hey all,
I've been trying to get a bike, but without a cell its been kinda hard to coordinate with the ALT who is leaving. First I get emailed one meeting time, then it gets pushed back, then place changed, then time changed again, etc.
The weather is still not so great, but last night Masa and I went out to an Irish pub (for some reason you can find these Irish pubs everywhere...). Since it was a Thursday night, by the time we got there it was winding down already. Afterward, we went to a Mos Burger and I tried a rice burger. This had been recommended to me by Sachiko, our coordinator's boss. A rice burger is basically a bun made out of fried rice patties, with random stuff for the filling instead of a beef patty. I think mine was some green peas, chopped battered and fried fish, and maybe some small pieces of potato. It was actually pretty good, and only cost 300 円. I had a melon soda to wash it down (a green pop that tastes like a non-alcoholic and sugary Midori).
Tomorrow, I'm planing on seeing Edo Palace in Tokyo. This was the seat of the Shogunate for the last 400 years. the castle itself was torn up after the Meiji restoration (which put the emperor back in power), but the walls, moat, and grounds themselves are still there. It is also the site of the incident which led to one of Japan's most famous tales: the 47 samurai/ronin. I've been looking at how to get there, and how much it will cost, and it looks like I can make the trip for about 580 円 each way, or about $12 round trip. Finding the palace itself is really easy: take the east exit out of Tokyo station, and the grounds should be right in front of you.
Not too much else is going on. I found a local branch of the bank that my company recommends using, so on Monday I'll see if I can open an account.
Cheers
