Summertime in Tokyo is a time when you can go to many different festivals.  The usual summer festivals with various food stalls selling okonomiyaki and yakisoba exist, and there is a lot of dancing that happens at these festivals.  The most popular annual festival has to be the fireworks festivals.  These are held weekly starting in the last weekend of July.  There are several famous fireworks festivals in Tokyo.  These include the Sumida River Fireworks (last weekend in July); the Edogawa Fireworks (first weekend in August); Tokyo Bay Fireworks (second weekend in August); and the Meiji Jingu Fireworks (end of August).  Of course, there are several more in and around Tokyo, but these are the biggest festivals.  If you are in Tokyo at that time, and have a day to spare, it’s a good idea if you can make it to one of these fireworks festivals.  If you can’t, I wouldn’t worry too much as you can see video of this at various places on the internet, especially on YouTube.

Coming from Vancouver, I have a very different idea of what a fireworks festival should be.  I am very biased in how things look after growing up enjoying the Symphony of Fire, now the Celebration of Light, in Vancouver.  The Vancouver festival lasts four nights over the course of two weeks and it is actually a competition among various companies from around the world.  They are scored on five basic criteria:

• General Concept – presentation, structure and scale of display
• Colour – choice and variety of colours
• Originality – design and architecture
• Quality of Production – rhythm of fireworks, volume of effects and quality of construction
• Correlation of Music – choice of music, synchronization of effects, adaptation of moods

This festival has been going on since 1995 and I have grown to become extremely critical of the types of fireworks used, how it’s used, and the use of music within a fireworks display.  Needless to say, fireworks festivals are no longer as “enjoyable” as used to be.

In Japan, fireworks festivals are not about a competition.  It’s about impressing people with various fireworks, including the use of a large amount of fireworks to impress the crowds.  I have seen a couple of fireworks displays around Tokyo since I first came here.  The first time I saw the fireworks was in Atami several years ago.  Atami is a beach resort that is famous for its onsen. Recently, I have had the pleasure to go to the Edogawa Fireworks festival.  The atmosphere in Japan is extremely different compared to Vancouver.  The first thing you have to realize is that the festival is very calm and relaxed.  If you go to a festival in the city, such as the Sumida River Fireworks, you should expect to see people all over the place.  Since there is limited park space near the fireworks, it’s customary to see people set up their “camp” on local streets and just wait there for several hours.  My friend John, owner and star of Weblish was kind enough to spend a lot of time reserving a huge area in a park next to the fireworks.  We had what was one of the best seats in the city.  If you do go to a fireworks festival, and you do find a way into a nearby park, expect to see a sea of blue tarps on the ground.  It’s customary for Japanese people to rush into a site when it’s opened up and set up these tarps to reserve their area.  You can usually set up shop up to a day or so in advance, but it depends on which festival you are attending, and the rules for the year.  The second thing to note is that by the mid afternoon, people start to flood into the area.  This is a festival, and like any festival, people like to make it a big event.

When you get a spot to watch the fireworks, the next thing to do is relax.  It’s a great time to be with friends and enjoy the conversations.  To be prepared, bring lots of food and lots of drinks.  The great thing about Japan is that you can drink in public.  It’s necessary to bring enough alcohol to keep yourself happy up to and including the fireworks.  Bring enough snacks so that you won’t be starving after the fireworks.  The only question is where to use the washroom.  Like any public event, expect lines to use the washroom.  I had the unfortunate event of needing the washroom about halfway through the fireworks, and had to wait a bit to use it after the fireworks.  It wasn’t bad, but it’s not something that I’d feel comfortable doing again, if I could help it.

As I mentioned, fireworks in Japan are all about amazing the crowd.  They usually start with a countdown, if you are near a speaker, followed by a large display of fireworks.  They tend to go in a 10 minute loop.  There are a few minutes of spectacular fireworks that light up the sky followed by several minutes of smaller fireworks.  They tend to go one after another rather than several at the same time.  I believe this is done to allow the smoke to dissipate for the next round of large fireworks.  This entire process is repeated for just over an hour. If you are worried about catching a train to escape the area, you should think about leaving 10 minutes, or earlier, from the area.  If you wait till the end, you could be waiting for over an hour to just get to the station platform before you can wait for a train.  Needless to say, the trains are packed as badly as the morning rush.  If you don’t want to wait in line, chill out at your spot for at least 30 minutes, and then try to find a place nearby that you can just hang out and spend money for a couple hours.  If you are lucky, you’ll have a friend who lives nearby and you can just hang out there until the trains aren’t too busy.  The fireworks ended at around 8:30pm, and I left my friend’s house around 11pm.  The train was still packed as if it was the morning rush hour, but at least the station platform wasn’t that busy.

