The Mysterious Ringo

No, not Ringo Starr. In Japanese, “ringo” means apple and tonight, I randomly received an apple from a drunken man on the train ride home. Let me begin telling this random story...

On Thursdays, I work in a north-western part of the city and it’s quite a trek to get there. I not only have to take the subway, but also the Keihan train line. So, as I was leaving work tonight I was all excited because I had plans with some girls at work. We were going to meet up in Namba area for some drinks and dancing. But for some reason, three of my coworkers and I ended up being stuck on the train for approximately one hour. Unfortunately, we didn’t know what was going on because we couldn’t understand the Japanese announcements, but we figured someone had jumped on the tracks.

You’d think the Japanese (commonly known for being efficient) would have some sort of back-up plan for this type of situation, but it didn’t seem like they did. We were left totally clueless and had no idea what was happening. In addition, we couldn’t ask anyone because they couldn’t communicate in English either. Although it was a weird situation, it was very entertaining and I learned just how hilarious sitting on a train for an hour with a bunch of drunken Japanese businessmen can be.

About fifteen minutes after we were stopped, a drunken older man walked into our car. He kind of glared at us and briskly walked past, stumbling on his way. A few minutes later, he came back in and started mumbling in Japanese and we were all laughing because we noticed he had a piece of rice stuck on his face. The people I was with could speak a bit of Japanese, but couldn’t decipher everything he was saying. They got the gist of it though: he liked American movies, thought we were American, and said something about how we shouldn’t be in Japan because we don’t have black hair (he pointed to my coworker’s blonde hair several times and frowned) .We were kind of getting frustrated because he wouldn’t leave us alone after about five minutes and kept talking while other passengers just laughed at the whole situation. That’s one thing about the Japanese—they are very non-confrontational people and don’t like to cause conflict, so they passively sat and watched. After all...it was entertaining for them while the train was stopped.

One of my coworkers started to get annoyed after he wouldn’t go away and went searching for help from a train employee. The man wandered away shortly after and then came back with a crumpled piece of newspaper. It wasn’t just any newspaper—he had drawn the 007 logo on it and handed it to me. We still didn’t know what he was saying, so I just shoved it in my bag and ignored him. After he left for the second time, we locked the door between the train cars so he couldn’t come in again.

Shortly after, he came back again, unlocked the door, and sauntered towards us. This time, he was carrying an apple (who knows where it came from) and he handed it to me explaining something along the lines of: “Apples are good because they have vitamins. This apple is from Hokkaido and if you eat it you will be healthy.” He was also laughing hysterically. I got pretty freaked out at this point—wondering what he had done to the apple (poisoned it? dropped it on the ground?) and also because he was waving a rolled up newspaper in my face. Enraged at the way he was treating me, one of my coworkers began picking a fight with him and luckily, he was scared away (temporarily).

After two of my coworkers got off the train, he came back again. Thankfully, I was still with one other person and we decided it would be best if we got off the train together and took the subway. As we approached our stop, it finally looked like the man was going to get off the train (he had his bags with him), but as the doors opened, he realized we weren’t getting off and he stayed back. So, we got up and walked as far away from him as we could and ran for the subway, hoping to God we wouldn’t bump into him ever again.

The good news is I made it home safely. As for the mysterious apple—who knows where it is. I just hope some drunken businessman didn’t eat it on the way home.

The True Intentions of Private English Lessons

Wow, it’s been awhile since our last post, which means we’ve been busy! We’ve been socializing after work and just trying to enjoy our last few months in Japan. It's so hard to believe we'll be home in April!

With eight private students now, I’ve also been busy tutoring—yesterday I worked twelve hours in total (three lessons in addition to my regular shift at work). I’ve concluded that teaching English conversation is like working at a hostess club and sometimes, the students' intentions are two-fold—to learn English and date a foreigner. Especially in my own business ventures, I’ve discovered that I attract male students who are all at least five years older than me and am recently pondering one thing—is this some kind of dating service? That’s sure not what I signed up for! Don’t get me wrong, I do have a handful of clients who are studious—focussed on learning English and all that jazz—but the majority seem wrapped up in taking me out for dinner while we chat. They call this a “lesson.” Even when I mention my boyfriend again and again, they don’t seem to care! I've even had one student ask me when I plan on getting married and this makes me wonder what his true intentions are, or were, from the beginning. Haha. It's quite entertaining.

