Meetings...

As we get ready for the start of the Fall semester, we have MEETINGs!!! Sounds exciting, yes??? Yes! because we get sooooo much information that is pertinent to what we need to do in the next few days. It does raise the blood level a bit, but it brings us straight back in the swing of things!  We had our first full staff meeting yesterday with 10 teachers.  There are two newcomers to fill in the 2 teachers who left.  It is quite exciting to have some fresh blood (so to speak).

We have another meeting today in regards to our Coordinator duties.  I have many things I want to do today.  It is also the mid-autumn moon festival in Chinese culture.  Happy Full Moon tonight!!!  It will be a great way to kick off Fall Semester. :)

Sapporo, Hokkaido

Sushi!!! {Nijo Fish Market}

Sapporo Tower - Odori Park

Sapporo Mascot!!!

Greg, my brother-in-law, had a conference in Sapporo.  He left a day ahead of us because he had to go to the conference.  Cheryl and I joined up with him a day later, but he was busy with the conference.  So we galavanted around the city while he worked.  We ate miso ramen, melon bread, seafood, and more!  We tried to find what Sapporo is known for and eat it!!!  We also went to a harbor side city called Otaru where they have a beautiful canal.  It is about 30 minutes from Sapporo.  It was a wonderful experience to see another part of Japan, Sapporo.  It was open and spread out.  The city was on a grid, and easy to navigate around.  It was a small city so we walked around the whole city!  The food was absolutely delicious.  I would love to come back and visit Hokkaido again.  There are many other sites around Hokkaido that I would like to see and do.   I would like to come back for the Snow Festival in February... maybe the year after next.

Night Hike on Mt. Fuji

Getting prepared for the night hike! {Sept. 7}

At the summit of Mt. Fuji {Sept. 8}

It was quite the adventure!!! We took the shuttle bus from Shinjuku to Mt. Fuji 5th Station.  We arrived around 19:00.  We looked around the shops and what not to kill time before we hiked up around 20:30.  We did not reserve a hut, and we did not stay in a hut.  We stayed up all night!  We stopped at different huts along the way.  It started off as a beautiful night! After we passed the 7th Station it was pouring rain, and super windy.  It was like that the rest of the way up.  We stayed about 1 hour in one hut to get warm.  I was shivering and tired!  I felt better after we stopped in that hut. Then we continued up, and there were tons of people.  It was literally a line going up the mountain.  Every time we stopped, I had to keep moving in place to stay warm.  We made it to the summit around 04:50.  Sunrise was around 05:00.  We couldn't see anything because of the clouds, rain, and wind.  Once I was inside this small building I wanted to stay.  I wanted the shelter from the wind & rain.  We eventually went to another hut for some food.  There we stayed until 07:30.  We were advised to hike down the path we took up, the Yoshida Trail, because of the weather conditions.  It took us about 5 hours to hike back down to Mt. Fuji 5th Station.  There was still rain and wind that we had to fight on our way down, but as we got closer to the station the weather was better.  I had my hiking stick where you can get stamps at different stations on the way up, and at a certain point I stopped getting stamps because my hiking stick was too wet!! haha.  It was funny.  We were so tired and cold we forgot to get our certificates for hiking Mt. Fuji!  Well, we wouldn't have had a dry place to keep the certificates anyways... haha.  It was quite the adventure.  We spent 15 hours on Mt. Fuji!!!  It was a spontaneous trip, and I am happy to have shared this memory with my sister and brother-in-law.

On our way back home. {Shinjuku Train Station}

Visitors #4 in Japan!

On the Tembo Deck of the Skytree (350m)

My older sister Cheryl and her husband Greg arrived to Tokyo Tuesday night.  On Wednesday we went all over Tokyo.  I showed them TIU, where I work, and then we went off to Asakusa to the Sensoji Temple.  From them we went to the Tokyo Skytree and went up to the Tembo Deck. We were lucky it was not crowded!  Then we ventured off to Ueno Park, Shinjuku, and Shibuya.  It was a long day!  We finished the day with dinner at a soba restaurant in Ikebukuro.  We eventually made it back to my apartment, and from there they were packing and getting ready for their adventure to Kyoto.  They will be in Kyoto until Friday. On Friday they will come back to my apartment!!! I'm happy to have them come and visit.  I was a little sad when they left this morning. Good thing they are coming back!

