Asakusa, Ueno and Kawagoe. Lets start how we mean to go on.

I'm sitting at home after skipping school for the day, because the level of drunk I got on Friday is still effecting my stomach. I've just received Jonathan's CD parcel (thank you a lot, you're a bastard for the picture) so I'm listening to it and eating Bento and Sushi I got from the supermarket for about £3. It's probably the nicest piece of fish ive ever tasted in my life.

The weekend was a three day blast of culture and adventure, which was nice, as I started getting mopey about staring at the same series of walls week in week out when we had no funds to be able to explore. I dont know if its noticeable to any of the others, but I feel ive started to chill out and settle myself in more, its hard to remember sometimes that i am not a 15 year old life student anymore but a goddamn adult, all that said, its bloody exciting all these new shiney people and things, no mind can cope with this much information and gain no side effects.

Friday i took it upon myself to solve the problem of not knowing where the hell we were by looking at a map and reading the travel guide. I found Asakusa, an old entertainment district which houses Geisha's, the largest Budhist temple in Tokyo, strip clubs, artisans and media exploration. (impressed arent you?) I had certain goals and they were all reached. From the approach to the temple there are streets filled with traditional crafts, tourist shops and toys, you can get authentic anything for a price down here, and the main street leading for about half a mile straight up to the temple at the end is beautiful, all of this is integrated fully into the town, theres no boundaries like your usual place of historic value.

We paid to see our fortunes, you shake a mettle can and get a stick with a number, once you've put it back you find your draw with the corresponding number and take the top sheet from the stack of fortunes. No one is aware of the freedom to pick your own, and everyone obediently finds their draw. If you get bad forture, you tie the sheet to a rack and leave it for the gods to change, if you have good fortune, you trot off happy, i got the best fortune, and i keep it in my wallet. Not that I believe in its abilities, but my luck at getting anything id like is shoddy, even if it is only what i want a piece of paper to say. Ironically it was in draw 13 that i found it.

Inside the temple is housed the smallest gold statue of Buddha, caught in two fishermens nets, its amazing to think something that small created the layout for an entire section of Tokyo. Both men have shrines devoted to them, and the gardens surrounding it lay worship to a large number of important gods that protect everything concerning the well-being of the main temple and its contents. I had the pleasure of finding out that my knee is a calling point for old men to hoist their way up the stairs to worship their gods. Any time man, any time.

Walking further into the town, i abused the guide book and led us to an indoor batting cage i had read about, it was as awesome as it sounds, and we all attempted to dodge the super fast leather hurling towards us- i mean, hit the balls.

Lunch was fast food Tempura, brilliant, i now love mushrooms, then we wandered the streets unitl it was time to crash out, its not even an epically long JR journey youll all be pleased to know. All in all, i outdid myself and didnt get anyone lost at all, organising yourself pays off. I went back to Ekoda with Jon to play a few games with a beer before sleeping the day off, but we met some Americans we had found in a bar that lived here for over a year, and as far as i can remember, it all got very very messy. I dont think im going to indulge on details.

Saturday we decided to go see what the fuss was about at Ueno park, Tokyo's national park. Its a HUGE place, with about 5 museums, a zoo, tonnes of temples and shrines and in the middle. Street performers wander around scaring you, or making you laugh, its like a permanent serene carnival, that if you want to, you can choose to avoid and just walk under the trees. There were some amazing stilted performers playing out some crazy messed up pied piper down the streets, and a brilliant band that looked like something out of a Burton movie.

The park was also home to the statue and memory of The last Samurai: Saigo Takamori (yes, the guy the movie was named afer, he is the man that in the movie was shot at the end, not the short arse Cruise) Please research his story, he was a legendary man. His honour was lost when he rebelled against the Meiji leadership he helped gain power when they became corrupt. When he was restored to honour, the statue was made, but his military uniform was replaced with the yukata because of this fact, the dog makes him cuter :P.

I enjoyed a pizza and infinate coffee, followed by a blue banana. Yup, blue banana. Still in recovery from friday night i could only take a few more bizarre forms of entertainment before i hot footed it onto a train home and felt grim for the rest of the evening. No matter, we had a busy day the next day, so rest was necessary.

