Back again...

Hey everyone. I know I've been a bit remiss in posting on the ol' blog for the past two weeks (many thanks to my new buddies in the JD abroad program for reminding me about it), but I've just started a new job and have been busy as all hell.

One cute pic to keep you all wanting more.


here

Oh, I just rove a good dlink every once in a while.

Dear god, what a weekend...

Hello friends and neighbors (loosly used, yes, I know). This weekend saw the kickoff of my second semester here at Temple University, Japan. Our esteemed program director throws a heck of a party and I got a chance to meet all of the new semester-abroad JD students. All told, a pretty fun group of people.

Now I know some of you have been dying to see these pics, so without further ado, here's some images of my trip to Taipei. I went last semester right after our finals were over. Here goes...

To set the stage, I went with my buddy Kevin. He's another soon-to-be-lawyer. Here's the intrepid crew before departure (and after a few post-exam beers).


Kevin on left, me on right.

Now, by way of explaination on this one, in Taipei, the street-lights take the concept of that little walking guy the extra mile. Each of the lights has a timing display that counts down the time you have until you get run over by scooters. If that isn't enough, the little animated man walks, jogs then takes off and runs like hell during the last few seconds. Here he is...



The first place we checked out was the Chang kai-Shek memorial. This place was by far the most beautiful set of buildings anywhere in Taipei. This is the national theatre (if I remember correctly).


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Here's the gate at the far end of the memorial.


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The building opposite the national theatre. I think it's a memorial museum.


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The memorial itself...


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George making new friends amoung the local populace...


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Mr. Shek himself...


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There was a festival/market being set up at the memorial. It's funny, I think only I can travel all the way to Taipei and see authentic Mexican dancing. Scary...


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Another shot of the gate...


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After the memorial, we wandered the streets of Taipei for a while. We found a great little part (very beautiful). I, of course, found the "do not" sign to be quite funny.

Here it is...


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From the top to the bottom, the prohibitions are...

"No Littering" Ok, that one is pretty standard.

"No Parking" Again, not too odd.

"No Defacement of Park Facilities" Well, I left my sledgehammer in the states, so...

"No Clothes Washing" Is this really a problem???

"No Graffitti" Ok.

"No Camping or Overnight Stays" Not on your life, pal.

Read the rest for yourself, but the last I will comment on is my favorite...


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Awww, and here I have to go!

Here is the most interesting hospital I have ever seen. I kept expecting Allan Quartermain to walk out of the front door with an elephant gun.


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I changed my name to "George Yeh" and opened up shop here in Taipei.


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After a few days of craziness, we went to the beach to check it out. It was remarkably similar to Carolina Beach in NC. It was bizarre. The same weird, obviously rigged games. The same vendors selling tourist crap. Hell, I think I even met some Taiwainese carneys.

Sunset at the beach...


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That ladies and gents was my trip to Taipei. I left the camera at home when we went to the clubs, so you'll have to get that account first hand when next I see all of you.

Take care all.

A cold, drizzly day in the land of wa.

Ok gang, I have a few things to show you today.

First off, I just want to assure everyone that Tokyo has more to it than urban sprawl. Well, not that there's not a lot of sprawl, it's just that sometimes this city is just plain beautiful.

Here's a shot down the little river that's about fifty meters from my front door.

Everyone tilt your head to the right, as I forgot to adjust this and am too lazy to re-post it.


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I must say, the winter weather here is much nicer than the midwest. It does get cold, but the sky is damn near always like this. It'll improve one's mood, I'm here to tell you.

Speaking of weather...I got the question about snow from someone. Nope, sorry. All of those cool, snow-covered temples are up in Kyoto (the anagram lover's Tokyo). We got about an inch and a half of sludge the other day and everyone panicked. I actually saw a truck with tire chains on for it.

Next on the block, a picture that proves that someone could make a killing proof-reading for Japanese ad campaigns. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture.


Hmmm, where have I heard this model designation before... 

Kind of an interesting marketing gimmick, huh?

Now seeing as I attended a party thrown by a friend of mine at the Australian embassy, that had a Tex/Mex theme, and I was the token American, I really didn't experience a "Japanese" New-Years celebration. All I can say is that these things started popping up everywhere around New-Year's Eve. I think there's a connection. The truth is out there...


It's the little thing hanging on the door, with the orange.

Ok, just because everyone is dying to hear about them, I've included a pic of a Pachinko parlor. If you haven't heard it's the biggest thing since sliced bread here. All of the salary-men frequent these places quite a bit. I've been told that it's a cross between slot machines and ski-ball, but hell, I haven't been inside yet.

Anyway, this one is in Shinjuku, where I go to pay me rent.


Vive` Shinjuku!!! Sorry, it's the closest we've got to Vegas 'round here.

Well, that's about all for today. Now for a gratuitous picture of my cat. My sister has custody of him right now. The one, the only, the Udder...


Ain't he cute.

Take care everyone, and remember to email me with questions/suggestions/things you want to see.

My New Hood

Now that I have shared the harrowing (ok, maybe not harrowing, but it sounds good) tale of my trip to Tokyo, I think I should acquaint everyone with the place in which I live.

Time for a geography lesson...

The main part of Tokyo (excluding what you'd think of as "suburbs") is made up of 23 "wards." I live in one of the outlying wards called Koto-ku. It lies on the southeastern portion of Tokyo and buts up against the ocean. If you'd really like to see where that is, check this link out:

http://www.digi-promotion.com/tokyo-info/info-maps-tokyo-ku.html

This has all of the wards laid out. As you can see, I'm over on the right-hand side.

Ok, enough of the boring stuff, on to the pictures...

