Unforgettable

Wow, what a busy weekend, but it was soo much fun(^_^)!!

Ryoko and I went to Tokyo and Tokyo Disney Sea on Saturday and Sunday. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I hadn't been to Disneyland since I was 8 years old, but it was a really fun time. Tokyo has Disneyland and Disney Sea, which was built 5 years ago beside the original theme park. Disney Sea is more adult-oriented than Disneyland, with more musical shows and adult rides (as well as alcohol being served in the restaurants), but there were still a lot of kids there. Ryoko loves going to Disney Sea; in fact she worked at both parks as a tour guide for over a year after she graduated from university and she usually goes once a year near Christmas time. The park has special shows to celebrate Christmas and New Year's, which was what Ryoko really wanted to see, so when we got there I found myself being lead by a woman who had a planned agenda. I was glad she had planned ahead though, because we got to see 4 different musical shows, we went on 2 rides and saw the fireworks display near the end of the night; pretty darn good considering the number of people that were there. She's great(^_^).

Our hotel was a really nice place near Tokyo Bay, in a popular tourist area called Odaiba. Our hotel was called Le Meridien and our room was on the 28th floor with a great view of the bay. We took our time getting ready Sunday morning and then had lunch at a nearby shopping mall. Just outside the mall was a miniature version of the statue of liberty. It was very bizarre to see something like that in the middle of Tokyo...

Our train back to Sendai was a t 2:30 and when we got back at 4:30, I had to say a quick goodbye to Ryoko because I got picked up to play baseball at Fullcast stadium. It was pretty amazing playing in a stadium with seating for 23,000 people, and it was my first time to play on astro turf. We lost the game 4-2 (our final record this year was 7-6), but it was a great experience and we might do it again next year. I've got lots of pictures from the last 2 days, so I'll be sure to show you more when I come home next month for Christmas.

Another week and another fun Saturday night (^_^). Lauren and I decided to organize a GEOS party because it'd been a long time since one was held, so we spent the last month inviting students to join us on Nov. 11th. All the hard work paid off and about 30 people joined the party. We went to a seafood izakaya called Nihon kai sho ya and we had a couple of hours of eating, drinking and meeting new people. And whenever there are large parties in Japan, there's usually a second party afterwards (sometimes a third as well), and about a dozen of us went to a second izakaya to drink some more and sing karaoke.

I had a great time, but I had to watch my intake, because I had a baseball game the next day. So I headed home at about 2:30am, sobered up at home and slept for 5 hours and was ready to play. We won the game 12-8 (I finally had a hit; I was hitless in the previous 2 games) and we survived the worst weather conditions I've ever played in; in this order we had heavy wind, rain, ice pellets, sun, more rain, sun again, more rain, sun again and then rain again just as we finished the game. Everyone thought I was crazy because I wasn't wearing a long sleeved shirt under my uniform. My arms were fine through the game, but my hands got really numb and I fumbled the ball a couple of times (as did everyone else too(>_<)).

One more game to go; the big one, and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures while I'm there!!

Akiu

Last Sunday I went to Akiu waterfall again to see the beautiful Autumn scenery. I went with Ryoko, Lauren and our friend Kohei, who was also nice enough to drive for us. We were all a little tired because the night before had been the farewell party for Taku, one of the Japanese teachers at my school. I had gone to karaoke with Taku and Lauren on Friday night, so I only stayed at the Saturday party until midnight (waaay too tired). Ryoko was smart enough to leave then as well, but Lauren and Kohei went to karaoke with Taku and they sang until about 6am. Ugh! I can't do that anymore.
We tried to wake ourselves up by stopping at a small store that sells Tofu near the waterfalls. You can buy a small portion of plain or flavoured tofu and then there are seats outside where you eat it with a sweeter version of soy sauce. Very good(^_^).
We spent a couple of hours at the waterfall and gorge and we viewed it from the gorge and from above. Hopefully I can go back again next year too. Lauren was still feeling a litle rough by the time we got back to Sendai, so we went to Mos Burger to eat some "hangover food." Mos Burger is the Japanese equivalent of McDonald's and I really like it. The portions are a little smaller and the price is a little more than McDonald's, but the taste is much better and some of the burgers look a lot healthier. I've tried to avoid burger places while I've been in Japan, and so far I've done a good job; maybe 1 visit every 2 or 3 months, and I only drink coffee or cola once a month now. I've become a health nut while living here (^o^).
Today was a national holiday (Culture Day), so I got to relax and spend some time with Ryoko in downtown. I have to work tomorrow, but then I've got 2 days off and I'm playing baseball on Sunday. My last game this season will be on November 26th and we're going to play it in the stadium where Sendai's major league team, The Rakuten Eagles, play. That should be a memorable experience:)