Meet Hachiko

This is Hachiko, he's probably the most famous dog in all of Japan. His story which took place in 1925, is know throughout Japan and the world. Hachiko was an Akita who would accompany his master to and from the Shibuya train station each day. When Hachi was two, his master Mr. Uyeno, died at work. Hachiko continued to wait everyday for his master to return, until March 8, 1935 when Hachiko died at the same spot he last saw his master. This is one of the most touching stories ever told for dog lovers. Hachiko's statue is a daily meeting place for thousands of people each day.

Spirit of the Japanese

I've been giving my adult students the homework assignment of telling me what bushido is. I believed it would help them with the challenging task of learning English and myself with the challenging task of understanding Japanese culture. It was a good move, as I have a new sense of hope and understanding. Some students had a hard time explaining it to me, but they all made a great effort. I could see that the subject was inspiring. I had to type this up and save it as a photo, so that you could see the kanji. It's verbatim from a text one of the students gave me about "The Last Samurai". There are seven basic values that are used to define bushido. Although it is written about the samurai, it still applies to many aspects of Japanese life today. I will post more on this soon. You'll need to click on the two images below to to read the text. Sorry it's a little small, but definitely worth the eyestrain.

Mata-ne

I had dinner with a friend who is leaving Japan. We have shared quiet a few interesting experiences together, starting four years ago in Hawaii. We met in a youth hostel in Honolulu, befriended each other and became roommates. He finished his vacation tour and went back to Switzerland, while I continued my adventures in Honolulu, NYC and Chicago. Four years later, fate or strange coincidence lands us in the same city again. My housemate and I went to his "gaijin house" to cook dinner. We are quite a trio, we had some good laughs. It's really cooling down quickly now. I've invested in some "long johns" and have been preparing my winter wardrobe. The worst part of the cold is right after a shower. I have a feeling the winter in Tokyo will be just at torturous as Chicago or NYC. There are small earthquakes, occurring quite frequently. I'm not sure how normal this is, but everyone seems fine with it. If you've never experienced the ground moving beneath you, you've missed a very humbling experience. The world is always changing, in the most primitive of forms. I hope everyone is well, thank you for reading.

Early Halloween

We had a Halloween party at Gaba for the students. It was nice to have some social interaction. I've been working too much and not partying enough! We played pictionary, ate some good food and had drinks.

Roof games and random things

Today, I played a strange form of tag with the kids on the roof of the building. One person starts as "it" and when he tags you, you join hands and go after another person until you have four. Then you play jan ken po (paper, rock, scissors) and I'm not sure how the rest goes, I just did what they told me. I have close to 250 students per day, which takes a lot of energy to keep up with them.
I've got some random pics to post. My first grade class at the smaller school where I teach, a booth from gaba where we sit with the students, a picture from Shibuya and finally a sign advertising "real" black music.



I can't remember how many old women or little girls I've seen wearing Playboy bunny shirts. It's hilarious because they just buy the shirt cause they think the bunny is cute. They have no idea what they are wearing. One of my students, maybe 10yrs old girl was wearing a shirt the other day that read "fabulous virgin".

Gift from God

Today I woke up late and rushed to work. I was greeted by a Japanese teacher who kindly explained that my class wasn't on their schedule for that particular day. I immediately called my company, whom is a contractor for the Board of Education and explained the situation. It turns out the mistake was made by my employer. They told me I could go home and that I would be paid for the day! Yea! So now I'm sitting at home on a cloudy, rainy day getting paid. Here are some photos from a recent trip with the Obasan's (aunts). We went to my grandparents memorial and left flowers and prayers. Afterwards, we went to Asaksa which is where the photos were taken. I received a bad fortune, (I think I shook the fortune thing too hard) which my aunts promptly remedied by tying my fortune to a particular tree near the temple. I think the same thing happened to me last time I went. I'm not worried though, because a giant budda gave me some extra good fortune. I'm going to buy a rabbits foot and throw some salt over my right shoulder just to be sure.