Off to work

I've been really busy the last several days at work, getting ready for an observing run that's coming up fast. And so there wasn't much time to go exploring. But that gives me a chance to talk about, well, work.

Work is at Kyoto University, known here as Kyoto Daigaku, or Kyodai for short, where I am a JSPS-sponsored visitor at the Department of Astronomy. Kyodai is the second oldest university in Japan, and one of the most esteemed ones. Five nobel laureates (including two in physics) and two Fields medalists. That sort of thing. And it's also home to Ohta-san, my esteemed collaborator and host, whose guest I am here for the next several months. In short, it's a really nice gig.

Kyodai's campus is located a few kilometers from my lodgings in Shugakuin (see map in a previous post here). It takes about 30 minutes to walk, and most days I do so both ways. The walk takes me through a set of low-rise residential neighborhoods and so far - after two weeks in Kyoto - things are still sufficiently novel for me that the walk is still really enjoyable. There are lots of different ways to do the walk, and so far I don't think I have walked the exactly same route twice, but I am starting to feel that I am getting to know the lay-out of the neighborhood by now. The little shopping area here... the quaint restaurants there... the pachinko hall with a conveniently located ATM right outside its door...

Typical street on my way to work

The alternative to walking is to take the train or to get a bike. I do the former when it's raining hard or when I am in a hurry, and I suppose I will do the latter when the novelty of looking at baby trucks and the like has worn off. But for now, I walk most days.

The train station just steps away from home

My office is located in the (surprise, surprise!) astronomy building. Actually, it's a building that astronomy shares with geophysics, but we astronomers are on top, if only in that we have the top two floors.

The astronomy & geophysics building. My office is on the fourth floor

Being a visitor, I am naturally enough located in the Visitors' Office. But virtually all the time I have the office all to myself, with only the occasional colloquium speaker stopping by for a few hours every few weeks.

Marcin's workspace with his faithful PowerBook at the ready.

There are many other things I could talk about here: the layout of the campus, what the students are like, what exactly I am working on... but I will leave all that for the future. For now, I will just leave you with one more picture. This one I took on my very first day at work upon hearing a sound that seemed familar yet strangely out-of-place.

Offered without further comment.

Off to work

I've been really busy the last several days at work, getting ready for an observing run that's coming up fast. And so there wasn't much time to go exploring. But that gives me a chance to talk about, well, work.

Work is at Kyoto University, known here as Kyoto Daigaku, or Kyodai for short, where I am a JSPS-sponsored visitor at the Department of Astronomy. Kyodai is the second oldest university in Japan, and one of the most esteemed ones. Five nobel laureates (including two in physics) and two Fields medalists. That sort of thing. And it's also home to Ohta-san, my esteemed collaborator and host, whose guest I am here for the next several months. In short, it's a really nice gig.

Kyodai's campus is located a few kilometers from my lodgings in Shugakuin (see map in a previous post here). It takes about 30 minutes to walk, and most days I do so both ways. The walk takes me through a set of low-rise residential neighborhoods and so far - after two weeks in Kyoto - things are still sufficiently novel for me that the walk is still really enjoyable. There are lots of different ways to do the walk, and so far I don't think I have walked the exactly same route twice, but I am starting to feel that I am getting to know the lay-out of the neighborhood by now. The little shopping area here... the quaint restaurants there... the pachinko hall with a conveniently located ATM right outside its door...

Typical street on my way to work

The alternative to walking is to take the train or to get a bike. I do the former when it's raining hard or when I am in a hurry, and I suppose I will do the latter when the novelty of looking at baby trucks and the like has worn off. But for now, I walk most days.

The train station just steps away from home

My office is located in the (surprise, surprise!) astronomy building. Actually, it's a building that astronomy shares with geophysics, but we astronomers are on top, if only in that we have the top two floors.

The astronomy & geophysics building. My office is on the fourth floor

Being a visitor, I am naturally enough located in the Visitors' Office. But virtually all the time I have the office all to myself, with only the occasional colloquium speaker stopping by for a few hours every few weeks.

Marcin's workspace with his faithful PowerBook at the ready.

There are many other things I could talk about here: the layout of the campus, what the students are like, what exactly I am working on... but I will leave all that for the future. For now, I will just leave you with one more picture. This one I took on my very first day at work upon hearing a sound that seemed familar yet strangely out-of-place.

Offered without further comment.