Big news, and a long break from writing

For the last four months I've taken a break from writing. Many due to the fact that I have had to focus all my attention on other matters, namely work and something very important. By now all my friends and family should know the big news that I had been holding back from everyone for a while, but in case there is someone out there who knows me that doesn't know what I'm talking about, heres the big news. I'm getting married!

Last summer I proposed to my girlfriend Yuuki, and after months and months of keeping this a secret we were finally able to tell everyone last month. It was a wonderful moment for us both and we are very excited about the future. The good news is our wedding is now set for Christmas day in Kofu! I'm hoping that many of my friends and family can attend this wedding. However it will be hard since it will be in Japan and many of my American and other friends from abroad may not be able to make it. Still it will be an exciting day for us.

Of course with all the preparations for this event occuring now, I have less time and money to spend outside of Kofu these days. But I am still enjoying myself and having fun whenever I can. Recently I got a nice little vacation thanks to the golden week holidays here in Japan. But honestly I did very little other than going out to dinner a lot and watching plenty of movies. Simple yes, but I don't mind. Im very happy though as in a few weeks I'll be going to visit the city of Nara. Ill have a chance to see some more historic Japanese places then.

Other than that not much happening, just enjoying this wonderful weather and wonderful time!

A new year, a long vacation

Well 2010 is now a few days old and its been an enjoyable start to the new decade. Mainly thanks to the fact that I was off for two straight weeks, and sixteen out of seventeen days. It was a mostly relaxing time for me, with a few hiccups along the way. I went traveling a bit during the vacation. I went once again to Shosenkyo to take an American friend of mine from Sophia to see the falls. It was nice since it wasn't as crowded as last time. I also went to Matsumoto to see a famous old Japanese castle. I took a lot of pictures and I'll post some soon.

The rest of the vacation I spent with my girlfriend Yuuki, which was the best part of the entire vacation. I had a wonderful Christmas dinner with her family, and we saw many great movies at home and the theater. At the theater we saw the new "Nodame Cantibile" film that just opened here. Since we are both fans of the manga and drama, and love classical music, it was a fun movie for us. We also watched a lot of funny Japanese TV, which is in abundance at this time of the year with all the New Years specials. And of course I especially spent a lot of free time, especially when I was alone, playing Final Fantasy XIII. For those that care, the game looks amazing and has been fun for me. Although not perfect. Still it was nice to have that to go to whenever things got boring at home.

There were a few frustrating things that happened this year. On Christmas day I found out my big Christmas package from my family had been sent back home to the states because two pieces of beef jerky were in the package. Thats a big no no here in Japan since US beef is highly regulated due to a mad cow scare a few years ago. That made me pretty upset and a little mad. Thankfully my package is being re-mailed today I'm told, so I still have a ton of Christmas goodies to look forward too. I also sadly caught a nasty little stomach bug. I was in a lot of pain this past week, but thankfully its starting to disappear.

Overall my vacation was a wonderful time for me, and I was able to do everything I had wanted. The only regret I have is that I don't feel that all my stress has been relieved, which is something I really wanted to work on these past few weeks. With work about to get extremely busy over the next couple of weeks, I'm worried that my stress level will rise high again. Thankfully I have some plans to help relieve those things in the coming weeks.

Looking back at last years goals, I did achieve some of them. I got to go to one concert, I met new friends, and I did study my Japanese a little (but didn't take the JLPT). I didn't climb Mt. Fuji or go skiing, thanks to my knee issues. I also didn't go to Kyoto or Osaka last year, but I will this year. So overall while I didn't achieve them all I did well. I plan on making new goals shortly for 2010.

I will post pictures of my vacation in the coming few days.

Tokyo visit, Yotsuya, Asakusa, and Shinjuku at night

Last week me and my girlfriend Yuuki spent time in Tokyo enjoying the nice weather, shopping, and reminiscing about the past. First we headed to Yotsuya and Akasaka, to see Sophia University where I had studied back in 2001 and 2002. I had wanted to go visit my old neighborhood of Yotsuya for a while to take some pictures. I had been unable to take many pictures during my time there in 2001 and 2002 thanks to my camera breaking. But I also had wanted to visit some old areas around there that I hadn't been to in a long while.

