One million guns

Hands up, who likes exams?

To be fair, the exam season here is far less stressful than anywhere in the UK ever had been. A single week, two hour long exams each day with a third hour-and-a-half one on Friday, and after that we're done for the semester. It also helps that the term has been split up very neatly, with a schedule telling us exactly what we need to revise for each exam.

And then it's off to Hokkaido! 5 days in the wintery north celebrating Yuki Matsuri and looking at clock towers. And if that weren't enough we'll also be riding on a boat for a good chunk of the time, something I haven't done in a fair while. A boat!

So as you may expect there hasn't been much happening lately, with the exception of my watching my bank balance slowly fall, like a bus ful of gold tipping over the edge of the Italian coastline. Job-hunting season is almost upon us, and it's about time I dusted off those CELTA skills and put them to good use. But not yet, I think, not until the exams are over and we have 2 whole months of nothing ahead.

I'm trying not to think of the Linguistics long essay...

Oh, but speaking of which, a hilarious thing occured to me the other day: I don't actually know where my pen drive is! Hah! And in a hysterical twist of fate it happens to have all of the Intercultural Communication essays that are due in on Monday on it. You know, the essays I didn't back up onto the hard drive because I was too busy pitting armies of small robots against each other? Those ones. After scraping together the printed copies I DO have I have decided that I need to rewrite 3 of them: two that I have given in and not received back so expect the worst, and one I don't know the title of. I'm sure I wrote it down here somewhere...

But enough about that, that is a problem for tomorrow. And today is Friday, that glorious day of celebration. And though having had no Mondays for a long while now I can't say I've worked THAT hard, I think I do deserve this weekend. No solid plans for it, just how I like it.

Okay, so there's only really one event that I need to talk about, and that's the third trip to Osaka. This time our focus was old and rustic Osaka Castle, and new and shiny Den Den Town. The trip also marked the start of my interest in panorama shots.





Like that. As you can see the area around Osaka Castle was beautifully green, far removed from the hustle of the shopping districts, and the park was a great place to walk. Huge, expansive pavements made the whole place seem quiet and peaceful, and the castle itself was a real sight to behold.





Surrounding the castle was your run-of-the-mill over-priced Japanese food (got heartburn off a takoyaki, won't be eating those again) and street entertainers who all do the exact same tricks. I'm not even kidding. The castle itself was very impressive, with a look through the castle's turbulent history and that of its founder. We also tried on some clothes, and discovered that boxers are cowards.

Next was Den Den Town, and along the way I'm sad to say that we lost Ben. He was a good man, and will be sorely missed. But, forging ever onward, we had a look around the many different shops along the road, and though heavily tempted by much I'm pleased to say I emerged from our trip having only bought Time Crisis 2 and a spare gun. Oh, the things JASSO pays us to do.

So yeah, not a great deal to talk about, really. Other things that have been happening include the start of the Winter Anime season, which looks a little drab to be quite honest. One thing that really has been sticking out so far, however, is spritual successor to superb gangster anime Baccano!, Durara!, which takes place in the apparently very trendy Ikebukuro in Tokyo. Having only passed through Ikebukuro on my way to more exciting places (or so I thought), I am unable to confirm whether there really are men who can lift entire vending machines like nothing, nor whether crime-fighting headless bikers really do exist. Can maybe a Tokyo student help me out?

Now I'm going to draw some maps.

Thanks for reading.

'Tis the season, and all that, part 2

And we're back. Starting to get worried about that video in the last post, it works fine on the computer... I've got one in this post as well, so I'll cross my fingers.

Tokyo, then.

Shinkansens are really quite immense. The fact that we got to Tokyo in 2 hours is a pretty amazing feat, isn't it. We were met at the station by Yujiro, my good friend and fellow ex-Hermit's Croft 5/2-er, who had very kindly offered to show us round the city. After an actually very nice meal of cold soba and tempura'd vegetables we set off to our first stop of Roppongi, where we would be staying for the duration of the trip. Roppongi's a pretty interesting place, everything is western and expensive, but it was a nice place to be. The hotel was modest but comfortable, and very close to the metro station. Took me a little while to get my head around there being a subway, metro and JR set of lines, but I think I had it by the end. Dumping the baggage in our rooms we set off to Harajuku and Meiji Jingu.



