– this week felt like it went by really fast – even though I only slept 4h yesterday due to the EQ, I had a really good day at work and I was much more energetic than I thought I would be. – I slept really, really well last night.
Sunny, but occasional cloud cover, with temperatures in the mid-to-high teens.
Can I jam a machine somewhere to keep it this way till fall?
A close friend of mine did me a huge solid by securing a few of the Lawson promotional Zelda Heart Container lamps for myself and a few family members. My local Lawsons didn’t have them even though they were listed online as participating. She didn’t have to do that, but I am in her debt. Giving her and her family a lot of free stuff along with paying her back for that merch as a thank you.
My PR application was approved this week – and it only took five weeks!
Finally starting to see a decent number of people out and about without masks!
I’ve really been on top of my game this week. I think I did great at work and have managed to put time into music and Japanese studies on the side.
Discovered a top-tier sento a short bicycle ride away from my stay and have been commuting there close to every day. It has a really hot sauna and a properly big cold bath as well.
I think I finally figured out a diet that suits me best and that might be the underlying cause of my well above average energy levels this week.
Now just have to decide the weekend activity. Kinda feeling mountains but also want to spend the days studying.
GW trip went great, and finally relaxing back into normal everyday life after months of wedding stuff. Things are good.
Went for a hike up Tsukubayama on Golden Week. Not really a healthy exercise sort of person but we actually did really well!
Unfortunately we had to leave 1 stop from the top as the busses were stopping earlier (and the bus that took us there got stuck in traffic for 2 hours!) But I will go back and reach the top next time!
If anyone wants to do the climb, don’t go durring GW!
We adopted a 10-month-old cat two months ago. And he has been such a pleasure to have. Our older male cat lost the female cat that raised him last Christmas. But now this new cat has taken a special affection to him. They are always next to each other. We feel lucky.
Some flowers planted by our house company right in front of our balcony started blooming this week, and the entire apartment smells soooo damn nice, I love it.
Wife has managed to avoid getting sick ib a house full of sick people. Baby’s pretty much better and it looks like toddler is on the mend. Just me to go.
People back home sending gifts for my daughter’s bday. Amazing!
ＺＥＬＤＡ
Another praise. It will be a while yet till I retire, but I’m starting to wonder what I will do at 65 and where I will live. During Golden Week, I joked to my wife’s mother that after I retire, maybe I could live at their fish farming business in the mountains when they move down closer to the city center. Someone needs to stay at the business to keep watch. And she said that would be a great idea. And I felt a bit of peace just knowing that this is one future option.
New job starts next week, so I’ve spent this week preparing. New bag, shoes, shirts, etc. Hopefully this will get me out of this rut. Also, pay is scaled based on performance and can be raised at any time, so I have an incentive to not get complacent
I got to try the Tears of the Kingdom snacks at Lawson, so I’m a happy gal.
Monday afternoon I dropped my debit card in one of the establishments in a mall. My gf was worried because what if someone found it and used it (some establishments dont need PIN to use cards). And I assured her not to worry. Next day I went back to the establishment but they did not have it. They directed me to information center of the mall. The information center directed me to their office and voila, there it was, my card.
I’m glad the block button exists on social media! IRL, when I run into someone looking for confrontation it’s best to diffuse or just walk away. On Reddit, it’s a quick “click” and be gone ahole!
Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom!
​
That’s all!!!
I discovered the Kobe Municipal Arboretum during GW and love it. We took a long walk and had a soft ice cream at the end. Very tired, but I want to go again. I just discovered they offer an annual pass. I need to convince my wife to buy that one.
I got to see it again, this morning, when for better or for worse, that moment where good swarms.
My commute takes me on foot close to the nightlife district in Sendai. Even early in the morning, hearing glass rattle and smash, tires squeal and shouting, it’s just the city waking up.
A crash and squeal, followed by a woman’s scream and a child crying, that’s not normal, but it is on my route, so I double time it to the scene.
And it’s basically over. A woman riding her bike with her kid on the back got clipped, thankfully no injuries, but the car ran for it. They’ve got more people around them than a prime minister who had a bomb chucked at him.
I’ve got first-aid training so I ask to help. Unneeded, thankfully. Little one is probably too shocked to feel, but she said no to my offer of bandaids (kids often want them when they feel hurt). I see her Anpanman bag, get episodes playing on my phone while the others talk to her mom and guide the ambulance and police. Upon arrival, mostly everyone is gone like dust in the wind.
I like when people are good, simple as that.
Edit – and for all the flak Sagawa gets, one of their drivers ran to a vending machine and bought the little girl some juice before going back to work.