My neighborhood, Monzen-nakacho, is a little off the beaten path. It's known as an area of town that is very Japanese. For instance, if I lived a little more downtown (near the embassies) I would run into a lot more gaijin than I do around my place.

Speaking of the apartment, yes, it was as small as I expected it to be. Just to prove that I'm not living under a bridge, or in a dumpster behind a tofu-factory, here are some shots.


Be it ever so humble...


Right down the road from my apartment is a ramen shop that specializes in pork. I just love their sign. There's something delighfully funny about pigs sitting around digging into a big bowl of cooked, well, pigs.


Mmmm, mmmm, good eatin!


I thought the fact that there was a vetrinary hospital right around the corner was somehow appropriate.


Where I expect to go for treatment.


Here is where I buy my produce. The little dude who runs the place is surly as all hell. I love it!


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This guy, I saw tooling down the main drag. Yes, scooters are a bit more popular here than they were back home.


Bad to the bone.


My area of town is also known as Fukagawa. It has quite a few temples scattered about. Here's one at which I actually attended a Saturday service.


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Needless to say, it was a bit more interesting than your typical church service. We had drums, conch horns and even open fire. Apparently, this particular sect of Budddist monk are the "warrior" types that got ripped-off for the "Kung-fu" TV show. Hey, I wouldn't mess with these guys.

Lots of fun.

This guy walked around Japan way back when and is credited with the first accurate maps of the island. I forget what his name is, but I'll wander past on the way home one night and get it.


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Well, that should give you an idea of the new hood...

Touche`

In some sort of twisted form of "nerd-tag," I give you a link to the blog of a good friend Micah for the sole reason that he posted a link to mine on his (too many possessive pronouns there).

He's a twisted little savage, so beware...

http://www.jmblya.blogspot.com

The trip over...

Allright, as someone a hell of a lot smarter than I once said, "begin at the beginning."

Ok, here goes.

Well, as anyone who is reading this knows, I've taken off to the land of the rising sun to study some more. Hey, if you don't keep going to school, you don't keep getting Spring Break. That, and I really have no desire to join the workforce yet, so more parasitism thanks to Uncle Sam.

Now on to the pictures...

Leaving Columbus was difficult. The Mom-unit dropped me off at the airport and put on a good show of having a stiff upper lip. I tried to call Gwen (the sib), but, of course, couldn't get through. The little booger decided to surprise me and say goodbye in person. I hope she knows how much that mattered to me.

This was the last site I had of my hometown (as I wasn't in a window seat).


Ok, I could have still turned back at this point...


Ok, regarding the flight itself. I don't generally suggest a 13 hour flight, but it wasn't bad. Slept, read and all that jazz. I did get to see Hildalgo and an atrocious MaryKate and Ashley movie. The fact that those two little girls are billionares is scary. I never want to watch anther movie ever again...

Well, having landed in Narita, I wanted to see what the plane looked like (I know I should have checked it out prior to departure, but hey, what the hell).


The harbinger of doom for the Japanese culture, my plane...

Next stop, Customs!!!

Well, having decided to leave the midgets at home, I had nothing to declare, and the nice folks at Customs were foolish enough to let me in without searching my luggage. Not that I brought anything bad in, but honestly, would you trust me on site???

The Narita airport, and most of Tokyo I have found, is very gaijin friendly (that's the Japanese word for foreigner), and there was enough English around so that I could find the ticket booth for the "Friendly Airport Bus Service." I got my first big taste of Japanese culture from these nice folks. The attendants bowed at the bus as it drove off. Needless to say, at that point, I found it a little strange. Now, I get weirded out when people don't habitually bow to each other.




And just to prove how much I was "Robinson-carusoeing" this, this is everything that I brought with me. You'd be amazed at how much more I've accumulated in the past four months.


This is all I brought with me...

So I went a little camera-crazy, when in Rome...

Ok, just when I was feelling really freaked out, I looked out the window and saw...

BIKERS!!!


Really, that little blur at the right are a couple of dudes on Harley's.nbsp;

I knew then, that I'd be ok.

I had my first experience with a cabbie here, and let me tell you, there are no friendlier and more polite people on the face of the planet than Tokyo cabbies. Hell, this guy was wearing white gloves. After some wild gesticulating, he got the idea of where I wanted to go and dropped me off at my first digs.


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If you got a call from me on the first night, this is where it came from. Tiny huh? Just some foreshadowing of things to come...

This, friends and neighbors, is what the view looked like outside. One of the first times I got to really look around and study Tokyo.




Well, after a nap (I was pretty jet-lagged), I decided to do some exploring. My hotel was in the neighborhood where I would be living, and I thought it good to get out and mingle. Well, I wandered and figured out that I was finally in a foreign country where I was functionally illiterate and basically the conversational equivalent of the village idiot.

No comments from you...

Anyway, I decided to test the fundamentals and went to the hotel resturaunt for something to eat. The menue was entirely in Japanese. Oh, I don't mean the "romanization" of japanese with the English alphabet, I mean the full-bore Kanji characters. Thankfully, the headings of the menu sections were in English (why I couldn't tell you), and I found the "Fish and Beef" section. Thinking that since I like both fish and beef, I was set.

I pointed.

The waitress looked at me like I had just ordered a dead buffalo in cream sauce, but I was committed to my choice. It came and actually wasn't all that bad. It took me a few bites to figure out that it was fish, and not beef, and if you don't believe me, come over here and try it. It's like nothing I've ever had before.

Having survived dinner, I stopped off at a vending machine in the hotel lobbby and got this...


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Beer from a vending machine, I then knew that all would be right with the world.

That's about the whole travelling over here story. I'll probably remember other details in newer posts, but that's enough for now.

Look for more later, and I miss you all.