Shopping in Ikebukuro (Happy Halloween!)

Happy Halloween you guys! Halloween is over for me, but for you guys it's probably just starting. Today I went to Ikebukuro to do some shopping. What started out as a quest for Japanese textbooks turned into a walk down anime road.

Shinjuku and Movie Theaters!

On Wednesday I went to the movie theaters with my two friends, Undariya and Ga Kyou! We had a ton of fun together, even if it didn't go exactly as planned. I really enjoyed myself! (Click the link below to continue reading, it's kind of long...)

Adventures in Ikebana

On Tuesday, as a part of our culture class, we got to try ikebana! Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It's a lot more difficult than one may think.

Mejiro School Festival

Today I went to our college's school festival with my friend Undariya (she's from Mongolia!). It was great seeing all the students' hard work paying off.

Studio Ghibli Museum

Today I went to the Studio Ghibli Museum with the N4 class! They were nice enough to let me tag along. We just barely made it in time after classes, and one of us had a ticket that wouldn't work, but in the end we all were able to enjoy the place! It was really lucky, and the workers were really nice.

A Trip to Harajuku

At the beginning of October, me and my friend Evelyn went out shopping a bit. We didn't start out intending to go to Harajuku, but we ended up in that area. My friend Evelyn has been to Japan a couple of times, so she knows her way around very well, and she's always nice enough to invite me out when she feels like exploring. So that night, we went out just the two of us to do some shopping!

Long Time No See!

Hi everyone! Wow, I can't believe it's almost been a whole month since my last post... Time sure flies!

Lately, I haven't been doing much. The last few weeks have been me getting used to school, and living on my own. You know, figuring out which classes will be difficult, where to buy living supplies, and hardest of all--how to do laundry. (But no worries, I pulled it off!)

I'll talk about some of the trips I took a few weeks ago in a separate post, but for now, I'll leave you guys with a very important aspect of living in Japan: Divvying up one's trash.

In Japan, there are hardly any general trashcans--everything is divided into もえる (can be burned; so things like paper, cardboard, wood, etc.) and もえない (can't be burned; plastic, etc.) trash. In most cases, there is also a separate bin for leftover food and drink containers (cans, bottles). This is how trash cans are labeled just about anywhere, even on the street. In my dorm, I have to carefully think when taking out the trash, which is definitely a new experience--I never really dealt with anything other than basic recycling. But now that I'm getting used to it here, I may become even more conscientious when I go back home!

Anyway, that's my tidbit for the day. So if you're planning on coming to Japan anytime soon, remember: もえる = paper, もえない = plastic! Look at the labels carefully so you don't go around messing with the trash people's jobs. It's very frowned upon to carelessly through things in the wrong bin.