you walked into my house last night

Morning everyone! Robson here, it's 8.27am on a dreary morning in Tokyo. I'm currently trying to write some more of this presentation I have to give on tuesday, however the lovely Sally reminded me of my blog duties last night and I do think this is more important right now!
So whats been occurin since we last updated you? This week has been quite busy on the homework front, but some more life sorting has been done. Earlier in the week we were just hanging about in Shibuya, bit of shopping, bit of restaurant-ing, nothing very exciting to report.. we bumped into our friend Alex though in Shibuya, why do we keep doing this here?! Who was out for a trip round with his Japanese host family. Had a nice chat to them! On tuesday I also went for lunch with my friend Axel, slightly questionable noodle bar but again, a nice chat!
On Wednesday (I don't have classes until 1pm) I went to register for the gym! Off I trotted, eager as anything, ended up getting there before it opened....and was then told that I had to trek to the opposite side of the OTHER campus to have a sticker put on the back of my student id card. As I said, I was quite eager this particular morning so thought I'd jog it, as I was in my running kit (yes the lycra get up, Redmile residents are familiar with this). Had a handbag and a brolly with me, but that didn't pose too much of a problem. However, a newly acquired stalker did. I won't go into all the details because the encounter was unfortunately quite long, ask me about it later. Anyway the rest of the day was a success, sticker received, gym registered for. I was the only girl in the gym. Kijun.
Yesterday I had a day off, for the anniversary of the founding of the university I think? Had a bit of a lie in, did some homework ready for today, and then went shopping down a very wet and cold Omotesando (big road, lots of shops, home to a big Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, RL, Gucci, just loads) and ended up with a couple of tops from.........Gap. Pretty nice ones though! Met up with Jerome in the evening, we went to Ikebukuro. We keep mentioning the names of these places, but don't really explain them properly, do we? IkeB is sort of half way in between Jerome's and mine. There's a big Seibu department store, and an area with shops, restaurants etc, but its not massively exciting. Just handy as somewhere to meet and get some food if we can't be bothered to go a bit further. So last night, found this little Japanese restaurant that looked ok (not Dipper Dan's, as Mum feared, don't worry). Turned out to be a bit weird, thank god we were brought an english menu, we almost ended up with a hot pot of 'Giblets' into which we were supposed to chuck veg and noodles. Didn't fancy that, or fried Whale for that matter, so asked for some safer options of chicken on skewers. Literally one skewer arrived, so we ordered fishcakes as well (not great, we decided very 'Japanese tasting') and some noodle dish with veg. It was alright, but we probs won't be going back.......
This weekend we've got a few plans, it's Jerome's doss day today so not sure what she's up to, she finishes at 12, I've got TV news class at 10.40, then double grammar after lunch (3 hours worth!!) so will finish at 4.15 today. Tomorrow we are probably going to a BBQ in the day, then out for our friend Miria's birthday tomorrow night. We really want to look at Ebisu, supposed to be really nice, so will probably head there on Sunday for the day. Expect photos from all this! We're getting our Halloween costumes up and running too, and thinking about doing our own Bonfire night celebrations! (How would you cook jacket potatoes and beans on a hob though? Would making a bonfire in Japan be offensive? -Probably.) Right, not long til I need to get ready so will leave you with a pic or two, more exciting news coming soon, promise!!!

silence is golden

Morning.

Robson here, just thought I'd apologise for our recent reticence with the old blog. Since our Osaka trip, its all been a bit hectic in the boring land of 'sorting stuff', but sadly not too much else has gone on this week that we can actually tell you about (there was one pretty big event, but we're keeping schtum on that until more news..... cryptic). Jerome hasn't been very well this week, however today she's soldiering on and going into uni until 5, I'm getting my Big List done today. Won't bore you with the details but involves banks, gyms, an elusive city hall and an electronic dictionary. Lovely.

Anyway really not that much to report, I'll leave you with some pics of saturday's day out to our new fave area.....guess where it is?

p.s. I'm listening to Eagle Eye Cherry. So 90s. MC Hammer pants today? I think so!

On the road again....

Well, it has been a while since I did a blog post! Jerome here. You can expect the content of the following blog post to be concerned with our recent jaunt to Osaka.

We boarded the above Bullet Train at Tokyo station on Saturday feeling slightly worse for wear due the the previous night's heavy drinking and singing. Heads spinning and throats hoarse, we walked down 9 carriages of the Shinkansen until we reached the unreserved section. I say walked, we were wobbling all over the place making quite a spectacle of ourselves. When we finally reached the carriage we could actually sit in we sat down next to a sleeping Japanese man in a suit. Absolutely starving, we decided to crack open some noodle/ rice-based-is-it-chicken-is-it-pork food item with a dollop of mayo. Instantly regret the decision to buy it. As the Shinkansen wove its way through the Japanese countryside, this food was jiggling like a jelly at a garden party. And we're sat there almost chundering. Excellent start. The Snickers and Oreos definitely served the hangovers better.

