Hey Everyone!

It's been more or less month since my last update and I am sorry for that. ごめんね！The fact is, blogging is hard and takes up a lot of time, so here is me hoping that someone out there is still reading it haha. Basically here is an extremely long list of things I have been up to; decided I am going to make the main events bold so that you (and I) can keep track of them.

It's been 台風 (taifun) season here so its been grey and cold for a while now, seems like I can't escape from Manchester weather, no matter where I go! (...well it was when I started writing this blog entry aaaages ago but now it has turned into a beautifully crisp autumn so all is well)

(1) Louisa's Birthday 
So let's rewind about a month, gosh it seems so long ago now. September and the beginning of October were most definitely the birthday seasons ( it took me nearly 21 years to figure out that september is only 9 months away from new year .......) and so on the 28th of September we prepared a little surprise party for the birthday girl Louisa :) The highlight of the evening was definitely the Guinness cake that we made in Simon's rice cooker, the first one came out kind of modest but after the second try we - by 'we' I mean mostly Philin and Simon - managed to conger up a pretty good looking cake. So when Louisa got back in the evening we tied her eyes and then everyone sang for her in the hallway and we made her wear pink bunny ears for the entire evening just because we can. The evening resulted in an escalated drunk room party (in simon's room as usual) and someone snipped his laundry rope into pieces and tried to tie random party guest up with it ( said person would like to stay anonymous).

the famous Guinness cake (and the rest of us)

(2) Rikkyo vs. Meiji Baseball match
So, shortly after this we got the chance to go see our University's team play baseball. In Japan, baseball is a really popular and important sport, if not even the national sport. Rikkyo University played Meiji and it was super interesting to see the difference in public behaviour at sports matches in Japan compared to Europe. For instance, all the chants and songs were controlled by the cheerleaders (who took a particular interest in our massive group of 外人 - foreigners, so we got sat in the first row). Every time it's your teams turn you have to stand up and chant - this went on for about 3 hours. So all in all a great but tiresome experience. AND WE WON 5-1 YESSSSS!!

"LET'S GO RIKKYO"

sneaky pic of a cheerleader (you aren't supposed to take photos)
stole this of Olivia - sorry, hope you don't mind!

we were lucky it didn't rain!

(3) Manchester reunion night out and falling asleep on the train
At some point the Manchester people had a get together in an Izakaya in Shibuya followed by us (mainly me ) being a drunk mess out. A fun night but the main reason for mentioning this is that on the way back I did something incredibly Japanese: I fell asleep on (various) innocent people on the train home in the morning.
Wendy and I had forgotten about this hilarious drunken ordeal but luckily Zoe managed to capture the magic on camera. Apparently, while Wendy was trying to get into a comfy sleeping position she ended up kicking the guy next to her in the side and meanwhile I decided to have a little rest on another innocent Japanese victim. I know will you probably never read this but: a big thank you to you, random Japanese girl, your shoulder was really comfy (and also sorry for the trauma)! Here are some pictures of the whole thing, I was crying with laughter when I saw them in the morning.

Manchester people (mostly)

