before the typhoon

Today I wanted to read all day long, so I decided to visit some parks- identified as special for historical significance or beauty! They were peaceful and had a very Japanese charm.  I wanted to find a pretty location in the shade where I could enjoy my book.
I found two parks right off the metro line- of course!

This is the Rikugi Garden: a special beauty spot and is in the typical Edo-style.  This first view is from a hilltop in the center of the garden.  The benches under the trees on the left side is where I enjoyed a snack (milk tea, pistachios, an apple and some cookies), while I read my book.

Thank goodness these guys were off the path, hanging in the their elaborate webs strung between two trees.

These hungry guys came right up to the shore with their mouths wide open, I noticed other people feeding them, so they must be drawn to people! (see the turtle too)...

 Yay for self-timered photos!

About 3 metro stops further was Koishikawa-Korakuen garden.  Places in this garden were built to recreate beauty spots in Japan and China.

The full moon bridge- supposedly the reflection of the bridge in the water creates the other half of the moon.  (I didn't see it).

 The first signs of fall color...can you see it?

It started drizzling here, so I found a small overhang and continued reading my book until the rain stopped enough to make it back to the metro.

The timing of my excursion was perfect.  There were no delays on my train lines, and the typhoon didn't hit my neighborhood until I was already safe and sound inside.  The term typhoon sounds a lot more serious than it is- basically a heavy rain and wind storm! Its pounding against the windows as I type.

Hopefully the storm will blow over tonight, because I have a busy two days ahead of me! I have a visit to a preschool in Nagoya (I get to take the bullet train tomorrow morning!!) all day long to see if I am a good fit at that school.  Then on Tuesday I am giving a demo lesson at an International English school near Yokohama.  Both schools have their pros/cons but both options seem really promising.  More details to come once things are more settled! I'm getting excited though :)

all night long

A second night of celebration commenced on Friday.  This time, I took an afternoon nap in preparation for the evening's festivities.  I met up with two girls from my program, Ayumi and Natalie.  We met up at 8pm in the club scene in downtown Tokyo- a neighborhood called Roppongi.  We started with dinner at a very typical Japanese restaurant- shoe removal at the front door, private rooms, button on the table to call the waiter, seated on the floor, with room under the table to let your feet hang down.  

 We started with pink drinks!! They served us complimentary salad and miso soup too! (a plus) The item in the lower left corner is the gizzard Ayumi ordered, which I tried- tough, but surprisingly tasty (Teresa, you would be proud).

 Getting the dancing part of the night started.  At this club you paid a 1,000 yen cover (about $13) and it was all you could drink until 11pm! Enjoying round 2 (tequila sunrises).  Here we met some French guys who knew the club scene in Roppongi very well and at around midnight, guided us to the next dancing scene.

 With a "ladies discount" we paid about $20 for the cover of the next place and received two complimentary drink tickets there.  With five levels of bar/dancing space there was plenty to choose from.  We spent most of the night in the basement where all the dancing was! Since the DJ was from NYC, I knew nearly every song he played.  Hip hop, pop, top 40, and techno.  Although JAM PACKED with people- you were constantly being pushed, or pushing back until you could find a small corner where you had a bit more room to dance, we had a blast! Met some nice Brazilians who danced with us for a while.  Saved a drunk Russian girl from some guy who she didn't want to dance with anymore and laughed hysterically as the weirdos kept trying to chat and dance with us!

Thank goodness I was wearing flat heeled boots because my feet didn't bother me at all and I was surprised when the lights came on at the club and it was 5 am!!!  We joined the bedraggled crew of partiers who now in the light of the morning looked less impressive (haha).  We dragged ourselves to the metro station across the street and caught the first trains of the morning to take us home!
This photo was taken outside the metro station at 5:15 am (surprisingly, I still look ready to go!)

As I waited for my train, other party-goers were puking over the tracks and stumbling in their high-heels.  I reeked of cigarette smoke! The lull of the train ride finally made me realize how tired I was and and when I finally stumbled into my room at 6:30, I crashed hard!

Celebration time!!

We got to celebrate on Thursday! Our course work complete, it was time to party!!

We started with a mini graduation ceremony, receiving our certificates.   

This is Dave Martin, one of the two course instructors.

We started our festivities in Larry's living room with plenty of booze, food, music, and dancing- of course! (Party started at around noon!)

 All the girls celebrating our successes! From left to right: me, Zara from Whales, Natalia from Chile, and Ayumi from Japan.

 The whole crazy group! We represent 6 different countries and 4 different US states.

 Clearly, our celebratory spirit was not done yet, so at around 6:30, we headed out for our favorite pastime- Karaoke, of course. Artist choices included: TaTu, White Stripes, The Eagles, Foo Fighters, Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers - a long list that kept us crooning for over 2 hours!

