End of April

So it's been a while since I last posted new pictures! The only pictures I had were some random things from my phone and a couple of things inside my apartment, so it wasn't terribly interesting.

But now it's Golden Week here in Japan, so I've had some time to go out and get some more pictures of things worth looking at! (For those interested: Wikipedia entry on Golden Week)

Anyways, things have been pretty normal around here. I've gotten a better grip on teaching and making lesson plans... and that's pretty much all my news!

Self Portrait: All dressed up for my first day of school!

Oh and I went down to Sapporo last weekend. Went up on Saturday and spent the night, then headed back to Mashike on Easter in the afternoon.

But before we check out the photos from my trip... check this out.

So this is my Japanese phone.

AND THIS IS THE BOX IT CAME IN. NOT A JOKE.

Yeah, allow me to quell your curiosity: That is a white jelly bean wearing pink panties with a baffling expression on his face (I've decided it's a he... for some reason... maybe just to make it that much more disturbing).

But let's talk about that mug of his.

What a complex expression he's got there! It's 50% "I'm embarrassed you caught me in my underwear," 50% "I have to pose for this photo or otherwise you'll tell the boss I skipped work to go to Jelly B Festival 2003" and 50% "I have diarrhea and you picked the worst time to stand behind me" so that's 150% of "what the heck is going on with the cellphone industry in Japan?"

Right, so Sapporo...

My hotel

Sapporo Station where I arrived that afternoon

The plaza in front of the station

More of the plaza

My room - TWO BEDS! How did I receive so much space???

Just look at how spacious this room was! By Japanese business hotel standards this is pretty epic...

Sapporo when I arrived... cold and rainy [´_ゝ`]

The trip involved two trains, each of which I rode for roughly an hour. The experience was pretty low key, so it's good to know I can get to the 5th largest city in all of Japan without much work (and keep in mind, Tokyo is the largest city in the world). Also I think driving there is relatively simple as well.

Here are some back logged pictures from a week or so ago:

My neighbor has a pretty awesome Street Fighter shirt.

Sometimes Mashike feels an awful lot like rural America...

Especially when you pull up to the grocery store and you park next to a Lincoln Navigator

But then you go inside and the tomatoes are packaged like this:

and then I remember I'm in Japan.