Rainy Season Fun

Even though it's been rainy, hot and muggy, and I've been concerned about passport and visa issues (the tedious part of living abroad), I've been having so much fun those past few days. I saw The Great Gatsby at the movie theatre, which is a rare treat I allow myself in Japan, since the cinema is so expensive. I liked the movie for the aesthetic parts, but nothing beats the book. I made a nice breakfast of pancakes with mango, blueberries and watermelon. I took the train outside of Tokyo. I met Shikoku friends at a New Zealand restaurant, where we devoured cheese plates, steaks and red wine, and finished the evening with ice cream and beer at the park, before having to run for shelter after a rainfall. I had lunch in Aoyama with a lovely lady, and a soba set complete with fresh tuna sashimi on rice.

I finally upgraded my slow, old iPhone to a brand new iPhone 5- a challenging, frustrating and somehow humiliating task for non-Japanese, between having to produce five different kinds of ID and having the uncomfortable SoftBank staff obviously baffled at having to deal with a foreigner. Thankfully not all the staff is unprofessional, and with some help I emerged with a brand new toy. I love how I can use the phone as a wifi device, as free wifi is virtually nonexistent in Tokyo, so I'm not limited to Starbucks anymore.

I also went shopping for house stuff, and cockroach-proofed my house. I purchased those small roach traps, apparently they're the most effective. The traps have a bait that lures the roaches in, and they get trapped in a sticky substance. It's better than the cockroach spray, which contains many strong chemicals. I hate the whole topic of cockroaches, but it's a part of Japanese summer, so it's highly recommended to use those traps and to keep the house spotlessly clean, especially the kitchen.

In other news, I've been keeping my hair healthy with shampoo and conditioner from Kiehl's, I received samples and I'm hooked! My hair is so soft and moisturized, and luxurious treatments really do make a difference. I've been meaning to try this no-shampoo regimen to get my hair back in shape, but I'll wait a bit longer...

I already outfitted my phone with the cutest, girlies case I could find at ドンキ

My most recently used emoticons... recurring ones, so random.

Salmon sashimi, shiso leaves and daikon on a bed of rice

THIS STUFF.

It's Rainy

After a string of consecutive sunny and warm days last week, I thought rainy season had been cancelled, but turns out it showed up in a big way. It's been raining for the past two days, and the humidity levels are so high. It's hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, and my hair is a mess. Even though I love how soothing the rain is and the fresh air after a rainfall, rainy season is by far the least glamourous time of the year. Some girls remain impeccable with smooth, sleek hair and a matte brow, but I'm not one of them.

The rain is making me feel extremely sluggish, so I'm not up to much, even though I ran a few times. I've been watching trash TV (Laguna Beach, don't ask), eating takeout bento components from the local shop (at least it's healthy: pumpkin, beans, spinach), and this morning I treated myself to a faux pancake from the convenience store. It's basically a soft pancake (mochi mochi) filled with artificial maple syrup (the package claims it's from Canada... yeah... right) and something that is supposed to be margarine. It's the weirdest snack, it's so sugary, but I sometimes need a little pick-me-up before starting a long day.

Wednesday Breakfast: Faux pancake + Milk Tea

LC + take out, just another Tuesday night

Lost in Translation: The Last Scene

What do you think he whispers in that last scene?

This is where the final scene of Lost in Translation was shot. I had never known or looked for it, but tonight a behind-the-scenes insider told me about this spot, and of course I had to pose there. He suggested I hug and kiss a random, older stranger to make it more authentic, but I politely dismissed the idea.
The location is in Nishi-Shinjuku, a short walk from the Park Hyatt Hotel, where most scenes were shot. It's near one of the many branches of Yodobashi Camera, and it's rather easy to find if you know this particular area.
I'm not lost in translation anymore, and I really cannot relate to what the characters feel anymore as I live and breathe life here, but this movie remains part of my first exposure to Japan, and how much it made me fall in love with a place I had never seen before. 
Little did I know what would come next. 
{Theories of the last whisper.... I'd rather not know, to be honest}

Akihabara, Tokyo

Today I went to a place I never go to, Akihabara. This neighbourhood of Tokyo is illustrious for its wide selection of electronics, hobby models, cosplay shops (costumes to dress up as anime characters and such), and maid cafes (a cafe where girls dressed as maids serve you coffee and curry). It's electronics central and nerd central- which I think is a good thing- but it's also quite seedy. Countless adult video shops, sex shops, and the worst of it, idol shops dedicated to the likes of AKB48. Akihabara is an exciting place in all senses of the word, as the place caters to pretty much every niche fetish one may have.

I had fun strolling through Akihabara today, as it's such a lively area, colourful and filled with eye-catching stuff. It was a great cultural experience for me, to see what's offered there, and what kind of people frequent Akihabara. Many tourists, students, people who have serious hobbies, and well, more than a few older creeps. It still makes me sick to my stomach to see men old enough to be my father ogling full-sized posters of scantily clad underage idol group members. I would hate for my own daughter to become one of those girls in an idol group.

