Avoiding Work Like the Plague

It's finals time here! and it's been quite the struggle to stay focused. I only organize all that I have to study/do but then stop there instead of actually doing the studying/project preparation. -_- School is too めんどくさい when you're studying abroad, ね～

Be prepared for a long post now!





Celebrating with the other newly awarded brown belts of Shorinji Kempo!

I want to go to Palette Town! (I know you know what I'm referring to.) I didn't know it really existed... But this is the port at Hamamatsu Chou.

Host mom took all of us on a boat from the port up the Sumida River and into Asakusa

Tanabata festival and trying wishes/hopes/desires.

I found one in korean! and No! this isn't mine!! 　
ㅇ他人が書いた! ｘ私!
But of course I do wish happiness for my family and to meet some who's nice and will only like me <3

Sumidagawa

Boat coming in!


Traces of post-war time feelings perhaps?


We passed under like 13-16 bridges that day.

Cool building!

Don't you wonder if there are cases where laundry falls from the high rises? Hanging laundry like that is ubiquitous.. so wouldn't it be a common occurrence?

Water jets!

oops poor guy..

"gotta get my buddy!"

The mickey obssession isn't only in korea...

Cool tour boat.

The Asahi beer building. The gold thing is supposed to be beer foam billowing in the wind... You decide if that's what you get from looking at it.

Being treated to lunch by my host mom on the top floor of the previous building. It was a great view! I thought the layout of the restaurant was quite good in giving everyone a vew.

The building in the reflection looks hairy!

He looks like he could be a cool bartender in those old movies...

Sensoji Temple in Asakusa

Me and my Host mom!

Lots of shops selling food and omiyage/giftshop-y stuff

Sensoji

Incense sticks. People would try to bring the smell to cover their heads and then they would all cough and leave...

The ceiling in the main building. This place becomes so crowded during new years that people just flick their coin offerings above people's heads to make it into the large collection box. I hear many people miss too...

Fried something with anko (red bean paste) inside! I got the one dotted with black sesame seeds.. Yummy:)

Senbi? Rick crackers!

Anyone want osushi... keychains?

Totoro! It's quite sad. Whenever one of these guys are in the window, I make everyone stop and wait to check out the store -_-

Street to buy cooking utensils and such!

But everything was closed. There's something I like about this picture..

Desserts. #1 thing I'm going to miss about Japan.

For the G8 Hokkaido summit!

For my cousin in Korea. Most of us like #3 and #5. A bit girly though.. -_-

Cats sleeping on your cars.

The all Japanese cast for The Sound of Music.

Shorinji Kempo Sempais/friends :)

The day of the 納会/last practice. Gan chan helped me and we "performed" at this last practice. I ended it with a mistake so I'm a little sad that that's the last thing I'll remember from having done Shorinji Kempo but it surely was quite the experience in total.




Walking through the business district from Otemachi Station to Yasukuni Shrine when I came across a peaceful sand/rock garden kind of thing. It was really unassuming, quite hidden and out of the way.

The monument in front of the fire station building. It's called いのち or 'life'

The moat surrounding the Imperial Palace.


One of the entrances across the moat.

It started to rain a little..

Can you see the Budoukan in the distance? It's where the taikai was held (as seen from a post long ago)!

The park that's connected to the Budoukan. This is after having crossed the moat.

On the otherside is Yasukuni Shrine. I caught it on a festival day! It was really crowded!!

And here starts the ring of food pictures that enamored me more than the controversial shrine itself. This is Dango- mochi (rice cake) balls topped with different things like anko or syrup. Yum.

Yakisoba! Fried noodles with veggies and soysauce and such.

Lots of girls in yukata's!

Lots of lanterns!

Hiroshima style okonomiyaki! This was Delicious. and quite different from the okonomiyaki as pictured in the previous post.

Catching gold fish!

More okonomiyaki and the infamous eggs

Chocobanana! Chocolate and sprinkle covered bananas!

Takoyaki! (octopus pancake ball like things)

SQuid.

Face masks! I almost wish they had Sailor Moon.

Salted fish grilled over the fire. Like smores.

They even sold watermelons!

And ate it like such.

Lanterns up with names on them for Obon festival (like a festival remembering the dead)

Other lanterns. Here are pictures of some of the ones I liked.

Faith, fidelity, trust, truth. http://jisho.org/kanji/details/信じる


The infamous shrine. Lots of people paying respect to such controversial figures.


Secretly taken pictures in the Yushukan Museum - a museum about the two world wars and Japan's part in both of them. There were quite a few interesting aspects.
So according to the Japanese, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 8, 1941, which makes sense in itself but.. haha December 8th as the day that will live in infamy?
It's understandable that Perry wouldn't be portrayed so greatly in those drawings though haha.
And the boxer rebellion.. did anyone know that while the Japanese were "true to their word" and were "bravely helping out," the Westerners "were busy looting" and destroying things themselves instead of coming to the rescue of the people?

I just had to take a picture.

As it was getting dark.

Portable shrines.

Entrance to the shrine at night.

They even had stands where it was a haunted house and couples could go in to have a good scare.

Or knock down Anpanman/Doraemon for prizes!

Lee Byung Hun!

So the next few pictures are from helping Jeannette out in Shibuya with her Anthropology project of examining the less.. masculine side of male fashion in Japan. She went up to random people, told them their fashion was cool, and asked if she could take their picture and ask some questions. I was her photographer here :)

This guy is an editor of a men's magazine in Japan!

This guy seemed sweet. We noticed that the belt was essential to a 'completed outfit'

I don't understand his shirt.

These two men were quite the characters.

For the same cousin in Korea :D

Crepe break in Harajuku!

Yummmmmmmmmm.




AHHHHHHH! This made my day:


We're off to see ... the Studio Ghibli museum!

It looks magical from the outside :)


No pictures allowed inside but this was on the top of the building after having gone through swirly steps.

Looks cool with the planes in the back.. or so I thought. Don't mind me.


Back in the museum. I So wished I was a kid when I saw this.

And I wanted to take one of those home with me...

Cool building on the walk back to the station.

I also like this picture for some reason.

Ghibli museum bus! It would have been nice to take to avoid walking all 1,105meters...

You think it's (the korean drama) popular but that's an advertisement for a pachinko parlor aka a place for gambling.

The random random circle that I presented about in 301 Japanese!

This person is looking for their lost pet monkey.

Watermelon Kitkat!?

The full moon from my window.


And so my procrastination comes to an end -_-




Good night!