Work

Work in Shinjuku and then a lesson after.

Work and party

Had work like usual and then home. For dinner I got some sushi from the place near my house. At the end of the day they mark everything down to half price and it's always a good deal. After that I headed out to Dave's place in Shinmaruko for a party. Around 11 a couple more people showed up and we all went to Shibuya and club Camelot. It's one of the better clubs in Shibuya and has two floors. In the morning we all went to a Ramen place and then headed home.

Hanging out

Studied Japanese in the afternoon and then in the evening I met up with a friend in Tamachi. We went to 82 Ale for a drink and then since it was raining went to a dart bar nearby. The first game I won by a lot and then in the second two games she kicked my butt. I think darts is just a game of luck, but I guess you could argue there is still involved.

Work and Izakaya

Work like usual and then in the evening I headed to Shimbashi where I met up with John and Helene at an Izakaya there for a drink. Izakayas are Japanese style bars and traditionally have the menu posted on the wall. If you can't read Japanese, it can sometimes be difficult to order in this situation.

Work and words

Headed to work like usual and then went home. The word for today is (お疲れ様) said "o-tsu-kare-sama" and is translated as thank you for your hard work or good work. People often ask me how to say this in English but we don't really have a phrase like it that is used in the same way in English. Most commonly it's heard when going home after work or sometimes used as a greeting at the beginning of the day as well. You can hear it in this commercial for this energy drink. You can hear the phrase about 18 seconds in.

Study and work

Studied Japanese today for 4 hours and then had work in the evening like usual.

Monday, Monday

Work like usual and then home.

Workin'

Had work in Shinjuku like usual and then headed home.

Work and Party

Headed to work like usual and the in the evening I headed over Dave's place for a party. It was fun as always but I'm gonna be tired the next day as always.

Hawaiian Burger

Today I headed to Shibuya and met with one of my private students for a lesson and then at night I had the Hawaiian Burger at McDonald's. It was pretty good, and I like it better than the New York burger, but it was a little hard to eat cause the egg on it made it hard to keep together.

Work

Work like usual and then home. There is a new add up for train manners. This one is about not ignoring people who should be sitting in the courtesy seat.

Work and Wednesday words

Work like usual and then home.
There are a couple words that you will hear a lot on TV and anytime you eat anything in Japan. (おいしい) said "o-i-shi" meaning delicious or good. The other word is (うまい) said "u-mai" which also has the same meaning but . There is anther variation of this which is (うめえ) said "ume" which is more casual/gangster way of saying something is delicious. In the video you'll hear the guys say "Umae", the girl says "oishii" and the guy in the red says "meccha ume" meaning it's really good.

Work

Headed to work like usual and then home. It's so cold now. Can't wait for spring. One of my friends found the video below and was asking me about it. There are a lot of things that give the impression that Japan is a strange country and this can be added to that list. The purpose of this video is to help people with social anxiety look at people in the face. On YouTube there are two other videos, one with a little girl which is creepy and one with a white girl. At the end of the video below the girl says, (零れてる) meaning "I'm not phased" or something like that. On YouTube they only have the girls but apparently you can buy a full set of guys as well for girls. I will be making my own version some time next month, so you can look forward to a video of me staring at you for one minute straight.

Immigration and work

Headed to Shinagawa this morning and then took the bus to the immigration office. I hate riding that bus casue it's always packed with foreigners who often smell and are pushy and rude when exiting the bus. Anyhow, I got to immigration and followed the green line on the ground to the student services section on the 2nd floor. After my number was called I submitted all my paperwork waited for about 5-10 minutes and then was told to go downstairs to recieve the stamp for the paperwork which costs about $40. After purchasing and applying the stamp I returened to the the 2nd floor where I submittted that paper and then waited another 30-40 minutes. Finally I was able to recieve my updated visa and work permit.

In the evening I had work like usual and then headed home.

