Samurai

The day of the waterfall trip (previous post) we went out for dinner. The place we went to was a small soba restaurant near the highway. It was, of course, delicious, but the most distinguishing feature was that the interior was filled with samurai armour. After I started walking round taking pictures the owner came out to tell us all about it.

Obon trip

At the end of Obon I went to visit my mother-in-law in Shimonoseki.

It was really hot but we decided that at least once we should go somewhere nice and cool. We managed to convince one of the Aunts to come along as well.

The first stop was near a small waterfall. 

Yukata Party

Some time ago we went to a yukata party. It is for this purpose that we bought the yukatas at the beginning of the month.

Back in Kumamoto

First week back in Kumamoto was quite relaxing. I could eat and sleep all I wanted with no schedule to keep. Aaah, holidays, finally they are here.

On the first day we went to Aeon Mall to buy yukatas. Both Shiv and I bought one, but as usual we forgot to take pictures. But here are a view snaps of the patterns. Mine has butterflies and Shiv's is a kind of stripe and swirly pattern. I was really happy with the stuff we got, so I hope I get to wear it a lot next year.

On 4th we were invited to a wedding after party of one of Shiv's friends - Ippei san of U+.

There was a phone lottery and I won a thing!

We went for cake afterwards. Fun day ^_^

Toto gallery and Shibuya

The last Tuesday in Tokyo I managed to get to Toto gallery and subsequently their bookshop.
They were displaying some works by Christian Kerez.

galleries and glass caves

Last Sunday I wanted to go to Toto gallery and the bookshop. However, I didn't realise that it was closed on Sundays ad Mondays. So I ended up going to GA gallery instead.

Sushi, Fireworks, thunderstorms and shopping

Hey, it's a second post in a row. Well what do you know, I'm on a roll :)

The Saturday right after I finished work there was a huge fireworks festival on Sumidagawa river. Obviously, we had to go see. Since it was a special occasion we decided to hang out all day.

First we went to the fish market. Eric wanted to go at 5 in the morning, but in the end it was more like late noon. Hahaha

Apparently, this is what wasabi actually looks like.

Last day

It's been a week with no updates! Major slacking off on my part. But I was just so excited to get some rest. Anyway recap time.

Friday was my last day at CAt. It was like any other day and I was trying to figure out nice patterns to divide space but provide good lighting for the current project.

Kind of triangular skylights. The test model is so shoddy Hahaha... But it's easy to check what the diffused light looks like this way.

I got to eat lunch with lots of people, which was obviously fun. Somehow every time there are lots of people coming, everyone always goes to Park Cafe. It's a good place though.

I had a great time this one month. Even though the schedule was ridiculously difficult, I feel like I could do it if I try hard. I also feel sad to part with Andrea and Eric. they were really fun to hang out with. I hope I get to see them again someday.

Everyone was really nice and I'd love to work with them again.

I will try again next year.   – ͜  –

Wooosh - - - there it goes!

After almost a month in Tokyo I got used to the 12-hour working schedule. Now it doesn't seem as tiring. Time flew by so fast. I do really love working.

CAt is really nice. To tell the truth I wouldn't mind working there even with all the smoking.

Today was one of those days where I felt enthusiastic about work. Although I don't particularly like making paper models, it seemed like the day was over in a flash. I was just returning from dinner and suddenly it's 2 hours later.

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day O_O

This weekend will be really busy though. I am both looking forward to and dreading it. Hahaha...-_-

We went out for dinner to eat 刺身丼 (さしみどん), which is basically rice with raw fish. It was delicious as expected.

Exciting ramen

Food in Tokyo costs a lot. But on the plus side there is a huge amount of places to spend all your hard earned money. Or is that a minus?
Recently I've been going out to lunch more, rather than just buying stuff in konbini. I can't really complain because eating proper food is so much better on so many levels.

Today I also went out to eat dinner. Eric found a ramen shop nearby which had all sorts of different flavours. I've only ever seen regular ramen before, so I was really excited. I ordered 'Genova' ramen, which was, apparently, the most popular. It had tomatoes, spinach and lots of herbs from what I could see. It smelled absolutely delicious and tasted accordingly!

I really want to go there again and try other flavours. So exciting ^_^

compact days

Yesterday and today were like night and day. On Monday I was sooooo sleepy. I kept switching off. But today I didn't fall asleep once and had a lot of fun working. When I finally felt like my brain was blan
king out, I went for a walk to get some buns.

These 2 days I've been having lunch with people from the office. I really like having lunch with the girls, they are really fun and very nice. I wish I could be a positive person like that.

In the afternoon it poured cats and dogs (I don't really understand that saying). There was lightning and thunder and it seems it was close. We heard lots fire-truck sirens. I was glad it was early in the day. When we go home there is usually no rain. But perhaps the weather will stay rainy all week. Weather forecasts are useless.

Today I wore the skirt from my suit that I swore I would never wear. It was relatively comfortable, but still too tight in the waist. I might wear it more in the summer, since wearing trousers is like having a personal sauna.

The past 3 days I've been wearing my pink crocs. I found out that if it's hot and humid the shoes will act the same way as all my other shoes and rip my skin. The obvious solution in to wear socks. But when the weather is cooler the shoes are extremely comfy.

I didn't take any photos today or, indeed, yesterday, so here is a photo from Sunday. We bought a pack of these with our combined money. The guy in the stall recommended the far left ones as the tastiest.

Weekend trip - Seso-ji, Asahi, Tokyo Sky Tree

I was way too tired yesterday to post about my day. Suffice to say it was pretty awesome :)

I met up with Andrea, Eric, Damian and 2 other girls at Kaminari gate near the Senso-ji temple.

