Shinjuku Government Building

Who would have thought that I would be inspired to blog again after eating convenience store ice cream. But its not just any ice cream folks, its ice cream that looks and tastes EXACTLY like a sweet potato.

I had a good laugh when I first bit in because it was so ridiculous.

This is my lunch from the Waseda Cafeteria on the 3rd floor. Each floor has a different menu, and this particular floor had an italian section, a noodle section, and a Japanese food section. The Teishoku above was only 500 yen! 

And da-ta-la-da~ The award for the best dessert/snack since I landed in Japan is....TAIYAKI! But its just a normal taiyaki no? NO. it is not. It's a croissant taiyaki which basically means its made out of pastry puff. If you have a good eye, you can also notice bits of pearl sugar at the top which is often used for belgian waffles to make the exterior crisp. This store recently opened at a location around 2 minutes away from campus, and the smell of the taiyaki's while I walk home is unbearable. I finally succumbed to it.

It may seem as though I eat out a lot but the truth of the matter is....Nope, I'm gonna admit it. I really truly do eat out a lot. It's a lot more exciting to eat out, and also a good excuse to visit new places and walk around at night time. Dinner = Eating out. Lunch = Eating in. And Breakfast? usually non-existant. I know...bring on the scolding, I'm unhealthy. Breakfast food just doesn't look exciting.

The only day I do eat dinner in, is on Sundays. Or what we call..International Dinner Sunday! Today's dinner was Denmark themed: A meatball like dish-One with pork and one with salmon, and a potato salad that wasn't like any potato salad I've ever had. 

I should've taken a better picture with all 14 of us. I believe....they were talking about Korean Pop Stars?

Anyways, this was tonight. My belly is full of yummy meatballs, ice cream, and potatoes. But before this, since it was a beautiful day and all, Joanna and I brought our study goods out and took the train to Shinjuku to check out the view at the Shinjuku Government Building.  

Shinjuku Government Building

There are two towers: The North and the South. People say that the view from the South building is more exciting because you can see the Skytree and Tokyo Tour. But if you go to the North building and decide to stop by the (wonderfully fancy but cheap) cafe, you would also be able to see those buildings just as clear. 

This is the cafe view from the bar. The ceilings are tall, and the view is impressive. I took this picture from my seat, and because it was perched at a level a little higher than the bar, I could see past them and the scenery beyond. 

My cake and coffee set for 800 yen. Since the Observatory is free, I can forgive the slightly high price. Plus, for a cafe this fancy shmancy I thought this set was a definite deal. There was also a piano in the middle but unfortunately, no pianist. The CD music in the background did just as good a job of contributing to the atmosphere though! And it was because of the darn good music that I couldn't bring myself to study.

View at sunset. 

 

I'm still Alive!

Sometimes I wonder who I'm making these blog posts for. My family? Friends? Students from my block 3 Regional Integration class?

Blogging doesn't exactly come naturally to me, so bear with me as I try to recount the second half of my first month in Japan. And yes, its already been a month!

In order to give you a sense of where I am as I type this long overdue post, here are some hints: 

Maybe you've heard of a little chain called Starbucks? This is perhaps the best starbucks I have ever been to. The Jazz music permeats the entire garden and I can sip on my Roasted Almond Frappucino while sleeping on a recliner chair facing an incredible view of Tokyo. 

The location of this starbucks is in Harajuku, on the 6th floor of a department store type building. Shhh don't give this place away to a lot of people, I dont want my recliner chair to be taken when I go ;) 

Now to try and recap the last two weeks..

This is me with the filmmaker/producer of Hafu, a film about half Japanese people. AKA, me! It was a pretty eye opening film...I never really felt like I belonged to any one country. I dont feel like I completely belong with Japanese, Taiwanese, or Canadian people. I feel uncomfortable when I speak with native people in Japan because they assume right off the bat that because I look Japanese, I can speak the language perfectly. Its a struggle, but at the end of the day, I'm proud to be a pretty multicultural individual and I thank my parents for raising me to be whoever I want to be. 

Before this, I spent an entire day at Odaiba with Niji no Kai. Being placed in a group of strangers for the event is always scary at first, but everyone was incredibly fun to be around and open to do anything. Like going into a haunted house. Anyone that really knows me understand that I dont do horror movies, and I turn into a complete wuss at haunted houses. My group had to split up to enter, so I ended up with Dei the Niji no Kai group leader. And damn it, the girly girl side of me took over and for the entire maze I clung to his backpack and probably pulled him back a few times. Maybe no more haunted houses for awhile. 

This is where we had our picnic, I dont remember the name of the park, but it is in Odaiba and really close to Fuji TV. One of the girls made us all sushi and it was adorable. She'd make a really good girlfriend I'm sure.

Maru: The Leader of the Niji no Kai club and a total camera whore.

Also from Niji no kai, he probably isnt as good as a chef as he thinks he is.

The ferris wheel at Venus Fort is the biggest in Japan and costs 900 yen for a ride. I'll visit again at nighttime!

Always wanted to visit Italy? Why not settle for the Venus Fort mall? 

Odaiba is definetly my favourite place in all of Tokyo. The area has so much to offer, and the perfect place to take in a night view of Tokyo and the Rainbow Bridge. If the train cost to get there wasnt so expensive, I would go there every night even if its only to study and drink coffee.....