line. The commute is about an hour and it totally sucks. I really really don't like public transportation. I had to leave my dormitory around 10:30 am to get to the closest station. Then I had to transfer twice. I met up with one of the IES staff members Yamamoto-san so that she could take me to the interview location. A lot of the streets in Japan don't have any names and most people will tell you how to get to a certain location by using stores... Anyway while I was riding the train to get to Shin-Okubo where my interview was, I was feeling progressively warmer. By the time the interview finished I was burning up. I had to go back to where the IES center was so that another staff member could take me to the clinic. My temperature was 38.9 C.. which is equivalent to 102 F. At first they thought I had influenza.. which would have been HORRIBLE, but I didn't so it was all good. I was just given a bunch of pills to take.
Today I stayed home to recuperate and missed my first day of Japanese class. =P Hope it goes away by tonight!! Need to go to class tomorrow.
2nd Weekend =D
The past weekend was pretty busy. Thursday and Friday I didn't have any classes so I pretty much got a very long weekend. On Thursday I went to the Kesei-Tsudanuma station to go get my Alien Registration at the City Office. This will probably be considered as one of my most memorable events because I was in a situation that I have never been in before. So as we entered the City Office building there's a little booth that had a sign on it that said Alien Registration. One of the office ladies came up to me I told her that I needed to do my Alien Registration. Then she said and I quote "Speak Slowly" to which I replied "Alllliiiieeeenn Reeeegiiisstrraatiioon."
Now that I think about it, the whole thing kind of sounds pretty stupid. But I've never been told to speak slowly and it was definitely equivalent to culture shock for me. I guess since I've been here the people I've met all spoke a little bit of English so I was cushioned a little, but I've come to realize my error and it won't happen again. Other than that I think I've been adapting pretty well to the customs of Japan. Most of the time I stay silent, but I gotta improve my Japanese so I'll be practicing more now. On Friday we went to Harajuku and the Meijin Jingu Shrine. It was awesome. I really enjoyed walking around Harajuku and we stopped at this store called Kiddy Land; which is insane. It's floors and floors and floors of cutesy stuff. I bought stationary =D
Then on Saturday morning we left our dorm really early to go to Camp Zama, which is an American Base located in the Kanagawa Prefecture for Hanami - which is flower viewing; specifically for the Cherry Blossoms. It was so prettty.. it was like a festival in the base. There were food booths everywhere from different countries and games and live bands. There was a lot of people though so it was hard to capture the Cherry Blossoms by themselves. Here's a pretty decent shot though.
We left the base around 3pm and then stayed in Shinjuku until about 10pm. I was going to this club called Trump House, which plays Electro music, with some of the kids in the IES program. Since trains stop running at midnight, clubs here start around then and end at 5am when the trains resume. So pretty much you gotta stay out all night.
The club decor was intense. There were chandeliers hanging everywhere and deer heads all over the walls. Good thing I'm short because some of the chandeliers were pretty low. AFter the club we went to McDonalds for early breakfast and here's a 6am shot of Shibuya right before I went into the train station to head home. Sunday I pretty much just slept. Here's to week #2.
...
Now that I think about it, the whole thing kind of sounds pretty stupid. But I've never been told to speak slowly and it was definitely equivalent to culture shock for me. I guess since I've been here the people I've met all spoke a little bit of English so I was cushioned a little, but I've come to realize my error and it won't happen again. Other than that I think I've been adapting pretty well to the customs of Japan. Most of the time I stay silent, but I gotta improve my Japanese so I'll be practicing more now. On Friday we went to Harajuku and the Meijin Jingu Shrine. It was awesome. I really enjoyed walking around Harajuku and we stopped at this store called Kiddy Land; which is insane. It's floors and floors and floors of cutesy stuff. I bought stationary =D
Then on Saturday morning we left our dorm really early to go to Camp Zama, which is an American Base located in the Kanagawa Prefecture for Hanami - which is flower viewing; specifically for the Cherry Blossoms. It was so prettty.. it was like a festival in the base. There were food booths everywhere from different countries and games and live bands. There was a lot of people though so it was hard to capture the Cherry Blossoms by themselves. Here's a pretty decent shot though.
We left the base around 3pm and then stayed in Shinjuku until about 10pm. I was going to this club called Trump House, which plays Electro music, with some of the kids in the IES program. Since trains stop running at midnight, clubs here start around then and end at 5am when the trains resume. So pretty much you gotta stay out all night. 
