New Years!

Haha, I know a lot of people are interested in my New Years plans and I hate to disappoint, LOL, but they were pretty quiet on the big scale of life! All of my friends had to return to their hometowns (New Years is huge here, a time to spend with family... not so much go out and get blasted with your friends!) but Miharu lives in Hamamtsu so she asked Gary and me to go to the Gaijin bar after she had dinner with her family.

I actually met two hysterical Australians (just visiting, darn it!) so I spent most of the night with them! We were given poppers for midnight and that was fun! Then there was a bar rat (52, hair dyed red, spoke little to no English) who wouldn't leave me alone, LOL, but I finally got rid of him. Side note: the only two times I've been to this bar, it's been easy to stop drinking *early* because I watch everyone else drink to excess (earlier and quicker) and make complete fools of themselves! I just don't understand the whole "enjoying blacking out" thing!

I had a really fun time and actually met a guy from UMass Amherst! Small world! (Don't get any ideas ladies, like all other American men here, he has a *gorgeous* girlfriend, LOL!) I just enjoy meeting new friends so much and when we're from the same neck of the woods and share the same points of view, it's very nice! Jeff's here on the JET programme and is apparently a regular at the bar and completely "the guy to know!" I feel like being his friend will open many doors for me socially! Hooray!!

And I met another girl on the JET named Gillian who gave me some AWESOME news: cell phones in Japan have payment plans! (Daryn told me this about her phone, but I didn't realize it applied to Apple phones, too!!) So I'm totally *thinking* of getting an iPhone (I know guys, I'm so sorry, but ever since I played with one when Marci and I went to the cell phone store I've been a little bit in love!) and it should only cost about $15 per month to pay it off! How can I go wrong? I just love Japan, LOL!

Alright, so I went to a bar on New Years (and a McDonalds around 3a.m.). Not terribly exciting but I hate crowds and there was plenty of room at the bar! Plus, it felt so nice to go out and speak with native English speakers! I can't tell you what a difference it makes!!! Good times!! I hope everyone else's night/day was/is just as nice as mine was!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

Christmas comes to us but once a year...

... as does every other day on the calendar when you think about it.
My Mom sent me a pretty great Christmas tree (four, actually!) and it's an unspoken tradition that we take a picture of the tree every year, with the lights all lit and the ornaments glowing, so I thought I'd do it, too! Of course, it doesn't have the same effect, does it? LOL!

This year I thought I did really well being away from home (not my first Christmas this way, remember) until I opened a package from my Mom on Christmas Eve. (I was allowed to open this one as it had decorations and actually, I should have received it a few weeks before! Getting that package to the house is a very long, hard, *different* story though!) =D But as part of my decorations, my Mom had prepared EIGHT gorgeous scrapbook-style memory picture pages! They were thick and reinforced and had ribbons attached to be hung like paintings and they are so so soooooo beautiful!!

I purposely didn't bring any physical pictures with me to Japan (since they're all on my computer and I thought that would be enough to make me happy) but there really is something about having them around the room and being able to glance at them at any moment, especially in such beautiful settings! But when I opened the package it hit me pretty hard and I cried so forcefully that I was making funny noises and on the verge of hyperventilating, LOL! Emma's pictures were on top and I really miss having my baby here to play with. Sometimes in my apartment I can hear little sounds and I always think it's her.

By the time I was at the eighth poster though, I was laughing my butt off! Mom had included the one of me and Steph for Halloween, so I'm Elpheba and she's gothic girl in a cloak (did we ever have a name for you that day, Steph??) and we look hysterical! Yay for Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party!!! I can't wait to go to the one in Japan next year! Grr, sorry, I got distracted yet again, lol!

Steph and I posing with some Princesses at Disney World!

Left: top: Emma and I cuddling after a hangover nap! bottom: Emma looking forelorn on the stairs.
That one killed me, of course!
Right: Mom, Dad, and I at the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at Disney World! This was so great!!

Left: Mom and Dad at the fountain in Morocco at Epcot!
Right: top: The 5 College Program kids posing in uniforms!
bottom: Some roommates posing with Pluto!

The 7th picture (not shown) is above my bed and has Krista, Heather, and I in a group hug in Orlando! The 8th is of me and Emma cuddling and I put it in the kitchen to look at when I cook (hahahaha, "cook!" I know!)


