Univeristy of Tokyo

Thought you might like to see where I go most days...
A picture of the outside of number 1 (because it's the best) building on Hongo Campus, University of Tokyo... I'm currently getting my business card made up which will have it's address on it...which is very nice, but have no idea how much it will cost...oh well... My Prof (or sensei) says that it's the safest place to be on campus...founded on rock and with the thickest roof...which would explain why we have rats living with us in the basement...I've not seen them myself but they have said hello to the swedish exchange student. Yes, rather appropriately the geotechnical lab is in the basement. it's always dark...and we can be at one with the mud. mmmmm.....nice.

And this is the old ginko tree that is just outside the building, in it's full autumn glory...golden. this was last week some time...and now it's completely bare...

Christmas Party 25th Dec 2006 Odaiba 11th floor

Yukiko of the 11th floor was hosting a party on Christmas day...she's the once wearing the tiara.
The party was meant to be fancy dress...


Pikacho also made an appearance...

look it's pikacho again!

most people came to the party as foreigners...

Climbing...Yugawara

I woke up at 6:30am...this is not so good as I was meant to have left my room by 6am to get to Shinagawa station to meet everyone on the train...but anyway after calling up some people, rushing out of the house in a panic grabbing some food for lunch and brekkie...I eventually got on a train to Yugawara.


Luckily for me...and not so lucky for anyone else...the train everyone else was on was delayed due to an accident (probably someone committing suicide...apparently the Japanese rail system is soo effecient, and used to suicides, that they can clear a body from the tracks and have the system up and running back to the normal schedule in 2hours... *great*) so I managed to catch up with them...and did some more nice outdoor climbing...mmmmm...



A few photos of the autumn leaves...

Study Tour cont... 1st Dec 2006

IMPERIAL PALACE

Apparently the Imperial Palace is Closed to the public on Mondays and Fridays...so we couldn't go in...but we stood outside instead..

me and YiPing...in front of the bridge...

Lab members doing the 'Imperial Wave'...

View to the Imperial Gardens

TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE

The Tokyo Stock Exchange

me trying (and failing) to look serious infront of where they floated a company today...

The Shinto Fertility Shrine.

TOKYO SEALIFE PARK

Penguins!!! at the Tokyo Sealife Park...

study tour of Tokyo!!!

ahhh....today I bunked off my one and only Japanese lecture this morning and went on a free study tour organised by the university...it was great we got to go into the Edo museam and the aquarium for free! hurrah...heres a horrendously large photo of all the people who went...

Kanagawa

Lunch just after we got off the train...we found a traditional Japanese omlette place...and tried a octopus omlette, pork omlette, mochi fried veg... tasted gooooood. also had some cool Japanese soft drink...tasted like sprite...but comes in cool bottles with a marble in it that you have to keep out of the way from the bottle neck or it stops you from drinking...

Marc weilding some spatulas...

we took the tram from Kamakura further down the coast (its all manmade beach...weirdly enough there were people with surfboards everywhere...But NO waves! was hilarious...they seemed to be just floating, waiting for a big ship to past so that they could bob up and down a bit more than usual...even saw a few people with some special attachment on their bikes to carry a surf board on...)

the view on the way down to the seaside...the path was lined with tourist shops and restaurants.

View out to sea...the shadow to the right is a stone lantern...and there were a load of birds of prey circling over head...think they were keeping an eye on the fisher men...
the train station (eki) from which we took the 'Romancecar' (i have no idea why it's called this...it's not very romantic...) that we took back to Shinjuku...i fell asleep on the way back...think it was too much walking that made my little legs tired... :(

Kamakura

This weekend (25th Novemeber 2006) I was shown some temples by Mike with Marc... first we took the train from Shinjuku to Kamakura:

me and Marc infront of the large buddha at the first temple we went to...

...a peacful garden behind the buddha

more sharp and shiny things than you can shake a stick at...this shop was beside a food shop...which sold (sweet) potato flavoured ice cream, yam jelly and sugar coated yam crisps... the latter were very nice...didn't try the ice cream.

the second temple we went to see...all the trees are very well groomed don't you think?

the view from a picnic area in front of the temple...

A house...which also served as a private shrine...we didn't go in...but it looked very pretty from the outside..

Annalisa...after a good day's climbing















ooh loook! Bill climbing through a tree





















greg, not falling backwards...rei, doing similar
















the terminator












Treeeees!




















Annalisa....






















Rei...

Main Shibuya shopping street...craziness

a shop in Shibuya...cest interesant!

Shinjuku at night...