AAAAAND I'm back!

Okay! Here it is people. The first real blog update in just under a month. Holy crap!

Well, first of all, I went home for a week and had an absolute blast. Manami came with me, and I would say, save for a couple of hangovers, we really made the most out of the short time we had there. We hit up Chicago for 3 days and 2 nights, sang Karaoke twice, and ate Japanese food THREE TIMES! Oh, the irony. Here are some Rockford/Chicago shots, kept to a minimum, because this is a Japan blog after all.

First off, Manami after her first night out in Rockford. Lookin' good girl!!


Just in case anyone was worried, you can stop now. Daisy is still as cute as ever.


The difference between karaoke at 2:45 in the afternoon....


and 2:45 in the AM....

No idea who that guy is.

Got to catch the re-vamped HEY CHAMP at the empty bottle in chicago. Good show jonathan, saam. Aaron and Tim came all the way to Madison, too, which was a welcome surprise. So welcome that I spilled my whiskey everywhere whilst hugging them.


Just three guys enjoying their Tapioca Milk Tea. Is there anything wrong with that? Chris obviously doesn't think so!


And finally, an adorable picture of some of the family, some of the almost-family, and the Leo baby is in there too.


Time at home came to an end much too soon, but made me all the more happy to have something to look forward to returning to during summer break. Back in Japan, as if it wasn't enough seeing Tim in Chicago, he came to Japan!! He actually got there a day or two before me, that crazy bastard. But we met up as soon as possible and painted the town of Tokyo (and Kashiwa) red...and yellowish/brown or whatever you call the color of beer.

Really though, his timing couldn't have been more perfect, because I had a week with nothing to do and it was the glorious week of hanami. Hanami literally means flower view/watch/see, and is basically an excuse for Japanese people to sit outside under the beautiful sakura trees (cherry blossoms) and GET WASTED! Though I had some meetings and stuff to prepare for my new job, Tim and I raged pretty fairly hard. Here we are starting the night off right. At 5 in the afternoon at Yoyogi park. Aren't we cute?


I dunno, the time we spent together in Tokyo is a bit of a blur so I don't think I can do these pictures in chronological order. But we made friends wherever we went. One day, we went to Ueno, home of the massive and sprawling Ueno Koen (park), a key spot for hanami. But first, we had to eat TGI Fridays. We couldn't decide on anything else to eat so we decided to give it a try. Our waitress, who's name we found out was Azuki, was really nice and spoke pretty good English. We made great friends and took a picture with her. Look at all that flare! She definitely did not have a case of the Mondays (name the reference).


Then we hit up the park. With drinks. We met some people who were doing the ol' hanami. A big group of hotel employees, so they could all speak a little English. They fed us wine, and tried to give us sake, but as soon as the guy stood up, he dropped the unopened bottle, broke it, sent glass and sake everywhere, and proceeded to yell "JAPAN!! JAPAN!!" Good people though!


Of all the people we met that day, this guy had to have been the coolest, nicest, most down-to-earth person ever.


One day, I dragged Tim to Kashiwa because I didn't really feel like making the trek to tokyo. Sorry Tim. You're a better man for it though. We got sushi and ate whale. It was the first time I ate whale. It was okay, kinda just tasted like tuna, though, except with a little more controversy. Then we pounded whiskey, went to Hub (a chain of gaijin-friendly English-style pub bars all over Tokyo) and met these guys.


Then we ran into some poor bastard who was running for some sort of government position. Tim and I figured we'd play the stupid foreigners and ask to take a picture with him. He obliged, but I think he regretted it. Now, I don't really remember whether I did or not, but if you look closely at this picture, I'm pretty sure my tongue is making contact with his ear. Yum. Mom's gonna yell at me for this one. Sorry mom!!


On Tim's last night, we decided to hit up Shibuya. Manami invited her friends Hacchan and Erisa. Hacchan is all of 4 and a half feet tall and just absolutely adorable. We ate dinner at Kushiage Monogatari, the restaurant where you maybe remember (but probably dont) me writing about grease flying in my face and burning my skin. So why not go there again? Regardless, the place was delicious and the times were good.


After that we went to a Hub, then a club with my buddy Shawn. He's kinda emo but a cool guy. Then the night turned into a mess. Tim and I totally lost each other, no idae where he ended up. I had to stay up to catch the first train home at 530 AM to Manami's blah blah blah. Still it was fun. I think Tim is still recovering.

That brings us to last Sunday. Manami and I decided to go do a hanami on our own and eat all the delicious food Japan has to offer during the season. Jagabata, kushiniku, takoyaki, etc, etc. Yum it's so good! Here's an adorable, framable picture of us under the sakura. Followed by just me. KING OF SAKURA!



Then work started, but I still didn't have a home!! I crashed at Manami's until Thursday, when I could move into my new apartment. Commuting in Japan sucks and I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore. The trains were freaking packed those mornings. Still, Manami's parents kick fucking ass for letting me stay there that long. And her mom makes good food, too.

I now live in Saitama City, Saitama, which is a "sleeper community" sort of. That means in its city limits resides many many people who commute to Tokyo for work everyday and night. It's only about 30 minutes from Ikebukuro, the northern part of Tokyo, which is very convenient for everyone. I live near Saitama University so there are all sorts of young hipsters on bikes around my apartment. It's nice to see some life around me all the time. My apartment is pretty much exactly the same, if not a little smaller, than last year's apartment, because it's owned by the same company. My location is great though, like 5 minutes on bike to the station and lots of restaurants around. It should be a good year.

Additionally, my new schools seem great. I only go to 1 junior high and 2 elementary schools this year, so hopefully I'll get to know my kids much better than last year. This year is different though, and a bit more nerve-wracking, because I will be teaching by myself. I am like another teacher at the JHS. It's an "eikaiwa" or English Conversation class. Luckily, I have a book that outlines the whole curriculum in lesson plan format, but still, it might be a bit more difficult than last year. Ganbatte ryan!

I can't really think of what else I have to say, but I know there's other stuff. Um, I'm still spending too much money on shoes and clothes, but it's okay, cuz I make my own money now :-D

Yep, that's all for now. Leave me comments bietches. Miss you all, much love.
-ryan