I met Sayuri today in Shinjuku for a late dinner, and since I'd be wanting to see some more autumn colors this season, I decided to make a whole day of it and hit another post-it in my guidebook: Rikugien! Rikugien is a walking garden that is very famous for having "views" that change as you walk, so that the surroundings are always different. It also has illuminated fall colors starting the last week in November, though I went during daylight so I didn't see those. It was a very popular place today, and my fellow photographers were out in full force! I actually shot the garden in two different modes on my camera, so it's sort of a mix-and-match when it comes to the photographs, but it was really beautiful and was a very relaxing ... read more

After a weekend spent with stomach-churning migraines, I finally had a 4-day holiday break, my first set of days longer than a weekend that I have gotten off since starting on July 3. Trust me, I needed it! I took Monday easy, and yesterday I went to Sweets Paradise with my coworker Rani, and we wandered around the department store there. I picked up a few things for myself - I never buy myself things, and what I bought only amounted to $20, but it was really nice to be able to do that sort of thing and not worry about financial repurcussions of it (of course, I still felt guilty for buying anything - we're still working on that!). And today I met up with my friend Sayuri to head north to Shibamata, an area ... read more

Oops, been awhile since I posted anything here! There has been some fun things happening. I've been working a lot, but since I finally got paid, my attitude towards life has improved considerably, haha. The weather has been cooling down a lot (note: mid-70's) and it's FINALLY nice enough at night that I don't have to use my A/C at all. This is really going to cut down on my bills, haha. Plus, the cool air at night feels like GREAT running weather, so a week or so ago I ran 7k just because I was so happy about the temperature. Felt awesome!! I really explore a lot when I'm running here. I pulled some overtime last week. It's not my favorite thing ever, but I suppose the extra padding to my paycheck in November (ugh) ... read more

Well, we made it through summer here. It was HOT. We went the entire month of August without any rain, and not a single day below 83 degrees (mostly it was in the 90's). Since the humidity here is just atrocious, this was a perilous journey so I am glad we are finally into September! The first three days of September were raining, marked with thunderstorms, and it was a WELCOME relief since it really cooled things down. The nights have finally been cool enough to go without my air-con and just leave my window open - which is nicer both for me AND my bank book. Work is tiring me out, so most days I just come home and putter around my apartment for awhile before bed. And my weekends are largely spent at home, ... read more

It's been awhile since I updated! It's nearly my birthday, which means I've gotten TWO wonderful birthday packages in the mail that contained FOOD. This is excellent for me, since I am still working off my "you have no money, please be a hobo" lifestyle. I now do not have to buy groceries for several weeks, which is by far the greatest thing that ever could have come via the mail, haha. I finally got a Japanese bank account set up. It was an arduous process, and one that I do not ever wish to repeat, made more difficult by the Japanese insistence that I have a phone number - I do not have a cell phone yet, because THAT IS EXPENSIVE, YO. I don't have the money yet to get one, because I haven't gotten ... read more