長野

went on the school trip to Nagano to go skiing and snowboarding.
it ruled.
we took an overnight bus from tokyo. i fell asleep for most of the trip,
until i woke up around 5am. the first thing i saw when i opened my eyes
was a gigantic snowy mountain. the sun was just starting to come up.
i thought i was dreaming for sure, it was super boss.
had to rent all my stuff, even the jacket/pants.
they only had super 70s snow gear;
naturally i was all about it.
stayed in a hotel with a ton of kids from school.
hotel had a karaoke club/bar/room thing.
tried skiing for the first time -- almost died.
snowy mountains in japan are great. woo.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhm

joanna newsom - you and me, bess
tokyo jihen - 絶体絶命
gorillaz - white flag
nujabes - a day by different atmosphere
elvis costello - (the angles wanna wear my) red shoes
boredoms - super going
nujabes - under the hood
ween - someday
joanna newsom - in california
the pillows - funny bunny
nujabes - atoll moao
massive attack - paradise circus
king tubby - this is a natural dub stylee
the band - long black veil

neck all broke

on my walk back from the bus stop everyday i walk past a graveyard.
today it was dark and rainy.
getting closer, i took out my headphones cuz i could hear another source of music comin from a somewhere
else.
finally i made my way alongside the main courtyard,
and saw an elderly couple kneeled in front of a grave singing.
in the rain.
in japan.
goosebumps like never before.
i have 30 days left in japan, and now more than ever i need to make sure i
take every waking second to completely soak in every detail.
i don't know what it is about this place but i feel like i must have lived here
in a past life or something.
i'm looking around at various options re: staying for the summer, but its kind of
looking grim after all. i also feel like i owe it to myself and my family to go home
and actually earn a good sum of money for once. student loans will be the end of me.
i had lunch in harajuku with my good friends Gilles and Yumi Suzuki on monday, parents of Natalie Suzuki, my
other good good friend. Gilles not only highly recommended against being an english teacher, but also suggested
that i most definitely graduate from an american university. so transferring to temple is probably a bad idea.
the man speaks 5 languages and makes a killing at a japanese stock broking firm... he knows what he's talking about.
i just don't want to leave though. i don't want to go back to america and i don't want to go to school in america.
i dont really give a shit about depaul's hyped up international studies program.
my ideal life right now would include a shitty apartment somewhere in tokyo, playing drums in a shitty japanese band,
going to school, teaching english on the side of a good part time job.
but alas, i just dont know if its gonna work out right now...
i dont know why im venting like this.....................
I HAVE 30 DAYS IN JAPAN! HELL YEAH! LETS MAKE IT WORTHWHILE EH???????????????????????????????
going snowboarding in Nagano this weekend -- where the olympics were held whenever.
that'll make me feel better; i need to stop being such a sap.

mount fuji still beckons,
time to make things happen.
yer god damn right that rhymes.

alkjd;flaksdjf;laksdf

night night

fighter's holiday

Beat Laments the World

Though the event took place about a month ago, it's just hitting the news today that Japanese DJ and prodcer Jun Sabe, who went by the name Nujabes is dead at 36. He was involved in a traffic accident in Tokyo... right by my school... on Feb 26th. This actually made me really sad... he introduced a sense of beauty into hip-hop music unparalleled in the industry today.
Been listening to his music all day, of course, but damn, super sad. RIP.
His track 'Feather' has been my favorite hip-hop track for years, it shall be on heavy repeat in the coming weeks.

nononono

十分な時間があるけど、本当に帰りたくない〜

tokyo jihen

tsugou no ii karada

half way done with the semester.

i got a job teaching english.

had a conversation with some europeans i met at a club on friday, but after

having spoken only japanese for the previous 6 hours, i found myself having a hard

time communicating in english; the two languages (japanese and english) became a mashed-up form of speech and mannerisms and i think i probably confused the euros quite a bit. it was one of the strangest feelings i've ever had, but pretty exciting.

i'm hoping my job will pay me well enough to allow me to stay in Japan until mid-July or so.

i know i'm not going to be ready to leave at the end of April.

i'm only just getting started...

i've gotten a few connections with DJs and musicians at a few clubs and bars and am hoping to get a few gigs while i'm here... would be an incredible experience. maybe a few DJ sets, maybe TASRU stuff, anything would be amazing.

TASRU album should be out in a few weeks; get hyped.

Tokyo is still chilly, but spring is in the air and the sakura are beginning to bloom.

mount fuji beckons.

and these "mind your manners while smoking" ads all over Tokyo have to be one of the coolest things of all time --

kamakura and the pigeon hunters

speechless. arguably the best day i've had thus far.

no school today, so slept at the TUJ house in Tokyo, and got up

super early with some friends to go to Kamakura, the ancient

capital during the Kamakura period, home to the first shogunate.

It is a coastal town about an hour and a half south of Tokyo surrounded by mountains and ocean, rolling hills and forests

and also home to Kotoku-in, the great Diabatsu, which is the world's second largest

statue of the Great Buddha. Also lots of temples and shrines, some dating from

1052. Insane. Early in the afternoon, our friend Taka, who owns a vintage clothing store in

Harajuku also decided to show up to Kamakura with his parents who were visiting from Kyushuu. After his mother insisted she took pictures with each of us separately, they handed over their rental car to Taka who proceeded to drive us all over Kamakura, seeing the best sights and

the most beautiful coastal landscape I have ever seen. We met and saw all sorts of cool people -- surfers, seaweed harvesters, candy makers, monks, children who have mastered the art of catching pigeons (i mean it), friendly oldies and of course some J babes. The beach that stretches for miles along the coast we were told is one of the most popular, if not the most popular in Japan, and during the summer is flooded with surfers and beach goers. After seeing the sights we drove south to Enoshima, a small island connected by bridge to Kamakura, and ate at a boss place called Takoshima (Octopus Island). Best (octopus) sushi i've ever had.

Good good good good day.