Evan and Nick

I lied. Evan had a cold and as a result I treated him to perhaps the most boring weekend in Tokyo/Kawagoe/Hidaka ever. On a positive note, my language partner seemed to enjoy meeting someone new and Evan and I ate ramen at my favorite ramen shop.

After his conference, he made his way back up to Hidaka just in time for our weekly mah jong night. I`m not sure if I`ve mentioned it before (and I`m far too lazy to check), but four of us in Hidaka have started playing mah jong every Wednesday night. By "playing" I mean stumbling through a game or two (we`re currently attempting to tackle the complexities of scoring).

Unfortunately for Evan, I had a plane to catch early on Friday morning, so I left him in my apartment (it would be cruel to make him also get up at 4). The 2-hr train ride to Haneda airport was surprisingly gorgeous (I got to see the sunrise over Tokyo). I made it through the airport with no difficulties (fyi, Skymark Airlines staff have remarkably good English skills), and promptly fell asleep for the entire duration of the flight.

Sapporo wasn`t as cold as I anticipated it to be, although I was shocked to find out it gets dark before 5 (I don`t know how people in Alaska can handle it. Yes, I`m referencing Melissa). The snow was fun and I managed to make it through the entire weekend without falling on my face (although there were a number of close calls). I met a bunch of Nick`s friends including a guy from Washington DC who I promised to take out clubbing with us in Tokyo sometime, and a Japanese guy who may be studying in Hawaii in the future.

Ironically, I didn`t do much in the way of "Sapporo stuff," but I did get to eat soup curry (basically exactly what it sounds like) and ramen with corn (apparently two of the things Hokkaido is known for). I was also introduced to Marimokkori, the mascot of Hokkaido. This little green figure represents the abundance of a certain seaweed found only in Hokkaido that is either known for making men fertile or making them larger and, as a result, has a rather prominent bulge. Marimokkori can be found in a number of different outfits and colors, but his most common incarnation is with a superhero cape.

Anyway, we wandered around Susukino (allegedly the AIDS capital of Japan). The area of the city was pretty quiet since it was early afternoon, but it was fascinating to see signs listing the names of the 20+ bars and clubs that were located in a single building that, to the unfamiliar eye, appeared to be a regular office building. We also visited Odori Park`s annual White Illumination display (basically like most Christmas lights displays except mostly white lights). At the center of the park was the German market. I found this fascinating because most of the booths were staffed by Germans. As the shopkeepers bustled about in their little lighted stalls and the Japanese shoppers peered into the stores, the market seemed almost zoo-like. Other highlights include the Sapporo Tower (which seems to be a knock-off of Tokyo Tower which is itself a knock-off of the Eiffel Tower) and a woman playing a synthesizer inside a giant bubble with giant speakers. As with any night out, we also went to an izakaya (restaurant where drinks take priority over food) and karaoke.

Nick is also getting sick. So is Dan. There is a good chance I will be getting sick this week.

I came home yesterday, had dinner with Dan, and watched the Sopranos. Today is Day 1 of final exams at my junior high school, so I have no classes. I taught for exactly 20 minutes on Thursday (and Friday was a holiday). However, my co-workers seemed to enjoy the cookies and corn-chocolate that I brought them, so the day is going well.