Things I Love Thursday

My Darling Girl. The weekly ritual my roommate and I have of getting someone to take our picture fake-sleeping on the first train. It started as a joke and snowballed into something important to us. We feel like something is missing if we don't do it. We have around ten of these pictures so far. They make me laugh so much.

Moon River is a really beautiful song. It is one of my favorite songs. It is also the one song that I love so much I almost never hear a bad cover of it. I think that's because I like the original version but I'm not wild about the way it was done... it is the song itself that grabs me and that's why I am no picky about who performs it. That and (while I really do love Audrey Hepburn) I don't like the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Mickey Rooney ruined it for me and I end up cringing and alternating between annoyance and boredom the whole way through.

Learning to read and write Kanji. I just started Kanji last week and I really love it so far. Weirdly enough, the most helpful thing for my vocabulary and reading in Japanese has been text messaging on my cell phone. I send and receive text messages in Japanese so it forces me to look up words and try to write grammatically correct sentences. Now I have a book for reading and writing Kanji so I have been doing eight new Kanji a day. I really love learning this language. I know a really good Japanese school, too, if you want to learn and you live in Tokyo. Email me if you want me to recommend a Japanese teacher.

Chie from Watanabe Hair Salon in Harajuku is amazing! She is such a talented and gifted hair stylist and every time I get my hair done at Watanabe, I come away so happy about the result. What really makes me keep going back is that Chie is also a really sweet and thoughtful woman. She has done so many kind, extra things for me and she also really knows how to tailor her behavior to her customers. I am probably the most boring customer imaginable (I just sit still and quiet and reading the entire time with no talking) and she understands that very well. She talks to me a little bit at the beginning and the end, and then just lets me read. Her English is impeccable, she's interesting and funny, but the main thing you want in a hairdresser is skill. And Chie always does a perfect job. If you want Chie to do your hair, here is Watanabe Hair Salon's number. 03-3405-1188
This Girl from Facehunter whose glasses remind me of Anna Karina's glasses in Anna. I like it when painfully pretty girls wear hideous glasses. Anna Karina has a face that is so perfect it makes me want to hold my breath so I love her even more when she's dressed all ugly and fantastic. Along the same lines, Tsutaya Video Store! I finally got to see Anna when I first moved to Japan. I thought I'd never see it because nobody rents VHS films anymore and this one is a really rare made-for-TV movie. Tsutaya in Shibuya has seven floors of amazing things, including tons of old 1960s French films on VHS because they haven't made DVDs of them (yet). I thought I'd never see Anna beyond youtube. Serge Gainsbourg is perfect in it, but you can't trust my judgment because I'm obsessed with him and think basically everything he ever did was perfect. But Tsutaya is a great place where you can also rent CDs. For me, Tsutaya has been great because I watch a lot of movies and because subtitles are usually only in Japanese, I (have to) watch a lot of French and English film because I can actually understand the dialogue.

Healthy Extras. Doing nice things for myself like eating organic food, getting my hair done, having nice clean painted fingernails, getting regular exercise, studying a lot, going out dancing with my friend and walking between stations instead of taking the train short distances really helps me feel healthy and happy. Also, while I know that it's what's inside a person that matters, I also think it's really important for a foreign girl living in Japan to feel confident and happy about her appearance. As a gaijin girl in Tokyo, you will likely receive less attention from guys than you ever have in your life, so it's essential that your confidence isn't based on the amount of attention you receive from others.

The Carrie Nations. Getting all their songs stuck in my head. Singing in my room. Watching Beyond the Valley of the Dolls with my sister. Remembering how badly Pet fake-played the drums.This gum called Fragrance Gum that tastes like those fennel / perfume seeds and candy mixtures they give you as mints as you exit Indian restaurants. You know that stuff that looks and tastes like potpourri? I am wild about it. And now there's a gum that tastes like it. I am going to buy packages of it to mail to my father because he likes Thrills Gum and I swear this is even better.