That place was so busy. So very, very busy. Harajuku contained the most insane number of people in one place that I have ever seen, all of them hunting for clothes, crepes and stations that would get them to other, equally crowded sectors of Tokyo. What was even more startling was the difference between the main street's busy frantic energy and the stillness of the little shrine we found in the center of Harajuku, practically devoid of life. If you're interested, my luck for the year ranks 4th out of the 5 possible outcomes, which translated as 'okay luck'. Take that as you will.

Next was Shibuya, which was right nearby, and almost equally busy. That place is a warren, let me tell you, and finding a simple cup of coffee became a terrifying challenge very quickly. Fortunately Dad's heart was already warmed by the fact that there was a Topshop on one of the main streets, so he could go one without one for a little longer. After wandering around for a bit we decided to head back to Roppongi and take in the sight from the top of the tower in Roppongi Hills, which may be the tallest building in Tokyo for all I know. It certainly felt like it. Ascending 52 floors in 30 seconds was also pretty entertaining, it was like taking off in a plane. Unfortunately, to actually see the sight we had to buy tickets for the art museum just above it (why the art museum, which didn't have windows, was above a viewing platform of Tokyo from a great height I will never understand). The art museum was... well it was an art museum. And I hate art museums. Especially this kind, this modern arty, 'ooh look how daring we are being' type of museum that ends up just being creepy. Always reminds me that I don't get modern art, and that makes me apathetic and resentful. Plus half the stuff didn't even look very impressive; I could have easily made it. It was kinda balanced by the immense view of Tokyo, though, and it was truly immense, so I guess I shouldn't complain.


All that was left was to have dinner at Wolfgang Puck's, interrogate Andy over the private details of his girlfriend and go to bed.

Now, the next day had me off on my own, meeting up with Natasha in Ueno and checking out things in Tokyo that were worth checking out. Ueno Zoo, for example, was really pretty good, and it was a long time since either of us had been to a zoo so it was a great trip out. Highlights included the Red Pandas, Galapagos Tortoise and this big, dinosaur-era-looking bird whose name I forgot but whose Japanese name means 'snake eater bird'. Here are some pictures:




After that we decided on visiting the national museum, only to find it shut, and so headed to the pond to find a Flea Market that met there every once in a while. The sort of stuff on offer was really hilarious; Natasha bought a golden tyrannosaurus, and I was severly tempted by a Renaissance pistol and Russian military helmet. We also spent a good time listening to the swansong of a lighter with Chairman Mao's face on it that played the Chinese national anthem when you opened it, except the batteries were all but dead and the result was actually quite tragic.

Afterwards we JR'd our way to Akihabara's Electric Town, which was something else. SofMaps as far as the eye could see! We spent a bit of time in the arcade beating up a Taiko machine and shooting terrorists in a very un-PC way, before checking the shops. Finally saw a Gamers that was at least big enough to be called a proper shop but... uh... Let's just say the first floor was littered with the sort of things I wouldn't be caught dead buying. Things like that were hanging from the ceiling, the walls, built into pyramids on tables in the middle the floor... It was actually a bit disappointing in the end, as the rest of the floors were nothing more than what you would find in a normal anime merchandising shop, such as the Animate across the street. Also bought crepes at a shop that looped its own jingle continuously from morning to night, causing us to bring the sanity of the poor girl who worked there into question, and looked at more action figures from dated children's shows than I care to remember. Also bought a PS2 game at a cheap second-hand game shop. More on that later.

