No Better Way...

...to beat the blues than by venturing out to a sunny park filled with Sumo wrestlers making mochi (pounded rice paste).
Was suffering from lack of sunshine having spent too much time indoors (having classes in the afternoon means its already dark when I leave my house).
So got off my arse and walked out to the university garden/park space where they had a bunch of sumo san pounding mochi. I had seen this happen last year, but there are somethings you can never get used to!
These are mostly the sumo san that are in-training...the real ones are much much er...larger.

They also gave out free mochi (one with red beans, one with soysaucey breadcrumby coating and another wrapped in dry nori...seaweed...all of which i was so busy eating that i forgot to photograph!)

and there was another line giving out a hearty hearty soup with carrots, radish, konyakku (jelly thing made from some rootcrop) and other things that I can never identify.

and a bloody good reminder that I am indeed...in japan.

How do I title this?

Perhaps "awesomely cute awesomeness of this awesomely cute kid playing one of my awesomest favourite songs" would have been too long?

oh, and while you are there...check out the other stuff he's done...ah! cute! :)

The Loft Chronicles

Slowly adding little tidbits to the not-so-new-anymore flat.

Got a metal-shelf thing so I could stack up my few knicknacks, hang jewellery from etc and it also made the perfect thing to drape my colourful Cambodian lights over (compliments of Neto who went over there for a week)
Thoroughly enjoying my little spot of cosy :)

Equal wavelengths at 7 and 3

Sarika san, please come and play together with us again. Signed, N and little sis U.

This is from my two darling little playmates that I visit every other Sunday.

The elder one wrote the note and sent it through his mum who is in a community class at my old dorm where some of us volunteered.

This is the same boy who drew the train for me a few months back. Yes, I am still in love :)

But then again I don't remember you...

Stay hurtable. Stay human. Stay open. It's always worth it.

Tripping all over and out on John Mayer today. Found out about his new album 'Battle Studies' by chance, chance because I have recently become 'last-to-know' as far as new music is concerned. So yeah, sweet sweet chance.

Who says I can't get stoned
Plan a trip to Japan alone
Doesn't matter if I even go
Who says I can't get stoned

It's been a long night in New York City
It's been a long time since 22
I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you

Traditional vs the not.

My university is having its annual festival this weekend, always a big affair which students (mainly younger undergrads) organise painstakingly for months. A lot of preparation goes into the smallest details from the signs at the gates, to the dancing, the food stalls, etc etc. Last year's experience was quite shocking as I could hardly breathe,let alone move, because of the crowds.

This time around the Dane and I decided to risk our lives and give it another try but luckily we went late in the afternoon so were actually able to walk around and enjoy a bit of the festivities. There were performances galore, here are two that seemed worlds apart and yet were being performed within 20 steps of each other.

The one: (being performed to some American hip-hop song)


And the other:






Greatly impressed by their amazing ability to dance so well...in those shoes!

Brain.cannot.process.

The new abode

So I changed address for the 13th time in my 25 year life by moving into a loft last month! (As a civil servant Dad got a lot of transfers and the family always moved with him...the habit kind stuck when I grew up and moved out of home :P )

Slowly trying to turn the new place into a home and so far have been able to outfit it with a futon,a used fridge and a clothes rail. The absence of cupboards/drawers (or storage space of any kind) is proving to be a slight challenge but luckily the Japanese have invented enough space saving knick-knacks to tackle the problem! But this will also help me maintain a minimalist existence. :)

No proper pics yet as there are still belongings stacked up in the middle of the room waiting to be sorted. But here are some tid bits.
A bit of the ocean at my window...
My newly acquired funky toothbrush holder thingy and my awesome blue shower curtains (both picked up at the ¥100 store!!!)
My two sulus (sarong/lavalava/laplap) that are acting as makeshift curtains till I can afford proper ones and adding to the already long list of 'Things you can do with a sulu'...will have to dedicate an entire post to that one!
The ladder that leadeth to the top :)