Hey everyone, long time no post.
So June 21st makes it officially 6 months in Japan for me, which means I only have 6 more months to go until I'm back in America!
Things at work have gotten better but can still be stressful at times. Now that the national state of emergency was lifted on June 1st, I have finally been able to see my friends and do a little traveling.
I was only in Japan for 5 or 6 weeks when the state of emergency hit and I didn't really have any friends yet so March, April & May were very lonely. There were many times I was trying to find figure out a way back to America because it was getting very depressing. Luckily, I was able to make a few friends online during the shutdown so when June came around, we were able to hang out for the first time.
On June 1st, I traveled to Kawasaki, Japan and met my friend Lena. We spent the day at Kawasaki Daishi, a massive Buddhist Temple founded in 1182. After that, she showed me around Kawasaki. The next day, I went to a local cafe in Fujisawa called Yen Cafe. I had talked to the owner, Go, on Instagram a few weeks prior and he invited me to check out his cafe. He spent a lot of time living in London during the 1990s so he's pretty much fluent in English. He also has many tattoos from his time in London. Since then, I have spent every Monday night at Yen Cafe. I am a very habitual person and I like my routines. In America, I hang out with the same people on the same day every week. Tuesday's at Hotdog's, Wednesday watching AEW at either Gabe or Q's place, Friday at Tyler's and every other day with Maja. It's nice to have a little bit of that now in Japan. It feels relaxing to have a place that feels familiar to me. I spend a lot of my free time exploring new places, which is great, but having that place where I'm not a stranger is what I will look back on with the most fondness.
The next week, I ate dinner in Yokohama with Lena and had an American sized meal that I wasn't ready for. My stomach has fully conformed to Japan. The rest of that weekend was spent on the beach.
The week after that, I took my first trip to Tokyo in many months. I walked around famous Yoyogi Park where a Black Lives Matter protest had just finished up. The protests in Japan never reached a fraction of the size of other places around the world but it's really cool to see it happening all the way over here. It's actually illegal for foreigners to protest in Japan so they were technically "peace marches" or "peace parades" but nevertheless, I fully support it.
After my walk in Yoyogi Park, I went to a shop called Piledriver and met one of my favorite wrestlers Minoru Suzuki. He owns the very small clothing store in Harajuku and when he isn't wrestling, you can find him there. I didn't see him at first and then he appeared and a pretty loud "holy shit" came out of my mouth
The week after that, I traveled west to Odawara, Japan. Odawara is a small city known for their beautiful castle, Odawara-jo, amazing gardens and their love for the samurai. The train ride there were cool because one side of the train is rolling hills with massive mountains hanging over them in the background, while the other side is Sagami Bay. Odawara itself is a beautiful city and perfect for a day trip. Just past Odawara is Hakone, Japan which is one the most picturesque places in the country, but I will have to go there another time.
The next day, Lena came to Fujisawa and I got to show someone around where I live for the first time. Usually I'm the guest but finally I became the guide. Lena and I went to Yen Cafe to see Go. I was nervous for my two closest friends in Japan to meet but they hit it off.
Then last weekend, myself and Lena went to Tokyo-Edo Museum in Ryogoku, Tokyo. The Edo period is from 1603-1868 and the museum features many artifacts from that time period. The museum is massive and was quite the history lesson for me. I kept saying, I really wished I could take the kids from Hope there. Truly amazing.
After that, we explored around Ryogoku. Ryogoku is known as "Sumo Town" and features Ryogoku Kokugikan or Ryogoku Sumo Hall, the site of the major sumo events in Japan. The sumo museum was closed unfortunately but there are plenty of sumo related things to do. I ate a traditional sumo's lunch, chankonabe, while in Ryogoku and could feel myself turning into the next sumo champion.
After that, we met up with Lena's friend in Yokohama for dinner. I've never been a person who feels like they need a lot of friends. It's just too much to keep up with sometimes. So I keep a tight circle in America and I've got myself a tight circle in Japan now as well. I'm so happy to have met Lena and Go.
The first week of July was spent relaxing and getting ready for my birthday weekend. Next weekend, I am taking a trip to Osaka to celebrate. My train tickets are purchased, my hotel is booked and i'm very ready. I have had to cancel two trips to Osaka already so it's been a long time coming. I'm really not sure what officially my plans are in Osaka, but I know I will be doing a lot of exploring.
In August, i'm slated to go with my friend Ryo to a pro wrestling event in Yokohama and to get my first Japanese tattoo.
With all of that positivity said, I am pretty anxious, however. The huge spikes in coronavirus cases in America has me very worried for my friends and family. If anyone in my family contracts the virus, I am ready to get on a plane. Recently Japan has been getting spikes in cases as well. Not nearly the numbers of America, but pretty big compared to a few weeks ago. The first case in Shonandai was confirmed a few days ago and a few hours ago, a confirmed case was found at the local Junior High School, less than a mile from my school and where many of my students go to school. Another shutdown is possible here in Japan and I don't know if I can do another one of those. I'm trying to be as positive as I can be but the possibility of me coming home early will always be there because of this virus. Japan is not allowing any flights into the country and I'm nervous for the potential of no flights to America any time soon. I like it here but I don't want to be stuck here. I miss my friends and family and if it comes to it, my time in Japan may come to a premature end. But let's hope that doesn't happen!
