Tokyo - Kawagoe

Edo-Period Town
On Sunday we rode our daily train in the opposite direction to its end.  Just past our house it ceases its westerly direction and turns right, plowing due north for thirty minutes towards a town named Kawagoe.  It's an old town, a supposed Edo-era town that is more aptly described as one with many Edo-period-looking buildings.  It's both touristy and nice, two words I rarely use in conjunction.     

Tokyo - Biking

It's a Way of Life Here
It may be a stretch to characterize cycling as part of the Japanese DNA but if you spend some time here in the outskirts you might draw the same conclusion.  The train is king, no denying that - each town or neighborhood is built around the train station.  All the businesses are close to the station; there is always a grocery store or two, the post office, the library, the butcher, the schools, etc.  The housing radiates outwards from the station creating a giant circle of life the edges of which are quiet and overlap with the adjacent towns, no further than half a mile away.  Everything in town is done on the bike.  You take your kids to school that way, you go shopping that way - bouncing from small shop to small shop, filling up your basket (or baskets) as you go.

Tokyo - Schooling

Hitting the Books
We've finished our first week of school.  I've gotten over the initial disappointment of doing poorly on my entrance exam.  Reading and writing I did great, hardly missed one.  My speaking exam was horrendous.  As a result, they put me back a few chapters from where I've progressed with my tutor.  Right after the exam was over, they dropped me into an ongoing class.  I took my seat and everyone introduced themselves in Japanese.  I did the same.  There are seven of us at the moment - an Australian, American, two Germans, a Swiss, and a Mexican.  It's an interesting approach - the  schedule changes every day and every two hours you get a different teacher.  I think I had about six different teachers so far.  They all have one thing in common - they don't speak a word of English and you're not allowed to either.  We speak a lot - we write a lot - we have a lot of homework every day.