Chris in Tokyo

Three weeks left of school. The Japanese academic year is set up so that we spend about 6 months in school, and about 6 months on vacation. They get more free time than we American students get back home. It’s rather mind-boggling.

Classes are going decently enough. I got to watch Haruhi and Kara no Kyoukai in class today, which was fun. Other than that, nothing special has been going on. I’m just biding my time until I’m free again…

I found a bag from The Coop lying in my room today.

What is “The Coop,” you ask? It’s a Waseda-run store frequented by many students, located in relatively convenient location on campus. There’s a bookstore on the bottom floor, and above that there’s a large convenience store that sells food, notebooks, printers, and assorted Waseda paraphernalia. The Japanese like to spell it Coop (and pronounce it “cope”), which makes me think of chickens or the loony bin or any number of other things that have decidedly little to do with collegiate cooperation. Anyway, The Coop is apparently mounting an Engrish campaign to enhance “co-operation” in the university community:

[Read more →]

I’m about half done with “A Saturday Adventure, Part II”, but I apologize for the long time it’s taking for me to write anything and put it on my blog.

It’s 7:41 pm on a warm Tokyo evening, and I’m sitting at my desk sipping coffee as I type. Man, coffee… If I’m not careful, I might end up like Kunihiro, drinking five cups a day or more. But, well, he seems energetic and healthy, and he’s a successful medical researcher, so…maybe it won’t be that bad, after all.

[Read more →]

I know I promised I would write about the maid cafe this weekend. Well, unfortunately I’ve run out of time, and I haven’t been able to do it. I do have an excuse, though! I unexpectedly heard that Reitaisai* was being held this Sunday, which of course necessitated my immediate participation. As a result, however, I’ve consigned myself to becoming a sleepless zombie over the next couple days — but it was totally worth it.

[Read more →]

So you sit down and you think, “FUCK YEAH KANJI TIME BITCHES!”

You’re super pumped to study kanji, so you grab the book for Kanji 8A that you just got. You open it up to page 1 and start reading.

“This semester, we will study the following characters:”

[Read more →]

Today, I woke up on a mission.

Okay, that’s a lie. I woke up groggy, lamenting the fact that I was going to have to move my ass out of bed to go somewhere in the city, even if it WAS a live music event that I’d been looking forward to for weeks.

As you can see, my calendar clearly states that the 17th is “Club Asia 13:30″ day. A day of celebration! Today is the day that Sound Online, Alstroemeria Records, IOSYS, Sound Holic, and various other doujin music groups perform at Club Asia, located about half an hour away in Shibuya. I’d been looking forward to this wonderful day for the better part of half a month.

[Read more →]

There, lurking…

[Read more →]

Kai and Laura have arrived!

Waitin’ with everyone else at Narita’s south wing greeting terminal…

zOmG liek there they are!

The dog behind them is called Hachiko. He’s pretty famous, but the only reason I think he’s famous is because everyone uses him as a landmark because he’s famous. We waited for an acquaintance of Kai’s to come, who said to meet us at Hachiko. Everyone else in the picture is also waiting for someone…there were tons of people just standing around the statue.

Anyway, Kai and Laura are totally in Japan!! :D I am very happy. Too bad the rest of you Seattle bums don’t have the AWESOME it takes to get on a plane right after your last final is over, and make the trip across the big pond to come visit me here in Tokyo. You slackers.

I spent Monday-Wednesday in Nikko, one of the most famous historical locations in Japan. Among other things, it’s the resting place of former shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, who was the one responsible for bringing Japan into the Tokugawa period (1803-1868, also known as the Edo period or the pre-modern period), which was one of the most culturally influential periods in Japan’s history. It’s the same period that saw over 200 years of strict isolationism, and the formation of the equally strict class system dominated by the samurai, all sanctioned and enforced by the power of law. As shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most powerful man in Japan, and he made sure to create a lasting reminder of that by constructing for himself a shrine of such magnificence that, even today, it probably remains the single most impressive display of wealth and power in the nation. And within the grounds of that shrine, Ieyasu lies in rest.

See this building? Yeah, that’s just the place where you wash your
hands before entering the shrine proper. And yes, that’s all gold.

In addition to that main attraction, Nikko offers a number of other interesting places — another Tokugawa shogun’s tomb and associated temple, another large shrine, the impressive villa where the Emperor spent his time during World War II, and various other places of lesser significance in the surrouding area, such as the quiet riverside location over on one side of town where a couple dozen jizou (statues representing some type of Buddhist deity, which I believe watch over children, or maybe just lost children) stand in a row, looking quietly out over the flowing water. There are also a number of very nice Japanese-style hotels and hot springs, one of which I had the pleasure of staying in.

If (when?) I have the time, I’ll try to write about the experience. I still need to write a little more about Hokkaido. But first, I need to take care of some of the other items on my list of things to do, not least of which includes drawing up a concrete schedule for Kai and Laura’s upcoming visit. They arrive in just 8 days!

You may have already noticed, but the value of the dollar is falling in the world. It’s not just the Euro, which has steadily increased in value compared to the dollar over time; the United States Dollar (USD) is not as powerful in general as it used to be.

[Read more →]