Activities...

I've been feeling bored - I guess I just have to get used to doing less and slowing down - so I went to reply to all sorts of ads and stuff. Before I know it, I'm travelling places to get discounted shoe racks, guitar (!)... but still trying to get an electric kettle/boiler though. Worst comes to worse I might buy one - the kitchen ones are just too disgusting beyond description.

And suddenly an empty Saturday (today) is filled with language exchange with a little 2-year-old girl and then her mother will teach me Japanese; followed by a dinner for conversation exchange in English, Chinese and Japanese. Wow.

Out and About on a Sun(ny)Day

Whilst its howling wind, lashing rain thanks to a raging typhoon out there today, just three days ago was a bright, 33degC sunny weekend with not a cloud in sight.

Saturday was spent walking around Harajuku for a bit, before joining some of the girls from the dorm at Yoyogi Park for a Vietnamese Food Festival!

People bought food from the many many tents, sat down on these stairs and tucked in. =)

One of the things we tried was Banh Mi - a pork sandwich in Vietnamese-style French baguette. It was SO good!

People trying on the traditional Vietnamese attire and taking photos on rickshaws.

After visiting this fair, a never-before-urge to visit Vietnam surfaced. Combined with the Vietnamese dishes that I've been seeing on Masterchef Australia, I cannot wait to go Vietnam and try the food there sometime soon hopefully! This is how travelling itches always hit me - first the food, then the travel. Oh dear.

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Sunday was even more blazing hot than Saturday, hitting 33 degrees Celsius or perhaps a bit more. But the sun was the bright cheery type and humidity was not very high, so that made a good day out for walking (and tanning! -.-'').

I started the day with one of my favourite activities in Tokyo - visiting flea markets!

Look beyond the row of bicycles, through the trees and see the ... flea market!

Tada.

I reached there pretty late though - about 2.20pm - and only had around 40 mins to browse around before people started packing up to go. Nonetheless it was a good experience, chatting up storekeepers, checking out bargain wares, and even randomly striking up conversation with a Japanese uncle, who was browsing the flea market too. Knowing a language and a place really opens up windows and doors of opportunities.

The flea market wound up by 3pm and the day was still too beautiful for me to just head back to the dorm. So I decided to take a stroll and indulge in another of my favourite pasttimes - getting 'lost'. Initially I thought I was somewhat headed back in the direction of my dormitory but I soon realised that I went off the opposite way. Nonetheless it proved an enjoyable time with new things and new sights. Ended up in Aoyama - the Beverly Hills of central Tokyo - and had a chocolate shake at a Lindt shop. Wandered into the back alleys of Harajuku, where rather than cheap garish girls' fashion, these were the more chic, funky and creative shops and facets.

Photos and captions to be up on facebook soon; uploading photos and captioning them on blogspot is just too much of a pain. Here are some examples though:

Typhoon No. 15

Another 'present' for Japan - Typhoon No. 15.

I applied for a part-time work permit yesterday and whilst waiting in the queue - 150 plus people! - to submit my application form, there was a TV there broadcasting news of the Typhoon and its effects. Nagoya seemed to be one of the worst hit areas, with people having to evacuate and floods reaching waist-level, subway stations being submerged and all... Really sobering. I hope casualty numbers will be minimal or even zero after this Typhoon but that may be just hopeful at best.

Japan seems really hard-hit with all the natural disasters this year...

And yet, as horrible as this may sound, I think all these disasters, if carefully handled by authorities to minimise casualties, may actually prove to be some kind of timely intervention for the society to rebuild herself and her economy.

Waist-high floods in Nagoya.

Submerged subway stations.

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I understand that Japan's economy has been stuck at a stage called stagflation for some time now - stagnant growth, high inflation. I'm not sure if the government is using exchange rate to mitigate the inflation, but the Yen is at a freakishly high rate as of now. 4 years ago when I first came to Japan for a floorball friendly match, the rate was 100yen = SGD1.30. 2 years ago, it ranged from about 100yen = SGD1.50-1.55. Now, the rate has climbed to an almighty 100yen = SGD1.65, just up from 100yen = SGD1.60 a week ago. And it's not like the Sing dollar has been weakening; in fact, it's been reaching stronger rates especially against the US dollar and the Euro.

I'm so not withdrawing any money from my Singapore account right now - the exchange rate is way too horrendous. I can only hope it'll go down some in time, and hopefully by the time I'll need to draw cash out.

Tadaima!

16 months later, I'm back.

Tadaima Japan. =) ("tadaima" is a Japanese way of saying "I'm back!")

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1 year on, there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of change in Tokyo, unlike the 1-year difference that I keenly felt upon return to Singapore from Tokyo in Aug 2010. There are certain signs that linger on after the earthquake and the Fukushima incident though. Unlit vending machines. alternate lamp posts switched on, etc.

Doing my part too, with the table light switched off now and air conditioning turned off in the day. Plus I'm folding paper boxes now out of scrap paper, and as in the past, attempting to limit the number of plastic bags I take from shops.

Edit: Added pictures of the little boxes

one for my nail polishes...

one for my accessory box and sunglasses...

another for my moisturiser, just 'cause it fits...

another to hold my to-go stuff: handphone, mints, lip balm

one more for keys& watch, one for charger, and below them both: 100yen coins

And there's more lol. For tissue papers, food... yeah. Lots.

Hmm paper boxes, anyone? =)