Today is a "busy" day. My usual "work": downloading some references, and editing my "country report." Chatted with some friends in Manila, one of them will be coming here on a work trip next week. Exchanged some e-mails.
Cold day with some "showers" by the way! Yesterday and the past few days have been clear skies and sunny days!
I went to Yokohama today, although I also planned to go to Kamakura. Anyway, one day may not be enough to go around Yokohama really. Although, perhaps because I took some time at Motomachi - I dropped by the GAP store, and went to the Catholic Church, which is perhaps the nearest one to Atsugi.
Well, there is a lot to be said... Anyway, on the train trip between Atsugi and Yokohama, I saw a different kind of Japan; not very much like Atsugi, or Yokohama, or Tokyo. It's much like seeing a part of Oakland when travelling from Berkeley to San Francisco by the BART (train).
I saw the World Police (Band) Concert 2005 but I didn't watch the whole of it...
And lastly, I like Yokohama a lot, but maybe because it's a smaller city than Tokyo, and there are a lot more open spaces, and part of Yokohama's features really is the big body of water (that's why Yokohama is called the port city). I like what they've done with the Yamashita Park and all the other sea-side (or bay-side) attractions. There are maps and guides maybe almost every 500 meters or every kilometer which are also in Roma-ji or English as well as in Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana, of course. Perhaps, aside from being a port city, Motomachi explains why this is so. In Motomachi you could find plenty of European-style houses and buildings. It is also there where I found the Sacred Heart Cathedral. There are at least two other Christianity-based churches there.
Checkout the pictures: http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005yokohama
I've also updated: http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005atsugi and http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005food
The new photo site and the updated sites will be effective on Saturday, May 7, 2005 in the morning, Tokyo & Manila time.
Today, like I've previously mentioned is still technically a holiday, but anyway I'm here at the university. I want to finish the things I need to finish so that I could come clean come Friday, the first truly working day after this long holiday.
Anyway, today also marks the first time I am able to see an English show for a change. Wala lang. Saya!
The following photo sites are new or have been updated:
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005tokyo (new)
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005misc (updated)
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005atsugi (new/updated)
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005food (updated)
The following photo sites are still up:
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005nikko
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005tpu
http://ronjie.tripod.com/nihon2005apato
It is a legal holiday today in Japan; it's Constitution Day. Technically I
could go out and not go to the university.
Anyway, waking up, I still felt a bit tired from the long weekend. I was
planning on going to Yokohama today but, well that was one reason why I
didn't go. A second reason is that it was cloudy when I woke up, until
around mid-day.
At mid-day, it was all so shiny and clear! Truly, the weather here changes
quite drastically in a matter of minutes!
So I went to the university... Worked up some e-mails, downloaded some
reference materials, chatted with some friends from home, coordinated with
my brother for my roaming phone rental...
I wanted to stay there until I was finished with all the
reference-gathering, but I thought, I'll just go home early, get some
discounted food at Sekichu Home Center (the grocery), sleep early, and go
back early to the university the next day. Technically it's not a holiday
tomorrow, May 4, but because it is sandwiched by the May 3 and May 5
holidays, it is declared as a holiday. Thus starting from the April 29
holiday (Greenery day) upto May 5 (Children's day), it is called "the
Golden Week," which a lot of Japanese take as one long holiday. Some
companies however, mostly those based in Tokyo, and some researchers also,
do not take these holidays or all of them off. I guess, the same is true
for some people back home.
Anyway, it was 7:45 already when I left the university, and Sekichu closes
at 8pm! So I rode the bicycle as fast as I can, and I got there probably 2
minutes before closing time. That was a 13-minute bicycle ride; it was
actually one of my best record times (I think I previously made it in
12-minutes from the apartment to the school).
So I got my usual discounted meals. Oh, I had just instant noodles and a
small can of tuna for lunch so I ate a lot for dinner: 3 ulams and 3
rice! I didn't have any room for the strawberries I bought. Oh well, I am
very satisfied, now I really feel like sleeping early. So off to sleep I
go now! 'Til next!
Breakfast at Danny's, and at around 10am, off to Korakuen beside the Tokyo
Dome. It's a big Japanese-style garden (park).
Then we had an American lunch at Becker's (Burger, salad, and Cora, or
Coca-Cola for me).
Then off to Roponggi Hills we went for the Tokyo City View... And the Mori
Art Museum, and the Museum for the Future of Urban Infrastructure?
Last stop was Harajuku. Then I parted ways with Danny and his son Dalan at
Shinjuku station where they still had to get some more of Dalan's school
things. Got back to Hon-Atsugi at around 7pm na.
I was so very tired. I passed by the University pa to check lang for
e-mails. Then Pillai-san and Giang-san invited me for dinner and drinks at
their apartment. Pillai-san prepared some Indian food (I liked it a lot)
but it was vegetarian (but I still liked it a lot!). I only had a couple
of glasses of drinks, and got home na to the apartment at a little past
10pm na, very tired (rode the bicycle pa kasi). Then, ayun...
