Earthquake

I'm alive, and safe.

Don't worry about me, I live in Tokyo. Please send your prayers to those who are in need.

I was in class when it happened, and I'm already pretty used to earthquakes, so I didn't really care when it started shaking a bit, but it progressively became stronger. My teacher told me to chill, and "don't run away the projector will fall on your head." Yeah.

In that situation the last thing I'm worrying about is a projector falling. I was the first one out of there.

The train lines stopped running, so I was stuck at school. The situation in Tokyo really isn't that bad. I went to work yesterday, I'm going again today. I didn't go on Friday, but apparently they worked right through the quake.

My only concern at this point is food, water, and electricity. There is no food at the grocery stores in some areas. All of the convenience stores have been cleaned out of most food products, phone chargers, and other miscellaneous products.

I'll probably be leaving Tokyo to go stay with my Kaachan in Toyohashi sometime next week.

Again, please pray for the people in northern Japan.

...

I don't think there is much I can really say.

I haven't done this in a LONG time, and seeing as how I already have two or three posts that say, "long time no see", I figured I'd just put in the ellipsis, and let you infer the meaning.

I don't know what kind of content I'm going to put on here in the next few weeks, but I will put something up, so look out for it.

I was thinking about putting up a few pictures that I had taken in the last few months, and I'm also thinking about doing YouTube videos, so I may link those in somehow.

Anyways, look out for that!

Alan

Long time no see...

Man... it's been a while. I've been pretty busy, but I did still take pictures. I took a few pictures on Halloween, I did Shibuya, and then I attempted Omote-Sando, and I had the same amount of success that I did in Ginza... (it was quite unsuccessful).

Unfortunately, this is the last post that I will be making about fashion trends here in Tokyo for quite some time. I really enjoyed it, however it's time I place my focus elsewhere. I'm thinking of documenting my training regimen for the Tokyo Marathon.

Yes, that's right. I will be in the Tokyo Marathon (only the 10km race) at the end of February. I've got to get back into excellent condition ASAP. I'm going to use this winter break wisely, and exercise as much as possible.

Without further ado, here are the pictures.

Halloween:




1. This guy actually grew his beard, so that he could be a lumberjack on Halloween... ignore the guy in the background.




2. A blue-eyed ninja.




3. Christmas came early this year...




4. A seductive (not so) Little Red Riding Hood, and pal.





5. I'm not quite sure what he is.

Shibuya/Omote-Sando:

Shibuya was really fun, but like I said earlier Omote-Sando was not all that great. We were there for 5 hours, and we only managed to get 3 people, so I'll just tack those onto the bottom.



1. I DID NOT take this picture on Halloween! It's different...





2. I really liked the guy in the middle's cardigan. The guy on the right looks like he didn't want to be in the picture. Which is funny, because I don't remember asking him to be in it.




3. Everytime I do this I fall in love with someone (See Takadanobaba #10, and Ginza #5). This time it was her. She's awesome.




4. Nice and simple.




5. I really liked his bike.




6. I was a bit shocked by this one. He looks like he came from a Harry Potter book. After I took his picture, he insisted on taking ours.




7. I have a feeling that if I we did voting for Shibuya, than this guy would've won. I showed my Kaachan, and she said he was "cute".




8. They seem a bit cold. I'm glad they stopped, and allowed me to take their pictures while it was raining.




9. This is my vote. I mean... you've got to be really confident in order to wear equestrian pants. I actually thought about buying a pair of equestrian pants a while ago, but changed my mind, because I knew I'd never wear them. He's an assistant stylist.




10. We found a small gang. I like the guy on the left's sweater, and the guy on the right's trench coat.

(Omote-Sando)




1. Bless their souls. They are hands-down some of the friendliest, and funniest people I've met since I've been here in Tokyo. I love this guy's velvet shoes.




2. Chosen by Kazuki. I like her blazer.




3. Art-school girl! I Looooooooooooove Aaaarrtttt school giiiiiiirrrrrrrlllss. (Ninjasonik - I love Art school girls).

That's it (for quite some time actually). Again, I'd like to thank EVERYONE that allowed me to take their picture. I've had a lot of fun doing this.

Thank you

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Takadanobaba's most お洒落

So, I'm still on a high from my experience in Takadanobaba.

It was incredibly fun, which you'll be able to tell from the pictures. It started off with me taking people's pictures, and then it kind of turned into a big party...

The last two pictures attest to that.

So, I'll get right into it.

First, I'd like to thank all of the people who allowed us to take their pictures. I appreciate it very much.

#1 - A leather clad couple. When I imagined the way people would dress here, this is the image that I had... maybe a bit more extreme. I think they were very well put together. The girl looks like my Kaachan's daughter, but older.



#2 - This time we had a visitor helping us with choosing subjects. His name is Paul, he's from London. He, and I met at a Lawson's. He chose this guy. I really like his shark pouch, and his pose. Speaking of which, there were a lot of people who did crazy poses here. It was great!




#3 - This guy was one of the brightest, and happiest souls I've ever seen in my life! Look at that smile! His clothes reflect his incredible brightness very well.




#4 - This is bright soul's friend. I like his leggings, and his boots!




#5 - I REALLY liked this guy's jacket. It took him nearly 20 mins. to decide whether, or not he would let us take his picture though. He's very well put together though.



#6 - This guy's name is "J". I think that he's an entrepreneur. We've made plans to go out drinking someday (Me + Kazuki + Him). I really like his bike to!




#7 - I couldn't pass this guy up. He's very confident. Look at that pose! Wow. He was with a bunch of other guys, and I think he was carrying a guitar with him.



#8 - WOW! This guy is a tiger (like me)... let me clarify that. This guy's was born the same year as me, therefore making him a tiger (Chinese Zodiac). He was so... un-Japanese. He approached us, and talked to us, and did awesome poses, and whatnot. He made the experience much more enjoyable.



