Yesterday I took the JR Train to Osaka Station and met the outgoing JET that I am replacing. She is a rare JET participant in that she stayed the maximum 5 years in the Program. We ate lunch at a small but very popular ramen shop. By popular, I mean we had to wait 30 minutes outside in the sweltering heat. Japan has really warmed up this past week, with temperatures approaching 100 ° F. She told me about the school, the people I’ll work with, and my housing situation.

It appears I will be taking over her apartment, which is located in the teacher’s housing complex. I’m a little startled that it has an eastern-style toilet, and perhaps an insect problem, but this was all overshadowed by the fact that she only pays $90 per month in rent. Yep, I didn’t typo… $90/month. Apparently it’s subsidized by the school. Hopefully with the savings in cash I can afford to fix any shortcomings the apartment may have.

おいしそう - Looks Yummy

After taking the Hankyu Train back to Saiin Station, Haruka picked me up and we went to Kyoto Aquarium. It’s new, having opened just this spring. The overall layout of the aquarium is fairly compact, but they managed to have a dolphin pool, and penguins too.

Today my predecessor happened to be in Kyoto buying some special Japanese sweets as a gift. Haruka and I met her in Kawaramachi and had unagi (eel) for lunch. Afterwards Haruka had to go to class, and I finally got to walk around some nice department stores with someone who actually likes shopping