I visited Kamakura for the first time in a number of years. The sunny weather motivated me to make the one hour trip from Tokyo out to Kanagawa prefecture and takes some pictures of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine and Daibutsu at Kotokuin.
My father visited the Daibutsu over 50 years ago. This was a picture of his dated from around 1952.
Below is my picture from today. Since the daibutsu has been around since 1252 it’s predictable that it really has changed much in just the last couple of decades.
I’m back from my trip to Kuala Lumpur. It was a business trip so I really didn’t get a chance to see much to see much except the airport and hotel. It was in any case a nice break from the regular office grind and the weather was certainly nice. Being very near the equator meant that it was basically summer everyday and I only had to wear short sleeves outside even at night. Being a tropical climate meant that there was plenty of green everywhere, which was nice to see compared to the gray of a Tokyo winter. My impression of Malaysia and specifically Kuala Lumpur was that it was definitely nicer (cleaner) than other developing countries like Thailand or China. The people were all very nice and it is easy for a foreigner to get around in town because many people including the taxi drivers speak English. I would definitely consider going back to Malaysia on a holiday.
While I didn’t have much time to take any pictures I did get a view of the city from my hotel room. You can just make out the top of the Petronas Twin Towers from behind the large building on the right side of the picture with an angled roof line. And you can see the blue roof of a mosque in the foreground, a reminder that this is an Islamic country.
Back in Tokyo it is snowing this morning. Hard to believe I was sitting poolside having dinner outside a couple of days ago.
The weather is Kuala Lumpur this coming week is definitely looking better, at least temperature wise, than Tokyo! Need to start digging my summer clothes out of the closet.
It was snowing in Tokyo this morning. Winter’s in Tokyo are usually relatively mild with the temperature rarely falling below freezing. If the sun shines, you really only need a light coat most days - even in the middle of January. Today it seems a strong breeze from the north combined with moisture from the south combined to give us a little snow. By night the snow had turned to a light rain and the snow never really accumulated, but still I think it was nice to have a least one snowy white day this winter.
This was the scene outside my window when I woke up.
I’m headed for Kuala Lumpur in a couple of weeks for a business meeting. It will be my first time to visit Kuala Lumpur or even Malaysia. Even though it’s business I’m looking forward to seeing a new place and experiencing, even if it will be only just a little, a new culture. I can’t claim I’ll be going local at all since I’ll be staying at the Hilton. One thing Kuala Lumpur is famous for are the Petronas Twin Towers. You’ve probably seen them in a few movies. I remember them from the movie Entrapment with Sean Connery. One thing I’ll be experiencing for the first time (unfortunately) on the way back are Japan’s “improved” immigration procedures. They have followed the US model and now require fingerprints and photos from all foreigners entering Japan.
I had lunch in a neighborhood of Tokyo called Shimokitazawa. The area around the station has a lot of narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants. I guess it is a popular to live given abundance of shops and because it is conveniently located on both the Odakyu line from Shinjuku and the Keio Inogashira line running to Shibuya. Both are about 15 min. or so away making it very convenient for getting into the heart of Tokyo. It was my first time to visit this neighborhood but if I wanted to live on that side of Tokyo it would definitely be a place I would consider living. I’m not the only one who thinks this so rent in this area is also relatively high. Still I’ll definitely be checking this neighborhood out next time I move in the Tokyo area.
This is one of the streets near the station. You can still tell it’s New Year’s by all the Japanese flags lining the street.
To feed the masses lined up to visit Sensoji temple in Asakusa on the first day of the New Year (a common tradition in Japan) there were many food booths setup selling all sorts of Japanese style snack foods. A little different line-up compared to what you might get in the US.
This is a picture of someone making takoyaki. Takoyaki is bits of squid cooked in a batter and usually served with a sauce or mayonnaise on top.
This picture is fairly self explanatory…fish on a stick. A whole fish grilled eaten right off the stick.
This is a guy preparing yakisoba. Noodles with a a mix of vegetables and usually some meat mixed in.
Just a few hours left now until 2008. I’m finally finished working for this year…unfortunately that was just as of a few hours ago as I had to be in the office for a conference call this afternoon.
The events or things that stick out looking back on 2007 are…
Left the company I had been working for for the past 8 years.
Joined an American company (in Tokyo)…my first time working for an “American” despite being American.
Moved from Shanghai to Tokyo.
Had to buy all my furniture, appliances, bed, etc. at once since I had been living in a furnished apartment for a long time. Good because I got to choose things I like. Bad because it cost me a heck of a lot of money.
Worked a huge amount of overtime the past couple of months…this month over 100 hours.
Only had a week of “vacation” between jobs and even then I was very busy moving in to my new place so it wasn’t very relaxing…basically a year without any kind of extended holiday.
Got a promotion after only three months in my new job.
Bought a cool digital camera (a Nikon D80) and am enjoying taking pictures occasionally of sites around town.
In sum, a pretty good year. I’ve been too busy recently, but in general I’m happy with where I’m living and what I’m doing and looking forward to a good 2008.
Reading articles like this one from the International Herald Tribune make me consider giving up my US citizenship one-day. I gave up preparing my own tax filings several years ago and now have the privilege of having to pay a lot of money to have someone prepare my return for me so I can ensure I get all possible deductions. The US is the only country that does this…France, Germany, Japan, the UK, etc. don’t tax on income earned overseas. Why does the US government do this? It doesn’t hurt many expats who have tax equalization packages from their company, but it does hurt people locally hired overseas (like me) who have to work this out themselves.
February 11, 2008 
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