weekends

Usuaully my weekends are filled with stuff to do, but i just cant be bothered today. I was ill last week and i think i really should catch up on all the work i missed.

Fucked off with certain people back home, just because im miles away doesnt give you the right to treat me like some sort of alien you've never met.

Funny events =] My appartment neighbour Emily was cooking and heard something fizzle, she lifted up the pan and found that she has cooked a cockroach alive. Rsther then dealing with this shit alone (because sometimes it is too much to handle) she knocks on my door...the pair of us are there with a spatula and a fork trying to get rid of this thing. We eventually managed to get it and launched it over to the next door neighbours...that will each them to wake us up at 6am on weekends.

Went to Roppongi and to be honest, wasnt impressed. I also found the ghetto in Japan, its Ikebukero, what a dump.

Akihabara

Oh how I am loving the Japanese currently, a nice Monday off so I can once again explore the wonders of Japan.
This time I find myself in the world of Akihabara, one of the most popular places to go in tourist land. Not the best day to go when it is 28 degrees outside (an excuse to wear shorts)
I went the BEST way, in style, on the bullet train!! Cost me a little extra but well worth it...took half the time.



I ended up seeing a random pagoda, a temple, some men dressed as women and many many many arcades.
Since it was a Japanese bank holiday the streets were closed off to traffic and you were free to walk around the roads (which get busy very fast).



As usual I took hundreds of photos, the wishing post where people write their wishes is nice and the hundreds of people gathered to wash before they enter a religious building (to be clean and as a sign of respect)
There are so many little stands for foods and drink, what is also nice about this place is how clean it is, even with the tourists it still looks immaculate.
The WHOLE of this weekend has made me exhausted for school today (so I naughtily left school early to try and buy a fone....That's pissed me off because I couldn't get one so once again I'm stuck WITHOUT A JOB)
But for the mean time I will try to remain happy and smiley =]



Will update the whole situation on phones tomorrow when I'm not so tired

Yokohama

Yes, the time was 6A.M and little old me was wide awake and ready to go ON A SUNDAY NO LESS!!!! The last time I was up at 6am on Sunday was....NEVER I don't think its ever happened...Maybe church as a child but never this early.

I left my apartment at 7 and went downstairs to find my good old friend Matt in the park doing some tai-chi, he tells me he knows this guy in Yokohama who teaches in a park there and he's a cool dude. Originally Matt was supposed to introduce me to the world of Tai-Chi and meditation but today would not be the day. We got a few trains and ended up later then expected at some big and beautiful park, the view was amazing and today I really did realise that this place is home to me.

We did some force excersices and learned some set movements and I loved it, I find it really calming and allows me to relax, so it looks like the only lie in I have now is Saturdays. Sunday im up at the crack of dawn.

After that myself and matt went around Yokohama and there was a beer festival, a wine festival and a German October festival,oh free samples of alcohol. What was cool was there was some corona and heiniken, aint seen that in time.

I didn't get my mobile phone with Simon today as I was out all day and now that I'm back everyone is out for the October fest.

We also went to the Japanese China town, its tourist central but hey thats life, Yokohama is full of tourists due to the hisotry of Geijin in Japan. Played a bit on the arcades and the pachinko, had fajita for lunch with real chesse (hard to get in Japan).

In China Town I finally got to see a Buddhist temple, in Japan where I live most of it is Shinto so was a amazing to see it, ill steal the fotos off Matthew. At the temple you can buy incense and place it as an offering, this is also done during ceremonies such as funerals. People burn the insence as it is beleived that the smoke will be carried and their prayers will be heard by the spirits of thier ancestors, however this is not the only reason

Offerings can also be made with money.

After that I think we did some shopping and went home, but I'm very tired right now am going to nap and wait for people to be online

lock up - shibuya

OK, so i'm in good old Japan now and have been here for the last 4 weeks (well a month officially on monday)
Its been great so far...a few minor bumps with things like conversation and some shopping but most of the time its all good and i've got such nice and helpful friends that it doesn't seem that much diffrence to England.
We went out for a friends birthday at the lockup in Shibuya Tokyo and i have to say that its one of the best themed restaurants ive ever been to!
You get scared on your way in to get into the main restaurant...sort of like a haunted house of horrors and then our birthday boy got handcuffed and released into our 'cell' which consisited of a large table where we would be having all you could drink for several hours at a set price.

During your meal the lights suddenly go out and creepy noises are played throughout the restaurant, nmen dressed up in horror costumes will then come and scare you...which in my opinion was the most funny part of the night!!! The photos that we have really do prove it.

Unfortunately because all the trains finish so early (around midnight) we missed our last train home and spent the next four or five hours trying not to sleep at another all you can drink place in Machida.
I eventually got home at 5.40am and needless to say..i feel pretty tired today and slightly depressed ( most probably due to the lack of sleep and lack of money i have right now)

The typhoon which was here for the last two days has also cleared up which has made me a little more happier then usual...seriously it was so miserable when your always wet and having to travel to univeristy. I have barely any dry jeans!!!

Studying has become part of my fun saturdays in Tokyo and like everyweek, ive got a bout 4 or 5 pages to memorise and digest before my first class next week, i guess some things have just got to be done.