Blogs from Chiba, Japan, Asia - page 17

Hello all, It's been awhile since I've updated with a new article, but I've had a super good week and I think I should share it. I think that I have learned to appreciate Tokyo as a city now, rather than being overwhelmed by everything Japan. Over the past three months I have most definitely become acclimated to Tokyo and so it feels like home and things are starting to feel normal. I worry sometimes that I have gotten so used to my routine and my life here that I am forgetting to be a tourist. But this week I did a bunch of things that I feel were what real Tokyoites do, I had so much fun, but it wasn't really sight-seeing or anything like that. I met a lot of Nihongogin (Japanese people) and ... read more

Hello all, finally getting around to updating more about Nagano! I can hardly believe that it's been two weeks since we've been there! I am super homesick, but the days are certainly flying by! Ok, so I mixed up the days last time I wrote about Nagano, it was actually the second day that we went to the Zenkoji Temple and made soba noodles. Anyway, on the second day of the trip we did lots of other stuff. After lunch (making soba noodles), we went to this Ninja Museum. At first everyone on the trip thought that it was going to be kind dumb... we all assumed it would be like an elementary school field trip. But it was SUCH a blast and everyone had a good time, despite the fact that we are all in ... read more

So as preparation for my midterm this week, and also to inform you guys on some Japanese history, I've decided to write a little summary of the Edo-period history, the Edo-period architecture & urban planning schemes, and even some history about the "opening" of Japan to the rest of the world in the seventeenth century. This entry might be a little more boring, but hopefully I can supplment the more textbooky stuff with some photos and stories about what we've seen first hand. I will also try to write about some contemporary social organization of the Japanese workplace as many of the practices are rooted in historical tradition. Basically I have three classes (History of Tokyo, Architecture & Urban Planning of Tokyo, and Social Organization of Japan) which have information that corresponds and overlaps. So I ... read more

pictures from the tournament.... read more

Hi Hi, sorry that it has taken me so long to add another entry to this journal. Anyway, last weekend we had a long weekend and I ended up doing lots of stuff. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me for some of the time (and later in the week I LOST it! But no fear, someone found it, and now I have officially learned my lesson) so some of the things that I'll write about I don't really have any pictures with which to illustrate them. Just a disclaimer, some of the things said in the following article may have abstract implications of alcohol being consumed. But don't worry, mom and dad and uncle irving (therefore grandma) it wasn't me. Anyway, on Thursday night, after our classes, we went into Shibuya to party all ... read more