nothing to prove

time warp

It was reunion time for my study abroad group in Tokyo this previous weekend. Our director Dave Bennetts, his daughter Courtney, Tom, Aaron, Dan, Katie, and I were all in Tokyo to spend the weekend in our old dormitory. We were also joined by some close friends from Bunkyo University, the college we attended in Japan, and friends from home. The reason for the reunion is that we are all teaching English in Japan, including Dave who is teaching his annual month long summer class at Bunkyo. We were the first group to do a semester at Bunkyo University through our college and the first guys to attend Bunkyo Univeristy before they turned co-ed so naturally we were the first group to return to Japan as English teachers.


We were all getting in at kind of random times so I just took the bus down from Niigata before catching the subway to the dorm. On the way there I bought some welcome back beers at the nearby 7-eleven and found myself ringing the doorbell. It was possibly the first time I have walked past the windows of the dormitory when all the lights were off and that was going to change. Turns out I woke Lindsey up from her nap but that was alright because within minutes Katie, Dave, Courtney, Courtney's boyfriend Brad, and Mayu all came in. It was coincidence that we all ended up there at the same time but we cracked open the beers and let the festivities begin. Some of our old teachers were supposed to join us a little later so we got dinner at a nearby semi-fancy Chinese restaurant before hitting up our old liquor store. One of our old advisors came, Michiyo, as did some of our Japanese friends so we took some time to sit around and drink before heading out for the night. At that point Aaron had joined us so we walked to Ueno to catch a glance at the world cup. It was the first match of the tournament, Germany vs Costa Rica, at the Pub. We all got a pint and hit a wall while watching the match. Despite the amusing falling over drunk German we decided to call it a night.



The next day we got up with nothing in particular to do. First we went to Shinjuku so Lindsey could catch the amazing view from the Tokyo Government Metropolitan Building before heading towards the Tokyo Hyatt to see if we could grab a drink at the bar. On the way up we realized that we were probably slightly under dressed for the occasion but decided to check it out anyway because we all had closed toe shoes on, I do learn eventually. Sadly the bar didn't open until five and the restaurant was booked for the day. Instead, there was a restaurant in Roppongi I was itching to try so we headed that way for the day. In the movie Kill Bill volume 1 there is a restaurant that a massive battle between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu happens. Gonpachi, the restaurant we had our great lunch at, was used as a model for that fighting scene. The atmosphere was old Japan but the food was definitely more contemporary with a price that was worth every bite. After lunch we headed back to relax before a reunion party that night.


For the party the foreigners cooked the food, which consisted of lots of curry and rice. Our neighbors, one of which happens to be the president of our University, came over to eat and even brought some sushi. Along with plenty of Japanese and Americans the meal was a success. It was awesome to see all the old faces even though it felt a little strange being there again. That evening we all headed to an old watering hole of ours, Gas Panic. A couple drinks later we decided to split up. One group headed home, another to karaoke, and some of us went dancing. Lindsey, Aaron, and I all went dancing for a few hours before it got a little too crowded so we went to TGIFridays for a late night snack. We were drained afterwards so we caught a cab and headed back to the dorm.


Around noon the next day we all managed to crawl out of bed and get ready for the day. Some people wanted to see the crazy people at Harajuku so we went there before entering the Meiji Shrine. It was drizzling most of the day but we still managed to look around and take some pictures before one final meal at the dormitory. After eating some noodles, made by Dave, Lindsey and I had to catch the train and head home. The bus ride back to Niigata was kind of long but the weekend was definitely worth it. It is amazing experience going back to a place when people are at completely different points in their lives.

posted by Aaron @ 4:02 AM