Halloween...!!

For Halloween I went to Kawasaki to see the parade, and the plan was to go to a few parties after that.  However for the past week I have been hampered with a a pain in my left shin that pretty much hampers my walking.  It's been a a real problem and has kept me out of school for a few days.   However I would not let it keep me from at least seeing some costumes and looking around Kawasaki for the first time.  The day prior I was suppose to meet some friends in Shinjuku for the Shinjuku parade but it rained heavily on Saturday due to a typhoon hitting the Tokyo area , so that sort of hampered my plans as well as the leg.

First off, Kawasaki at a glance is much like every other Japanese hub,  has its area by the JR station where all the shops and restaurants are.  The JR station is pretty big and has a few train lines going through it and has a pretty big main building with a few sit down restaurants, Krispy Kreme, Konbini's etc.  I didn't do much because of the leg so we walked to the parade route which we did not know where it was.  Sort of stumbled across it by dumb luck and by the sheer number of people in that area.


We waded through the massive sea of humanity till we found a decent spot, where i could sort of put my phone up and catch some decent photos. Before we found out sport we wandered down the parade route where we got a look at all the restaurants in the plaza and some of the clubs awaiting the people to come and play in the after hours. It was nice but relatively short. I imagine because of the forecast for further rain due to the typhoon which was still moving. 4 waves of about 200 or 300 costumers, Still is not bad i don't think.





Costumes ranged from a dude with a plastic bag on his head. To like really professional looking Victorian dresses and Japanese Sci-Fi Power Rangers/ Villains.  I don't really have many pics because of the fast movement of the parade, all the pictures sort of turned out blurry due to the crappyness of my phone.

Other than the parade people not much others was dressed up, neither was many children. As the Japanese don't actually trick or treat, it is more of a party and costume holiday. The adults club and the kids dress up for the heck of it, but don't reap the rewards of a massive candy haul.  I bet they don't get as many cavities either, so maybe it works out in the end.

Afterwards Sat down with my friend in a  nice restaurant and due to the leg called a day, bid my farewell afterwards and went back to the dorm to nap.  Other than the nagging shin not a bad day,  would have liked to play more but, It is what it is Weather and my leg would not allow.

More on dorm and Japanese houseing...

My new dorm is an old hotel that has been remodeled and made into a housing complex called a 'mansion' , explanation to follow. It is 10 floors, 13 rooms each floor.  However floor 1 is the lobby and 2nd floor I believe to be a bar or restaurant (it gets pretty noisy around 10 - 11).  Each room that I have seen has a bunk bed (really?.. a bunk bed?) refrigerator, shelf and desk, 2 plastic containers(for clothing i guess) and a wonderful Japanese air conditioner that also does heat.  The window opens and you can hop through it to a small enclosed balcony, but the bunk bed is sort of in the way so i cant get out of mines.

There is a bathroom with bath and toilet,  but no kitchen. The kitchen is actually a shared kitchen, they took the 01 room of every floor and made it into a kitchen with 3 single electric burners, a janitors style sink and a primitive microwave. Before the kitchen, right by the elevator and emergency exit has a huge hot water heater(great place to put a gas appliance huh?), that works too well. The water that comes out the swivel faucet is down right scalding, it actually heats up the faucet pipe to the point that it is also ...piping hot ( sorry I couldn't think of another phrase  >_< ). The swivel faucet goes form the sink to over the tub, you can also twist a knob to direct the water to a shower head. 

Mansions are equivalent to the American condominium concept.  I assume the college owns my room and all the rooms of the people who are staying here under the schools dorm housing policy.  I pay only 30,000yen  a month the equivalent in a good American economy to 300 dollars.  For this area that is terrific.  I would equal it to living in the Soho area,  not in the middle but just outside walking distance, In a studio for less than 500 per month. 


Normally there is 2 to my sized apartment/room, but it seems that all the westerns like me are in a single room. All the Chinese and Nepalese are shared rooms like I had prior.  Russian girl, me, and a french guy, so I wonder if that is a coincidence.

Mansion's seem to not only be popular but increasing.  I have noticed much construction and building in my travels, a majority of these new buildings are the aforementioned mansion establishment. In this recession it's possible more people would rather rent than buy, which is understandable.  I am not sure on the price range, as all of my friends are more or less just out of college and owning anything is still in the distant future.

In my dorm, there is college students from different colleges not only mine.  There are non students as well, I have passed middle aged men and women in the hall and elevator, so mansions are a one size fit all approach apparently. Thought a 'mansion' it is anything but. Quirky Japanese naming I guess.....

New surroundings...but what langauge is this?

I sit in a room and the sounds that float around are all foreign to me.  Of Asian origin probably.  However i understand nothing.   'This is bad' I think to myself....What could they be saying? I start to feel a bit distant and alone.  Then a bit of American rage rises to the top and i think why doesn't no one speak English around here.  I am reminded I am in a foreign  land.  Of course I am in a foreign land, But this isn't what i expected. This is a bit different than advertised. New surroundings, a different part of town than the Tokyo I have been exploring for a little less than a month.  Ah, the bell rings, glad that Japanese class will start and everyone can speak a language i at least barely understand.

I sit in a room full of Chinese students.  I being the only western and English speaker. What to do I wonder..As my ears are absorbing (is 'assaulted' too rude?) every Chinese word uttered. My brain scans for any recognizable word, but of course there isn't one. I studied Japanese,  not Chinese so how did this happen i wonder.  "ドうしょうかな？- Wonder what should i do?"    Time to whip out my poor Japanese and introduce myself.  Meet some Chinese people,  which i can do in American - and practically every other country for that matter.  I have a theory on why there is a china town in every country... but in interest to stay on topic i will bring it up another time.

The same routine as always.  Hi, where are you from,  nice to meet you, why Japanese?  The tedium of answering the same question is starting to sink in, but as i see no end in sight, the same answers will have to be given time and again.  As i meet and talk to many of them, i get the feeling I am more or less a novelty than anything.  'Ah, an American, let me try my english', or 'Ah, he must have a gun.'  I lie to you not, I have been asked by many Japanese and now a few Chinese not if,  but how many guns i have.  I answer in a polite way that I do not own, and neither does every American own a gun.  I explain my reasons for being in this part of the world. None of which probably was of interest... hmm maybe i should lie and say I have 2... minimum.

So now that introduction is over.  What do i talk to a Chinese person about, through Japanese mind you. Sure if it was English, boy, the stories and the conversation we would have.  The language barrier really set in then i think. I had never worried about not being able to get my point across till I sat next to a Chinese person in a Japanese class in Yokohama,Kanagawa. Sure my Japanese wasn't the best, but to a native speaker i can at least get the main idea across.
Here my words are hit and miss....as a result my pictionary skills must be improving exponentially.

However i find this to be an interesting part of the adventure.  No body but me would be Surrounded by Chinese people in Japan. Speaking to a Chinese person through Japanese. Learning how to write Japanese Kanji from a person who learned the Japanese meaning a few moments prior. Sort of the quirky nature of my life right now.

One week in I have quite a few Chinese acquaintances; Had some home cooked Chinese food and  I sort of  wonder now,  if i go to china will i meet more Japanese people?

zai jian (good bye in chinese)