Probably the best book ever written, this is hysterical and very naughty! I found some articles online that said a LOT of people thought the "lost manuscripts" were REAL!! (Clearly not history majors, LOL!) I still get such a kick out of reading them!


So I decorated my home with all the posters, some Christmas lights (thanks Mom!), and a bunch of Christmas cards I had received (Thank You everybody!!!)! Then I went to the 100yen store ($1) and bought a few Christmasey things to spruce up the table and the grocery store to buy some goodies so we could overindulge (since I didn't get to on Thanksgiving!)!

I invited my co-workers over to enjoy the evening with me and watch Christmas movies! (I brought a plethora from America for this very purpose!) After a couple of false starts (closer friends know who I'm referring to), we were able to get under way and have a really fun time!! You'll notice some poppers in the picture as well as some yummy HERSHEY KISSES, sent all the way from America by the wonderful Canton Family!! I decided to be a good girl and share, LOL, as there were plenty to go around! And they were DELICIOUS!!! THANK YOU!!! I really miss Hershey's chocolate, LOL! I understand that the Swiss chocolate around here is better quality, etc., but it just doesn't taste the same to me!! THANK YOU again Kris and Marci, you're wonderful!!!!!


There's more food warming in the microwave! We had chicken, too, but since we'd already had dinner we were mostly thinking of desserts! I actually splurged on a box of Ritz crackers but then couldn't find anything to put ON them!! I wish Mom was here to make one of her yummy cheese balls (especially the spicy one with the pineapple chunks! YUMMY!!!!!)

My Mom always makes beautiful presentations with her food!! I think I get that from her! Make it pretty before you eat it!! =D

These are the infamous (holidays only) Honey Roast Chicken flavored Pringles!! They taste like honey roasted peanuts (err, potato chips) and they are DELICIOUS!! We cracked into these at some point during the night, too! =D

When Ai comes over she is always cuddling with my Duke Elliot bear, so I thought I'd get her one of her own! Notice that hers (Princess Miranda) is wearing a removeable towel around her belly because she's used as a pillow generally, and this way you can remove the towel and wash it. I think it looks like she just stepped out of the shower though, LOL! I made a collar and bow for her out of wrapping paper, and I just love seeing her posing with her uncle Elliot! They looked so sweet together!
The wrapping paper that Marci used looks JUST LIKE Elliot and Miranda!!! Marci and I are totally psychic with each other!! For instance, I can read her thoughts at this very moment and she's thinking... "it's time for sushi!" Come on, how well do I know you?? =D

My beautiful pictures and some Christmas cards!!

Ai aiming a popper! This could end badly... ;)

WELL DONE!! (This was not posed, either Gary or Ai definitely hit the light, LOL!)

Mom sent some battery operated candles but I had no idea what setting to put the camera on to capture the warm glow!!

I'm useless with this camera! But look how pretty!! =D

Ai and Miranda giving Gary a new look!

Love and cuddles!!

This is from the Kamakura trip, but it was so funny I didn't want to rob you of it! On the brink of exhaustion and sickness, I was feeling a little loopy... though, let's face it, I hardly need an excuse to do my Walrus impersonation!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!

I just remembered something that I wanted to share with everyone, LOL!

There's a store in our mall that sells some really unusual and funny things (think Spencer's Gifts WITHOUT all the "adult" things!) and a few days ago I made a hilarious discovery there!

Alice in Wonderland was playing on a small tv near the back of the store and so (naturally) it caught my eye.
As I got closer (the sound was turned way down) I realized that it had been dubbed into Japanese. How interesting...

As I moved closer still, I see that there are several Disney movies to choose from in this fashion, but there's something strange about the cases...

They look very cheap, like color copies from Kinko's or something...

Then I look at the price tag...

525 yen each. That's about $5.00 in U.S. funds.

Sooooo, it all clicks into place that these DVDs are perhaps bootlegs but I'm perplexed as to why they're being sold in a retail store in the mall, where everything else is genuine??

And I'm also wrestling with the idea of buying the Alice one, LOL, since I'm such a huge fan of the movie! =D

I know no one will think that's half as interesting as my previous post, lol, but I couldn't resist!! =D
Have a beautiful day!