Sunday Charlie and i woke up at stupid o'clock to meet Yuki in Ikebukoro so as we could watch Roy compete in an inter-collegic Judo tournament. It started at 9am and took about an hour to get there. We had no idea how long these things lasted, but when had a break at lunch, we had a pretty good idea. It was probably the most fun ive ever had watching a sport, not only because my Asain fetish was over indulged, but because Japanese sports are about the honour game they like to play. When we spoke to the captain of the Musashi team at lunch, he thanked us for watching him, and apologised for not winning. Roy did the same, and i loved it, although by this point, i feel i know Roy enough to be British and tell him it didnt matter and i didnt care if he won or not, it was watching it that i liked. i dont know how he took it, but it was a fantastic day. Obviously they loved being the team with three white girls cheering them on. Below is Roy and some crazy fan.

After we got our man fix, we went to meet the others at a place called Kawagoe, (Festivalville) and saw a rare winter festival, Yuri who organised the trip said no one really knows what its for anymore, but its a brilliant atmosphere. We walked down crouded streets for a couple of hours, festival food in japan beats the west any day, theres fruit in blocks of ice which is actually sugar they chip off and give you, home made sweet buns in various shapes, Okanomyaki (pancakes FULL of food fried) squid on sticks, squid in balls, roast corn, ice cups you can pour your own syrup on (highlight of my day), potatoes swirled around sticks. Its all fascinating. When we walked a long distance, we turned the corner into the old part of town, with Edo period buildings, it was beautiful, it was like being in ancient Japan, if you could use your imagination.

the floats were pulled down the streets by families and others, and they were towering tall mini theatres covered in candles. We watched them for another couple of hours, they would stop and the top part of the floats would be span around and they would perform to watch other, or near businesses they were affiliated to.

It was an amazing experience, this country never ceases to impress me. We could never have something this impressive at home. What struck me very hard at the time was that to maintain an interest and commitment to traditions that everyone understands, you have to do something as drastic as the east did and isolate yourself from the reset of the world for hundreds of years. Its not everyone's cup of tea, but its worked for these guys, and its something to be proud of. There's no arrogance here, nationalism perhaps, but they've got a lot to be proud of.

For the most part, homework consists of Japanse work sheets which we do almost immediately after class, and a whole library of reading which doesnt seem to be on the list of to do things for anyone. Studying takes up time we need to experience the culture in, if you know what i mean, and so, at the weekends, its all about learning. Conveniently a lot of classes are cancelled this week and next, so maybe i can catch up with writing home to everyone. It is coming dont worry!

This weekend after spending most of saturday getting unnecessarily worked up, off we went to Akihabara: Electric Town (the signs for the underground exits do indeed say electric town) to purchase two brilliant cameras for Snezh and I. Happy birthday Ben, i got you the camera i always wanted.


For lunch we got this thing which i can only describe as a giant fried ball full of veg and fish, covered in sauce and cheese, and yes, as always, we were expected to eat it with chopsticks.

Akihabara is the capital for electronic outlets, Anime and of course, Hentai. Trown, youre going to have a field trip when you get here. Its very hectic and specialises in Maid Cafe's, where men like to go and hire some maids to treat them like children and have tea parties and play jenga and other such fun games. The maids hand out fliers on the streets, sadly I didnt have the camera at that point. Its also riddled with arcades. Win.


Sunday we were invited to a Japanese BBQ organised by the campus mates, there were about 30 of us i reckon, foreign and Japanese, and everyone got a chance to cook. It was on the coast,
pretty close to Disneyland Tokyo, you could see the castle in the distance,
it was pretty cool.

It was held in a park with a bbq patch, as well as giant sight seeing wheel and beach. There was a phenomenal amount of meat at the BBQ, and delicious noodle, it was a great day, after mass amounts of food we walked across a giant bridge to the duney beach and played volleyball, watched the weird little dogs being walked and the adorable children playing with the sand, it felt like we were on holiday, i cannot wait until spring break to go exploring the rest of the country. (More pictures are gonna find their way to facebook eventually.) After finding our way home with about 2 kilos of left over meat, we had a massive dinner and crashed out, Charlie and i managed to live to our heritage and burn ourselves in the sun. It was brilliant, i need to get out of the city more. We rode the wheel when everyone else had made their way home as the sun was going down and got a brilliant view of the edge of the city, even as far out as we were, it was still impressively build up.