I accepted my first job in Japan, looking forward to starting it when I graduate next spring! Getting excited for a new adventure in a new city. Japan isn’t rid of me yet!
Also, the campus is finally green and blooming again, and with the weather so nice lately, it’s been a joy to bike through the town and campus for my daily commute.
New hobby carbon steel wok! Any recommendations? I use gas stove
I just want to praise Japan for being my favourite country and for giving me the life I always dreamed of having
Japan related :
– I love countryside so bad. I can’t wait to move out from the Kanto region. Problem is partner will have tough time finding an interesting job. Partner’s parents have a piece of farmable (?) land. My current plan for in few years is, as a mountain dude who knows nothing about farming, to open a chill igo cafe with french food, and to ask for farming advices/lessons in exchange of french lesson or food or igo game.
– it’s been 6 months since I’m working in a fully japanese environment, sometimes it is very hard to follow very technical (I’m working in a telecom equipment company) and long conversations, but 1) I am making progress 2) there is this super smart but sometimes cold dude that tries to speak english even when talking to japanese mates during the meetings. I praise his efforts. Mates often reply to him in japanese, but he still continues in english. Props to him. My english is also kinda broken so no comment regarding their english.
Non-Japan related :
– the keyboard group buy I joined Fall 2022 released an update and it looks sick !! – local but worldwide reknown artisanal dish maker from my small countryside hometown is running twice a year on-site sales. Current sales started yesterday and end on sunday. My parents bought me some that I will pick-up next time I go back (around Christmas most likely). I can’t wait!
Perk of being a resident. My brother is coming next month, he just graduated as a film major and is a huge Ghibli fan so I’m “surprising” him (it’s not a well hidden surprise) with tickets for us to go to the Ghibli museum. Completely forgot June tickets went on sale the 10th until I saw someone in JapanTravel post that they were 9000th in the digital queue for international tickets. I logged into my account on the domestic site and proceeded to buy tickets, for exactly the date I wanted, in less than 2 minutes.
The two older/problematic household A/C units replaced with sparkling brand new ones, ready for the summer (and in a blaze of efficiency the replacement organised well before everyone realises it’s getting hot and their A/C needs replacing).
Had a good boxing session yesterday. Classes are coming along smoothly as well
Yesterday I was knackered after a long day, walking home and some old guy came up to me while I was waiting to cross the road and says “hello” I look at him and nod and smile, but I’m used to crazies, so I didn’t engage back. Then he just asked if I needed some help, I guess I looked like a depressed & lost tourist lol
Felt bad for expecting the worst.
Kudos to PayPay and Paidy for creating a decent looking apps. I hope other Japanese companies will follow.
Wife coming back tonight from her trip home, haven’t seen her in over a month.
I lost my zairyu card and Japanese immigration was much kinder about it than Australian immigration probably would have been about the same issue.
They SAW my Australian passport and UNDERSTOOD why I was so concerned and had brought so much documentation – “It’s different here”
It really is.
So many things.
1) being able to stick to my routine at all- still a lot of lazy days but it’s the most consistent I’ve ever been with studying and going to the gym
2) my university’s gym for being really clean, open till 10pm on weekdays and having barbells and squat racks
3) getting to listen to SO MUCH music for free on Spotify
4) discovering 90s j hiphop
My parents arrived last night to meet their grandson for the first time in person! They brought 4 huge suitcases full of goodies for me, baby, and the hubby.
wafuu tuna mayo is love, wafuu tuna mayo is life
finally got to cash in some sweet sweet points i’ve been accumulating for at least half a year. free groceries on waon ftw!
Had to do Kawa-souji in the rain. Benefit I could bond with the others, with complaints about the one neighbor we all hate.
after hearing about how everyone else’s new manager seems to suck, I’m glad mine is fairly decent. he’s not perfect, but at least he’s fair and easy to get along with, and he’s always happy to dish about office gossip with me.
also got some really fancy-ass eggs from work. this is why you make friends with the people in charge of divvying up the leftover omiyage, sometimes you get the luxury eggs!
In a brighter note, I have a very happy mother-in-law who got a hand-made card from her grandkids today. Little preview of when I give my wife her’s on Sunday.
McDonald’s Cho-Oreo McFlurry is only 337 calories and the Soft Twist cone is only 148 calories! :)))
I’m extremely pleasantly surprised!
man, Japanese public transport just blows my mind. Ueno to my front door in Shiga in a little less than 4 hours, including two local transfers AND a bus transfer. That’s a little nuts in this American’s mind.
