Home!

I finally made it back home after about a day of traveling! My flight left Narita Airport on Agust 4th at around 2pm and landed in Korea around 5pm, left Korea about 6pm then landed in Atlanta at 7:30pm on August 4th. I'm still a bit confused as to what day it is... but don't feel overly jetlagged! (Don't really have time to be jetlagged since there is a wedding on Saturday to prepare for!!) Thank you all for reading my blog and keeping up with my adventures from overseas! I really appreciate it! 

Yamamoto Sensei

Went to a cafe with Yamamoto Sensei a few days before leaving Japan.. We'd both been so busy this year that it was hard to see her often but I was happy to see her once more before I left!

She gave me a present of the famous Great Wave by Hiroshige. If my mom doesn't steal it from me (it's her favorite) then I will treasure it forever!

Suda Sensei

Met Suda Sensei for lunch in Shibuya on Wednesday, we were originally supposed to meet with another one of my old classmates - Aoi-kun - but there was some misunderstanding and he couldn't make it. It was a sad lunch once we realized this was the last time we'd get to spend together during my time in Tokyo. It's such a special relationship that we have - she was my 1st and 2nd grade homeroom teacher - but I know I'll see her again soon!

Another Farewell Party!

My three favorite English students were all introduced to me by Suda Sensei, so they all know each other and decided to throw me a farewell party! It was so much fun. All three of these guys are from the Kansai area (ask anyone, people raised in Kansai are generally more loud, outgoing, and funny than those from Tokyo), so having all three together was like having dinner with the three stooges. Although I was their English teacher... mostly Japanese was spoken at this dinner.. 

I'm going to miss them!! It's so much fun talking with these three jokers. We've become facebook friends though so we can stay in touch! After dinner, I asked that we take purikura (Japanese photo-booth thing)... wasn't sure if they would go for it but they did! It was a struggle finding a place that had purikura though, we were in Shinbashi which is known as the 'old man's town' so mainly pachinko parlours and bars. We ended up walking to Ginza, but the game center was closed. After that we managed to find one in Yurakuchou (but we had to take a taxi to get there... such a struggle!) It was such an effort to take purikura but in the end we managed it! 

Suda Sensei & Me

This is Kohei-san, he's from the Kobe area.

This is Wakamatsu-san, nicknamed 'the Bouzu'. Bouzu means monk, but it's also used for describing people with shaved heads. 

This is Nakadoi-san, he is the one who gave me advice and lent me some gear for climbing Mt. Fuji.

Everyone chipped in and got me a farewell gift... they wrote me all a sweet message and read the card out to me at the restaurant. I'm not afraid to admit that my throat was welling up a bit, there were a few tears. They gave me a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful pair of earrings which I will treasure! And they also gave me a Japanese book/magazine on everything Yakuza. (I told them that I had to do a presentation on Yakuza for my Japanese culture class and they couldn't believe it. They were constantly telling me not to research too intently..) I haven't had too much time to look at it yet but I can't wait to read it! I was also told not to read the book in public (while I'm in Japan), especially not at the airport.

more boats!

After the short trip to the beach with Baba Sensei, some of the buddies came round the dorm to lend and help us get dressed in Yukata's (summer kimono). We were going on an evening cruise around Tokyo Bay and if you wear a yukata you get a 500yen discount! 

We boarded the cruise ship in Hamamatsucho around 7pm then cruised around for 2 hours. The ship was a nomihodai (all you can drink for 2hours) and they had typical Japanese summer food- fried chicken, grilled squid, takoyaki (fried octopus), yakisoba (grilled noodles), etc.

Got plenty of stares walking through the station!

The night view of Tokyo is really pretty from out at sea! After the boat cruise was over.. everyone rushed home to change out of Yukata's and then we headed out to Jiyugaoka for one last Karaoke party...

Everyone was exhausted but we powered through it for one final memory! One of the exchange students was catching the first train (5am) to get to the airport so some of us walked back to the dorm around 3am.. The sun was just about up by the time we made it back - it get's too bright, too early here!

Kawasaki Beach!

Cramming as much as physically possible into this last week in Tokyo! My days are starting to run together a bit though... Saturday was my last day for English lessons, then fireworks in the evening. Sunday was all day fun in the sun cruising around Tokyo Bay. Monday morning I was picked up at the dorm by Baba Sensei (friend of my mom's/Brendan's old teacher) and we drove about an hour away to a little beach in Kawasaki. There wasn't enough time to swim but we had at least an hour to enjoy the beautiful weather and ocean.

Driving in Japan really helps you realize just how small this country is! If you drive an hour away from Marietta, Ga... most likely you're still going to be in Georgia. If you drive an hour away from Tokyo.. you're in a completely different place! 