The next morning I spent alone, seeking out the Tokyo Pokemon Center near the port sector of Tokyo. That place is pretty difficult to find, let me tell you; it's a sizable shop but is on the second floor of an office building and is hard to spot unless you know what you're looking for. Ended up with a little Pikachu (first new product of the year) and a pair of t-shirts that were on offer sporting the second generation of Legendary Pokemon. Also headed off to a place called Nakano Broadway, a shopping center that apparently dealed in geek-oriented things. I'm sure it would have been great had everything not been closed until 12, and as I needed to meet up the the family at 12.30 for a last lunch together I didn't get to see anything. I did get to play Gundam: Kizuna again, though, first time in a long while. The Zaku II Custom is a beautiful machine, let me tell you.



A solemn lunch at First Kitchen followed by a tearful farewell at the front of the hotel. It was great to have my family here, and I look forward to my return to the UK now more than ever.

Then it was off to Roppongi Hills' Toho Cinema to watch Avatar with Natasha and Natasha's housemates: Antoine, Michel and P...Pilie? How do you spell that girl's name? Anyway, I'm not going to spoil the plot for anyone, but lets just say Avatar pays more than a passing resemblence to more than a few films I could care to mention. It looks stunning, but the graphics are often invisible behind a thick fog of cheesy cliches and unlikable characters. It was okay. Still, didn't matter, because it gave us something to talk about at the izakaya afterwards. And also at the Ruby Room, a live music bar which had some pretty good acts and was pretty good fun. It showed Fantasia behind the bar, and this film is creeeeepy. Do not want. Anyway, more teary farewells as I left for Roppongi and my last morning in Tokyo.

And that's it, really. My family holiday. It was amazing, I must say, through and through.

So, other news. The day I got back I got a text from Mark planning a karaoke trip that evening, which I was really up for. Unfortunately, due to limited numbers we switched plans at the last minute to instead go and see a film, which at my behest ended up being Macross F. I was so looking forward to seeing that film, but... urgh. It looked good, and the music at least sounded good, but they didn't have to change the whole flipping thing! Again, don't want to ruin it for anyone, but certain important scenes are left out or changed dramatically. Like the very last fight! My all-time favourite bit and they turn it into this stupid music concert thing! Inconceivable! I tell you, I'm not going to plan on seeing the second one. I'm also starting to have growing doubts about the Nanoha movie, which still looks great, but if they do the same thing there and remove some of the stupendous fight scenes to make way for Nanoha voicing her desire to make friends by beating the living daylights out of them I will not be happy. I want lasers! That's all I ask for!

Term is officially underway, but so far I've only had 2 days of it. Monday is also cancelled thanks to coming of age ceremonies, so a group trip to Osaka is in the works. Really looking forward to that!

That's it. That's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!

-----

昨日の新年会は楽しかったぞ！学生も先生も楽しがった。それも、よっぱらいイイさんはいつも面白い！
皆さん、今年もよろしく！

'Tis the season, and all that, part 1

I want snow! Why is it not snowing?! Where is all my snow?!

In Nagoya, that's where.

Seriously, I travelled through Nagoya twice over the last week and both times it was a veritable winter wonderland, but you get into the city boundaries and, oh! It's spring!

I want it to snooow!!

So, where did we get up to last time? I think I'd done Christmas day, right? I guess that means the next thing on the list is the family visit. I was down at the station bright and early on Sunday to await their arrival. It was chilly, but not cold, y'know? If it was cold maybe I would have felt a little more Christmassy... Sorry, I'm labouring a point.

First lunch, though for the poor guys it felt more like dinner, here in Japan was a firm favourite of mine: inarizushi and kitsune udon. But jet lag, and not the friend of unfamiliar eating techniques, did rear its ungly head and despite valiant efforts it was not a wholly appreciated meal. No matter, there were lots of times to try Japanese food, and plenty of cheap Italians if that didn't work out.

Let me see, what did we do first? Well, obviously first came checking in to the hotel which, let me tell you, was posh-central. I mean, it had its own waterfall! The rooms were pretty standard, I thought, but you did get a lot more channels on the TV than Shugakukan gets. There was even a golf channel. Talk about high-class entertainment, eh?

So for a first day's activity we went for a stroll around the nearby areas of Shijo and Sanjo, via Teramachi. Didn't really do much but wander that day, as everyone was pretty tired by everything that had happened and were more than happy to just look at stuff for an afternoon or sit in a Starbucks. Dinner at Saizeriya (I knew it...) and an early night.

