Tag Archives: Japan

Around Koga

The Fourth Day in July

Yesterday, as you may know, was the Fourth of July! Of course, it took me by surprise, as I’d nearly forgotten about this American holiday. I was reminded on Sunday by a fellow American. At which time, we also made plans to get together that night for dinner, drinks, and fun with other friends in Koga.

I arrived late, as it was a long day at school, but we enjoyed a delicious homemade dinner of spaghetti (compliments of Carolyn), and followed that up with wine and ice cream bars. It wasn’t long before the idea of buying fireworks came up. Naturally, nearly everyone was interested. Continue reading →

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Around the Tokyo area

Ping Pang Pong

Last weekend was probably one of the best weekends I’ve had here in Japan, and I didn’t even have to go very far! Kris’ birthday was earlier in June, but his party was last Saturday. He invited many of his ALT friends and Japanese friends. It was a really great mix of cultures with plenty of food and open space to run around in. I have the injuries to prove it.  Continue reading →

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Travel

The Journey

20120629-144021.jpgIn reference to my post about summer from last week, I’ve done even more soul searching. More growing, more changing. It’s amazing how quickly things change, how much I learn every day.

Up until very recently, I was quite paranoid. You see, I have this problem where I try to please everyone. So, naturally, I was worrying a lot about what people were saying about me and it was causing a lot of heartache. In a culture where it is more polite to avoid telling someone directly what you think of them, this was causing a lot of concern. I felt like everyone was talking about me all the time.

And then, like lightening, my paradigm shifted.

Continue reading →

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Travel

Sky Towns and Ice Cream Cake

Yes, ice cream cake.

Friday was Kris’ birthday, so I kidnapped Becky in the middle of the night to help him celebrate this weekend. We brought an ice cream cake. It was a Baskin Robbins mocha ice cream cake. Need I say more. I mean, I’m pretty sure he liked it, but I loved it! It’s the little things in life, right? Ice cream cake love aside, it was a fun-filled weekend. Continue reading →

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Travel

Conquering Tsukuba-san

Another weekend has come and gone, with more adventures to report.

It was very, very rainy on Saturday. Right now, the weather is known as 梅雨 (tsuyu): the rainy season. Our original plan was to climb Mt. Tsukuba that day, but the weather had other plans. So, instead, I hoped in my car and drove to Moriya to meet up with Becky. I would call Moriya the rich suburbs of Tokyo. It’s a city with tons of new and beautiful homes, with quick access to nearly anything you could want. Their Aeon is a full-fledged mall. Complete with a Subway sandwich shop. Lovely!

What do you do on a rainy day? You go shopping, of course. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Shopping Spree in Tokyo

We finally got paid. What was the first thing we did? Karaoke, then shopping in Harajuku and Shibuya. Obviously.

I bought some much needed work clothes… and some play clothes too. Our friend Kris (remember him?) showed us the back alleys of Harajuku. It’s off the beaten path, with plenty of affordable, often more fashionable shops. Some of them carry second-hand items, but you would never know it. The Japanese are known for a) shopping a lot and b) taking really good care of their clothes. Most of the second-hand stores had items I would still consider new. Continue reading →

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Travel

A Festival, a Birthday, and a Tiny, Giant Buddah

By Kris Brackin

In celebration of the birthday of another fellow ALT, a handful of us decided to meet in Kamagaya for the weekend. Our top priority was the festival in Asakusa, the Sanja Matsuri. It’s generally considered one of the largest festivals in Tokyo and attracts around 2 million locals and tourists over the course of 3 days. It’s a weekend long Shinto festival, where three portable shrines are paraded around Asakusa. While those bad-boys are out and about, there is a large array of traditional Japanese music and dance to enjoy. We spent Saturday there on request of Joey for her birthday! Continue reading →

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Travel

Golden Week: Second Half

At Yokohama Chinatown

After a rather disappointing day of lessons on Wednesday, I was really looking forward to Golden Week part 2. Carolyn and I were off to an early start on Thursday morning to head into Chiba-ken. The plan was to meet our friends coming from Mito-shi (the capital of Ibaraki-ken) and spend the day seeing some of the historic cities in Chiba-ken. As it turned out, the weather had other plans in mind. It was raining, a lot. About half way there, we get a call to meet in a different city and end up loosing an hour of driving time. We stopped through Moriya-shi to grab our friend Becky (remember Becky?). After a long, rainy drive, we ended up in Kamagaya-shi where we met up with our friends. Thus begins the story of Golden week, part 2.

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Travel

Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク)- First Half

More vibrant fish

I didn’t realize that it’s been more than a week since my last post! I am so sorry! I normally try to keep it at a steady two per week. Not only did I fail last week, but I will fail again this week! It’s Golden Week all over Japan. Basically, it’s a bunch of national holidays that happen to fall within a week of each other. The good part is you get a bunch of paid holidays. The bad part is you have to go to work on the days that aren’t holidays. For me that was Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Fortunately, I went into school on Tuesday and they said it was a School district-wide holiday. Then they said to please go home. I didn’t argue. The first half of Golden Week (last weekend) was spent in Mito! For the full adventure, read on.  Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Koga, Japan vs. Orlando, Florida

I ate everything you see here.

Lately my life has been an endless list of more things I need to purchase. So, needless to say, I’ve done a lot of shopping. As much as I know you are dying to hear all about the toothbrush I bought last weekend, I’ve decided to save you from that triade. Today, I figured a topic might be appreciated. Koga is basically a suburb of Tokyo. Of course, Tokyo being the largest city in the world, the suburbs stretch wide and far. However, I was shocked at the amount of similarities between my hometown and my new town. Without further ado, here is some insight into what it’s like living in the ‘burbs of Tokyo.
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