52.1 weeks, 8.765.82 hours, 525,949.2 minutes or 31,556,952 seconds.

What does this equal? If you said a year on Earth according to the Gregorian calendar... well yes, that's technically correct but not really what I was going for... It equals, drum roll please...


The amount of time I've been living in Tokyo, Japan! Weeeeee! すごいでしょう？！

My goodness, it feels like I arrived at Narita, plane sick and covered in sweat only mere weeks ago. Actually scratch that moment. Not really a nice nostalgic place to bring everyone back to... Let's try this again.. Goodness gracious, it feels like I stepped into this magical land of "gacha gacha" machines and "kira kira"lights only a few mere weeks ago. There! Now that's better. This is a much better way to start up my nostalgia train!

So as you can probably guess, I'm going to take you with me on an adventure to reflect on my year and review the good, the bad, the ugly, and the absolutely fan-freakin'tastic moments. That being said, if you're not about that "livin'-in-the-past" life, I suggest you bail out now because... まもなくMemory Lane!

Memory Hoarder

I have something to confess... When I travel, I don't like to pick up souvenirs. I hate the idea of a cheap, plastic bobble taking up space in my "minimalist" (fancy word for itty-bitty) apartment. However, I have one downfall. I am addicted, and I mean ADDICTED, to collecting paper. Any kind of paper. Receipts, tickets, stationary, postcards... Basically if it's flat and reminds me of the place, my grubby, little hands are all over that business. So, as a self proclaimed paper hoarder, I find myself with a drawer full of paper goodies from the past year in Japan. Instead of listing out what I've done, I thought it might be cool to just show you these "souvenirs" as a way to map out some of the places I've been.

 The Sumida Aquarium

 For a date night, by boyfriend took me to the special Edo Goldfish exhibit. The goldfish stamp rally was fabulous!

 The Trick Art Museum

Another date! A really great place in Odaiba to walk through and take millions of silly photos.

Kamakura

I went on a day trip to Kamakura and did all of the wonderfully typical Kamakura things; eating sweet potato ice cream, enjoying the sunny beach, and visiting the giant Buddha statue.

 Letters from my Students

I am always over the moon when I get a letter from one of my girls! Prime letter times include: Valentine's Day, New Years, and birthdays.

Letters from Myself

Now you must be thinking, "Well aren't we a little proud hmmm Ms. Samantha?!".  Before you judge me too harshly, this is a letter I sent to myself before I left for Tokyo. It really gives me a little push when I'm feeling low. Especially the last line; "Trust yourself, love yourself, be happy". It's become a little mantra of mine.

 Time Capsule Letters

This was one of the greatest going away gifts EVER. My family packed tons of sealed envelopes for me to open on certain days. It made me feel so connected to them and it always gave me something to look forward to.

Yomiuri Land Illuminations

Going to this theme park during Christmas time really made my holiday feel more homey. There really is a special sort of magic in enjoying illuminations during frosty winters. 

Party Times

Just a few scraps from my nights out in Tokyo. One from a well known club in Roppongi and another from a bar hop. Thanks to my great friends here, my nights out are always crazy fun.

Disney

I am kind of ashamed to tell you the exact number of times I've been to Disneyland and Disneysea... So instead, I'll show you an actual souvenir I bought! Wow! Such rarity! Much wow!

Meiji Jingu

Basically serenity plopped into the middle of a metropolis. We had a guided tour of this shrine when I first came to Tokyo.

Tokyo National Museum

How I LOVE this museum. I always find it so relaxing to go there solo and enjoy the sights. There are a lot of English transcriptions of the original Japanese explanations so it's a great place for foreigners.

 Cards, Cards, and... More Cards!

I'm like your 80 year old grandmother in the way that I collect cards. I enjoy reading them again and again... Jeez I'm embarrassed at myself haha!

 Studio Ghibli Museum

There is no better way to spend a Sunday than to take a stroll through the mystery that is the Studio Ghibli Museum. I went with my brother and cousin when they were in town and I can say for sure that we all enjoyed the adventure.