41 comments
– this week felt like it went by really fast
– even though I only slept 4h yesterday due to the EQ, I had a really good day at work and I was much more energetic than I thought I would be.
– I slept really, really well last night.
Sunny, but occasional cloud cover, with temperatures in the mid-to-high teens.
Can I jam a machine somewhere to keep it this way till fall?
A close friend of mine did me a huge solid by securing a few of the Lawson promotional Zelda Heart Container lamps for myself and a few family members. My local Lawsons didn’t have them even though they were listed online as participating. She didn’t have to do that, but I am in her debt. Giving her and her family a lot of free stuff along with paying her back for that merch as a thank you.
My PR application was approved this week – and it only took five weeks!
Finally starting to see a decent number of people out and about without masks!
I’ve really been on top of my game this week. I think I did great at work and have managed to put time into music and Japanese studies on the side.
Discovered a top-tier sento a short bicycle ride away from my stay and have been commuting there close to every day. It has a really hot sauna and a properly big cold bath as well.
I think I finally figured out a diet that suits me best and that might be the underlying cause of my well above average energy levels this week.
Now just have to decide the weekend activity. Kinda feeling mountains but also want to spend the days studying.
GW trip went great, and finally relaxing back into normal everyday life after months of wedding stuff. Things are good.
Went for a hike up Tsukubayama on Golden Week. Not really a healthy exercise sort of person but we actually did really well!
Unfortunately we had to leave 1 stop from the top as the busses were stopping earlier (and the bus that took us there got stuck in traffic for 2 hours!) But I will go back and reach the top next time!
If anyone wants to do the climb, don’t go durring GW!
We adopted a 10-month-old cat two months ago. And he has been such a pleasure to have. Our older male cat lost the female cat that raised him last Christmas. But now this new cat has taken a special affection to him. They are always next to each other. We feel lucky.
Some flowers planted by our house company right in front of our balcony started blooming this week, and the entire apartment smells soooo damn nice, I love it.
Wife has managed to avoid getting sick ib a house full of sick people. Baby’s pretty much better and it looks like toddler is on the mend. Just me to go.
People back home sending gifts for my daughter’s bday. Amazing!
ＺＥＬＤＡ
Another praise. It will be a while yet till I retire, but I’m starting to wonder what I will do at 65 and where I will live. During Golden Week, I joked to my wife’s mother that after I retire, maybe I could live at their fish farming business in the mountains when they move down closer to the city center. Someone needs to stay at the business to keep watch. And she said that would be a great idea. And I felt a bit of peace just knowing that this is one future option.
New job starts next week, so I’ve spent this week preparing. New bag, shoes, shirts, etc. Hopefully this will get me out of this rut.
Also, pay is scaled based on performance and can be raised at any time, so I have an incentive to not get complacent
I got to try the Tears of the Kingdom snacks at Lawson, so I’m a happy gal.
Monday afternoon I dropped my debit card in one of the establishments in a mall. My gf was worried because what if someone found it and used it (some establishments dont need PIN to use cards). And I assured her not to worry. Next day I went back to the establishment but they did not have it. They directed me to information center of the mall. The information center directed me to their office and voila, there it was, my card.
I’m glad the block button exists on social media! IRL, when I run into someone looking for confrontation it’s best to diffuse or just walk away. On Reddit, it’s a quick “click” and be gone ahole!
Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom!
​
That’s all!!!
I discovered the Kobe Municipal Arboretum during GW and love it. We took a long walk and had a soft ice cream at the end. Very tired, but I want to go again. I just discovered they offer an annual pass. I need to convince my wife to buy that one.
I got to see it again, this morning, when for better or for worse, that moment where good swarms.
My commute takes me on foot close to the nightlife district in Sendai. Even early in the morning, hearing glass rattle and smash, tires squeal and shouting, it’s just the city waking up.
A crash and squeal, followed by a woman’s scream and a child crying, that’s not normal, but it is on my route, so I double time it to the scene.
And it’s basically over. A woman riding her bike with her kid on the back got clipped, thankfully no injuries, but the car ran for it. They’ve got more people around them than a prime minister who had a bomb chucked at him.
I’ve got first-aid training so I ask to help. Unneeded, thankfully. Little one is probably too shocked to feel, but she said no to my offer of bandaids (kids often want them when they feel hurt). I see her Anpanman bag, get episodes playing on my phone while the others talk to her mom and guide the ambulance and police. Upon arrival, mostly everyone is gone like dust in the wind.
I like when people are good, simple as that.
Edit – and for all the flak Sagawa gets, one of their drivers ran to a vending machine and bought the little girl some juice before going back to work.