I've just wracked my brains for about 10 minutes and cannot for the life of me remember what we did on Monday. Sleep, most likely. But Tuesday did actually involve doing something, and that something was a trip back to Fushimi Inari. Skipping out the fiasco of my inability to buy tickets properly (stress of having an audience, I swear) the trip turned out to be very good, even if there was not a cat to be seen the whole time. Maybe they had all gone to Ueno to hang with that cat biker gang I was told about. Regardless, everyone was suitably impressed with the tori and the subsequent view of Kyoto, even if climbing a small mountain doesn't do much to help the recovery of jet lag. Dinner at Capricosa (not even surprised...) and an early night.



Wednesday was a proper shopping day, which left Andy and I to wander about Teramachi for 6 hours, with me showing him the shops that I love and him managing to find reasons to dislike each one. He wasn't impressed with Yellow Submarine, wasn't impressed with ABC Mart, wasn't impressed with SofMap, nor with Kinji... He was impressed with Book Off, but it did shatter his dreams of finding a cheap manga to take home as a show-off-to-my-flatmates present, as the choice is just mind-boggling. Oh, he wasn't impressed with Steam Detectives, either. What he did do, though, was find me a clothes shop called Right On that does some pretty excitingly cheap clothes, and also beat me in one of our two games of Tank! Tank! Tank!, which is still a stunning game. I want to fight those giant buildings, though, the ones on the intro!

Thursday was New Year's Eve, if you remember, and so we decided to do something cultural. Arashiyama's bamboo forest is certainly very spectacular, even after already seeing it once, though I think I prefer it at night. Green tea ice cream is also just as good a second time. That night we planned on finding a shrine and witnessing a Japanese New Year, so with a recommendation from the hotel we set off in search of Mibu Shrine just a little way from Shijo. It took us a while, but we did find it in the end. We didn't get our supposed free sake, though...



And now it's 2010. Good stuff, eh?

Friday saw us attempting the impossible with a trip to Nara to see the big shrine gatherings for the New Year. The train was eerily quiet that day, but we were reassured when we arrived in Nara proper and saw the crowds, many equipped with arrows, symbols of good fortune. The deer were nicely tame that day, as well; almost too tame, I found when I attempted to get rid of the last of my deer-sembei and got mugged by the things. Seriously, the number of people was pretty staggering, hundreds of them lined the streets and queued at the more popular food shops. There was also a sighting of the first 'Happy Bags' of the year; bags of unsold stock that shops sell off at random to people willing to pay a bit less than the retail price. I got a BB gun that doesn't really work and a Stitch-themed notebook. Not a bad haul, I thought.



Saturday was Osaka day, and another day of swimming through a sea of people, this time shoppers. First port of call was obviously the Pokemon Center, where I picked up another gift for Louise and got really excited. There was a New Year thing going on here, as well, and in a Crystal Dome-style challenge I won myself an Entei keychain whilst the family watched with a mixture of pride and concern. Andy was keen to explore the Umeda area, so we seperated and went off in different directions. Mum, Dad and I went to the highly recommended Den Den Town, the supposed 'Akihabara of Kansai' and home to Gundam shop. And WOW is that place incredible!



Can you see it? It's the one with the giant Gundam painted on the side! I was *this* close to buying a ZAFT Uniform, but instead settled for a Super Gundam (Master Grade) and Geara Zulu (High Grade). The shop also had an actual size fist of a Gundam punching through the wall, which was superbly impressive, but unfortunately came with a sign that asked me to not take a picture of it. Tch. Other highlights of Den Den included Kid's Land, an 8-storey shop of all things kid's might conceivably want. Action figures, models of pretty much everything, RC vehicles, t-shirts with slogans from anime on them, a whole floor of frighteningly realistic BB guns... it was spectacular.

On Sunday we set off for Tokyo, and I'm actually going to leave that for a second post, as this one's getting pretty long and I feel like splitting the two trips up.

Thanks for reading.