Moving on! After getting my fix of dirtiness while hitting some shops and getting an eyeful of stuff I didn't even know existed (panties for ripping, maid costumes for men, keychain sex toys), I somehow felt really hungry, and ate some delicious meat. We headed to Mansei, which is a staple in Tokyo, famous for its meat and "hamburger"- a meat patty without the bun. It's a family restaurant, doesn't quite fit with the rest of the neighborhood, but I highly recommend heading there once you get your fix of sex and anime discount electronics in the adjacent streets.

The day ended with purikura, and it was one of the best sightseeing days I've had in Tokyo. It was so unexpected and I was prepared to hate it, but I found it fascinating.

Can you spot me? Lost in a sea of suits.
Felt very Chungking Express.

Buy your idol from a vending machine

Yeah, lots of idol stuff.

Cheap electronics under the tracks, we love it.

A giant bowl of animated ramen.

Welcome to Akihabara

More idols

Need furry ears?

Meal at Mansei, yum! Hello, baked potato

Reminiscing: Korea

As many of you probably know, Korea is where this blog all started. I lived and worked there five years ago (already!), and even though I don't talk about it much anymore, it's a big part of my life and it shaped me into the person I am today. I tend to reminisce a lot, maybe I'm naturally a nostalgic person, and this blog is like a diary for me.

I'm not sure why I've been thinking about Korea lately, maybe because I've been reading blogs from friends, and talking to my Seoul sisters, the girls I went through Korea with- Rita, Gina, Sam, Jaclyn, Stephanie, this one's for you. Because "going through" is the correct term to use when talking about Korea. It was challenging to say the least, and I'm not sure why Korea was so difficult. Part of it is the abrasive parts of the culture I wasn't prepared for, and part of it was just myself, being young, innocent and unprepared.

Reading through some early entries I wrote on this blog, I realize just how frivolous and naive I once was, and how much the prissy girl that left Montreal was just not aware of what was awaiting her- and returned home completely changed. Many people ask me why I chose Korea. I don't know, really. I had a deep attraction to Asia from seeing Chungking Express back at McGill, and when my boyfriend at the time mentioned going to work there, I unmindfully followed him, seeking an adventure abroad.

I spent a better part of my year in Korea absolutely hating it, and counting down the days to my return. I daydreamed every single day about my white Montreal apartment, cupcakes, bagels, my friends, my mom's cooking, summer in the city. I had a strong aversion to Korean cuisine, hating the overwhelming spiciness, growing tired of kimchi on a daily basis. Pushy ajummas and drunken ajosshis would make me break down into tears regularly. Living and working with my (then) boyfriend proved to be a real feat, although I'm thankful he was there all along.

I tried to find beauty in Korea, and slowly I surely did. I made an effort to hop on the subway every weekend, searching for neighborhoods that would make me feel good, and I did- the traditional streets of Insadong, the shopping madness of Myeong-dong, swanky Apkujeong and Cheong-dam, Sinsa, and surprisingly nice cafes and museums in Itaewon. I also met a handful of friends (through my blog and the infamous Dave's ESL) without whom I wouldn't have survived Korea. By the end of that year, I knew Seoul like the back of my hand, my Korean friends even saying I knew it better than them. I also grew to love most dishes, eating kimchi and tuna gimbap for breakfast, and enjoying those lazy evenings cooking samgyupsal, washed down with copious amounts of soju. When time came to leave, I wasn't ready.

I returned to Montreal that winter (worst time to go back to Canada, never making that mistake again), back to my white apartment, cupcake shops and group of friends, realizing that everything had changed. No, rather, I had changed and just couldn't deal with living there. I was so homesick for Korea, in the same way I had been homesick for Montreal. It made my heart hurt to think about Seoul and all the memories I had left behind, and I mostly missed living abroad- I think it all comes down to that. To being a foreigner, an expat in a far away land, learning a new culture, every supermarket trip being an adventure. I had so many regrets about Korea: I regretted being so whiny and homesick, regretted not going out as much as I should, not learning the language, not soaking it all in instead of trying to make it like Montreal. Regrets, regrets, my biggest fear in life.

So after merely six months in my home country, I packed my bags again and left, this time on my own, for Japan. More prepared, more independent, looking for another adventure. I never tried to turn Japan into something I wanted it to be, I just accepted it the way it was, dug deeply into the culture, tried to understand cultural differences instead of shunning them, studying the language and partaking into the all-night drinking binges that are sometimes necessary to survive abroad. Somehow it turned into real life, and Japan is my home (away from home). No regrets this time.

I never went back to Korea since I left that February afternoon in 2009. Sometimes I think unconsciously it's too difficult to go back, too many memories, and firmly closing that door on that part of my life, and on that person I shared that experience with. I really want to go back, I've been itching to lately. I want to set foot on the land of the morning calm (which is everything but), walk those streets again knowing things are different this time around, and make peace with that huge part of my life I seldom talk about in Japan.

























Japan, I love you, but you gotta do something about your awful J-Pop. K-pop is far superior, and you know that... love and love.