Mami-chan

I have been doing some pretty interesting things lately. Not sure if I mentioned it, but since I have been in Tokyo I have played soccer at some community league thing and I saw an English play at an international theater in Shinjuku.

My most recent adventure was this past weekend when my friend gave me an old bicycle that was given to her and I had to ride it from downtown Tokyo to my apartment in Kanagawa, which is a whopping 30 kilometers and took 3 hours! But it was great to ride through parts of Tokyo that I don't normally get to see because I am always just taking the trains. I definitely want to explore around more now that I have wheels.

This picture was taken in Ikebukuro, which my friend tells me is known for being 'owl town'.

I went to Shibuya to do some shopping and scout around for some places to take my brother when he comes in August. I am excited! Only 28 more days of work until my summer vacation begins!

Some pictures I took on the way to work.

My new (yet old) bicycle is a 'mami-chari'. The name is a combination between 'mama' and 'chariot'. It is the typical bicycle seen all over Japan that many mothers use to get groceries and take children to school, hence the basket in front and the space behind the seat to place a child's seat. But they are used by everyone nowadays. I have named my bicycle 'Mami-chan' instead of 'mami-chari' because Mami-chan was the name of the little girl that lived at the ryokan last year; the daughter of my landlords. When I got the bike the back tire had a slow leak and it would go flat overnight. But the more I rode it the faster the leak became. So I had to take it to the local bike shop and it turns out that some rubber part called a 'mushi gomu' was rotten and needed to be replaced. So at least I didn't have to buy a whole new tire. Fancy, huh?

Welcome to the Neighborhood

I spent a lazy Sunday exploring and walking around my neighborhood while taking pictures of things that I found interesting. Here are the results.

This pretty much says don't get in the river because it is dangerous(and the picture signifies that you will drown).

This is the Tama River (多摩川) that is next to my apartment. I have been hanging out here more recently because the weather is nice and it is a good place to plan lessons. It is pretty and there are usually fun things going on there during the weekends (see below).

This is a shrine that is between my apartment and the river. There are tons of stray cats around the area. There is one sitting up there next to the doors, too.

One of the Original Bento shops near my apartment. They are so good and cheap.

This is an onsen near my apartment, but not a real one like the one I used to live at in Miyagi. This one doesn't have natural hot spring water and it is not a ryokan, so you can't stay the night there.

A coin shower, where...you guessed it, you can pay to take a shower.

These are the roads to my apartment. Very narrow, so when a car comes you have to jump into the bushes.

One of the fun things that people like to do near the Tama River is light fireworks at night. I saw them shooting some large ones the other night and there are always people grilling out and sometimes there is a couple of musicians that sing and play next to the water and they are really good.