Comparing fireworks in Japan to fireworks in Vancouver is not an easy thing to do.  Vancouver is a beautiful display that is timed to music which makes it more art that spectacular.  In Japan, it’s the opposite. It’s all about impressing the crowds with images such as famous Japanese characters, and also to have the largest size of fireworks possible.  I’m not sure which is best, but both have their merits.  In Vancouver, everything feels different.  In Japan, with alcohol, things just feel like a party.  I can’t truly explain the difference.  You must go and enjoy the show to understand the difference, but it’s something that must be done if you have the chance to experience it.

Fireworks Information:

Vancouver’s Celebration of Light (Official Site): http://www.celebration-of-light.com/
Vancouver’s Celebration of Light (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration_of_Light

Tokyo Fireworks Schedule (Jalan – Note: May not be accurate past 2010 events):http://www.jalan.net/jalan/doc/theme/hanabi/13.html
Sumida River Fireworks (English): http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index_eg.html
Sumida River Fireworks (Japanese): http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index.html
Edogawa Fireworks (Japanese): http://www.city.edogawa.tokyo.jp/chi…event/hanabi8/
Tokyo Bay Fireworks (Japanese): http://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/ivent/tou…anabisaimeinn/
Jingu Fireworks (Japanese): http://jinguhanabi.nikkansports.com/

Weblish:  http://weblish.co.jp/

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

My girlfriend gets really annoyed if her picture gets taken.
彼女は本当に写真撮られたら、嫌になる。

The film from Kyoto is in the lab.
京都のフイルムはラボにある。

By the way, are Fuji still making Trebi? I couldn’t find any today.
ところで、フジはまだトレビを作ってる？今日は見つけれなかった。

前はＶｉｖｉｔａｒ　Ｕｌｔｒａ　Ｗｉｄｅ　＆　Ｓｌｉｍの写真は角はあまりくらくなかった。だけどこのＫｏｄａｋ　Ｅｋｔａｒで撮って、Ｐｕｓｈ現像したからもっときた。暗い角は嫌いか嫌いじゃない意見がないけどこのフイルムのはピントがいいから見た目がいいと思う。

The title is the title of a song by Taken By Trees. ‘Watch The Waves’ is a gorgeous song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IR_Z82N7-0
このタイトルはＴａｋｅｎ　Ｂｙ　Ｔｒｅｅｓの歌のタイトルです。すごくきれいな歌だと思う。

Vivitar Ultra Wide And Slim, Kodak Ektar 100 push processed to 200.

今日は葛西水族館へ行った。あそこは双眼鏡みたいのやつあて、それ向こうに船の写真を撮った。

I have some Ektar and Slide film in for development.

今、Ｅｋｔａｒとカラーリバーサルは現像中です。

Присъединете се към Младежката лига детектив И надхитрят възрастните в Приключена процедура: НА РАЗСЛЕДВАНЕТО MIRAPOLIS [ /[**]

победи BLACK организация и решаване на престъплението на века дело

Затворен: една истина преобладава тестове правомощия за наблюдение и откриване, играчите доведе Shichi Kudo, известна под неговото псевдоним Конан Edogawa на разследване за решаване на престъплението на века. С участието на манга / аниме стил анимация анимационен филм за една млада аудитория, Case Closed: една истина надделява се дължи за освобождаване на Nintendo Wii на 1 май 2009 г. от Nobilis и Ascaron развлечения.

Въпреки новия си име, Конан страховете на хората, които го упои ще останат истинското си идентичност и да се върнете да го убият и най-добрият му приятел, Ран Mouri. За да се противопоставят на тази заплаха, Конан образува Младши детектив лига с приятелите си, които носят значки като символ на тяхното единство, което също удвояване като уоки-токита. Въпреки това, те често не се взема на сериозно и в резултат на играчите трябва да проверяват всеки ключ и е възможно да доведе добре.

