Week 4. Already?

こんにちわ！

Ok, so its already week 4, and almost not even that anymore. Goodness gracious me! This week has been reletively low key (compared to action packed week 2) but still fun. Monday I went to the library to study and talk to Chris Morrison on AIM (Hi Chris!). Unfortunately it started raining before I left. So I waited as long as I could until I deemed it to be the lightest rain it would be. I attempted to ride my bike and hold my umbrella, but my umbrella was too light and kept getting blown around, not to mention the hole biking with only one hand thing. So I succumbed to having wet clothing when I get home. No big deal, I just changed. Fortunately my backpack is water resistant, and all my stuff was unharmed.

Tuesday however, was a surprise awesome day. Charlene asked me during class if I wanted to go to Akihabara and I was like "heck yeah! When?" and she was like "after class." After about 2 seconds thought I agreed and it was settled. After class we headed to lunch, then each went to our individual sessions with our sensei's (which we had schedualed for that day). We then swung over to Charlenes dorm so I could drop off the heavier stuff in my bag and we were finally off. hopped on a train, transfered at Shinjuku onto the Chuo line heading for Akihabara and after about 45-60 minutes we were there.

It was pretty sweet. There were anime billboards, restaraunt ads with anime-style drawings, girls dressed up as maids promoting the bajillion maid cafes that were there (Seriously, on one small stretch of road there were three different cafes each with girls standing outside handing out ads). There were tons of interesting stores too. We first stopped at Sofmap, a huge electonics store. There were 7 levels, and we later found out that there were more than one Sofmap on that one street (we didn't have time or energy to venture much futher than what seemed to be the main drag).

We then wandered around looking for the Tokyo Anime Center which was described in Charlenes guide book. We got there and were a little dissappointed. It was a one room affair with some merchandise and statues and old pokemon stuff on display but that was it. There was however some live show going on in a sound room there. My guess is that it was either a demonstration of an anime voice acting session, a radio show (maybe with anime voice actors as guests) or some other kind of performance. They weren't dressed up or doing anything, just talking. As I was unable to understand them, we didn't hang around for long.

Next we wandered in the direction of an interesting anime merchandise store we had passed earlier. We soon found that the 7 floor format was widely used, and each floor had different stuff. There was manga, CDs, DVDs, action figures, and all sorts of other completely useless anime stuff from anime I had either heard of or not (though Gundam and especially Evengelion were everywhere. Seriously, I see figures and pictures of Rei in the most random places in Tokyo). While I was there I bought a little Full Metal Alchemist action figure (about an inch and a half tall) that was packaged in a very popular way here. There are many little series of figures in boxes that don't reveal which one you got, leaving you to pick one at random and hope that it's the figure you want or like. You can see the possible figures it could be though, they're not completely heartless. Mine ended up being a little chibi Ed with an angry face. Though if he asks, I didn't call him little, chibi, or a shrimp you can't even see with a microscope. (Anime fans should lol now).

We then ventured on, now with thoughts of dinner. We stopped at various other stores as we searched, me with a new quest. I wanted an action figure of LeLouch from Code Geass. And gosh darn it I was going to find one. Though the female characters from Code Geass seemed much more abundant. I finally found one and I think it's pretty rocking. Not too expensive either!

Finally we found a suitable eatery (I wanted to go to a ramen place specifically because I had yet to eat ramen in Japan) and took a seat. I got Chicken Teriyaki ramen (ramen with chicken teriyki in it instead of the standard extremely fatty piece of pork). It was amazing! One ittadakimasu later and I was chowing down greatfully (I was very hungry and tired). We quietly mocked a few other Americans who based off their loud conversation made it seem like they were in Japan simply to shop for stuff, paid our bill, said gochisousama deshita and departed.

We stopped at a few more stores, including this game arcade that had different levels of stuff (of course) though we only explored two. The first was entirely machines with grabbers where instead of picking things up the goal is to maneuver them into little holes. Kind of a rip off, but fun to play a bit of. Like gambling, just keep a budget and expect to lose all of your money (thanks Dad for that bit of wisdom).

