Das Boots!

Random encounter at the bus stop. Was asked in perfect english where I was from by a Japanese gentleman who had spent a lot of time in boston. Ended up chatting with him the entire way to Shinjuku! So surreal.

Had a full day with Dai-chan as we met up in Shinjuku and went hunting for boots! I did manage to find a pair... with heels, fur, buckley things, and a price tag that will probably make me wince months later. But they are warm, fun, and by all reports, damn sexy. Considering that my pumas probably are not going to hold up to 0 deg weather, I needed something to run... or hobble in my case, knowing me and heels, around in. Diana also found an incredible pair of knee highs... on sale.

We ended up doing Karaoke and then heading out to Ikebukuro (one of my fave areas) to get tickets for the new Christmas Carol that is out. The only one in 3D was the Japanese dub, so we ended up watching the 2D. Jim Carrey makes it worth it. I liked this rendition. It is much darker and truer to the book than most of the versions that have been made in the last 20 years or so. If it had Patrick Stuart, this woud have been the perfect movie. Be that as it may, it still will have a place saved on my shelf.

Ended up killing time waiting for the movie by chilling in a way over christmas'd Tokyu Hands and escaping to Sunshine 60 for cake and breathing room, as well as a chance to sniff around for xmas presents and the new line of socks for the season.

After much searching and a few pointed comments that were true but hurt, we finally found a kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi place, something she'd been hankering for, and had a sketchy dinner.

Was really depressed and homesick when I got home, so went to bed a little early. It did show me that I've been holing up and depressed too much recently. So I am going to try and start eating out less and making meals more. We'll see if that actually works.

Nun and Games

So I had another of those wacky encounters of the Japanese kind that happen with resonable frequency in this country... mainly due to the fact that everyone takes public transport and/or walks. So whether the Japanese like it or not, they have to see they myriad assortment of foreign heathen intruders that live here too. *deadpan* They live among us.

ANYWHO, so I was running a tad late and took the bus as is becoming somewhat of a habit for me in the cold mornings where getting out of bed is... not a palatable option. So I'm standing at the bus stop, completely plugged into my ipod, and a Japanese... honest to God... nun comes up and stands next to me. Keep in mind, in a country the size of California, only 4% are NOT Shinto/Buddha/Undecided. A smaller percentage of that is Christian/Catholic. So on the corner of my street (or to be precise, about 7 houses down from me) is the "Saint Mary Female Society of Holy Knights" or ... in English, a convent. So Nunlady just randomly starts talking to me in Japanese, already assuming I speak the language with no preliminary akwardness or "Nihongo ga jouzu" bullshit lipservice (SCORE!). We chat clear from Ogikubo bus stop to Shinjuku station (that's a bus ride, down the stairs to the station, up the stairs to the platform, and then cramming on to an already overly packed train). Her name is Sister Hoshi apparently, so I plan to go visit sometime soon. But I mean, come on, a nun in Japan? Next door? What are the odds?

Nomikai last night, a mandatory attendance thing as it was a "welcome party" for me and 3 other newbies, went late. Today was the Japanese "Culture Day" (day off!), and I had planned to go running with Leon and his group...but the late night meant I had to forgo the early morning run in Yamanashi (a gorgeous 18K run in the mountains) which really bummed me out. I went to the trouble to get a windbreaker, running gloves, and backpack for the run yesterday. But looking at the 5 deg C temperatures in Ogikubo (that's about 41deg F give or take), realizing it was colder in the mountains, and taking into consideration 1) I would have had 5 hours of sleep, 2) that my longest run so far has been a 10K not in high altitude or freezing weather, and 3) that shorter people have a higher risk of altitude sickness... I decided not to kill myself and sit this particular run out. What that meant is I was able to go get winter clothing out in Ogikubo today and run little minor errands that I've been meaning to do (like get a winter coat, scarf, and change my phone plan so that it hits my Japanese bank as opposed to my American CC >_<;). So while I didn't actually get up the guts to leave the house to the 10 degC (50 deg) weather until around 3, it was a surprisingly eventful day. They already have the xmas lights up in Kichijoji and it's really gorgoeous. Also walked into a Seiyu and was struck by the impression that it really is a Japanese Walmart.... Only cleaner and with less random mexican ladies.

Conversations with bums

So I was waiting for my friend at Kichijoji to get dinner yesterday when this funky looking guy comes up to me and starts speaking... in perfect french. It took me a second to realize that he's japanese and not crazy. It took a full minute for me to recover enough to realize he was a bum.

So after a good ten minutes of enthusiastic conversation with him about everything from where I learned Japanese to Japanese Noh, Bunraku, and Rakugo, I was rescued by my friend in time for him to bust out singing a very WELL SUNG Sakura sakura. To the point where I asked him if he was a former singer.

Picture does nothing to portray his funkiness, so out of respect I will not post. I liked his random mini-oni mask he went around with on his head.

... What is this, Berkeley?!