Играчите ръководство Конан на неговата задача да намери улики за произхода и функционирането на тайна? Черно организация.? С помощта на специални приспособления, като един глас променящите се носи вратовръзка, играчите прикриване Конан като Kogoro Mouri, бивш полицейски служител се обърна некомпетентни частен детектив. Информацията, събрана от клиенти и случаи на Kogoro трябва да бъде разгледано на източника е възможно водата да проникне злото група.

Пробив е най-накрая прави, когато Конан, Kogoro и Ран борда на бягане влак да си вземе почивка от работа. Също така във влака са две мистериозни мъже, облечени в черно, техните изяви задейства Конан? Е неясна памет на нощта той е бил упоен. Въпреки това мъжете са с достатъчно огнева мощ да взриви влака един от друг и така играчите трябва да помогнат Конан запишете на влака преди него? Е станало твърде късно.

117 mt highest one

Some cute duck couple.

some cute couple pidgeon

i would love to see this tree with some flowers.

i love this forest remind me of my place.

the view from the park!

saxophone

my converse near to the ocean

this is the closest that i have ever been of disneyland.

Tokyo Metoropolitan Kasai Rinkai Aquarium (Tokyo Sea Life Park)

duckS

some birds on my way

tree, this is what i dont like of winter, all looks so dead.

Kasai rinkai park.

come on, little puppy.

This is my first stitch ever.

Hotel and cinderella castle's

they were working on it.

ducks and beautiful gardens.

the reflect on the water amaze me.

So about this day i just can say that it has been one of the better days that i have had in the last months, wonderfuls views in the morning, in the middle of day hanged out with mom and took her to the hospital and visited her friend, nad for the night have a great night and made some really good friends, life is good.

click images for fullview, Thanks for watching!.

Today’s image is a little more surreal and fantasy in origin.  Obviously artfully colour manipulated with added textures.

These guys are residents of  Edogawa Japanese Garden Gosford 

Enjoy

"Protecting the one and only truth in the name: Detective Conan!"

*SPOILER ALERT!!!: DON”T READ IF YOU DON”T LIKE SPOILERS*

Detective Conan (Or called Meitantei Conan in Japan and Case Closed in the US) is already 15 YEARS OLD!!! I was like 8 years old (or was it 7) when I first saw this show on GMA. When I first saw this show, I was not yet interested on watching it because I thought that the art style was lame (Then again, I was 7). But I watched it anyway because I had nothing else to do. When GMA stopped airing Conan, it had always kept me wondering: Did it end already? Did Shinichi return to his old life and got reunited with Ran again?

Shonen Tantei Dan

My question was answered 6 years later. IT WAS NOT YET OVER!! (Dang it!). Shinichi was still stuck being Conan and the goons that shrunk his body (The Black Organization) was still on the loose. They even got the FBI and the CIA involved! (Way to go Gosho sensei!). And Ran is still (miraculously) waiting for his dear childhood friend’s return (Talk about everlasting love!). I was shocked when I found out that the series was still ongoing. I mean I understand that Pokemon will never end (That show doesn’t even have a normal plot and it will only end when Nintendo declares bankruptcy or runs out of ideas for new Pokemon games ) but THIS?! Their ages didn’t even change!! Shinichi and Ran are still seventeen while the Detective Boys members are still seven. And Kogoro Mouri is still the same useless, drunkard and overprotective father. Although there were new characters that were introduced like Ai Haibara, the damsel-in-distress-hunted-by-the-men-in-black girl and the FBI and the ever awesome phantom thief Kaito-kid Sama!!! (He stole my heart!!) who is one of the formidable enemies of Kudo Shinichi (God, he has dozens of ‘em). Although I was quite impressed of the change in art style.

Ran: Boy is she loyal!