It was 7:45 so we headed home (I told my host mother I'd be home by 9ish). We got back to the dorm, I got my stuff and biked leisurely down the hill home. I was in the door by 9:03.

Wednesday was also fun. I had signed up for the recent cultural activity. Rythmic Sho. Sho is the art of writing kanji, not to be mistaken for calligraphy. The point is to move your whole body and attempt to show expression in the piece. It was amazing to watch and so much fun to do! I would love it if I could get a chance to practice more and actually do it right.

We wrote the character for 'big' (大) many times, and then were encouraged to pick our favorite to do on the boards they gave us. We got to get two of them officially stamped (one of them 'big' the other one your choice). I chose for my other one 'yama' or mountain (which we had just learned in class)　(山).

That lasted me a while and then I headed home for some benkyou shimasu (studying). Now I'm here, anxious about my huge test tomorrow, getting psyched up to study. Fuji-san is Saturday and Sunday!!!! I have all the details like schedule and stuff, but I'll post it tomorrow. I've got to get to work!

じゃまた！

Harajuku, Meiji Shrine and adorable granddaughters

こんにちわ！

Ok, so in order. Friday, We had an orienteering expedition in Musashi-sakai station. We had to find Sukippudori (a street), ask if a bus went to ICU, find out the purpose of a couple of stores, etc. It was quite fun. After, we all had lunch together (the class, or most of it), and then Charlene and I took off. First we stopped at a department store, so I could find some awesome erasable pens she told me about. The ink dissappears with heat, caused by friction. so the eraser is just a rubber nub that never wears away. Coolest pens ever. Then, it was off on the train.

A short trip later we were in Harajuku. I got a really cute short sleeved sweatshirt and a lolita dress, as planned. I might post pictures later. I really like it, even though I will only ever be able to wear it at anime cons and Halloween.

Charlene took me to Kiddyland, a toy store that had everything under the sun, from Totoro and other Ghibli merchandise, to anime figures, to Lilo and Stitch merchandise (which the Japanese seen to love). There were like 5 levels of awesomeness. I didn't linger too long though, for fear of spending oodles of money...

We then headed over to the Meiji Shrine. It was beautiful. only a couple minutes walk away from the station, it was amazingly isolated. It was quiet and peaceful and well, spiritual. There were large gate entrances and actual priestesses doing various tasks. I bought a charm meant for academic success... I've always kind of wanted one. Charlene got a crepe (also extremely popular here) and I mooched a couple of bites, not wanting to ruin my appetite for dinner. We got back on the train and I was back home by about 6:30, 7:00.

Oh this is a good time to mention my Suica card. These things are magical. You load money on the card (which you purchase for 500 yen and can get it refunded when you return it) and instead of buying tickets every time you go somewhere you just swipe the card (still in your wallet) at the gate. No fuss, no muss. No longer will I have to worry about what the ticket cost should be. Glorious day!

So yesterday I had nothing planned. I was going to explore a bit on my bike maybe. So I got up at around 9, took a shower and got out my computer. I was not in the mood to post, so I didn't. I did chat with Erik for a while, and then Skyped, before Kuzuhara-san came home and I decided to sign off. I then took my bike to KFC to compare the food and eat lunch. It was quite different. The Japanese just can't seem to get chicken right to save their lives. Ah well.

I continued along, stopped at an electroncs store, wandered a bit, got some more rechargable batteries and continued along. I stopped last at a 711 for some chips and headed home. I chilled/studied until 7:30ish when I came down in search of dinner.

Kuzuhara-sans other daughter and granddaughter came over for either the night or more (I don't know yet). They had dinner with us and I had a lovely time trying to communicate with a 5-year-old girl. Chi-chan is absolutely adorable, and doesn't seem to mind when I don't understand her. Between yesterday and today we've spent time drawing, playing with legos, tossing stuffed animals back and forth, playing piano, talking, eating tomatoes and other various things. Kuzuhara-san's daughter (whose name as I'm sure none of you are surprised to hear I've forgotten T.T) is also delightful. She speaks English very well, and we spent a lot of time disucssing things like how I get to school, what my house it like (we google earth'd it), pictures of my family cats and stay here so far, and marching band.

