Where to begin...

So the past couple weeks have been pretty much a blur. I'm glad I took pictures otherwise I probably would have forgotten what I have done! I've selected just a few highlights below. This first one is from Kiyomizu-dera, a famous temple in Japan. The name means 'clear water' temple because of a spring that emerges on its grounds. The water is supposed to promote longevity. I'm pretty sure it's a hoax, but I drank some anyways (just in case). I'll let you know in another 80 years whether or not it works.

In any case, the temple at night is really nice and has a great night view of Kyoto. I seem to be going to Kyoto a lot lately. I probably should have just taken a tent and camped in some park last weekend because I was there Friday/Sat/Sun. It's pretty close and everything, but getting to and fro for three days cost about $40 on the train. Did I mention I miss my U-Pass? (That's our university transit pass that's included in our student fees!).
This next shot is of me on top of a mountain overlooking Biwa-ko, Japan's biggest lake. It was organized by a group from work so there was about 15 or so of us. I'm a bit bundled up cause it's a little chilly! I don't know what happened, but it got cold here! When I arrived at the beginning of October it still felt like summer but these past couple weeks have gotten very cool. I have to rock my toque a lot.

Ahh another picture of me hiking with my toque and puffy vest, but it's actually on a different day. This one was on the way up Ikoma mountain which is near my house. I had heard that the night view of Osaka was killer from the top so I went to check it out.

About half way up the mountain was this temple with a super long staircase leading into the entry way. It seemed out of place, but it was really cool. We had stopped for directions shortly before this and an old Japanese man told us over and over that it was dangerous to go into the woods at night because there was a 'wild animal' on the mountain. Apparently several years ago (like around 20) there were a few sightings of a 'tiger' roaming the hills. I sort of laughed though because this mountain wasn't exactly in the wilderness. It was surrounded by Osaka to one side and Nara to the other and it had an amusement park at the top!!
This is my attempt at a night picture of Osaka. It really doesn't even come close to doing it justice. Being in the amusement park after hours was bizarre too. All the lights were off, the place was deserted and the city stretched out for kilometers below. I had a total 'holy shit I'm in Japan!' moment looking out at the nearly 3 million people below.

Already my trip to Japan has been full of good-bye's. With all the international reseachers here, people seem to be coming and going all the time. All the send-off parties are in true Japanese style - KARAOKE!!!
Before coming here, I think I went out to karaoke once... now I average once every couple weeks! I still can't sing worth shit, but it can be fun. It helps that many of them include 'all you can drink' while you have the room - even if the drinks are watered down.


This picture is of my friend Linda (an SFU Engineer) and a girl from Germany named Susanne. Linda and I do a pretty rad duet of 'Barbie Girl'. My other favortie song is an old Japanese song called 'Linda Linda'. Well actually it sounds more like 'Rinda Rinda' because there is no 'l' in the Japanese language, rather 'r' sounds more like a mixture between 'r' and 'l'.
I can really only sing the chorus, but it's super catchy and it's all about 'Rinda'!
Our other friend Dylan can actually sing, so maybe I'll have to get him to be my 'voice coach' so I'll have something to show from all this karaokeing.