Blogs from Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Okonomiyaki* is a Japanese egg dish (sorta like an omelet). Two different styles, Ozaka style (without noodles and flatter) and Hiroshima style (with noodles and much thicker. We started our day with Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki for an early lunch in Shimokitazawa. The neighborhood is an eclectic array of shops lining an old-style street scene.One of the fun shops we popped in and ended up spending an hour browsing was Village Vanguard** Ginza to see the upscale 5th avenue/times square of Tokyo. The Lockup*** is an outlandish place to get a drink/bite. When you first arrive you go through a maze of mirrors and dark horrors till you reach the entrance to the restaurant/bar. There they lock you in handcuffs and lead you to your prison cell (dining room) where you can order a plethora of bizarre ... read more

There is a country wide organization in Japan called the "Ramen Kyoukai," or Ramen Co-operative that many well known Ramen shops belong to and that promotes Ramen across Japan (as if it needs it.) There is another word in Japanese "Kyoukai," it means church, which I think is more appropriate for the followers of Ramen in Japan. Although Ramen is my number 2, next to soba, I've gotten to like it more and more so when I saw that the Ramen Kyoukai was coming to a neighboring park in Setagaya, I invited some ramen-loving friends and we hit the park for 4 hours. All in all we put away 7 bowls of the stuff, which was pretty good, except there were 20 ramen stands from all over the country that set up in the park. Speaking ... read more

Japan has a major declining population and low birthrate problem. There is actually a cabinet level position under the Japanese PM to address the issue. The close-mindedness of Japanese to foreigners, especially workers, and the inflexibility of the corporate system to maternity leave and gender equality, combined with a fertility rate way below 2 is stirring up fears of a contracting Japan. But no one wants to change to break any traditions. Except my family. I forget if I mentioned this before but my host family is/was a foster family. They have been fostering for at least 10 years as well has having exchanged students for 20. Just a testament to how wonderful these people are. The long term foster child, a girl, Marko, that was with the family since she was 6 (now is 20) ... read more

Host mom brought back this massive apple pie from Costco, yes Costco is here too. We warmed it up and on my recommendation ate it with vanilla ice cream. It had lot of cinnamon in the filling and butter in the crust. It was my first western food in a very long time and really hit the spot on a day where I was thinking a lot about back home. I was extra-frustrated after class with my Japanese language today and was feeling down and tired of Japanese isolation. First time I really wanted to go back and see home for a bit. A massive wedge of apple pie and a good Japanese conversation with the family cleared things up fast. ... read more

Second day of orientation at Waseda yesterday. It's a little overwhelming. There are forms for EVERYTHING! Due dates, sign here, take this here...I figured out that the best way to keep track of it all is with the calendar in my ipod that I never used before. It's pretty useful. We had a short homestay orientation today. Out of about 150 SILS kids, only 19 are doing homestay. I met some good people also doing homestays and I hope they'll make up a circle of American friends in Japan. They all speak better than I can and are serious about learning the language. It's what I should be looking for if they aren't Japanese. After orientation the family and neighbors (40 in total) rented out a massive suite at a hotel in Minato-ku for a caberet ... read more