Friend's Birthdays

So, I took another trip back to Nagoya this weekend because two of my friends had birthdays (Paul from Ecuador and Fausto from Brazil).
Unfortunately, everyone is a little busy recently. I think it is common in Japan at this time of year. The fiscal year starts on April first here. So, they also are dealing with the new semester and presentations, etc...
By coincidence, on my way from Nagoya to Matsue, I ran into a couple other friends of my in the subway (on my way to the bullet train). It was kind of interesting...It's a city about the size of Chicago and I ran into a couple people that I know rathe randomly. That doesn't happen often in the US.
Anyways, I didn't take any pictures of my friends parties, but I did take a few scenic pictures from the train and from the university that I can share (below).
I also met with my language exchange friend while I was Nagoya again. She seems to be doing fine. At least I was glad to meet her. We talked for a couple hours at Starbucks.
Some of my friends have left to go back to their home countries, so it seems that my circle keeps getting smaller and smaller. Japan isn't as good without them. I think that a lot of my friends are trying to get jobs and postdocs in Germany (for some reason). I guess if they are all going maybe I will do that too. I should probably start thinking about a postdoc now as well.