After that chat, we all took the car (my first time in a car here) to J Mart, yes, J Mart, for some household supplies. I got myself an umbrella there so I wouldn't have to keep borrowing Kuzuhara-san's. We then had dinner at a local restaraunt, and I had my first pizza in Japan. It came with corn soup and a salad and had corn sprinkled on it. It was really good though. For dessert, Kuzuhara-san convinced me to bet this banana/chocolate cake stuff that was also delicious.

Now I'm home again, I've just completed my homework for tomorrow, and I'm posting this before I get too sleepy and lazy. Oh! Almost forgot. For lunch I made the apple cinnamon pancakes that I brought as a present. Thy didn't look all that pretty, but they tasted alright, and the Kuzuhara's seemed to like them. I wanted to take a picture, but my batteries had died, and I was hungry.

So yeah, to bed with me!!

じゃまた！

Soba noodles at Jindaiji and Asakusa again

こんにちわ！

I have resigned myself to the fact that most places I visit will require a second visit, and as such have already started. Surprisingly, though I had only one revisit planned this week, I ended up with two!

It turns out that the location of the pottery and soba noodles cultural event was the same as the shrine that the Kuzuharas took me to the first weekend here, Jindaiji, when I had forgotten my camera and vowed to return someday. Well it was easier than I had thought it would be. We got a nice bus ride there (part of the initial fee of the trip), and were ushered into a room where we had the choice of sitting on tatami mats to eat (which I did), and served delicious soba noodles. My second time having them there. Just because, I'm including the pic.

Afterwards, we went to a pottery shop nextdoor and were given a lump of clay. There was an example cup, but we could do whatever we wanted. I made this sweet bowl. Hopefully it'll withstand fireing and the trip back to America. When we were done, we were given the choice of how we wanted it glazed (which they would do for us), and left to our own devices to wander. Wander I did, though I had seen it all before. I took pictures this time, though one must keep in mind that the last time I was there it was days before a festival, and there were many more people and shops open.

So yeah, after that, I headed back to ICU with Charlene, and chilled in her dorm for a bit before we took off in search of a headlamp for my trip up Mt. Fuji in August. She suggested the Hard-Off (real name, I know), which is a second hand shop above a golf store. It was really cool. I got myself an alarm clock while I was there, and also a Japanese DS game (based of the anime Yakitate Japan, a game I know I'll never find in the states or in English, though it is quite difficult to play when you don't understand any of the words). Though no head lamp. So we continued down the block to Don Quihote again (took pictures this time), and I got a semi-cheap one. Noce though.

It was time for dinner, so we walked to McDonalds which was on our way back and I enjoyed a double cheeseburger meal (I was so unbelievably hungry). I don't make a habit of this fyi, just, every now and then I need some familiarity. I spent some of the conversation with Charlene reminicing about the states (though shes a Canadian, Toronto-style) and missing various things, such as the ability to talk to people and have complete understanding.

I headed home then, as it was already 7:30.

Today, we had no quizzes, no tests, and no homework, first time since the first day of class. Instead we prepared for conversations we were to have the next period with the visiting Japanese students who were volunteering to help our studies. Three weeks ago I knew virtually no Japanese and now I had to have a conversation in it? It was very hard, embarrasing, and awkward. Good, I guess. I don't know.

We also prepared for our field trip ro Musashi-sakai station tomorrow, where we would have to go around asking people questions about things and write down/get proof of their answers. Exciting I guess. Better than boring class. After than, Charlene and I are going to head back to Harajuku where I am bound and determined to get a lolita dress of some sort. Kuzuhara-san has also suggested we check out the famous shrine nearby, Meiji Shrine. I'll have to ask Charlene if she's interested tomorrow.

