Street@Gotanda: This is where I walk by everyday, to get to the train station.

nejireno fall, Tokyo 

1430@yoshino park, kagoshima 

Entering December

It is just the beginning of December but almost everywhere in Tokyo is already in Christmas mode. Come to think of it, when I first arrived in July, it was still humid and sultry in Tokyo, but now, in what seems like a blink of an eye, the scene has changed completely.

After about 4 1/2 months here, I have learnt lots of new words/phrases (of course in Japanese), I have spent quite a lot of money, on the other hand, I have also been making money, I have gotten more comfortable with my co-workers, I have taken lots of photographs, I have been to places around/in Tokyo, I have watched quite some DVDs (thanks to the DVD/CD rental store), I have been working lots of overtime hours, I have been eating onigiri (Japanese rice ball) for breakfast almost every morning, 2 each time, about 4 times a week, 4 weeks a month, for about 4 months, total would be about 128 (2x4x4x4) and counting.

At times, I wish I could be back in LA, sometimes, I wish I could be back in Malaysia. Some other times, I wish I could travel around more often. Too much to do, too many places to be in, too many people that I want to be with, but there can be only one me at a given time, at a given place.

Okay, maybe I should stop whining because everyone goes through the same process in his/her life. Excuse me for my rambling.

BTW, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie “The Beach” (with Mr. Titanic Leonardo in it), should check it out (saw it last night and thought it was interesting).

Peace.

Sunset @ Ippekikou 

A view of Mt. Fuji from Mitosan. Taken on a hiking trip. 

Just makes you want to be there with your special one. 

Yellow, II 

Yellow, I 

Time for some fall colors!!! @Yamanashi, Japan 

帰り道

Winter Cosmos 

where is our bridge? 

playing with light 

Wheel of Light? 

Birthday present = got hired

Anyone ever gotten a birthday gift from his/her boss??? I sort of did this afternoon.

It so happened that today is the end of my 3 month probation period and the company has decided to hire me officially. Hence, I got this "gift" from my boss this afternoon at work, without him knowing that it's actually my birthday. So I guess my lonely birthday is not so bad afterall.

Let's stop talking about today before I get even lonelier.

Last weekend was the awesomest (I know it's not right, but I can't find any other word to describe the awesomeness of it) weekend. For the first time, I went to this Tokyo USC alumni gathering in this place called Roppongi (it's "the" area most populated with foreigners). This gathering was actually an event for USC and Notre Dame alums to watch USC (currently ranked 1st) play Notre Dame (ranked 9th at that time) live at Southbend. It was a game so hyped up that many said it would be the greatest college rivalry game ever in the history of college football. And was it, indeed. I know many of you are already losing me at this point and are about to go to google to search for something more interesting than college football, so I will not further talk about the game, BUT, the point is we beat the Notre Dame Irish by scoring with only 3 seconds left.

It was so cool because, first and foremost, we won, and second, it was the most exciting game I have ever watched and it sure will live long into the history of college football. Thirdly, I also got to meet up with fellow trojans and made new friends. Nothing beats watching a trojan football game with fellow trojans. This reason alone is enough to make me go back to school.

Back to real life. It had been raining for the past few days due to this one typhoon. But it finally went away this morning to make way for some LA-like weather, which I obviously miss.

Sorry for this long post that was not intended to be mainly about football but ended up so.

A Japanese temple in Kamakura. 

秋雨

It has been raining here for the past 3 days. As this is my first fall experience in Japan, so it was kind of unexpected as fall in LA is virtually rainless. I am actually enjoying the final day of my long weekend. Due to the wet weather, I had to change my plans to go shopping instead of going out to take more pictures. Thanks to the rain, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a guitar. Now, I will have one extra thing to do when I am at home.

Also, I was away for two days last week for a visit to SONY's semiconductor factory in Kyushu. Went into the cleanroom and did not like it at all. Can't imagine how one can work in there for long hours.

If money did not exist in this world, would you still be doing what you are doing now?

Buzz..... 

staircase like waterfall 

I have to say that this is my best shot of the day ; ) 

wait till they turn bright red in November! 

a little cloud caught in between 

Hiking on the first day of October

Woke up at 10:30 and decided to go hiking/photo taking in a place called Okutama of Tokyo.

12:00 Depart from my train station (Gotanda)
14:15 Arrived at Okutama train station
Started to walk to the waterfalls

According to the map that I was given at an information center, it would take approx 90 min to walk from the train station to the first waterfall. As I was also taking pictures on the way to the waterfalls, it took longer than expected.

16:45 Arrived at the first waterfall

Took some pictures and tried to proceed to the next fall. Unfortunately, as it would also take me 90 min to walk back to the train station, and it was going to turn dark pretty soon, I saved my own ass by making the decision not to proceed and headed back. It would have been a disaster if I had proceeded as it would be pitch dark in the forest. A couple of good river/waterfall shots kind of made me felt satisfied and happy enough to go home :) Anyway, I will be going to the same place again when fall foliage really kicks in in November.

17:00 Started to head back to Okutama train station
18:15 Arrived at Okutama train station
20:15 Arrived at Gotanda train station

It was a nice trip all in all, except that I should have had a proper lunch before entering the forest...and it was a shame that I could not see all the waterfalls due to the lack of time.

Enjoy the pics folks!

And beat the Sundevils!!!
(USC is playing Arizona State University Sundevils this weekend)

I miss Thai food in L.A.

Ha, finally something different for my dinner! As opposed to regular Japanese meals, I took a daring move to try a small Thai restaurant called "rak thai" near the train station that I get off to go home. Unfortunately, it was not as good as I thought it would be. It was a restaurant I believe run by the Thai's, but the taste of the "pad thai" I ordered was nothing compared to that of "Palm's Thai" of Los Angeles, on Hollywood Blvd. And besides Thai food, I have also had Korean food here - same result, I would pick Korean food of K-town L.A. over Korean food that I had here anytime, anyday.

...which makes me start thinking "how long should my stay in Tokyo be?" and "where is my next stop if I decide to go?"

The temperature has gone down quite a bit suddenly. Maybe it is officially fall now. Can't wait for the amazing fall scenery here. Though the sad thing is that there is nobody to go to places with.

By the way, (I know this is totally random and/or completely meaningless for those who don't follow college football) but I will still like to annouce that the USC Trojans beat Oregon ducks last weekend and we are 3-0!!!

Oh yeah, Olympus just announced a new digital SLR, E-500. Should be quite a competition in the amateur level DSLR market.

Oh, is IPOD nano a big hit in Malaysia???

Fight on.

Peace out.

I went out to take pictures because it was too bored one night. This is Shibuya, the "happening" part of Tokyo. 

A black and white conversion of a bright red rose. 

Quote from Tom Clancy's Red Rabbit

"It was so strange that people could be so many different things, depending on who looked at them, and yet all were true."

Tokyo Tower of....duh? 

Nagasaki Trip

I just came back from Nagasaki yesterday. What a trip I have had! First, there was this huge typhoon that brought endless rain for the first few days since I arrived on Sunday. Then, my notebook went down while I was working. On the brighter side though, work went really well and in fact, we managed to finish our work a little ahead of schedule despite my laptop failure. I managed to take some pictures on Friday (early morning) of Isahaya Garden before I left Nagasaki. I wished I had more time to visit more of Nagasaki but unfortunately, this was a business trip and not a vacation (that I had to keep reminding myself). Maybe next time.

Don't forget that you are more than welcomed to comment on the pictures.

Peace.

And fight on.

Reflection 

Fountain of Isahaya Garden