Deva Deva Cafe in Kichijoji. The best veggie burgers. The best soy carob shakes. Delicious curry. Music that isn't Enya or Putomayo world music. Nice staff. Absolutely no tacky hippie paintings or anything else cluttering the place. I think this is actually the nicest, cleanest and least hippie of any vegan / organic restaurant I have ever visited in the world. That is a big compliment. Deva Deva Cafe is tasteful and bright with white walls, wood panel and lots of sunlight. The food is perfect. It's expensive but worth it if you want something healthy and delicious in a great space. Sometimes I come here to study and have tea.

I think Gala is a really wonderful person and her site encourages people to be thankful and positive. So please visit www.galadarling.com because she gave me the idea for this list in the first place. Gala makes a list like this every Thursday.

Cheap Fun in Tokyo

I don't know why people outside of Japan have this idea that Tokyo is so expensive. It's really not any worse than any other city, and it could be a lot worse. There's no tipping. Cheap food is of decent quality (If you want a good example, I dare anyone over the age of sixteen to try eating lunch at a non-Japanese 7-11 and finding it remotely palatable.) For the quick, timely service you get, the trains are very affordable. Etc Etc. But it can still be expensive if you stressed about money. So here are some cheap ideas so that broke people / ex Nova teachers / stingies can enjoy Tokyo, too. 1. Kichijoji at night.
Kichijoji is a lot of fun during the day. It has great cafes and cute little stationary stores and clothing shops full of handmade or vintage pieces. By bicycle, Kichijoji is a great place to spend the afternoon. But at night, it turns into a really fun, cheap night out with friends. Right outside of the station at the Central (Lonlon) exit there is a maze of corridors lit up with red lanterns. Inside and all around the main maze are around 30 different tiny grill shops, restaurants and bars. Start at one randomly and have something small to eat or drink. Then wander over to the next one. People are really friendly here, too, so it's the perfect place to come if you want to make new friends. I like the middle eastern shop that you will see because it is Aladdin-themed and plays music and it spills onto the street. Cheap fun in Tokyo! There are also loads of street musicians around this area at night and really talented break-dancers take over the station after closing time on the weekends.2. The Shinjuku Tokyo Metropolitan Government tower view.
When my mother came to Tokyo, she discovered this treat. The 45th floors of Shinjuku’s twin Tokyo Metropolitan Government towers have amazing 360° observation decks that are completely free to anyone. If you go there on a clear winter day, you can even see Mount Fuji from this high Shinjuku tower.3.Going to Odaiba
The thing about Odaiba is that once you're there, it's sort of lame. There is a very small, crowded beach and a strange statue of liberty (why??) overlooking the water. There is also some sort of theme park inside a mall a bunch of cheezy looking hotels and tourist traps. But the ride to Odaiba is fantastic! The Yurikamome monorail line starts at the super-futuristic Shiodome (it reminds me of the Fifth Element or Blade Runner) and goes very high up all around the beautiful Sumida River. At night, the Rainbow Bridge over Sumida River is illuminated and it looks so beautiful. Once I went to Odaiba and back just for the beautiful ride.
What do you do for fun in Tokyo?

Also! What is your favorite station in Tokyo, and why? Which station do you think has the most things to do? My favorite stations are the following:
Kichijoji (for restaurants)
Shimo-Kitazawa (for thriftshops)
Shibuya (for people-watching and shopping for basics like stockings and soap)
Ebisu (for import grocery stores and organic food)
Harajuku (for great coffee on Omotesando)
Asakusa (for walking around)

