Thanks to all my readers!

We’ll see what the future holds.

Okay, enough ’bout that.

I do hope everybody’s seen the movie “Lost in Translation”?
Whether or not that might be the case I for one sojourned at one of the finest hotels in town the other day. The reason for me evoking “Lost in Translation” is that most of it was shot at that very hotel, which was partly why I went there, albeit I also wanted to see the marvelous scenery one can spectate from the hotel’s “New York Bar” at the 46th or something floor (One of the tallest places in Tokyo)

Here are some shots:

Tremendously cool skyline. In this case the lack of skyscrapers means you get a very good view of town.

Also you might’ve heard that Japan was due to be hit by a huge Tsunami. Indeed evacuation of Hokkaido and other areas of inevitable impact was executed but in the end waves no bigger than a rough meter ultimately struck. . . Fortunately.

I’ll be coming home soon, if only for a while, and I find it hard to interpret the swirl within me, but I definitely think it feels good?

Need to study now, end term exams are coming up, live long peeps!

ttfn

In the end, how much have I, myself, actually changed?

Before and if I continue this post.
Let me post some pictures.

Went to this small concert with Maddie, Åsa and Malin.

Was great, had a splendid time. I am forever grateful for being invited.

The guy called himself “Hitt”.

Very talented; he was what you’d quite literally call a one man show. He played all the instruments himself.

Funny thing was that I was presumably the only one (disregarding Åsa) who was not a regular at his gigs. This resulted in me not fully knowing all of the dance moves one was apparently obliged to know. Not that it really mattered as I followed suit as well as humanly possible. . . Whatever that means?

Oh, Karaoke, nice!

Shibuya at 2 in the morning.

Bishi Bashi.

The lock up.

Jonathan’s Birthday.

That’s all folks!

ttfn

Akita prefecture, a rough 4 hours high speed train ride out of Tokyo. This is were I’ve spent the last 4 days.

As I might or might not have mentioned beforehand this particular northern excursion was dubbed a “Home-stay”, which (I now know from experience) means that you actually stay with a Japanese family: living, dining and. . . yeah, basically doing everything with them.

Here you have the interior of a Japanese house. . .
Basically it’s me, two other Swedish friends, a Swiss guy and an estimated amount of about 5 Korean girls and our new “Home-stay parents” right here in this picture.

Me and Kim Te Jon.

David and our adorable “Home-stay siblings”. Their Japanese was just so awesomely cute it’s unbelievable.

Here they are playing with Aka-chan, another Korean girl.

Cruising about town.

Also, to my great pleasure, we went skiing!

Every meal our “Home-stay grandma” produced some of the finest traditional Japanese food.
Among other things were the most delicious Gyoza I’ve ever eaten, and Toast rolls.

Here’s one of our “Home-stay brothers” serving it, with Grandma in the backdrop.

Me and Granny.

If I remember the story correctly this here statue is supposed to symbolize. . . ah, I forgot.
Anyway, it was a pretty cool statue. . .

The coolest thing of all though, was this outdoor Onsen.

If you don’t know Onsen, here’s what Wikipedia says;

An onsen (温泉^?) is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. A volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of Onsen scattered along its length and breadth. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places and today play a central role in directing Japanese domestic tourism.

Here’s how it looked:

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the bathing facility itself, but I assure you that it was one of the most rejuvenating experiences I’ve ever had. Sitting in that naturally heated basin, with beautiful scenery and snow falling all the while, was frankly amazing.

Top that off could but some really tasteful Japanese cooking.

. . . and a gratifying atmosphere.

Jouna-chan, adorable, isn’t she?

The last supper.

秋田のみんあさん、ご親切は一生忘れません！

That was all for now, Mid-term exams on Wednesday, I’ll rip it apart! (Metaphorically speaking. . .)

ttfn

Most of the things I have done recently have been incredibly exciting though none of them have had that refreshing feel of novelty.
Thus I won’t post them as of now.

