Tokyo -> Osaka

Im headed back the other way from tokyo now to Osaka- gonna stop back home in Nagoya for a few hours to repack my bag and drop dirty clothes off first though. Quich geography check- Nagoya is between Tokyo and Osaka so this makes it conveient for me to do this. For those that dont know, i got a cheap ticket that lets me ride all Japan Rail "slow trains" (anything other than bullet train and Ltd. Express) so while it takes longer to get places, its way cheaper and actually more fun to me. Right now im in Fuji city and thats Mt. Fuji right out the train window. Not a bad view either...

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1700 m above Japan

Another reason i love this country is because there are mountains here. i grew up in L.A. and while it never snowed where we lived, we can see the snowcaps of the san gabriel mountains. we would drive about 1 hour into the mountians in the winter on snow trips to ski and sled. so here i am about 2 hours west of Tokyo on the japanese equivalent. I went snowboarding yesterday for the first time in my life. I spent more time on my ass than the board though, but it was fun! As soon as i get a chance, ill upload pix for ya!

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nagoya apt tour

By request, a tour of my tiny-ass apartment in Nagoya, Japan.

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do-wop in nagoya?!

heres some japanese style do-wop for ya...

at asunal kaneyama station...

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Easy living in only 450 sq. ft.! (ain't nothing easy about it!)

Everyone wondered what my small little pad looked like, and what its like to live Japanese style in a large city. Well here you go! Just click on the picture here to take a tour of my humble abode here...

Read the post after this one too please, its getting into the 30s at night here and I have NO CENTRAL HEAT!

But that's how we do it over here in Japan...

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finally, warmth has come to my apartment

goooooooodd daaaaaaamn! this damn thing is like a mini jet engine (smells like one too)

whole crib smells like gasoline... but im hot as hell now! thats what im talking about! its a mini kerosene furnace (called a stove here in japan) and it has a fan inside to circulate air.

yeah i do think its silly that its 2008 and im happy to have a kerosene heater in my apartment in a country where you can ride the fastest trains, do everything at 7-11, play the latest video games, etc... but no central heat... anywhere.

my schools all have gas lines in the classes where portable heaters can be plugged in to warm the classes... wait til summer, 'cause there's no central a/c either! but i do have a room a/c unit so i'll be ok- i tolorate heat better than cold anyway.

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My co-workers...

Some of you had asked me about my work life here in Japan so far... Well let me introduce you to my co-workers-- a.k..a. my students. Aren't they cute? Just like junior high kids in the USA they go nuts whenever I break out the camera to take pictures. They make it easy to wake up and face a new day because even if they really don't want to learn, they still try because i try my best to make it fun for them!

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this is the starbucks in my neighborhood

Its funny how even though I'm far away, certain things that happen back home have happened here in japan to me. like the fact that once again for the 3rd time in 5 years i live near a starbucks that i tend to end up at fairly often. in atlanta i lived across the stree from one and when i didnt, i worked by one. this one is next to the train stain i (and half of Nagoya) use so im here all the time to meet friends, spend idle time, study hard kanji, and just look at the pretty girls around here...

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