Tokyo....

So let's face up to reality, I have spent my winter months curled up in my house like a hermit wearing at least 4 layers of clothing, while watching old X-Files episodes, and teaching myself how to knit. I'm proud to say I can now add "knitting" to the list of commonalities I share with members of AARP, along with:

- Crocheting 

-Complaining about knee pain

- Talking about characters on TV shows I watch as if they are close personal acquaintances 

- My inability to function past 11pm 

- The fact that I still write letters... 

However, it will be pretty cool when a few years down the road I can start knitting my very own festive holiday sweaters, adorned with snowmen and reindeer.  Of course, everyone has to start somewhere. So "thumbs up" to me for learning the "knit" stitch... 

I decided to break up this rather anti-social routine of mine and head up to Tokyo for Valentine's Day. So on a sunny Tuesday afternoon I hopped a plane and after 90 minutes I found myself at the Tokyo Haneda Airport, where a rather handsome young man (also known as Winston) ran across a crowded plaza and kissed me in front of an entire tour group. 

Winston and I on the train headed out of Haneda Airport

Winston still had class that day so we headed to Azabu-juban (where Winston's school is). Now, across the street from Temple University-Tokyo, there is an adorable hole in the wall Falafel place run by the sweetest little guy from Israel. After 6 long months without Hummus, this bento lunch was a sight for sore eyes....or in this case a lonely hummus deprived stomach. 

Hummus!

After Winston finished class we decided to head to Shibuya. Shibuya is sort of the Time Square of Tokyo, and single-handedly the most crowded place I've ever been in my entire life. When people cross the street they don't really use the cross walks, they just sort of swarm across the road, like bees. It's a bit intimidating. 

While strolling through the crowded streets of Shibuya, Winston and I happened upon this store. I think the name speaks for itself.

Needless to say a few of these condom varieties were outright scary. Creative, but scary.

 

Winston and I spent the rest of the day walking around various areas of Tokyo and eventually ended up in Shinjuku. 

We found our way to the roof of a really tall building. The view would have been a lot prettier without the bars. 

After walking around for the better part of a day we were both pretty tired, so we stopped in at an over-priced Irish bar for a pint. 

That night Winston and I headed to Hiro to meet up with my dear friend Nicole and her fiance Greg. 

Greg and Nicole were nice enough to take us to this AMAZING American Japanese fusion restaurant. For those of you who've seen "Kill Bill: Volume 1," this is the restaurant that inspired the set from the end,  where Beatrix Kiddo slaughters "The Crazy 88" while dressed like Bruce Lee from "Game of Death." Any restaurant that has the SLIGHTEST bit to do with Kung-fu is cool in my book. 

Words can't describe how wonderful it was to see Nicole. We met in college and studied abroad together in Vienna. As luck would have it, we're both living in Japan. After dinner Winston headed back to his host family's house to do some homework, Greg headed back to their apartment to relax, and Nicole and I walked through Roppongi arm in arm.  

The beautiful Nicole and I, with Tokyo Tower in the background

The next night Nicole, Greg, and I had dinner. The thing I love about Greg and Nicole is that they are just a low-key as I am. So after dinner we simply headed back to their apartment and watched "30 days of Night." 

Greg and Nicole =0) 

I've lost count of how many countries we've shared beers together in...

Before I knew it Friday had rolled around and it was time to meet up with Winston once again. Nicole and I opted to get in the last of our "girl time," and found an adorable little French themed pastry shop. That's the great thing about Tokyo, you can find anything. 

Two espressos and a delicious cream filled chocolate ball of goodness. 

That night Greg, Nicole, Winston and I met Winston's friend Taka back in Shibuya. Taka is a design student, and used Winston as his model for his graduation fashion show. 

Taka, Winston, Me, and Greg

haha, I believe Nicole's exact words were, "why you no love me?!"

Winston and Taka!

oh how I adore this girl.

We had absolutely PERFECT weather on Valentine's Day. It was so warm we spent the day in our t-shirts. Our first stop was a temple in Ueno with a huge flea market. We stopped a few times for street vendor food, of course...

