Friday I completed my final classes here at Waseda University. I really enjoyed my Japanese language courses here and definitely feel I will return to San Francisco State University with the ability to pass my remaining one semester of Japanese classes with ease.
Our Japanese class was filled with students from all over the world. We had people from the USA, Australia, Germany, Peru, and England. We went on a few field trips and our professors often took pictures of us. On the last day of class we were given this slideshow of the various activities we did. I am too lazy to translate it, but prior to the picture of me pulling out my hair says "we had tough tests".
Earlier this month the Japanese Prime Minister and the Chinese president met on the campus of my University causing buzz felt across the nation. They discussed the importance of friendly relations between the two nations and also played some ping-pong for the cameras. It had been ten years since a Chinese president visited Japan.
Protesters gathered in large numbers primarily in opposition of China's policy towards Tibet. There was also a presence of China supporters.
On May 2nd some friends hosted a 70s and 80s themed party that was really fun. I really had no idea what I could wear so I cheated and wore a 90s outfit based on the rappers Kris Kross. Justin actually went out and bought his outfit for the party and scored this dandy suit straight from the 70s.
The party was great and there were so many people there. I loved how retro it was and I was also happy that people understood the reason for my backwards clothes.
Wow!
Another night Justin and I were walking home and we saw a bunch of people partying at the finish line of a long distance run so we joined them. Since at this run some people dressed in weird costumes, Justin decided to go put on his "Koosh-suit". His friends that visited him in January brought it for him to wear in the Harajuku and Akihabara districts of town (where people dress wild). He was a big hit and we had lots of fun.
Ready to start the night
A quick stop at the grocery store with its cardboard cop
Approaching the partiers
Let the show begin!
Nudity isn't legal, but crossdressing is
Tokyo Disneyland
Last Wednesday Miho and I went to Disneyland. It is different from Disney Sea, the other Disney park in Tokyo. Supposedly it is very similar to the Disneyland in Los Angeles. We had a lot of fun and we were in the front row for every ride! The biggest disappointment was that the nightly fireworks were canceled due to wind.
Splash Mountain
People waited in the sun for over an hour for a parade I hear they do this in the USA too
Getting Fast-Passes
The Green Tea / Vanilla mixed ice cream was the best I have ever had
3D Time
Dinner Riding Dumbo
Yesterday I called a hotel in the US and was appalled at the service I got on the phone. The lady I was talking to gave a big yawn into the phone and when I asked what bus line stops at that hotel she simply said "I don't know" instead of saying something like "let me find out for you". I might be too used to the spectacular Japanese customer service. Here you are called "master", or if they know your name they might call you "master Ren".
In January my buddy Justin from Chico, his sister, and our friend Jun spent a weekend at Jun's place in Saitama. Saitama is a prefecture bordering Tokyo and is quite rural.
The train rides there were confusing and we ended up getting lost. Once we arrived at his station, Jun took us to his place by car. His neighborhood was somewhat suburban with neat little community gardens.
Train
Neighborhood
We all decided to go out for dinner and ended up at an izakaya (a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks and often hosts parties). We had some good food and drink and even ventured to eat whale. I think this picture of us is when we had the whale but I can't quite remember as it was over a month ago.
A small child kept looking at us through the table divider and saying "obake!" (ghosts!)
We Went Next Door and Got Dessert
We then walked to a DVD rental shop and I will never forget how massive the adult video section was. If you too had seen it you would understand how it, in an odd way, stayed lodged in my mind and made it to my blog over a month later. I forget what movie we rented, however it wasn't pornography and I ended up falling asleep.
We all slept in the living room using just one tokatsu (A low, wooden table frame covered by a heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself.) I woke up sore and, rightfully so, feeling like I had slept on the floor. We then went to Jun's high school which is affiliated with my (Waseda) university. I am assuming this is one of the nicest high schools in the nation and it was beautiful with its tree-covered landscape.
Okuma: Waseda's Founding Scholar
A quick note about Waseda University's prestigiousness, I have seen pictures of two of the last three presidents here on campus. The current president has yet to visit.
Oh ya, Justin, his sister and I went to an Indian restaurant in the Ueno district and saw this girl sleeping at a table for two. There were people waiting to be seated so she was in the way. Isn't it like magic how she manages to hold her phone as she sleeps? You wouldn't believe how young Japanese women are able to use their phones. I need to get video of it someday.
All blogs found on this site written before 2009 have been imported from MySpace. Some may not look too pretty, and some of the pictures won't enlarge, but it is a small price to pay to not have to deal with MySpace's primitive blog setup anymore!
I recently graduated San Francisco State University. I majored in Japanese and minored in International Relations, and spent a year studying at Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University. I grew up in a very rural area of Humboldt County California. That remote setting built up a lot of ambition in me to get out and chase my dreams. Thanks for reading!
