I live on Planet Japan

I went on a fantastic cruise this weekend with a few of my friends. For 2500 Yen you get on a small ship that goes around Tokyo Bay, it takes about 3 hours all together. While on the ship you can drink as much beer as you want for free. You can also buy food as well. They give you some food coupons so I ended up not spending anymore then the initial cost. I have this problem when It comes to free beer and time limits. I feel I have to consume as much beer a I can in the time alloted or I have failed all of man kind.

I went along with my good friends Mitsuko, Kaouri, Maki, and two of Kaouri's friends who were visiting from Korea. I was the only guy, lucky me One of the Korean girls was a little too popular among the drunk Japanese guys and I almost had to hit a drunk guy who was getting really aggressive towards her. Guess they bring me along for the protection. It's ok though, I don't mind.

I have been drinking a lot of beer recently and I have come to find that my favorite beer here is Sapporo Beer. I have been told by Japanese people that Sapporo is the beer drinker’s beer in Japan. Most people I meet like the lighter beers like Kirin and Asahi but I still like Sapporo the best. It’s a malt beer but it’s not dark, it has a good taste and does not give me a hangover like that cheap 3rd beer. There is a 3rd Beer version of Sapporo but I don’t really care for it. I prefer the Gold Star version. It costs a little more but it’s not that bad if you buy it in the Supermarket. You can get it in the US to so if you are there you should stop by the store and try it out. I think it’s a lot better then the more popular Kirin Beer.

Not much going on other then working, I have been doing 7 or 8 lessons in a row the last few days, I find if I don’t take a break the time goes by faster anyhow. I have some really great students over the last few weeks. It seems like the quality of them is getter better. I am not sure if they are better or I am getting better at teaching. I seem to be having a lot more fun in my lessons recently, if I mix things up and don’t go from the book I do a lot better. It’s a fun job and right now I am pretty happy with the choices I have made so far. I am heading back to the US for a week next month to go to my best friends wedding. It’s like taking a vacation from my vacation life ha-ha. I am not really looking forward to the long flight but I guess its just one of those things.

I have been so busy the last few weeks. I have been working hard but not doing to well at learning Japanese. I need to find a new strategy to learn to speak. My new house mates are all really cool though, we have a lot of fun drinking and hanging out in the common areas. It’s hard to believe but this place is way better then the place I had in Kanda. I had a fun night at karaoke the other night although I drank way too much, I don’t want to make that mistake again. The problem is when they say 1000 yen for 30 minutes with unlimited beer, I tend go crazy. So far so good though, I am enjoying my new life here in Japan. I try to let go as much as I can about my old worries and regrets but it’s a little hard you know.

This weekend was pretty standard; I stayed out way too much, drank way too often, and rode the train all over Tokyo. I had a good time; I spent most of my time in Shinjuku although I did go to Roppongi for a sushi party for a few hours. It was actually a pretty good party; a lot better then some I have been to. Although getting to Roppingi is a real pain now that I don't live in Kanda anymore. I met two really cool Japanese guys there, I can’t wait to call them and meet up again. Only bad thing about this country is the dang beer costs too much, they need to make that stuff cheaper for drunks like myself. I really need to move closer to the center of Tokyo, this place I am at now takes me so long to get anywhere. It’s not just far but it can get a little expensive when you have to pay 10 bucks a day on train tickets. Next week is job interview and pay for school week, so I don’t think I will have time to go out as much, maybe just limit it to the weekends and I will be ok money wise. So far so good in Tokyo, I hope I learn Japanese at some point.

The picture shown is one I took in the Shinjuku skyscraper district.

One good thing about the US is the beer is cheap. You can also get a pretty good amount of imported beer here for a really good price. So as much as I miss being in Japan I sure don’t miss that expensive beer. You really have to be careful you can go out and spend $50.00 on beer in Japan and not even realize it. Things like 2 for 1 special on draft are a rarity in Japan. I guess I am going to have to buy beer from the store get half drunk before I go out, that way I won’t spend as much. I hate to put myself on a beer budget but drinking out every night is just way too expensive in Japan. I also really don’t like to drink inside and I never drink alone. So for me it’s all about the social aspect of it all. Sadly though it’s a really expensive way to socialize, so I guess I am out of luck. I am going to have to come up with schemes to get beer while I am there. That or I could just not drink every night I guess…….yeah right; I better start thinking of some plans now.

I am all packed up, had to drop a whole suitcase because there is no way I am paying $130.00 for a 3rd bag and I am coming back in June for a wedding anyhow, I will get the bag then. I did manage to pack most of my nice clothing this time around so I won’t have to dress like a bum all the time.

I just can not wait for that 17 hour flight in a little while……ahhhhh.