Alright, so when I asked to take #8's picture, he was actually with a group of girls, and I wanted to take some of their pictures one at a time, but I try to limit it to 10 pictures every week (because the biz cards are expensive), but it was impossible, so I did 3 more group pictures after his. If you like one person in either of the pictures, vote for it, and tell me why you chose that picture in the comments section. I don't think that I'm going to do the poll this week, because reading the comments is much more enjoyable.

#9 - Look at all of these beautiful girls. I'm so happy. For those of you (if there are any of you) who are reading this blog, and don't know me personally, that is me kneeling, and smiling.



#10 - So... the girl on the left is (in the purple pants) is my SOULMATE! She was too awesome. I wanted to give her my number, but I didn't get the chance. I hope she reads this. If so, please comment and let me know.



#11 - Another group photo... I think that these girls were hip-hop dancers. I should go to Takadanobaba more often. Seriously, this was a lot of fun. *Note that the girl in the beige beanie makes her second appearance in this picture (lol).



Again, I'd like to thank all of the people who let us take their picture. I really appreciate it. I had SO much fun here. I think I will go back.

Next week is Shibuya! After that... I think I'm going to try Omote-Sando, but I'm a little scared that I'm going to get the cold shoulder, like I did when we went to Ginza. We'll see. PLEASE VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!! Just comment, and put the number of the person who's outfit you liked the most in your comment.

Thank you for reading.

Shimokitazawa's most お洒落

Today was the best!!

As you can tell by the title, today was Shimokitazawa! It was nice to go here after the 'Ginza experience', because nearly everyone wanted to have their picture taken! We got 3 'no's'. 2 of which were people who laughed while saying it, and expressed interest in the website while 1 of the guys was straight-up rude. I guess there's a bad apple in every bunch though, right?

We didn't let the bad apple ruin the experience though, we THOROUGHLY enjoyed going there.

Please don't forget to vote for Ginza as well (voting ends on 10/10/09).

So, my adventure started off with...

#1 - These guys were crazy! When we got to Shimokitazawa, the guy in the middle was fighting with the guy on the right! Yes fighting! It was crazy! The guy in the middle was giving it his all too. He was head-butting the other guy, punching, kicking, and tackling. This is the first time I've seen a fight in Japan. 5 mins. later though they made up, and are now friends!!!! I don't want to make my friends this way, but to each his own.



#2 - With her bright smile, and yellow skirt, we could not ignore this girl.




#3 - These two girls seem to have mastered the conservative look. I think that they are proof that you can be attractive without exposing yourself. The girl on the left had a very nice braid that she wrapped around the back of her head.




#4- Electric pink, and blue, with high-top all black Chucks. I liked both of their outfits. I like the guy's boots too.




#5 - Again with the blue stockings. I Really liked her get-up, and she was super-cute! Click on the picture. One of her eyes is blue, and the other is brown.




#6 - Wow! There is a lot going on here. I think he pulled it off though.




#7 - This guy looked like he was from California, or somewhere on the West Coast. I think he's a skater. He had really nice hair too.




#8 - I wanted to get at least one person who had a somewhat "simple" look. Here they are.




#9 - This guy is... WOW! Look at those shoes! He's the epitome of cool, and he stays healthy by drinking his Aojiru everyday (just like me!).




#10 - Two more. I think that the one on the right may have possibly made the jacket that she's wearing. If you look closely, the emblem that is on the jacket is an Adidas emblem. She looks like a pilot. The girl on the left, looks like she has come from the future. I really liked both of their outfits.




I would like to say 'thank you' to all of the people who allowed me to take their pictures this week. I appreciate it very much. Please vote for Shimokitazawa, and Ginza. Voting for Shimokitazawa will end on the 20th of October. Thank you.

Today/Yesterday/The day before that

Wow...

Today was pretty frustrating.

I woke up, and it was one of those days where I really just didn't feel like getting out of futon.

I missed my first class (on purpose), and put the final touches on a presentation for my speech class while I was at my apartment.

My presentation was about the 8th wonder of the world. If you would like to see it than download it. Please excuse whatever spelling/grammar errors that may be present in the presentation. For that matter, please excuse the mistakes on my blog as well. I need to start proofreading my work. (Actually, you can't download it).

I had a date two days ago.

It was pretty nice. On the way back home, I was riding the train, and this chic yakked on everybody! It was crazy. I haven't seen anyone throw-up in a long time, and there was so much of the crap. She got it all on this salaryman, and he was so pissed. She said sorry, and ran off of the train immediately, but that shit was all over the place... ok maybe not all over the place. Nobody said anything. I almost threw up from watching. I took pictures:



Actually, over the last couple of weeks, I have had several dates! Which I'm happy about, but... I fucking suck at dating. I don't know what to do, or what to say, and shit. I mean, after about 5 minutes in, when you've asked all of the obvious questions, it's like... ok... I feel as though it's my responsibility to keep the date interesting, even though that is most definitely a mutual responsibility. If the person you're having a date with can't hold a conversation, but they don't realize it, than you get that sigh, mixed with the whole raising of the eyebrows thing, and the slumping of the shoulders, and then you feel awkward, and want to go home, right?

I'm very happy I've had some dates though. I got no play in Toledo. I guess I have to learn many things...

On Tuesday I'm going drifting!!! I'm so excited about it. I haven't driven a car in so long! I'm going with one of my friends (who is a girl), and she says that there is a girl there who she's going to introduce me to... yossha!

I'm going to take my camera of course (I will be taking my camera with me EVERYWHERE I go now. I mean, look at the great yak pic that I got!).

My life is so awesome right now.

Don't forget to vote for Ginza's most oshare.