While on the train today, a woman sat down next to me, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, and stared at me for the duration of my journey. Upon leaving, she removed the handkerchief, but continued to look at me, seemingly aghast. My only feeling was that it's about time to update my blog. Additionally, on the return journey to the dorm, a man stood next to me, and upon his departure, seemed as if he wanted to compliment my facial hair without using any words, just a sequence of nodding, pointing and other assorted gestures. That made me want to update this even more, which brings us to this update.
Puzzlement towards actions of the locals aside, it's been an interesting month. Holidays have well and truly got underway, marked by a complete lack of anything. My days have essentially devolved into going to the free gym on campus in the afternoon, studying by evening, and fitting attempts at reading books or playing games in between. It's not overly exciting, but it's rewarding enough. My drive to do much outside of that has currently waned, but I have a few things lined up over the holiday. Considering I have a little under four months to occupy myself, I'm making sure that I pace myself.
Yesterday, I went to a Sumo tournament, mostly for the simple reasons that I had little other than a very, very basic understanding of Sumo and the tickets were half price thanks to Hosei University. I can honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable sports I've ever watched, which is a reaction I didn't expect at all. I could just be that the vast majority of it is new to me, but I really could enjoy watching it for a long period of time, and the entirety of the tournament lasted for seven hours and remained interesting throughout. It was a one day tournament, which I'm told are bi-monthly, so I'm really quite eager to go again should I have the oppurtunity. I'm horrible at describing sporting events though, so I don't really want to attempt it, but it's something that's definitely worth experiencing for more than the atmosphere alone.
Something I've been meaning to write about for some time now, is a wonderful shop called Book Off. It's a second hand media store, and thus the contents range from games and DVDs to trading cards and everything potentially between the two. Books are obvious enough for me to not mention, possibly. The turnover seems almost constant, as I'm often looking in to find different content. There's a rather well known book store in Alnwick back home that works in a similar fashion, so discovering that it's essentially a chain in Japan excites me immensely. The downside to this is that I have a substantially large pile of books that are being considered as "I will hopefully be able to read these in the future" sort of material. I should mention that about 90% of those books were the equivalent of £1 each, should anyone reading be concerned about what I'm spending on things I can't even make use of. While I could go on and on about the vast list of things I am ever so keen to buy, or the wondrous things I have found so far, with a gag comic about Kim Jong-Il springing to mind, it's probably best I restrain myself.
I'm starting to notice that I'm considering myself as a resident more than an extended tourist now, which has both it's ups and downs. I'm not sure what sparked the change in attitude, but I'm happy at least that I'm feeling settled in now.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Horrors and Delights
Good heavens. It has been a whole month since my last update. Once again, it's not through any lack of interest, it's entirely the fault of... things. I was in Akihabara a few days ago, the first day I have actually seen snow in Japan. I was wearing two layers, under a thick coat, with a hat and gloves on, and I was on the verge of shivering as I was walking down the street, when I saw a maid, in little else than a French maid outfit, looking as if she was on the verge of tears. Somehow the sight of this made me realise it's been too long since I posted here. I shall try to cover as much as I can remember!
As I said, the reason for the lack of updates is not to do with lack of interest. It was instead to do with a sudden surge of essays, presentations and exams, all of which came at the same time. It's a bit of a shock to go from preparing for each class and doing some self study, to having three exams in one week while writing four five-page essays. Part of it has made me ever so slightly bitter that I came to Japan, just for a year, to spend at least one month of that researching and writing in English, for stuff that will not count towards any of my grades. As a result, I'm strongly considering taking up at least a couple of language classes during my second semester at Hosei. At least then it might count towards something I value.
Obviously the big occasions that I'm yet to write about are Christmas and New Year. Christmas was... any other day really. There was a much more noticeable amount of couples, and a few Christmas themed offers in shops, but otherwise there didn't seem to be much to it. The day was also rounded off by an American friend of mine falling down some stairs and spraining his ankle, which thankfully did not amount of anything more serious. It was also nice to have been very quickly assisted by a member of the public, something which I somehow came to believe wouldn't be something to expect. Memorable in a few ways, I suppose.
New Years, on the other hand, was a much bigger event. Due to the difficulty in spending time with Japanese students if alcohol isn't involved, I instead met Rory and Kim, a couple of friends from Sheffield, and made a visit to Meiji Shrine, which I believe I have written about previously, but could possibly be wrong about that. Ideally, if you go to a shrine, you should follow the process of making a request, paying some money, praying to the gods and such, but with several hundred people and as a result, slowly edging forward in a crowd for at least three hours. That was not exactly a situation any of us envied, so we decided to go to a couple of bars, and then, lacking a warm place to hang out, decided to ride the Yamanote train line, which is a big circle line that goes around the metropolitan area. It is something I've had on my list of things to do, and it takes an hour or so to do, but I'm just quite pleased with myself for starting the year off that way.
After that, I joined a few of the French people and their Japanese friends to watch the first sunrise in Tokyo at Roppongi, right next to the Mori Arts Tower, where I had previously been to see a Dragon Quest exhibit for the 25th Anniversary. I knew that Roppongi had a reputation for being popular among foreigners for a night out, but suddenly being in a train station in Japan where a mere 10% of the people there are Japanese was quite jarring. It was also slightly more chaotic than the drunken, angry shenanigans that I've witnessed in Newcastle and Sheffield. Following that up with watching a sunrise and gradually noticing a few birds was something I feel I will remember for some time to come.
With exams and essays finished for the time being, I have three months of spare time to make use of. I've decided to attribute most of it to self study and going to the youth centre in Daikanyama. Following some words of wisdom from Rory that I can be a tourist here anytime, I've decided not to get bummed out about not being able to travel around as much as I'd like to, and focus on improving for final year instead. Admittedly, there are a couple of places I'll be going to, but these are both inside Tokyo, so unlikely to break the bank.