We get to Shin Osaka station roughly 2 hours 45 mins later, and make our way to Osaka station on the underground. At Osaka station we found Robson's friend's hotel (Lucy and Patrick) for future reference, then decided to hop in a taxi and go to our own hotel. Our hotel was just lovely. Had a boutique feel to it, and was very clean and comfortable. Already at this point we were looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed as both of ours in Tokyo are futons and leave a lot to be desired when it comes to comfort.

After showers and getting changed, we headed outside to a building called Breezé Breezé, feeling slightly less fragile. At this point we were unsure whether we'd actually be able to meet up with Robson's Norfolk neighbours Lucy and Patrick, but as we were crossing the road low and behold Lucy calls Robson. After calling Lucy Tracy about 5 times, it finally sank in that they were in Osaka and wanted to meet for dinner. Sex and the City style, Robson throws out her arm and we jump into a taxi to their hotel.

We met them in the lobby and decided to head back to Breezé Breezé to try and find somewhere nice to eat. The building is fantastic, we ended up eating on the 33rd floor in an Alain Ducasse restaurant with spectacular views and wonderful staff. The food was excellent, but the best thing about the evening had to be the company. I'd already heard about Lucy and Patrick from Robson, and had seen some of Lucy's work which I just adore. After we had eaten and chatted for hours, we realised that the evening was drawing to a close and that we had yet to meet our friend Jack from SOAS. We said night night to Lucy and Patrick, met Jack and went for a drink in our hotel. Best Mojitos we've had in Japan so far! It was great to catch up with Jack, we ended up staying out until about 2am!

Well, there's something to be said about sleeping in a comfy bed. Feeling just about back to normal, Sunday morning we check out and walk to the department store where Lucy was exhibiting her work as part of a British Fair. We walk into the fair to the tune of classical covers of songs by The Beatles. Weird. We spotted Lucy's stand a mile off due to the glitter, so headed over to see her and Patrick. Lucy had made some artwork for me and Robson! One for each of us, and then one for Robson and Jerome :) I was so so chuffed because I'd seen her work at Robson's house and never thought I'd have one of my own, I love it so much. Very special presents indeed.

After having a nose around the fair, we said our goodbyes and went off to meet our mate from SOAS Chrissy G. It was so good to see him, think the last time was the infamous Hillbilly party in June...again, slightly worse for wear would be an understatement on our part. Then Sarah turned up with her host family sister and we got to have some time with them in a coffee shop. It was nice to hear how they're getting on and get all the gossip. Kijun (standard). Only thing is, now we've left we really miss them. We both love Tokyo, but seeing our friends in Osaka makes us think what a great time we'd have if we were all together. But, they all said they will come to Tokyo soon! Looking forward to that already. 


So we rushed off to the station and jumped back on the Shinkansen. Some Japanese men who were old enough to be our Grandfathers tried it on, we pretended to be Spanish. Bad move. They could speak some Spanish. It worked well last time with the German!! We just ignored them until we got off at our stop and they shouted 'Adios!!' at us. Adios indeed.


So, this is where Jerome signs off! Overall an excellent weekend right? I think so. How long will it be until I sit at my computer and blog again? Who bloody knows. I'll leave ya'll with some pictures to make up for it :)

scaramoush scaramoush will you do the fandango?

It's saturday morning, and we're getting ready for our weekend in Osaka. Went out for Melanie (friend from Jerome's halls) birthday last night, to an izakaya aka japanese pub, and then on to kareoke.......suffice to say we are slightly worse for wear this morning, oddly enough the Moscow Mules in Japanese drinking establishments aren't quite the same as some we've had in London... thank god we didn't try the wine. Having flashbacks to Bohemian Rhapsody and California Gurls, and also keep on cracking up at memories of ourselves pretending to be German in the wee hours. Didn't actually speak any proper words other than 'ich habe', 'Berlin' and 'Fuhrer', but it seemed to get rid of the perv who tried to talk to us as we attempted to stumble home.
We also bumped into some friends from SOAS at Shibuya station, Julie and Ana, which was lovely, haven't seen them in ages! They're also at uni over here for the year, at Keio, which apparently is quite close to us!
Trying to pack, Jerome keeps on showing me the sharpener which came with her new eyeliner. Haven't got the heart to tell her mine's exactly the same.
Updates and pictures from last night to come, but right now we've got a Shinkansen to catch!

if I light these matches just to watch them burn...

