Thailand, and Back

Do forgive my long absence! Since the last time I've posted, I've spent 10 days in Thailand!
 And though I won't go over the specifics of my antics like I did last time with Korea, I've had a great time in the Land of Smiles, and here are some pictures!

I got to know Khao San road very well. If I had taken this picture at night, it'd just be a wall of flesh.

Dropped by the Grand Palace, too. You know what else was grand? The amount of tourists.

Visited lots of markets. Like this one, built on top of the Maeklong Railway.

Or the floating market at Amphaya.

Thailand, like the rest of Asia, is rich in art, be it dance...

...or the martial variety.

I got to spend some time on the beaches of Koh Samet Island...

...Which has amazing fire shows by the way.

As well as the jungles of Kanchanaburi Province, where I was kissed by fish...

...Slapped by monkeys...

...And washed by an elephant. A pretty good time all in all, I'd say!

In The Meanwhile...

Hello!
 It's rainy season in Japan right now. And, well, it's rainy. Between that and setting up for my replacement at work, it's been a little difficult to undertake anything big, but I do have some nice things set up for me at the end of the month. In the meanwhile, here's how I've been spending my time.

Lots of sunsets in Ikebukuro.

I'm trying to make the best of the few precious days I have left with the kids. Time's flying!

Millo set up a projector on his roof. There's so much potential.

Night out with some coworkers! Never mind that they're not the same ones as previous pictures.

Tonkotsu Ramen - which I will most definitely miss.

I brought a friend to the Western Village!

End of the Second Summer

Summer has officially ended, and I'm somewhat proud to have survived the unbearable wet heat of the wrathful season. Between Mount Fuji and Oshima island, I'm pretty happy with what I've undertaken, but here are some of the little things that have been going on here and there and in-between.

Decorations made by the local kids.

There've been quite a few little festivals at the local park. The kids do this every year.

Sophie was briefly in Japan! Only got to meet up with her once, but she and Ken and I had dinner. Consisting of cake.

There was a Summer camp at my workplace! There are loads of cute pictures on the facebook page.

 Check out my aerial! Millo and I have been practicing tricking at least once a week.

We still have lots of fun bringing new people to Kagaya, but I no longer teach his children.

In one more month it'll already have been two years since I first landed in this country. And yet there's still so much to see and do. I'm looking forward to another haikyo in two weeks' time!

I'm Alive, I Swear

I've taken a few extra work shifts to compensate for my last escapade as well as the next. Suffice to say I haven't undertaken anything grandiose since, but neither have I been standing still. Cue the pictures!

I bought an axolotl! I named it Henry! Henry died! I no longer have an axolotl!

I found this! Hopefully next thing I find will be a pot of gold or some shit.

The instructor in chief at my workplace, in the middle of that picture, renounced her position to go home to Canada!

Here are Ayumi and Takuya, two of my workmates. They're cool!

I stumbled upon this wall in Akihabara that shoots cologne. It didn't smell bad!

I'm taking a week off in two days! There'll be plenty going on, but you'll know about that soon enough!

Things I've Been Doing

Sometimes I don't post in a while and it may give the impression I'm just hanging in dead time. That's actually not too far from being false, I guess. Though work's been taking up a lot of my time, I do manage to squeeze in a few activities, but nothing out of the ordinary. Those would merit their own posts here. Here's what I've been doing lately, outside of the big adventures and crazy shit.

I went to Ueno Zoo again with Erika and Maxine and got in a fight with this goose.
I don't usually beat up barnyard animals.

Ken introduced me to his sister and nephews.
They've got lots to learn in the ways of gaming.
Yeah, I hang with children on my off days too.

That aside, I've also introduced Ken's step-sister to my job.
We celebrated at a steak house for her employment and my promotion.

Speaking of work, they transferred me to another location after my promotion.
I'm not very happy about it. This picture captured one of my last days at the previous place.
One of the kids decided to wear a shirt that didn't fit just so he could match mine.

One of my older colleagues taught me the butterfly twist.
I'll show you guys when I get really good at it.
 This is me practicing and warming up with butterfly kicks.

And that about sums it up. But hey, there's less than a month left before my next big trip. If you don't know about that yet, I guess you'll know soon enough.

What I've been up to

Though the last few days have been a blur, what with moving and all, I did manage to enjoy going out some in the presence of my buddies. I didn't bother making individual posts for each outing, since nothing really screams "Japan," but hey, here's what I've been up to in case anyone was wondering.

There've been a couple of work parties recently. They're fun, but most of the time I can't
really understand what's being said. My boss is the guy on the left.

I went to see "Dark Shadows" with Ken, Erika, and this guy David. I didn't really like
the movie so much, but it had its charming moments. This was after the screening.

I went to a club with Ken and Sofie, but it was pretty dead.
We met a bunch of fun people that night, regardless.

This girl was cute. We danced.

I hung out with Lisa for the first time in a while at the first ever
Ben & Jerry's to open in Japan. Neither Ben nor Jerry were there.

And that's about it! I have a week off vacation from work starting today, and I plan on going on a small trip to the beautiful Hakone area. Expect some nice pictures when I get back.

Here's What I've Been Doing Lately

The last few days have been rather quiet. Though I haven't been doing too much out of the ordinary, I have been kicking it back with friends every now and then. Here are a few pictures of what I've been up to in these uneventful times.

I've been visiting Erika and Maxine once in a while lately. We watch movies 'til late at night.

"Well I heard there was a secret cord
that David played and it pleased the Lord,
But you don't really care for music, do you?"

This photo best summarizes the way I interact with
children in general. Even at work.

This one's pretty good, too.

I tried introducing Mori to Kagaya bar. He was too shy to sing his order!

Once in a while the tenants get together on the 4th floor common room and chat.

I taught the female tenants how to play poker.
The girls in the apartment call me "Nakagawa-san", "the Fitness Teacher", or "Gaijin-san"

And that's just about the gist of it. I'm leaving for Kyoto tonight, though, so expect some temples, geishas and hot baths and the days to come.