Potentially a good way to start the year.
As I said, the reason for the lack of updates is not to do with lack of interest. It was instead to do with a sudden surge of essays, presentations and exams, all of which came at the same time. It's a bit of a shock to go from preparing for each class and doing some self study, to having three exams in one week while writing four five-page essays. Part of it has made me ever so slightly bitter that I came to Japan, just for a year, to spend at least one month of that researching and writing in English, for stuff that will not count towards any of my grades. As a result, I'm strongly considering taking up at least a couple of language classes during my second semester at Hosei. At least then it might count towards something I value.
Obviously the big occasions that I'm yet to write about are Christmas and New Year. Christmas was... any other day really. There was a much more noticeable amount of couples, and a few Christmas themed offers in shops, but otherwise there didn't seem to be much to it. The day was also rounded off by an American friend of mine falling down some stairs and spraining his ankle, which thankfully did not amount of anything more serious. It was also nice to have been very quickly assisted by a member of the public, something which I somehow came to believe wouldn't be something to expect. Memorable in a few ways, I suppose.
New Years, on the other hand, was a much bigger event. Due to the difficulty in spending time with Japanese students if alcohol isn't involved, I instead met Rory and Kim, a couple of friends from Sheffield, and made a visit to Meiji Shrine, which I believe I have written about previously, but could possibly be wrong about that. Ideally, if you go to a shrine, you should follow the process of making a request, paying some money, praying to the gods and such, but with several hundred people and as a result, slowly edging forward in a crowd for at least three hours. That was not exactly a situation any of us envied, so we decided to go to a couple of bars, and then, lacking a warm place to hang out, decided to ride the Yamanote train line, which is a big circle line that goes around the metropolitan area. It is something I've had on my list of things to do, and it takes an hour or so to do, but I'm just quite pleased with myself for starting the year off that way.
After that, I joined a few of the French people and their Japanese friends to watch the first sunrise in Tokyo at Roppongi, right next to the Mori Arts Tower, where I had previously been to see a Dragon Quest exhibit for the 25th Anniversary. I knew that Roppongi had a reputation for being popular among foreigners for a night out, but suddenly being in a train station in Japan where a mere 10% of the people there are Japanese was quite jarring. It was also slightly more chaotic than the drunken, angry shenanigans that I've witnessed in Newcastle and Sheffield. Following that up with watching a sunrise and gradually noticing a few birds was something I feel I will remember for some time to come.
With exams and essays finished for the time being, I have three months of spare time to make use of. I've decided to attribute most of it to self study and going to the youth centre in Daikanyama. Following some words of wisdom from Rory that I can be a tourist here anytime, I've decided not to get bummed out about not being able to travel around as much as I'd like to, and focus on improving for final year instead. Admittedly, there are a couple of places I'll be going to, but these are both inside Tokyo, so unlikely to break the bank.
Potentially a good way to start the year.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
The Fifth Beatle
Once again, it's been a while since I've updated. Apologies about that. It's not that I've lost interest though, it's simply that there's been a lack of actual things to write about other than a sudden increase in the amount of assignments that were due in. Until fairly recently, that is.
Today, I finally managed to secure a job. I had managed to get a position with a modelling agency shortly after my arrival here, but since they've yet to find me any work, it didn't seem worth writing about. I say that they've not found me any work as I find that easier to say than "no agencies wanted me", my fragile ego couldn't take that.
I'm now working at a youth centre in Ebisu, which is a rather nice part of Tokyo. My work will consist of making friends with teenagers mostly, by speaking in English and Japanese along with helping out with a few events that they stage. It will essentially be like a community centre, I suppose. It won't pay as much as the modelling, but I assume I'll be speaking considerably more Japanese. The other staff there seem pretty nice too. Although, I was told today that being an Englishman and having a beard makes them think of the Beatles. I'm going to take that as a good thing, I think. My first shift will be on Monday, right after Christmas!
Aside from that, not a great deal has happened. I met a few people from Sheffield and we went to an actually authentic English pub in Meguro owned and run by a man from the West country. I say "authentic" because there's a chain called Hub, which is about authentic for England as Wagamama is for Japan. I never actually realised I was missing the taste of brown bread and Brown Ale until that night. It's rather interesting to hear how much variation there is in the courses at different universities.
No solid plans for Christmas yet, hopefully it's not a lonely one.
Today, I finally managed to secure a job. I had managed to get a position with a modelling agency shortly after my arrival here, but since they've yet to find me any work, it didn't seem worth writing about. I say that they've not found me any work as I find that easier to say than "no agencies wanted me", my fragile ego couldn't take that.
I'm now working at a youth centre in Ebisu, which is a rather nice part of Tokyo. My work will consist of making friends with teenagers mostly, by speaking in English and Japanese along with helping out with a few events that they stage. It will essentially be like a community centre, I suppose. It won't pay as much as the modelling, but I assume I'll be speaking considerably more Japanese. The other staff there seem pretty nice too. Although, I was told today that being an Englishman and having a beard makes them think of the Beatles. I'm going to take that as a good thing, I think. My first shift will be on Monday, right after Christmas!
Aside from that, not a great deal has happened. I met a few people from Sheffield and we went to an actually authentic English pub in Meguro owned and run by a man from the West country. I say "authentic" because there's a chain called Hub, which is about authentic for England as Wagamama is for Japan. I never actually realised I was missing the taste of brown bread and Brown Ale until that night. It's rather interesting to hear how much variation there is in the courses at different universities.
No solid plans for Christmas yet, hopefully it's not a lonely one.
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