Wendy - Japanese victim No1 - me - Japanese victim No2

My new buddy looking delighted

(4) Hakone
Well, what can I say, our 2 day trip to Hakone was probably one of the most fun things I have done since coming to Japan - and thats saying a lot!
Hakone is a super popular destination for people getting tired of the concrete jungle that is Tokyo and want a little trip that doesn't cost them much effort. Mainly, people go there because it is famous for having a lot of natural hot springs - 温泉 (Onsen in Japanese) - and beautiful trees and mountains. You can go stay in a traditional Japanese Inn and each of these have their own hot spring and spa complex. I really recommend going as it's only roughly an hour away from  Tokyo and the tickets are not expensive at all ( a single is under 1000 Yen I think). For those of you thinking about going, we opted for the Hakone Free Pass (about 5000 Yen) and it proved to be well worth the money. It includes the mountain trains and funicular that take you up the mountain to see (and smell - it truly stinks) the sulphuric hot springs and from there you get a stunning view of mount Fuji if you are lucky! And the best part: it also includes a boat ride on a pirate ship that takes you across the absolutely beautiful Lake Ashi and back to Hakone station. It was fantastic!
The point of our trip was initially to go hiking and we were determined to see it through. The fact that a pretty big Taifun was due to hit the area around that time didn't seem to bother us in the slightest. All the Japanese people stayed in their houses and what did the foreigners do? Hike up a mountain in the rain. It was a real 外人 moment. It basically consisted out us climbing stairs so steep they seemed to lead to heaven itself and then slip and slide all the way down the other side. But it was fun and because the forest was so dense and there were no people, it had a really mysterious atmosphere - a bit like something out of Harry Potter. First amateur hiking experience in Japan? Check.
On our way back down to the village, we came across a very old traditional Japanese sweets house. We were drenched and cold and because we had to wait 30 minutes for the bus we decided to go inside. It was great! The owner was a lovely lady and we sat around a big fire and ate Japanese sweets - もち (mochi) - and it was so yummy! In the evening we went to the hot springs in our guest house and it was AMAZING! I LOVE ONSEN! There are different kinds of hot springs and the combination of the hot water and cool air makes it so relaxing. And because it is outside you are surrounded by trees and mountains. The next day we went to the sulphuric hot springs in the mountains and it smelled so bad, I can't even describe it to you. It is like a combination of a million rotting eggs and some feet. We ate an 温泉卵 (Onsentamago) which is basically an egg boiled in the water of the hot springs and the sulphur ( or some other mineral - don't ask me, I suck at Chemistry) makes the shell go black. Apparently the legend says that if you eat it, you get a longer life. Just tasted like a normal egg to me but because I love love love eggs I was quite happy with that. On the way back we boarded the Pirate ship and it was sunny and the scenery was breathtaking! It's nice to breathe some fresh air after living in a city like Tokyo for 2 months.
My thoughts? All together a really great trip with great people! I would definitely go again.
(It was really hard to choose some pictures because there are so many nice ones - still chose lots though ;) )

beautiful lake Ashi

the sweets shop we found after our hike

eating Mochi by the fire

Everyone in their ゆかた after bathing in the hot springs

I love these - they are so comfy after bathing

the funicular that goes up the mountain

The Onsen egg - I love the colouring! I think it
looks like a galaxy

Everyone and 富士山 (mount Fuji when he
didn't have any snow yet)

The Pirate ship - I was waaaay to excited for this!

going across the lake by boat - it was perfection

But really it is the people that make trips like these so fun :)

And finally a little video I had forgotten about. Its the view coming down the mountain on the Funicular! Haha don't know what Philin was about to the say when I cut the video off at the end.

(5) Hong Kong
So, about 2 weeks ago we had a week off and I decided to make the most of this time by going to visit one of my favourite people. My friend Kath is doing her year abroad at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and I was really excited to see her again! I really really like Hong Kong. I arrived in the evening and got a taxi to her University ( which is basically in the jungle - they have monkeys and snakes) and going through the city at night was so impressive, especially the lights of all the sky scrapers. Hong Kong is very different to Tokyo; actually Hong Kong is how I imagined Tokyo to look like before I moved here: everything built into the sky. But Tokyo is more sprawled out with an occasional sky scraper dotted about with the high building mainly clustered around Shinjuku. We were really lucky with the weather on the first day and took a train up to Victoria Peak where you can get the best view of the city. It was stunning! What I really love about Hong Kong is the fact that it has a harbour. The way the water flows into the city loosens up the structure and gives the impression of space. It's less claustrophobic. I really miss the sea when I am in Tokyo. Here are some pictures so you can see what I mean.

The observatory deck is on the top of that
slightly oddly shaped building

beautiful view from Victoria Peak

Kath and I

On the other side you could see the ocean,
we later went for lunch down there

Friday evening we went down to the Avenue of stars which is basically the harbour and its got a great view at night but we missed the famous light show by about 5 minutes, tough luck. It was still amazing though!

the picture does it no justice - it was so impressive

sadly a bit dark but you can see the lights

Saturday night we got (kind of) dressed up and went to the rooftop bar on the 118 th floor of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. It was insane to say the least. There was a live DJ and the view was spectacular; no wonder because it is the second highest bar in the world! Also, for some reason i will never understand I decided to order a drink called "twister". Sounds nice? Well it was basically made up of Absinth and Gin (with 2 drips of apple juice). After that we went to a district called LKF ( short for Lan Kwai Fong I believe) which is where all the bars and clubs are. I love how they are all clustered together so the atmosphere on the streets is vibrant and, unlike Tokyo, you can get a taxi back fairly cheaply and you don't have to stay out till 5 to wait for the fist train in the coooooold.

