Had a pretty chill day am not feeling particularly motivated to go out to clubs or bars. My dorm is actually pretty chill and on the whole people just kind of do stuff together but don't go crazy.I am the second oldest person in this dorm and it is a little bit weird since I am used to being the youngest one in the crowd.
Today the phone woke me up to go to Akihabara which is the assault of bright lights and discount electronics.It wasn't so bright during the day but I could see it being sensory overload at night. I was looking at cameras cause I really want a new one and there were some pretty good delas but there is another place to check out.
The best part of my day was the Sega store which other people were not nearly as excited about but I loved.Joyce and I played this Taiko game that was awesome.I could just go to the arcade and play for hours.I wish my brother was here cause he would have played with me or my little cousin.
We went to Asakusa and it was alittle much with a group of six.The stretch leading up to the Temple is so damn crowded that i have decided to go back on weekdays.I took obligatory pictures but don't want to tak anymore until i least read the wikipedia articles on Shinto and Buddhism.It is a Buddhist temple but it has Shinto shrines on the ground which is really common.Western ideas about not mixing religions don't apply here of course.
This is the stuff that I find to be really interesting.Like in my class about China in the discussion session this Friday we talked about Japan because he said it is essential to understanding Chinese history and that point in time.He is some sort of big deal expert on China.I find him to be both abrasive and pleasant.But anyway so he was saying that at the end of World Two that the Emperor had to renounce his divinity.But what's interesting is that prior to this people were willing to accept that the Emperor was both divine and a fuck up...my puny western mind couldn't understand this...but the teacher was really useful and said that it wasn't like papal infallibility .But ya know Jesus couldn't be Jesus and do something wrong.So while I get it it's still so interesting to me.
Well headed to dinner with the guys..we have an unofficial dinner club.Joe and I are the most constant members but we've got a core.
Here is the link to the pics

http://temple.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137595&l=79b37&id=8209356

About pictures

so because i have not yet figured out a better way to share pictures with captions I am gonna include the link to the pictures. The captions got deleted several times.Take this as a sign that I really like YOU cause I know what each picture is.

http://temple.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137275&l=526f4&id=8209356

I don't know if using the link allows you to comment about the photos as well.

Because Michal asked me to

So this is my first official blog post from Japan.Life has been relatively uneventful.I have settled in nicely but have not really done much that was exciting. I anticipate that life will get more exciting.I know everybody has this sense that Tokyo is a crazy place but i feel like I am living here instead of visiting and that kind of makes any place less crazy.I think that is sort of a tourist association with the surface level of things.I'd like to be a little less shallow.There are definitely some things that are strange to me but have you ever tried to explain what a water ice is from someone outside of the tri-state area?
I have some friends that I kick it with and they're are really nice guys.
We are experiencing a typhoon which is distinct from a monsoon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane.
I went to The Hie Shrine which is just a little bit down the ways from my apartment. It's enshrined to Oyamakui-no-kami the of Mount Hie.It was totally beautiful.I couldn't read any of the signs but I got a little pamphlet in English and took some pics.At first I felt weird and was like would I take pics in a church and then I decided that I would an have.
It was a totally calm place and I would love to go back there on a nicer day. Although to be honest today was pretty great.The wind was whipping and it was lightly raining and it seems like just the perfect kind of day for being at a place of worship...with nature reminding me how tiny you are.I love that feeling it makes me wanted to write. Also there were ravens everywhere I walked today and I felt like they were stalking me.To be fair they are everywhere here and so it probably wasn't personal but it was kind of creepy.Went I went to the shrine it was super deserted except for some random European tourist...there are always European tourists...but I felt pretty safe which is counter to my east coast female mentality.
Okay so I am dragging this out.I will post more tomorrow or the day after.