Tokyo,Tokyo

Last weekend I had the chance to pop over to Tokyo for work. Pshhh, work consisted of 4.5 days in Tokyo, with only two spent at a conference. The conference itself was fairly interesting. I got to wear my suit again, which I literally NEVER wear, and I caught up with some JETs who left Vancouver with me way back 1.5 years ago. There were some motivational speakers and it left me feeling rejuvinated. I am headed back to Canada in 6 months, but I have gained valuable skills here. I am looking forward to seeing how I can use it to get a great job in the ESL market back home.

Anyways. TOKYO!! This weekend happened to fall right before Valentine's day and the 11 month anniversary of D and I, so it was a fun one:)
First things first we stayed with AirBnB, at an apartment in Roppongi Hills. The area was convenient and nice, but the flat was disgusting!! It didn't have a window, was super dirty and still cost us $130 each. I was so unimpressed. I know it is hit and miss, but this place was a huge miss. Aside from that the location was great. We spent the Saturday night at a mexican joint for a friends birthday. It was so-so as far as Mexican, but since Tottori has nothing to be had in that area I will take it! Following dinner D and I ended up at a bar called Medusa, outside Shinjuku station. It was amazing. Open every night until 4am it is atrociously expensive and is home to vaulted ceilings, giant glass chandeliers and three resident sharks. It was a smoky, expensive atmosphere, with some bottles on the menu going for well over $10,000! Probably also a place where Yakuza frequent, but who can pass up sharks?!

Sharks!!!

The next day Dan planned a whole special time for us. To start we headed past Roppongi Hills to a great lookout of the city, and of Tokyo Tower!!! Next D took us to a little restaurant called Ft. Lauderdale. The breaky menu was exquisite and included refillable coffee(unheard of in Japan!)

From there we headed to Odaiba island. This island has a ton of fun stuff to do and see, and is also a great spot to catch one of the boat cruises that can take you to different spots of Tokyo. We wandered in one of the malls, but skipped walking outside due to the heavy rain. I managed to catch a picture of the statue of liberty tho! It is a great photo op on a brighter day :)

Our boat didn't leave until about 2:30, so we stopped for Hawaiian lunch first!! It was amazing :) 

Lady Liberty

Bubble tea!! 

The boat tour was so relaxing, and by the time we got off at Akusakusa an hour later the rain had mostly cleared off and the hazy mist was burning off. We spotted a Tullys and grabbed some coffee and enjoyed the view of Tokyo Tower. It was so romantic! 

Next we decided to head to Akihabara, which is the entertainment and electronics area of Tokyo. The walk was about 3km, but we decided it would be more fun to wander the back streets then fight through the subway. If you are up for walking then Tokyo is a perfect city for it! Plus if you eat as much as us it's a good idea ;)

We saw the largest temple in Tokyo and popped into the largest electronics store in the world. We also saw the AKB48 cafe, and then we finally headed back to Shibuya for the next part of our romantic date. Dan had managed to get us into one of the Alice in Wonderland themed restaurants!! It was so fantastic and magical We literally walked through a story book page to enter the restaurant and were given cute ears to don for the meal!! It was so thoughtful and sweet. Definitely more for me than him, but the food and drinks were tasty! If you want a fun experience I definitely recomend it! You will feel like you are somewhere totally different, and the atmosphere is relaxing and fun. 

My bunny!

The waitress, AKA 'Alice'

In the days that followed we had the chance to experience more of Tokyo, enjoying coffee shops, fun restaurants, cheap happy hours and laughs with old friends. We even had the chance to meet up with a friend from University who is a head hunter in Tokyo now, that was a blast! Tokyo is such a fun city, but so overwhelming. It is nice to be back in the simple familiarity of Tottori!

Foodie.

I love cafes. I love coffee. and on the weekends I LOVE going out to eat. Little cafes, izakayas, foreign food, etc. etc. I will try it! I have been to my fair share of Tottori restaurants and this post serves as a small review of a few I was at recently. Take from it what you will and go out and stuff your face! Basically you can find all these spots on Google Maps, and all are within 15 minutes on foot from Copo Hestia.

Chocolate lava cake. Runs about 1000円. At a great little bar called Mobs. Open til 2 or 3 am just past the bridge on wakasakaido. Enjoy! 

