My Japantics

In case you haven't heard, I moved to a new area! Goodbye, Ikebukuro and hello, Shinjuku! I'm not exactly in Shinjuju but I'm in one of its suburbs. And I love my new neighborhood. My old area was nice, but this area has more of that small-town feeling. There's a local produce shop and a local home shop that I walk by frequently and it's always the same people at the shop. There's the old man down the road, who I befriended when he saw me looking for cicadas in the trees one day and showed me more of them. And I love seeing more wildlife than just the occasional feral cat. The other day, I went to the bon odori in my area. The only person I knew was the old man with a similar fascination for cicadas and I didn't know any bon dances. But suddenly, one of the other elders in my neighborhood calls me over and has me go to the stage. A group of older women are there in their magnificent yukata and they teach me and a couple of other 20 somethings the dances. Afterwards, they handed me a microphone and asked me to make a speech. I felt a mixture between shocked, flattered, and nervous, but I gave it my best shot. I told everyone this was my first bon odori and that I had a lot of fun. よろしくお願いします. Even though there are other foreign people in my area, they tend to isolate themselves from the community. Even I haven't talked to any of them and there are several in my building. I think this is why my neighbors are curious about me.

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote on here! Something amusing just happened that I'd like to share with you all. I was trying to charge my train pass, so I put some money into the slot. It spit my money out so I did what anyone would do: flatten the bills and try again. This was the wrong move. Suddenly a buzzer goes off and a tiny door I didn't even know existed opens up and the man tells me to wait a moment. Picture the scene in the Wizard of Oz when they reach the door and you'll know exactly what I mean. Anyway, the man comes back with 1000 yen and says to try again with the crisp bill. As soon as I've charged my card, he thanks me for waiting, I apologize for troubling him, and the tiny door closes.

So kotaro and i went to a restaurant themed like the American Old West and he didn't understand why i thought this was funny

Despite what the media coverage might have you think, those square dogs are not a trend in Japan. Also, things in Tokyo were just fine. The earthquakes were a bit large and i was definitely on high alert, but I was never in any danger. During the first one, I was relaxing on my computer when i got a message warning me about the quake. Suddenly, the house made this loud groan and everything started swaying. I immediately got under my desk with my phone, but it was a long one. I was worried it would become stronger, but it stopped after about a minute. Nothing dropped in my room, and i went into the hall to talk to my housemates. When the second earthquake hit, i was cooking a rice omlette with Kotaro. While i was standing at the stove, it started becoming harder to stand and i wondered if I was sick. Then Kotaro and I both realized it was an earthquake. We sat in the dining room and watched the rack with the microwave slide back and forth across the floor for more than a minute. I was becoming really worried, but Kotaro seemed more concerned about consoling me. Nothing in the kitchen fell, so we watched the news report about the earthquake. It was the strongest one I've felt, but only a shindo 4.

Sorry that I've kept you all out of the loop. A lot has been going on in my life. I'll start with the good things. I have grown very close to my housemates. They always support me, much like a family. We cook together and laugh together. Sadly, one of them is moving back to the US today. I also have an amazing boyfriend now. He and I had an instant connection. We're almost the same person in many ways. He's so handsome and everything I ever wanted in a man. I feel lucky everyday. I'm meeting his parents in a few days too. Wish me luck! As for the bad news, it's pretty bad. A friend I made during the holidays was brutally murdered by his younger brother. I'm still in shock. He wanted so much for himself and was doing everything he could to get it. It's hard getting by knowing that he's not around to make that difference in the world. So how am I doing? Good question.

I bought a shirt. This is what the tag says.

You see this guy here? He was being a creep and sneaking photos of foreign women he saw. Only foreign women and only blondes. J-guy saw him and decided to exact a little revenge. He took this picture and said 'kimochi warui'.

Sorry it took so long for me to post this. Here's my holidays (Christmas and oshogatsu) at a glance. I did the countdown at an observatory, so I could see the whole city around me! The bag is from Muji . I decided to go hard and participate in fukubukuro!

Omg i stumbled across a taco shop. You have no idea how happy I am!

Japan things: getting a new year's present from the pharmacy

Oh Japanese beauty products. No, that isn't a typo. There are extracts from human placenta in this.

I'm worried that I'm coming down with something, so I'm going to try one of those vitamin C drinks they always advertise. Here goes nothing.

In caseyou were wondering about Japanese dominos, i decided to take a picture! This is a medium by the way.

Went to a cat cafe the other day with my housemate! So much fun!

On my way to work

Omurice take two!

J-guy and I visited the East Imperial Gardens the other day. Sorry it took so long to post these! We had a really great time! The landscaping was impeccable and it was neat seeing such old buildings and walls. The garden spiders were a bit freaky though. So big! J-guy asked me to step closer to the spider, but I refused.