Tokubetsu Kenshuu-Kyoto

My second Tokubetsu Kenshuu (special training) was held two weeks ago in Kyoto. I was pretty stoked that we were going to Kyoto rather than Tokyo Disneyland (where they usually go), but my co-workers were really disappointed because it really is ridiculous to travel so far for just a weekend trip, but everything is paid for (shinkansen tickets, hotel room, and meals). Altogether it was about five hundred dollars per person, so I wasn't complaining! To qualify for tokubetsu your school has to meet it's financial goals for six consecutive months, and my co-workers work really hard to meet those goals every month. Kim wasn't able to go because she has only been with Amity for five months, so I was on my own with my Japanese co-workers (just like the last time), but she will definitely be able to go on the next one!


Kyoto shinkansen tracks (reminds me of "Lost in Translation")



I take picture of the "shink" everytime I ride one...I think they're so awesome...what a dork!

First stop was Kiyomizu-dera. The Kooyoo (changing of the leaves) in Kyoto is supposed to be the best in the country but we caught the very last of it so it looked more dead than vibrant.



poor guys who had to rake the mountains and mountains of leaves..."men-do-kusai naaaa!! (pain in the butt!!)

At Kiyomizu-dera there is a "love rock" where young people pray that they will meet that "special someone". Here are my co-workers praying that they will meet their future fiancee soon :) Hehe...Most of my co-workers are in their early 30's, and in Japan they should be married with two kids by now haha...I don't think they need a prayer to meet someone, I think they just need to quit their job. They work way too hard.




Lunch at Kiyomizu

Temple in Gion

Second stop was Kinkakuji (of course)

The company was awesome enough to put us up in the Hotel Granvia Kyoto. Hotel Granvia is a big chain of hotels in Japan which are usually located right outside the station (in this case Hotel Granvia is IN Kyoto station!). It's a top of the line hotel, and I'm always stoked to get to sleep in an actual bed!!


hotel lobby


We had super Japanese food for both dinner and breakfast (my co-workers didn't even know the things we ate). Sugoi oishiikatta!

Christmas tree at the top of Kyoto station

The next day we had to attend the 3 hour long "meeting", which was SO painful. The meeting is conducted almost entirely in Japanese, and we are not allowed to talk the entire time. We sit there in silence listening to speeches, and have to hear about how grateful they are for our hard-work, and why the company is so successful. I wanted to poke myself in the eye just to keep them from closing. Worst of all we have to dress in full suits just to sit there, take one picture, then change right after. So retarded...anyway...After the longest meeting of my life we went to go eat (MORE). This time it was okonomiyaki!


stuffed with green onions and seafood

hiromi, satoko, and cheese okonomiyaki

me and rina

chihiro


Soon after okonomiyaki we waited in a long line at this famous Macha-cafe called Tsujiri. Their menu has pages and pages all of Japanese green tea sweets.


I was so full when we got on the shinkansen to go back to Iwaki! I can't believe how much my co-workers eat, and yet they weigh like 80 pounds!! Not fair!! Even though it was a short trip, I am always grateful for tokubetsu because it's the only time that I can see my co-workers let loose a little, and we can actually get to know each other. It's surprising that we see each other every day but we're all so busy that we often go the entire day without saying anything other than "Konnichiwa (hello)" and "Otsukaresama deshita (our goodbye)". Overall, good times, and great food!

Where did November go??

Minnasan mata omataseshimashita! Moo jyuunigatsu desu! Shinji rare nai yo!! Sugoi hayai desu ne?! Kotoshi no fuyu wa hayai samui narimashita. Atashi wa uresshikunakatta desu :( Koriyama ni yuki ga arimasu yo...Snowboarding ga ikitai desu. Jyuuichigatsu no shuumatsu wa Tokyo ni ikimashita. Senshuu Kim-san no tanjyoobi desu! Jyuunisai desu. Dakara, minna Roppongi ni odorimashita. Choo tanishikatta desukedo, otsukareta!

I don't know if that first paragraph makes any sense hehe...but it's supposed to say, "Hey everyone thanks for waiting again! It's already December, and I can't believe it! This winter turned cold really fast, and I am not happy. It's snowing in Koriyama...I want to go snowboarding! The November weekends were spent in Tokyo. Last week was Kim's 25th birthday, so everyone went to Roppongi for some dancing! It was so much fun but I'm tired!!