Winston's big Valentine's Day surprise was a picnic at the Imperial Palace, which was adorable. We stopped and picked up some sandwiches and fruit, and sat barefoot in the grass for a few hours. We also took lots of one-armed couple pictures. 

Now until Winston came along I wasn't really one for romantic-ish stuff. In fact last year (upon my request) we ate cheap sushi and saw the new "Rambo" movie on the big screen. So instead of spending a lot of money we'd rather save for the apartment (Winston is moving in April, and I'm moving in with him in July!) we opted to eat cheap. 

By sheer luck we found this little restaurant by our hotel. It was a lot like Denny's, but with Italian food. We split a 2 salads, pasta, and a pizza for less that $20. We were quite proud. 

For dessert we just stopped at a little coffee shop and split some cheesecake and chocolate cake. 

The next day I flew back home to the boonies and un-packed. Now,  Winston and I have been talking about my move to Tokyo for awhile now. But it wasn't until this visit to Tokyo that it really hit me that I'm actually going. It actually seems close enough to be excited about. 

I can't wait to trade living alone in a paper house with a car for living with a cute boy in a shoebox sized apartment with a bike. 

I think the bat that lives in my rafters wants to thieve my peanut butter...

The mysterious Japanese thermometer ventures towards its native habitat....the armpit.

My life here in Japan is proving to be less than glamorous as the weather gets colder and colder, transforming my humble paper house into a paper ice-cube.

Monday I had the pleasure of visiting a Japanese doctor. Now for the record, I hate going to the doctor. Why do you ask? Well,  the doctor's office is full of sick people. You go in sick loaded with your own germs, and come out covered in new ones. Going to the doctor is like going to Target to return something. You might go in to exchange a toaster, but you'll come out with a NEW toaster, a bag of Sun Chips, a copy of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," and new pajamas. Bottom line, you go in with one thing and come out with a bunch of other stuff you don't need. 

So, on Monday morning this lone American found herself at work as usual, only there was nothing usual about it. I am normally FREEZING  at work. I wear 2-3 sweaters, a wool coat, long johns, and leg-warmers. Needless to say I knew I was running a little warm when I got to work and peeled off nearly all my layers and still found myself burning up. I headed to my Supervisor and said, "I think I need to go to the doctor." Off we went. 

The doctor's office in Japan is just like the doctor's office in America. There were a lot of sick people, magazines, and a TV. BUT since everything was in Japanese I felt quite out of place. The woman at the reception desk handed my Supervisor some paperwork, and handed me a rather dirty looking thermometer. This caught me off guard for several reasons. For starters, back home in the land of McDonald's we take our temperature orally, only there is always a little plastic shield between the patient and the fever-gaging device. Secondly, this thing just looked dirty and I wasn't exactly excited at the thought of putting it in my mouth. So, I cleared my throat, looked confused, pointed to the thermometer and said, "Doko desu ka?" Now as far as I know "Doko" means "where" and anything that ends in "ka" is a question. She seemed to gather that I was trying to figure out where to put the thermometer, and she pointed to my armpit. It all of a sudden clicked in my head why that thermometer looked so....weathered may be the kindest word. It was brought to my attention later that day that having your temperature taken out of your armpit is far more appealing than having your temperature taken rectally. That's when it occurred to me that there really isn't a desirable part of the body to take your temperature out of. 

After we discovered I was running a fever I was shown to the doctor's office. The tiny gray haired doctor was sitting alone in a big room with lots of beds and curtains at a desk that looked too big for him. He asked what was wrong, so I told him, "Well, I have a headache, a sore throat, a cough, and a stuffy nose." He took a few notes, tipped down his glasses and asked, "do you have loss of appetite?" I just said "yes," which I realize isn't very interesting. With that he asked where I was from, and when I told him "Seattle" he said what every Japanese person says: "SUZUKI-SAN!" With that, he sent me home with a lot of medicine to be taken after every meal. 

