花火

Hanabi is the Japanese word for Fireworks. Every summer in Japan, people gather near a major body of water, like the Tokyo Bay or along a big river, to watch the fireworks light up the summer nights.

This year is my first, but since I am a lazy kid, I only went to the nearest one in Futakotamagawa, which certainly isn't the best but spectacular nonetheless.

Here are some of the photos I took.

Another interesting thing aside from the lights are the costumes that the Japanese wear called yukatas (cotton kimonos) when they go and watch hanabi. I was meaning to wear one but couldn't find my size. Anyway, there are still many hanabi's to come so probably I'd try wearing one next time.

Yukata (the one that the man is wearing is the long version. I have seen shorter versions though, like worn as a short)

Aug 09 Ear Candy: Dark Water and Stars

August is the best month so far. I like it since it's summer.

My warm nights and airy mornings are described by this song which I've been listening to the whole month. It will always remind me of a warm, happy feeling, especially when I am biking.

'Dark Water and Stars' is part of the soundtrack of 'Thicker Than Water', a documentary produced by Jack Johnson about surfing.

maaliwalas, nabubuhay sa gitna ng kalye

ang isang pelikula.

ikaw, ako,

at ang mga bisikletang nawawala,

paikot-ikot sa gitna

ng isang siyudad.

mabilis, nadadampi ang alat ng tag-araw

sa ating pisngi.

masarap mawala

nang kasama ka.

T*T

I owe you this, even if in the process of remembering you, I am sauntering closer to the realization that I will never have you again.

When was the last time I paid attention to your memory so closely that I could feel the immeasurable need to be with you? When I think about you now, there is an uncanny feeling that I am thinking about another person, perhaps due to an elapsed time where things have gotten used to a new everydayness. When I think about you now, is it really you that I am thinking, or is it because my mind is switching coldly to things I can perceive from things which I have never understood before?

I owe you this, this quite, sunny afternoon, to make you feel alive in the order of reverie, to feel once again the summer when I first met you.

First New Week in Pola

I didn't notice that it has been a week since I moved to this new place near the university. I was damn busy getting used to the newness of everything! I still need to empty some boxes, and do some cleaning, but everything is just fine as it is right now.

The moving was more smooth than I expected. I needed to hire a car to move my stuff to cut down my expenses. Good thing Gunji offered to drive it for me, and I tagged Felipe along to give me a hand with all the carrying. Special thanks to you guys! You two are the best! ^o^

Special thanks, too, for Chen who was living 3 blocks away from me, for dropping by while we were transferring the stuff from the car to the house, and bringing some cold drinks. That was one happy surprise of the day for me.

Moving day. I feel really awful that Felipe had to lurk behind my stuff from Aobadai to Kobayashi's house. Anyway, we three somehow fitted in the front seat until we arrived at my new house. I cannot think of any other perfect way of moving than with these two's help.  Well, I don't know what point I'm getting at. But thanks again guys! Appreciate it.


First night in the new house was filled with sleeplessness. Feels so empty. haha...


Television to keep me company until I hook with the internet.


Self portrait, first morning. I look sad. Probably I was, but I'm getting the hang of all of this now.


Cooked and ate my first breakfast in my new house. Scrambled eggs!


The landing to my room. I appreciate these green creatures on my way to the door. Makes everything feel so homey. When I chose this house, what appealed me the most was how my place feels like a garden. Plants are everywhere! There's even a grapevine just outside my window with real grape fruits! Another interesting thing is that the wood of the flooring of my house has this sweet smell during summer. I don't know how to explain this smell but it sure sticks to my clothes. So you bet I don't need perfume anymore. haha...

This is Toru, my bicycle. He is my best friend here. I use him everyday like going to school, do my market, meet someone, go to the station, or just to roam around. The ever-dependable Toru. I need to find him a parking space where he is safe from random check ups of police men in my area. Right now, he sleeps by the street, outside my building which I think is both illegal and dangerous. But I cannot take him in because he is too big for my house. Anyway, Naoko, my bicycle lock is doing her job well of clutching Toru's wheels to safety. So that should work for now.

View of my humble house from the street. Plants everywhere, right?!

First weekend, moving around, checking out the neighborhood, making sure where the garbages are thrown, looking for the cheapest supermarket, introducing my face to the oldies in the area.

Around the neighborhood on my first weekend. These are the bunch of houses which look like Greek villas along the shoreline cliffs.


There's a creek on the next block. Stinks when it rains. On a sunny day, ducks are swimming.

The business street is a block away from my house, which makes everything convenient. 7/11 is a minute away. 24-hour, 100 yen shop is like less than 3-minues by walk. Everything is like a touch pad away.

Thanks everyone who helped. You know who you are.　

ありがとうございました。

By the way, these polaroid effects were taken from here. Had fun making these stuff. You should try with your photos.

Bye 340

I’m dead tired. Tomorrow, I am moving off to a new address. So today, everything is a bit of a mess, not that it isn’t on regular days.

Looking for a new place in Tokyo is one hell of a thing in itself. Being in one of the most expensive cities in the world requires a lot of bile and grasping. Don’t even let me start with the language problem.

I want to write about this now because I may not be able to feel the right amount of exactness to what I am feeling on later days, once I have settled in in my new place.

I will miss 340. That’s my room for the past 10 months in here. It has practically seen me through almost all possible combinations of emotional weather. I have spent my first winter here, my first spring, and my first Christmas out of the country.

I will miss walking that 10 minute walk from the station to my doorstep, which generally serves as a discontinuum between school and my bed. Although the line I’m taking is probably one of the worst in Tokyo, I’m not faking to say that I will miss the daily train rides. It’s one thing that kept me going, amidst all those chilly mornings when all I could think of was the crispy white sheet of my bed. Seeing people rush and hop in, all in the frenzy of a metropolitan heartbeat, invigorates me on a daily basis.

But this is it. I'm moving on, as they say.