 Bunraku

This is basically traditional Japanese puppetry. It's quite impressive with the amount of skill it needs to harmonize the movements of the doll with the speaker's voice and the background music. I've been twice with my school.

Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower

Nothing better than getting a birds-eye view of Tokyo! I've been to these towers on more than one occasion. They always remind me a little bit of home because of the CN Tower. 

 Okinawa

Here is a stamp rally map that I completed with my family at the Shuri Temple in Okinawa as well as a map of Tamaudun mausoleum. It was a fun and historical hike though Okinawa's history!

Kusatsu

My train ticket and my onsen stamp from when my boyfriend and I made a long weekend trip up to Kusatsu during the winter to enjoy the natural onsens.

Journey to the End of the Night

WOAH! Again, something that's not paper! It's a miracle! These bands are my "Hero" and "Villain" bands from a "catch me if you can" kind of game that I took part in. Running around Tokyo is surprisingly a lot of fun!!!

Miscellaneous 

My apologies, as we've come to the end of the line I have some random tickets left over, but they are fabulous memories none the less!! I went to the Shinjuku Robot Restaurant twice; once with my friends and once with my family. The art museum ticket is from a random field trip I was able to go on with my students. Finally, the movie ticket is from the first Japanese movie I saw in Tokyo which was "Bakemonoko". 

My Favourite Memories

Now that I've forced you to look at my weird "secret of the travelling papers" collection, I feel it's only fair to show you some actual footage from some of my favourite moments from this year. 

Enkai

The most mysterious of all work parties. The ultimate balance between Japanese formality and complete, drunken informality. During my first year in Japan, I've been lucky enough to experience a few of these special Japanese work parties. Basically, for all of you not living in Japan, Enkai's include a set food course with an all you can drink added on. Usually they are a bit pricey, but most definitely the fastest way to get to know the real heart of your co-workers. Enkai's are the secret 90210/Gossip Girl moments of all Japanese parties. You never know what will happen.
Both of the following videos were made by a co-worker/friend of mine who has been super-de-duper awesome to me over the last year so I'll give him a quick "YOU RULE" shout out here while I have the opportunity.

Hakone

Our girls trip to Hakone was definitely one of my highlights from this year. Hakone is beautiful to begin with, but in autumn it is breathtakingly stunning. Not only that, but it a perfect time to enjoy a Japanese ryokan complete with an onsen experience! I had such a blast enjoying the scenery and getting lost with two of my favourite JET ladies. They were best travelling buddies and I would go on another journey with them in a heartbeat! I hope to have more adventures like my Hakone trip in the future! If you want to hear more about my Hakone adventures, you can check it out at Let's GO, Hakone!

Summer Fireworks

OK I'll be straight up with you by giving you a "romantic post" heads up! If you're not up for that cheese please feel free to scroll down now. If you are, grab your gouda 'cause we're goin' in!
So just a few weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to watch the Arakawa fireworks. This quickly made the top of my greatest memories list for a few reasons.
One reason being I was able to wear my own yukata. In the past, I've always borrowed yukatas from friends and have had other people help me into my yukata. This time, I was able to wear the yukata and obi that I picked out and bought for myself! Also, I was able to put it on and tie the bow all by myself! ...Okay, so maybe I put it on by myself and then had my boyfriend's family fix the disaster afterwards, but it still counts.
Another reason is because of the grandeur of the fireworks. USA boasts that its fireworks are the best, but oh my sweet blinded eyes, you haven't seen fireworks until you come to Tokyo. They are the biggest, most colourful, and most creative fireworks I've ever seen! They even have one called "Niagara Falls" which is basically a line of fireworks that spew silver lights and mimic a waterfall!!! So cool!
Lastly (and here's where the cheese comes in), it made my list because it was honestly like a moment torn straight out of a Shoujo manga. There we were, hanging out in our yukata, drinking beer, watching the fireworks go up hand-in-hand. It got even more Shoujo-ier when my boyfriend knelt down to help me put a band-aid on my foot and fix my geta (wooden shoes). That moment is so vivid in my mind because I remember laughing to myself and thinking DAMN my life is hella shoujo romantic right now! A mix of comedy and romance. Just the way I like it.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Birthday Bath!