This is a powder stuff I have to dump down my throat and wash down with water. It tastes like the type of kitchen chemical that sits under the sink with a neon "yuck!" sticker on it. 

These are my throat lozenges. They look like TUMS and taste like Pepto-Bismol. 

These little red ones are rather small and inoffensive. 

These two are also rather small and inoffensive. 

The good news is that thanks to a lot of medication I am slowly inching my exceedingly pale-self closer and closer to health. The bad news is Japanese cold medicine lacks the energizing element contained in most American cold medicine. So despite the fact that I sleep 10 hours a night, I am groggy and exhausted all day. I miss Day Quil (which is illegal in Japan because it contains slight amounts of amphetamines). 

Now while my cold medicine doesn't have any daytime stimulants, it is chalk full of night time side effects. The past few nights I have had the most vivid dreams. For example, there is a bat in my rafters. I don't really mind because I figure he'll eat all the giant bugs that come around. Plus, I have really good insurance right now so if I'm going to get rabies this is the time. I first heard him flapping around in November after watching the X-Files by myself in the dark for a week straight. When I first heard his high-pitched squeaking I was convinced it was an alien. I've since stopped watching the X-Files because even at 22 I don't have the maturity to separate reality from 90s sci-fi television. So, last night I had a dream that the bat was in my kitchen dive-bombing me because he wanted my peanut butter. I woke up screaming "Get your own!" Being sick when you live alone is rough.

Stay healthy!

Christmas.....

Christmas officially kicked off upon Winston’s arrival at the Fukuoka airport. However, getting him from the Fukuoka airport to my house in the boonies involved a 10 minute subway ride, a 2 hour train-ride, and a 30 minute car ride (all in that order). Not to mention one very small girl and one very exhausted boy hauling 170 lbs of luggage up and down train station stairwells (no escalators, just stairs). In the end we triumphed over adversity and made it home, but we looked like this:

 

Sleepy, sleepy pandas.

We had a fairly busy schedule. Our first event was the JET bonenkai, which is a traditional Japanese “end of the year” party. Of course, considering most all the attendants were foreign it became more of a Christmas party than anything. True to fashion, right after dinner we headed to karaoke in our Christmas sweaters, scarves, and festive hats. 

Our table at dinner

Yellie and her festive LED Santa hat

Hunter had an epic Christmas sweater, so he gave himself a "thumbs up." Hunter said he'd give me his festive Christmas hat at the end of the night, so I gave him a "thumbs up" as well. Clearly Hunter was the man of the night.

This is Darin. I made the scarf he's wearing!

I also made the scarf that Hunter is wearing. When they are both in Christmas sweaters and my scarves they look like brothers.... brothers who were dropped on their heads as infants. 

When Danielle and Darin sing together it gives Greg a headache. 

Betsy and I were caught in the moment, singing our hearts out. Clearly Winston didn't care to join. 

This is Hunter's new girlfriend, serenades are a pretty serious courting ritual.....

this was Betsy's satin holiday skirt. Complete with a bow and a tag that said "for you," it was a holiday hit. 

Their wedding is in August =0)

I missed the "make a funny face in this picture" memo.

he looks so regal. 

Later that week Winston and I headed back into Oita City for a concert. TAO is an internationally known Taiko drumming group. They are really famous here in Japan; especially on there home island Kyushu. They all live together on a commune, growing their own food, making their own instruments, and writing their own music. The proceeds from their concerts all go back to support their commune. Now, taiko drumming is one of my favorite things about Japanese culture. It’s so high energy, it just sounds epic. The pounding of the drums makes my heart absolutely race and gives me an instant adrenaline rush. It makes me feel like I should be storming onto a battlefield, wind in my hair, sun on my back, running to the beat of the drums to slay some ancient monster with a sword. I’d be so much cooler if I could wield a sword. Alas. The tickets were a little pricey, but it was totally worth it. Not only were there drummers, but there were flute players and shamisens. Every movement was perfectly synchronized and accompanied by flashing colorful lights and elaborate stage props. All their movements were so graceful. It was hard to get pictures because the room was so dark and photography wasn’t really allowed, but Winston still got a few shots.

