Catching up... Part II!

Hi All,

(-______-)

Yes yes, I have been falling behind on the updates, but it’s FINALS week! And yes even as easy as I have found the classes here there’s a lot of work to do.

Lots of work and not nearly as much play… kind of… lol. But that’s ok I still have parts II and III to share with you about Christmas break!

Well Here it goes:

PART II: 27 /Dec. to 29 /Dec.

the 27^th : We decided to eat dinner at a Denny's in honor of my birthday; though it was a day early because we thought we might be too busy and tired from traveling to be able to do anything else… can you believe I've never been to a Denny's in America?

I was surprised at midnight with a cake!!! I felt so thought-off and liked and cared for :-)

It was great. I don’t get cakes often and it was just great to have my closest friends in Japan with me. And I got gifts to boot.

They all gave me things to keep warm because it’s not secret that I am constantly and I mean ALWAYS cold!!

........................

the 28^th: (my birthday) We went to Hakone in the morning of. We took a bus ride from Mishima station that was about 40-50mins.

Hakone: is known for its onsen (hot spring resorts), it’s really popular because it’s not t far from Tokyo and offers a great view of Mount Fuji. Sights include the volcanically active Owakudani geysers and Hakone Shrine on the shore of the lake.

We got a tourist deal for two days at Hakone and it was great! It included unlimited rides on cable cars, Hakone pirate cruise, and discounts on entry fees at different locations . We did quite a bit of sightseeing.

They said that if you eat this black egg you live longer... (it's just a regular egg as far as taste goes. It's apparently boiled with hot spring water though and it turns black...)

huge hotel room!

While you're at the hotel you wear yukatas (a variation of a kimono). I was sung Happy Birthday numerous times (in multiple languages) and it was unforgettable.We played some Jenga and karaoke and ping-pong where included in our hotel fees.

The onsen are incredibly hot (I mean I know they are hot springs) but your skins dies while you’re in there… that might explain why you feel super smooth after lol. It was great once we got a *little over the shyness of having to be naked in front of other people.

All in all it was a great two-day trip.

Phew that was a lot! It was such a great time!! And alright Stay tune for part III and possibly a fourth... no promises on next week, I'm still taking finals!

Later

Happy New Year

明けましておめでとう

ございます

(Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu)

Happy New Year!!

It’s the year of the Rabbit.

Metal Rabbit year will give us a year devoted to calm… so goes the predictions.

As I had said we planned a lot for the holidays and a lot we have done!

(And we are not done!!)

It has been legitimately one of the best winter vacations I have ever had and one that I will always remember. In doing so much I will split my recount of it all in three parts.

PART I: 22/Dec to 25/Dec

The 22^nd was when we got off for winter break. We gave the C.E.I.L.D office (the office responsible for us and other exchange students and programs) a cake and card for Christmas because they are great to us.

I planned a Dinner&Movie event that was followed by a Girls’ Slumber party. It didn’t turn out quite as planned. Definitely not as smoothly as I hoped but I think every one had a great time and I think it was worth the trouble lol.

The Dinner&Movie turned into a party basically. I have planned it for about 12 people to come—more than 12 people came. The movie was hard to follow with some many people so we put on music instead and wah-lah: Party.

… we got yelled at and written up for being too loud lol (not alcohol or having a party)… being loud.

We ladies did proceed to our planned sleepover (with a chocolate fondue) and watched a movie…part of a movie rather as sleep right away lol.

All in all a great night really.

........>

The 23^rd we went to watch fireworks!! (I think in honor of the Emperor’s Birthday).

They were spectacular.

fun photos on the path to/from the fireworks area.



Photos hardly show how cold the weather can be... I was freezing!

......>

The 24^th we returned to see the Christmas lights at Gotenba. It was the same as the first time lol But we spent a 円1000 yen to see a laser show on a water fountain (the water acted as the screen for the laser to be projected on to). It was cold but it was cool.

There was music to go along with the moving images, and unfortunately the pictures can't show how the water was creatively used to make the images pop... it was lovely actually.

......>

The 25^th we went to Yokohama, more specifically with the aim of going the China Town of Yokohama. We ended up staying most of our stay at the mall (Bay Quarter) by the station. We ate at a Hawaiian restaurant. It had a nice view and though a bit pricey the food was nice… minus the fact that I order the wrong thing and ended up with raw tuna. Terrific. I ended up donating my Tuna to everyone else and sharing chicken with Damien, oh and the cocktail that I order was bitterer than I intended. Don’t get me wrong it was a good restaurant.

When we finally got to the Chinatown we ate so more! lol

it's a GIANT 肉まん nikuman (it's like a bread filled usually with pork meat)

The architecture of this Chinatown is really nice and I like it more than New York's Chinatown.

After a long day we head back and rested for Part II: my Birthday and trip to Hakone (famous for hotsprings)

Ok that's the update for now.

Fun Fact:

I did learn that Christmas is a bit of a lover's holidays and well, Christmas eve and Christmas day you see A LOT of couples! ... wow.

Later.