The whole private tutoring situation reminds me of a hostess club—where men go to chat with women, fork over a lot of money, and are basically made to feel like they are kings of the world. Most of the time, I feel like I'm doing essentially the same thing, sans the alcohol. Even at our company, I have the same sentiments. I have private lessons with many business men who like to chat about useless things and don't like to accept corrections. At one of my schools, a co-worker of mine teaches a private lesson to a head honcho of a really big business. He told the staff he strictly wants female teachers and he always showers her with gifts. Most, if not all of these men are married, but just like to flirt and feel special. This whole outlook ties into the patriarchal nature of the country and sometimes makes me want to scream. Unfortunately, it’s just the way things are here and I guess I can’t complain about getting free dinners!

Scott and I also went out with Laura, Colin, Marcus and some other people from work last night. It is Australia Day today and for a premature celebration, Marcus (who is Australian) and Scott went to a bar and even ate barbequed kangaroo (which was excellent, according to Scott).

Last Sunday, Scott and I decided to sleep in (since it’s a rare occurrence these days). We woke up around 11 and headed to Umeda to go to Joyopolis (a three-storey arcade) and see the Umeda Sky Building’s Floating Garden Observatory. I never realized how addictive arcade games can be—especially when they involve winning prizes. At Joyopolis, Scott and I became borderline obsessed with trying to win a stuffed toy from what the Japanese call “crane games.”After observing several people and taking note of their technique, Scott tried to win several things (including candy and stuffed toys) and about 2000 yen later, he finally won a stuffed Snoopy.

The arcades here are also full of picture booths and they’re so popular here—especially with the ladies. These picture booths aren’t your everyday booths where you sit down, have your pictures taken, and walk away with four photos—they’re so much more. Basically, they’re a way for people to take glamour shots of themselves. They have nearly blinding white lights and also a feature where you can add things such as hearts, stars, borders, writing, etc. What’s more...you can enhance yourself by adding hair and even changing the colour of it. Crazy! Naturally, I wanted to test it out and we had a lot of fun messing around.

The Sky Building is a pretty acclaimed landmark in Osaka and its architecture is world renowned. It’s not only the seventh tallest building in the city, but also connects two towers in mid-air by escalators. I have to say, it’s probably one of the most interesting buildings I’ve been in and it was spectacular to get a view of the city on such a clear evening.

Work is going really well for both of us. Scott has been doing some overtime shifts to save money for our upcoming trip to Thailand. We still haven’t figured out the details (including booking a hotel), but I know our spontaneous approach will make things all the more interesting.

We also discovered an incredibly cheap bowling alley right near our house and had a bowling date on Friday night while the staff at the alley mocked our hideous technique. Good news, though...I beat Scott!

It’s really noisy in the city today because it’s election day for the new prime minister. I haven’t really been following along with this (partly because I hate politics and don’t understand anything anyway). All I know is that they need to invent a new way of campaigning. As I’m typing, I can hear loudspeakers in the distance. Garbage trucks aren’t the only vehicles that sing and make an over-excessive noise here—it’s common for politicians to parade through the streets (as well as quiet neighbourhoods like ours) and yell through loudspeakers and wake people up. If this happened in Canada, they sure wouldn’t get my vote! I’ll be glad when the election is over and I can sleep in again!

We’re going to have a relaxing Sunday today and not do too much. Recently, Scott and I have discovered the show, “Weeds” and how great it is, so we’re going to have a “Weeds” marathon. We hope you’re all enjoying your weekends and Happy Birthday to Lynn Ann!

Well, see ya later!