Kobaton in Kawagoe!

I am feeling lucky!!! I know this could be childish, AND I still love these fun characters!!  This is the Saitama prefecture mascot! I live in this prefecture and I am proud of it so I wanted to get a stuffed animal of it.  Luckily, yesterday when we were in Shinjuku I found it!!!!  Then today I had to go to the Immigration office (because of my stolen wallet) to get a new residence card... on my way home I decided to stop by the main shopping area in Kawagoe, and LOOK WHO I STUMBLED UPON.  Yes, the kobaton itself!!! I was pleasantly surprised by all of this!  I am feeling content...

Happy September!!!

Greetings!!!

18 days left of summer break.  The first day of fall semester begins Friday, September 20th and ends January 20th.  Summer vacation has been going by so quickly! There is still so much to do... and see... and eat... :)

Last week I went to Harajuku for the Yosakoi Festival, to Kamakura to see the (Daibutsu), to the himawari (sunflower) field, to a meet-up at a comedy bar in Shibuya, and more!!!

Daibutsu

Himawari

On another note, tonight Cheryl & Greg arrive from Seattle.  They are going to stay the night at my place.  I don't know what they want to do tomorrow besides rest and relax.  10.5 hour flight and 2 hour train ride sure takes it out of you!!  I'll have a blow up mattress ready for them when they arrive. I'm sure they'll be ready to crash when they arrive.  There are more fun things to do together. I'm looking forward to it...

End of August

I returned back to Japan last Thursday from Thailand.  We had Open Campus on Friday and Saturday.  We had a full room in the morning sessions, and less people in the afternoon sessions.  I spoke to about 10 prospective students last weekend.

This past week I was fortunate to go to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) and have green tea in a bamboo forest.  It was nice to get to see these sites and experience more of Japan.  I also went to see himawari (sunflower) in Saitama.  It was a big field of sunflowers, and I picked two to take home with me.  I also had ichigo (strawberry) shaved ice.  It was a nice treat since it was very hot that day.  We saw many people dressed up to take pictures with the himawari.  When I say dressed up, they were wearing costumes, and had wigs, and lots of make up.  Maybe it is a thing to do to get professional cosplay photos in a field of sunflowers??? hmmm...

Last night I went to the gym for the first time in Japan.  Sadly, I had my wallet stolen.  Yes, stolen!  I had it in my purse, and it wasn't there after I showered... I did not lock it because I was taking a quick shower.  I didn't realize that it was missing until I was at the grocery store buying groceries.  My wallet wasn't there!  I spent about 3 hours at the Koban and back at PiKOA to figure out this mess... Whoever stole it used my credit card at Yaoko Marketplace 3 times in one night!!! This person spent more than 300USD there.  Unbelievable... I called and cancelled my cards this morning before the 3 hour investigation and reporting at the Police Station.  A lady showed up to the Koban and we went to the gym, and she took pictures and measurements of the locker.  I had to stand and point to where my purse was in the locker.  It was a unique experience.  We went back to the Koban and she took my fingerprints and said she would call if they find anything...

I have my old wallet, and it's pretty much empty!  I had my residence card, insurance card, TIU ID card, credit card, debit cards, and more in the stolen wallet... I hope it shows up!!!

  

Summer Break 2013

Summer break has begun!

My summer consists of random days of work with mini vacations in between. For example, the last day of classes were on July 22, and I had work from July 26-28. So I went to the Japan Alps from July 23-25. I also had work on August 4, so I didn't have much time to go on another trip in Japan.  I stayed around town and prepared for my trip to Thailand! !   Now I am in Thailand until August 21.  Yes, I have work on August 23 & 24.  These random days I have work are called Open Campus.  These days we meet prospective high school students and talk about the university and our classes.  It's actually quite fun to meet these students.  The Open Campus after the ones in August is September 7!  I'll have about 13 days free to do some work and visit friends in Japan.  Maybe I'll even go travel around Tokyo and Kansai region of Japan. We'll see... right now I'm in Thailand, and I'm enjoying every moment of this vacation.  This past semester had its challenges, and I am grateful to have persevered through it.  Somehow it happened... at moments I wasn't sure if I could do it... Cheers to the summer!