yeah, that place was definitely into the whole on a stick thing. haven’t tried those noodles, but i tried oodong noodles and they were really nice. they lie in the bowl like thick worms, usually with a poached egg on top. quite scrummy.

hail! looks like i was a tad eager on the job front. my gaijin card is coming on the 13th and then i can get a bank account and mobile which is pretty much a necessity for jobs. there has been some interest. gaba looks pretty good. one to one stuff which is basically chatting with someone for 40mins. going to an interview thing on the 18th. another place called kids international could be cool. but its difficult as i have no phone they can only get in touch by email, and i cant seem to get a hold of them by payphone. well nothing is lost by applying and march/april definitely seems to be the hiring time.

had a really tasty meal yesterday. i had spent the day with a chap called sam in a cafe chatting and trying to write a covering letter for my job applications. strolling home i smelled a rather tasty smell coming from one of the many lantern emblazoned places that line the road. deciding that, nothing ventured nothing gained, we entered. inside was a rather cosy restaurant filled with japanese. a beaming old woman showered us to a table chattering lightly in japanese. i understood nothing. we sat and checked out the menu. all in japanese. this was a problem. the woman appeared. “beeru?” she inquired. “beeru!” we agreed. and she sidled of and returned with a bottle of beer roughly the same size as her. the next part was quite tricky involving much miming and gesticulation as we tried to get across that we wanted whatever it was that had smelt so tasty. in the end i just pointed at some meat on a stick that some guy was eating. receiving these we found them to be utterly delicious. feeling like a bit of a cretin i realized that i had a phrase book on me and pulling it out was able to order with much more competency, more chicken on a stick (yakatori) and rice (riasu), they also had complimentary square wafers of seaweed. which despite my early misgivings i have found to be pretty tasty. clearly taking pity on out ineptitude they gave us some free chicken skin on a stick and pork balls on a stick. all rather pleasant and jolly.

fired of a few job applications today. i have an interview in about a week i believe although i may be wrong.

happy birthday liv! I may have some remote connection to the present coming from dod. 🙂

hail!

well so far japan seems to be agreeing with me. disturbingly little english is spoken here so i will have to start learning pretty sharpish. going into resturants i have to point at the most edible looking picture and hope for the best. people are very friendly and helpfull. when i arrived i must have looked like some lost, simple minded sheep as a couple of people went out of there way just to help me. arriving at the station after very little sleep on the plane and a long train ride, i was peering bleary eyed at some incomprihensible map writen entirely in japanese when some business chap came over and asked if i needed help. ofcourse i did so he showed me how to get out in the right place. on the way were a few long staircases and the guy offered to carry my suitcase as i was clearly struggling. having been poisened by my india experiances i emediatly refused. but then realising that he was just trying to help we carried the bag together. we then parted with much bowing and thankyous. a rather nice introduction to japan.

food here is pretty nice, athough i havent been eating the good stuff yet. fast food and conveniance store sushi have been my staple diet so far being quick and cheap. the hostel i am staying in is really nice and fill with many of the right sort from various diverse countries. there is also a small bar attached to one of the hostels which i have visited a few times, and made quite a few friends already. the night life is pretty good with famous places like rippongi having hordes of night clubs lit up in blazing neon. the area that i am in is called asakusa, and has a pretty impressive temple and grounds in it. its a big tourist atraction so i wasnt that keen on it as it was very busy. i also went to the electronic district called akihabara, a massive place given over to gaming and computor shops, japanese animation and manga stores. pretty crazy place. filled with young people. there are also lots of cheap markets selling all kinds of tat, but i actually have no room in my bag for anything else. when i get an apartment then we shall see. on the front things are going a bit slow. im still trying to find somewhere suitable and cheap. ill start applying for jobs and give them the address of the hostel for now.

just picked up some rather nice post cards, so expect one in the mail in aprox 6 months. speaking of which can some one mail me tans and grannies address.

right im off for now.

julio

hail! phone still not working. don’t suppose you can call them dod and be a bit shirty as i told them i was going to japan when i accepted that contract and by all accounts on the website it should be working.

did al condescend to impart any useful tips? 🙂

will blog soon

julio