The weather has been wonderful recently. Some might say it's a little hot.  But I love this heat.  To celebrate such glorious weather, I took a long walk yesterday.   I also had an ulterior  motive.  Since returning from  Japan,  I really done anything blog worthy.  In fact, I've barely left the house.  Most of my time has been spent catching up on t.v. shows and eating junk food.
















I'm not religious.  But I think that we can all agree, regardless of what dogma we choose to believe, that casual clothes are going straight to Hell.  It's in the Bible.  Somewhere in Levi-ticus. 







In other news, today I'm going to go drop off some paper work to change my major.  I went to my adviser Wednesday but I was missing some paperwork necessary for the change.   Also while remaking my four year plan for my new major, I discovered that I only really need three more semesters at school, not four.  So, I could graduate early.  Or I could do another semester of study abroad.  I'm thinking Singapore.  The most succinct way to describe my feelings for that little country is with the all purpose <3 emoticon.  Hmm, I've just discovered that spell check does not recognize "emoticon".  How 20th century.

Also, my attempts to locate a Wii Fit have so far proven unsuccessful.  It's very elusive.   I read that Nintendo is sending more of its products to Japan and Europe because of the weak U.S. dollar.  I understand.  If you're going to sell out, why not sell out in countries in which the money is actually valuable.  But I will not be deterred. 


Frolicking in the beautiful weather.

I leave Japan in less than two days.  So, this will be my last entry made from the across the Pacific. 

Today we had a closing ceremony at the school.  It ended around noon and the rest of the day I had off.  I decided to go to one of my favorite areas in Tokyo: Asakusa.  Some might find Asakusa to be a bit touristy. But I really like it, especially when you go down a couple of side streets away from the main shopping area to see the tiny little souvenir stores and restaurants.  Also, at the end of the main shopping street there is a really large temple that I think is the nicest in Tokyo.





There just so happened to be a festival in front of Asakusa Temple.  Today was the day to buy Chinese Lantern Plants.  I know this isn't the right name for these plants, but I have no idea their correct name.  But I think that it's a pretty apt description.  Here's a photo:



Besides vendors selling these plants, there were a ton of food stalls and carnival game -like booths.  My favorite ones were those selling gold fish and pet turtles.

  



I really wanted to but one.  But I think that I'd have trouble trying to sneak it past customs.  It's probably not a good idea to keep a turtle in your pocket for fourteen hours. 

I leave Japan in five days.  Most of the people in the program are really sad to be leaving.  But I'm pretty much o.k. with it.  I'll miss living in Japan and being in Tokyo everyday, but I'll be glad to leave my housing and my classes. 

Overall, I'm glad that I came. But I'm also a little dissatisfied about the whole experience.  Housing was not to my liking and I was extremely upset about the quality of the classes.  I didn't really learn much and my Japanese, despite my semi-best efforts, didn't really improve.  However, I loved existing in this foreign city; experiencing and observing people going about their daily lives while understanding almost nothing that was being said around me. Most of all, I'm glad that I came because this experience helped me to whittle down the list of ideas about what I might want to do after graduating.  Also, I was able to travel to many places that I otherwise would not have been able to visit. 

A couple of days ago I was wondering around Kashiwa.  I've posted some pictures of my wanderings around the area.  But on this day I found a previously unexplored temple nested upon a hill among a cluster of trees.





I also found a church.  I'm not sure if this is an actually church or a faux-church used for Western style weddings.  The cherub adornment leads me to suspect the latter.






Also, I've had what could quite possibly be the most satisfying gastronomic experience to be had in a fast food restaurant: the Double Cheese Curry Burger.  Normally I try to avoid eating fast food.  It's unhealthy and can only be classified as food by using a very broad definition of the word.  But I saw the photo and couldn't resist.  Onion rings, lettuce, mayo, cheese, Japanese curry, and two burgers.  Who could resist that delicious combination of fry, grease, and meat?  I took one bite and did a Homer Simpson.  My mouth opened, drool started to drip out, and I moaned in gastronomic bliss.



Tomorrow is my day off.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  I'm definitely going to look for a second luggage.  I need reduce the weight of my luggage to avoid an overweight fee.

Last weekend, my second to last weekend in Japan, I went to Osaka.  I took the bullet train, thereby crossing off one of the many items on my life's to-do list. 


Words don't describe the speed of the train.  One can say that it goes x mph, but one can't imagine that kind of speed without actually experiencing it.  Airplanes go faster, but one doesn't really feel the sensation of speeding along at super fast speed inside of a metal canister on a plane. 

I arrived late Friday night and spent the evening perusing the fine selection of onigiri and coffee flavored beverages at the convenience stores.  I think that I'll miss the convenience stores the most.  For they provide me with the nectar of the gods: Koiwai Lact Coffee. 

Saturday morning, my first stop was a pagoda and temple.













Pagoda!

More Here...

I'm going to be in Osaka for the weekend.  Going by Bullet Train.

Sixteen more days until I'm back in the U.S.

There's an amazing love hotel at Nishi-Funabashi.  Love hotels are exactly what they sound like.  Couples go there to have some afternoon delight or a one night stand.  Because Tokyo is so big, and because many Tokyoites commute from outside the city, it's often inconvenient to go back to the home of the person with whom you want to reach cloital bliss.  So, to solve this serious problem, you can rent out a room in a love hotel.

To attract more business, some love hotels go out of their way to create, um, "eye catching" decor. 





I've seen some rather interesting themes.  One of my favorites what shaped like a cruise ship.  But I think that this greco-roman theme creates the perfect mood for carnal delights. 


I've heard that the term, "love hotel" has fallen out of date.  Now they're often called "fashion hotel" or "amusement hotel."  But I think that this just attempts to glamorize the real purpose of these fine establishments: Doin' the nasty. The horizontal tango. Hiding the salami. 

I bought a pair of shoes from a general store near this hotel.  They are amazing shoes.  They're white, and pointy, and strapy.  They're ridiculous.  Japanese have the craziest taste in foot wear.  These shoes extend for at least three inches past the end of my big toe before coming to a point.  I've seen similar shoes in fashion boutiques selling for around $250.00.  These were $39.99.  Score one for cheap, Chinese made, imitation fashion!  Also for sale at the general store:





As I was walking back to the station, I saw this sign for an old folk's home:

For some reason, I find it vaguely unsettling.  Septuagenarian message circle.



I'm going to start using cut-tags on longer entries.  The plethora of photos tend to slow my sluggish wifi.  So make sure to look for the link.  It kind of blends in with the feedback links right below it.  I want to add some kind of border around those links to distinguish them from the cut-link.  But I'm not sure how.  I've gone back and added some cut-links to the longer posts.