I have only slept for three hours, so forgive me if my mind isnt in the right place. So here goes the last update about my most recent adventures in Japan.
Thursday 8/4
After a LOT of sleep to get rid of all the tired from a busy day before, Asuka and I headed to Shinjuku to meet up with Risa and Yuka. I never met Risa and Yuka in Japan, but when I hung out with Asuka in KS (she went to KU the semester after I went to Sophia) she introduced me to the two of them. The four of us had lunch in a french crepe place in Takashimaya. It was... alright. I couldnt order anything too fancy becasue it was all in French and Japanese... We had fun though! Afterwards we window shopped for a bit and generally just wandered around the city. I really love Shinjuku. Auka had to ditch us early for work, but Risa, Yuka, and I ended up window shopping at a Don Quixote and reminicing about Wal-Mart. Afterwards I went hope and spend the evening with my host family.
Friday 8/5
This was my last day to spend with Asuka! We went to Shibuya and had all you can eat shabu shabu. Once we had eaten ourselves silly, we headed off for a little karaoke. I then decided that it was about time that I needed to buy some anime paraphanelia before I left Japan, so it was off to akihabara. Neither of us were familiar with the town, so we didnt stick around long. Instead we ran off to Ikebukuro, Asuka's favorite city, to go to an anime store she was familiar with there. After that we went to sunshine tower 60 and went up to the 60th floor. From there you can see Tokyo in its entierty. It was gorgeous! And since it was night, everything was lit up beautifully. I promise pictures of this one, because I cannot explain it with words!
Saturday 8/6
Wake up super early and its off to the train station. Yumi and Asuka send me off with a teary (mostly on my part) good bye at Shinjuku station. I sit in the starbucks there waiting for Atsuko. Atsuko is a fellow alto from the gospel choir I sang in at Sophia last year. She studied abroad in nor cal all last year, and we hung out in LA for a few days. She picked me up and we lugged my overly stuff suitcase (from all the omiyage the Sunouchi family had given me) all the way to her house. After watching the concert DVDs of the show we were in together, we threw on a couple of yukata and went a few station stops away for a matsuri. It was crowded and hot, but wonderful. I finally got to go to a matsuri and eat lots of matsuri foods!
Sunday 8/7
I had lunch with Haga in shinjuku on Sunday. We chatted a lot about what to do when he comes to California in September. I can't wait! Then I met back uo with Atsuko at her SAfro meeting. It was great to get to see them again! It was a planning meeting, so everyone wasnt there. But I remembered all the faces who were. They were glad to see me! A few of us went for an early dinner after the meeting. Then Atsuko and I were invited to another choir practice that was comprised of SAfro alumni. Wassan and Eisuke (to of the guys I know from SAfro) had joined it a semester prematurely. Attending the practice was really fun, and it was good to sing again. After practice we all went to an izakaya (food and drink bar) where I promptly drunk Eisuke under the table, lol. I made a very american mistake of drinking sake like a shot (IT COMES IN SHOT GLASSES!) instead of sipping it politely... whoops. It was delicious none the less. Apparently my understanding of Japanese has gotten a LOT better since last year, but I still have trouble following rapid converstaion. It was a really fun evening though. Atsuko was able to translate for me if I was ever really lost.
Monday 8/8
Atsuko and I made the long treck to Kamakua (almost 2 hours by train) to go to the beach! It was a hot and humid day like any other, but my the ocean the breeze was nice, and the ocean was pleasntly cool (not freezing, like in California). After splashing around a bit and getting way more wet than I intended to when I rouge wave tried to attack me, Atsuko and I passed out on the beach. The large lunch of cold soba we had had just before probably aided in that... Once we woke up we went back to Tokyo and to her grandparents house. Her grandma stuffed us silly with delicious home made tonkatsu and apple pie (strange pairing, i know) and then gave me more souviners. After a few rounds of card games, Atsuko and I were really tired, so we headed home. Afterfinally being able to take a shower to wash off all the sand and such from the beach, we watched the Studio Ghibli film that came out last year, Arietty. It was amazing. It has become my favorite from that studio. I absolutely adored it, and I suggest everyone watch it.