The club decor was intense. There were chandeliers hanging everywhere and deer heads all over the walls. Good thing I'm short because some of the chandeliers were pretty low. AFter the club we went to McDonalds for early breakfast and here's a 6am shot of Shibuya right before I went into the train station to head home. Sunday I pretty much just slept. Here's to week #2. 
Day 8 in Japan
I've been in Japan for a total of eight days now. There was a class today called History of Japan, but fortunately I don't have to take that class so I had a free day. My building mate (Michelle) and I went down to Harajuku today =D We didn't really see any outrageous outfits, but I think those are more common during Saturdays and Sundays. We checked out a few costume stores, which are way intense. There were maid costumes, and sailor moon ones; I even found a beanie with ears on them, which were being sold for about 40 bucks =(
I'm still getting used to taking the trains here so I'm not really sure if I could find my way down to Tokyo by myself yet. It's not difficult because the maps all have English on them, I just am paranoid about getting lost and having to ask for help. Err that might not go down so well.
Anyway here are some things that I have observed from being over here.
1. In the majority of the stores I've been in you don't hand money directly to the cashiers as you do in America. They have little plates that you place the money in. I tried to give it to the cashier directly the first time and Michelle had to correct me, plus the cashier gave me funny looks.
2. Subways are generally very quiet. Nobody talks, and if they do its in whispers. People usually cover the mouth piece on the cell phone if they use it.
3. Trains are the most common form of transportation, so when it gets packed, it gets packed. Today I was squished in between lots of people, kinda of freaked me out since I don't like tight spaces. An IES student said they saw a guard pushing people in the trains to make them fit, but I haven't seen that yet. If that was ever the case, I'd take the next train.
4. Guys carry purses. LOL
5. Cell phone accessories are really popular here. I bought a pink voodoo one today =D
There are a few others, but I'll add those later. Anyway while we were in Harajuku we ate at this crepe stall. I ordered something with banana's and cream in it, but the cream was just way too much. The stall was awesome though, the crepes on display looked real. These seem to be really popular in this area, there was a few in the same vicinity and there were lines in each area. Then behind the Harajuku train station there's the Meiji Jingu Shrine. It's dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and is one of Tokyo's major shrines. They had a wooden prayer cards that visitors can write on. This was mine =D
Today was pretty fun, my feet are hurting from all the walking though. Unfortunately we weren't able to visit any parks to see cherry blossom trees (sakura) but tomorrow we are heading to an American military base to see some. I'll let you know how that goes =D...
I'm still getting used to taking the trains here so I'm not really sure if I could find my way down to Tokyo by myself yet. It's not difficult because the maps all have English on them, I just am paranoid about getting lost and having to ask for help. Err that might not go down so well.
Anyway here are some things that I have observed from being over here.
1. In the majority of the stores I've been in you don't hand money directly to the cashiers as you do in America. They have little plates that you place the money in. I tried to give it to the cashier directly the first time and Michelle had to correct me, plus the cashier gave me funny looks.
2. Subways are generally very quiet. Nobody talks, and if they do its in whispers. People usually cover the mouth piece on the cell phone if they use it.
3. Trains are the most common form of transportation, so when it gets packed, it gets packed. Today I was squished in between lots of people, kinda of freaked me out since I don't like tight spaces. An IES student said they saw a guard pushing people in the trains to make them fit, but I haven't seen that yet. If that was ever the case, I'd take the next train.
4. Guys carry purses. LOL
5. Cell phone accessories are really popular here. I bought a pink voodoo one today =D
There are a few others, but I'll add those later. Anyway while we were in Harajuku we ate at this crepe stall. I ordered something with banana's and cream in it, but the cream was just way too much. The stall was awesome though, the crepes on display looked real. These seem to be really popular in this area, there was a few in the same vicinity and there were lines in each area. Then behind the Harajuku train station there's the Meiji Jingu Shrine. It's dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and is one of Tokyo's major shrines. They had a wooden prayer cards that visitors can write on. This was mine =D Today was pretty fun, my feet are hurting from all the walking though. Unfortunately we weren't able to visit any parks to see cherry blossom trees (sakura) but tomorrow we are heading to an American military base to see some. I'll let you know how that goes =D