I accepted my first job in Japan, looking forward to starting it when I graduate next spring! Getting excited for a new adventure in a new city. Japan isn’t rid of me yet!
Also, the campus is finally green and blooming again, and with the weather so nice lately, it’s been a joy to bike through the town and campus for my daily commute.
New hobby carbon steel wok! Any recommendations? I use gas stove
I just want to praise Japan for being my favourite country and for giving me the life I always dreamed of having
Japan related :
– I love countryside so bad. I can’t wait to move out from the Kanto region. Problem is partner will have tough time finding an interesting job. Partner’s parents have a piece of farmable (?) land. My current plan for in few years is, as a mountain dude who knows nothing about farming, to open a chill igo cafe with french food, and to ask for farming advices/lessons in exchange of french lesson or food or igo game.
– it’s been 6 months since I’m working in a fully japanese environment, sometimes it is very hard to follow very technical (I’m working in a telecom equipment company) and long conversations, but 1) I am making progress 2) there is this super smart but sometimes cold dude that tries to speak english even when talking to japanese mates during the meetings. I praise his efforts. Mates often reply to him in japanese, but he still continues in english. Props to him. My english is also kinda broken so no comment regarding their english.
Non-Japan related :
– the keyboard group buy I joined Fall 2022 released an update and it looks sick !!
– local but worldwide reknown artisanal dish maker from my small countryside hometown is running twice a year on-site sales. Current sales started yesterday and end on sunday. My parents bought me some that I will pick-up next time I go back (around Christmas most likely). I can’t wait!
Perk of being a resident. My brother is coming next month, he just graduated as a film major and is a huge Ghibli fan so I’m “surprising” him (it’s not a well hidden surprise) with tickets for us to go to the Ghibli museum. Completely forgot June tickets went on sale the 10th until I saw someone in JapanTravel post that they were 9000th in the digital queue for international tickets. I logged into my account on the domestic site and proceeded to buy tickets, for exactly the date I wanted, in less than 2 minutes.
The two older/problematic household A/C units replaced with sparkling brand new ones, ready for the summer (and in a blaze of efficiency the replacement organised well before everyone realises it’s getting hot and their A/C needs replacing).
Had a good boxing session yesterday. Classes are coming along smoothly as well
Yesterday I was knackered after a long day, walking home and some old guy came up to me while I was waiting to cross the road and says “hello” I look at him and nod and smile, but I’m used to crazies, so I didn’t engage back. Then he just asked if I needed some help, I guess I looked like a depressed & lost tourist lol
Felt bad for expecting the worst.
Kudos to PayPay and Paidy for creating a decent looking apps. I hope other Japanese companies will follow.
Wife coming back tonight from her trip home, haven’t seen her in over a month.
I lost my zairyu card and Japanese immigration was much kinder about it than Australian immigration probably would have been about the same issue.
They SAW my Australian passport and UNDERSTOOD why I was so concerned and had brought so much documentation – “It’s different here”
It really is.
So many things.
1) being able to stick to my routine at all- still a lot of lazy days but it’s the most consistent I’ve ever been with studying and going to the gym
2) my university’s gym for being really clean, open till 10pm on weekdays and having barbells and squat racks
3) getting to listen to SO MUCH music for free on Spotify
4) discovering 90s j hiphop
My parents arrived last night to meet their grandson for the first time in person! They brought 4 huge suitcases full of goodies for me, baby, and the hubby.
wafuu tuna mayo is love, wafuu tuna mayo is life
finally got to cash in some sweet sweet points i’ve been accumulating for at least half a year. free groceries on waon ftw!
Had to do Kawa-souji in the rain. Benefit I could bond with the others, with complaints about the one neighbor we all hate.
after hearing about how everyone else’s new manager seems to suck, I’m glad mine is fairly decent. he’s not perfect, but at least he’s fair and easy to get along with, and he’s always happy to dish about office gossip with me.
also got some really fancy-ass eggs from work. this is why you make friends with the people in charge of divvying up the leftover omiyage, sometimes you get the luxury eggs!
In a brighter note, I have a very happy mother-in-law who got a hand-made card from her grandkids today. Little preview of when I give my wife her’s on Sunday.
McDonald’s Cho-Oreo McFlurry is only 337 calories and the Soft Twist cone is only 148 calories! :)))
I’m extremely pleasantly surprised!
man, Japanese public transport just blows my mind. Ueno to my front door in Shiga in a little less than 4 hours, including two local transfers AND a bus transfer. That’s a little nuts in this American’s mind.
TOTK