Happy Holidays! Just wanted to let people know I'm alive, doing fine and still attending school in Tokyo.

Apologies for not posting anything in like half a year or so...

wow, it's been like a month since i've written anything. it has been crazy busy and people have actually in tokyo univ. sleeping bags in their classrooms...some people don't seem to see daylight before the submission of the design studio. hmm...but then again, i'm not talking about anything new... View full entry

my parents are visiting me here in tokyo so i haven't been able to study that much. i find it ok not to study for a while...i guess most of the bloggers are finishing up and starting their summer vacations. my deadlines will fall in july and will have practically school until august... last... View full entry

oooh...man it hurt! today i was at the dental clinic (tokyo univ. hospital) for a wisdom tooth extraction operation. it was probably the most horrible experience ever! i'm telling you guys...there were some complications and it took an hour to get the wisdom tooth out. anyway, still alive. barely... View full entry

i have received several emails about fellow students from around the world about how to enter the university of tokyo. i'm trying now by this blog reach out to those students who have emailed me that i will answer you shortly. one student who emailed me from the chicago school: would you be kind... View full entry

during the super vacation week (also called as the golden week) i went with friends to kamakura, a small city south of yokohama. the place was packed with people but the city with its shrines, parks and small shops was nice! usually the golden week is a time when people really take off from work... View full entry

finally i get to post...unfortunately not from my computer but from my lab's public computer. tokyo university faculty of architecture is a pretty big school and the first impression of this school is that it's run by many different kinds of administative offices which makes it for an exchange... View full entry

sorry sorry. my computer is broken so i can't post...i'm alive, doing fine and soon to be busy with design studios. hopefully next week my laptop will be up and running... View full entry

i arrived to tokyo some days ago and i have been dealing with paperwork and all kinds of stuff but now i'm settled down in tokyo in my apartment. the school is nice and good and the studios + seminars will start next week. this weekend i just went with friends to see the cherry blossom trees and... View full entry

leaving today and arriving tomorrow to tokyo. will begin my tokyo blog as soon as i get settled down. View full entry

i'm packing all my belongings to boxes and suitecases. some boxes stay in helsinki and some go to tokyo with me. i guess i won't be needing any winter clothes..(?), uh...my apartment is a mess... i will leave helsinki in two weeks. my to do-list is pretty long but i guess everything will be just... View full entry

today at noon the fresh and new issue of "arkkitehtiopiskelija" (translation: architecture student's newspaper) was released. the newspaper is printed on full 4/4 colour and has a very tight layout. the newspaper is co-edited with finnish architecture schools in tampere and oulu. wine was served... View full entry

the following week is holiday for architecture students in helsinki. no seminars, lectures or assistance sessions will be held. it's a way for our dept. to save money, give the students some holiday or time to prepare for their exams and such. the week is called the green week and to kick off the... View full entry

so much is true that helsinki univ. of technology, dept. of architecture professors are pretty conservative and aren't that open for criticism. there isn't really a good base for constructive discussion between the students and teachers and sometimes/many times it makes the students a bit... View full entry

so yesterday i made my flight reservation to tokyo. it's a non-stop flight which is nice...a stop-over flight would have been a pain in the a*s. i'll be leaving in the beginning of april and hopefully i will catch the sakura-time, you know, the time when the cherry blossom trees blossom. i hear... View full entry

i received an email today from tokyo univ. that they / i did not receive a scholarship that i was sort of hoping for (a scholarship from the ministry of japanese education or something). now i need to look for more scholarships and funds to...fund my stay in tokyo. no worries but still...a bit... View full entry

...oh, and happy new year (the chinese one). it's the year of the chicken, and that would be me. View full entry

the helsinki underground is something i haven't used in ages, actually i never use it. helsinki has one "line" which runs west-eastbound and is one of the widest metros in the world and it's almost never packed like in tokyo, london or seoul.picture: kamppi station at the heart of helsinki. i... View full entry

like many of my friends at the dept. of arch. i got a part time job at an architecture office. i'm actually only going to work for some 2 weeks or maybe more... the pay is bad since i have a poor office experience in finland. anyway, the pay is 10 e/h...my friends are getting around 13 e but they... View full entry

the courses have begun but i haven't been able to attend any because my exchange year in tokyo univ. will beginning in april and the deadlines here in helsinki will be in may. nevertheless i have been planning to do some exams in the near future... i got the final documents from tokyo univ... View full entry

in pictures...old friends. the machine and the "thing". It's snowy and cold in Helsinki (nothing is happening yet in school), this is a picture from last week. View full entry

After being almost 5 months away from my hometown Helsinki I have returned. Here in Helsinki, Finland I will be about 3 monthsstudying my forth year...I will leave for Tokyo in April when my year as an exchange / reasearch student will begin. For the 3 months that lies ahead in Helsinki I will do... View full entry