I hate to be one of those annoying people who you receive letters from at the end of the year documenting their successes, but I can't help but look back on 2012 and what a positive year it has been not only for me but also for the UK as a whole. Somehow I feel these go hand-in-hand. I know that may seem like a strange thing to say but living as a foreigner in Japan has made me much more aware of my national identity I suppose. It seems weird to think that only a year ago my Japanese that was barely above GCSE and I had never even been to Asia before. A year later I am conversational Japanese and have spent almost 5 months in China, Korea and Japan, plus two good terms at Oxford. Although I don't think there's such thing as a perfect year, 2012 might be as close as I'll ever come.
I hope to carry some of this momentum into 2013. When I look back on how much I've improved so far the possibilities for my Japanese by the summer look very bright if I continue to keep up this level of intensity. Hence my main new year's resolution this year is to spot more opportunities to develop friendships with Japanese people. My entrance into the orchestra this week has been already a big boost and in fact I have just come back from an orchestra pub meet. I also attended a pecha kucha night last week I spotted on twitter. This is an evening whereby people can freely present about a topic/idea of their choice, in a fixed format of 20 powerpoint slides each lasting 20 seconds (to ensure conciseness), followed by a reception to discuss the material that has been presented. Here I met a new friend from Osaka which was great since my only contact in Osaka (Aerynn) moved back to the UK last year (I think I mentioned this on a previous post). I also met a lady called Chizuko who invited me to a tea ceremony circle she volunteers at at Kobe University, and also round to her house for chat and a coffee, and offer I fully intend to take up!
For new year I visited my senpai (person in the year above you taking the same subject) Helen, in Tokyo for 8 days. This was my first visit to Tokyo and it didn't disappoint. Unlike Beijing and Seoul, Tokyo really lived up to all of my expectations for an Asian mega-city. Along with Shanghai, I think it is my favourite city I have visited in East Asia. We literally did it all: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi hills, Asakusa, and more places I can't even remember the name of. I will try to pick out some the highlights.
My first day in Tokyo was one I won't forget for a very long time. We actually met up with one of my Japanese teachers back from Oxford, Hagiwara-sensei. We started off by taking a look round Ueno Zoo which in all honestly looks like any other zoo hence no photos. On Helen's suggestion, after this the three of us headed into Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo, to have a meal together in a maid cafe. I had never been to a maid cafe before so was obviously not prepared for what was in store. As soon as the elevator door opened we were accosted by 3 young ladies in maid outfits to a table. The interior was pink and black, and had this brothel-esque kind of feel. At the table next to us were 4 Japanese guys in suits waving glowsticks around. Upon ordering the waitress asked us what picture she would like us to draw on our food in ketchup. weird. Half way through the meal disco lights and music were turned on as we had to watch one of the maids perform a dance routine as we sung along from a lyrics sheet. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures as this was obviously a tourist attraction but I did get an official picture. In hindsight, probably not the best place to take your teacher for a meal out.
The maid asked me what pose she wanted us to do. I panicked.
For new years day itself, we decided to climb Mt. Takao, about an hour outside Tokyo on the train, although when I say climb I mean got the chairlift. I went with Helen, her friend Sari (who she met at one of these pecha kucha nights in Tokyo!), her German boyfriend Robert, a couple called Megumi and Suzuki, and Helen's Taiwanese friend from university Te-yi. After spending some time at an Izakaya (Japanese pub) for a final drink and a meal of 2012, we headed to Mt Takao. It was heaving with people hoping to watch the first sun rise of 2013 amidst the Tokyo city-scape. Another problem was the sub-zero temperatures! It was worth all of this for the sight though. My camera doesn't do it justice in the slightest but I hope the picture gives you a sense of the sheer enormity of Tokyo.
Helen photobombing me in the Izakaya
Waiting for the chairlift was freezing!!
Tokyo city scape and first sun rise of 2013. If only I owned a fancy SLR camera!
The chairlift on the way down was terrifying as you constantly felt like you were going to fall off!
Since it has now turned 2.10 in the morning I think I am going to have to leave things there. I wish I could have talked about all the wonderful traditions at Japanese new year but I'm afraid you'll have to punch this into wikipedia if you want to find out more. Sorry I have so much work to do tomorrow. I have to prepare a presentation in Japanese that I am giving on wednesday at an English discussion group called iCircle, on a book I haven't read yet but claim to have done. oops.
Unfortunately since term carries on for 2 weeks longer than I was originally told, Sapporo is now off the cards it seems. There are still many other exciting things coming up however including a home stay in early feb, my brief return to the UK, a trip round all of Japan with my parents (called a todoufuken) and finally 10 days in Bali with my best friend from University. This will take us all the way through to April! I wish you all a prosperous 2013. Make it count.
Sean
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