Room introduction

Here's to see in what kind of a place I live.

I have a double room I share with my French mate Julien.
It's pretty nice although you need to share. We have plenty of bookshelves, a kitchen with a microwave. A washing machine, bath etc.
On the panorama on the right side you can see the bed corner, where our beds are, separated with small walls.

Tokyo at night and karaoke overnight

Had fun yesterday, first went to Sunshine building in Ikebukuro and had dinner, afterwards karaoke until 5AM in the morning with the exchange students in Aobadai (where our dorm is)


Aobadai station at dusk. That's a long shadow.

A dramatic traffic light

Blood-vein of Tokyo?

The area around Ikebukuro train station from the sky.

The eye of Tokyo?

Moonspin

Sake from a straw

Viktor, Audun, Chris, Daniel

お月見

My dormitory by moonlight. It's called 松風留学生会館

Exchange

Done with my trip for awhile, although I plan to post some special things like of the strange train stations I saw in rural Japan later on.

After coming back I finally got a home in Japan. It's in Aobadai in Yokohama-city. Some 30 minutes from Shibuya. Aobadai is a much better city than I imagined. Lot of services here, all kinds restaurants, supermarkets, karaoke, 24h convinience stores, basically all you need can be found here. For the exciting stuff you have to go to Shibuya though, but thats also only 30 minutes away from here.

Did many things so far:
Alien registration (didnt get a card yet)
Schools orientation & meeting all the other exchange students.
Meeting my professor and labmates
Got a student card
Met Finnish and Japanese friends in Tokyo
Get a Japanese mobile phone
Got a train pass


Hachiko was still waiting for me...aww thats nice

The flower boy from Norway

Some of us Exchange students. On the left my Roommate Julien.

Few labmates, on the left my tutor Ms. Yoko

Japan - Fukushima

Along the site of the historical highway to Edo (Tokyo). These buildings are apparently in their original form. They used to be shops and restaurants that catered to travelers on the highway. Now they cater to tourists. How well adapting...

Took an amazing local train all they way from Fukushima to Asakusa, Tokyo. Funny that a slow local train runs all the way from the middle of the mountains to central tokyo.


Interesting train station

Over a bridge

Speeding

Tunnel

Japan - Mt. Bandai

Second mountain I climbed. Mt. Bandai in Fukushima-ken. A bit under 2000m tall.
Nice contrast to the crowded Mt. Fuji, and a much more modest mountain. Great experience.


The view from below 1000m

at around 1000m?

The top

Japan - Fukushima

Five colored lakes

Luring color

Rice fields and Mt. Bandai

Looking at our destination for tomorrow.

Japan Aizu-Takamatsu

In Fukushima-ken


Insence burning at a grave site

Graves of 16 young samurai who suicided at a mountain when they saw a castle of their lord burning.

Girl doing a ritual suicide 切腹

Japan - Sendai

In Sendai I could stay at my friend Shunsuke's place. He was an exchange student in Finland last year. He was kind enough to let me stay although he seemed extremely busy. (I was sleeping in his home, but he was working at the lab.)

Also I tried the sendai speciality 牛タン cow tongue (aka. french kissing with a dead cow).
Shunsuke was kind enough to pay for my dinner too! orz

Thank you　東京来たらおごってやるね。


Taxi line in sendai. I bet you can get a taxi home even on a busy night. Like the finnish new year.

Super double toilet!

Close to Shunsuke place, big wtf.

Nice texture

Here is a slideshow of other pictures>

Japan - Matsushima

Matsushima ah!
A-ah, Matsushima, ah!
Matsushima, ah!

-poem by famous poet Matsuo Basho

Matsushima is apparently one of the 3 most beautiful sights in Japan 日本三景
It's a collection of interestingly shaped islands by the sea.

I'm afraid the place has lost some of its attraction since Matsuo Basho's days.
I didn't exactly go Uuh-aah over Matsushima, althought it wasn't too bad either. The city was just too crowded and there was too much traffic passing by all the time. A tourist area where the trucks are considered more than the visitor...?