Golden Week!

Golden Week! It's vacation time, but I have no plans! I need to get some because sitting around and being lazy is not going so well. I did nothing yesterday, and today I just feel all ick and have a weird leg cramp. Plans! Must get them! I do have a couple things going on this week, but mostly it's looking grim. Maybe Disney? They are finally open again! I'm so so so happy! It was dark times knowing that they were closed for so long. And then Land was open, but not Sea. But as of a couple days ago, both are open again with normal hours. Happiness! Going might help me like the Yurakucho line again. It used to seem magical because I hardly ever used it unless I was going to Disney, but now it is super not magical because it takes me to work and is often delayed. Frustration! It would be nice if it was magical again though.

In aftershock news, they're getting better. There was a pretty big one a couple weeks ago while I was at work, but they've been okay since then. Haven't been woken up by one all week! I mean, we're still shaking a lot, but it has seemed a bit calmer recently. (Haha, there actually was one while I was typing this post!)

Since my commute is so long these days, I feel like I've done little besides go to work, work, and come home. But I have been trying to make the most of my commute. I hadn't been reading much, but since I have time now on the train, I've gone through quite a few books. The best was a reread of The Neverending Story, which is such a lovely book and highly recommended, especially if you've just seen the movie. I've also been playing Pokémon Black since it recently came out in English. I'm not far in, but I like it so far.

Enjoy some super random pictures I've taken recently!

catching up

Oops, busy month. So a couple days after my last entry, I went to Osaka with C-chan. Work was canceled for that week, so we had some free time, and we were sick sick sick of the aftershocks. Osaka was so calm! It was really nice to relax for a little while, although there was some ever-present stress about how much packing needed to be done in Tokyo to move out of our apartments. Anyway, managed to book a room the night before and then shinkansened there first thing Thursday morning. It was a clear day, so we were lucky enough to have a gorgeous view of Fuji-san for ages! Visited the aquarium, had okonomiyaki, met up with some friends. Went to Kyoto as well to visit Kinkakuji and wander up to Kiyomizu-dera (I was devastated to discover that the amazing vegetarian restaurant from my last Kyoto visit was gone). Got back to Tokyo on Sunday; after the normalcy of Osaka, the empty shelves, infrequent trains, and dark stations of Tokyo were really strange. But it didn't take long to get used to it.

Finished work at the end of March. My last week was so hard! I didn't expect to get so emotional. But I ended up crying so much, after classes, during classes, during our farewell party. I was ready to leave, but it was a bit sad too. I'll miss so many people there! I had a week off and then got talked into working a bit longer, but at a different school. So I've been helping out at Toyosu school for a couple weeks. Am going to stay on for about a month more, then hopefully a vacation and then super hopefully another job!

During my week off, I moved. I'm living in a guest house now, which means I've got my own room, but bathroom and kitchen are shared. It's not bad! I mean, the place is ridiculously ugly, but it's kind of so ugly that I just can't hate it. And I quite like the area, and I like that utilities and internet are included in my rent so I don't need to worry about them. Anyway, I'm not homeless, so I'm pretty happy!

Lots of friend time this weekend! And lovely weather! We're still shaking a lot and things aren't back to normal, but I'm feeling pretty content.

Earthquake

I know I have to write a blog entry about this, but I don't even know what to say. Sorry if this is a bit of a mess.

I was at work on Friday. Normal day. Super happy about my good news of the morning (not being homeless in April) and looking forward to sushi for lunch. I was in an interview with a prospective student when the earthquake hit. At first we were just like, "Oh, an earthquake." Then, "Oh, it's pretty big." Then, "OH SHIT." We - along with everyone else in Hikarigaoka - ran outside. I can't describe the feeling of the quake. A bit like being on the deck of a ship in a big storm maybe. But it was terrifying. People were running and kids were crying and it was difficult to stay standing and it was so loud and it looked like the scaffolding on an apartment block was going to come crashing down. At the time, what struck me more than the size of the earthquake was how long it lasted. It seemed to go on for ages, it was unbelievable. Once things had calmed down, we headed back into the office. A lot of things on the floor and a bit of damage to the building, but it could have been much worse. About half an hour later the first big aftershock hit and we repeated the running outside drill. Got our belongings after that calmed down and evacuated to the park. At 4 we were told we could leave, so we started walking home. Stopped by a convenience store to get some food since we hadn't been able to get lunch. I couldn't feel the aftershocks while I was walking, but as soon as I got home that was all I could feel. There were so many strong ones, and it sometimes felt like they were happening constantly. I was so tired and sleepy, but I couldn't sleep well that night because I was so tense and because whenever I managed to fall asleep, an aftershock inevitably woke me up.

