In school today Mizuki-Sensei brought all of his Kendo gear to show the class. He began to put some pieces on and showed the sword and how to hit with it. He let Bob put on the chest piece and Sensei started to hit him in the middle of class. After he put on all of the clothing, we all walked outside to see Kendo in motion.
First up was Annie, who had gone to Sensei's class twice I believe, and showed how to hit correctly. Everyone got a chance to hit Sensei, and boy was it interesting. It ranged from the girls who didn't want to swing very hard to Bob and Matt, who are at least a foot taller than Sensei looking very awkward trying to hit him on the head.
Later in the day I met up with Kenji, Per, and Masashi about a half an hour away from Shimo-Takaido to watch a Soccer game. It was a game of FC Tokyo vs. some other team I didn't bother to find out. The game lasted about two hours, and was pretty exciting to watch. Unfortunately the home town lost 1-2 but the fans cheered them on anyhow.
Throughout the game there were so many different chants, with hardly any breaks in between. It was fun to see and hear the crowd continuing on and on without rest. After the game had ended, we walked through the crowd of a few thousand people to make our way to the rather packed train station to get back home.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day 48 - More Time in Shimo-Kitazawa
After class today no one had made any plans so I made my own with Nami. We had spoken about going to Shimo-Kitazawa before and I mentioned I visited there for just a bit the day before. Once we got there we walked around for a while taking pictures and looking through the shops here and there. I didn't find anything to buy but it was fun walking around looking at the things they had. Walking around, we found a little arcade with the game called Tekken. She thought it'd be fun to play, and was it -- she beat me without even trying.
When we got back to Shimo-Takaido we ran into Ashly and Masa who had just come home as well. Just after taking a breather at home we walked back out to go have dinner at Jonathan's. We stayed there for a while talking and making plans for the upcoming week.
When we got back to Shimo-Takaido we ran into Ashly and Masa who had just come home as well. Just after taking a breather at home we walked back out to go have dinner at Jonathan's. We stayed there for a while talking and making plans for the upcoming week.
Day 47 - Shimo-Kitazawa
Today after school the volunteers and a few of us were trying to decide on a place to go. Many of us had things to do at night so it had to be someplace nearby, and if possible somewhere new for the majority of us. We had picked a place called Shimo-Kitazawa, just a few stops away from our home Shimo-Takaido.
We caught the train there by 5:30 or so and walked around what seemed to be quite a large town. It reminded us a lot like our own town but with many more stores and restaurants filling the streets. There were many up-beat clothing stores selling the latest trends in Japanese fashion, and many little jewelry knick-knack stores for girls. We hadn't stayed very long before a few of us split up from the larger sum of the group to go do our own thing.
I followed Annie-sempai to a bubble tea drink shop that made an excellent Taro bubble tea and other sugary delights -- crepes. After finishing up my drink I walked by myself back to the station to get home and back out by 7:00 to meet Kidae and a few of his volunteer friends for dinner.
Kenji and I met Kidae, Erika, and Sayaka outside the McDonalds, and waited for the others to arrive. We walked over to Tatsumi - the Izakaya we ate at for my birthday - because they usually have enough room for eight to ten at any moments notice. We talked and laughed all night, and wound up going to the 280yen Izakaya shortly after our meal for some after drinks. We hadn't ordered more than one drink because the two volunteer girls had to catch the trains home soon after arriving to the Izakaya. After some bai-bai's we walked home to rest up for another day.
We caught the train there by 5:30 or so and walked around what seemed to be quite a large town. It reminded us a lot like our own town but with many more stores and restaurants filling the streets. There were many up-beat clothing stores selling the latest trends in Japanese fashion, and many little jewelry knick-knack stores for girls. We hadn't stayed very long before a few of us split up from the larger sum of the group to go do our own thing.
I followed Annie-sempai to a bubble tea drink shop that made an excellent Taro bubble tea and other sugary delights -- crepes. After finishing up my drink I walked by myself back to the station to get home and back out by 7:00 to meet Kidae and a few of his volunteer friends for dinner.
