It has been an exceptionally busy time for me - one of the most jam-packed school breaks I've ever had - and that's really saying something considering the fact that this break is two months long. Let's see - where to start...
Well, when we last left off, I was just about to start my move to my new place in Ryogoku, on the East side of central Tokyo. Since the last post, I have moved everything to my new place via several train trips and many well-loaded suitcases. It was a very good experience for me to lug all that stuff about because it made me realize just how much stuff I have over here - stuff I will eventually need to get back to the States somehow. Fortunately, both my upcoming trip to the USA and my dad and grandma's subsequent trip over here to visit me would each afford me ample opportunity to bring some less essential items home, lightening the future load. Even still, my room in Ryogoku is full. In just the one month that I've been here, I've already rearranged the furniture from one setup to another in order to create more floor space for myself. It was a good move for me - I need all the space I can get.
I had to purchase a few extra furnishings for the room here that Sakura House had provided as part of the rental agreement. As a result, I went out to Ikea in Funabashi and picked up sheets, pillowcases, storage boxes, a suspendible bureau set, a wastebasket, and a couple other pieces of affordable Swedish crap. I also picked up a small wooden cabinet at Tokyu Hands that I'm using as a TV stand and storage box for my video game equipment. Pictures will be forthcoming of my wonderful furnishing skills.
The costume party I mentioned before was a lot of fun - a great way to spend a final Friday as a resident of Sakura House. The food and drink were on the house for us, and Clio and Elena absolutely stole the show with their costumes of Sen and No-Face from Miyazaki's "Spirited Away". I had fun with my own costume - Lambo from "Katekyo Hitman Reborn". Again, pictures will be forthcoming.
That next Monday, I had an interview with the head of the Keio International Program, the program I am hoping to transfer to from the Japanese Language Program (JLP). I've hashed out the reasons for this on a previous post, so I won't bore you with the same details again. Suffice to say that the interview went very well - she agreed with me on all points that the KIP would be a better fit for my particular situation as a Rice exchange student. I'll have to wait until later this month to hear the final decision from the school, but I am being cautiously optimistic that they have approved my transfer. I'm also still waiting to hear about my final grades and the class schedule for the upcoming semester - they like to cut it down to the wire for some unknown reason. Thankfully, due to my rapport with a couple of my professors from this previous semester, a couple of my classes have already been decided - Japanese Literature and a new Special Lecture in Ethics. I'm already excited for both.
I had very little time to settle in to what would pass for a normal routine 'round these parts because that Wednesday, I was all set to hop on a plane and fly back for a week's stay back in the good ol' US of A. Thanks to a generous offer from my dear mom to pay for the airfare from and back to Tokyo, accented with the opportunity to see Peter Yarrow in concert at the Aladdin Theater (well played, sir), I was all set for a week back at home. I got up to all my usual shenanigans - teaming up with friends at Cascade Athletic Club to team-teach the new program releases for Group Ride and Group Groove; watching the Super Bowl with my mom's extended family - always a blast; meeting up several times with my cousin Joel to watch Dr. Who and other quality programs; meeting up with my old friends Theresa and Dylan to watch some newly-discovered anime; hooking up with my family in downtown Portland for a run-through at Powell's Books; oh, the list went on. (I even got to go visit my dentist and get my teeth shined up all pretty-like.)
On top of all that, there were a couple new adventures that I really had a great time with. First off was the aforementioned concert, which was actually a Portland folk music festival - WinterFolk 22. In addition to Peter Yarrow, there were six other groups performing that night - each one bringing the house down in their own way - it was a great night and a perfect venue for such an event. I never realized what a rich history of folk music existed right here in Portland and up and down the Columbia River Gorge. One of my favorite songs of all time - "Pastures of Plenty" was written by Woody Guthrie while he was working up in this area - go figure.
I got a chance to head down into Portland one glorious Friday afternoon to meet for dinner with mum and some friends of hers from work, including the delightfully decadent Rita, at a place called Carafe. As I was now of drinking age for the first time in America, I took every opportunity to flaunt that status, and tried out a little bit of the house wines. While not the best I've ever had, the significance really came from the fact that I could finally order it and be treated like a grown-up by general society. That's an important thing for a budding 21-year-old. We had a great time and a lovely evening.
Figuring that I'd need something significant to pass a lot of the time in the remaining break, I decided to take the plunge into a brave new world and purchase myself an XBox 360, along with a whole array of different games for it. It's all set up by my TV and unfortunately hasn't had as much loving as it deserves due to my extreme busyness since my return. Still, we have all the time in the world - as long as I don't keep it on 'til the red ring of death appears. Right now I'm hooked on Magna Carga II - the latest in a series that I've been particularly fond of. I'll get back to it some time in the next few days - I think.