Today was a relaxed day by Robson and Jerome's standards. We didn't fancy a big day out, or a night out, or actually doing anything at all. Jerome came to mine at about lunch time, we had a bit of a sit in the gardens of the temple on my road, then realised we wanted some food....
So we went to Kichijoji. Again. We love it there, sort of small town feeling with lots of little cafes and shops - expect presents from here come Christmas. There's a huge department store with the best food hall, so we went there to buy ourselves a picnic. We ended up with vegetable and prawn omelette, a pot of roast vegetables (a theme here?) and macaroons from Henri Charpentier.....just fantastic.

We know that last one is a bit Blair Witch, but it was the best place for the self timer. No we didn't make friends with a squirrel.
I must also now report that we spent the next half hour doing a similar exercise to that of one day in Norfolk. We weren't aware we had this kangaroo-like obsession, but apparently we have. I don't know how we can explain ourselves.

 We understand if you don't want to follow this blog any more, but we have just confided quite a peculiar habit of ours. I would also like to confirm that Jerome's shoe from her first shot was successfully retrieved after some hunting. We've now returned to the halls, (after browsing the food hall again for more free samples) and are soon to settle down to some films. Jerome has selected Singing in the Rain, I have gone for Holiday Inn. Have requested It's a Wonderful Life off iTunes, fingers crossed they get their act together by Christmas. Tomorrow is class free for both of us, I've got to register for the classes properly though (had a switcharound, ditched Pronunciation and drama class, picked up 'Interactive japanese', hope I made the right choice!) but other than that, probably another mooching day......we're also investigating our Osaka trip, going to see our friends Sarah and Chris who did Japanese at SOAS with us, and also my artist friends who are exhibiting in Osaka this week - she's amazing, have a wee look: http://www.lucyloveheart.com/
ttfn, Robson x

the company jumps when he plays reverie

Evening, Robson here.

I've just got back to my halls, after quite a delightful day out with Jerome (kijun). Today, we went on a trip to Odaiba, which is an area of Tokyo on the opposite side of the bay, and to get to it you have to take a train across the Rainbow Bridge, bit of a landmark appaz.

So we get there, and decide it's sunny, we fancy an ice cream. And do we get the best ice creams ever? I'll leave you to ponder that, but we were impressed. We wandered with said ice cream around the parks, and saw the statue of liberty.....

momentary loss of orientation....then wandered onto a beach, where we had a paddle and watched a volleyball tournament! Anyway, I'd been with JR to a shopping centre called Venus Fort before (ie yearly, again kijun) and just knew that what Jerome would love to see was an imitation Italian town, complete with sky which copies the outdoors, a plaza and a church. 

She loved it. We then went on the ferris wheel, took lots of pictures and terrified Jerome yet again (she's scared of heights and this is one of the biggest wheels in the world). 

After this little escapade, we spotted a 'purikura' machine, where you can have your picture taken, and decorate it with sparkles, stars, hearts.....you get the idea. The whole thing's a very Japanese teenage thing to do, sadly Robson and Jerome didn't grasp this and so we have ended up with the standard R&J poses which we know everyone has come to love. Voila:

All this left us a bit knackered, so we hopped to Shibuya for dinner at our favourite pizzeria, and headed home! I will be uploading pics of our rooms soon, I think that might be a long one though so saving that for another day. Things to do, people to skype.

'My First Week'- A blog post by Jerome.

This is my first ever visit to Japan. As such I developed many first impressions in the first few days and in the following days have either had them reinforced or fall apart entirely. Think I had a bit of the old 'culture shock' at first, but am trying to embrace Japanese culture a wee bit more every day (a visit to Topshop definitely counts).

After the trauma of finding my accommodation, I settled in nicely and am totally content in my room now, thanks in the most part to Robson and her mum JR. Although I was the first exchange student to arrive, others have come in the last few days and everyone is really nice.
Some interesting things...
1. We saw the Japanese twin of Serge Gainsbourg in Shinjuku station.
2. Walking for 7 hours in 5 inch heels is painful.
3. I can understand far more than I can say.
4. Heard a lounge style cover of 'Under my Thumb' by The Rolling Stones in an Indian restaurant, utter masterpiece.
5. Raw anchovies in a sushi dish is a step too far for me.
6. The first thing I purchased in Japan was a blue wig.
7. In Robson's mind, having a mango flavoured yoghurt and then a mango jelly makes one 'Mango Mad'.

I start classes next Thursday and am ready for it now after my little 'rest'- if you can call it that. Getting a bank account set up when the lady serving you speaks Japanese like a machine gun is a bit stressful.

We're planning on visiting a couple of friends in Osaka next weekend, Robson is currently researching Capsule Hotels. Very much looking forward to that little excursion.