Dec. 29, 2004 10:30pm
It was a leisurely paced day today even though I woke up at 7:10am. While eating breakfast it started to snow and snow, and snow even more. It actually accumulated to some amount on the ground. It was actually white in Tokyo. I went to Shinjuku with my brother and mother and spent a good chunk of the time at Tokyu Hands. For those of you who aren’t in the know, Tokyu Hands is a department store that specializes in home furnishings and goodies. It was one of my favourite stores to go to while in Japan since I was a little kid. I would go nuts in their stationary department buying sharp pencils (mechanical pencils) and pens that I wouldn’t use. I went back today for the first time in 9 years and I have to say the store seems to have gotten a lot smaller than what I remembered it as. I did find some nice pencils and pens but refrained from buying them as I probably wouldn’t use them that much.

After the big snowfall ended in late afternoon, it started to rain. The roads of Tokyo were pretty slushy and wet preventing me from going outside much of the time. I went around Shinjuku station going from one camera store to another price comparing for a speedlight that I have been eyeing for quite some time now. I did buy a turtleneck for 770 Yen and two pairs of underwear for about 700 Yen from Uniqlo, which was a bargain. Had I only bought that jacket for a mere 3990 Yen.

I came home, met my uncle who came home today (from Nikko), had sukiyaki dinner and watched a documentary on some mysterious lightning phenomenon happening in the deep swampy rivers of Venezuela. It’s pretty cold here in this room I’m in now since the heater refuses to cooperate. I’m not sure what’s going on but I have to sleep here tonight so I hope it warms up a bit.

Backtracking to yesterday, I met my penpal of 9 years for the very first time. We met at the New South Exit at Shinjuku station and headed off to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building where we went up to the observatory level on the 45th story. Since it was such a nice clear day yesterday we were able to see all around the city of Tokyo and beyond. Wandering around Shinjuku some more trying to find the Pentax Forum, we gave up since nobody knew what we were talking about. It turns out, it was in the Mitsui building, and not the Marui building as I was thinking. After a sushi lunch we went to the Hamarikyu Gardens in Shinbashi. From there we took a nice – but cold – ferry ride to Hinode Pier and then to Odaiba Kaihin Koen.

Odaiba was very interesting actually. It was pretty large with all its entertainment buildings and shopping plazas. We visited the Toyota Car Theme Park which displayed all the latest and greatest vehicles of Toyota. We went to the Future Design Center (or something like that) and then rode the ferris wheel right to the top at 115m high. Unfortunately we didn’t get to go to the Fuji broadcast building which seemed pretty futuristic on its own.

Dinner was curry rice at one of the many restaurants at Venus Fort. We headed back to Shinbashi via the Yurikamome skytrain. It was a great day as I finally got to meet Carol and did something that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Dec. 26, 11:00 pm
We were so close to staying a night in Vancouver. Thanks to the wonderful weather we had in Toronto the day before, our flight from Toronto to Vancouver was delayed four hours. Naturally, we had all thought that we had missed our connecting flight to Japan. However, once we landed in Vancouver, we learned that our flight was waiting for us. Since the number of people flying to Japan was so much, Air Canada decided to delay the connecting flight so that we could all go to Japan.

No matter, the flight was smooth. With free alcohol on board, I went for it all. From sake to ale & ginger to rum & coke, I happily kept ordering one after the other. I even got a special cake just for moi as I had gone to see the attendant after everyone else was sound asleep.

We arrived in Tokyo about 8:30pm Christmas Day. By the time we came to Nakano, where my aunt and unlce lives, it was around 11pm. We had a late snack – accompanied by beer – and slept the night away.

Today, the day after Christmas, my family went browsing around Nakano, Shinjuku, and Tokyo stations. Looking around for prepaid cell phones we went practically everywhere. We finally got one for my dad to use while my brother and I decided not to get one. My brother got himself a Sony T3 Cyber-shot digital camera since he knew from the start he was going to get one here. I think it was a bargain for just under 50,000 yen. I didn`t buy anything. I did look around though, keeping tabs on what I think I should buy later on. Only problem is I don`t think I prepared myself for the many shopping opportunities that are here in Japan. I suppose it was silly for me to think that I wasn`t going to buy anything here in Tokyo since I did`t need anything at the moment.

I`m looking forward to what tomorrow will bring me… did I metion the food here is just amazing?

I ran into a friend this afternoon. It was coincidental and very welcomed. Walking along King street at about a quarter to 3, I was happily heading over to a company for an interview. On my way there I saw someone walk by me. When I saw her, I knew instantly that her face looked familiar, but my mind was a bit slow – probably because of the cold. Nonetheless, I thought hard as my brain chugged away as if trying to search for a face in a database of endless faces. What can I say, my database is pretty fast. Within a matter of seconds I turned around and blurted her name out loud. “Barbara!” I yelled out. She turned around and smiled instantly recognizing who I was, which was a relief on my end… but then again, who can forget me?!

For anyone who’s been following my blog as of late, Barbara is a friend I made while visiting the Greek Islands during my backpacking trip this past summer. She came back from her trip about two months ago and while we’ve exchanged a few emails now and then, we haven’t actually met in person (until now) as she claimed to be so busy. I suppose I’m in good company though since she mentioned that she hadn’t even seen her family yet since she’s returned from her trip. With work and trying to find a place to live, it has consumed any and all of her spare time.

We chatted for a few minutes on the sidewalk, catching up very briefly until it was time for me to make my 3pm interview timeslot. We left saying how we would definitely meet again, if not this year, then for sure next year. It was a short meet, but a very welcomed one for me. It actually brought back nice warm memories of me while visiting Crete, and Santorini Islands.

I went in the interview pretty happy and confident; hopefully something will come out of it. The company seems fairly interesting. Afterwards, I was meaning to fulfill my long list of shopping “to dos” but I failed to buy anything on that list and managed to buy something that wasn’t even on the list. Brilliant.