There is this one thing that undeniably had a very original feel to it.
Frankly, what must be either detested or loved about novelty is this somewhat creepy yet intriguing feel attached to it. You really do not know whether to be anticipatory or anxious, whether you, in the end, will cry out for rescue or sewer all ties with the old. But that’s why I love it.

This one new experience I had this week was beholding Sumo Wrestling. Never before had I seen it first hand.

The skies were clear and the sun shone friskily, as if to underline the momentous happening.
The venue itself was very impressive and were it not for the smartly clad people scurruing about and the many vending machines splattered at convinient locations I would not hestitate to think I had been transported back through time.

The matches usually last no more than a minute as one wrestler quickly gets the upper hand and manages to force his opponent out of the ring, thus declaring victory.

Although the matches themselves were captivating, they were not the only element of the sport to catch one’s eye.
Equally important to the sport as the fights themselves are the traditions and rituals of Sumo. For example the wrestlers must purify the ring beforehand using salt and also the lives of the wrestlers are strictly bound by traditions.

Here’s some Kid Sumo, too. I think it was some kind of half-time entertainment. I won’t deny that it was quite entertaining to watch this David and Goliath reenactment.

Here’s the ring-entering ceremony.

Tomorrow I’m going to Akita for a home stay at some temple or other I think. It’s me and some other peeps from school. The general idea is to live a traditionalistic Japanese life I think.

So I will definitely write about when I come home on Monday.

Think that was all from me at the moment, ttfn!

For only the second time since my first coming to Japan did I dare venture to an Indian restaurant. This due to the fact that my first visit to such a restaurant resulted in my inner regions feeling horrendously bad. . .

I must say that this time, though, I think I managed to give a wide berth to any Indian maltreatment. Certainly this time there was no big Indian guy telling me off for asking for more Nan Bread at least. Possibly because there was no such offer in the first place. . .

Nonetheless I, Fredrik and Sophie (whom we ran into haphazardly in the street; which was a pleasant surprise indeed) enjoyed some tandoori chicken and garlic Nan.
This could but be topped off by diligent studying!

And flashing of Kanji cards.

That right there is pronounced with kun-yomi of either てらす, てる or てれる and an On-yomi of しょう.

Today I was in  flashy Ginza, where you’re reduced to Window shopping if you have an annual income of less that a couple of billion Yen.
Thus I was reduced to window shopping. . .

This is how Ginza looks, it’s pretty flashy I’ll let you know, what with all the neon lights and all.

In the Sony building they have a “singing” stairway.
Here’s what the sign reads:
“Sound” and “Light” will come on you when you step on the stairs.
Music and accompanying lights will perform at the tone.
Many hidden surprises for you to enjoy.

Here you have some additional blurry images.

Ttfn!

This right here is not acid rain but snow, rather. Which came as quite the surprise to me and Fredrik as we stepped out from the Movie theater.
Neither had I the right clothes to tackle such a threat, was chilled to the bone!

Watched “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” today which I found to be a pleasant paraphrase of the abstractness of life and the treacherousness of fate.

Sporting such huge names such as Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Tom Waits among others.
To top that off it was directed by Terry Gilliam, made famous from Monty Python.

The constant intermingle between reality and the abstract –which made some people frown– was executed in a way so that unless the viewers themselves were there with a willing suspension of disbelief it would indeed be hard to follow the twists and turns of the saga.

Crazy Japanese ads. . .

More than that I’ve started thinking about my future, but I’ve yet to come to any conclusions. . .

Will let you know if I come up with anything. . .

Catch you later folks!

ttfn!

Today I and some jolly fellows were supposed to venture to the Mori Art Museum, but it appears most of them –due to ill fate– cannot make it.
Ended up going to the Starbucks in Roppongi Hills with David instead, amiable.

Anyway, I have some pictures that constitutes being posted:

In school the other day we got a dose of real Japanese culture as we visited this Temple area.

Here I am in front of a Torii gate, which marks the entrance to a holy place.

A Komainu, gaurdian of the Shrine.