The weather was so nice and the breeze made it so nice. The weather in Tokyo has been super hot and humid these past few days, so it was nice to get a break from it. The average temp in Tokyo is about 35C right about now while at the beach it was about 27C. 

Baba Sensei's little girl, Megumi, and her friend, Yui, were also along to enjoy the beach! It was still early when we arrived/left so we were able to avoid any crowds.

Baba Sensei

We had a quick bite to eat before heading back into Tokyo to drop me off.. It was too short of a visit but it was nice to get a chance to see them one last time before I head back to the States. 

Sumida River Fireworks

花火(hanabi) is the Japanese word for fireworks. Summertime in Japan is all about the festivals and fireworks! This Saturday was the 隅田川花火大会(Sumida River Fireworks Display). 

This particular fireworks show is famous for being one of the best, but it also means big crowds, lots of drunk salarymen, and saving seats (by placing a tarp on the ground hours beforehand). A lot of my friends did this, but I was luckily enough to have been invited to view the fireworks from the air-conditioned comfort of Suda Sensei's (my teacher) friend's apartment. 

Suda Sensei's friend had an apartment in the 下町downtown area of Tokyo. From the apartment balcony/windows there was a beautiful view of the Tokyo Skytree which is right around the area where the fireworks were going off. My camera died so I wasn't able to take the best pictures of the fireworks but I stole some off the Sumida Fireworks website for your viewing pleasure! 

Japanese hanabi are really just amazing! There was even a Pikachu shaped firework! (though it looked more like a cat than anything else) 

The skytree was unlit for the fireworks show (started at 7, lasted until 8:30!). Usually the skytree is blue or purple, it alternates days. 

Suda Sensei's friend who's house we were at was an old co-worker of hers. This woman was so nice, not your typical Japanese woman though, very outspoken and loud. At the party were also some of her hometown and high school friends. It was a lovely fireworks watching party, we ate sukiyaki which is a kind of Japanese dish where you fry tofu, veggies, meat, basically anything in the same hot pot. 

I was the only foreigner so I did feel a little bit like a celebrity (a really awkward celebrity) when it seemed like everyone wanted a picture with me. The man behind me in the white shirt is (or was?) a co-worker of Suda Sensei's, and the man in the black shirt is the husband/host/owner of the apartment.

Another one of Suda Sensei's co-workers

I actually can't remember who this lady is but I took a picture with her!

Cruise!

Sunday, I met my mom's two cousin's, Tatsuru & Yutaka, in Shin-kiba at 10am for a bit of a boat outing! Shin-kiba station is about 45 minutes from my dorm, and the boat was about docked at a marina about 10 minutes from the station. 

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but after I met them at the station and we did all the necessary introductions we made our way to the boat - quite a nice boat! Altogether there were about 10 of us.

We had a bit of finger food and champagne before setting off to cruise around Tokyo Bay... it was nice to experience this side of Tokyo life for once! Tatsuru's friend owned the boat, this cruise was part birthday celebration for another friend and celebration for a professional Go player. Go is a game, played with black and white stones on a grid/box.

The boat cruised around Tokyo Bay - passed under the famous rainbow bridge in Odaiba!

The owner of the boat, laying anchor in front of the Fuji TV office building in Odaiba. We anchored here for a bit of lunch, and an acoustic concert by Yutaka and Megumi Akatsuki.

The woman in the white shirt was the professional Go player and the man in the middle was celebrating his birthday! I wish I could remember their names..

暁月めぐみ(Akatsuki Megumi) ＆浅野佑悠輝 (Asano Youki)

Mid-concert photo of me and the uncles/cousins/family members.

At the end of the day I was taught the rules of Go! Just about everyone on the boat was some kind of Go professional apart from Akatsuki Megumi, Yutaka (stage name- Asano Youki), and me. The rules of Go are simple enough but it's definitely a strategy type of game. Also a bit difficult to play on a boat - the stones kept sliding around everywhere.

Learning from the professional -  http://gree.jp/mannami_nao  (sorry it's all in Japanese)

Sitting in the beautiful sunshine! I was ready to get some sun but most Japanese women try to avoid it to the best of their ability so we didn't sit outside for too long.

Omatsuri (Festival!)

Wandered around Shinagawa Station the other and stumbled upon this little Department store 10th Anniversary Matsuri! It was very tiny but very cute. Everyone was in their summer Yukata's (It's like a lightweight version of a kimono) and there was loud music and drums, very festival atmosphere.

ice carving of a fish

Fruits and veggie carving station (the chef was carving a radish!)

festival lights, drummer, dancers in yukata's

This is a typical summer festival game - you get a little paddle made of paper and you have to use it to try and fish out the rubber bouncy balls (or goldfish) before the paper rips. 

crowds waiting for their turn