Yotsuya is pretty much the same as it was 7 years ago, however Sophia is no where close to looking the same as it had. The dorm I lived in has been gone for years, replaced with an empty space waiting to be developed. The new building that was just starting to be built as I left, is not only completed but joined by other new buildings. In many ways, the Sophia I knew is gone forever. And yet the memories I had then came flooding back as I walked the roads around the university, and on the way to Akasaka. It was a hard trip for me emotionally, but I kept it together. In the end it was fun to see the old places again. I'll post more pictures of it soon. In a way while the Sophia I remember is no longer there, I'm OK with that, as its an experience that only could exist for a short time I think. And anyway the memories will always be close to my heart where they are most needed.

After that me and Yuuki spent some time in Akasaka, and then shopping in the Ginza. We then headed to Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple and to shop for some Christmas gifts. Asakusa is a touristy place in many ways, lots of old gift shops selling toys and gifts foreigners and others would love to take home. Its a nice place of town, but kind of crowded. The reason people come there is because of an important building. The Buddhist temple there, Sensoji Temple, is very stunning and a great place to visit.

As you can see the place was very busy. This being a Sunday, and a beautiful day at that, it was packed with many people from all over Japan as well as many foreigners. Many came to pray, others just to view an important and famous building, and others came to shop the many old style shops along the road to the temple. It had a feel of classical Japan to it.

Unfortunately the main building of the temple was under renovation. While we could inside we couldn't see its exterior of course. At least they were able to put up a very nice banner to cover it with. I bought many gifts for my family for Christmas in Asakusa. It was quite funny traveling there, almost 8 years to the day that I had gone before to get gifts for my family the first time I went there. I felt a sense of remembrance very similar to when I was in Yotsuya earlier in the day.

At this point we headed to Akihabara for some quick video game and anime shopping, as well as a nice stop into a Burger King store. Funny story about that, someone brought their pet rabbits to the resturant and left them outside while they ate inside. Every customer who left was quite surprised at the site. We then headed to Shinjuku to go look for books in a book store I love to go to many times when I lived there. When we got there we found a wonderful Christmas decoration exhibit that had gone up in the last few weeks. It was a wonderful site seeing all the trees lit up nicely.

Above is a picture of Yuuki, my girlfriend sitting next to one of the trees lit up. We both had a fantastic time. Its always great to go back to Tokyo for a visit. While I love Yamanashi so much and am so glad I live here, I still consider Tokyo to be my Japanese hometown in many ways. So its really a pleasure to see everything again. In the next few days I'll post a few more pics of my visit.

Medical Problems Galore

The last month and a half has been a frustrating time for me health wise. Its times like this that I am very thankful for the insurance plan I have with the government. Many foreigners complain about it, but its really been a big help for me the past year, and especially this month. The day after my birthday I unfortunately had a small but nasty little bicycle accident. To make a long story short, I was trying to bike on the sidewalks here, but they tend to disappear out of no where and end in big cement blocks. Since it was at night and my light on my bike was not working well, I couldn't see this at all and I hit it. I ended up falling off the bike and landing on the cement block wall. My hand had a large deep cut in it and my leg had a gigantic bump on it and it was impossible to walk.

Thankfully I was able to get to the hospital thanks to the help of my girlfriend. But we had a hard time finding one that would accept me. Since it wasn't a major emergency I had to go to a smaller one. Thankfully once we got there we found out nothing was broken and they taped up my hand real well. I couldn't walk well for days and my hand has a nice scar now. Also I had to dig deep into my savings, something I just started doing, and buy a new bike. At the request of my friends and coworkers, I bought an expensive road bike. This as they suggested, would be better for me as it would be stronger. However its a bit inconvenient as it doesn't have a kickstand, lock, or a basket. I still have my old bike but its not the best shape so I rarely use it.

So after that I spent time healing and I thought things would get better, I ended up catching a very nasty cold. Unlike the one I got this summer, this one ended up including a very high fever that lasted a week. The worst part about it was that it was making my asthma very bad as well. At the same time the swine flu had hit my school and many of my students had caught the virus. Because of this I had to make sure about my condition. I went to the doctor and after taking a test I was told I didn't have the virus, and that it was just a nasty cold. I have to say if that was a cold, I'm afraid of what the swine flu would be like for me as that cold was terrible.

