Christmas Illuminations

(Sunday, 16th. In my room.)

• On Saturday 8th, I hung around Picadilly Circus with my friend from Hong Kong. First of all, I had a rendezvous with him in Shaftesbury Statue or Eros Statue at 7pm. Then, we went to the Japanese restaurant called Toku next to Japan Centre. (http://www.toku-restaurant.co.uk/) I ordered a Sushi set, and he had a beef bowl. The taste of Sushi was exactly the same as the one that I used to have in my country. So it was really delicious, though it was a bit expensive for a dish of Sushi. While having our dinner, we talked a lot with each other about ourselves. Although he is younger than I by 7 years, our situations are very similar; we are studying to take a MA degree in the hope of getting a full time job in our own countries. Furthermore, it was found that both of us were interested in music very much. He said he could play the electric guitar, and actually he has brought his guitar to this country with the amplifier. He likes any kind of music ranging from classical music to Japanese popular songs. As for me, I can also play the piano, and my taste for music also covers most of his.
  
• After leaving the restaurant, he showed me around Soho area, teaching me especially where other Japanese restaurants and stores are in the neighbourhood. According to him, he found them when he walked around there the other day. I thanked him a lot for telling me very useful information. In the Brewer Street, there are several Japanese restaurants, particularly Sushi Bars, and a few stores which specialize in Japanese goods. As I didn't know any shops for Japanese except Japan Centre, these were really good to know. After walking around the area for a while, we dropped in Starbucks Coffee. And we took out our iPods and talked about the songs we had in them. I was really surprised at his knowledge of classical music. He told me that he liked Bach's tunes, and his favorite pianist was Glenn Gould. He also knows one of my favorite pianists Vladimir Ashkenazy. Of course, we talked about Japanese singers, too. Anyway, I had a really good time with him that evening.
• A few weeks ago, the decorative illumination for Christmas started lighting Oxford and Regent streets. As I was really fascinated by the brilliant spectacles, I took the pictures and a video of them, which were uploaded here.