Next stop: Shibuya (there is a story behind this dog statue- that I will have to look up for you).  Here we found great dancing clubs and a diverse group of partiers!

 Curfew- The reality of Tokyo.  The bars may stay open until after 2 or 3 in the morning! But if I wanted to make it home (45 min. train ride from downtown), then I needed to leave by midnight- or I would have to wait until 5am the next morning when the train system starts up again!

Larry's house in Katsushika-ku

Some of you have been asking about what my living situation is like.  According to Americans, its very much like a Japanese-style house.  According to Japanese, it is a very Americanized home.  Some things you notice right away- take your shoes off as soon as you enter the home and put on a pair of house slippers.

The 3 story house has a very narrow staircase.  (each stair is smaller than your foot), so you have got to balance on your tip-toes going up and walk sideways going down.

This is my bedroom with a balcony from the third story- thank goodness for the oscillating fan and the remote controlled air conditioning in the room!

I have been doing all my laundry in the sink- because I just can't read the washing machine directions!

Gotta love a mirror in the shower and a stool to sit on! 

Our classroom on the second floor (I am facing the kitchen).

View from my bedroom balcony:

This is the toilet controller (unfortunately at Larry's house, he has disconnected it) but in public restrooms, you can have background noise (like trickling water sounds), the seat lids lift and lower automatically, there is a bidet feature and heated seats of course!

Some things I've seen that I wanted to share...

Only in Tokyo, can you see both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty in the same location!

Check out this very functional carrying case for your rice-wrapped sushi! The Japanese come up with something for everything!

 The art room in the public high school behind my house:

In one of the many metro stations:

Larry in front of his house.  (I am staying on the third floor).  My room is the balcony/window on the right side.

 Views of Tokyo from 60 floors up.  It seriously stretches as far as the eye can see in all directions!! Notice where it says Seibu? that is the entrance to the metro/rail station.  But of course most of that is underground! As crowded as Tokyo is above ground, there is a whole other world below ground- shops, restaurants, and millions of people filing through the subway system at all hours of the day and night!

 Tokyo does have some great desserts! After a long day of touring around, this was quite the treat!

Also typical are taking pictures at a photo booth.  The uniquely Japanese thing to do here is to accessorize your photo before printing it (see how I've added the shooting stars, bows and flowers?)

Zara and I just can't figure out the men here! Notice his handbag? and his straightened and lightened hair? Men's fashion is definitely broader than in the States.  Everyone carries a bag with them, clearly some more sophisticatedly than others!

Sunday at an Onsen

All day it rained! HARD! But that didn't stop Zara and me from our outing.  We met up at one of the central train stations downtown and took the Yurikamome Monorail to visit Odaiba- a manmade island built on trash! Odaiba boasts one of the best Onsens (Japanese spa/hot springs) and it was definitely a top spot in the guide book.  We loved it and took in every experience.  As soon as you arrive you are handed a keychain with a bar code, this is scanned at various different locations and you are billed at the end of your visit.  Step two is picking out a yukata (cotton kimono) and sash to wear.  In the changing room you strip out of your clothing- thank goodness, because ours was soaked through from the rain, and you spend the rest of the time in your yukata.  Oedo Onsen Monogatari is modeled after an old town from Edo times and with everyone walking around in their yukata it was really fun! There were food courts and low tables to spend time eating.  There were outdoor foot baths with those sharp pebbles sticking out - you know that reflexology thing! I hobbled through the mineral water stream as I tried to avoid the stones that are planted there-Zara walked over them like it was nothing!

One of the foot baths had little fishes in it and they came and nibbled like crazy on your feet and ankles!! Once we got over the initial shock- it tickled something terrible!! And my feet are so darn sensitive and ticklish! But we did manage to stay in there for the full 15 minutes and I swear those little fishes cleaned off all that dead skin and those blisters!

There was also the full body mineral baths that were separated by gender.  After leaving your yukata in a locker, you enter into the bath house- it reminded me of a scene right out of an ancient greek/roman bath house painting with naked women walking, chatting, bathing, relaxing and enjoying themselves.  There were many different pools of all different temperatures! Again, after getting over the initial nudity shock, we completely enjoyed it! Then there were showers and shampoos and hair dryers to get you all cleaned up afterwards.

All this with lunch for about $55.00! What a wonderful day in a Japanese spa!



By this point we are drenched, the rain just wont stop and we are ready to check out Oedo Onsen Monogatari... we have no idea what to expect!

 We receive our instructions on how to wear our Yukata

I'm loving it!

Looks good, right? 

After ordering food, patrons can sit and eat and even nap...

 Enjoying the hot mineral water river

Giggling as the fishes immediately started nibbling our toes, ankles and legs! At first it took all my will-power not to squirm because of how much it tickled!

Here they are getting to work! Now my feet feel smooth and clean!  

The old Edo village feel! 

Zara had no problems walking across those stones!