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If a picture is worth 1000 words, then how's this?

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Justin In Japan

The calm after the storm.

Sorry for the delay in updates. It has been a couple of busy weeks. I really haven't had much time to work on this thing in between school, meetings with the health care people, other appointments, and being social with my classmates. So, I'll summarize my past two weeks with this: Placement Exam, Classes, and Typhoon.

Last week I took a placement exam to figure out which level of Japanese I should be taking. I got a 40 out of 100 which put me into level 2. I'll be learning new grammar and vocabulary. The exam was rough. There was two writing parts, a listening comprehention part, and an oral interview. I totally choked on the oral part (hush Reya). Anyway, I am so glad I made it into level 2. There are a few students who have had more Japanese taught to themthan me, but placed in level 1. So, I am happy about that. I really do need to practice my conversation skills. Fortunately, I'll have several helpers every morning and evening who speak little or no English. I'm hoping I'll learn quickly.

I've had one week of class so far. It is, as the syllabus describes, intense. Aizawa-sensei is the main teacher for my level. He is pretty intense himself. He speaks at a faster pace than I'm used to, but his intonation is exaggerated so I can understand most of what he says. The fact that he is very active, and is (I think) an ex-boxer is a bit intimidating. When he calls my name in class, any answer I have prepared just flies out of my brain. I do homework for at least 2 hours every weekday. That's not including studying. I'm hanging in there.

A few days ago Typhoon Fitow rolled through the Tokyo area. Thankfully, we were only in the outer edge of the storm. We still got plenty of rain and some wind, but not the 80+ mph they got around Tokyo. I can now say that I've been through a Typhoon! Hopefully that's the only one I'll have to weather. Anyway, I have to go meet with Dr. Reagan soon, so I'm going to run. I'll try and update pictures soon.

You may have noticed that you can't post any comments without signing up. I'm trying to configure it to allow anonymous posts, but I can't figure it out. I'll let you know if/when it's fixed.

Kyoto

If you can believe it, we had little jet lag after the flight. The next day, the resident director here, Dr. Reagan, offered to take us to the city of Kyoto. Kyoto was the old capital of Japan before before Tokyo. It is very, very old and was relatively unscathed by WW2. The train ride was about 45 minutes long.

Here's Dr. Reagan pointing the way.


Here's a really, really, REALLY small look at the station. It wasn't too busy that day because of the heat.


Inside the station there is a 5-star hotel, a 10 story department store that sells everything from food to high-end clothing and jewelry, movie theaters, a performance theater, a full mall with restaurants was in the basement. We ate at a German-style restaurant downstairs that evening. It wasn't bad, but it was nothing like home cooking.

We were able to get into the hotel, but I think Dr. Reagan wanted to sneak us in. The escalator had a lift function for wheelchairs, but mine was too big. So one of the staff escorted us to the VIP elevator in the basement. The elevator took us up to the skywalk of the hotel. The view was breath-taking.






After that we went to see the art exhibit in the lobby hallway. One painting struck me.


A close up of the pattern on his kimono shows the skill of the artist. A university student.


We decided to head out into the city for awhile.


I saw the van and asked Charlie to take a picture for us Co Mo townies.


The front of the hotel was not 1/10th as impressive as the inside.


Vending machines are quite popular here, and sell everything from coffee to beer.


There were a few taxis in front of the station, but everything was ordered and every driver knew when it was his or her turn.


We walked about 3 blocks when Dr. Reagan decided to guide us down this side "street" looking for a place to eat. It was very narrow and looked rather seedy.


I was really astonished when we came across this restaurant. It had a small koi pond in the entrance that had some enormous fish in it. Too bad it had a step.


I've got to study, but I wanted to show you a couple of shots of the night view before I go. I'm coming back when I have the time.



Hi Mom! Hi Dad!


Charlie says, "Hi." too.

Well everyone, here I am! I arrived safely, on time, and all my stuff was in one piece (give or take a screw). We arrived in Detroit a little late, but we had a few hours to kill before we left. Right off the plane it hit me that I was "going far, far away". Even though I was still in Detroit. Our business class tickets got us access to the "World Perks" lounge at the terminal. It reminded me of a fancy hotel. We made it to the 747 on time (barely, thanks Eastern Time). The flight was pretty damn long, but very posh. We had hot towels, a substantial meal, the whole nine yards. The only problem was the plane was so damn cold. There was condensation pouring off of the vents. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the "steam" from the vents.




The meal was very good. We had marinated vegetables, smoked salmon, udon noodles, miso soup, and chicken teriyaki. The trip over was relatively uneventful. There was a crying kid, but she was quiet after awhile. We caught a tailwind over Russia, so we were a bit earlier than scheduled. However, our chaperone was late because of an accident with the trains, but he made it. Coming up next, our trip to Kyoto!

EDIT: I'm still trying to get a handle on this thing, so check back for updated formats!