I eventually had to come back to Tokyo (now there's a sentence I never though I'd say with any degree of despondence), but it was good. I was very happy that I'd gotten a chance to see my family and friends, and now I had about a week to further settle in and start meeting people at Oakhouse, as well as starting to learn my way around Ryogoku and its surrounding areas. It was a pretty lazy week - just getting things organized and ready for me to host my dad and grandma when they'd arrive just a week after I did.
That next Wednesday, I hopped the Keisei line bound for Narita Airport and went on up to the international arrivals lobby. I knew their flight was coming in a bit earlier than expected, but I missed the first train that I was accordingly planning to take. Still, I needn't have worried - I was standing outside the gate long enough for them that I started to wonder if the had possibly already gotten through customs and gone somewhere else. However, they eventually wandered out of the customs gate and met me on the concourse. We picked up a rental cell phone in the airport terminal and started on our way back to Ryogoku and the Pearl Hotel where they'd be staying. We got there and dropped off their baggage, and then decided that we were all hungry enough that we had to get some food and get it fast. I decided that a good place for a first Japanese meal would be Sukiya, one of Japan's three big beef-bowl chains (the other two being Yoshinoya and Matsuya). We bellied up to the counter and each placed our orders - which then arrived within minutes. With great eagerness we wolfed them down and then decided to take a little trip to tour my house. The stairs proved to be a bit much for gran, and she came up as far as my floor, but not up to the top floor with the rooftop balcony. After all ten minutes of the grand tour, I escorted them back to their hotel and we said goodnight.
We decided to take day two relatively easy - we had breakfast at - of all places - McDonalds (in our defense, it was local, cheap, and convenient), and then we hopped a train for Harajuku. We walked around the streets and shops in Omotesando Hills mall for a bit, and then we went into Yoyogi Park and on to the grounds of Meiji Jingu Shrine. As this was one of the only sunny days we had, that was a particularly good move. We took it all in and took our time at every location. After an afternoon nap, we played around for a bit in Akihabara Electric Town, starting with a proper kaiten-sushi (sushi-go-round) dinner at the top of Yodobashi Camera.
Day three started off with a trip to Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo ward. Gran was interested in checking out the shops and the spa, and dad and I were looking forward to the shops and the Thunder Dolphin, the signature roller coaster overlooking the park. Unfortunately the coaster was closed that day, but we had a good time perusing the La Qua mall, particularly at one of our favorite stores - Lush. I got a refill on my Rehab shampoo, Jungle conditioner, and Coal Face facial wash - all quintessential items. After that, we went up into the observation deck of the Bunkyo city office, where we took in all of the glory of the city that can be seen from 25 stories up. We had lunch at Firehouse in Hongo, and then went to check out Ikebukuro, the area where I used to live. I showed them all my old haunts, and by the time we were done, it was time to call it a day.
Day four started with a little breakfast for the three of us, and then I had to go off and take a class that I usually taught in Jujo at Tokyo Sports Oasis. Since it was the Jujo branch's 3rd anniversary, things were on a special events schedule, and my class was no exception. Instead of my teaching the 45-minute Kick class I teach every week, Japan's only national trainer, Tomo, came in and taught the new January 2010 release in its entirety. We played off each other a bit over the course of the hour, and he was a great guy to know and work with - I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future as I pursue a BTS Trainership. That evening was our big splurge - dinner at Joe's Shanghai, on the 59th floor of Sunshine 60 in Ikebukuro. I called ahead to make a reservation, and they pulled out all the stops for us. We had a corner table that was very private, along with one of the most spectacular views I've seen of any city in the world, let alone just Tokyo. The food was delicious, the wine was perfect, and the staff were incredibly fun. I'll definitely be dining there again.
Day five - Sunday. We went out to my church in Omotesando for the morning service, and the we jetted off to Jujo for my class of the week - the special launch of Group Step for the first time at Tokyo Sports Oasis. I'd been preparing for this class for a good long time, but there were still a few curves that fate decided to throw at me for the class. I had my loyal supporters - gran and dad - sitting outside watching me work. Most of the people in the class had never taken a BTS class before, or even a step aerobics class of any kind. Those factors, combined with my limited ability to coach Step in Japanese, made for a very interesting hour. First off, I typically teach facing the class, acting as a mirror of the movements they should be doing. However, within a minute of the first song starting, over three quarters of the class had turned to face the back wall and were craning their necks trying to see what I was doing. Figuring that another plan would be necessary, I paused the music and asked them if it would be better if I faced the front mirrors and moved with them. They all agreed, and we went for take two. Unfortunately for this group, the most complicated songs were, in fact, the first three on the CD. Still, after enough repetition, they were starting to get the hang of it. By track six, everyone was in the groove and on the move. We finished with a splash and the class got rave reviews. We headed our with our heads held high, but by the time we reached Ryogoku, we were tired. I mean seriously tired. We had a bit of a spat, trying to decide where to eat, but we eventually figured something out involving a temporary parting of ways and a couple of golden arches.