Bens told me hes going to come out at the beginning of November, i cant wait. Most things i see i remind myself to take him when he comes, its awesome ive got the opportunity twice. Everyone has to see this country once in their lives, its so alien, you'll never see anything like it.

Closing in on a month now.

Ive been meaning to set up this blog since i arrived, actually, i was trying to get my livejournal working again, but it was a giant waste of time, thank you internet. Its all taken so long because of all the exciting things ive had to do, like filling out paper work for a bank account all in japanese, and waiting in a phone shop for 5 and a half hours for a phone contract. i have to say, its not the side of japan i was expecting to get to grips with first of all. What with university starting a week after we arrived, the time for adventuring is on temporary hold. Let us begin.

The university is on the north east side of Tokyo city, our district is Nerima, but the town-ish part we live in is called Ekoda, and its now known as Home to me and Charlie. Uni is a relatively small one, that i would describe as a place more similar to Collyer's than a uni. The time, effort and money designated to sports and clubs probably matches that of the curriculum, but the whole place is very well equip for everything. Our academic programme consists of Japanese three days a week, politics, business and history. Studying things from a local perspective is AWESOME, its precisely why i came here and its not failed to impress me, i cant believe how ignorant western democracies are when it comes to Asia, its like everyone has just left them to their own devices, and each country one by one is overtaking the west economically, i'm strongly considering swapping teams.

The university atmosphere is welcoming, and everyone seems to be a lot more focused on their intentions: university here is for studying, you hang out when you have spare time, unlike at home where you're tripping over bars to get to lectures. There are a lot of students that we have got to know that love showing us how things work and helping us out, we met them through the Campus Mates club, who get together for that exact reason, and they're affiliated with the English Jam club, who's intentions are to get together and learn English.

Our dormitory is a ten minute walk on the other side of town an is called Rikko Kaikan, its international halls, there are a lot of Malaysian's, Koreans and a few Japanese. Were separated into girl and boy buildings, but we all share a kitchen. Its pretty shoddy, and you have to pay for everything as you go, including showers, but the people ive met here are brilliant, the rooms are clean, small, but clean, and considering were not allowed anyone in them really, all you need is the sleeping space and a comfortable atmosphere, which i could make out of a rotting hut if given the right tools. Immediately next door is a primary school for under 8 year-olds, you'll have to wait for the pictures, because words cant describe how cute a Japanese child is in wellies and a school uniform. They have singing lessons when i get up on a Wednesday, TOOOOOOO CUTE. They were all extremely entertained when i walked onto the roof outside my window today to look at the storm, i might have to steal one.

There are 24hr supermarkets near, and Y100 shops (where everything is 70p) which usually have all types of food and home necessities. Internet is super fast, lunch can cost between Y200 and Y500, (£1.40-3.50) for something Jack could get full on, Ive got myself a Japanese oyster card, and have found the cheapest bar in town. Brilliant.

My birthday here was fantastic, a large group of us went to Ikebukuro and had a Nomihodai (you pay a set rate of about £20 and drink and eat as much as you can for 2 hours) and after we were all sufficiently stuffed or drunk, made our way to an epic 5 hour session of Karaoke, Japanese style. Other than the birthday, we've been out a few times, if you dont get Nomihodai, drinking can be pretty expensive, ive not seen a drink for less that £5 really. Ive been to various temples and shrine, Yasakuni Shrine being the most affective i think, but i plan on revisiting everything ive seen so far with the camera, when i buy it.

Brian, head of the kokusai centre (international centre) organises monthly free trips around places of interest. Were going hiking in a couple of weeks.

South Korea in december with a couple of people, ive been reading up on the north, and am starting to contemplate whether i have the guts to bribe my way in. We shall see. Right this very minute, were sitting in the crotch of the biggest typhoon to hit Japan is silly years, all the trains have been cancelled, so has uni, wish i had my camera. Here's a satellite image anyway.

For now, loves to all, ill keep better track of the updates. x