Wednesday, September 30, 2009

School and some politics

Headed to school a little earlier today to work on Accounting. After class I headed home. I saw this poster near the station and thought it was kinda funny. Since I got here in 2002 Japan has gone through at least three different prime ministers with the last one getting the worst approval rating yet. Like the United States, Japan recently had a major change in political party. Instead of the LDP (Librial Democratic Party) the main party is the JDP (Japan Democratic Party). It was interesting cause the JDP used the a very Obama style campaign, using words like "change" and "hope".
Anyhow the last prime minister wasn't the best speaker and was known for using Japanese that the Shogun would use when addressing peasants or not being able to read some Kanji in speeches that he gave.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Kamakura, work, and Shinjuku

Today I got up a little early and headed to Kamakura about an hour outside of Tokyo. There I met up with John, his girlfriend and her sister and we rented bikes to ride around on for the day. We got there just before 12 so we all headed to Kua'aina for lunch and then biked to the beach nearby. We hung out there for a couple hours and swam in the ocean for a bit. There were a bunch of surfers out and the waves were pretty good too. From there we went to Starbucks and sat outside with our drinks while we dried off. After that we biked around Kamakura and went to some of the more famous places before heading back to Tokyo.
When I got back, I took a quick shower and headed to work and then headed to Shinjuku to meet up with them again in at Hub and then Sukiya for cheese Gyudon.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Work

Had work in Shibuya and then headed home.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Work, BBQ, and hanging out with work people

Headed to work like usual today and then after work stoped home and changed before heading to a BBQ at a friend's house in Azabu. From there some friends and I headed to Ebisu where we met up with people I work with, had a beer and headed home.
In most parts of Tokyo it's against the law to walk and smoke in an effort to keep the streets clean and prevent smoke from blowing in your face when you are walking. To enforce this they have guys who wear vests and a pouch for you to extinguish your cigarette in and I think they fine you $20 or so.

Friday, September 25, 2009

School and party

School like usual. In the evening I headed to Shibuya where I met up with John and some other friends at coins bar and we spent the evening there and headed home around 11 or 12.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

School, work, Japan

School like usual and then work. After work I headed to 82 Ale where I met up with John and Helene. Witter got Helene's old TV so she brought it to 82 and then we had some drinks and I made the last train home.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Work and Chocolate

Work in Shinagawa again. The train that I took there today was bought out by Meiji and was wrapped to look like a chocolate bar. I was taking the picture of the train itself as I went up the escalator so it came out kinda blurry but you get the idea. On the inside of the train every add was for Meiji chocolate including the advertisements played on the TV. This train is the Yamanote line and the busiest line in Tokyo making marketing like this some of the most expensive and buying out the entire train not just one or two cars can cost a lot. If you click on the link you can watch the advertisements that were played on the train but be careful not to watch the first commercial too many times or you'll be singing "Chocolato, Chocolato, Chocolato wa Me-i-ji"

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Work

Today I had work and then headed home. Nothing too interesting today aside from this awesome sign.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Work and hanging out

Met up in the afternoon with Beck in Shibuya and got Burger King. The menu is pretty much the same other than the Teriyaki Whopper and the fact that Heineken is part of the drink menu. From there I headed to work in Shinagawa and then stopped home before going back out to Shibuya to meet up with Beck again. I was looking for a new T-shirt so we checked out H&M Uniqlo and Gap. One thing that I noticed and appreciated all over again was the level of service here. When we walked into Gap there was a girl at the door greeting us and smiling and as we moved though the store the rest of the staff did the same. I didn't actually buy anything but I wanted to just because of the way I was treated there. Very different feel than the clothing stores in America. From there we went to Tsutaya and Beck got Mirror's Edge and Halo Wars for 360. We headed to his house and Witter came over and we played video games for a while.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Work and party

Headed to work in Shibuya today and then headed home, did some laundry and headed back out to Aoyama and a place there called Laputa. It's on the roof of a building 9 stories up with a pool and a great view of the city. It was pretty packed when I got there. On each side of the pool were rooms each with their own DJ and genre of music. It was a nice set up.
After that Bata, Hide, and I all headed to Roppongi and met up with some other friends at Geronimo which is a shot bar near the crossing. They have a drum there and if you hit the drum you have to buy everyone in the bar a shot so depending on the night you go you can get a lot of free shots. Around 3 we took a Taxi to Bata's house. His dad is the ambassador of South Africa so they have a really sweet 3 story house.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

School, work, and party?

School like usual in the afternoon followed by work in the evening. When I got home one of my friends invited me out for a birthday party at Lex. I had planed on staying home, but after some convincing I caved and met up with her and her friends there. They got the VIP section which was nice cause I was able to sit down and didn't have to get my own drinks.

Friday, September 18, 2009

School and Onsen

Headed to school like usual and then after headed to the Host Family's for dinner. After dinner we headed to the Onsen. Since Friday is the start of Silver week, I think a lot of people are out of town so it wasn't crowded at all which was nice. Silver week is another string of holidays in Japan, while Golden week is in May Silver week is in September and consists of the weekend followed by made up holidays like "Respect Elders Day", "National Holiday", and "Autumn Equinox".

Thursday, September 17, 2009

School and food

School like usual and then Ootoya for dinner.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Business, school, and walking around

Today I met up with Mike and some other people that I'm going to be working with in Tsukiji. We're working on a project which may or may not pay off, but either way it's good connections. In the evening I had accounting like usual and then met up with Witter and Beck in Tokyo where we hung out and walked to Shimbashi. Since it's cooler in the evening now, Tokyo is such a good city just to walk around in.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

School and work

Headed to school like usual followed by work. It's really starting to cool down now which is great.

