Hi there! Sorry we haven't been introduced. If we have, I'm sorry I've assumed wrong. Either way, my name's Alexa Sharp, and I'm the 'author' of these J-Files. Amongst these pages you will find: tales of adventure, danger, passion, money, and greed - all true of course ;) Details to follow. You will *not* find: instructions on how to play the kazoo, the secret to everlasting happiness, the truth about Elvis' death, pictures of fluffy the cat. So if you're looking for the former, you may as well leave now.

It's my journal, which I wrote in (almost) everyday. I never used to keep a journal, but I started when I moved to Tokyo, Japan in May '97. I'm a University of Waterloo (Canada) Co-op student, aiming for a Bachelor of Mathematics, major in ???. Time will tell. This Co-op program that I'm in is the reason I get to be working in Tokyo. I can't be bothered to explain the whole program here, but let's just say we work, we study, we work some more, etc etc, and this happens to be one helluva work term!! I was there for a year in total, departed back for Canada on April 22, 1998. That's mostly where the journal finishes.

As for how I write this journal -- its main purpose is to help *me* remember Japan when I'm old and gray and don't even remember where I've put my teeth, nevermind where I've lived and what I've thought. As for why I put it on the web -- that's for you, whoever you are. I must admit that I didn't think many people would be interested in reading such a page, but I thought it may be useful for those interested in working, living, visiting, or just plain eating Japan. So here you are.

The J-Files. This is the main page, where you probably just came from. That's where I put the descriptions of each "episode", which in general are about a week's worth of journal entries. That's also where I put the "last updated date" (at the bottom), and where the counter is. What's now on this page used to be on that page, and it was taking a long time to download (although that's mostly because of the huge image... but we can't be picky now), so now I have this one instead!

The Cast. This is where I go into the gory details about the people I mention in this journal, including myself.

The Scene. This is where I tell ya all about places I've been, or haven't been, and stuff like that. It's good for those who plan to travel to Japan, I guess. Oh, and I also describe the office, my apartment, and general Japan info.

Snapshots. *lots* of pics of everything imagineable, including a toilets!

Web Resources! Some sites I've found most useful that have stuff to do with Japan, or Japanese things.

Top 10. Various top 10 countdown thingees. A bit cheezy, but it gives ya an idea of what's best over here, maybe.

Karaoke. Listen to some *real* live karaoke!!! Starring Behera-san..

Tips n' Stuff. This is where I write interesting things I've figured out in Japan. It's more 'stuff' than 'tips'.

Special Guest Jon. An entry by someone other than me! Jon was here visiting for 2 weeks in September, and this is what he thought.

My HOMEpage If you've arrived at this page from somewhere else, check it out!

Jason's journal is cool. He's also a Coop from Waterloo who's working about 2 hours outside of Tokyo, in Ueda.

And here is where I tell you a couple of other things you may wanna know.

This site is best viewed using, well, anything but Internet Explorer 3, it seems. I don't know why, but I can't get the links to work... but I haven't given up yet! So far though, they work fine in Netscape Navigator, IE 4, and I think Netscape Communicator. Have fun!

This site has the *official* "Mother's Seal of Approval" for language content. Thanks Mom. What does this mean? Well, that it's suitable for young children and elder adults. Y'know how it goes.