Jo & Scott

xoxo

Two Tourists in Tokyo

Yesterday, as I was walking to work from the train station, I caught a glimpse of snow out of the corner of my eye. I had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn’t just rain, but it was, in fact, a light snow fall—Osaka’s first in a long time. It’s been freezing here lately and I guess I shouldn’t complain because the weather’s nothing in comparison to Canada. With the poorly insulated place we call a home and contraptions the Japanese call heaters (they are also air-conditioners in the summer), our apartment is rarely at a comfortable temperature.

It wasn’t just cold in Osaka—it was freezing as we stepped off the bus when we arrived in Tokyo on Sunday morning. Scott and I left for the big city last Saturday night after work and took a night bus from a nearby station. After a virtually sleepless night on a narrow and cold bus, we arrived at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo at precisely 6:40 a.m. Our plan of action was to drop our bags in a locker and scour the area for some kind of 24-hour coffee joint where we could down a dose of caffeine. We passed a Starbucks and because it was closed, we settled for none other than Macudonarudo (McDonald’s). We had some breakfast (which consisted of hotcakes, an Egg McMuffin, and coffee) and then passed some time figuring out what we were going to do that day. The McDonald’s was packed—even at such an early hour. There were students trying to do their homework, businessmen gulping down coffee before they had to go to work, and people who were still drunk from the previous night.

As Scott and I were discussing some potential plans, a man beside us struck up a conversation and asked us, in virtually perfect English, if we needed any help. I was quite taken aback because I had heard from several people that Tokyo natives were less friendly than Osakans. We had a good chat with him and found out that he had learned English from an American missionary who came to Japan after the war. He also helped narrow down some key Tokyo hot-spots.

At about 9 a.m. our somewhat less-tired selves wandered out of the McDonald’s to explore the city. We spotted our hotel, The Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, just steps from the McDonald’s but couldn’t check-in until 2, so we headed to Harajuku. You might recognize the name of this area from Gwen Stefani’s songs. The girls from this area, also known as “Harajuku Girls,” have a distinct style that is best summed up as Lolita meets Goth. In other words—extremely ugly. The area is most famous for the Meiji Shrine and strange-but-cool shopping. After we arrived at Harajuku station, we visited the Meiji Shrine. On the way into the main gate, there were several ice sculptures and was kind of reminiscent of Winterlude in Ottawa. It was strange to see something so familiar in Japan! All the ice sculptures were absolutely breathtaking.

We were lucky enough to witness a traditional wedding at the shrine and snapped some pictures as we observed the procession. Because it’s traditional to visit a shrine in the New Year (for the purposes of praying for happiness and health), Scott and I thought it would be appropriate to write our own wish and pretend to be Buddhist. We wrote our wish on a paper, put it in an envelope along with a monetary donation, and then deposited the envelope in a bin while we lifted our hands in prayer. It was a really interesting experience and I’m glad we embraced the culture (even though we were a little hesitant at first)! We also explored the grounds surrounding the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. After Meiji Shrine, we decided to go shopping. We strolled down the main shopping alleys, Omotesando and Takeshita-dori. It was really interesting to see the styles and the types of shops on these streets—quite a feast for the eyes to say the least!

We ended up walking to another major area called Shibuya and stopped for lunch at a traditional Japanese Tendon (a bowl of rice with tempura and sauce on top) restaurant. It’s directly south of Harajuku and is also famous for its shopping and the Hachiko Statue. The statue doesn’t seem like that big of a deal at first glance, but it has a pretty significant history in Shibuya. The story goes like this... Way back in 1924, a man bought a dog and named him Hachiko. The man was a professor at a university in Tokyo and Hachiko greeted him at Shibuya station every day as he arrived home from work. When the man died, Hachiko still came to the station every day (for ten more years) and came to be known as the “faithful dog” to many residents of Shibuya. When Hachiko passed away years later in 1935, the city erected a statue to commemorate the dog and his loyalty. How kawaii! I thought the statue was going to be much bigger, but it was more or less a life size mould of the dog.

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to check in and take a nap before dinner. The hotel was a lot nicer than we expected and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Although the rooms were tiny, they had everything we needed to make our stay pleasant (including pyjamas that were laid out on the bed for us when we arrived!). We headed back to Shibuya for a lovely dinner that night and wandered around the city before heading back to the hotel.