Now back to the Ran x Shinichi relationship. God!! I can’t believe that there is someone who can wait for their loved one for 15 years! (Although their time line in the series is different because the only thing that changes through the years was the technology they use and the fact that they are still high school students has not changed … sorry for the suckish English…) Their relationship was even tested many times in the series. Enter Ariade-sensei, the teacher has a thing for Ran and Ran’s obnoxious best friend Sonoko who keeps telling Ran that Shinichi is a bastard and she must start dating other guys. But those things didn’t keep Ran from waiting… There were even times when Ran became suspicious of Conan being Shinichi (She almost guessed it but Shinichi was too smart to keep her from knowing the truth.) And I also think that Haibara, who’s real identity is Shiho Miyano, the scientist of the Black Org who drank her own creation (The Apotoxin 4869: The drug that was forcibly taken by Shinichi which turned him into Conan), has a wittle cwush on cownan…..Little does Ran know that Shinichi was always by his side protecting her from any danger. They even kiss in a movie!! (No wait, It was Conan that was kissed by Ran and not Shinichi… Aw Shucks!)

Detective Conan Characters: There're still a lot of 'em!!!

The series currently has a Manga with 64 volumes (I do NOT know how many chapters ‘coz I only watch the anime) and 500+ and still increasing episodes. It also has 9 OVAs and 13 Movies (I have seen all the movies except for the 13th because it’s not yet subbed.) I don’t have any idea on how Gosho-sensei plans to end the series. There are only 3 outcomes that I can think of:

Possible Ending # 1:

- Ran finds out about Shinichi’s secret then the latter then receives bashing from the former for letting her wait for a long time then they make up. Shinichi returns to his normal body (So does Haibara) and the Black Org will be put behind bars.

Possible Ending #2:

-The Cliffie type of ending (I hate those types of ending) where they leave to the viewers what will happen next to the lives of the shrunken people.

Possible Ending # 3:

-Ai and Conan will never return to their normal lives and will be stuck forever as elementary school students until they grow up, again then Ran ends up with another guy. (Noooooo……. I hate Option 3… Gosho-sensei, please don’t!!!)

Or it could be that Gosho-sensei has no idea on how to end the friggin’ show!! It took Rumiko Takashi many years to end Ranma 1/2 but I do not know how and when will Aoyama end the series which he started in 1994 (I was 2 years old at that time but not that anyone really cares) There are still a lot of theories on my mind on how Detective Conan will end but even though it pisses me off, I will stay tuned on what is new about this series.

a little trivia about the show:

-The origin of Conan Edogawa’s name came from Sir Conan Arthur Doyle, the creator of the classic, Sherlock Holmes, and Edogawa Ranpo, who was a famous mystery novel writer in Japan.) Most of the characters have interesting name origins but I will not put them here for they are too many.

-The english version of the anime changed the names of the characters from Japanese to western names (except for Edogawa Conan).

For example:
*Shinichi Kudo- Jimmy Kudo
*Ran Mouri- Rachel Moore
*Kogoro Mouri- Richard Moore
*Heiji Hattori- Harley Hartwell
*Sonoko Suzuki- Serena Sebastian
*Mitsuhiko Tsubaraya- Mitch Tennison
*Genta Kojima- George Kaminski
*Ayumi Yoshida- Amy Yeager
*Ai Haibara- Anita Hailey

and many more…

(I laughed my ass out when I heard the stupid English Version names)

-Conan Edogawa’s Voice actress Minami Takayama and Conan’s creator Gosho Aoyama was married last 2005 but divorced on 2007.
-The series also has a live-action version with Oguri Shun as Kudo Shinichi

I got some films back today from my Ricoh compact – most crap – and my Diana+ – even worse. Deeply dismayed doesn’t even come into it. There are some good photos but not enough to appease me after work. I hope the films I fed through my Nikon F50 come out somewhat as expected.

I have learned, however, that I will not be cross processing ISO 100 slide film from my Diana+ again.

This morning I suddenly woke up early, so I started to catch up on blogging. One of these days I’ll be able to post once a day about current events instead of posting in retrospect!

