Land of the Setting Sunday

Tomorrow classes begin already! Booo. That means while you kids are enjoying your Sunday, you I will be in class and you won't even have to worry about your classes til Tuesday!

Anyways, Hannah and I had a busy last day of summer.

I started my morning with a banana and a rice cake wrapped in nori. Iced coffee is EXTREMELY popular over here. Since it's also extremely cheap compared to hot coffee, I just microwave the iced. Not as delicious, but it will suffice (for now).

Cat hangin' out on my porch with me.

After breakfast, I walked around town while Hannah was getting ready. When we were about to head out for the day, we ran into the other TUJ students and they were going to a park in downtown Shinjuku so we tagged along.

Walking near Shinjuku Station (largest in the world I think?).

The park was massive and had zany trees.

And these weird things that looked like hands.

Jurassic Park bunker.

Traditional Japanese garden.


Crows are gigantic and do not care how close you get to them. I thought that one was going to eat Hanners for sure.

Snack time!!!






So many (disgusting) turtles.

These next two photos do not do justice to the sheer immensity of this park. These trees were so tall.


Lunch:
I had udon noodles and Hannah had hers with tofu.

So good (apart from standing).

Dinner:

We decided to eat at the restaurant that gave us our umbrellas the other night. They were again helpful because we didn't notice the "vending" machine in the front of the building. Basically, you put your money in this machine, pick what you want, and then you give your ticket to the people behind the counter and they make it. So fun!

Well like I said, tomorrow is my first day of classes. Boooo.

Rain Rain, GET OUTTA HERE

So it's basically been raining nonstop since I've been in Japan. And not just a little sprinkle here and there, monsoon style downpours for over 4/5ths of the day and night. Cute clear plastic umbrellas aside, it's no fun. Dodging into ike

It kind of sucks but as Hannah just pointed out a second ago, we will have plenty more nights.

Either way, here is what I did pre-evening rainout:

The most noticeable building in my neighborhood of Takadanobaba is the aptly named "BIG BOX". It's a huge building filled with clothing stores, a 100 yen shop, a used bookstore, food, and a huge arcade. Also, Uniqlo is in there! It's so cheap. Spain had me all prepared for expensive shizz, but in Tokyo, you can find so many affordable things.

Here are some photos from the arcade:
Painful-to-the-eye all-over wall paint.
Non-plussed bear prizes!
Fun photo booths!
A mere fraction of a fraction of the size of the place.
This game was MASSIVE (and had a silly name).

Lots of cute plush things.

Next we headed out of Takadanobaba to the "downtown" (what part of Tokyo ISN'T downtown?) section of Shinjuku.


These are just photos of SIDE streets in Shinjuku.

It was around here that we also experienced one of the infamous mass street crossings. I wish I had thought to take a photo.

After shopping / strolling the high-end stores of Shinjuku we stopped at a cake and coffee bar.

I had "mapuru tosuto" (maple toast) and Hannah had a nice little chocolate cake. We were the only white people in the whole place which I like. I also like that most of the menus have pictures of the food. So easy.

They even handed out complimentary tampons to the table! Psych, it's a moist toilette. But ya never know.

Then it rained some more.

Obvs not happy.

The train and a bicycle cemetery on our walk back to home.

More adventures tomorrow!

First Friday

First night on the town, with a loverly downpour!

Hannah fiddling with her purse while holding our gift umbrella!

Just where we live.

Here's a less blurry picture of our neighborhood.


The remains of the food we ate.

Well good morning!

Foreign Foods: Calpis Soda and Coffee

Every now and then, I would like to highlight some food and drinks that I've eaten.

First off the bat:

This is called "Calpis Soda". There is also "Calpis Water". It tastes like a sweeter version of sprite and the liquid is milky white giving it the appearance of soap water. It was cheap so I down to experiment. I later found out it's like... vanilla yogurt flavored soda or something. Pretty good! Would get again.

ORIGINAL BLEND. It's iced coffee. In a can! For only 55 yen (like... 50ish cents basically). So delicious. Plus it's the cheapest close thing I can find to coffee and it's in every vending machine. Vending machines are basically everywhere and filled with really delicious drinks and snacks. I haven't seen any ZANY vending machines like with used panties and what not. In due well time, I'm so very sure.

Also, I accidentally drank barley tea. It's really gross and I'm very disappointed. But it was also really cheap.

ALSO: The Seven Elevens are mad classy here and I plan on buying my lunches there ( a very filling lunch is only 400 yen / $4.00 ).

Living Situation

Here's my room, it's a pretty sweet deal, as I live by myself again:

Entrance hall. Please take off your shoes! ( I don't use those slippers )

Kitchenette. Fridge smells like cucumbers and there is no oven, just that burner.

Hallway. Featured: my desk, tv, and microwave. Below that is a super cute cabinet filled with a rice cooker, teapot, pots, pans, eating stuff, etc.

Cabinet of Dr. Caligraphy

RV style bathroom. Rubber slips are never used either.

Bed. This was taken immediately after I threw all my stuff down.
And finally, my window / sliding door that leads out to a tiny balcony / porch. It's a highlight of the room for sure.