Second Japanniversary!

Yesterday was my second Japanniversary! Wow! I can't believe it's been two years since I arrived in Tokyo. It feels like it was about last week. Have a look at some of the highlights of the past two years in Japan!

March 2009 - Arrived! Visited Kamakura and Yokohama for the first time.
April 2009 - Enjoyed cherry blossoms. Explored a lot in Tokyo and went to Takao-san for the first time.
May 2009 - Went to Nikko. Went to Kamakura for the second time. Went to Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa. Went to Tokyo Disneyland for the first time.
June 2009 - Did not enjoy my first rainy season.
July 2009 - Went to Yokohama twice and hiked at Takao-san.
August 2009 - More hiking at Takao-san, plus climbing Fuji-san. Went to a fireworks festival. Ate a lot of crepes, drank a lot of bubble tea.
September 2009 - Takao-san yet again. Went to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara for the first time.
October 2009 - Yes, Takao-san again. Most importantly, visited DisneySea for the first time.
November 2009 - Had a pizzafest at Shakey's for the first time. Experienced the shinkansen for the first time when I returned to Kyoto and Osaka.
December 2009 - Disneyland and DisneySea! Also, I saw Fuji-san for the first time from a distance. And early Christmas celebrations of fun!
January 2010 - Kamakura again. Homeless adventures in Nagano.
February 2010 - Delicious sushi and life-flashing-before-my-eyes terror at Tsukiji Fish Market.
March 2010 - First Japanniversary, celebrated with giant tuna head, anime festival, tea ceremony, and laquerware! Saw Shinichi Osawa for the first time.
April 2010 - Second sakura season! Returned to Yokohama.
May 2010 - Walked, like, all over Tokyo. And went to Disneyland!
June 2010 - DisneySea and Cirque du Soleil!
July 2010 - Disneyland! And trying to keep cool in the summer heat and humidity.
August 2010 - Best month ever? DisneySea (twice) and Disneyland. Tokyo Cousin Extravaganza (including two of those Disney visits, Yokohama, Kamakura, Nagano, and general Tokyo amazingness). Gorgeous beach day on Sarushima. First visit to Takao-san in nearly a year.
September 2010 - Zazen in Kamakura. And Disneyland!
October 2010 - Amazing birthday times with Chinese food, pancakes, DisneySea, cake, and a fashion week photoshoot.
November 2010 - DisneySea! Christmas at Ikspiari! Harry Potter!
December 2010 - Returned to Kansai to see Wicked and have super amazing times in Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto! Plus another early Christmas celebration of fantasticness.
January 2011 - Went to Matsumoto, which I'd been meaning to visit for more than a year. And went to Ueno Zoo for the first time.
February 2011 - Art, music, friends, and the Oedo line.
March 2011 - Second Japanniversary!

And enjoy a video about the Oedo line stations.

Oedo Adventure (to be continued...someday...)

Friday was a day off, which was lovely. Not so lovely was the weather, which was cold and snowy. Since the weather was bad, we decided to have an indoor adventure and collect stamps from the Oedo subway line. We started in Hikarigaoka, and left the subway in Yoyogi for lunch (Shakey's, which was a location debut for me as we went to Harajuku). It was so busy! There was a line that extended outside, which was miserable to wait in with the weather how it was, but when we finally got inside to warmth and pizza, it all seemed worthwhile. Especially when I snagged a bunch of double cheese pizza and amaaaazing brownie dessert pizza. Healthy! Then a bit of shopping before setting out to get back to an Oedo station. Got a bit distracted along the way and ended up getting some coffee, but we made it back eventually. Made it as far as Kachidoki before we stopped, as it was getting a little late and we still had quite a few stations to go. But! We got more than halfway! It was much more time consuming than we expected. We failed to really think about how much time it took to get from the platform up to the gate (where the stamps were). And then there had to be a photoshoot at every station to commemorate our stop and, yeah, it took much longer than I foresaw. I think we got more efficient as time went on (especially once we started using elevators instead of the sometimes endless escalators), but the first few stations were slow going. Anyway, I spent my day off visiting subway stations, and it was amazingly good fun.

Glad I had such a nice day before Saturday, which ended up being one of the busiest and most stressful days at work ever. Do. Not. Enjoy.

Sunday was lovely though! Went for Hawaiian pancakes (we talked about making Surf's Up Sunday a tradition way back in October, but this was the first time we actually managed it), then to my friend's band's gig, then to karaoke, then to an izakaya, then home for a relaxing night.

Enjoy a few pics of our epic Oedo journey, including me sitting on some random station art, the actual act of stamping, our coffee cups, and one of many reflection pictures.