Tuesday 8/9
This time I had lunch with Nao and Alexis in Shinjuku, where we talked mostly of cosplay, crossplay, and visual kei. I love the diversity I have amongst my friends. After lunch Alexis left us, and Nao and I went to go look at comic books and fantasy/sci fi novels in an english book store. I swear I would forget that Nao isnt some geeky american girl if it wasnt for the fact that she has never been to america... I then sent a message from Nao's phone telling Astuko to meet me in Korea town for dinner. I waiting in front of the station in Korea town for over an hour before I gave up and tried to call from a pay phone.
Of course it was dead... I was afraid to leave and end up just missing her, so since my feet were tired I went to sit on a short fence while leaning against a pole. Doing the same thing on the opposite side of the pole was some guy who looked shocked to see that I sat *next* to him. The next thing I know im getting kissing noises from across the pole. I look straight ahead, and ignore him, looking for Atsuko. I can tell he is leaning back and looking right at me from around the pole, calling soflty for my attention, but I ignore him. He gives up. Thank god. I guess he gets a second round of courage because this time he nudges my shoulder (which is still leaning on the pole between us) and keeps calling for me. Then he starts to get creepy, he leans in to my ear and starts whispering, asking if I am okay and need any help. I sit straight up, shoot him as nasty of a glare as I can manage, and continue to strare straight ahead. Next thing I know his hand has wandered its way down the fence and is rubbing my ass. Completely freaked out at this point, I jump up and walk straight into the train station without stopping to look back. Once I am safely in shinjuku (the next stop away), I find a working pay phone and called Atsuko. Lucky for me she was also looking for me in Shinjuku.
We went back to Korea town together, and luckily the guy was gone. We wandered around for a bit, I was on the hunt for a specific Kpop bad poster, that was rather diffcult to find. But after the like... 8th store, Atsuko found it! Then we went for dinner. Korean BBQ and pancakes. Delicious! I went home full and happy (and completely broke). But then Atsuko surprised me with a round of karaoke! It was a fun way to end my last night in Japan.
I stayed up all night last night, reading, watching TV and surfing the internet to make sure that I am nice and sleep deprived for today, which I am. So now thats its finally 10am, I can go eat breakfast and catch my train for the airport.
Ja, matta ne!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I am so very, very tired.
Monday 8/1
On Monday I go to to return to Nishi Kawaguchi for the first time in over a year. As soon as I got there I felt as if I had never left. My feet were on auto pilot as i lead asuka down the path I used to always walk to get home. It was great to see the place, but I couldn't go in... too bad. After a few pictures, the two of us walked to the mall I used to frequent for sushi for lunch. We also went to the international market, and I bought american brownie mix to share with the family! We also took some puri kura, because neither of us had done that in a while. A little window shopping, and then we were off.
After that we met up with Daichi in Ikebukuro and did some karaoke! I cant sing in Japanese, and they cant sing in English, so we never got to sing together... But it was fun! After Karaoke Daichi left us and Asuka and I did more window shopping before returning home.
Tuesday 8/2
Tuesday morning we woke up around 6am to go do Rajio Taiso (Radio Aerobics) at the local elementary school. Its a Japanese thing... it was pretty refreshing! Then we got dressed and headed to the Tokyo fish market in Sukiji. WOW. That's all I can say. So many people, so much FRESH fish. I don't even like fish... Which actually made it really hard for Asuka and I to find a place to eat, of course she wanted sashimi, and I wanted tempura. But every place sold one or the other, not both. Asuka eventually asked a group of random old men, and one of them was nice enough to walk us all the way to what I suspect is the only place that sells both. Talk about delicious! But Since I didn't sleep well the night before, I was kind of a zombie all morning... We then went to a mall to kill time for a few hours. I fell asleep sitting on a chair, haha.
