Phone with the camera, how have I survived without it?!

An ATM, only in japanese, how to survive? Should I ask my tutors to come with me and teach how to withdraw money..? Nope, just take a picture and ask then which button is which in the menu. Clever. ;)

Campus festival

Last Sunday was quite busy day. I woke up at 10:30 am (alarm clock was set to go off at 9:00, but I forgot it in the silence mode;) and first went to the lab. Couble of hours in the lab, putting some new samples into the furnace. Then went to see the only krav-maga gym in the whole Tokyo. Which BTW, looked really nice. Only problem is that it's far away and freaking expensive. Ok, and even though it's really shiny and commercial looking KM gym I thought to give it a try. I have to start to do something to keep my mind focused...

From other side of the Tokyo I went straight to our main campus where there was this years "Campus Festival". Freshmen students even have Monday free from the school because of this festival.


Yep, something is happening here.


2 days festival can be tiring.


Cyberball. I really wonder when comes the day that when I go to sleep, I can say that "today I didn't see anything abnormal"?!


Wow, students are selling some drinks! Hee, all of the tents selling something were students of our university and all of them told me that they are collecting money for a big party. So, these guys were having a party to collect money to have even bigger party...(^_^)


That guy has to be a chemist 'cause he's melting a test tube...


Nice.


Yep, definitely chemists have something to do with this...

I was right, a chemist recognises a chemist. In no time I was in the 3rd floor of the main building and in a laboratory of the polymer chemists. Blowing glass is part of their education. Hee, in our uni (in Finland) we made only simple capillars, where these guys here knows really how to play with glass. I saw some really complicated apparatus made by those polymer chemists. Now I have invitation to go in that lab when ever I want to.


There was stage but unfortunately there was only stand-up comedy shows left, all the bands had finished earlier. :/


These architects were selling oobanyaki's which is like a small pancake which has something sweet inside. And BTW, sweet in Japan is not the same thing as sweet in Finland. I think that finnish morning porridge (without salt) is considered as a sweet taste here... :)

After festival we went to see some show wrestling with Israel and his german/swedish class mate. Israel had a friend who woukd have let us in for free. But unfortunately it was already over and so I had ended up second time that day to the other side of Tokyo. Luckilly we got a car ride back to our dormitory from Israeli's friend. First time got on to the Rainbow bridge.


Ashtray key ring. Yep, imagine how clean all the streets are here when people really don't throw anything to the ground.

No more Roppongi

Hee, guess who is in the lab at this time of Saturday night? Ok, I came here 2 hours ago. Yesterday we were finally going to find a rock place. Israel had some information from his class mates. Finally, I thought, we are going to experience japanese rock-party! But what happened. We ended up some small station middle of nowhere (only a bit bigger than our home statinon Fujigaoka), no rock partys there. We took a taxi to Roppongi, on the way almost hit one guy crossing the street (that's what you get when you start asking how does it take to the destination...hee, japanese taxis can go pretty fast...). And the rest you already know from previous trips to Roppongi. No more Roppongi trips for a while.

Oh BTW, last Wednesday was really a happy day! Finally I got some songs to my cell phone. Nowadays I'm awaking to Beach Boys song every morning! It really makes me smile, unlike the original "peep-pep-peep-pep-peeeeeeepepeeepeepeeeeeeee" alarm sound. And when I get tired of it there's already song from Franz Ferdinant waiting me. ;)

Thursday we had a bithday party of our professor. Lots of eating and drinking sake. I love japanese partys! And after finishing the birthday party we headed to next party with few guys from our lab. More eating and even MORE o-sake. Before going to home we took a hour KARAOKE session. Japanese karaoke is incredible!!! These guys here really know how to sing. What a experience! In karaoke place you will have your own room and you can chooce your songs from list of hundreds and hundreds (maybe thousands:) songs. You can order drinks to the room, so you are kind of having own private party.


Nice looking restaurant.


Table full of food.


And again we were cooking part of our food by our selves.


And the second round of eating.


Our group on the way to karaoke.

Macgyver

Oh no, this morning it was raining heavily and my running shoes got wet. How can I go tomorrow running with wet shoes without catching a cold..??

Hee, no problem! Luckilly Macgyver has taught me some tricks! ;) All you need is scissors, anti-lactose pills and air-conditioning machine with heating mode.










Macgyver rules! Thanks to him I'll be running tomorrow morning again. So, better to get sleeping then...

Medical examination

Yesterday morning I had medical examination which was...interesting. It was quite automated. But what can you expect in a country where soap dispensers work automaticly in most of the public toilets. At the entrance the schools medical clinic we received a magnetic card (like credit card) which we just gave to every machine to enter and to save our results. First there was a machine which measured your weight and height at the same time when you stepped on the foot prints. Next machine was eye sight test where you just looked inside from the hole and chooced the direction with joy-stick where the picture is pointing. Of course picture (broken circle) was getting smaller all the time. It was really easy to obtain the maximum points from this video game...by keeping glasses on. ;) And this was followed an automatic blood pressure measuring machine with, god only knows how many, other measuring functions. So, basically only X-rays, blood and urine samples were taken by a real person. What a morning. And sorry no pics 'cause I was so amazed that I forgot to take any.

