… in other places and other seasons.  If I ever go back to Japan, I hope it’s in time for sakura.

I have been going out and doing stuff, but alas, the photos have been few and far between, so my pool is somewhat more limited than usual.  I’ll try to post when I can, but I can’t promise much of anything else right now.

This photo is from Sendai, where I went for the second time a week or so ago.  It was a very nice trip, which ended with a shinkansen ride to Fukushima.  (Here’s to sitting on the second floor and going very, very fast!)

I keep expecting to look up and find the trees bursting with color, but it’s still only a few here and there, and plenty of green.  And what about the weather?  Yesterday it rained a lot, but it was still a little warm, and today it’s cloudy but more humid than I would like.  I was promised cold.

I didn’t take that many pictures in Tokyo.  Sorry.  Mostly I was too busy zipping around like a madwoman, shopping my feet and shoulders off.  Some highlights of the trip:

• I had a bit of a tiramisu kick; the first thing I ordered in Tokyo was a tiramisu latte (Excelsior Cafe), and one of the last things was a tiramisu waffle (Noa Cafe).  Both were quite good.
• I really enjoyed my garlic-themed food at To the Herbs in Ginza.  It was maybe a little greasy, but I think that pizza was the first I’ve had in Japan that didn’t have any fish in it.  The peach Italian soda there was also delicious.
• Shosaikan, a pen boutique by Omotesando Station, is lovely.
• As always, I enjoyed book shopping.  My two main stops were Good Day Books, by Ebisu Station, and Tower Records, in Shibuya.  Shibuya is crazy, but I did like the fact that Tower stayed open until 10, and having a whole floor of new English books was delightful.  (Most of the other bookstores I’ve been in, even in cities like Sendai, have had a couple of rows of English books at the most.)  Good Day Books was also a nice, and certainly more affordable, stop.  It’s a used bookstore.  The directions from the website are excellent; I found it with no trouble at all.

Well, folks, it’s time for another weekend trip.  This time I’m heading back to Tokyo.  Last time I was there I didn’t get to see much, but I don’t remember being overly stunned by what I did see.  I wonder how it will look to me now that I’ve been in Japan for a while.

To some of you this picture might seem a little familiar.  I posted it on Flickr way back when, but as I said somewhere, this blog isn’t bound by the same chronological obsession that hounds Flickr.  So this was Tokyo the last time I saw it.  Give me a week or so, and maybe I’ll have a new picture with a fresh new perspective.

P.S. What do you know, I actually managed to post on Thursday.  Anyone else a tad nostalgic for the days when Thursday was Post Day?

Today I’ve been mostly indoors.  I got some furniture delivered this morning, so I’ve been spending my time setting things up.  I’m not done yet, but I think it’s coming along nicely.

This picture is from another weekend, when I actually went out.  I took it at Aquamarine Fukushima, a pretty nice aquarium in Iwaki.  Not the easiest picture in the world to snag; I’m pleased to see that one of the many shots I took came out all right.

The leaves are starting to turn.  I guess that means that soon Yumoto won’t look like this any more; all this green, which is the first thing I remember noticing when I came here, will be gone.  I’m a little sad to think of that, but I’m looking forward to autumn.  It’s always been one of my favorite seasons, and it’s supposed to be gorgeous here.  And cool, crisp days?  I could use more of those.

In the meantime, I’m keeping busy.  There’s still a surprising amount of work to be done to complete my settling in, mostly involving my apartment.  Nice as it is, it doesn’t quite feel like home yet.  I don’t know when that will change, but probably when it does I won’t even notice.  I’ll just look around at all the things I’ve added and adjusted and have pleasant thoughts like “That picture’s crooked.”  Then home will be home, and if I remember this post, I’ll have to put up a link or something to let you know that it actually happened.

So I’m back.  I had a nice time; got to do a little sightseeing (this is from the Zuihoden Mausoleum), buy some books, and drink coffee.  It felt wonderful being in a city again.  Still, I could go bigger.  Next trip, I guess.

I took the Super Hitachi both ways, and I have just two words for you: Green Car.  It’s basically the train equivalent of first class.  So worth it if you have a lot of luggage.

As for Sendai itself, it was pretty quiet.  Things didn’t stay open extremely late, and the crowds, especially considering there was a jazz festival going on, weren’t all that large.  Only a few blocks away from the station and the major shopping centers, with all their illuminated signs and the fantastic pedestrian overpasses, the atmosphere was very different.  It was much calmer, with almost nothing to do.  Still, it was fun, and I’ll probably go back again sometime before I leave Japan.  There are some sightseeing stops I didn’t get to, and let’s be honest, I’ll probably want to buy more books, because seven just isn’t enough.

Everyone warns you about the big shocks of traveling.  Coming to Japan, it would have been hard not to realize I was stepping into a country with a different language and a different perspective.  In some ways, that made it easier to accept those things.  I don’t know that I would say I’ve “adjusted” yet, but the most obvious differences aren’t as unsettling as I might have expected them to be. Mostly I think I get ambushed by small things.  It was like that in England too.  Something simple like crossing the street or not being able to find the character I wanted on a computer keyboard would confuse me.  Here small, everyday tasks can become overwhelming.  How do you withdraw money from an ATM machine?  How do you deal with a giant moth camped out just beside your door?  What do you do if you forgot your hand fan at your desk and it’s sweltering in the classroom?

These kinds of things can make Japan a little uncomfortable at times.  Fortunately, I’ve found that the good things surprise me too.  Small pleasures can turn a day completely around.  I saw this flower sticking up out of the concrete on one of my many walks to the supermarket.  It delighted me enough that I had to stop and take pictures of it.  I felt a little silly, but now when I see these flowers, I think of that first one that startled me, and I find myself smiling.

Some admin stuff: I do intend to put more pictures up on my Flickr site, but I’m trying to put them up chronologically.  Far isn’t bound by any such constraints.  This picture, for example, is actually pretty recent; I took it about a week and a half ago.  Flickr is still suspended somewhere at the end of July.  Also, the Thursday post will probably be moving to some other day.  I have no idea what day that will be yet, but I’ll let you know when I do.

Other randomness: I’m going to Sendai this weekend, so if you think of me in Japan, think of me there.  :-)

I tell myself I can handle it.  But how funky can I get, really?  Let me know what you think of the new format.  I’ve been wanting to try it out for some time, but right now it’s new, so of course I have my doubts about it.

This was the first restaurant I went into in Japan.  I remember it being very good, with shocking amounts of people there to greet us all and usher us inside.  Of course now it’s been a while.  So much has changed.  For example, I own one of those clear umbrellas.  Crazy.