NEW PHOTOS:

http://utoronto.facebook.com/album.php?

aid=2208719&l=f3dad&id=28111212

The greatest thing about shopping in Japan that I have discovered is this:Japanese women, normally, have very small feet. I, being white and strange, have large feet. This means that almost all the shoes on sale are size L or LL. What? My size? So Saturday shopping in Shinjuku means that Nikki got two new pairs of heels for very cheap.

After shopping I hopped a train to Nishi Funabashi, eventually making my way over to Nichidaimae for Marcus' birthday party with team europe. Beer was drunk, yakitori was consumed, marshmallows were roasted, and japanese metal rock was discussed while lying in hammocks. Unlike last time, we actually made the last train and had a somewhat leisurely trip home, despite exhaustion.

Sunday was an early morning as Tip had organized a trip to Enoshima, an island SW of Tokyo. Transferred to the Odakyu line in Shinjuku and spent a couple of hours on the train, watching the city slowly bleed into countryside and water. Upon arriving in Enoshima we got cheap McDonalds and then crossed the bridge that connected the island to the mainland. Of course at this time it began to rain and us, in the spirit of adventure, had left our umbrellas at home. The main uphill street on Enoshima is ful of omiyage stores and japanese restaurants, which i made frequent stops at on the way back. The mountain was dotted with temples and shrines at which we purified ourselves and watched a Buddhist fire ceremony.

My favorite part of the day was being on the western part of the island, on the rocky shore and cliffs and dancing in the spray of the Pacific. I think I channeled some of x-men's Storm as I danced in front of the waves.Just call me Commander of the Seas.

Then it was a long, damp walk back to the mainland where we hopped a train back home, tired, damp, and not looking forward to going to classes the next day.

But I, being a good student, did go to class today (unlike stacey and eric) and got the chance to talk to Komuro sensei who was here visiting. All U of T kids got out of classes for half an hour to sit and chat, talk about our experiences, talk about my getting into third year japanese (which almost seems a guarantee right now! SQUEE), and basically chat for a while.

Now I should be in bed, as 7am comes way too early....