The Second Update

Well, I heck of a lot has happened since my last update. The videos I'm posting today though are only about one of them though. Perhaps the coolest thing I've seen so far in Japan is the Kaminarimon and Sensou-ji. That is, the Gate of the Thunder God and the temple Sensou-ji. My goodness was that some amazing architecture. It was a great visual and culture experience and I was certainly happy to be able to take it all in.

For those of you who wanted souvenirs (and some of you who didn't), it is worth mentioning that I picked up some really great things at the Tokyo National Museum. I hope that they meet with your approval. Speaking of the Tokyo National Museum, we went there yesterday (Sunday 16th). It was a generally great time and was comparable to a top notch museum in the states. The one crucial dilemma was that there weren't English translations for some of the objects on display (not that I'd expect there to be, really), but, honestly, they provided a lot more English descriptions than I expected...it was more than enough to give me a feel of what I was looking at. I saw exhibits on Japanese archeology, swords, art, and Buddhism, among others. We also took the English language tour (by volunteers). That was really nice, but I think I liked going on my own more.

After the museum, my friend Akira's father took us out for an authentic Japanese meal. I had so much food! He ordered us tons of great things like, sashimi, tofu, fried tofu, mackerel, roasted miso paste and nuts, cow tongue, and Japanese salad. Of course we also had a round of beers and then Akira's father and I got to drinking sake. We each had three tokkuri in traditional Japanese style. I was pretty much done at that point and we left to go on a walk through Ueno's famous park...that's when he saw an Irish pub. So, I learned how to drink like a Japanese business man and about the interesting life of Akira's father. I must say he was very, very kind to us all. Surprisingly enough I made it home with little trouble and woke up (after sleeping for 10 hours) feeling rested and ready for class. Amazing! Class really did go well today too. We learned how to talk about our families. Good stuff.

Well, I'm doing well here in Japan. We're going to a Tea Ceremony tomorrow, out with our friend Roger on Wednesday, to a clothing making event in Kamagome on Thursday, and then on Friday I am meeting up with my Japanese language partner in Harajuku. Busy times, but good times. I hope you all are going very well back home...or wherever you may be. Cheers.