Ok, After that I went to my lab and worked hard with the powder XRD (X-ray diffraction) and headed home after 7 pm. or something like that. And try to guess who had forgotten his keycard for the front door of th edormitory. It was still inside the pocket of my jogging pants. Nice, it was raining a lot...and was hungry. I couldn't do anything else than smile...how on earth this can always happen to me. Ok, this time it happened quite fast. It is quite normal for me to lock myself out from the apartment. I can't recall any appartment where I have lived more than one month that I wouldn't have locked myself out. :D

And now I think it is the time to get back home again. I came quite early today to work with the XRD (before 10 am.) and after that have been working with some writing assignments. Hope that the keycard is with me today. From now on have to always immediately empty my pockets when I come back from morning jog.

Oh and BTW, internet was down again yesterday...so I couldn't give upload those pictures. Hopefully today...we'll see.

Cleaning my room

Wow, can you imagine that I just cleaned my room?! Hee, not like last summer... (^_^) Right now I'm eating salmiac (I think I just got addicted to it). Today when I was about to start to cook (yep, really I was going to cook!...what a strange day) my breakfast. Chinese and german guy from our dorm asked me to join their lunch. So, I fried my octopus and added it to the menu and then we were eating together everything what was layed to the table. And of course I had to made them to taste something finnish so I gave them salmiac. Octopus is not quite traditional finnish dish... But now when I opened the salmiac pack I'm eating it a lot.


Sunday brunch.

Ok, right always have a lots of pictures to post here after a weekend so I'll be posting again first just the pics and the explanations will follow later. Gotta go now to eat the dinner and watch some movie(s).

lab & sushi

Time update this sushi post finally. :) Ok, Saturday 21st I went to lab to do some synthesis. Also my professor from Finland had arrived to Tokyo, so it was good to meet her. I didn't eat anything (except the breakfast) in the whole day (too busy with my experiments...time just fanishes when I'm in the lab). So, I was REALLY hungry when we left the lab with Markus. We headed to first restaurant we could found from Suzukakedai. It just happenened to be a sushi place. First I was a bit suspicious what would happen if I eat raw fish if I'm this hungry. Yumiko happened to call just when we were sitting there and wonderring what to eat. So, I gave the phone to the chef and asked Yumiko to order me, if possible, something cooked food. And what did I got...plate full of sushi. And every time there came some space to my plate when I ate something the chef throwed more fish and octopus. I think I tasted almost the whole selection of that restaurant. But the best part is that everything was really good and my stomach became full.







Hee, when were finishing our dishes there came two local men in. They were drinking cold sake from BIG glasses. Another started to wonder why I drink atsukan, hot sake. I told him that it is my favourite. Then the guy told that he wants to show us which is the best sake in this country and bought us cold sake. And so we stayed in that place an hour more drinking many cold sake and chatting with these drunken guys. Eventually it was revealed that the chef knew the english best from those three japanese. Nice, now I'm not sure anymore that, was it Yumiko's or the chef's idea to make me taste everything from that restaurant. ;P Definitely I'll be returning many times to that restaurant during next two years.

Asakusa

Last Friday it was time leave early from lab and head to meet Yumiko-san and do some sightseeing in the temple area of Asakusa. Yumiko and I met last spring in Sofia, Bulgaria when I was travelling around Balkan and Eastern Europe. Yumiko was in Bulgaria as an exchance student. And have to mention here that she speaks quite good bulgarian (although I don't know any, but if you can read a book without dictionary it tells something about your language skills in that language).

And let the pictures tell th erest of the story...


Big golden ****.


We entered to this market place full of tourits and stuff for them...to us I mean.


Rice cake which tastes both salty and sweet at the same time. Much better than those cardboard tasting cakes which I was eating while still competing in kick-boxing.


What is this guy doing with a seaweed..?? Hope that those sandals are clean...or maybe it's part of the taste. ;)


Oh, my favourite cartoon hero! I want it, I want it...too expensive.


And we on the way to the holy temple.


Breath that smoke and it will bring luck.


Wash your hand and you will get/bring even more luck and happines to this world.

Oh, there was also this "kind of" well inside of the temple where you could throw coins to bring even more happines! But not 10 yen coin, like I was about to do...luckilly I didn't erase my smoke breathing and washing hands by throwing wrong kind of coins to the darkness of the big square well-thing. :)


Temple area.


Small street in Asakusa.


Nice way to travel and do some sightseeing...


Guarding beaver in the street (of beavers...).


Nice, who wants to try?


Hee, even better.


I have to get pair of those slippers.


This place is full of strange looking buildings.


And again.


Traditional japanese tea in a tea house.


We had to check the temple also when it got dark.


"Spirited away"


Pidgeon statues...yep, it's quite strange that you see hardly any pidgeons around here, I mean in Tokyo, and half of them are just statues.


Dinner in a small, cozy restaurant where you had to sit on a pillow and table was really small. I drank only sake (warm) and some soucho...still no beer for me.


After the dinner we headed to Ginza, a bit more modern area than Asakusa.


Old looking building, and somehow familiar...city hall or what was it?


Local police kiosk.


That I would call a nice location for a appartment.


World biggest bathroom! (creation from some crazy famous architect:)


Finally I got to experience THE full train. And yeah, got to the last train for the first time, so no got to sleep much earlier than usually. :D

And finally many many thanks to Yumiko-san. The day and night was wonderful! Hope that this will happen again.


Oh, almost forgot...found cider from a irish pub (actually two different labels). :D