After a little window shopping we met up with Noel and the three of us went to Oedo Onsen. It straight up looked like the bath house from Spirited Away! It was so cool! You go in and choose a yukata to wear around, then you go into the first changing room and put that on. Then you get to go into the recreation area. There were resteraunts, sleeping rooms, TV rooms, massage chairs and more. After a little ice cream, the three of us headed into the 2nd changing room where you disrobe and go into the actual onsen. There were like... 10 different types of baths! It was amazing. And 3 of them were outside. Of course we tried them all. I have never felt more relaxed and comfortable. We then went inside and took a short nap in the TV room. After that we headed for this foot path thing... It was a shallow onsen lined with various types of river rocks in various formations. You were supposed to slowly walk from one end to the other to stretch and massage your feet. Holy crap, that mess hurt! But afterwards our feet did feel a lot better, haha.
All and all we were in the Onsen for about 5 hours. By the time we left, Noel had to go meet friends for dinner. Asuka had heard that there was a matsuri (festival) is Ueno, so we went there. The matsuri was pretty pathetic... so we left really quickly and wandered around Ueno for a while... Eventually we just had some gyudon for dinner and went home. Back home I made american brownies for everyone with the mix i had bought before. It was a little difficult using metric measurements and cooking in Celsius.... but they came out amazing!
Wednesday 8/3
Wake up early and fight through morning rush hour train traffic to go to DISNEYLAND!!!! Tokyo Disney and Disneyland are very similar. Big Thunder mountain in Tokyo is like 3 times longer. There is no matter horn... and all the Disney songs are in Japanese (weird). But it was a really fun day. We got to ride everything! The electrical lights parade at the end of the night was amazing. Oh, and cinderella's castle in Tokyo? Sooooo much bigger and prettier! All three of us were dead tired by the end of the day, but it was so worth it! No matter the 2 hours or so of rain and the ridiculous amount of humidity, Disneyland is always fun!
Because Asuka and her family are going on vacation this weekend, I have made arrangements to stay with a friend from SAfro FAmily. That means I only have two more days with the Sunouchi's. Gotta make the best of it!
On Monday I go to to return to Nishi Kawaguchi for the first time in over a year. As soon as I got there I felt as if I had never left. My feet were on auto pilot as i lead asuka down the path I used to always walk to get home. It was great to see the place, but I couldn't go in... too bad. After a few pictures, the two of us walked to the mall I used to frequent for sushi for lunch. We also went to the international market, and I bought american brownie mix to share with the family! We also took some puri kura, because neither of us had done that in a while. A little window shopping, and then we were off.
After that we met up with Daichi in Ikebukuro and did some karaoke! I cant sing in Japanese, and they cant sing in English, so we never got to sing together... But it was fun! After Karaoke Daichi left us and Asuka and I did more window shopping before returning home.
Tuesday 8/2
Tuesday morning we woke up around 6am to go do Rajio Taiso (Radio Aerobics) at the local elementary school. Its a Japanese thing... it was pretty refreshing! Then we got dressed and headed to the Tokyo fish market in Sukiji. WOW. That's all I can say. So many people, so much FRESH fish. I don't even like fish... Which actually made it really hard for Asuka and I to find a place to eat, of course she wanted sashimi, and I wanted tempura. But every place sold one or the other, not both. Asuka eventually asked a group of random old men, and one of them was nice enough to walk us all the way to what I suspect is the only place that sells both. Talk about delicious! But Since I didn't sleep well the night before, I was kind of a zombie all morning... We then went to a mall to kill time for a few hours. I fell asleep sitting on a chair, haha.
After a little window shopping we met up with Noel and the three of us went to Oedo Onsen. It straight up looked like the bath house from Spirited Away! It was so cool! You go in and choose a yukata to wear around, then you go into the first changing room and put that on. Then you get to go into the recreation area. There were resteraunts, sleeping rooms, TV rooms, massage chairs and more. After a little ice cream, the three of us headed into the 2nd changing room where you disrobe and go into the actual onsen. There were like... 10 different types of baths! It was amazing. And 3 of them were outside. Of course we tried them all. I have never felt more relaxed and comfortable. We then went inside and took a short nap in the TV room. After that we headed for this foot path thing... It was a shallow onsen lined with various types of river rocks in various formations. You were supposed to slowly walk from one end to the other to stretch and massage your feet. Holy crap, that mess hurt! But afterwards our feet did feel a lot better, haha.