Last of all in class today, we spent some time in the computer lab practicing writing in Japanese, including hiragana, katakana, and kanji, whereas I previously only understood how to work hiragana on my computer. Sample sentence:

あしたわたしは原宿に行きます。

That says, "Tomorrow, I am going to Harajuku", though I am sort of trusing my computer that the Kanji for Harajuku is correct. I'm reasonably sure it is. Anyway, that's it for me. Tomorrow Harajuku, Saturday I meet Kuzuhara-san's other daughter and her children (Kuzuhara-san is a grandmother? I didn't know!) And Sunday... nothing yet. Maybe plans, probably studying, though there's no test on Monday (for once). There will be a huge vocab quiz on Tuesday and a huge 2 chapter test on Friday... can't... get... behind...!

じゃまた！
(Ja Matta - meaning see you later)

Asakusa, Sensoji Shrine

こんにちわ！

So this weekends adventure took me to Asakusa, home of a large Buddhist shrine and of course, an even larger shrine of consumerism. As it should be? Who knows. All I know is that it was awesome.

So first of all, Friday evening and Saturday I was useless. I caught some 24 hour bug, and ended up sleeping off a fever for 16 hours Friday night. Needless to say I had some funky dreams. It was all good though, because I didn't have class, or anything to do but chill in my room and study for my test on Monday (today). So chill I did (relatively speaking given the ever constant weather).

Sunday morning, I got up (very rested after the previous nights immense amount of sleep), hopped on the computer and chatted with Nan and Geetz on skype (my grandparents for those I haven't told the story to). It was lovely, but I soon had to get off to get ready for my solitary trip to Asakusa. I was informed moments later that we were going to meet at 4, not 2, because a couple people were held up on a previous trip. So at 2:10ish I headed out. At 2:13, after having not reached the bus in time, I realized I forgot my camera and went back. I finally got on the next bus (which was only about 15 minutes later) and headed to Mitaka station. Took the Chuo line to Kanda, the Ginza subway line to Asakusa, and then the fun began.

I ended up wandering quite a bit to find Sensoji, or more specifically the huge lantern we were to meet at (and I mean HUGE check out the pics. Dude.), called Kaminarimon. Well after asking about 4 people Sumimasen, Sensoji wa doko desu ka? (Excuse me, where is Sensoji?), I finally stumbled upon it. Hard to miss really. I was sitting there for about 10 minutes getting anxious (I had gotten there exactly at 4), when Ken showed up. He was one of the group. We sat together for another half hour before by using cell phones we realized there were 2 big lanterns. We were at the right one, but the others were at the inner one.

So we finally started exploring. I got a fortune at the shrine. It ws bad and said all sorts of stuff about how the sick person is in danger and the lost item will not be found. Apparently it is also bad for me to marry or employ. It was hilarious. We moved on and wafted the incense over our heads to promote health, took some pictures, and stared to explore the shops.

There was this street of shops all down the line from the one gate (lantern) to the other. I unfortunately did not plan well and forgot to get money from the ATM at ICU when I could, so I had only enought to got to Asakusa and back with a drink. I had to borrow money for dinner. It's alright thoug, I've already planned a trip back this Thursday with some different friends. I'll buy stuff then.

Tomorrow I have a one-on-one meeting with Kojima-sensei, and Wednesday I eat soba noodles and make my own soba noodle bowl. Thursday is Asakusa again and Friday who knows! Lot's of stuff.

Almost forgot! Today there was Rakugo, which means traditional Japanese comedy. Basically two ICU clubs performed. One was a music club playing I think Koto's. Kinda like large floor guitars. It was lovely. Then there was a girl who sat on a table and told a few humorous stories using only a fan and a cloth to help tell the story. Since the videos are too large for flickr, I'm putting them on my YouTube account at http://www.youtube.com/user/himurasarah. They'll take a couple hours to uplaod, but be patient, they're pretty cool.