Breakfast was tasty as usual; the most interesting part was the seaweed salad with yellow bell peppers! At 10:30, we met Yumi at the Koban (police/info booth across from the Tokyo Metro station) because she was going to take us to the Edogawa City Office to apply for our Alien Registration Cards. We took the bus for the first time, which seems harder to figure out than the Tokyo Metro but still doable with practice. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures of scenery and funny signs I’ve been seeing but I haven’t figured out how to take candid shots of average Japanese people without feeling creepy. But being on the bus provides me with that opportunity! I can take pics from the bus of people on the street! Although I’ll need a quick finger to snap the pic juuust at the right time. Here’s the bus from my seat:

I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the Edogawa City Office’s landscape was. There’s a little waterfall wall, lots of lush greenery, bamboo shoots along a low stone wall…lovely! And here I was just expecting a very generic office building.

And even better–Edogawa is eco-friendly! I knew I loved Japan.

We made our way to the Foreign Resident area and were able to communicate easily thanks to Yumi’s help. We had to fill out some forms and provide our address in Japan, etc. We had to wait about 30 minutes, during which time we met an Indian-looking woman and her 4-year-old son Nitin! He was adorable and totally enthralled with a magazine about bugs when we met him. His mother said they had been living in Japan for 5 years and were very happy there. I actually see at least one Indian-looking person per day in Nishikasai, which is totally unexpected and interesting. I think many of them might be involved with international business, although I’m just surmising based on some of their wardrobes and briefcases. We have to go to another office in Nishikasai to actually pick up our cards, which will allow us to receive discounts and such and we have a paper of proof in the meantime. It will allow us to buy prepaid cell phones to make calls within Japan and it has other practical uses like that.

After applying for our cards, we decided to head back to Nishikasai for lunch. We had REAL ramen for the first time! Here’s Yumi, Kat, me, and Ash (Jatna took the pic):

It was so unbelievably delicious and hearty!! Ash remarked, “I don’t think we could ever go back to the garbage ramen we get in the U.S.,” and I’d have to agree with that for sure! Here’s the progression of my bowl, which contained soy sauce-based ramen with chives, Judas’s ear (a type of mushroom), and a few meat slices that resembled/tasted like turkey.

I was the only one to finish my entire bowl…and then I even finished Ash’s bowl! It’s like we keep saying–something about Japan is very empowering, including for my stomach capacity I guess…

We really enjoyed our first real ramen experience. It’s a cheap way to eat a LOT of good food, so no complaints there! The ramen shop was located in the Metro, which is the long corridor-type shopping area I mentioned before. We walked up and down Metro with Yumi and went into Niki Bakery, which is where Jatna had bought a chocolate eclair-type dessert full of whipped creme (OHH snap) instead of custard (too sugary and rich for my tastes). Naturally we went around the store and were curious about it all. They had fried curry pastries, pizza, scones, danishes, and these lil guys:

We decided to walk down a few streets in Nishikasai that we hadn’t explored yet, and Jatna and Kat headed back to the dorm because they were tired. We found a Honda dealership, a huge bookstore, and Yumi pointed out where the hospital was, which is literally right around the corner (previously unbeknownst to us). Then we decided to finally go into Rainbow Plaza, which is the park right across the street from our dorm. It was beautiful! It was like a hidden treasure; we knew that it must have been a nice park, but it surpassed our expectations. It seems like the perfect place to sit and read or just relax and soak in Japan. There were unaccompanied kids playing in the fountains, parents relaxing on the grass, and students and businessmen riding their bikes through the park. Ash, Yumi, and I talked for a little while until it became apparent that Yumi was tired because she had worked the night before (at Outback Steakhouse). So we parted ways and Ash and I both felt it was a lovely, low-key, enjoyable day overall.

Tonight at dinner we met Rachel and Yoh (not sure how to spell her name), who were both from Taiwan and were either working or taking classes in Japan. Funny how we so easily make new friends almost every night! It’s just a testament to not only how open and friendly people are here, but how easy they make it for Ash and me to recriprocate and even initiate conversation. It’s an indescribably lovely feeling.

p.s. Random fact: There are 7 Elevens, KFCs, Baskin Robbins, and Taco Bells (on one of the U.S. military bases) here! In case were get homesick, you can bet you’d be able to find us at one of those!

The 13-hour flight didn’t feel as long as we thought it would.The first things I noticed as we landed were all the rectangular patches of green–I still don’t know if they were farms, or rice paddies, or what. But they were gorgeous.