All and all we were in the Onsen for about 5 hours. By the time we left, Noel had to go meet friends for dinner. Asuka had heard that there was a matsuri (festival) is Ueno, so we went there. The matsuri was pretty pathetic... so we left really quickly and wandered around Ueno for a while... Eventually we just had some gyudon for dinner and went home. Back home I made american brownies for everyone with the mix i had bought before. It was a little difficult using metric measurements and cooking in Celsius.... but they came out amazing!
Wednesday 8/3
Wake up early and fight through morning rush hour train traffic to go to DISNEYLAND!!!! Tokyo Disney and Disneyland are very similar. Big Thunder mountain in Tokyo is like 3 times longer. There is no matter horn... and all the Disney songs are in Japanese (weird). But it was a really fun day. We got to ride everything! The electrical lights parade at the end of the night was amazing. Oh, and cinderella's castle in Tokyo? Sooooo much bigger and prettier! All three of us were dead tired by the end of the day, but it was so worth it! No matter the 2 hours or so of rain and the ridiculous amount of humidity, Disneyland is always fun!
Because Asuka and her family are going on vacation this weekend, I have made arrangements to stay with a friend from SAfro FAmily. That means I only have two more days with the Sunouchi's. Gotta make the best of it!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
I'm back!!!
Woooow, so a little after a year of leaving Japan I am back again for a (way too short) two week vacation. I figured bring this blog back alive for the two weeks to log what i've been up to was appropriate. So here goes!
Tuesday 7/26 - Wednesday 7/27
I only slept just over 3 hours before getting up to go to the airport. I had to get there excessively early, and then there were no lines anywhere in the whole international terminal. It was really weird, complete 180 from the southwest terminal. I ate a quick breakfast then went to my gate and went to sleep. The plane ride was uneventful. I slept, ate, slept summore. Then I couldn't sleep, so I watched three movies (Battle LA, Paul, Limitless), all surprisingly good. Once I landed in Japan I was on my own for the first time to get myself to Tokyo. For a good hour after I got on the train I was worried that I was on the wrong one, even though I knew I was on the right one, lol. At the Ikebukuro station I met Asuka. Asuka was the first friend I made in Japan, and we have stayed close all this time. She brought me to her home where I was reunited with her mother and little brother. After a nice dinner and a quick shower, it was off to sleep for me. I had been sleeping a lot... but when you are on a plane for 11 hours and a train for another 2, and when you left one place on a Tuesday morning and arrive in another on a Wednesday afternoon, you tend to be pretty jet-lagged.
Thursday 7/28
Asuka and her mother had to work, so it was me and little brother Daichi for the day! Daichi studies English, but is really shy, so we only conversed in Japanese. Apparently I haven't forgotten as much as I thought I had. The studying before I came here def helped. Daichi and I had gyudon (grilled beef over rice) for lunch Its simple, but a staple, and a fav of mine that I have really missed. Then we went and saw the latest Miyazaki movie. Considering his last one hasn't even come to America yet, I was really excited to see it! I loved it, it was super cute, and I was able to understand what was going on with minimal difficulty. Between lunch and the movie, Daichi and I had a lot of time to kill, so we wandered around a small book shop. Small talk is awkward with a shy boy who only speaks a language you are studying. And did I mention he is a 16 year old High School student whose mom made him take me to the movie? Haha, poor kid!
After the movie, I left Daichi and went to shinjuku to meet up with Haga and the rest of the Kioi circle (Sophia's GSA) that I was a part of last year. It was great to get to see everyone again! There English was better, and my Japanese is apparently better, so communicating was a LOT easier. We ate dinner at Sweets Paradise, an all you can eat pasta and dessert bar. Delicious! Then we went out for drinks. I missed those guys, it was great fun!
Friday 7/29
Asuka and I went to Sophia because she had a paper to turn in. I was really nice to see my old school once again. I was nostalgia-ing all over the place! We also had lunch at my favorite Indian place, Mumbia. I used to go there almost weekly. It tasted even better than I remembered. We pretty much ate ourselves silly, haha. After that we headed to Harajuku for a little window shopping. After that we went to Meiji temple. I had always seen the entrance for it, but had never gone. It was beautiful! They planted a forest in the middle of the city, and the further you go in, the harder it is to remember that you are even in a city at all. After harajuku we headed over to Tokyo Tower. We went all the way to the top and the view was amazing! Pictures will come later (after I get back to LA). We then headed to Shin Okubo which is Korea Town. I wanted to find a poster of the boy band MBLAQ, but everywhere was sold out of them! I tried like.... 7 places. Wth? Eventually Yumi (asuka's mom) and Daichi joined us and we all had Korean BBQ for dinner. Once we get back home, I meet Hiroki, asuka's dad who had just returned from a business trip in southern Japan.