So yeah, thats it for now. Probably update after Wednesdays expedition.

さようなら！！

What Harry Potter and Totoro have in common...

こんにちわ！

Harry Potter was awesome. I think it's actually getting better now, rather than a huge disappointment. That's just me...

Anyways, we left class (we being me, Charlene, who got me the ticket, and Leslie, who got Charlene the tickets). Charlene's in C1 with me and Leslie's in C4 (higher class) and has been to Japan before, so we dutifully followed her lead. She led us to Rippongi, a mini city in Tokyo. It had a huge beautiful theatre, cool statues, expensive restaurants, real upper crust. We unfotunately didn't get time to explore, as we arrived at the theatre just in time to watch the cute 'don't talk on your mobile (lol), kick the seats, talk, litter, smoke, etc. video. Watching trailors for movies that I've already seen in America is bizarre. Watched the movie, la-di-da, nothing you couldn't imagine doing at home (excepting the Japanese subtitles of course, but those were easy to tune out).

We bounced right after, hoping to get to the dorms in time to make a quick meal, for me to get home and cram in a little more studying for the vocab quiz we had today before bed. Well, all of that worked out fine, though it was a little later than I had hoped. My goodness I can't seem to get much sleep around here with all the amazing things I have to do. Tuesday I attented a lecture on archeology at ICU (wrote about that last post), yesterday I wandered Rippongi and saw Harry Potter. Today of course, was the crowning glory of the week.

The Ghibli Museum.

Oh and was it ever fantastic! The buiding was relatively small, a short walk from the Mitaka train station. it was covered in vines and plants and looked just like a building from on of Miyazaki's films. there were cool swirly spire stairs and a giant totoro looking out from a window. I was only allowed to talk photos while outside, so I'll let them speak for themselves. The inside of course, was even more amazing. There were rooms filled with handrawn and painted sketches and scenes, from movies I knew, one I didn't (still haven't seen the new "Ponyo by the Sea" but I heard its wonderful), places I recognized and random doodles for inspiration. There was one room that had all sorts of displays that were intended to create illusions of movement. One was physical that spun with little sculptures all around so that when spinning and the light flashing it looked like the characters (from "My Neighbor Totoro") were moving. It was trippy, but awesome.

We wandered for a while and ended up outside to eats some (expensive) ice cream. The raspberry was great. Eventually we realized there were schedualed showings of a short film in another room that was included in the ticket price. We stumbled into the latest showing just in time and enjoyed an adorable film about a bunch of preschoolers pretending they were at sea in a fake boat. Of course in a Miyazaki world, the water became real and they sailed off and caught a whale, which ended up saving them from a storm and towing them back home, laughing the entire way (the whale that is). There was also a lovely garden outside with a water pump of all things. Got a few pics and a short video there. When Sayuri and I felt we had seen everything, we headed out back to Mitaka station, where I was going to catch a bus, and she a train home.

I ended up meeting with Leslie again (from the Harry Potter expidition) and stopped with her and her friends at a 99 yen store (like a 99 cent store) where I grabbed some rice crackers and cheap gloves for my Fuji hike. One less thing to worry about. We walked the rest of the way to campus (it's sooooo hot and humid), I said goodbye, got on my bike and headed home. I was back by 5:10ish. I studied and cooled off by my fan for an hour or two, and headed downstairs just in time for dinner. Today was this fish (dunno what kind) which was breaded with something like panko but more robust, some mushy potato like stuff with carrots and cucumbers mixed in, soup and rice of course, and some beans. It was fantastic. Probably my favorite meal I've had in the Kuzzuhara household so far. Not that I didn't like most of the others. Just wait Mom, I'm going to come home able to eat and enjoy anything you throw at me. Even. Lobster!! Dun Dun Duuuuuuuunnnnnn....

Dramatics aside (and do the Japanese ever love their soap opera dramas) life is great. Hmm, I just had something I wanted to include in the post... Ah well, I may remember it later, whatever. That's all for now. No real plans for tomorrow or the weekend, though something may come up. The world is an adventure right now, and its wonderful.

