Good-bye Shawn

This is Korea Life Blog:

http://korealife.blogspot.com/

It's the first blog that I ever got into, and I could probably say that it was what inspired me to start writing my own. Reading through Shawn's site is also one of the things that gave me the confidence to take off and teach English in Korea, and later in Japan. I really enjoyed reading about Shawn's life; about his ups and downs, and about his adventures in Asia. Of all the online journals on the net, this one was my favourite to read (although Rory's "What Not to Do is Asia" was a close second at times). He eventually left Korea, and moved to China. His life seemed pretty good. Unfortunately, Shawn was torn up inside. He talked about how his father took his own life when he was yonger. He struggled through a dead-end job in America, and left for Korea to start a new life. He had a few tough bosses in Korea (haven't we all, for those of us who've done the Korea thing?). He had a few girlfriends in Korea, but none of them quite worked out. In China, he had a great job and some great students, but once again he had some girl problems. I guess it all came to a head, and he just couldn't deal with it any longer.

Shawn, I pray that you are paradise with your father. You've given me a bit of joy, a bit of confidence and a bit of entertainment over the past two years or so.

It's a rare occasion when someone that people only know from the internet can touch so many lives. From the bottom of my heart Shawn, I thank you.

http://chinavlog.typepad.com/

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=58113


Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.


I can't judge where people's faith lies, but this is where I get my hope from:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-16

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise...


Death is not the end, it is mearly the beginning. I really believe that, just as was written in the words above. May God bless and give peace to the many that Shawn touched throughout his life.

Odaiba

I would describe Odaiba as the 'futureland' of Tokyo. If you've ever been to Disney, then you know what I'm talking about. Actually, I think it might be more like some of the technology pavilions at Disney Epcot Center in Florida. Either way, Odaiba is really cool. I went here a few weeks ago, saw a bunch of stuff and took a bunch of photographs.

To get here, I took the Yurikamome train. This is an automatic train (un-manned) that runs on rubber wheels. It is the smoothest train ride that I've ever experienced, although the Maglev (magnet train; it levitates above the tracks via magnets) is probably even smoother. I took the Yurikamome to the beginning of the Rainbow Bridge, and then got off. Instead of riding the train right to where I wanted to go, I crossed the bridge on foot instead. It was a very nice, but windy, walk. I would like to take a ferry there as well sometime.

















A scaled-down model of the Statue of Liberty, with the Rainbow Bridge (named because it's lit up in different colours at night) and the Tokyo skyline in the background.

















Here I am at the base of the Rainbow Bridge, on the Tokyo side.

















Just a cool view.

















Another cool view.

















I really like this picture. This is part of the highway, with the Yurikamome track in the middle.

















Looking towards Odaiba, on the bridge.
















I think this boat looks cool.

















I am looking back towards Tokyo here.

















Hmmm... this is just more of the same.

















I'm not really sure what this greenery is. Maybe I'll check it out someday. That futuristic looking building in the centre is the Fuji TV building.

















A shot of the beach, and some apartments. See the ferris wheel? I think Japanese and Korean people must be obsessed with them. I don't know if I've seen a decent sized city in either country that did not have a large ferris wheel or three. They do look pretty sweet at nighttime, when they're lit up...

















I was imagining that I was on a tropical island.

















Some people mucking around on the beach. It was pretty hot this day, but I didn't see any girls with no shirts on. I'll keep looking, and report in when I see some.

















The whole area behind the sand is boardwalk. There are quite a few malls, stores and cool restaurants there. While there, I took the advice of a certain ZZ Top song and bought myself some cheap sunglasses.

















Again, have I wanted into some sort of tropical paradise?

















That crazy building in the background is called 'Tokyo Big Sight.' It's a convention centre.

















Here's one of the many gnarly restaurants. This one was called 'The Longboard Cafe.' They gave it a real classic California feel. Hey! I'll be in California in only about a month and a half. Weeeeeeee!!!

















I had a chili cheese dog and chips. I may or may not have drank a few Coronas.

















This place is called 'Decks'. It's probably called that because it's built on a large deck. The botton level is all boardwalk. It's a pretty cool shopping mall.

















I also went to the Toyoda showroom, where all the flashy new cars were on display.

















Wouldn't those be fun to race...

















This is cute. They had an elevated track around the place where you could take this for a test drive.

















They even had some crazy looking concept cars. This one looks like a neo-classic albino batmobile.

















Whoa! (said in a Keanu Reeves voice)


















That's all folks!

Astroboy in Japan: Curry Edition

What more needs to be said? They have a picture of freakin' Astroboy on a box of curry mix! That's Hamtaro the Hampster on the right. I have no idea what is on the left.

The very first post.

I edited the very first post of my blog. See it HERE. You can definitely tell that I wasn't using a spell checker in my early posts. Not that I could, in a Korean internet cafe.

Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya

Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku are three of the most famous areas in Tokyo.

