Right now I'm on my last school vacation, and I figured out that I might as well try to spend the time wisely by taking courses to improve my Korean skills. Although I spent a year as an exchange student at Kyung Hee University in Korea I didn't really have the chance to study the language that much exempt from a three week intensive Korean course I took at Yonsei University last year. This time the intensive course didn't work out with my schedule, but I didn't give up on taking classes in Korean. After some research I discovered a school called Seoul Academy situated in Takadanobaba (高田馬場) that offered various courses at a reasonable price.

I was surprised to find that the Seoul Academy actually was situated on the 11th floor in what used to be a totally normal apartment. At first I was running around the front part of the building looking for the school in the area where all the offices are, so it took a little while before I discovered the entrance.

I ended up taking one of their 短期集中コース (Short-term focus course). The price was 35.000 yen, and included classes two days a week from 12:00-14:50 (including a 10 minutes break) plus the book we used in class. I was really surprised when my teacher told me I could choose myself whether I preferred group classes or private classes, as I though I would automatically be placed in a group. He told me the price didn't differ, so of course I chose to have private lessons. Lucky!

On Saturday I gave a speech at Norway Yumenet (ノルウェー夢ネット)'s "Norsk Salong" (Norwegian Salon) about various things related to my life in Japan. I had been invited to give the lecture by Junko-san and Yoko-san who together run Norway Yumenet. They are hosting various lectures every second month with guests who talk about different things related to Norway, as well as holding courses in Norwegian. 

The first slide of my presentation

This time it was my experience with Japanese job hunting that was the main topic. Since I already have studied for a long time in both Japan and Korea and worked as an intern at the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo I got to talk a bit about these things too.

Although it would have been nice if all the registered participants had made it to the lecture I'm really happy for the people who came, and of course that I got this fun opportunity to talk about my experiences in Japan. Junko-san and Yoko-san are really working hard to promote and teach about Norway here in Japan, and I would be more than honored if I get the chance to come back to Norsk Salong and hold another lecture some time in the future.

In the meantime, here are some related links for those who are interested:

Yumenet on Twitter

Yumenet Homepage (Japanese/Norwegian)

ノルウェーについて学ぶサロン・講座レポート

On Friday it was Valentine's day, and the bars and restaurants must have had pretty expectations of a new sales record this year as well. I suppose this year the Valentine's day came as a big disappointment. It was snowing intensely throughout Friday 14th, and the blizzard continued into the evening. This is one of the sights that met me while I was walking to Kagurazaka on Friday evening:

It was probably many who had to spend Valentine's day indoors without date that day. I for my part could not have had a better evening. A small blizzard has never stopped a real Viking (haha :3..)! On the contrary, the fact that it snowed so much made ​​it possible for my boyfriend and I to get ourselves a restaurant table even without a reservation. Although I'm personally not a big fan of commercial days such as Valentine's day, I have to say that a Friday evening date without having to face overcrowded premises in Tokyo is never a bad thing. And yeah, all the snow made the day even more special.

The kitchen as seen from our table

Of course they have any garlic related food you can imagine, and for dessert we even had a garlic ice-cream.! 

Garlic ice-cream

While sitting at the table we couldn't help noticing their funny English on a card placed at out table. It read "I am available at your table accounting" (The Japanese text can be translated as "Please feel free to pay at the table") and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission" (We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we only accept cash here). Their translation was kinda cute. Before leaving we gave them a note with our translation suggestions, which it seemed like they appreciated a lot.

"I am available at your table accounting" and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission"

 We also visited Kagurazaka's Yebisu bar, where there were hardly any other guests. That is not exactly common on a Friday night; usually you will hardly be able to enter the premises without reservation .. So we really felt we got our money's worth when we could sit down and enjoy a glass of beer without having to deal with the huge crowds. Anyone who has been in an izakaya in Japan also know how lame it is to come home at night with clothes and hair that reek of smoke. That was another thing we totally avoided that night!

A quiet Friday night beer at Yebisu bar.

Not many people to spot in the street either!

The god of fortune and beer, Ebisu.

 The way home was somewhat cold and wet, but we were awarded with some great pictures:

A snowy night in Kagurazaka

Let it snow, let it snow..

The gate to the Ushitenjin (牛天神) shrine

A torii at the end of the white staircase

A banner that says "red plum festival" (紅梅まつり)

Plum flowers in bloom and snow

Plum flowers in bloom and snow

White shrine

A statue covered in snow

The Ushitenjin shrine

Bike-cycles in the snow

Needless to say: it was an awesome Valentines's day.

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It might look like a normal flower store when you enter and the fresh scent of flowers greets you. But at the back of the Aoyama Flower Market in Omotesando there is actually a hidden café waiting to welcome you with its range of herbal teas. The café's theme is greenhouse, and the walls are covered with plants that help to create the right mood.

We also had one of their salads. Although it, of course, was very good we had not expected that it would come with sausages. It is somewhat typical in Japan that what you order always comes with a small piece of meat or something even though the menu didn't indicate that there would be any. I guess Japan is not the easiest country to be a vegetarian in.

We decided to stay a little longer and try the chocolate cake theirs too. If there is one type of sweets I find hard to resist, it must be chocolate.

In addition to the food and drinks that the Tea House has to offer, they also sell a variety of flower-related products such as the fancy vases below.