Kickin' it Kamakura-style

This is the first free moment I've had to do any posts! The whole last week has been filled with fun so please bear with me, the next two posts will most likely be longggg! =D
Sara H, Daryn, and I went to Kamakura and Tokyo last weekend! I had a really good time and can't wait to go back again!! We didn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the amazing things you can see there!!
*This poster was in a subway car on the way to Kamakura and I just couldn't resist capturing the moment!*
I must say it was shocking at first to see soooo many foreigners (English speakers) in one place, haha! I found myself staring at many Americans as if they were complete aliens... it was a very surreal weekend, haha!

To start at the beginning, Ai and I went to karaoke for three hours on Saturday night and then decided to hang out, which is how our weekends usually go! However, we completely lost track of time and I realized I was supposed to be awake and walking to the train in TWO HOURS (which is more about having to wake up at 4am than going to bed too late)! I couldn't decide if I should just stay awake (as I felt completely awake but was worried I would crash soon) and Ai thought two hours of sleep would be better than nothing, like taking a power nap. So we opted for the sleep.

Cut to four hours later. I kick myself awake and immediately notice the sun shining through the window and yelp "I'm LATE!!! Why didn't me alarm go off???" So I looked for the alarm clock and it was nowhere to be found! I ripped my nightstand and the area surrounding it up and still nothing! So I destroy the bed and low and behold: I had actually TURNED THE ALARM OFF (which takes a lot of effort due to the hard to move, small slider control) and put it UNDER MY PILLOW!!

Now, I've never moved much in my sleep, and I've *really* never been able to make entire conscious movements (i.e. turning off an alarm clock) and then fall right back to sleep with no recollection of it! It still perplexes me!

So I call everyone and make my apologies, I will now be two hours late!
The rest of the story is pointless I suppose (and perhaps the beginning is, too, but it gave me a laugh) but I'll give you a short version: I remember seeing another, faster route available on hyperdia.com so I decide to wing it and find my way myself after taking the Shinkansen train. It would have been okay (I'm cool asking for directions and everyone was extremely willing to help me) but then one of the trains didn't go as far as it was supposed to, LOL, which was against what the train map AND the conductor said! (Weird........) but long story short, I got into Kamakura, holler!


Welcome to Kamakura!! Daryn met me by the train and we walked around a bit before parking on a bench to talk while we waited for Sara to come in. I remember grabbing my banana out of my bag and Daryn and I were shocked to see it had turned BROWN within HOURS!! Weird....

I think this was a hotel. It was huge and beautiful, with a fountain out front and two guardian statues. None of the pictures came out very good but I really appreciated all the building's sharp angles. I wanted to keep the startling beauty of the place alive in my mind's eye... too bad I can't take pictures of *that* because that would be cool! =D
Sara posing with her boyfriend! It turns out Tommy Lee Jones does quite a lot of Japanese commercials! He's HUGE in Japan!!
The picture says "Real Women LOVE Purple Sweet Potato Ice Cream!" I couldn't resize my picture bigger (so that the three would look more even) without it becoming really pixelated but I thought this was good enough! That ice cream (home made and alllllll natural!) was the MOST delicious thing! I love that everyone in Japan loves sweet potatoes (especially tempura ones, YUM!!) because it makes every meal feel like dessert! =D
On top of the ice cream we ordered, the man (who was so kind!) gave us a little taste of another flavor of our choice. Daryn chose green tea and I chose chocolate... I can't remember Sara H's but I think it was fruit?? I remember it was delicious!! =D Here's Daryn giving me a bite of hers (and no, she's not insanely tall, haha, we were standing on stairs and I may have been crouching down!) =D
First order of business in Kamakura (umm.. second order, after the ice cream!) was visiting the Daibutsu (Great Buddha)! Apparently there are other Daibustu in the country that you can climb or go inside of, that's what my students told me. You couldn't do either here but this is the second largest Buddha in Japan! There was so many visiters, even though it was getting dark and was chilly, and I noted with interest that a lot of the visiters were Japanese people! I would have thought they would consider visiting Kamakura "old hat" if you will, but it is still a very popular destination!