We landed and did exactly what we had planned–we followed all the Asians. They did not steer us wrong. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom, and it was without a doubt the coolest bathroom I’ve ever seen. It had automatic soap dispensers, which I now know are also in the U.S. but it totally blew my mind at the time. The toilet had buttons, including a button that made a flushing sound but didn’t actually flush…you know, to cover up any embarrassing noises that might occur.

We then went through Customs/Immigration, where we had to fill out some forms and such. The only complaint I have about Singapore Airlines is that they didn’t give us our Customs forms on the plane. It would have saved us a tiny bit of time and trouble, but in reality it didn’t take long to get through Customs at all. When we went to the baggage claim, we were pleasantly surprised (and a little shocked) to find a woman with a clipboard asking if we were Ashley and Jency. They had taken the luggage off the baggage claim for us and put them on 2 separate luggage carts for us (for FREE). It was just a preview of the kindness and courtesy we’ve experienced everywhere we turn in Japan.

We proceeded downstairs to the waiting area, where we spotted Taeko-san, an LCJ student named Yumi, Jatna, Kat, and Mari, who are the 3 other American study abroad girls. It didn’t take long for us to strike up conversations and exchange pleasantries. Ashley and I knew we were going to love Yumi when we all started laughing uncontrollably at this sign on the luggage cart:

Yumi speaks English pretty well, so it was easy to have a conversation with her. She’s going to be a freshman at LCJ and although we don’t have any of the same classes as she does, I’m sure we’ll see her. LCJ is only 1 building after all…and Yumi wants to travel to the U.S. (maybe NY!) after her 2 years at LCJ!

Taeko-san then directed us to the area to take the train. We soon realized that we would not be able to take the luggage carts with us, and we had to handle all our luggage on our own. Jatna and Kat are staying in Japan for a year, and Ash and I for one semester. Unfortunately, I packed as if I were staying for a year, so I had 2 huge suitcases, a small pullman, and a backpack. My fatal mistake when packing was to pack stuff in one of those hard-top Indian suitcases (all the Indians reading this know what I’m talkin bout). Sure, it’s durable and holds a bunch of stuff…but when it comes to DRAGGING IT through the train systems and stations of Tokyo, suddenly it becomes the dumbest thing you ever did. And yeah, it has wheels, but there are only 2 and they are close together, which means the suitcase is constantly off-balance when it’s being rolled. Again, dumb.

In order to get from the Narita airport to our dorm in Nishikasai, Edogawa, we had to take the JR (Japan Railway), transfer once, and then take the subway. Picture a tiny Japanese lady (Taeko-san) and 4 college-age girls, each dragging at least 2 huge suitcases and a backpack each through crowds of Japanese people, taking 3 trips on each elevator to change platforms, rushing to shove all our stuff out of the doors at each stop and praying to God that (a) no one gets left behind on a train and (b) no one gets stuck IN the doors. Let’s just say that God granted wish (a), but wish (b)…not so much. Misadventure #3: Suddenly I hear “OHH DAAANG!” and I look back to see Kat’s giant backpack stuck in the subway doors. Somehow the doors opened back up and Kat stumbled onto the platform with all her luggage. We had a good 5-minute laugh about that. As bad as we felt that Taeko-san had to struggle to help us with our luggage, she is much stronger than she appears, and she was accommodating and upbeat throughout the process. Her easygoing nature helped me to think to myself, “Yeah, this might stink, but it’ll be over soon enough and it’ll just be funny afterwards.” Not once did she appear to be uncomfortable or unhappy to help us. I got a picture of the train itself, but I didn’t manage to snap one of just how much space we took up with all our luggage.

Thanks to Ash, we do have a pic of just how much space we took up!

That unfortunate guy in the corner had no idea what madness awaited him this day after work…he totally hates his life in this picture.

Spoiler alert: Misadventure #4 is approaching. At one point, Ash’s backpack was slipping from her lap so I reached over to help her. Unfortunately that also meant that my hands left the suitcase they had been holding, which caused one to fall over…then another…then another…and before we knew it, the entire half of the train car that we were occupying was blocked by our fallen luggage–and that’s not even the worst part. One of my suitcases’ handles hit the poor man who made the unfortunate decision to sit next to me and I apologized profusely. I felt unbelievably awful, but later Jatna told me that he was laughing. Again, in my experiences so far, it seems like the Japanese people don’t really let much get to them. They are a lighthearted people, which is fortunate for me and the way chaos seems to follow me around at times.

