Finally in Kamakura

I think I have tried to go to Kamakura at least 10 times since I have been here. It seems like every weekend I make a plan to go, and every weekend something else happens. Good or bad, I was starting to notice a trend, a little while back I just gave up on it and decided not to plan it in hopes that someday I would just "end up" there. Surprisingly that isn't far from the truth. I wasn't planning on going, I was going to go to Hakone for the weekend. When plans fell through we decided to go to Kamakura and I am so glad we did! Kamakura is a beautiful little town on the southern coast of Japan. There are some cool temples and a very large Daibutsu (Buddha) as well as a lot of really cool little surfer shops! We went to a really great homemade soba restaurant for lunch and walked around all day. We finished sight seeing around 6, just in time to watch the sunset from the beach. The sunset was incredible and it was the perfect end to a perfect day!

My First Trip to Disneyland

I LOVE Disneyland. I feel like that sentence should have been written at least 13 years ago, but yes, it has taken me 23 years to have my first Disneyland experience. Now, after stating how much I enjoyed the "land" I feel like I should elaborate a little more on why that is. First, I am pretty sure my reaction would not be the same had I been in the states. There is something about being in a Great American Tourist Destination... in Japan. There is, after all, the character, Belle and Snow White, and so on, all of which are Western actors and of which have very poor Japanese skills, and lets not forget the music, they seem to be able to translate part of it, but apparently the chorus is off limits, yes, all parts of a song that are sung endless amounts of time must be sung in English. Sounds like free English lessons if you ask me. I must say, my most memorable experience at Disneyland was not the rides, while I did enjoy them, I have been to Cedar Point and nothing... Nothing tops those rides! No, it was the Curry Popcorn that I loved the most, well, not the popcorn itself but the massive line that was always forming around the curry popcorn stands. I have never in my life seen so many people waiting for popcorn, and man did it smell like curry. Haha... only in Japan!

An Extreme Adventure in Gaming Technology

Last weekend, actually about a week and a half ago now, I went to the Tokyo Game Show. No it isn't a TV game show or anything like that. It's basically a huge convention held every year to show off all of the latest video gaming technology. I'll admit, I don't play video games and have never owned a gaming system, though after this, I am pretty sure I want the new Playstation 3... and the new Nintendo. The set up was pretty cool, they had huge projector screens to watch the games, some of which had more intricate story lines than movies I've seen recently. And the costumes, well, the costumes were by far my favorite part. There were so many people at the show and there was a place where everyone who dressed up went and people took pictures of them. I mean, these costumes were incredible. Any excuse to get dressed up right? Oh, and this last picture is just for kicks, I'm not sure where else this sign would be acceptable, but hey, I'm not here to judge!

No, I Haven't Dropped the Edge of the World

So I decided that the period of laziness has to end. Not that I have been doing anything of great importance lately, but I have been really busy and have managed to stay away from my computer, partly because my email isn't working and I am really not sure as to how to go about fixing it. I have taken quite a few photos and wanted to post them. I went to follow up training about a month ago and was able to see a lot of my training mates who I hadn't seen in a while. We had conveyor belt sushi for lunch and what I considered an overall good time! That next weekend, Simone had a big barbecue at her house. For Japan, I have to say she has a huge balcony. We actually had two blow up pools in one area! There was a lot of food and great friends, and some one gave Yadira a yellow balloon... Don't ask, I don't know. Ah yes, and then there was Ageha. Ageha is a club/warehouse located on what feels like the other side of Tokyo. I met my friend Rae in Shibuya and a free bus came and picked us up. First, I think I should mention that it was myself and two other girls that went. Second, it was gay night, and third, it was by far one of the most fun nights out in the club I have had in a while. I guess there is just something to be said about going to a club and not having to deal with drunk men hitting on you! The club is huge though, I saw at least two different dance floors and then there is the upstairs dance floor, which is actually on the roof top with a great view of the harbor. The club is literally right on the water. We met a ton of really cool people while we were there. Surprisingly, a lot of guys from Hong Kong and even some people from NYC. Gay night at Ageha coincided with the Madonna concert so I think the international crowd was exceptionally large. Oh Tokyo, you never cease to amaze me!