06/14/2006: The trip is winding down...

     I'm sad to say it but my time in Japan is winding down. I went to class today and realized that it's time to gather my notes and fieldwork to produce my final paper that will read alongside a photo-essay. I'm very prepared so I have no worries, but I'm sad to realize that this means the end of my class and that I will soon be leaving Japan! I definitely will have to return to this country in graduate college to do more research here after I learn more Japanese and Kanji. It is my goal to become fluent in Japanese one day, and when I return I hope to do some really in depth fieldwork. Tomorrow we are going to go to Kamakura to see bamboo forests, coastal beaches, Buddhist Temples, Shinto Shrines and the Daibutsu (large, outdoor Buddha in Kamakura). I've still got a week and a half left, and I need to make sure I appreciate every second!

Getting ready to read and write my butt off,

 Lady Lara Jones

These pictures are from my walk to school this morning so you can see the sights I see when I journey to school. It's about a 40 minute walk one-way.




















The  elevator I ride down every day that seems as though it's sort-of old, yet provides a surprisingly  smooth ride.
















The kitty I see outside our hotel every morning.
I call her Nekko Chan for lack of knowing her name, which in Japanese is an affectionate term for a kitty!




















Leaving the hotel in Akasaka and walking towards Roppongi.





















The pedestrian bridge that I climb carefully because there is a step is coming loose. A kind of dis-repair that is very rare in Tokyo and probably won't be around for very long until someone fixes it.
















Looking out under the highway overpass.
















A bar called Maijiri that has this figure of a horse's butt hanging out of the wall.
We have no idea why this is appealing...or what it means.




















This is right past where the school is, and I found it made an excellent photo opportunity because of the way it seems to be winding up a hill. I'm told it comprises an upper class part of Azabu Juban.