Monday, September 14, 2009

School

School like usual.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Work and hanging out

Work in Ginza today. After work I met up with John and Beck in Ginza and we went to the Yoshinoya there for dinner. It's kinda funny cause Ginza is some of the most expensive land in Tokyo and has some of the most expensive shops and places to eat, so there aren't any fast food places aside from the Yoshinoya. Yoshinoya is basically Japanese fast food with their main dish being "Gyudon" which is a rice bowl with beef and onions on top. It's fantastic. After that we walked to Tokyo and from there Beck and I headed to Shibuya where we met up with Mike and his friend, had a couple drinks and that was the night.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Work

Work like usual. After work I headed to Ootoya and had the Kimchi donburi which is really good. Then when I got home I had planned on going out at night but wound up staying in cause of the rain and didn't really feel like going out anyhow.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Work, School, Suit, and Sake

Today I worked on a video project that I'm doing for my friend's company and then went to school like usual. After class I headed to Shinjuku where I picked up my new suit and it's awesome. From there I headed to Roppongi and met with with an old friend Tokyo friend who I hadn't seen for a year or so and we got food and then grabbed a drink at A971.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

School, suit, and work

School like usual. After I headed to Totodon for a bowl of rice with fish on top for lunch. Then I headed to Shinjuku where I met up with Mike and John to try on our suits. The pants on mine were a little too long so I had to get mine readjusted before heading to work. Guess I'll get it tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Suits and school and Dreamcast 10 year anniversary

Headed out to Shinjuku and met up with Mike and his friend John who is visiting to check out suits. Since the pants on one of my suits is getting shiny it's time for a new one anyhow. We started at Aoki since they have the cheapest suits but didn't really see anything good so we went to another place next door which I don't remember the name of but they didn't really have anything that seemed interesting either. After that we went to the Perfect Suit Factory which seemed pretty good. The one guy working there didn't seem deterred by the fact that he couldn't really speak English and helped us out. I think we found suits we liked there the best cause of the service and we really got to try stuff on. Also the layout made it easy to see what everything was priced at and which sizes would fit us. Anyhow, we still wanted to look around a bit so we went to Aoyama and Zara but didn't really see anything of interest there so then went to Kinokuniya and look at GQ magazine to check the latest styles before heading to Mr. Donut for donuts before going back to Perfect Suit Factory where we made our final decision and got them fitted. Being a suit store they also sold dress shirts and ties and at Perfect Suit Factory they had lame ties. Lame is taken from French and means "shiny" or "glitter" in Japanese. It's pronounced like "ramen" but with a "L" and no "N". But I stick with the English pronounciation.
The nice thing about Tokyo is that there are a ton of Suit stores all competing which keeps prices low and gives a wide variety of styles. Mike's friend who is visiting from the US specifically brought money for a suit in Japan because it's easier to find a more stylish suit that fits better than most places in the US.
Today was also the anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast one of the last great gaming systems ever made. A couple titles didn't make it to the top ten list below, but I'd like to make a mention of a couple which I think should have been on there as well. Rez, Ikaruga, Samba de Amigo, Virtua Tennis, Space Channel Five, Rayman 2, Quake III, Dead or Alive 2, Virtua Fighter 3tb, Chu Chu Rocket, Toy Commander, Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, Ecco the Dolphin, Bomberman Online, Daytona USA 2001, and Outtrigger

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

School, work, and Networking

Headed to school like usual. After class I had work till :30 then headed to Akasaka-Mitsuke for a networking event at Sam and Dave's. It's kind of a waste of time to go to a networking event with no business card but I met up with some friends there and met some other people so it was worth it.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Food, shoes, and School

Met up with Beck today for lunch at Ootoya and then headed to Big-b to get some new shoes in my size. After that I headed home for a bit and then back out to school for accounting.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sunday

Today I met up with John and Beck in Tokyo and we got burgers at Kua'aina. At the Marunouchi building this month they have jazz bands playing and it was pretty cool. From there we headed out to Ginza and walked there since the weather was great. On the way there we passed another event outside and there was another jazz band playing outside. Pretty cool. From there we walked to Tsukiji where we stopped at Sushizanmai which is a cheap local sushi place. We only got a bit and then left. From there we went to Tsukiji where Beck used to live and had a couple drinks in the park there.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Work and work party

Work like usual. After work I stopped home and then headed back out to for a small work party. We made some tacos and ate them and then I headed home.

Friday, September 4, 2009

School

School like usual and then home in the evening.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

School and a Football game

Headed to school like usual and then stopped home for a bit before heading back out where I met up with John, Helene, and Jin to go to the football game at Tokyo Dome. Tokyo Dome is pretty cool, cause there is the stadium but also some amusement park rides and other stuff to do all in the same area.
A lot of the big companies in Japan have their own football teams and will hire people similar to how a University will take a dumb student despite a low GPA. Kinda makes me wish I had played football in high school since the level of these teams was similar or maybe even lower than high school. Anyhow, I was on the side of the Mitsubishi Lions who lost 13-0 against the Asahi Beer Silver Stars. We got in free cause John used to date one of the cheerleaders. It's kinda funny cause John was telling me how his old girlfriend was the youngest cheerleader at 24 and most of the girls are in their 30's and most of them work as OL's during the week. After the game we stoped at Dubliners where one of our friends works and had a couple drinks before heading home.