Be safe!
Wear a mask!
Don't touch anybody or anything!
-C.J.
So June 21st makes it officially 6 months in Japan for me, which means I only have 6 more months to go until I'm back in America!
Things at work have gotten better but can still be stressful at times. Now that the national state of emergency was lifted on June 1st, I have finally been able to see my friends and do a little traveling.
I was only in Japan for 5 or 6 weeks when the state of emergency hit and I didn't really have any friends yet so March, April & May were very lonely. There were many times I was trying to find figure out a way back to America because it was getting very depressing. Luckily, I was able to make a few friends online during the shutdown so when June came around, we were able to hang out for the first time.
On June 1st, I traveled to Kawasaki, Japan and met my friend Lena. We spent the day at Kawasaki Daishi, a massive Buddhist Temple founded in 1182. After that, she showed me around Kawasaki. The next day, I went to a local cafe in Fujisawa called Yen Cafe. I had talked to the owner, Go, on Instagram a few weeks prior and he invited me to check out his cafe. He spent a lot of time living in London during the 1990s so he's pretty much fluent in English. He also has many tattoos from his time in London. Since then, I have spent every Monday night at Yen Cafe. I am a very habitual person and I like my routines. In America, I hang out with the same people on the same day every week. Tuesday's at Hotdog's, Wednesday watching AEW at either Gabe or Q's place, Friday at Tyler's and every other day with Maja. It's nice to have a little bit of that now in Japan. It feels relaxing to have a place that feels familiar to me. I spend a lot of my free time exploring new places, which is great, but having that place where I'm not a stranger is what I will look back on with the most fondness.
The week after that, I took my first trip to Tokyo in many months. I walked around famous Yoyogi Park where a Black Lives Matter protest had just finished up. The protests in Japan never reached a fraction of the size of other places around the world but it's really cool to see it happening all the way over here. It's actually illegal for foreigners to protest in Japan so they were technically "peace marches" or "peace parades" but nevertheless, I fully support it.
After my walk in Yoyogi Park, I went to a shop called Piledriver and met one of my favorite wrestlers Minoru Suzuki. He owns the very small clothing store in Harajuku and when he isn't wrestling, you can find him there. I didn't see him at first and then he appeared and a pretty loud "holy shit" came out of my mouth
The week after that, I traveled west to Odawara, Japan. Odawara is a small city known for their beautiful castle, Odawara-jo, amazing gardens and their love for the samurai. The train ride there were cool because one side of the train is rolling hills with massive mountains hanging over them in the background, while the other side is Sagami Bay. Odawara itself is a beautiful city and perfect for a day trip. Just past Odawara is Hakone, Japan which is one the most picturesque places in the country, but I will have to go there another time.
The next day, Lena came to Fujisawa and I got to show someone around where I live for the first time. Usually I'm the guest but finally I became the guide. Lena and I went to Yen Cafe to see Go. I was nervous for my two closest friends in Japan to meet but they hit it off.
Then last weekend, myself and Lena went to Tokyo-Edo Museum in Ryogoku, Tokyo. The Edo period is from 1603-1868 and the museum features many artifacts from that time period. The museum is massive and was quite the history lesson for me. I kept saying, I really wished I could take the kids from Hope there. Truly amazing.
After that, we explored around Ryogoku. Ryogoku is known as "Sumo Town" and features Ryogoku Kokugikan or Ryogoku Sumo Hall, the site of the major sumo events in Japan. The sumo museum was closed unfortunately but there are plenty of sumo related things to do. I ate a traditional sumo's lunch, chankonabe, while in Ryogoku and could feel myself turning into the next sumo champion.
After that, we met up with Lena's friend in Yokohama for dinner. I've never been a person who feels like they need a lot of friends. It's just too much to keep up with sometimes. So I keep a tight circle in America and I've got myself a tight circle in Japan now as well. I'm so happy to have met Lena and Go.
The first week of July was spent relaxing and getting ready for my birthday weekend. Next weekend, I am taking a trip to Osaka to celebrate. My train tickets are purchased, my hotel is booked and i'm very ready. I have had to cancel two trips to Osaka already so it's been a long time coming. I'm really not sure what officially my plans are in Osaka, but I know I will be doing a lot of exploring.
In August, i'm slated to go with my friend Ryo to a pro wrestling event in Yokohama and to get my first Japanese tattoo.
With all of that positivity said, I am pretty anxious, however. The huge spikes in coronavirus cases in America has me very worried for my friends and family. If anyone in my family contracts the virus, I am ready to get on a plane. Recently Japan has been getting spikes in cases as well. Not nearly the numbers of America, but pretty big compared to a few weeks ago. The first case in Shonandai was confirmed a few days ago and a few hours ago, a confirmed case was found at the local Junior High School, less than a mile from my school and where many of my students go to school. Another shutdown is possible here in Japan and I don't know if I can do another one of those. I'm trying to be as positive as I can be but the possibility of me coming home early will always be there because of this virus. Japan is not allowing any flights into the country and I'm nervous for the potential of no flights to America any time soon. I like it here but I don't want to be stuck here. I miss my friends and family and if it comes to it, my time in Japan may come to a premature end. But let's hope that doesn't happen!
Be safe!
Wear a mask!
Don't touch anybody or anything!
-C.J.
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