Cute Little Things

I bought shoes today ^_^ I couldn't get the blue or brown ones because they were pretty much sold out. But maybe it's ok to go for bold colours as well. Lately I really like colourful clothes. It's totally the opposite to how I used to dress back in Latvia. I think bright colours suit me much more. Let's be brave! Hahaha

This super cute guy made me take his photo >_<

I walk past this store from time to time and I always think that it looks really cool. Somehow this tiny building incorporates such simple yet stylish design. I love the golden mirror door. The same material seems to be used in windows on the side of the building. And the gold geometric plate has the same design as the wall of the staircase.

 When you first look into the window while walking from the left, the interior is all white. But then you get close and look in and room inside is a neon bright pink - so surprising!

wasting paper :)

As usual, here are some pics I took on my way to work

I had succumbed to the delicacies of the 'Natural Lawson'. They even have a bakery section with absolutely delicious buns. In there I stumbled upon tortillas - something I've heard about, but never had the opportunity to try. They turned out to be pretty good. I also got dinner there as well - some fancy 4-compartment mini bento. But because both those things had raw onion in them I got a stomachache. Luckily I didn't have to suffer for too long in the office.

There doesn't seem to be any particular work at the moment for me, so I have the leisure of just doing loooooots of study models. Massive paper wastage. But you do learn new things in the process. As it is with anything handmade, it's all about the practice.

I was invited to join Andrea and Eric with their group of friends this Sunday. Yay! I don't mind walking round alone, but it's so much better when you have someone to chat with (and by that I mean me talking).

Another lunch

I got to do more of the same layout design. But somehow my creativity petered out soon after lunch.

Speaking of lunch, I went with two of the ladies from the office - Ii san and Takada san (if I am not mistaken. I am sooooo bad with names). The lunch itself was pretty good, but oh so expensive. However, I had so much fun talking to the girls.

Let's hope my head works better in the morning so that I can have fun working as well.

In the evening there was a thunderstorm. It rained a lot, but, again, while I was indoors.
I forgot to buy milk on the way back again.

I am thinking of buying crocs. But not those ugly ones that are sold in most places. I want to get one of the jelly ones. They feel very nice on my feet, but I wonder of it's possible to walk for long periods of time on a rubber sole.

Out the window

One thing the office has going for it is a really nice view. The windows look over the park, so you see tree tops on both floors. Super relaxing.

I got to have lunch today with Takahashi Akiko - a lady I met through 東峰テレビ broadcasts. It was fun to see her in real life. We went to eat some delicious curry and chatted about this and that. We ended up talking mostly in Japanese and mostly about me. The truth is I am alway too unsure of my language skills to ask questions. I usually just get the general concept of the things people say, not the specifics. I will try harder in future to make better conversation.

At work I got to do some simple layout compositions, which I love to do. The only downside was that I was extremely sleepy, so I couldn't concentrate. In the afternoon I resorted to buying chocolate. It perked me right up. However, I home next time I can go without, as I still want to fit into my fancy clothes. 

:(

When I was coming home, there was an accident on the stairs of the crossing. I didn't see it, but one of the people was barely moving, so it was obviously very serious. I took a wide detour, because the stairs are very narrow and I didn't want to step over the poor people. Thankfully, there were already 2 people trying to help.

The stairs in Japan are generally much steeper than in Europe. It is very sad that such accidents occur.

something or other

Today we had a barbecue party somewhere near Shukugawara station. It seems that lots of people from other companies came as well. I was pretty surprised to see 2 people from Tanaka-ken. The world sure is small. I guess finding a job in Tokyo might be a good option.

As usual when I am among people I become overly talkative (because I'm usually alone). So now that I've talked almost continuously for 10-12 hours I feel really really tired.

I was very diligent at putting sunscreen on. However, not so diligent at where I was putting it. I remembered my face and arms, but not my chest. I got burned pretty badly in that area. I'll have to wear a button up tomorrow. Good thing it doesn't hurt too much.

After the barbecue Andrea, Eric (the other interns), their friend Damian and I dropped by Omotesando. The guys did some last minute shopping before closing time, because Andrea received a 50% discount coupon. Lucky :)

We decided to take a quick walk along the street to see the golden dinosaur, because - obviously. The big corner building at the first crossing had already caught my eye before with the fancy entrance. Here it is with no people (the better to see for...nom nom (obscure reference ;;;;-_-))

I really like this deconstructivist-ish entrance, but I wonder if it doesn't make people dizzy. I do want to go back and look around more some other time.

 Our friend the dinosaur. Take 50 points.

This building marks the corner for the shortest route to my house. Why yes, I am so very fancy >_<

Suburban jungle Tokyo style :)

I did nothing but relax today. It was wonderful. I did feel a bit guilty at wasting an opportunity to look around the city, but I will make up for it later. Sometimes one needs to just lie in bed all day.

The sea will part

'When it's 29C at night, it's not fun.'

I have never had trouble navigating busy streets. But lately, when I can't be bothered to weave through people, I adopt a new approach. If you just walk forward briskly with your head held high, people just get out of the way. Just goes to show that if you walk with confidence, the sea will part :)

Also on the subject of walking, I wore my fancy trousers today. They are the best for hot weather as they are super wide - like 2 skirts, one for each leg. However, I may have lost weight or something, because I keep stumbling over the hem even when I wear high heals. So very dangerous, especially on the stairs. But what can you do - 'Fashion'.

I think I should hem them some more.

After working all day on gluing textures to a huge model, we went to a small drinking party. For a job well done, since this morning they submitted the competition entry. We went to a very busy bar, which, I was told, is the cheapest in the area. It was really fun and we even remembered to take some pictures.

A special thanks to Andrea for uploading them so quickly.

The snacks were delicious and the company excellent. Thank you everyone  ^__^