Man that sounded cheesy. I really should delete that....

さようなら！

Ah hah!, just remembered it. It was an observation that when I visited Germany the phrase I learned first, most and best was "ich bin mude" ('u' with an umlaut), meaning I am tired. Here, though that certainly applies maybe even more, the phrase that is number one is "atsui neh?" meaning, "it's hot, right?". Always atsui. Atsui, atsui, atsui...

More Stuffu!

こんにちわ！

Referring to the title, in Japan, there is only one consonant without a vowel after it (n). So 'stuff' would be pronounced 'stuffu'. Aaaanyway...

Sunday was spent recovering and studying. I had a test yesterday, and though I don't have it back, I did get a look at it partially graded after class when I had my once a week one-on-one required meeting with my sensei, Kojima-sensei. As far as I know I only got one or two wrong, which is pretty good for a big test like that. Today however, I believe we learned more than we have all of last week. Today was the start of, (dun dun dun) verbs.

Sounds innocuous right? Well not so my friend. There are apparently three kinds of verbs (vowel, consonant, and irregular) and though there are rules that tell which are which, there are of course exceptions (always exceptions, sigh). Each kind has a different postulate in a sentance, and there are all sorts of little bits that go between different words. You have to put 'ni' after a time, but not a general time like 'morning'. You have to put this after that and that after this, it's confusing so far. I'm slowly getting it, but today I have no idea why, I was just exhausted. I got enough sleep, but I just couldn't focus. That resulted in several times me just blanking out while trying to say something to a classmate, and looking like a space case. As such, I'm going to sleep earlier tonight. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow!!! I got a ticket to go see Harry Potter here! I don't know where the theatre is, I got the ticket with some friends, and we're going after class tomorrow. So exciting! Also, since it's so new, it'll be in English with Japanese subtitles so I'll be able to understand it still. Yay!

Ok, I needed to get that out. Back to the last couple of days. Today after class there was a voluntary lecture on archeology at ICU. Apparently, the land the campus is on has been inhabited for like, 300,000 years or something rediculous like that. According to the professor, he has found in his 15 years at ICU, 500,000 artifacts, meaning pottery pieces, arrowheads, knives, fire pits etc. It was a very interesting lecture. Afterwards, we headed out to one of the current dig sites on campus and dug up some stuff. Once again, pics on flickr maybe tomorrow.

As for small random things that have happened, tonight for dinner we went and got food from a 7-11 because Kuzuhara-san was too tired to cook. 7-11's are all over the place here, and though I haven't really been to one in the states, it seems that many people legitimately get quick food there to bring home at night. I generally don't do that at home, but maybe to most Americans that's not so strange. Also for dessert yesterday and today we had grapes. They were smaller and sweeter maybe? I don't know, just different. But good! The skins were really thick, so apparently you suck the insides out and leave the skin behind. It was fun, they kind of popped out. Also Kuzuhara-san brought home an 'apple pie' on Sunday. It was ok as pies go. I liked it though, anything to taste even remotly like something from home.

Other than all of that, I've been just weathering the heat (lol), and working on my Japanese. Oh! I officially signed up for the Mt. Fuji hike. Thats right, on August 2nd, I'm going to hike up Mt. Fuji at midnight so we can watch the sun rise from the top. Scary, neh? (Neh= Japanese expression as a sort of questioning sound, where one is looking for confirmation or just making it sound questioning). Thursday is Ghibli Museum! And then, who knows! Sometimes it's scary, especially at first, and it would be so easy to say "going to Harajuku all alone trying to meet people with no cell phone to call them is too hard, I'll just stay home" but I have been making an effort to not only say yes to any and all invitations on adventures, but also seek them out. When Charlene said she was going to see Harry Potter, I immediately asked if I could buya ticket and tag along. That was of course ok, and here I am, going to see Harry Potter probably in Shinjuku. Man. Alright, that's it for now.