We took up so many elevators and so much room during our train (mis)adventures that if I didn’t know any better, I’d think all of Tokyo hates us by now. But I think they actually enjoyed having their routine train rides suddenly made fun and amusing by our presence.

Another random experience I remember is when we were waiting for Taeko-san to make sure we were taking the right line, all of a sudden we heard something that slightly resembled thunder. It was not thunder, however–it was an ASIAN STAMPEDE!! Suddenly there were hundreds of people running down the stairs and surrounding us on all sides! We stood very still and waited for them to pass. That’s an experience I’m not likely to forget anytime soon.

Once we finally arrived at the Nishikasai station, we had an estimated 6-minute walk from the station to our dorm. Of course, that’s 6 minutes without two 50-lb suitcases and a backpack each. It probably took us more like 15 minutes. As we approached the block that our dorm was on and my arms felt like they were being ripped out of their sockets, suddenly there was a traffic jam on the sidewalk. Lo and behold–Kat somehow managed to knock over a bike…and in Japan, no bike is ever just parked by itself…let’s just say there was a domino effect going on and you get Misadventure #5. Kat’s misadventures on the first day remain some of my favorite parts of the trip so far.

Once we finally arrived at the dorm, we waited outside while Taeko-san made sure all the arrangements were ready for us. In the ~10 minutes that we were waiting outside, we saw these massive bugs that looked more like small birds. (The pic below was taken the day after we arrived.)

We were also bitten by mysterious smaller bugs without realizing it. They certainly weren’t mosquitoes. The bites are still purple and swollen 2 days later…I wonder if I should be concerned about that…

We only had the energy to unpack a tiny bit, set up our beds, shower, and pass out. I’m Room 315!

La serie se trata sobre un niño de 7 años ( en realidad tiene 17)  que resuelve crímenes muy difíciles, donde se encuentran casos que a primera vista son imposibles de cometer o donde los asesinos tienen cuartadas perfectas. Lo bueno de la serie es que avanzamos en el caso, como si fuéramos otra persona más, por lo que nosotros si tenemos buenas deducciones, buena imaginación, buena audición, buen olfato y buena observación podemos resolver el caso.

Pero basta de tanta cháchara, ahora les dejo el Link de Taringa!, donde un usuario ha colocado hasta el capítulo 518 ( de 525, donde el 526 se emite en Japón mañana 23 )

El link es el siguiente : Conan El Detective ( en español, luego subtitulado, creo )

Bonus: Para los que prefieren el audio latinoamericano ( pero hasta el 123 T.T ) : Detective Conan Latino

*Si un niño viviera lo que vive este niño, mas que seguro terminaría en el loquero @_@

Friends and families gather around to eat and drink (like a picnic) to watch the fireworks (the show is usually between 7:15-8:30 in the evening).  Because of its popularity, you (or someone in your party) need to arrive early and place your handy-dandy mat to save a good viewing spot.  Just like other matsuri (festivals), many women (and some men) wear their yukatas to these events.

This year, we attended two of the larger hanabis around Tokyo.

The Sumida River Fireworks Display is held by the Sumida River near Taito-ku, with about 20,000 fireworks in late July.  The picture below is the wide Sumida River, with the firework floating platforms in the background.  There were many women wearing yukatas, as we walked along the bridge to get to the other side of the river.

People watch the fireworks from the streets and under the bridge – they do not seem to be the most comfortable places to us.

Did I mention that it was crowded?

The Edogawa-ku Fireworks Display is held by the Edo River in Edogawa-ku, with about 14,000 fireworks in early August.  Along the way to the place, there were many food stalls like the one pictured below.

A wide shot with the Edo river in the background …

… and pictures of people enjoying themselves, many wearing yukatas – have you seen enough blue mats yet?

Finally, the big show started promptly after an afternoon of merriment.

Two YouTube videos for live action viewing.

Anyway pictures speak louder than words so here they are =P

Counting money….

Garlic fried rice =P

Teppanyaki beef =p

The Matsu set most of us ordered

After our efforts =p

The group at our table ^-^

Trinity =p