OK this was at cafe source, which is also on Wakasakaido, and always great! On Sundays they do an all you can eat cake (for real) so go there. Just go, run!! OK the meal you are seeing above includes a bread platter, a small(!!) cheese fondue and two dinner entrees  I got a hamburger steak and D got ribs and fries. The hamburger steak is pretty good, but do not be fooled it is not a real steak. That doesn't exist in Japan, unless you are in Kobe, but that is another post. Anyways the whole meal, including four beers, was under 6000円!! Not bad at all. 

This is at PJs, a legit Indian restaurant just behind Copo Hestia. A lot of JETs whine about PJs suggesting it is 'too expensive'. Basically you get what you pay for. So the curry is about 900円 and then naan or rice is an additional 250円 and if you want a lassi that will put you back about 400円. Basically 20 bucks for an insane meal. The curry is spicy! Be warned! Ask for a low spice level unless you are brave, oh and go for the naan! Oh, do not get the beer on tap. It is old beer in a gross machine that isn't cleaned. I have made that mistake. twice. Do.Not.Do.It!!

So the above picture is at Birds Nest, an amazing cafe just off a side street, behind Cafe Nee.  I normally get the stuffed sandwhich (I have pics of it in older posts). The prices are reasonable and the location is great. My only complaint is that the place is seriously quiet. Like a library. A delicious, and silent, library. Come with a book, not someone who is particularly loud :)

Anyways on S's recommendation I ordered the ice cream cup. It is 400円 and you choose a cookie and a flavour of ice cream. Badda bing, badda boom you get a Japanese style parfait! Delic.  I paired mine with a hot chai.

OK so back to Cafe Nee! It is a favorite spot for most people around here. Other than the CD on repeat they have a great atmosphere. The above picture shows the brunch set. It doesn't ever change much and includes a hot drink, all for 800円. Gets me every time, amazing deal! 

Last but not least is a blurry pic of Dan and I with that epic pancake. It comes from Sunaba coffee, which is just across from the station on the main road. It was amazing! There is ice cream underneath that whipped cream. It will give you diabetes. Eat it! I think it was about 1000円.

That is it. Basically I love food. I also love the cheap prices and happy restaurants in Japan.

Gyoza Goodbye

Last Sunday I was invited to a going away dinner for a student from Malaysia. He was a cool kid, and a fluent English speaker so we chatted on a regular basis. The girl hosting the party is a gem. We met in my first days at school and she has always been a pleasure. Her English is superb, partly stemming from living in Beijing for a while, and she has traveled to Vermont before for exchange. Anyways long story short I was invited to a small dinner party and I didn't know what to expect. I was met at the station by a small group of giggling girls and we headed off to Yo's house. Once there we got to work making Gyoza from hand!! Everyone thought it was really hilarious how I made them...I honestly didn't think mine were bad at all but I think it was the whole 'laugh at the gaijin' thing. Anyways we made gyoza for about an hour so by the time dinner rolled around we had enough gyoza to feed a small army. In addition to our amazing gyoza we had chicken, fruit salad(courtesy of moi), a platter of sushi rice and some other odds and ends. Oh, and for dessert we had hand made sponge cake and some tarts made by one of the students! After the amazing dinner (so stuffed) we sat around and played Karuta, a famous card game in Japan. It is really difficult so we played some simplified version. Was an amazing night and I was so blessed to have been included. Some days I feel like I am not appreciated at school, by the students or staff. Then I get invited to house parties and spend my night laughing with students who seem genuinely interested in English and the silly foreign girl they got as their ALT. 

Let's make gyoza!

The wonderful Yo! 

Seriously. Amazing rice/sashimi fusion

The gang!! Under the kotatsu. 

Satoshi cutting the cake. so delish.

Kawaii and card games!

A Tottori Winter

Back in Japan for the rest of my contract. I have just under 7 months to fulfill my Japan bucket list items. Which at this point include surviving another summer season without melting and seeing professional sumo wrestlers do their thing.

Going home for Christmas was one of those things that left me with the feeling of ‘I don’t wanna go back…’ at the airport. However upon returning to my teeny, tiny mansion (the ironic Japanese word for an apartment) I was struck by the realization that this next 7 months (plus 3 weeks travelling) will be some exciting times. I already have trips planned for Okayama, Tokyo (twice) and Thailand!!

Last Monday I started off my year back with the traditional greetings. I learned a new one too: Kotoshimo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. I think I impressed some staff here by employing two of the set phrases they drone at each other once the New Year begins. I guess I can’t relate because we don’t put the same emphasis on the phrase ‘happy new years’ in Canada. At home it is more kosher to ask how someone’s winter vacation was than to just bleat ‘happy new year’s!’ at them and bow. Oh well, when in Japan.  