Thanks to Daryn for the angling tips on this photo! I really like how it turned out!! =D

A huge tablet that was off to the side of the Daibutsu.
Having a zen-like moment.... though I suspect true zen-like moments don't involve such Disney smiles!
I really liked this hint of color in the trees! Most of the trees are bare now and they can't compare to the leaves at home, but it still stirs something in me to see the splash of color!
A lot of Japanese people were enthralled by this squirrel (which are apparently very rare here)! I thought he was super cute, too, though! He wasn't scared of people either because a man kept walking up and feeding him seeds(?), trying to get him to cooperate for the cameras, lol!
And now for a scary story: To get from one temple to the next you can talk the usual town streets OR you can hike up trails which at times can be pretty steep or narrow (and at least once it was both)! Even though it was already dark and we had no flashlights, adventure was in the air and we decided to see how far we could get! It was really fun though, especially when we decided to start taking random pictures of trees and things!

Side note: I decided to be a smartie a few times and would take pictures of the girls while we walked (though I still maintain that I was *NOT* trying to blind them with the flash, I just enjoy candids!) but after a quick, violent wrestle for the camera, I was forced to swear not to put any of them online! ;-)
(I have a feeling I'll pay for that) =D

Back to the scary story: So after Daryn takes a couple of shots she suddenly exclaims, "what IS that??? Up ahead?? A beach ball???" The tone of surprise in her voice was enough to make me jump out of my skin, but add it to the fact that I can't see anything and I'm starting to get *very* scared! When Daryn shows me the photo (hooray for LCD screens!) we can see a strange circle of LIGHT in the photo!!!! Now, there is absolutely not a SINGLE light source in these woods NOR is there ANYTHING that would reflect the flash back to us!! This has now graduated to EXTREMELY fun!! At least we figured it was a friendly ghost because we really did feel perfectly safe! And since we got through the woods completely without incident (which is highly against the odds considering it was three people walking through pitch black woods for two hours!) I'd say we were right! Thank you, Forest Spirit!!

When I could detect any signs on the trees I would take pictures. Granted I couldn't read them, but it was still fun!
We make it to the second temple! All along one side are several scenes with miniatures set up. Since we didn't take a Japanese person with us I don't know any of the specifics of "why" but I'm going to show the pictures to Ai next week and I'll report any answers we come up with!


I read a few of these little prayer signs which were from Children's Day and one that particularly entertained me was written by someone named something like Karen Rainbow? (or Treelove or something?? Does anyone remember?) It was nice though, it totally reminded me of Northampton and home!

Every temple has a system like this towards the front and the girls taught me how to use it. You use the cups to put water into your left hand and then bring the water from the left hand to the right hand. Use it to wash your hands and then use the cup again to rinse your mouth out, too. Gotta clean the dirty stuff before heading in! =D Coming down the stairs from the second temple. It was too hard to get a good shot of these banners, but they lined the entire pathway/staircase out of the temple. There was definitely over a hundred! And you'll notice the dog guardian statues are all wearing capes/bibs. That's another thing I want to find out about!


We had to walk up a bastard of a hill and then down through a cave to get to the third temple. I decided to stop taking pictures, opting to steal Daryn's once she puts them up because they're all so amazing!! Talk about art!! =D This temple was home of the famous "money washing" ceremony! As I understand it, you pay 100 yen (roughly $1) for a bowl. Put however much cash you have in it and it will get washed in special, blessed water which will dry naturally and is supposed to double your money!! How great does that sound? One of my students said he participated once and it did double his money! =D We were there too late otherwise it would have been fun to try!

Dozens, if not hundreds, of CHAINS of paper cranes were hanging from the cave ceiling! I really want to find out why they were there, it seemed unusual. Perhaps they were souvenirs for the people who participated in the money washing ceremony? I wonder... Every single tiny color is a different paper crane. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to make these! Can you imagine if that was your only source of income? I'd probably go crazy! "Can I make a dinosaur or something? I'm sick of these cranes!"

Another night time shot at the third temple. It's always way too tempting for me to want to ring the bell!

I can't remember WHAT was said on the way home, but Daryn decided to stay on the ground and laugh for a while! Gooood times!!! Notice the Starbucks bag?? Yep, Starbucks are everywhere here! I miss my cheap and delicious Dunkin Donuts though!! Drool....