Our next stop was Nagasaki. We stayed at an adorable hostel, and spent our days and nights exploring the new city. Since Nagasaki was bombed, they had a unique albeit tragic reason to re-build the city. Argo in all my travels, Nagasaki has been the one of the easiest cities to navigate. This is saying a lot, considering that I get lost in my tiny hometown that I lived in for nearly 19 years. A good sense of direction is not one of my strong points. 

It’s always funny coming across little pockets of Western culture in the Eastern world. Take KFC for example. They’re everywhere! The best part about KFC in Japan is the giant statues of the Colonel.
I am not totally sure why Winston held his hat out to the Colonel. Perhaps he'd changed his mind about being a vegetarian and wanted some popcorn chicken.
nope. still a vegetarian. 
Everyone needs hugs, even giant plastic mascots who advertises genetically manipulated chicken. 
why are you dressed as Santa Colonel Sanders?! 

Now Nagasaki has an all out Penguin aquarium, which for me was a must see. Penguins are one of the coolest animals in my book. They all look like they’re wearing tuxedos! It doesn’t matter where they are; in the entirety of the animal kingdom the penguin is always classy. As someone who personally fights dressing up tooth and nail, I find them fascinating. So off to the aquarium we went.
this banner was there to great us when we got off the bus. I literally skipped through the parking lot I was so excited.
I found these fellows in the parking lot

this building looked a bit bland to be something as cool as a penguin aquarium. I think it needs a few more plasma screen tvs and flashy lights. 
I don't think Santa has elves, Santa has penguins. Penguins are much cuter than elves. 

I was quite mesmerized by all the invertebrates in this tank. 
penguins! 
this fella looks like he has two heads
he's the loner penguin
he was quite flexible. 

Now, around noon it was lunchtime for the penguins. I can’t speak Japanese, so when I heard “blah blah blah….SANTA-DIIIVAR-SAN” I looked up at Winston waiting for a translation. He just smiled and walked me to the tank. Only in Japan would a little man in a wet suit dress like Santa with a bag of dead fish to swim with penguins.
SANTA-DIIIVAR-SAN!?!!!!!

Winston and I opted to use our second day in Nagasaki as a chance to hop a train to nearby Sasebo. I wanted to go mainly because my Papa was stationed there when he was in the Navy. The minute we came out of the train station gate Winston and I stumbled upon a giant inflatable Hamburger. This was a telltale sign that lots of foreigners live in Sasebo (actually about 30,000 on a big ol' Naval base).

I like to think this could be a giant Veggie burger! mmmmmm! 

Sasebo wasn’t exactly the prettiest city I’ve ever seen. In all honesty it is the kind of place that made me very self-conscious of my own nationality. Everywhere we went we were surrounded by very loud, obnoxious, and rather over-weight people who shared our nationality. It was a cold day, but we spent our afternoon walking around taking pictures before heading back to Nagasaki.
This is about as far onto the Naval base as we got. 
This was taken in a giant shopping arcade... 
I'm sure this is a popular spot considering all the foreigners in Sasebo.
We got a few shots of the base from across the bay. 

Our last day in Nagasaki we met up with Winston’s cousin Salem (who is a JET near Kyoto), his Aunt, his cousin Becca, and Salem’s girlfriend Katie. We opted to visit the Atomic-Bomb site, the museum, and the peace park. The Atomic-Bomb site was a lot different than I’d expected. In my head I envisioned a giant hole in the ground, which is extremely ignorant to think considering that the bomb actually exploded 500 meters above the hypocenter. It’s a very pretty park now, which makes it hard to believe that a bomb ever went off anywhere near there.

The museum was also a very sobering experience. Rather than blame America for dropping the bombs it advocated the obliteration of atomic weapons. However, it’s always interesting to look at history from another culture’s perspective. There were lots of facts on the walls about America never warning Japan that they would drop the bombs, but there was no mention of Japan’s involvement in the war. No mention of Pearl Harbor… That’s the funny thing about history; facts and truths all depend on who exactly is doing the writing.