Valentine's Day

Today I met with my new private student in Shinjuku and she gave me some "giri choko" which roughly translates to "obligatory chocolate". In Japan, Valentine's Day is more of a one way holiday involving girls giving chocolate to boyfriends or guys they work with. The chocolate given for Boyfriends of a guy they are interested in will usually be higher quality or hand made chocolate while the "giri choko" is usually just a store bought chocolate bar. While some companies and further influence of Western culture gradually encouraging that guys reciprocate the chocolate they receive on Valentine's Day instead of waiting till the following month. On March 14th there is a holiday called "White Day" which was made by a marshmallow company in which the guys are expected to return the gifts they received on Valentine's Day originally in the form of marshmallows, hence the term "white day". White chocolate, or lingerie as well as marshmallows are popular on this day. Also guys are expected to spend three times more on the girl than she did on the guy. I think having these holidays a month apart makes it easy to receive the chocolate on the 14th and then break up by next month to avoid the extra costs associated with white day.

Work

Work like usual and in the evening I met up with Takehito. He's moving and one of my friend's could use a stereo so he drove me home with the stereo.

Nissan Showroom in Yokohama

Headed to the New Nissan headquarders and show room in Yokohama today. They had the GTR from Super GT there that won all the races and I met briefly with my friend Dave who works there. The building is awesome and the feel is very cool.

Holiday!

Today is is National Foundation day. It's a day set aside for Japanese to celebrate the founding of the nation and the imperial line by the first emperor who established the capital in Yamato. It was super cold and rainy today, but I still managed to talk my friend into coming out for dinner. We went to Bagus Bar in Shibaura around 7:30 and headed home at 11:00. It was kinda funny cause while we were there one of the guys I work with in Tamachi saw me and said "hey".

Work and Wednesday words

Work like usual and then home. The words today are most commonly used to express disbelief. The first is used the same way as it is in English. (本当、本当に) said "hontou" or "hontou ni". It rhymes with "loan go key". This means really, truly, or honestly. There is a variation of this (本気) said "honki" and rhymes with "loan key". Honki has the feel like serious? or for real? There is one more along these lines which is (まじ、まじで) said "maji" or "maji de" again meaning serious or really but in a more casual way.
There is one more word which is my personal favorite. (うそ) said "uso" and rhymes "do so" which "directly translated means "lie". This one is hilarious cause it's used in the same way as "hontou" but when you translate it back it's like you are accusing the other person of lying to you.

Work

Headed to work like usual and then home.

Work and the New York Burger

Headed to Tamachi and to McDonald's for the New York burger. The second in their series of US state themed burgers. They are only doing Texas, New York, California, and Hawaii. I guess cause these are the only states that most Japanese know. I told my friend that I was waiting for the Ohio burger and he said no one would buy it cause it would be cold with a bunch of bad sports teams on it.

Work

Work like usual. In the evening I met up with a new client for an hour and then headed home.

Everyday life in Japan

This video pretty much sums up my day today.

Work

Work like usual and then 82 after for a drink and then home. It was super windy today.

Work and stuff

Had work like usual and then home. The picture below requires no explanation.

Sukiya, Snow, and a crazy old guy and Wednesday words

Headed to school today to get a letter that I need for my visa and then to Sukiya for lunch. There was a crazy old guy there making jokes to the female staff and making them feel uncomfortable. It was kinda funny. After that I had work like usual and on the way home it snowed a bit like on Monday.

Two common words that you see or hear often in Japan are (注意) said "chewie" which means be careful or caution. This is often seen in train stations and heard when the doors are closing telling you to be careful of the closing doors. The other word today is (馬鹿) said "baka" meaning idiot or moron. By combining these two words you can say "careful idiot!" or in Japanese (注意馬鹿) "chewie baka"

Work

Headed to work like usual with Sukiya for lunch. For dinner I went to Origin Bento, they have a new Gyu Karubi, which is some kind of flavored beef with beans and onions, it's good.

Snow in Tokyo

Today I had work like usual and in the evening on the way home it snowed for the first time of 2010. It melted when it hit the ground so it wasn't anything major, but kinda fun.