Shannon Sensei: Since Nagasaki

Since I visited Ayako in Nagasaki in March, I've been up to a lot more than procrastinating and not writing blog posts. Saint Patrick's Day, the cherry blossoms, spring, the start of the new school year, a new camera, a night out for sushi, the start of some private tutoring, another visit to Yokohama, and a day at the aquarium have all come and gone, in no particular order.

For St. Patrick's Day I went to an Irish pub for some Guinness and Baileys with Kanami. They had a live Irish band, who were good, but being Tokyo and St. Patrick's Day the place was impossibly packed, so we slipped out early and went to karaoke instead. Then on Sunday I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Harajuku. The parade was lively and a lot of fun, with music, lots of green, lots of advertisements for pubs, and a lot of Westerners living in Japan. From the parade, I went back to the pub I'd visited on Friday night for fish and chips and another couple pints.

Viewing the cherry blossoms, it was easy to see why they are such a national treasure and such an international sensation. The trees full of blossoms appear akin to snow-filled branches, or trees that grow clouds. The wind blows petals out of the trees in small, fragrant flurries that are incredibly peaceful. A big tradition in Japan is to have a nice picnic lunch under the cherry blossoms in the spring. I mean, this is a BIG tradition. Everyone does it. In Ueno park, they tape down tarps (for which you take your shoes off before stepping on) and set up trash disposal areas. On the weekend, this park is packed! I wish I had more chances (or had used my chances more wisely) and sought out a park less crowded for my own picnicing pleasure. I did spend lots of time under the cherry trees, trying to capture their beauty in pictures, but, it isn't easy. Most of my pictures are on a friend's camera, and I'm waiting for copies.

This semester I am nice and busy, especially on Mondays and Fridays. I'm getting a lot more student visitors so far, which is nice! I'm working on a Poetry class, which I really enjoy, because I've missed teaching literature a lot. I'm also reassuring myself that whatever ability I have in that way won't rust over now. The semester's going by quite quickly and I know we'll all be surprised when July comes along, and it will be over.

I've been hoping to get a new camera for a number of months and, with the help of a friend, I finally picked one out and picked it up. I suppose some part of me has always been interested in photography, but I never really pursued it as a hobby. I am hoping this camera helps me to do that.

Kohmoto-sensei took us out for sushi again, and this time didn't make me try anything that was too scary. I got to just enjoy the kinds of sushi that I really like and also got to have some crab. Mmmm. I did also try some saki with green tea, which was really very good. Then we went to a yakiniku (Korean barbeque--cook it up at the table) restaurant, which was also good. I think I had some liver and other kinds of beef I'd rather not know the cut of, but it was cut and flavored well. I impressed everyone when the spicy Korean soup was just pleasantly spicy to me, and not too bad. Then, karaoke of course.

One of my Japanese tutors, Yuka, took me to Yokohama and Minato Mirai again. This time instead of having nikuman at the seaside, we went to a Chinese "viking-style" restaurant--that's all-you-can-eat buffet to Americans. In Minato Mirai, we went to the top of the Landmark Tower to the observation area, to see as much of Tokyo as we could see on the rainy, hazy day. We could actually see a LOT and the bay was beautiful. The coolest thing was that the elevator to the top floor is the FASTEST in the WORLD--as attested to by the Guinness Book of World Records plaque on the first floor. The best part of that was that it was such a smooth ride that you barely notice, despite the spedometer posted above the door, and your ears popping somewhere in the middle of the building.

Yesterday, I went to the Epson Aqua Stadium with three students for a class project (the project being for them to make a plan with me to go out somewhere in Tokyo for a few hours). The aquarium itself was rather small, but it did have a tunnel tank with sharks and rays in it that was really impressive. The best part was the dolphin show. Who could complain about dolphins jumping 7 meters in the air, dancing with their trainers, and letting them ride on their backs all to the tunes of "It's Raining Men" and "Rock the Boat"? I certainly couldn't.