Our next stop was the Peace Park, but unfortunately we didn’t get to spend a lot of time there because we needed to catch a train back to Beppu (a city near my house), but Winston still got some good shots.
The entrance to the Peace Park

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We opted to spend the day wondering around what are known in Beppu as “The Hells.” “The Hells” are a series of natural mineral hot springs. Some of them are up to 100 Celsius! Steam perpetually bursts out through vents in the streets, and the whole place smells like sulfur. 

I wasn't exagerating, stinky sulfur steam street vents
this one was over 100 degrees C!
When Winston gives himself a sulfur steam facial it looks like he's eaten Sour Patch Kids.
For some reason this one seemed rather pre-historic, like dino bones are preserved deep within that hot mud. 

this one looked a bit like blood.

For the most part “The Hells” were really beautiful.

Now, I’d like to preface the following rant by saying that I am by no means a burning heart animal rights activist. Of course I’m against clubbing baby seals and poaching endangered species, but I wouldn't go rioting through the streets or pour fake blood on fur coats. So on the map Winston, his cousin Becca, and I noticed a “Zoo Hell.” We didn’t realize the name was literal.

Let’s start with the Elephant. My Grandparent’s living room is bigger than this elephant’s cage. A lot of animals in captivity will pace back and forth in their cages as a nervous habit. This guy didn’t even have room to pace. Instead he just swayed his head back and forth. Besides looking completely emaciated, the poor thing just looked sad. My foreign companions and I were the only ones who seemed repulsed. All the Japanese people were all smiles.
It's hard to see, but the little boy on the bench was holding a little white paper bag filled with peanuts. He was throwing them to the elephant, but they didn't get close enough for the elephant to reach them. 
This elephant was even more depressing to see in real life
I assure you this is a full grown elephant. He's just starved. 

The flamingos have the highest standard of living at the “Zoo Hell.”

The baboons have the worst. I didn’t think it was possible to be any more disgusted with this shabby excuse for a zoo, until I saw the baboon cages. When I imagine the apocalypse I think of 3rd word Russia, bombed and over-run by zombies. All the buildings have dirty walls with chipped paint and rusty bars on the windows. This is what the baboon cages look liked.

Lastly, there was the hippo. He didn’t have much space, but I never really saw him move at all. He just kept his mouth open upward in the direction of any tourist, waiting for the biscuits the zoo sells for 100 yen to fall into his gaping mouth. 

Sometimes it's easy to forget that I live in a first world country. Alright, I've said my piece, moving on. So, after "the Hells" Winston's family, Winston and I went to dinner and then hopped a Taxi back into the mountains of Beppu. We attempted to watch the fireworks in Beppu bay, but we couldn't really see them. So, we proceeded to the "Mud Onsen" nearby to relax on Christmas Eve. 

waiting for our taxi in the taxi depot. From left to right, Winston's Aunt Patty, his cousin's girlfriend Katie, Winston, and myself. 

this is the blurriest picture there ever was, but there were indeed Christmas fireworks. 

we tried to make mud sculptures at the onsen, but most of them didn't last long. 

Onsen aren't exactly the best place to take pictures, but from left to right, Winston's cousin Becca, Winston (with a lot of mud on his face) myself, and Winston's cousin Salem with a lot of mud in his hand. 

Christmas morning Winston's family set off to explore other parts of Japan, and Winston and I set off for a Christmas adventure. 

We waited for a bus to downtown Oita City. When Winston kisses my nose the butterflies that live in my stomach do summersalts. 

We had Pizza and ice cream at a cute little cafe. 

Yay for Soy Hot Chocolate!

Winston and I found this gentleman dresses as a reindeer outside of Starbucks. 

At last we made it back home at sat under my tiny Christmas tree. 

And that ladies and gentleman is my Holiday season in a rather large nutshell. Happy holidays! TTFN, tata for now!