Candy Toy, Kubrick, BE@RBRICK

Well, another week, another blog. Things are starting to settle into routine around Kitakawabe. There’s not too much that surprises me, now – except for students who get a little grabby. There are about three or four students who like to try and touch my chest. Note to anyone who thinks that Japanese students are way more well-behaved than American students: you are wrong. They can be as noisy and disruptive as any American class.

Again, nothing much happening in Kitakawabe these days. So this weekend, we went to Tokyo again! And you know what that means…

No, actually, we didn’t see this guy. (Alas.) However, thanks to Alison, I did end up seeing this guy:

And getting my copy of American Gods signed…

Unfortunately, I was in a rush to catch a train and couldn’t stop long enough to chat with Neil Gaiman about my dream casting for an American Gods movie. (That’s fortunate, though. He’d probably just roll his eyes.) One amusing thing that happened was that another American had come to the signing having only found out about it the afternoon of that day, so he didn’t have any of Neil Gaiman’s books. Instead, he had a Margaret Atwood book, which he gave to Neil to sign. Gaiman was like, “why am I signing this book?” and everyone laughed. He ended up signing it, “I didn’t write this. Sorry Margaret, Neil Gaiman.” The guy’s pure class. (Also, his voice sounds like Alan Rickman’s, which is just a cool voice to have.)

The next day we went out to the Tokyo Dome to see a game! We figured, hey, a Japanese baseball game must be fun. When I exited the station, imagine how surprised I was to see this:

Yeah, a random rollercoaster in the middle of Tokyo. A pretty serious one, too. Look at that first drop. Also, it goes through a building! Crazy! In fact, there was a whole mini-amusement park around the Tokyo Dome, called Tokyo Dome City. There was a ferris wheel, a log flume ride… however, we didn't go on any, because we decided to save our money for the game.

A few pictures outside the park:





And here's an outside shot of the stadium...

The team name is “Giants,” but it beats me how those are giants.

I think we were a bit too loud at the game, but "loud fan" in Japan is something altogether different than a loud fan in the USA.

Here’s a picture outside the Tokyo Dome, after the game was almost done:

So overall, trip to Tokyo #2: a success! However, I think this’ll be the last Tokyo visit for a while, at least until payday in October. We’re planning karaoke for the weekend after payday. ;)

I’ve been doing a bit more exploring of the area around Kitakawabe, with the help of Clint – the old ALT. The city on the other side of the river, Koga, is actually somewhat city-like, and not just a rural town like Kitakawabe. However, this can lead to occasional instances of getting lost. So far I’ve found the Koga post office. That’s about it.

Living here has its ups and downs, really. On one hand, the kids are great; you’ll never feel so much like a celebrity as when you’re seen outside of school. (“It’s Kyle-sensei!!!”) I've even started making some inside jokes with some of my students. None of them are REALLY terrible, except this one elementary school kid. But I see him maybe once or twice a month, so whatever on him.

On the other hand, aside from Clint, it’s hard to communicate with anyone around here, and most of my evenings are spent just chilling out at home, listening to music. It's kind of slow sometimes, and I'm glad I'm only here for 7 months. I'll just have to enjoy it while I'm here, right?