This past weekend we decided to relax and stay in Iwaki. Lana came over and all we did was eat, eat, karaoke, bowling, and eat!! It was great. Hehe. Every Sunday the Washington Hotel near the train station has this lunch buffet for only 1,000 yen. It's awesome. Then my manager was nice enough to take the three of us shopping because I needed to buy a heating blanket and a new carpet rug for my "living room". The heating blanket is my savior, and I can't believe I went the entire winter without having one last year. Then we went to go visit Baba (the owner) of Iwaki's best Indian restaurant, Purinima. We ordered the mild one because last time our mouths were on fire, but we tried to eat it to be polite. So this time we ordered the chicken and vegetable curry which is usually mild, but he said he remembered we liked hot last time, and we were dying again. Haha, he's so cute though. That night we did some karaoke (of course). Monday we just slept in and went bowling at Taira bowl. I hadn't been there in about a year, I forgot how fun bowling can be!

Okay, enough talking...shasshin doozo!

**Oh yeah sorry, these pictures go way back to Design Festa (which was three weekends ago), gomen ne!


Vegetarian kim-chee soup..I cook this at least twice a week for lunch and dinner hehe!


this is LaTov, a new building right outside our station. there is shopping and the city library. when i got here last year it was just a big empty lot...amazing eh?

they are currently in the process of renovating the entire station area...this is what iwaki station looks like right now...doesn't it look like an abandoned building??

tokyo big sight convention center in odaiba

design festa is a huge event where designers of all genres come together to form the biggest design convention in asia! it was so huge that we were there for six hours and didn't even visit each booth.






only in japan...they are actual rings made out of dish sponges, but they are scented and smell like real sweets!







after the festa we met a bunch of kim's friends from her training group in shibuya. that night we did an all-nighter in a cheap karaoke joint. from 11pm-5am for only 2,500 yen!! adding another 1,000 for all you can drink, all night! crazy eh? good times..

me, lana, and naho

tyler (tehani's friend who is also an emergency teacher), kim, and jenn...first train action

i was soo tired! that night/morning we all crashed at eli's apartment...try to imagine fitting 9 people into a shoebox, it felt like that.

another thanksgiving day dinner at denny's!! hahahaha...this is in koriyama with lana's japanese teacher, fumi.

that weekend we went into tokyo for a real thanksgiving dinner...we got there early so we decided to just take it easy and talk story near a fountain outside the imperial palace gardens.







i had made dinner reservations for all of us that night at this restaurant called cabana's located near yebisu garden place. yebisu is where japan's popular yebisu and sapporo beers were brewed. now it's just a very nice shopping area with a beer museum in the place of where the brewery used to be.




double fisting...i was a happy camper

aren't you proud dad? i got an education while getting to enjoy my beer at the same time!





j

thanksgiving dinner! cheers!

in celebration of kim's birthday, some of our friends thought that stick-on facial hair was more appropriate than the conventional birthday hat.

it looks tiny but it was so much turkey! there is also some pumpkin, mashed potatoes, and stuffing under there. it also came with salad, soup, and pecan pie.

chris, eli, laura, and dave

the girls in roppongi ready to pull another all nighter at a bar...get your dance on

after roppongi we went to squish in eli's sardine can of an apartment and slept all day

when we finally left the apartment on monday afternoon we headed to shinjuku for some indian food (what else?)

before we all parted ways we went to an arcade for some fun...this is my FAVORITE game...the taiko rhythm game!

tyler playing some old school street fighter 2...do you know most of my students don't know what super nintendo is?? N64 is as far back as they can remember....

mario kart! i'm the mushroom guy!

it's me, wario!



how funny is this?? you gotta pluck the hairs of the radish to the beat of the music...

and of course some puri kura fun!


jyuukuu karaoke in iwaki!! complete with costumes and wigs!! hahha we weren't even drinking!



mata ne!!

this weekend i have to go to KYOTO with my co-workers for another tokubetsu kenshuu (special training)...we get one day of sight seeing and the next day is a long meeting (which is conducted mostly in japanese), so i will be twiddling my thumbs...BUT i am excited that i get to see tehani again!! it's been too long :)