The school life here ebbs and flows, so for the first two days back I was busy studying Japanese and researching future jobs in the esl world. The second two days back I was marking 600 student essay responses on the achievement tests. Sound overwhelming? It was, but I am a fast marker and thankfully I was able to finish most of them before the weekend hit. One stand out moment of the first week back was eating a traditional new years meal!! The school nurse, who is also a great friend, made me homemade zoni (a red bean soup with mocha) and cherry blossom tea (salty. salty. salty) It was such a fun way to experience a part of the Japanese culture!
I made it through the first few days back and then last Thursday night meant the arrival of a special someone from Hokkaido. The winter there is absolutely brutal, so D is staying for over a week! In a long distance relationship longer than 4 days is something to get excited about!!  We didn’t make too many set plans, but one thing we planned for and nicely executed was our own Christmas. My hello kitty tree was decked out in candy canes and we sipped mulled wine, had a fancy meal at the French restaurant in town and exchanged Christmas gifts with Michael Buble filling my room. Dan is the best and got me a cute little fitbit as one of my Christmas gifts. I love exercise and tracking my steps, calories, km’s so it was a totally cute gift that I have already put to good use. Plus it is pink!! We both love coffee and trying new places to eat so we have hit up some favs and some new spots including, Birds Nest café, La Bar, St. Marcs, The Green Room, Kohane coffee and an Okonomiyaki place and Jupiter (many times, many foreign foods)

cold runs. brrrr. 

Dan and I didn't just eat out tho- we also enjoyed a ton of walking and two jogs (one in snow!) and a few nights he cooked! He put togethor a delicious shepards pie for me that was amazing. 

Today I turned the big 2-7 so last Friday a few of us went out for an evening of drinks and food at Doma Doma. I went there last year for my birthday and it is conveniently located and well-priced, plus it has the ever famous nomihoudai that all Jets would agree is an important part of the experience. We laughed a lot and after a few good hours a few of us set out to find a quieter spot for some dessert. We decided to try out Mobs, which is a bar that apparently used to be the gaijin hangout. The dessert was delicious and we had a good time mellowing out after the nomihoudai ruckus at dinner.  

winter drink with the cutest model, Sarah

Today D and I went out for brunch and then we went to the cat cafe! Cat cafe kitty blue is one of my favourite places in Tottori. It is a quiet, sweet atmosphere where fluffy cats and sassy cats and every kind of cat in between live. Some of them jump on top of you and others want nothing to do with you (in good cat fashion) but it always makes me so happy. Anyways D has never been to a cat cafe so I think he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it, and how he literally had the cats eating treats out of his hand! 

birthday feast of champions!

I am so blessed as last night he took me out to cafe source for a birthday dinner feast, and gave me a beautiful pair of earrings he chose for me in Texas and slippers that I might have tried to steal from him last time. So he bought me my own pair :)  
Even though I am heading to Tokyo in three weeks and will see him again, I hate thinking about how we have to have another 3 weeks apart. This will be my fourth time in Tokyo though and I am pretty excited. I am hoping to take a day trip to see Mt. Fuji and maybe also check out a        wonderfully weird theme café!!

Love

Today I came home from a run and two of my good friends here blessed me with a bag full of birthday treats(hand wrapped!) and a beautiful card. It left me speechless. I have been here a year and a half and sometimes I still feel like a stranger in a weird fishbowl of foreigners who will just disappear one day. Then there are days like today when I come home from a nice run and feel really, really loved. So to Adam and Hannah...and to everyone else who loves me, thank you!

Sparkling wine, tastes of Canada and coffee beans!!!

冬

Last weekend here in Tottori has been spent wrapping up Christmas shopping, packing up things that wont be returning to Tottori in January and fighting off our first real dump of slushy, snow. 

On Saturday after a lazy sleep in I headed to Tottori station to meet some friends for Starbucks. We are the only prefecture in Japan wihtout a starbucks, and for good reason. Tottori is the least populated prefecture in Japan and is known for supporting our local community. That means we have copious amounts of hole in the wall coffee houses with cozy atmospheres and flowing coffee. Last year however it was announced that we would get our own Starbucks sometimes in summer of 2015, so this past weekend they decided to run an event to get an idea for the general reaction. Well judging by the crowds the reaction was a lot of love! Greeted by cheerful baristas we were given the choice of a free latte or americano. Afterwards Anna, Sarah and I followed it up with a visit to Birds Nest cafe.  Birds Nest was an おすすめ of an old JET and I recently stumbled upon it myself. It is a tiny room filled with stacks of books and blankets if you get chilly. Customers tend to come alone to read or work, but it still has an inviting atmosphere for sharing a coffee with friends. We ordered salmon and cream cheese stuffed sandwiches, and they didn't disapoint! 