SHINJUKU

Shinjuku is a large business, entertainment and shopping district in Tokyo. It is also home to Tokyo's busiest train station; Shinjuku Station (it handles more than 2 million people a day). Many of Tokyo's skyscrapers are located in this district, as well as some of it's red light areas.

















Here's a pretty good view of the Shinjuku skyline.

















More buildings.

















Like most areas in Tokyo, there are a ton of small shops on the back streets. Some of these back streets sell wares that I was not interested in, as I noticed when some pretty ugly old guys with more teeth missing than they had were trying to ask me if I wanted to meet some girls. Right... Isn't that what nightclubs are for?

















A pretty good view of some of the signage in the area.

















Actually, I didn't find Shinjuku to be all that amazing. There were a ton of people, and many different kinds of shops and that sort of thing, but there really wasn't anything here that I wouldn't come across elsewhere. It's main just a large business hub.


HARAJUKU

Harajuku is more interesting. It's a very post and hip area. If you ever want to check out the styles and fashion in Tokyo, this might be the best place to come. The 'Harajuku girls' are pretty famous, as they dress up in very interesting clothing. This is a very popular area for teenagers and young adults to hang out in.

















Harajuku Station. It's definitely one of the more stylish train stations!

















Another view of the station. I mainly just wanted to get this cute girl in the shot.


















An example of 'Harajuku Girls' (picture is from Wikipedia.org) . Often, young people (boys and girls) will dress-up as their favourite musicians, actors, cartoon characters, pop icons, etc., just hang out in Harajuku (and other areas of course. People also do this in Saitama) and have fun playing dress-up. This is often referred to as 'cosplay', which is short for 'costume play.' It's definitely interesting going to somewhere like Harajuku and just checking out how people are dressed up, as they parade themselves around and happily pose for pictures taken by their friends and also by strangers. Some people really seem to get into it. This could be considered a form of living visual art.

Interestingly, there's a genre of music that is closely related to cosplay. It's called 'visual kei.' Visual kei isn't necessarily a musical style. Rather, it refers to the visual style of the band. It is often hallmarked by dyed hair, make-up and attention-grabbing clothing. The J-Rock ('J', standing for Japanese) group, X Japan, is generally credited with having founded this movement. They were quite popular in the 80s and 90s, until their break-up and then death of one of the main members. It could be assumed that the style of X Japan was influenced by some American 'glam rock' bands, such as Motley Crue and Poison; who were known for their big hair and make-up in the 80s. The band KISS should be credited for this as well, as they were extremely well known for their visual style and full-face make-up, as far back as the early 1970s.





















The late 'Hide' (Heed-eh), of X Japan (taken from Ugly Pink Machine). He was well known for his make-up and pink hair, which gave him a feminine-like appearance (very similar to early American glam rock bands like Motley Crue and Poison).

















Across from Harajuku Station is Snoopy Town. What a cool place! Snoopy Town is actually a chain of Peanuts (Charlie Brown, Snoopy, etc.) stores in Japan, where you can buy all sorts of Peanuts things; lunch boxes, pencils, stuffed characters, etc. It's very similar to a Disney or Hello Kitty store.

















This is the main street through Harajuku. There were a lot of cool cars to be seen. Here's a Mini Cooper, a cute little car.
















Hey, an old station wagon! Seeing a vehicle this old in Japan is very rare. Most cars are only a couple years old, due to a strict upkeep law in Japan.

















Another view of the main road through the district, looking towards Shibuya.

















I stood on pedestrian overpasses and took some pictures.

















Another shot.






















Here's the United Nations University campus. I never would've known there was a UN University until I saw this.

















Is there Pepsi Nex in Canada? It's being heavily pushed here. To be honest, it's just not that good.

















They were showing a production of 'Annie' at Aoyama Theatre. Notice the line-up...

















... it is quite long! Also notice the gender of the people. I think this would be a great place to meet some girls! :D


SHIBUYA

Like Harajuku, Shibuya is a popular spot of fashion and shopping. There is also a lot of entertainment here. There are many different nightclubs and bars that keep the young crowds here at night. Shibuya Station is one of the busiest in Japan. The pedestrian crossing in front of the station is reportedly the busiest street crossing in the world. A Starbucks is located in one of the buildings overlooking this crossing, and it has been reported at the busiest Starbucks in the world. I thought of going in, but it's so busy that your order is taken at the entrance, and then you get to wait around for who-knows-how-long until a seat is free. I didn't feel like waiting.

















Wow, giant video screens. WEEEEEE!!! Look at all the people...

















...and more people...

















The stop light go red for the cars, and the green walking light comes on in all directions. People can cross the intersection straight across, or go diagonally.

















Lots of light and video screens.

















Isn't neon great?

















I like it.

















The Koreans are invading! Forget Godzilla, Samsung is taking over! Run!!!

















Ahhh... Time for an ice cold Labatt Blue and a plate of poutine down at 'The Maple Leaf.'