This has been my life

For the past couple of weekends my life has been very dry.  I've been in my own little cave pounding out papers.   I can't wait until this quarter is over and I can say hello world. (actually Hello Japan).   At least I'm attending a wedding tonight, which will be interesting as it's in the heart of downtown L.A.

Distracted once again...

I've been a zombie and can't seem to snap out of it. I have a buttload of school term papers to write but it's taking me about an hour to form one sentence. All I want to do is take a vacation already! Speaking of vacations...

At first I did not have any plans to go to Osaka but I think I might change my plans. There is a place called Namba Parks I want to check out. The park incorporates green space in an an urban area. Kind of cool.

Now back to writting one sentence an hour :/

Better news!

Sam leaves tomorrow! The weeks flew by and the day has come to say good-bye but the next time I'll see him we'll be in Japan.

Now the better news...
The University Sam will attend in Japan is called Kyushu Institute of Technology. They contacted him once again regarding his arrive. Previously, they instructed him to be on house arrest for 7 days because of the H1N1 scare but things have changed. Now, they have provided him a hotel miles away from campus for only 3 days but they instructed him to take his temperature 3 times a day & someone from the University will call him everyday to check on his vital signs. On the 3rd day they will send over a doctor/nurse to give him a full check up & if his vital signs are good then he will be relocated to the graduate housing (aka dorms) on campus. I have one word: Hypochondriacs!

I thought I share a map I found on the web.

Kyushu is where Sam will be residing. It's pretty far from Tokyo but it's only a 5 hour train ride.

News travels slow

I will be in Japan exactly one month from today and hopefully by then the H1N1 flu will subside. Well, actually it has subsided in the U.S. but some how the news travels v e r y s l o w to other parts of the world. I've read articles about the procedures that are occurring at the Japanese airports (specifically in the plane right after you land). I guess the nurses and doctors go around taking thermal images of the passenger's faces then have everyone fill out a questionnaire regarding sickness or encounter with any sickness. And supposedly the process will take about an hour.

Sam will be leaving on Sunday and the University where he will be doing his studies notified him. They asked him to either re-book his flight for the end of the month or come as planned but he will have to be quarantined for 7 days in their off-site campus housing. If he goes as planned he would have to maintain a low profile during this time i.e. no sightseeing. Yes, he decided to depart on Sunday and endure the 7 days of doing nothing. Would you say they might be overreacting? It's kind of hilarious and I'm sure it will be an experience to laugh about years to come. Did I mention you get a certification for clearance.

JR Pass

Today, I purchased my JR pass exchange order for a total amount of $465.00 USD or 45100 Yen. These passes can only be purchased outside of Japan (they are for tourists) but they are not the actual rail pass. The pass is obtained in Japan by presenting your passport & JR pass exchange order.

Green Tea

I walked into my office on Friday morning and found someone had left me a gift. I quickly opened it and saw a Japanese style ceramic tea cup and inside it was a little red package of green tea from Kyoto. What a coincidence!

Here is a blurry photo of the items, which I was too lazy to retake (sorry):


Just an fyi: The tea is from the region of Uji, which is south of central Kyoto. Fortunately, this place is on my itinerary as I am set on visiting the Torii gates. So excited! I'm sure I'll have a similar picture to share.

JR Group

Let me just explain briefly about the Shinkansen. The Shinkansen (bullet train) is a high speed bullet train developed by the Japan Railways Group. Japan's public transportation system is quite sophisticated, I suppose compared to Los Angeles. There are several Shinkansen's that travel to different regions in Japan. First, I will be traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto. Then from Kyoto to Hiroshima and from Hiroshima to Fukuoka. Finally, I'll travel from Fukuoka to Tokyo (I fly in & out of Tokyo). The link explains the types of Shinkansen available for travel and a map of their destinations: http://www.japanrail.com/JR_shinkansen.html

The JR Group has a rail pass called the "JR Rail Pass" which is only for tourist and it can only be purchased outside of Japan. They have 7-day, 14-day, and 21-day passes. I calculated my travels by the single ticket options but quickly realized that the JR Pass is much more economically for me. The cost for the passes are kind of steep but if you are traveling long distance it's worth investing in one.

I heard the Shinkansen passes by Fuji-san but as I will be there during the rainy/hot/humid season it might not be visable from the train. Hopefully, I will be able see it but I'll find out soon enough.