Saturday 7/30
We all wake up super early and load into the family van. Then we go and pick up grandma and grandpa, then the Sunouchi family (plus one) are off to Mt. Fuji!Us kids pretty much slept the entire way there. When we were close, we stopped for lunch at a popular local resteraunt and had some sort of hot pot dish... it was delicious, whatever it was. No longer in Tokyo, my presence everywhere garnered a lot of attention. Gotta get used to that again... After lunch we drove up onto the mountain and went as high as cars are allowed to go. There was a pretty shrine that was supposed to have an amazing view, but since the weekend was annoyingly rainy, it was too cloudy to see very far. We were, however, high enough to be above the rain cloud line. So as we looked down the mountain we could only see so far before it all turned a light gray. I commented that it looked like the edge of the world, and Yumi agreed. Asuka and I then began our hike up the mountain. Unfortunately an incoming storm made us turn back after a while, so that we could return to the car before getting rained on. We then all went to the hotel. It wasnt that late, but it was raining super heard so we stayed in for the evening. We played a little ping pong, tried out the bath house, and played cards as a family while watching TV. Dinner was also in there somewhere...
Sunday 7/31
Yesterday we woke up early for a nice breakfast, then packed our bags and headed out. We went to the Kawaguchi Musical Garden. It was at the base of the mountain, and gorgeous! The garden/museum thing featured a lot of self playing music boxes ranging from one that was the size of the entire room to one that was 500 years old, to one that had actual violins hooked up to it, to the small normal ones in the gift shop. It was surprisingly fun. And Hiro-kun is such a goof-ball, he can make any situation pretty funny. Apparently the city at the base of Mt. Fuji where we were is famous for peaches, so we stopped at a peach stand by the side of the road and had some. They were HUGE and pretty darn good. After that we all slept as we made the long drive back to Tokyo. We had Okonomiyaki for lunch and then Yumi and I bought a few desserts for the family. Back at grandma and grandpa's place we ate more peaches with dessert and coffee/tea. Then it was back home finally.
That brings us to today where for the 5th day in a row I am awake around 7am. I swear as soon as I am on a normal sleep schedule, I am going to have to leave! The plan for today is to go visit my old home in Nishi Kwaguchi, and possibly some Karaoke with Diachi.
Ja, matta ne!
Tuesday 7/26 - Wednesday 7/27
I only slept just over 3 hours before getting up to go to the airport. I had to get there excessively early, and then there were no lines anywhere in the whole international terminal. It was really weird, complete 180 from the southwest terminal. I ate a quick breakfast then went to my gate and went to sleep. The plane ride was uneventful. I slept, ate, slept summore. Then I couldn't sleep, so I watched three movies (Battle LA, Paul, Limitless), all surprisingly good. Once I landed in Japan I was on my own for the first time to get myself to Tokyo. For a good hour after I got on the train I was worried that I was on the wrong one, even though I knew I was on the right one, lol. At the Ikebukuro station I met Asuka. Asuka was the first friend I made in Japan, and we have stayed close all this time. She brought me to her home where I was reunited with her mother and little brother. After a nice dinner and a quick shower, it was off to sleep for me. I had been sleeping a lot... but when you are on a plane for 11 hours and a train for another 2, and when you left one place on a Tuesday morning and arrive in another on a Wednesday afternoon, you tend to be pretty jet-lagged.