Enoshima beach is a great Tokyo Day-Trip

Tokyo is a pretty crowded place. Even in the area I live, which is comparatively calm next to Shinjuku or Shibuya, there are people everywhere and it is rare to find a place outdoors where I can be completely alone. I like it, though. I like cities and I like seeing many new faces every day. But I grew up on a small Canadian island so sometimes I crave being near the ocean and away from people. That's probably why whenever I feel unhappy or just nostalgic, I go to Yokohama or Kamakura. The ocean and the more relaxed atmosphere in both places are what draws me in.Yesterday I found a new place by the water! My friend took me to Enoshima. It is a small island about an hour and a half from Tokyo, kind of on the way to Hakone. From Shinjuku station it costs only 650 yen to get there. There is a huge beach with waves and in the winter, it is almost completely deserted. There was nobody there but us.It's shocking how undeveloped Enoshima was, actually. It's so close to Tokyo but nobody has really taken advantage of the place and the buildings look older and slightly run-down with tacky fast food places everywhere. It's strange but everyone tells me it gets crazy in the summer and everything opens up then. If you want to eat near the water and you're picky about food, you should pack your own lunch. There's a McDonalds and a convenience store and a First Kitchen (fast food) near the station and that's basically all you have to eat near the beach. But watch out and don't eat your lunch on the beach unless you want to re-create a Hitchcock movie. We tried to eat on the beach yesterday and a massive hawk dive-bombed my friend's french fries. The minute the fries hit the sand, over 30 hawks and crows went crazy and swarmed us and we had to run away screaming. It was horrifying but also really funny.If you like hiking a little bit, there are beautiful little shrines all the way up this mountain and when you get to the top, there are many delicious restaurants and a gorgeous view of the ocean. We spread out a blanket and fell asleep on the grass in the sunshine. We ate mochi and azuki bean sweet soup with macha tea. We saw a beautiful sunset with Mount Fuji clear and visible.The best place is a little pavilion with hundreds of locks locked to the gate around it. The locks have initials and messages written all over them. If you have a love, you can bring a lock to this pavilion with your message written on it and lock it up with the others. They you ring a bell inside the pavilion and look out to sea and your love will last forever. And even if not, at least the lock will be there a long time.

Valentine's Day in Japan is for boys only. White Day is for girls.

I don't care about Valentine's day. I think it's a really commercial holiday and I don't even like sweets too much (even though I really do love getting flowers). If a boyfriend forgot about Valentine's day, I wouldn't care and I've had some people just tell me they don't celebrate it. But here in Japan, Valentine's day is a very big deal. It's a holiday for boys and men. You have to buy chocolate and cards and little presents for all your male friends and co-workers as well as for any romantic interests. Girls don't get anything, but they get their Valentine's day a month later on "White Day" which is March 14th. Korea and Japan are the only countries that celebrate White Day as far as I know, but in both of these countries it's a big deal.

When White Day comes, it is the boy's turn to return the gift in what is called "triple return", since the gift the boy gives is supposed to be three times the value of the gift he received. It also is a chance for the boy to see how much the girl likes him by what she gives. White day started in 1980.

I bought all these things for my male friends and co-workers. Cookies are totally adorable in Japan but unfortunately don't taste great. Godiva chocolates are extremely expensive in Japan (380 Yen per chocolate) but people like them a lot because of the name. I think Godiva is like that anywhere in the world-- they're great, for sure, but when you give them it's more for the Godiva name than for anything else. Maybe I'm just not a truffle person, though. Maybe they're 100% worth it. (?) The pink box is full of Mochi treats. Mochi is my favorite dessert treat in Japan. It's soft rice covered in flour and usually filled with anko (red bean paste) but these ones also have a whole strawberry inside them and are delicious!

Tip for all ESL students & anyone learning English: lose "Moreover" please

You will never, ever, ever need to use the word "Moreover". You'll never hear it because nobody uses it. You'll never need to say it because nobody uses it. You probably won't even come across it in writing because it sounds too wordy, pretentious and archaic to be used in contemporary writing. It's like counting months in "fortnights" or counting years in "scores" -- you don't even need to know how much either of those word is worth because apart from Shakespeare and political speech allusions, you'll never hear them anywhere.

I get an email or text with "moreover" in it at least once every two weeks from at least one person. "Moreover" is probably one of the most popular English words in Japan and in many other countries where English is a second language, but using that word will only make you look like you can't speak English.