In between those two events, mostly I have been trying to relax and prepare for the upcoming end of the year break. I did celebrate Halloween this year and made a costume for the first time in a long time. I went as the character "Tomodachi" from the manga "20th Century Boys." I will post a picture of the costume soon. I also have been going out to eat a lot at some nice restaurants with my girlfriend Yuuki. Those trips are always a lot of fun.

With December just a few days a way I really am starting to get excited for my big vacation. I'm hoping to go do a lot this year, from parties, to sight seeing, to spending time with Yuuki, and some relaxation at home with Final Fantasy XIII. It will be a ton of fun. Also I have plans for a visit to Tokyo in a week. And sometime soon I'm going to go to Tokyo Disneyland and Matsumoto. It will be a blast!

31 and one last look at my old Sophia website

Today was my 31st birthday, and without a doubt it was the best I've experienced. I had been waiting for weeks for it and today my waiting was well rewarded. I spent the day with my girlfriend who helped make the day very special. Not only did she get me a wonderful strawberry and chocolate cake, but a brand new watch. I've been needing one for a very long time. I also got some new clothes for the winter, which is something I've really needed. The day then ended with a special dinner. I was taken to a very nice restaurant, izakaya style, on the top floor of one of the nice restaurants in Kofu. We were given a nice window view of the city at night from 13 floors up. We had a wonderful dinner, having shabu shabu beef, some sashimi, and noodles. I even was given flowers and a special picture for my birthday as part of the meal.

It really was a great day for me. The last couple of years in Yamanashi my birthday had been a disappointing day, especially two years ago with the fall of NOVA just days away from occurring. To finally have such a special day as today with such a special person, made me very very happy.

One last thing for today. In just one week, my old website, which has been online for 13 years now, will go offline thanks to Geocities being closed. My pictures and words of my time at Sophia university in Tokyo will then be taken offline. I hope to have them back online as soon as I can, but until then it would be good to have one last look at my old website.

http://www.geocities.com/bebopcowboy

Picture time

Today has been a bad day. I cut my face real bad this afternoon. I'm OK now but at the time I thought I would need stitches. Thankfully there was no need. But enough of my problems, time for some pictures! Here are a few from some of my recent trips:

First a picture of me near the unique Fuji TV building in Odaiba.

This picture is from the ferris wheel in Odaiba. If you look real closely to the left, you can see the Gundam statue.

Another picture of the Fuji TV building from he opposite side.

Here is a picture of the rainbow bridge connecting Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo. In the background is Tokyo Tower.

One of the main lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. This is from my camping trip.

This picture is of Mt. Fuji covered in clouds. Two years in a row this has happened for the camping trip.

A nice small waterfall from the campgrounds.

A smiling sunflower from a place near my home.

Picture taken from Ryuo station. This is the small town of Kai City, where I live. Nice view of Mt. Fuji and many other mountains.

I will have more pictures to post later tonight.

Back to writing after a much needed rest

Well its been two months since I last posted something on the blog. To be honest I needed time away as life has been pretty busy as of late. Whether its the continued frustration of work, to lots of fun at home, I just haven't had the time to write as much. Most of the last two months have been just very busy. I had to go to camp for a few days, long nights at work, and weekends where my schedule was packed. But at least I haven't gotten too sick yet.

For fun I've done many things. I went to a place called Kiyosato which has a nice scenic view to it. Lots of wonderful mountain views. I will try to post some pictures soon. I also went to Tokyo for some shopping a few times, and of course camp near Mt. Fuji. Sadly the days we went there was a torrential rainstorm which caused problems for everyone.

In August there was a one week vacation for the Japanese holiday of Obon. During that week I spent the majority of it with my girlfriend, having fun and relaxing. I also ended up playing more Dragon Quest IX. I finally beat the main quest last night, but I still have hours upon hours of post main game fun to play.

September has been a quiet month. Its good for me though as I want to relax more, and save some money for once. Thankfully I have lots of things to keep me busy. My backlog of games, dvds, manga, books, and so on can keep me busy for probably a year. Hopefully I can get through a lot of them the next few months.

I am already looking forward to next month. My birthday will be then and it looks like it will be a very special one this year. I can't wait!