Thursday 7/28
Asuka and her mother had to work, so it was me and little brother Daichi for the day! Daichi studies English, but is really shy, so we only conversed in Japanese. Apparently I haven't forgotten as much as I thought I had. The studying before I came here def helped. Daichi and I had gyudon (grilled beef over rice) for lunch Its simple, but a staple, and a fav of mine that I have really missed. Then we went and saw the latest Miyazaki movie. Considering his last one hasn't even come to America yet, I was really excited to see it! I loved it, it was super cute, and I was able to understand what was going on with minimal difficulty. Between lunch and the movie, Daichi and I had a lot of time to kill, so we wandered around a small book shop. Small talk is awkward with a shy boy who only speaks a language you are studying. And did I mention he is a 16 year old High School student whose mom made him take me to the movie? Haha, poor kid!
After the movie, I left Daichi and went to shinjuku to meet up with Haga and the rest of the Kioi circle (Sophia's GSA) that I was a part of last year. It was great to get to see everyone again! There English was better, and my Japanese is apparently better, so communicating was a LOT easier. We ate dinner at Sweets Paradise, an all you can eat pasta and dessert bar. Delicious! Then we went out for drinks. I missed those guys, it was great fun!
Friday 7/29
Asuka and I went to Sophia because she had a paper to turn in. I was really nice to see my old school once again. I was nostalgia-ing all over the place! We also had lunch at my favorite Indian place, Mumbia. I used to go there almost weekly. It tasted even better than I remembered. We pretty much ate ourselves silly, haha. After that we headed to Harajuku for a little window shopping. After that we went to Meiji temple. I had always seen the entrance for it, but had never gone. It was beautiful! They planted a forest in the middle of the city, and the further you go in, the harder it is to remember that you are even in a city at all. After harajuku we headed over to Tokyo Tower. We went all the way to the top and the view was amazing! Pictures will come later (after I get back to LA). We then headed to Shin Okubo which is Korea Town. I wanted to find a poster of the boy band MBLAQ, but everywhere was sold out of them! I tried like.... 7 places. Wth? Eventually Yumi (asuka's mom) and Daichi joined us and we all had Korean BBQ for dinner. Once we get back home, I meet Hiroki, asuka's dad who had just returned from a business trip in southern Japan.
Saturday 7/30
We all wake up super early and load into the family van. Then we go and pick up grandma and grandpa, then the Sunouchi family (plus one) are off to Mt. Fuji!Us kids pretty much slept the entire way there. When we were close, we stopped for lunch at a popular local resteraunt and had some sort of hot pot dish... it was delicious, whatever it was. No longer in Tokyo, my presence everywhere garnered a lot of attention. Gotta get used to that again... After lunch we drove up onto the mountain and went as high as cars are allowed to go. There was a pretty shrine that was supposed to have an amazing view, but since the weekend was annoyingly rainy, it was too cloudy to see very far. We were, however, high enough to be above the rain cloud line. So as we looked down the mountain we could only see so far before it all turned a light gray. I commented that it looked like the edge of the world, and Yumi agreed. Asuka and I then began our hike up the mountain. Unfortunately an incoming storm made us turn back after a while, so that we could return to the car before getting rained on. We then all went to the hotel. It wasnt that late, but it was raining super heard so we stayed in for the evening. We played a little ping pong, tried out the bath house, and played cards as a family while watching TV. Dinner was also in there somewhere...
Sunday 7/31
Yesterday we woke up early for a nice breakfast, then packed our bags and headed out. We went to the Kawaguchi Musical Garden. It was at the base of the mountain, and gorgeous! The garden/museum thing featured a lot of self playing music boxes ranging from one that was the size of the entire room to one that was 500 years old, to one that had actual violins hooked up to it, to the small normal ones in the gift shop. It was surprisingly fun. And Hiro-kun is such a goof-ball, he can make any situation pretty funny. Apparently the city at the base of Mt. Fuji where we were is famous for peaches, so we stopped at a peach stand by the side of the road and had some. They were HUGE and pretty darn good. After that we all slept as we made the long drive back to Tokyo. We had Okonomiyaki for lunch and then Yumi and I bought a few desserts for the family. Back at grandma and grandpa's place we ate more peaches with dessert and coffee/tea. Then it was back home finally.
That brings us to today where for the 5th day in a row I am awake around 7am. I swear as soon as I am on a normal sleep schedule, I am going to have to leave! The plan for today is to go visit my old home in Nishi Kwaguchi, and possibly some Karaoke with Diachi.
Ja, matta ne!
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