What is interesting is that these temples and shrines can be found dotted around Tokyo, crammed between towering Skyscrapers, bustling Train stations, cheap Udon restaurants and neon-lighted Shoppingmalls.
Here, within the temple area, a supernatural feeling of comfort resides. As a place where you can, but for a minute, escape the stress and hurry of the everyday life.

Here Cyrus pays his respect to the gods by first dropping 5 Yen into the depository, followed by a forceful chime of the bell, calling the gods attention.
Then he bows and claps his hands twice, mutely asking them a favor or maybe is he thanking them for his being able to be here in Japan.
He finishes by bowing yet again, clapping his hands once more and steps back.

The interior of the shrine.

Some people dared ask the gods for furtune telling, as shown above.
I for one needed not consult the gods since I feel I’m more than sufficiently fortunate already.
As more than evidently shown below.

Well back in school I met up with Freddie and Michelle:

Not forgetting to mention Johnny the Rocker:

And also the masked ninja avenger:

Thereafter:
Izakaya with not only peeps from school but Suzuki-sensei also.

What comes next is something that really marks my being here for quite some time already:
The Izakaya party that the school hosts but once every term, which means I’ve been here for over 4 months.
Quite hard to take in I must say. I wonder in what way I will have changed once this is over?
I wonder if I will ever feel save on the streets of Stockholm? now that I’ve lived in Tokyo for so long.

Anyway, here are some pics from the Izakaya party:

All for now folks, catch you later!

ttfn

Long time no write. Well, I blame it on the boogie, and by that I mean school. . .

Seriously though, like all genius writers, I’m kind of having an all time low when it comes to blogging, which naturally is outright horrendous!
In this post I seek to shed light upon why this is the case. . . (And don’t ask if I haven’t anything better to do?!)

No, I’m just kidding, I’m not going to do that. . .

. . .Neither am I stalling for time until I come up with something to write. . .

Eh. . . I had this interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other day:
He asked my whether I was religious. I God-forbiddingly answered him with a question of my own. Thus spake I:
- Have you read Socrates, κινούμενον κινεῖ?
My friend mumbled that he had. . .

Okay that didn’t turn out as funny as I hoped it would. . .

Okay, I’ll revert to just showing a bunch of pictures parading what I’ve done, it proved to be way easier!

Among other things I have. . .

. . sported a wicked hairdo whilst brandishing my gangsta sign, riding the train and exerting control.
You dig?

. . . Been to Sukiya with Freddie,

Carl,

and the American master-chef Nick.

Met this friendly monkey outside Freshness Burger.

Had dinner with not only David, but also Sandra, some Koreans and. . . a Belgian was it?

Went to Roppongi to meet my dear Spanish friend:

Miguel Ángel.

Burger King!

Me being gangsta and Victor being normal. . .

Jonathan (love your new do btw) being talkative, Fredrik being interested and the Japanese guy in the background being hungry I reckon. . .

Last but not least a thanks goes out to all my readers and my very much friendly friends! You are all but second to me in awesomeness!

Cheers!

ttfn

I’ve said it before, but I reckon it’s worth repeating:
Time flies.

Anyway, I fortunately have some pictures to help me remember my ongoings.

Oh, I apparently was at McDonald’s at 6am in the morning after having frequented Hub the English Pub and all night Karaoke. . .
I’m not surprised I don’t remember. . .

Also I’ve ridden trains. . .

On my way to this awesome Starbucks in Roppongi Hills.

My best regards to Danish Sophie and Swedish Fredrik, we had a tremendously fun time in Roppongi.

As can clearly be seen: studying is serious business.

Sometimes I do it too. . .

Have you people ever been to Roppongi?
Here’s how it looks like at least:

The infamous Tokyo Tower!

Where the Wild Things Are, presumably one of the best illustrated picture books of all time.

The best thing about this Starbucks was that you could borrow pretty much any magazine the world has to offer, and read it too!

Afterward we went to this fairly expensive restaurant. . . Evening well spent. . .
Just look at our youthful demeanor what with our gangsta signs and all!

I hope to write a more serious post soon, but for now I ‘m off to study, see you some time in the future. . .

ttfn