Daryn dancing M.C. Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit" and showing off our AWESOME bunk beds at the first night's hostel! I loved this place!! And it felt just like camp! Daryn and I got the giggles so bad that we couldn't fall asleep for a longggg time! Then suddenly we heard a door open and immediately were quiet! I whispered "uh-oh, BUSTED! Dad's home!" and after a quick laugh we were able to doze off to Slumber Land!


Day Two: Right next to the hostel was another temple. I took a picture from the outside but didn't venture too far in.
I really like the bridge and all the red fences (popular at the temples)! This one was at the entrance to a huge temple in the center of Kamakura, next to the Museum of Modern Art actually! That's somewhere I'd like to go next time!
Did I mention Kamakura is on the water? It was very windy and chilly that day but people were still windsurfing!! These people are die-hards! can you see the guy on the right of the photo out on his board??

Close-up the same guy, though there were at least three people on the water that day!
There's a bird on the beach that looks like a chicken, haha!


I thought this old woman was making rope so I hid behind a shed to take a picture! I watched her measuring out thick rope with her hands but she was actually hammering something, so I'm not sure what she was up to!
Postcard material??
The building across the water reminded me of the prison in the Shawshank Redemption, LOL, I'm not sure why! (There was two buildings, I'm referring to the one on the right!) Can you see the three windsurfers??

This was our station stop for the hostel.

The green train is called the Enoden line. It's a trademark of Kamakura and you can buy many souvenirs with famous Japanese characters (Hello Kitty, etc.) riding them! I thought Dad might want to see the trains! =D

Dad-- I got close to the controls to take pictures for you! I thought you may be interested in the way they work! I couldn't believe how many buttons and controls there were! I thought you just went straight ahead, LOL. Interesting!!




Back in the center of Kamakura, I was trying to capture allll the banners around this shrine!


Off to Tokyo!! This giant panda looked so soft and beautiful!

This is an ACTUAL subway sign, warning people not to drink and take public transport! Do it at home, LOL!
Funny how in American if you drink at home all the time you're considered an alcoholic... hmmmm.... Actually, the idea of alcoholism doens't exist in Japan!

While we were bouncing around Tokyo we decided to go to Harajuku, home of the famous Harajuku girls (young women who dress in pretty eccentric fashions, regardless of the weather which still amazes me!)! Here are a few of the fashions available in some stores!

Ahh, the crinoline skirt is essential to work any of these Harajuku outfits!

Whispering secrets to a pimped out Mickey Mouse at La Chance Outlet (where everything is only 300yen!)

Sara and I enjoyed some AMAZING crepes! Mine had cheesecake, caramel sauce, and a scoop of ice cream, YUM!!

This massive, multi-story Christmas ad for the GAP features Rainn Wilson (of TV's The Office) and I couldn't resist taking a picture for Lydia!! =D ENJOY!

Daryn and I are posing with *actual* Gangsta baby dolls! They were outfitted with Bling, and askew baseball caps or do-rags! Ahh, Kodak moments!

Day Three: This absolutely SLAYED me! This place is called UNO. It's an entertainment plaza, which means there's gambling there (and I'm sure other pasttimes) but just the fact that soooo many people were queuing to get inside to gamble struck me as extremely funny!! Did I mention this wa 11am??? Sweet!

The last new thing we did was go off to Nakano Broadway! This multi-story "mall" is famous for collectible memorabilia from American and Japan! It's considered a mecca for Anime collectors and features tons of stores with comic books, cosplay costumes, and other collectibles! We only made it through three floors but that was enough, haha! That place was HUGE!!

I had a really great time! I especially loved Harajuku! I think on my next trip (in a warmer climate!) I'll bring my Alice in Wonderland costume! And I want to take lots of pictures with the other girls! It was rainy or cold most of the time when we were there so we didn't get any great pictures, but I'll find some online to give you an idea of the Harajuku awesomeness!!

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots but if I think of anything noteworthy I will totally post a follow-up!!
My next post will be all about Christmas (which was always amazing!)! It's been such a great couple of weeks!
I hope you're all doing well and had very Happy Holidays!! New Years is coming, I hope yours is safe, happy, and prosperous!!
All my Love,
Sarah