I'm such a gaijin

Tower of 1 yen pennies (as of July 3, 2007)

New toys

• VGA LCD
  
• 2-Megapixel Camera
  
• Music Player
  
• MicroSD™ Memory Card
  
• QR Code reader
  
• Bluetooth®
  
• Infrared Data Communication
  
• Face/Text Recognition function
  
• Simple Mode
  
• Yahoo! mocoa
  
• S! Loop
  
• S! Address Book
  
• S! Appli
  
• S! Keitai Video
  
• S! Cast
  
• S! FeliCa (Mobile Suica)
  
• S! Town
  
• Video Call
  
• Chaku-Uta Full®/Chaku-Uta®
  
• Computer Website Browser
  
• E-Comics
  
• Live Monitor
  
• Global Roaming Service (Ie. GSM-compatible)
  
• Arrange Mail
  

Of course, half of these functions will be rendered useless once I get to the technologically retarded shores of North America.

Where ninjas come from

Things to do before I die:

• Become International Man of Mystery
  
• Save World from Certain Doom
  
• Find True Love
  
• Go To Outer Space
  
• Travel Through Time, Backward and Forward
  
• Be Cryogenically Frozen
  
• Catch Dr. Evil in the First Act
  
• Threesome with Japanese Twins
  
• Earn Daddy's Respect
  
• Eat Kobe beef
  

Like a broken record

FYI, gaijin-to-be's, the phrases that I have used the most so far are (in no particular order):

すみません
Sorry
分かりません
I don't understand
英語を話せますか？
Can you speak English? (I'm about to give up on this one as the answer is almost always no)
ゆっくり話してください
Please speak slowly
簡単な言葉で説明してください
Please explain with simpler words

if all else fails, just smile, nod, and back away slowly.

Dearest log...

Yes I've finally decided to give you some much-needed attention, though I can't be the one to blame.. the only unencrypted wireless access points at the apartment are just within reach.

Speaking of which, I've finally settled into our apartment. It's a fully-furnished spacious 61 square meter flat with its own shower, toilet, and laundry facilities. To say that we lucked out among our Coop Japan peers is an understatement as most other interns around Japan get UNfurnished DORM ROOMS that are smaller than each bedroom in our apartment (there are 3), and a shared community bath. Within a 3 minute walk is a newly-opened mall

Last weekend my roommate, fellow interns and I hit up Osaka and Nara. I'm running short on time so I'll sum it up below:

-Den Den Town, OSAKA: Highlights include a 5-level hobbyist store (model cars, trains, etc), and a 5-level video game & anime/manga store. In general, most stores offer goods at a discounted price than anywhere else, though Den Den Town as a whole is not as cheap as everybody claims it is. As a matter of fact, it's probably worth mentioning that there is this one store at the south end that sells goods at an INFLATED price than the rest of the market. Something about a Y4000 (~$40CAD) 256MB SD memory card just doesn't sound right..


...yeah no kidding.

-四天王寺 (Shitennoji) temple, OSAKA: The oldest officially administered temple in Japan, although the temple buildings have been rebuilt over the centuries. Not all buildings are tourist attractions.. we wandered into an actual prayer temple and promptly received the boot before unknowingly committing any acts of blasphemy.



-東大寺 (Todaiji) temple, NARA: The largest wood building in the world houses the (supposedly) 2nd largest Buddha in the world (the 1st largest being on Lantau Island, Hong Kong).


-奈良公園 (Nara Park) and 興福寺 (Kofukuji) temple, NARA: This scenic park is the perfect location to just relax and unwind from Japanese work culture. Deer biscuits magically make you exceedingly popular.. with the local wildlife. Though they quickly lose their patience and ass-bite/headbutt you for food.



-WJ

未来へ

DSCF1044 Hosted on Zooomr

My home for the next 7 months is sandwiched conveniently between Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, just outside the metropolitan areas (yellow). That's right, the Japanese boonies. I'll tidy up this post later.