Monday was a national holiday in Japan, so everything was extra busy. Scott and I headed to a more historic area of Tokyo called Asakusa, which is home of the Senso-ji Temple. As we trekked to the temple, several cart drivers were coaxing us to take a tour of Asakusa. One of them even said, “I give you many Japanese memories!” Haha. The walk into the temple was a long path full of many interesting souvenir and food shops. Naturally, after touring the temple, we sampled several Japanese foods for lunch including yakisoba (buckwheat noodles fried with vegetables and sometimes meat) and okonomiyaki (an egg and cabbage omelette smothered in mayo).

In the afternoon, we headed to Roppongi area, which is in Southern Tokyo. It’s also well-known for shopping (go figure) and because many foreigners call it their home. Laura and Colin recommended going to The Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills, so we did. The art museum also has the Tokyo View, which is an observation deck where you can see the whole city. The sight was just spectacular—as was the art exhibit, which featured a metropolitan theme. We went to a fabulous Thai restaurant that was recommended as one of the best spots to eat in Tokyo and had absolutely no regrets. The food was magnificent! We also went to a bar that night and just relaxed and appreciated the sights of the city.

For our last day, we decided to visit central Tokyo and go to the Imperial Palace, home of the Imperial family. We didn’t get a guided tour, but had fun taking pictures of the building. After the palace, we made a quick stop at the Tokyo Stock Exchange before heading to Ueno Park. The park was probably one of my personal highlights of our visit because of its sheer beauty. It is the home of many museums and cultural emblems of Japan. We stopped for a short paddle-boat ride and then wandered to Ameyayokocho, a famous street market district just south of the park. It evolved out of an open-air black market that sprung up after World War II and today shops sell basically everything for really cheap.

Our last stop of the day was the Tsukiji Fish Market, on the bank of the Sumida River. Although visitors are informed to go at 5 a.m. to make the most of their market-going experience, we opted to go precisely twelve hours later. Although the main part of the market was closed, we still got to feel the vibe of the market and see some fish vendors and sushi shops. The sushi is really well-known in this area because it’s so fresh. Some people even go at the crack of dawn to sample it!

We headed back to Tokyo station to catch the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Osaka around 6:30 that evening and were somewhat relieved to be going home. The past three days seemed fast-paced (after all, we did cover quite a bit of territory in the short time we were there) and we both came to the conclusion that we were happy to be living in Osaka. I can’t really put a finger on why I like Osaka better...it’s something I just feel in my gut.

Last night, we went to a bar in Shinsaibashi for Indie-Night with Laura, Colin, Marcus, and some friends who were visiting from Korea. Just before we went into the bar, I spotted someone in the distance wearing a Queen’s Commerce jacket. I thought I was dreaming for a minute—so I ran up to the guy and asked him if he went to Queen’s. He was Japanese and I figured he had attended Queen’s and graduated in 2001 (like his jacket sleeve displayed). So I asked him, “Oh...you went to Queen’s? I did too.” And the look on his face said it all—he was totally confused. Turns out, he didn’t go to Queen’s. He just picked up the jacket at some thrift shop in Kyoto (who knows how it travelled that far). Anyway, Scott and I both thought it was pretty funny and so weird at the same time.Hope all is well and we miss you. Let us know how you’re doing—we’d love to hear from you!

Take care,

xo

Jo & Scott

Japan-ease

As I originally write this blog, I’m not actually typing on my computer. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m handwriting with my seemingly long-lost friends: pen and paper. This new method of blog-writing was not intentional—it kind of stumbled upon me and I’m glad it did because I can once again see what my handwriting looks like (and also how much my English has deteriorated since being here).

I came into work earlier today thinking I’d have a fuller-than-usual schedule, but no such luck. My School Director informed me that I was only going to be teaching one class of high-strung, rambunctious two-year-olds for half-an-hour (yay!). That being said, I have precisely four-and-a-half hours to kill. I already spent a bit of time finishing up James Frey’s book, My Friend Leonard (which I absolutely recommend if you’re not afraid of raw emotion and lots of swearing). There’s nothing left to do it seems, but write!

