WELL I've almost finished up my stay here in Tokyo as Ayuko and I will be heading back to Kyoto tomorrow night. I have to admit that I have really come to appreciate Tokyo not only for the sheer amount of things to do here, but also as it gave me a glimpse of what living here next year will be like. As one of the world's largest cities you truly can find almost anything you can think of in one of shops hidden throughout the city, not to mention a place to practice a huge assortment of hobbies. I have no qualms about moving here as I am sure I will be able to find far more to do than any free time I might possibly have would allow.

EVERYONE dresses well and I can truly say Tokyo is a city full of beautiful people. The major shopping districts of Shibuya, Harajuku, Ginza, and Roppongi were full of gorgeously dressed women and sharply dressed men. However this comes at a cost as Japan and especially Tokyo put an incredible emphasis on body image which often overrides any common sense people might have. Thus almost all of the women are very thin, yet it is due to starvation diets and not exercise as one sometimes encounters in America. This means that will girls are very slender they have almost no muscle tone due both to their poor diet and lack of exercise. Ayuko is not immune to this national trend and while she is a size 2 she feels she is fat. The truly shocking thing is that even at a size 2 she is slightly larger than many other Japanese girls, so you can only imagine how they can obtain such bodies. However I can only feel empathy for Japanese girls as they are under enormous pressure to be slim and beautiful, so one can only hope a healthier body image will emerge at some point.