first stop.. iwaki

so my new place is in koriyama city, fukushima.

a few things have happened since i moved here. i've started teaching solo, experienced a 630am earth tremor (that shook the whole building), made some friends, and yesterday, i caught the bus out to iwaki.

iwaki is on the fukushima coast and is the closest beach to koriyama. it was a gorgeous day, t-shirt weather and all sunny. my friend TJ and i checked out the lighthouse on the peninsula and just chilled at the beach for the rest of the spring afternoon. nice.

tremor

i experienced my first earth tremor today!

the whiteboard was wiggling, and my brain felt like it was slapping around in it's brain water.

the kids are so used to it, they didn't even notice!

it only lasted a few seconds but it was a weird feeling.

tokyo madness

wow.

went to tokyo for the weekend and came back with a few less brain cells but had the best time ever. my new friends and i went to akihabara (electric city and manga central), shibuya, shinjuku and roppongi.

my favourite parts:

1. the boys trying to figure out the best way to pick up japanese girls in the 'love & sex' section of the lonely planet phrasebook.
2. constant references to lost in translation.
3. singing kelis ft. andre 3000's millionaire.
4. laughing so hard it hurt my stomach muscles.
5. speaking engrish (english with a japanese accent).
6. comic porn in akihabara.
7. drink tickets that come built into cover charge at all bars and clubs in roppongi.

check out these pics - a barbie clothing store in shibuya, porno manga dolls in akihabara, and shinjuku at night.

best invention ever

i know this invention isn't unique to japan, but it's the first time i've actually used it.

a bidet.

fear of the unknown and intimidation had stopped me from using it in my hotel bathroom. i had stared at the button for a long time, then decided against it. but after a little encouragement from my co-workers, i tried it.

is it wrong that i'm so excited about a toilet function?

oh, and i have a heated toilet seat too.

country and western.. japanese style

i went down to the local hanami (flower) festival in fujigaoka on the weekend, and for our afternoon delight, we were entertained by a JAPANESE country and western band!

please note the guitarist's fringed jacket. and line dancers.

eye candy alert!

ok.. so i was watching tv a couple of days ago and all of a sudden, across my screen came a really hot japanese baseball player.

his name is ichiro suzuki.

enjoy.

working-class woman

i got a job! at an english language school for kids. training starts tomorrow. so excited!