Being at home over Christmas reaffirmed my belief of how easy it is to live in Japan. By this statement, I mean daily life here is a hell of a lot simpler and consequently, has made me a less-stressed person. I mean, where else do people have access to alcohol 24/7? When I was home over the holidays, I nearly forgot to purchase a beverage for New Year’s Eve, nonchalantly thinking that I could run into a convenience store to get one. Nothing seemed to stop me and say, “You’re in Canada now,” until I looked outside and saw the snow. This situation would have posed a major dilemma—one that would probably have made me want to go back to Japan for a split second, where accessing liquor has no time restraint. This is one of the things I’ve come to take for granted while living in Japan and I only realized how beneficial it was at the worst possible time of the year.

Because I have so much time on my hands (and because I want you to get an accurate glimpse of Japan), I have compiled a Top Five list of the most convenient things in the country that have significantly impacted my daily life. Here they are...

5. Speedy Mail Delivery

Scott and I were pleasantly surprised to find out how the postal services work in Japan. In our early days here, we received a slip of paper in our mailbox and although we couldn’t decipher it, we had an inkling of what it was. We brought it into work (while we were still in training) and had one of the trainers, Andrew, decode it for us. He told us that it was a delivery attempt slip from UFJ, our new bank, saying our bank cards were ready. Although we were kind of bummed out that we missed the delivery (we thought we would have to go on a mad journey through Osaka to claim our stuff), Andrew informed us that all we needed to do was call the English-speaking delivery line (the number was on the bottom of the slip) and they could deliver our packages as soon as we got home from work. Naturally, we were relieved and called the number right then and there. Shortly after we returned home from a long day of training, we heard a scooter pull up to our door then a doorbell ring. Although we couldn’t really communicate with the delivery guy, we just handed over the slip of paper and the rest was history. By the end of the day, we had our banking information and our bank cards even though we had missed the original delivery. It’s not like in Canada where you get the slip in the mail and then have to track down your package—they do everything for you! Now that’s service!

4. Vending Machine Paradise

I think I mentioned the number of vending machines in Japan in a previous blog, but once again, I’d like to stress how they’re absolutely EVERYWHERE. I’m pretty far on the outskirts of Osaka as I write this and from the window where I’m sitting, I can eye two. Vending machines here mainly sell liquids—pop, canned coffee (an overrated beverage here in Japan), hot and cold tea, beer, sake, wine, coolers—you name it, they have it! Food vending machines are a lot less common, but I’ve seen a few selling potato chips and KitKats. Speaking of KitKats (this is a total side note) but there is a different KitKat flavour every month here. Some past ones include: caramel, green tea, apple, cookies and cream, vanilla bean, and this month’s flavour is strawberry. Anyway, back to the vending machines. They also sell cigarettes and these machines are probably more common than the drink machines. Unlike the regular beverage machines, the ones that sell cigarettes and alcohol automatically turn off at 11pm.

The vending machine must be a popular contraption because you can also find them in restaurants. What Scott and I coined “vendo restos” are also very common here and are essentially a revamped fusion of a traditional vending machine and a restaurant. The machines don’t actually serve food themselves—maybe someday, though. At these restaurants, the vending machine is at the front of the restaurant, displaying pictures and prices of the restaurant’s offerings. All you have to do is put some money in the slot, press the dish you want to eat, and out pops a ticket. You then give the ticket to a hostess, who seats you. We went to a Japanese curry “vendo resto” not too long ago and literally right after we sat down, the food was in front of us, piping hot and delicious to boot. I think the “vendo restos” emerged because of the many business workers who need a fast, but not fast-food lunch. Regardless, the “vendo resto” is a booming industry and whenever we set foot in one, it’s always packed.