さようなら！

Harajuku and Shibuya!

こんにちわ！

Today went much better than yesterday I’m happy to say. Once again, I write this on Saturday to post on Sunday. I’ve got some studying to do tomorrow, so no going out for me.

So. I got up at a leisurely 10:30, typed up my last post, showered, breakfasted, and headed out with Kuzuhara-san, who was going to show me how to get to the bus station. I got on the #52 bus, paid my ¥210 (approx $2.10), and took off for Mitaka station. We were to meet at 2pm. I got to Shinjuku where I would transfer to another line (whose name I forget) and get to Harajuku station, only two stops away. I had to adjust my ticket when I got there because I hadn’t known how much it would cost when I first got it. Basically there are kiosks to buy tickets and you look at a map to find out how much it’ll cost to go to a specific station. When you enter the station then, you stick the ticket in a slot and get it again as you go through the thing (I don’t know how to describe it. Kinda like a toll gate for people?). at the other end when you’ve reached your destination, you exit through those toll things by sticking your ticket in again, only this time the machine eats it and you’re done. If you didn’t get the correct ticket price to begin with you have to go to a ticket adjustment kiosk and pay the difference and get a new ticket to exit the station with. Extremely efficient and easy to use, though most Japanese have cards they put money on and just pass over a sensor without taking them out of their wallets even, which is even easier. I may get one at some point.

I got there early and waited a little and the group was assembled. There were 11 of us total. Now, Harajuku is the fashion district. It’s a few streets in particular that are lined with the craziest stores I have ever seen. If ever you were to check out my flickr account it’s now. I’ll get those pics up as soon as I can. There was a huge forever 21 that had opened just a month ago and had a line to get in, there were Lolita shops with the most amazing dresses, there was a goth clothing shop that would make Hot Topic look like Aeropostale (I don’t have pics of that, there was a sign saying “no pictures” and then insulted me. Sorry I can’t type inappropriate messages in mixed company). It was just overwhelming.

Oh right, before we shopped we had a late lunch at a small restaurant nearby that was really pretty from the outside (again, flickr). I had yakisoba, which is soba that you cook yourself on the grill in the middle of the table (I think anyway. That’s what I did so I guess its just that). It was all very delicious. Then we split into groups, and shopped. I only got one shirt, but it was really cool and 40 bucks, so I didn’t want to get much more. It was all pretty expensive stuff. The funny thing is that the girls fashion scared me and I was traveling with 3 guys, so I never got a chance to check out the chick stuff specifically. As such, the shirt I got was from a store called Nudy Boy (lol), that was all mens clothing. It looks pretty sweet on me tho. All the stuff in that store was awesome, and all four of us got something there.

We then all met up at 6, and started walking to Shibuya. Shibuya is more comparable to New York than Harajuku is. When you see images of Tokyo and that one intersection where like a bajillion people are crossing the road, that’s in Shibuya. Andrew told me that something like 1000 people cross that intersection a minute. So it had giant department stores, karaoke bars every 10 feet, stores of every type imaginable, and all HUGE. It was overwhelming again. I unfortunately had limited time, as the last bus from Mitaka station to my house was at 9:30 and I did NOT want a repeat of the last night, especially as I did not know how to get from Mitaka station to my house by foot. So I accompanied the group to karaoke, we awkwardly figured out the songs, all sang at the same time and generally enjoyed ourselves. I’ll have to go again sometime, when I can enjoy myself more without worrying about trains.

Ended up no problem. I left at 8pm, found the train station easy, found the JR Yamanote line which goes to Shinjuku, got the appropriate priced ticket this time (¥290), and listened to Miike Snow on the way. Waited a bit for my bus and got home around 8:45-9. That’s about when I posted my last post btw, but I was too tired, and had other things to do while I was connected to the internet to write this post then, so I’m writing it now and will post tomorrow sometime. But yeah, I’ll check out Shibuya again sometime, when I have more time. Pics will appear sometime too.

さよなら！