Work on Saturday was canceled. I had to get out of my apartment or go crazy, so I met Andrew in Shinagawa. Once I got there, all the trains were like, "We aren't running anymore," so there was some fear about being stranded, but I decided not to worry about it too much and just try to relax a bit. We walked to Ginza. Tokyo felt apocalyptic. So many businesses were closed. Restaurants were shut, coffee shops were shut, some convenience stores were shut. But Louis Vuitton was open! Seriously, it was so strange seeing which things had decided to close and which had decided to stay open. We tried to get dinner in one of the department stores, but last order was at 5 and by the time we reached the restaurant floor it was, like, 5:01. Fail. Wandered around a bit more until we found a place that was open and had reasonable prices. Turned out to be great! We never would have stopped there usually, but it turned out to be such a good choice. It was comfortable (we got to sit on couches) and the food was delicious and the drinks were great and we were allowed to stay there for ages. One of the guys working there talked to us a bit. He said they'd been crazy busy the day before - probably because a lot of people were stranded in that part of the city on Friday night - but that there had just been nobody all day Saturday. Finally decided to move on and ended up going to karaoke. We were the only customers. So weird! Thankfully the trains were okay and I was able to get home, although it took ages because we were delayed to start with and then just kept stopping and stopping and stopping.

We were supposed to work on Sunday, but that was canceled. Ended up having a picnic in Nerima with Clare, Yoko, and Richard. It was a beautiful day, so we thought it was a good idea to keep each other company and try to relax and have an enjoyable time. Went to the grocery store to get things to eat and found that it was lacking in so much food. No rice! Or bread! Or meat! So crazy. After our picnic, we went to karaoke. Super good stress relief.

Today the trains are running on weird schedules (or just aren't running), so I'm sticking closer to home. Because of the problems with the reactors, there are supposed to be rolling blackouts (although supposedly not where I am), but I don't think they actually happened today like we were told. Information about what's going on here is a bit confusing.

We're not having classes tomorrow, but right now we are planning on going to work tomorrow to start trying to get things back to normal. The unexpected three day weekend (when I was supposed to have a one day weekend) has been nice, in spite of the tragedy that caused it, but it'll be good to be back at work and see everyone and try to return to normal. I think it's going to be a long time before we're really back to normal, but I'm glad we're on our way, even if only baby steps.

Anyway, thanks and love to everyone for your concern and prayers and encouragement over the past few days. It is appreciated so much!

Enjoy the nice flowers because everything else about this is depressing!

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.

I ♥ Burritos

So we go to Frijoles almost every week (Mexican Monday!). Today was a bit special though as they were opening a new location in Roppongi and we were the first customers. Enjoy! Burritolicious happy times were lovely in the midst of a freezing, rainy day.

Afterwards, karaoke. Also nice to keep one out of the cold.

This weekend has gone too quickly! Had a gay old time in Ni-chome on Saturday night with friends old and new (drinks at Advocates and Rehab, then dancing at Arty Farty before retiring to an izakaya to wait for first train), then ended up napping a lot yesterday to recover from the lack of sleep. Have also spent a lot of time this weekend and last catching up on Doctor Who. Super enjoyable, but whenever I spend a lot of time at home on the weekend, it always goes by super fast. Do not enjoy!

Can't believe it's March tomorrow. One month to find a new job and place to live if I don't want to be jobless and homeless in April! Exciting times.

♥

Enjoy the Valentine's chocolate one of my students gave me! ♥ It was so cute I almost didn't want to eat it. I mean, I totally did, but I felt a little bad.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, it ended in SNOWY ADVENTURE. Met Andrew in the evening for a cake + bitterness Valentine's hatefest at Starbucks, but an unexpected snowstorm meant that I ended up not getting home that night. Slippery sidewalks! Inappropriate shoes! Danger! At least I had a Resort and Porridge Kitchen to crash at though. The adventure of it kind of redeemed the day (low point of Valentine's Day: when I was sitting in another Starbucks earlier in the day and a woman came in and sat next to me and just cried for half an hour; after a while, I wanted to cry too). Super sleepy times at work the next day though.

Didn't have any plans this weekend, but things worked out as they usually do. Last night I was ready to settle in for the night with Doctor Who and wine, but we ended up going to What the Dickens! for music and cider and ridiculously bad dancing on my part (I'm fine in a club but, like, proper dancing is beyond me).

Today I think I'll just take it easy. A little Doctor Who, a little Starbucks, a burrito later.

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.