3. Nifty ATMs and the Ease of Banking

When you set foot in a major bank branch in Japan, you basically see two, perhaps three types of people. The first is the security guard, who monitors the traffic and anything else risky that might arise. The second type of people are those like you—people in the bank to withdraw or deposit money, pay a bill, or wish their account had magically grown overnight. Sometimes there is a third type of person—a bank employee who can answer questions or help gaijin like us!

The bank machines here are really nifty. They’re all touch screen and they can perform almost any function to do with banking and money. Our first encounter with the lovely ATMs was when we had to pay our first month’s rent. We didn’t even require our bank card if you can believe it! All we had to do to make a transfer was type in our mobile phone number and all the info appeared right before our eyes. Paying our first bill was a little tricky because there was no English language function—luckily a type #3 bank person was standing nearby and could help us navigate our way through the jumbled hiragana and kanji characters that stared back at us. The ATM is even more convenient because it automatically remembers the account and information, so there’s no hassle next time. The machines are also cool because they automatically count the money you deposit and you can deposit not only bills, but coins too. The bank cards are also pretty different because there’s no magnetic strip on them. They have something like a SIN card embedded in them, which is good for people who carry their cards in their pockets and wear off the magnetic strip (ahem...Scott). The only weird thing about the banks here are their hours—they’re not open on Sundays and regular branches only stay open until 8pm. All the convenience stores—better known as “combinis”—have ATMs, though, and people can access them 24/7.

2. The Combini: A True Combini-ence

The infamous combini is probably one of the greatest things about Japan and it has saved my life several times. With combini chains with names like Family Mart, Lawson Station, AM/PM Coco!, Daily Yamazaki, and of course, 7/11, you can tell just from reading the signs that they’re interesting places. And like vending machines, they’re absolutely everywhere, making them none other than convenient! You can purchase fresh meals, produce, alcohol, and pretty much anything else you can think of. What’s more, all the combinis are open 24/7, which means people can scour the aisles drunk and stock up on even more booze or simply check out the magazines or books after a long day at work. If you go into a combini around 6pm, you will most likely see a row of “otaku” (someone who is completely obsessed with something—typically anime, manga, or Japanese culture. They are the type that generally live in their parents' basements at 30 years old and have no social life) gazing at the manga (animated soft-core porn) or anime (comics). You can even pay bills at the combini. Scott and I pay our health insurance there each month and it literally takes five seconds.

1. The Efficiency of Public Transportation

Public transportation in Osaka shines in comparison to the good old OC Transpo in Ottawa and Campbellford too, I’m sure. Toronto and Montreal are a little better than Ottawa with their simple subway routes but still, it’s no comparison to Osaka. In the span of a year, subways and trains are late by an average of six seconds—can you believe it? This makes getting around extremely reliable and also environmentally friendly. I’ve come to realize why the life expectancy here is so long. In combination with the healthy diet (for those traditional followers), Japanese don’t have an excess of fumes roaming around in the air. There are a lot less people who drive here, making the country’s attitude that much greener. It’s so easy to get from A to B here, as I‘ve discovered from my daily trips around the city. Everything about transportation here is easy. All the ticket booths are self-serve and you have to know where you’re going before you buy a ticket. There are huge maps with price points in all stations and after you know where you’re going, you put the money in the machine, press a button that displays the correct amount and out comes a ticket. You even get change if you use a big bill! You then take the ticket and feed it through a machine that puts a small hole in it. The ticket also displays which station you came from. When you reach your final destination, there are gates to the exit the subway, much like in TO or Montreal, but they’re smarter. You have to feed the same ticket into the machine and it can read to see if you paid the correct amount. There’s no getting away with outwitting the machines. If you try, gates close and alarms go off. I had it happen to me once and it was pretty embarrassing, although I was a new gaijin, so I had an excuse. And plus, I come from Ottawa, where public transportation is pretty much nonexistent.

I’ve concluded that every major city should have a subway or train system—it makes life so much easier. There’s also a really cool tool that one of my co-workers told me about when I first started working to make getting around a lot easier. It’s called Jorudan and it’s basically a huge database for all public transportation in Japan. You can search when you want to be somewhere and it’ll tell you the exact directions, time and cost—it’s been a lifesaver for work and travelling.

