This is where I went this weekend. (Located in Tachikawa, around Tokyo).

lots of good stuff was seen and experienced, but it felt kind of wrong to take pictures of most of the statues and icons and stuff within the building, so i took some pictures of things we were allowed to take outside, so here we have a handsome looking lotus!

monk mascot endures true suffering LOL.

anyway, i bought a book, some tasty tomato basil bread and was happy to have been driven there and home all for 1600yen

=D

totally unrelated - an awesome custard bready thing i got at the Fujikawa highwasy rest area! (it's supposed to be Mount Fuji...)

in terms of work, i have 2 speeches down, and 2 to go! said goodbye to almost all guys tech school folks today (which was my last day of teaching there). i pretended that i was just leaving for the week as usual and it was all gravy. no random conversations from random teachers talking to me for the sake of talking just because i was leaving - which i was grateful for lol. my usual homedawgs spoke to me like normal and it was all good. overall a nice way to finish things off despite the cruddy rainy season weather - pictionary excitement with freshman kiddies! in any case, there's going to be a party later in august where i'll get to see that school's teachers anyway so pft lol.

i wanted pizza all last week, all last weekend, and like... now. not sure if it's a good idea to actually go out and get some as i've been trying to stay away from fattening foods and activities lol. we'll see what happens when i go to the market now...

but before i go, upcoming events = toy story 3 on wednesday! and i'm going to my city's fireworks festival on friday, yukata-clad with otaku crew (who will also be in JP ethnic garb, so it'll be a sweet photo frenzy for me fufufu). been practicing wrapping myself in the darned thing for the past several days, so i should be able to do it in a culturally acceptable way come this weekend.

last thing - team male of otaku crew will be climbing fuji this weekend via the gotemba route. may God have mercy on their souls... [but hey, they booked a spot in one of the huts and actually plan to sleep! so i think they're going to have a significantly (i wont say 'easier') more-prepared experience than we did omg...]