Daily Life

Here are just a few photos and details of a common day here in Japan. Of course, every day is different but there are a few things that we do alot, so I thought I'd share :)

First of all, as you can imagine, we EAT alot here in Japan. I love Japanese food, my favorite is Gyoza (see previous post), and I enjoy yaki soba which we often make in our apartment. Our team has a new favorite place to eat: Ninnikuya Ramen. It is absolutely delicious ramen in a small little ramen shop run by one man who does it all himself. He is so kind to our team, and he has even started to keep track of how many times the boys on my team come.

Me and my teammate Kelly at Ninnikuya

Homemade yaki soba

Another thing that we do alot is ride the train and the monorail.

We sometimes ride the monorail (kind of like a local train) to Tama Center to hang out, and we often ride the train to hang out with students or go sight seeing with them.

Walking! That is an everyday activity!
Hopefully we'll be in shape when we get home!

Most mornings my teammate Kelly and I get up and make breakfast before heading to Chuo University or town (Tama Center) for hanging out, Bible Study, or personal time.

Chuo- Daigaku campus

On Wednesdays and Fridays we go to Chuo for Lunch table (to practice English and hang out with the students).

One thing to note about lunch table is the EXTREME heat! Japan is very hot during this time of year, and lunch table is on the top floor of the cafeteria and there is no air conditioning... so we always use fans! :)

Lunch Table last week.
Timmy didn't want to have his picture taken... hence the fan.

Wednesday evening we have Bible night, and Fridays we have Shaberanaito (Shabe). At Bible Night we discuss a topic and use passages from the Bible. We have recently discussed relationships, justice, and sacrificial love.  

Friday nights at Shabe we all eat dinner together (Bring an obento (box dinner)), and then play an English game and then have discussion similar to the topics we discuss at Bible Night. 

English game at Shabe!

Another thing that I've been doing alot recently is "Intensive English" with my two partners. They are preparing speeches to give to the group in a few weeks. It has been really fun to get to know them and to learn more about the impact BET club has had on their lives. I've really enjoyed those times!

Goofing off together, an activity we all love! :)

Overall we spend alot of time together as a team, and enjoy times hanging out with students through various trips, meals, and events! This weekend (7/22) we went to the zoo. 

The gang at the zoo entrance!

Thank you all for thinking of me while I'm here! I am really loving it....

and one last thing about daily life in Japan:

HELLO KITTY!

Why this weekend is as Japanese as it can get...

This Saturday was really fun! Weak choice of words, I know, but the experience was really fun and it is hard to choose adjectives to describe it: epic, adventurous, delicious, relaxing, warm, sweaty, hilarious, wild, peaceful, beautiful, majestic, bountiful, gracious, difficult, lush and the list goes on! (can you find all these adjectives in my description of the weekend?) 

The first reason why this weekend was very Japanese is because:

NINJAS ARE REAL!

Some of the BEST club members brought costumes to the top of Mount Myogi (Myogi-san) to take pictures. Yuki brought a ninja costume!




My team, and about 15 BEST club members went to Gunma prefecture on Saturady to hike Myogi-san and see some sights in the area!

First we went to a small lake and walked around. It was beautiful and very Japanese looking with red bridges, peaceful waters, and majestic mountains. 


After this we drove to Myogi-san and prepared for our hike (2nd reason it was Japanese.. we hiked.. in Japan) . As we were walking toward the head of the trail one of my Japanese friends said, "Myogi-san is actually kind of difficult because we have to climb rocks".

 This is part of what made climbing Myogi-san such an epic adventure. I was shaky as we climbed, and finding footing was hard, but this sense of adventure is what made the whole experience really fun or "wild" as some of my friends called it, as they jumped and ran through the lush woods.
After climbing across, up and down this "cliff" the whole gang was pretty full of adrenaline, and hyped-up, which lead to some hilarious whopping and hollering. That was fun! 

The hike itself was alot of fun, but once we reached the "top" (the true summit can only be reached by professionals) the view was absolutely gorgeous! I have never experienced geography like this before. It was breath-taking, as you can see!