Heading into Monday, we had breakfast at St. Germain, the bakery-cafe that I discovered on that fateful day when my train was delayed and I got stopped in Ebisu - what turned out to be one of the best days of that semester. We were planning on subsequently going to campus for a quick tour before hitting our big-ticket item of the day, but we ran a bit short on time. We instead headed straight out to Maihama, home to Tokyo Disneyland and Cirque du Soleil's resident show "ZED". We were there for the show, not the theme parks. The show was absolutely spectacular - great production value, impressive acts, and an incredible soundtrack (now added to my music collection). After that, we headed home for a quiet evening at the hotel with snacks and a movie - the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" starring Gene Wilder. Afterwards, gran turned in for an early night, and dad and I went out to check out a little beer club in Ryogoku called Popeye. I'd first been attracted to it by the sign in the window for "Rogue Ales", a microbrew made in Oregon. As I'm always up for a taste of my homeland, we went in for a pint of Shakespeare Stout. We stayed for a good couple hours and had some marvelous conversation - definitely one of the high points of the entire week.
Tuesday, we decided to take things slow and eventually head out to campus only when we finally felt like it. We toured campus and then headed down the road towards Tokyo Tower. We had lunch at a Chinese buffet and dessert at Baskin Robbins, and then we hopped a train for Roppongi, an area that I had never been to before and wanted to explore. We went all through the Roppongi Hills area - a very upscale shopping and entertainment district, and decided to stop at the cinema to see the movie Avatar, which none of us had yet seen. Our reviews of the movie as a whole were mixed, and if you want my full review, write me personally and I'll get it to you.
Wednesday was our last day. The folks were scheduled to leave in the evening, so we decided to stay somewhat close to home. We went to Tokyo Station, just a few train stops away, to browse the shops and try and find some last-minute souvenirs. We wandered about a bit and eventually headed out towards the grounds of the Imperial Palace, which were right in front of the station. The sun finally decided to peek its head out again and we had a lovely walk through the park and sat on a couple of benches to soak up that wonderful light. Then, all of a sudden, it was time to go. We gathered the luggage at the hotel and started our last train trip back to Narita. It was a very emotional parting at the gate, but I know that this isn't the last time that we'll enjoy this magnificent land together. Still, parting is indeed such sweet sorrow. I was in a funk well until the next day - I just seemed to be missing something, or someone, from the complete picture. Thankfully, the Internet is indeed a marvelous tool, and we were video-chatting right after the two of them landed back in Portland. I'm even chatting with them as I'm writing this blog post.
Of course, pictures of the whole wonderful week are forthcoming, but this post is just the words.
Since I've been back on my own, I've started to readjust and settle deeper into life in a new house in a new town. I finally found a coin-op laundromat in this area, which makes me much happier than it probably should. The problem is that the dryer they have installed in this house is absolutely pathetic - it would take an hour for it to dry a pair of socks. Several of my clothes have started to sprout mildew due to incomplete drying, but now that I have found a place that works, that's been all taken care of. Small favors.
As for now, I'm keeping myself busy with all kinds of things. I just finished up the work on a research project offered to me by my advisor back at Rice. We have an archive of Asian subway advertisements, and the time has come to updated the Tokyo chapter of those archives. As I am currently "the man in Japan" as far as Rice is concerned, I was offered the post. I've spent the greater part of today riding around all the trains and taking pictures of the ads on the platforms and deeper inside the stations. It's been a lot of fun, and I've discovered a whole bunch of new places in Tokyo that I want to explore while I'm still here. Research for the win! Having achieved my goal of 300 unique advertisements photographed, I decided to reward myself with a spin on the Thunder Dolphin, the roller coaster at Tokyo Dome City, now open. It's a wild one, let me tell you. After that, I called up Clio on the off chance that she'd be free on a Friday night, and we met up for dinner and dessert. We hadn't seen each other in over a month, and we had some serious catching up to do. Good times.
And that leads me to now - I'm typing at 2:17 in the morning, and I really should be getting to sleep. I've got a big day tomorrow - teaching Kick at Jujo and finishing up the collection of advertisements for the research project. After that, who knows? All I know is that there will be some serious down time involved at some point. On top of that, my one big upcoming plan is on Sunday the 14th, when the Manhattan Transfer are playing at the Cotton Club Tokyo, and I've got my ticket all squared away. One of the greatest jazz groups ever, in a perfect venue for the genre and style, at a time when I just happen to be in town. How sweet it is!
Well, that was a mouthful. As I said before, pictures of all these wonderful things will be forthcoming, but not tonight - I need to get to sleep. So, until next time...
絶望した！
