TUFS Gymnasium

This is the TUFS gymnasium （体育館, taiikukan）, a four-storey building near the main entrace.

(Above:) The gymnasium.

(Above:) This is a Japanese archery range （弓道場, kyudojou） in the basement. Was considering of joining the club but with our current amount of homework, I think not.

(Above:) Gym.

(Above:) Large indoor basketball cum badminton courts. Well, the place looks so grand!

(Above:) Practice room for martial arts. Those are tatami mats.

(Above:) Tennis court.

Rainy Day, Gloomy Day

Oh great. It's another rainy day in Tokyo.

Great, look at the thick mist!

It's going to be cold. Real cold. But then, I'm getting used to it already, thank goodness.

But then, if I had the choice, I'd prefer to stay in the room.

And sneak under the cosy, comfy futon!

Nogawa Kouen

Nogawa Kouen （野川公園） is a very large park about 10 minutes away on bicycle. If you're addicted to cherry blossoms, it's going to be a great place for you. There're also pine trees, flowers and yes, the Nogawa River, duh!

(Below, 7 photos:) If you haven't already seen enough photos of cherry blossoms, here you go again:

(Above:) This is the main road that separates the park into two sections. There're three pedestrian bridges in between where you can cross over to the other side. And that factory can be seen from the campus? I think it's an eyesore too!

(Above, 2 photos:) That's Nogawa River, obviously. There're four or five bridges, each having a name.

(Above:) This is Sakura Bridge （桜橋, Sakura Hashi）.

(Above:) A view from the riverside.

(Above:) This is an observation centre by the river.



(Above, 3 photos:) This is a fenced up section in the park where flower enthusiasts get to see interesting plants. An old lady was watching a bunch of grass with binoculars. Well, obviously, I don't know much about flowers!

We'll see how's the scenery in this park during autumn!

TUFS International House

Our dormitory is called the International House (or I-House in short). The facilities which can be found on the first floor includes a lounge, a gym, a toilet, a Japanese style meeting room (which, for some reason unknown, is locked all the time), a library and a kitchen. They're all exclusively for the use of foreign students (留学生, ryugakusei） living in the dorm.

This is the lounge on the first floor. Wow! Look at the gigantic flat screen television! You won't believe it when you see the computers in our library.

This is our mini gym. Nothing much actually. Wait till you see the actual gymnasium!

This is a library （図書館, toshokan）. But, obviously, it's more like a study room.

Oh, ladies and gentlemen, this is our media room. Oh good gracious, you say? Yeah, yeah!

Here's the kitchen. Yes, we do have a mini-sized kitchen in our room. But if you want to save electricity and also at the same time, keep your room clean of oil, you can always come down here to cook. Of course, that's a little troublesome（面倒臭い,　mendokusai）.

Musashi no Mori Kouen

Opposite the campus on the east, there's Chofu Airport. (Yes, TUFS's at the very border of Fuchu-shi. Cross the street to the east and voila, you're in Chofu.) Next to the airport, there's a newly built park. Basically, there's a small park in every housing estate. Perhaps it has something to do with the municipal bylaw.

This, is Musashi no Mori Kouen （武蔵の森公園）. It's also a short-cut to a nearby town.

Beautiful landscaping, no? Residents can be seen strolling in the park in the evening.

Cherry blossoms （桜, sakura）, again. See? I told you they're ubiquitous!

A pond in the middle of the park, which is meant for flood control, or at least that's what I understand from the signboard nearby.

The housing estate next to the park. Since Chofu-shi （調布市） is a suburban area, some people can still afford to live in houses like these, which I call matchbox houses. In central Tokyo, they're mostly living in flats and apartments.

Also, since this is a suburban area, it's rather quiet here. Noise level is usually below 60dB (according to a noise level indicator by the street), despite the fact that there's an airport nearby. Thank goodness it's just a small one. Most Japanese here retire early at night, or so it seems. The streets can get pretty deserted.

TUFS Library

Of course, not to forget, there's the library, which is where I am currently. We're given a computer account each, with which we are to log on to in order to access the network drive and to surf the net.

It's a four-storey building full of books, books and books. The first floor （一階, ikkai） looks like an art gallery with a sculpture of a naked body and a mini don't-know-what-for book exhibit.

The books are all well organised, according to their index number. The whole of the third floor is solely for Japanese references in all sorts of field; the fourth floor is for books (mostly literature, I think) written in foreign languages. You name it, they have it.

There is even a section which looks like a mini cafeteria (right). But, it's for studying, of course.

A photo taken from the fourth floor.

Oh, there's also the media room full of computers （パソコン, pasokon）. And yes, those are all LCD monitors. There're roughly forty units in that room alone. Then, there's like another forty units in another section on the top floor and several rooms equipped with computers for group discussion. So, I think it's justified enough to say that the library is also full of computers, computers and computers.

Yes, we do have computers in the library back in the International House. But those are really lousy ones, trust me. Plus, the library is nothing more than a study room. Well, at least, there's a heater.

Another thing about the computers is that the keyboards have a slightly different layout. Luckily, that's only for the punctuations. So, sorry if there's any typo!

Cherry Blossoms

And, now, photos of cherry blossoms （桜, sakura） which everyone goes crazy about. The Japanese go to parks for cherry blossom viewings （花見, hanami） during spring when they're in full bloom. Unfortunately, we're too late for that. Nevertheless, cherry blossoms can still be found everywhere; they're ubiquitous.

Cherry blossoms in the campus.

Cherry blossom trees lining the street just in front of the campus. Note the designated pavement on the right side for pedestrians and bicycles. (It's totally safe to cycle along the streets; while it is suicidal to do so on Malaysian roads.) The yellow path is specially built in such a way that the blind can feel their way along the pavement.

Photos taken in Nogawa Koen （野川公園）, which is about 10 minutes away on bicycle.

This is Tama Reien Hinami Sando （多磨霊園南参道）, the street which leads to the Tama Cemetery. Well, I didn't know that a reien is cemetery until I cycled in! It's looked like a beautiful park from the entrance! I didn't take any photo there, though. Oh yeah. This street is pretty deserted and scary at night, if you dare to cycle there alone... Rest assured that the streets are totally safe though; the police patrols around the place frequently.