I am probably the only person in the world to ever plan a birthday party in a bathhouse haha! When you think about it logically, it seems very, very strange to ask your close friends to come bathe with you to celebrate the day of your birth... but you know what?! In Japan there are no rules (except.. you know, the Japanese ones). I had such a blast hanging out (literally lolol) with my closest friends. I was so happy to see that everyone was having a great time wearing their yukata and enjoying the spa. It was really memorable for me because it reminded me just how lucky I am to have such good friends who are willing and eager to celebrate my birthday with me. It was also memorable because of that AMAZING body scrub and back massage that I got. I'll definitely never forget that euphoria haha!

What I miss

Of course while there have been many awesome things that I've experienced this year, there have been some not-so-awesome things as well. An obvious and inevitable part of life I suppose. Luckily, this list isn't very long, but I wanted to include it because while my time in Japan has been a lot of rainbows and sunshine, there has naturally been a cloud or two along the way.
The first thing that I dearly miss is my family of course. I miss being able to see their lovely faces all of the time. Thank goodness for the technology that allows me to get some proper face time with them! Another thing that I miss is Canadian directness. I miss people telling you directly what they like, what they want, and what they mean without any guess work. Japanese culture avoids "pushing people" or "speaking too harsly" which is good and bad in a lot of ways. I just hate how it makes you second guess yourself. For example, if a Japanese person says that they like my skirt, I'm left guessing "AHHHH did they mean it? Did they mean it's innapropriate? Is it too short?!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN??" I've never wanted the power to read people's minds so badly...
Another thing I miss is RED. MEAT. Sorry to take it to such a surpurflous complaint, but man... I just want some GOOD ribs...
Lastly, I miss open space. Now obviously Japan has some open spaces. Their parks are beautiful and people here really care about the environment, but I miss being able to walk twenty steps out of my house and just run in a field that goes for miles on end.

What I didn't expect

To brighten things up a bit, I have two, big things that happened to me this past year that I really didn't expect! The first thing is I didn't expect that my coworkers and students would become my second family. Almost every day I wake up with a smile on my face knowing I'll get to talk with a funny student or an interesting teacher. They have all taught me so many things about how to be a sensitive and caring teacher and about how to understand each other better on a cultural and even personal level. It's been such an amazing experience seeing the girls grow in such a short time and I'm so happy that I get to watch over them for another year.

This is on our website so it's cool to show on my blog I believe...

Secondly, I never expected to date someone in Japan. I can't tell you how many times my friends, family, and I joked about how I wouldn't come home with a Japanese guy. Well, jokes on all of us I guess because I'm dating the greatest guy in all of Japan heehee (sorry, that got cheesy again). My boyfriend and I have been together for five months now, and he's become such an inseparable part of my life. He's always there when I need someone to chat with, or when I want someone to go on adventures with , or even when I need someone to nap on when I'm sleepy on the train. A lot of people ask me "what is it like to date a Japanese guy" and I never have a good answer for this. The experience is so different, but not because he is Japanese, but because he is the person that he is. He is unique, funny, and an all-around great human being. That said I better end this before I embarrass him too much lol.

What I plan on doing next!

As it is important not to live too much in the past, I'll bring this memory train to a halt by quickly mentioning what I've got lined up for the future!
Firstly, I want to start seriously studing for the JLPT 2 test. This past year, I've done some flimsy studying, but I didn't really pressure myself to study that hard. This year I really want to try to study  every day so that I can ace that test!!
Next, I want to work on getting some more ESL teaching credentials. I already have my TESOL, but I would like to learn more about how to effectively teach my students so that they can really see an improvement in their English!
Other than that, I'm just excited to see what the next year in Japan brings as this year has been such a wild ride! A big thanks to you too for sticking with me for a whole year! Lots of love to you!!!