The Wayfarer Blog

I thought about stopping at this curry shop in Takadanobaba today for lunch, but I didn’t. Now I’m having a craving for some curry! That’s ok. There is a really great curry shop near my company’s main school in Ichigaya, where I will be teaching all day tomorrow. Guess what I’m having for lunch tomorrow? (Hey, I need all the motivation to go to work I can get!)

Since most of the the readers of this blog have probably never had Japanese curry, I should probably write in more detail about it tomorrow. But I am tired and fading fast now. Why fight it? Nighty Night….

By the way, I have added some more pictures to my flickr site (including the one at the top of this post). I’m getting close to 500 pictures! I need to go through and do a better job of organizing my sets…

I finished my day on Wednesday in Yokohama. As it turned out, I only had to do a demo lesson at a college for 30 minutes. I got there early, so I was able to walk around for a few minutes. I took some pictures of the Hard Rock Cafe.

Here is one of my favorites:

This is part of my “Hard Rock Cafe - Yokohama” set. You can click on that link, or on the picture above to go to the Flickr photoset.

Yesterday was a long day. I had a lot of time to waste between classes… But on the bright side, I was able to walk around see see some interesting things. Here is an interesting mural in front of Okubo Station (大久保駅), just one stop away from Shinjuku (新宿).

I have seen this mural many times, but I never took a picture until now. I took a few more pictures, too. You can see them in a small photoset called: “大久保駅／百人町 Okubo Station/Hyakunin Cho”

I hope you enjoy them.

I got a last minute request to go to my high school for a meeting. It was more or less a waste of time, because all they did was give the same books I used last year and gave me the new schedule. But it wasn’t a total loss. I did take a few pictures and videos. I took my Nikon D70s and My Canon IXY 800IS!

Here is a picture I took at the station (玉川上水 Tamagawajosui). To the right is a convenience store. You can also see some new houses they are building in the center. And just right of center is the high school.

I took this with my Ixy. This is a great point-and-shoot camera! (Click on the picture to see a bigger version on my Flickr page.)

I wrote about the new Krispy Kreme in Tokyo back in a December 13, 2006 article, More Dietary Dangers Looming in Japan.

Here are a couple pictures:

(above) This is where the line starts, in front of the shop.

Every time I’ve been by here, the lines have been ridiculous. I’ve heard it can take an hour or more, just to get a donut. Man, Krispy Kreme donuts are ok, but there aren’t that great! So I think it is interesting, but I am not going to stand in line for one. In the US, people also go nuts over Krispy Kreme donuts…what’s the big deal?

Click on one of the pictures to go my Flickr page. I have a few more pictures of the line at Krispy Kreme. You can also see them in my 新宿 Shinjuku Flickr Photo Set.

Today was Easter. It was also the election day for the governor of Tokyo. I guess Ishihara-San was re-elected. We’ll see…

Here are a few pics I took in Shinjuku. Nothing special–just some quick snaps while I was walking around…

It’s nice to carry a camera in my pocket again!

As always, you can click on the pictures to go to my Flickr gallery. By the way, you can view them in different sizes. I recommend “Large.” (Just go to my flickr page and you’ll see the links over the pictures. Click on “Large.”)

Here is a place I haven’t gone for a while: Chinatown in Yokohama. Actually, I just went to Yokohama a few weeks ago, but I haven’t been to Chinatown since last October. I’ve always liked Yokohama a lot. It is a major port city, and the second largest city in Japan. It is very close to Tokyo, but it has its own unique character. With a population of around 3.6 million, it is much smaller than Tokyo (about 12.6 million). It reminds me a lot of Seattle, because it really feels like a more low-key port city.

It’s easy to get Chinese food and groceries in Tokyo, but if you really need a rare item, or if you have a hankering for Dim Sum, it’s worth the trip to Yokohama Chinatown (横浜中華街). Yokohama’s Chinatown is the largest in Japan.

This is one of the main entry gates to Chinatown.

This photo was taken on September 23, 2005.

By the way, I took my Ixy 800IS with me to take more pictures today, but I forgot to put the memory card back in! Doh!!!

I often go for long periods without watching movies. In Tokyo, going to the movies is usually more trouble than it’s worth. But renting videos is a really great deal. But I’m often too busy (and doing things like taking pictures, trying to learn Japanese, and updating this website take a lot of free time!).

But in Japan, the fiscal and academic years begin in April. That means that from the end of March to the beginning of April, my schedule is not as busy as usual. So, I have been renting a few videos lately, for a change. Last night, I got a surprise when I was paying for my DVDs…

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A new camera!

I needed a small camera, because I don’t have my Canon A95 anymore.

I still have my Nikon D70S, and it still rules when I want to take serious pictures. It’s a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera, so it handles fast-moving subjects and night photography much better than a small camera can. But it is too big to fit in my pocket (and it doesn’t take videos.) So I decided to get a small digicam to take with me every day. So far, I am happy with my decision…

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This is the entrance to Tokyo Disneyland. I went there with a few friends on September 19, 2005. I remember it was a really hot day! But it was fun…

Time for bed. I have a long day ahead of me, and it is already late…