Pink Pepsi. Just, gross. 

Signing the Starbucks poster

Birds' Nest, めちゃあおいし

In the evening a few of us headed to 鳥取砂丘 to enjoy the Christmas illumination. I had heard it was something of a small town gig so went into the experience not expecting too much. When we arrived the snow began coming down in giant flurries for the first time of the season and we were greeted by a spectacular display of twinkling Christmas lights. The dunes themselves were lit in small sections with one or two larger lights creating an eerie feeling. The stairs leading up to the dunes and the surrounding area was where the true illumination was, with everything from kangaroos and camels to a reindeer and his sled. It was sparkly and bright and made me forget I am in a country that doesn't have any idea what the meaning of Christmas is. Japan is so good at celebrating things, even when they have no idea what they are celebrating. After the lights a group of friends came over for wine, apple crisp and custard (thanks Karen!!) and games. It was a good, late, funny, relaxing and Christmasy evening. I think 2014 was a pretty good year. 

This morning I woke up to a blanket of wet, slushy and clumpy snow. I forced myself out of bed and went to church because it was Kiri Sans last Sunday. She was an engineering students at the University who came for an internship for 9 months to Tottori. She also happened to be a part time Canadian and it was awesome to have another English speaker to talk to. She blessed the church by singing some songs and leaving a guitar for the church to use. She also sang 'You raise me up' at the end of the service. It was so beautiful. She has a wonderful voice, but somehow sitting there on a snowy Sunday morning surrounded by fellow believers it reminded me of what the reason for the season is. God has continually raised me up this entire time, as I have sometimes struggled to adjust to this foreign country. It just remined me again of how lovely my church here is, and how kind they have been to me. A christian community will surround you no matter where you are, and that is such a gift!

Blessing the church with her song 

JLPT Time

Last week was the annual skills development conference. The conference happens every December in Tottori for about 2 days. It is usually held in Kurayoshi which is the city in the middle of our prefecture. After an hour on the train we arrived and were split into groups according to our age level of teaching, either junior high or high school. It is a time to share teaching ideas and catch up with fellow JETs. It is a mandatory meeting, but I managed to get out of the second days afternoon lecture because of a special guest at Nishiko. We had a professor from UofT come to our school to talk to the staff (all in English!!) and to have a small circle discussion with a few students. She was a lovely woman but her vocabulary was very advanced for even the highest level student who attended. However after a few awkward minutes the group warmed up and a few 3^rd grade students could engage with her. It was a lovely opportunity for me to come back early and meet a fellow English speaker! On Saturday I studied for the majority of the day, trying to cram in any last knowledge I thought would help me pass the fearful JLPT.

 Sunday arrived and we hopped a train to Matsue, it was about 34$ for a 1.5 hour train so Sarah and I decided to splurge and take that train. A few ALT’s took the 20$ train, but it left at 7am and took 3 hours!!! YUCK! The test site was Matsue University so after a quick coffee at Starbucks we were at Matsue Uni ready to write. I was shocked at how serious the atmosphere was, when I first entered the room where I was designated to write N5 I noticed that everything with even a hint of Japanese had been covered up, from the TV (what did it say?! Toshiba? In romaji?!) to the clock! With no clock and limited time I only had the time to answer and then check over about half before the time was up. The test is in three sections and between each section a lengthy amount of rules are read out and we are told that if we do anything wrong we will receive yellow or red cards, AKA: be kicked out.

I finished the test with not as much confidence as I would have liked, but hey it’s over. The way the test works is that you can take any level, at any time. Whether or not I pass all the sections of this level I will still take the N4 in July as it is my goal to pass N4 before I leave Japan. The JLPT is not really useful for a resume unless you are at level N3-N1, but my personal goal is N4.

The feeling of the test being over is magical. I can move on from cramming every night to trying to solidify what I learned and start learning the next set of kanji I will have to master for N4.

Two weeks left until Christmas! Time to buy gifts, spend time with friends here and get ready for Vancouver!