The 3rd reason Saturday July 14th was so Japanese is because we went to the ONSEN! :) The onsen is the Japanese public baths. It is basically a series of warm baths, some with oils or minerals. It is an extremely relaxing experience and really nice after a hot, sweaty hike. The onsen seems scary at first because one does not wear a bathing suit, but it is so refreshing and rejuvenating! I love the onsen, as do many Japanese people!

The 4th reason the weekend was so Japanese is because we were invited to our friend Hiro's house for dinner. Hiro is from Gunma and his family lives there while he goes to school in Tokyo. His parents generously fixed us a huge, delicious (Oishi!) meal! 
Their generosity was hospitality was such a blessing, not to mention some of the best Japanese food I've had. "Unbelievable" as my friend Jack said many times in awe of the food!

My friend Natsuki and I with Hiro's mom; and AMAZING chef! 

I was talking with my teammates afterwards: we would hike Myogi again, any day! And despite the full, busy day it was really kind of relaxing! 

Lovin' living here in Japan! :)

The weekend of July 7-8... In Pictures! :)

Sight-seeing in Harajuku with some friends! We are on the video screen! :)
Harajuku is a fashion district very popular for young people.

We went to a cafe where Lady Gaga ate when she was visiting Harajuku!
Hahaha!

Yummy! Parfait treat!

Crowded Harajuku street! From the Cafe window

Fun friends! 

Purikura is a fancy photobooth that is a common hang out activity  in Japan! 

My "Intensive English" partners!  Mei-chan, and Kaho-chan
They will write  a speech in English to share with the group!

Gyoza Party

Last night we had a great time with the Freshman class doing a Gyoza party. Gyoza is Japanese fried dumplings... yummy! :)
We as a team talked about it afterwards and we realized that we all had fears about how the party would turn out. We thought we might not have enough food, or not enough people would come, etc. But God was faithful and we had a really great time! It was a really fun time for everyone that was there. We were able to have all the ingredients that we needed as well as many (though not all) of the freshman. Everyone seemed to have a really good time! We laughed alot as we hung out, played games, and made the gyoza. 12 people fit in our small apartment! So fun!

Some of the students and us that made the gyoza together.
In this photo not everyone is here, but with the whole group we had 12

Hayato was a great chef!

The gyoza before we cooked it 

The finished product! It was really delicious

Pictures are worth a thousand words

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, and I have so many words to say I think this post will just be pictures with captions!
I have been loving my time here and so I hope you enjoy seeing a glimpse of what my team and I have been up too this past week! A part of BEST club is the T (travel)... many of these pictures are from our BEST club to Kyoto.

Bible Night last Wednesday reading John 15

Cooking at our apartment- Yaki soba! 

Itadakimasu- What we say before we eat... yummy!

Getting ready to head to Kyoto 

I love Japan, this is a rest area on the highway! America needs to learn from this

Waiting for the Tokyo BEST fashion show to begin in Kyoto

The fashionable men of Tokyo BEST,
not only did the perform for the fashion show
but they wore their fashionable clothes all day around Kyoto

and the winner of the fashion show is....
Shunpei!

Beautiful area in Kyoto

Hanging out in a bamboo forest in Kyoto

Yummy bug in the Bamboo forest :)

Tokyo BEST, the whole gang that went to Kyoto

Friends :)

Peaceful river on the other side of the Bamboo forest

The Golden Temple (Kinkakuji) one of the most famous sights in Kyoto

The foresty garden areas near the temples were beautiful!

My team leader and our friend Chiaki on the bus in Kyoto

Beautiful sand garden

sadly it was raining when we went to one of the temples...
the guys were pretty sad

Lovely pond and garden near the Silver temple

Eating on the way home from Kyoto

During team time we went to this amazing Ramen place (here is Timmy and Kelly)
We are planning on becoming regulars :)

Tokyo BEST... fun times with Fireworks for the 4th of July
I am the E :)

My teammates Timmy and Kyle are magically lit up

Mifuyu is an angel :)