View from the 188th floor

this is the Ritz Carlton; sooo tall (stole this picture off google -
sadly not mine)

Then, on Sunday we decided to take the train to China. Yes ... I said take the train to China. I couldn't believe it myself but you just hop on the train at the University and in without even having to change trains, you arrive at the border in just 30 minutes. On the border there is a city called Shenzhen which boasts a huuuuuge shopping mall (over 700 shops!!!) making it a tourist attraction for many people visiting Hong Kong. So after a minor hiccup at the border involving the boy at the visa office running off with our passports and us shouting at the other girl working there and eventually taking her phone hostage so that she couldn't escape into her lunch break, we crossed the border and went shopping ALL day. It was possibly the most intense experience of my life! Everywhere were bags and watches and clothes and more bags etc. I ended up returning back to Hong Kong with a new Mulberry bag, Longchamp Bag (originals, of course) and some new nails.

Shenzhen mall

Kath's new phone case (and nails)

first ever Gel nails - starting to wonder how
to get them off though

new bags - they don't look bad at all do they?

(6) Some places I've been
 - Kawagoe
 I'd like to start off with Kawagoe, which is a town just a few stops down to train line near my dorms. Because it still has lots of well preserved traditional Japanese houses, it is also known as "little Edo". I've been there twice now, the first time was for the autumn festival, the 川越祭り. Sadly, it was raining absolute buckets - Manchester style; but we bought some rain capes and went to enjoy the vast variety of food! so delicious!

Rain rain rain - but al least it wasn't too crowded

food stalls selling delicious treats

But because we wanted to see it in daylight once more and because we wanted to find the famous street with all the sweet shops, Wendy and I went again. Here are some photos of the streets, its definitely a recommendable place to visit when in the area.

"little Edo"

you can really imagine what Tokyo used to look like
when you see this architecture

One of the many sweet shops

with tiny little sliding doors - the sweets were cheap, too

- Cat cafe
This is something I had never heard about before coming to Japan. But I guess it makes sense.. because people living in the big cities don't have any space to keep pets, a cat cafe gives them the chance to come and play with the animals and relax. In theory. In reality the cats couldn't care less and are not interested in being pestered. Maybe we had the bad luck of coming during their nap time. I was really having my doubts until the cats put on some costumes. It made my day; definitely one of my "Only in Japan" moments.

bear cat, King cat and halloween cat - enjoy!

 - meiji shrine
Loved it! I wasn't expecting it to be in such a dense surrounding of trees. You get off at Harajuku station and cross the road and leave all the craziness behind you. It's so peaceful!

the air was so fresh and clean. also TRESS - a rarity in Tokyo

Wendy and Declan posing Japanese style

- Ueno Park
It was a crisp autumn day and I was dying for a walk so I met up with my friend Karan who studies with me in Manchester but is going to Ochanomizu University now. We headed north to Ueno which boasts a huge park and had been wanting to go there for a while. What I later learned is that Uneo is the  cultural district and all around the park are various museums, opera houses and theatres. We had such fun walking around the complex and we found a beautiful golden shrine. Then, for 600 Yen we rented a pedal boat and killed our legs pedalling around the lake. Because it is autumn now, the leaves are turning a beautiful red and brown. Dad, you would love it!

autumn

little tower we found

this is where you wash your hands,
cleansing yourself

on the boat

the swan ones are petty cool, too 

Karan and I :)

(7) Some food I've eaten
Ok, almost done. My fingers are about to fall off - feels like I have written the equivalent of war and peace. I just wanted to make you a little jealous and post some pictures of the yummy Japanese and Non-Japanese food I have been eating!

お好み焼き - OKONOMIYAKI
word fail me to describe how delicious this is!!!

Louisa and her favourite thing - MAYO!
Note: Japanese Mayo > other Mayo

Ramen from the Ramen shop in Shiki
soooo good, I get hungry just by looking at it

Matcha Frapuccino - I know Dad would disapprove
(" thats just pure fat") but it is FABULOUS, i will miss it when
I am ack in Europe

delicious Pizza place we discovered around the corner form uni,
they have one with a poached egg on top mhmm

Tutti Melon in Hong Kong - I really miss frozen Yoghurt
in my life :(

Good old Windbeutel - filled with custard!!!

Cabbage hot pot - so delicious! you cook
it at the table

One of my all time favourites - たこ焼き
Squid balls, so worth standing in the rain for

and finally: the ladies club luncheon
hands down the most delicious food I have eaten so far!
carefully hand made - I had 3 rounds (greedy 外人)

OK I AM DONE. And it only took me a week. I cannot physically write anymore. Sorry for the spelling mistakes but i can't face rereading it! Hope you enjoy it even though it's terribly long. I will try to update more regularly from now on!

One final picture. Christmas has come to Tokyo. Already. Sayonara!

Blooming jingle bells everywhere - even the supermarket