Anyway, I hope this list has given you a glimpse of how convenient things are in Japan. I’m sure there are many other convenient/easy things I’ve forgotten to mention. Laura thinks the health care system here is pretty convenient, but I don’t really know because I haven’t had to use it yet. It’s also really easy to get your bike stolen...haha.

We're off to Tokyo this weekend, so stay tuned for a post about that! Hope all is well and take care!

xo
Jo & Scott

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2008! We hope you all had an excellent holiday season!

As most of you know by now, Scott and I decided to come back to Canada to celebrate the holidays and what a time we had surprising our families! We booked our plane tickets way back in November and had a hard time keeping our arrangements a secret from our relatives. When we departed for Osaka back in September, we were unsure when we would see our families and friends again, so it was a nice treat to come home and see everyone (minus the good old Canadian winters we somehow don't seem to miss).

Believe it or not, being on a crammed plane and listening to babies shriek for 16 hours had its advantages. What, you might ask? Well, as we stepped off the plane, we were welcomed back to Osaka with lovely 12-degree weather—no snow, no ice!

Unfortunately, our first day of work was January 5, about 30 hours after we arrived back in Osaka—and naturally, it was a rough day for both of us. Since then, our circadian rhythms are slowly becoming accustomed to the time change again (a whole 14 hours) although we have been up a few times during the wee hours of the morning. My theory to battle the jet lag on the flight back to Osaka was to stay awake the entire flight—and I somehow did it (I'll give the crying babies credit for that one). Although we've been snoozing off around 9pm for the past few nights, we've been having more uninterrupted sleeps. I feel like I'm finally back into the Japan swing of things again.

Before we left, Scott downloaded a program on the computer that allows you to play N64 games, so to combat the jet lag the day after we arrived, we played N64 pretty much the whole day! Mario Party, Mario Kart, Zelda—you name it, we played it! Scott even bought some USB converters so we could play the games with controllers from the computer. On Friday, we went into Den-Den Town (electronics capital of Osaka) and purchased some used N64 controllers from that same store with the mysterious QTip (yep, I checked and it was still in the same spot). We also went out for some lunch at an Indian restaurant nearby.

We're thrilled for our upcoming trip to Tokyo this weekend. Tatsu, Kuni's friend who came out with us for drinks, helped us purchase bus tickets for an overnight trip to Tokyo. It's only 4800 yen and is a great alternative to the shinkansen (bullet train), which costs about 15000 yen (approximately $150). We decided to take the bus into Shinjuku station—the hub train station in Tokyo—and then take the bullet train back to save some money for our trip to Thailand in February. We'll be leaving here on January 12 and coming back on January 15. Three days doesn't seem like a lot of time to fit in all the sights and sounds of Tokyo, but we're going to try our best. We've already been trying to plan what to do with Laura and Colin’s help (they went there to visit a friend over the holidays).

Thailand here we come! After some debate about going to Phuket or Bangkok, we booked our tickets to Bangkok this morning on a whim. No hotel or plans yet, but we're hoping something more concrete will unravel once we arrive. We've heard from several teachers that it's not only a beautiful place to visit, but also really cheap. Apparently, it's not hard to find an inexpensive accommodation for the night. Because we won't be able to visit Phuket (since it's too far from Bangkok and won't make good use of our time), we're planning to go to a picturesque white sand beach on a small island called Ko Chang. Although the island is small, it has gained popularity in recent years and is becoming a booming tourist spot. We'll probably head to the beach (which is about 300 km from Bangkok) after exploring the capital's rich culture for two days. Personally, I'm excited to eat some real Pad Thai!

Over the holidays, Scott and I decided that we'll be coming back to Canada after our current contract ends (on March 31, 2008). We plan on doing some more travelling around Asia and possibly Australia before heading back North to get a real job/go back to school!

We hope you're keeping well and it was so great to see some of you over the holidays. We miss you already, but will see you all in four or five short months!

xo

Jo & Scott