Kenji and I met Kidae, Erika, and Sayaka outside the McDonalds, and waited for the others to arrive. We walked over to Tatsumi - the Izakaya we ate at for my birthday - because they usually have enough room for eight to ten at any moments notice. We talked and laughed all night, and wound up going to the 280yen Izakaya shortly after our meal for some after drinks. We hadn't ordered more than one drink because the two volunteer girls had to catch the trains home soon after arriving to the Izakaya. After some bai-bai's we walked home to rest up for another day.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Day 45 & 46 - Shimo-takaido
It seems to be the weekends when the skies are gloomy and the rain is pouring. Both days I didn't travel farther than the station entrance in town, eating in local dining areas located within minutes of my apartment. I studied for the first time -- for 3 hours none the less. Of course I didn't even study the material presented to us through the course, but (in my opinion) more useful vocabulary and sentence structures in the textbook I brought from Hawaii.
Anyway, there wasn't much done this weekend but hopefully opportunities will arise when looking forward to the somewhat sunny week.
Anyway, there wasn't much done this weekend but hopefully opportunities will arise when looking forward to the somewhat sunny week.
Day 44 - Harajuku
Yet another day has passed and I spent the afternoon in a familiar place. After classes Joy, Kenji, Dasom, Minji, and I decided to spend the afternoon in Harajuku. Sure this would make my fifth or sixth time in this town but each time I go I'm never bored doing stuff.
We immediately walked into the tendon restaurant to eat, and retraced our steps to walk up and down the crowded streets. After little shopping, Kenji and Joy decided to head back to rest up after a long week. I decided to trek on with Dasom & Minji while we looked through the various clothing stores. It must have been around 5:30 or so when I felt fatigued from all the store hopping we've just done so I let those two be and I headed home alone.
At night a group of us felt like hitting up the Izakaya (for the third time this week?) to have a 'few' drinks. Of course the heavier drinkers showed up and we had a blast pounding away at the 280yen drink menu. I really wonder if I'm becoming an alcoholic -- back home I'd only drink every two months or so, but I seem to be drinking enough to last me until I'm legal in the states.
We immediately walked into the tendon restaurant to eat, and retraced our steps to walk up and down the crowded streets. After little shopping, Kenji and Joy decided to head back to rest up after a long week. I decided to trek on with Dasom & Minji while we looked through the various clothing stores. It must have been around 5:30 or so when I felt fatigued from all the store hopping we've just done so I let those two be and I headed home alone.
At night a group of us felt like hitting up the Izakaya (for the third time this week?) to have a 'few' drinks. Of course the heavier drinkers showed up and we had a blast pounding away at the 280yen drink menu. I really wonder if I'm becoming an alcoholic -- back home I'd only drink every two months or so, but I seem to be drinking enough to last me until I'm legal in the states.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Day 43 - BoA's Concert
Wow was this day a troubling one. After a night/morning of drinking and partying I woke up with a smile on my face because I knew just hours away I'd be sitting down with Kenji watching BoA's concert. Well, when I took a look at the tickets, to my surprise the location was unfamiliar to me. I checked online and after a few minutes, I came to realize this place was no where near Tokyo and the fastest way to get there would be by the bullet train.
Kenji and I figured it'd be best if we didn't go because those train tickets would be ridiculously high for just a few hours in another town. So we went along with our day in misery -- eating what should have been a delicious bowl of ramen became bland and flavorless. This was a day that I wouldn't forget about Japan, my first real concert, and that of a talented beauty - BoA.
It was about 3:00 and we were debating going to back to school or not to see what the others had planned for the rest of the day. I only decided on Kenji's way out the door that I would tag along with him because a few hours out doing nothing beats staying indoors doing nothing. So we rode the trains to school and found that there was an "Ochakai" (tea ceremony) being held in one of the classrooms. So students and the Japanese volunteers alike were sitting around eating and drinking tea.
We ran into a familiar face, Kanako from our Monday conversation class and told her what was going on about the concert. She asked to see our tickets but I told her I left them at home, seeing how we wouldn't be needing them. When she caught wind of the location, she grabbed us and told us it was no more than roughly a half an hour away from Shinjuku. Shocked, we rushed home to get the tickets and out the door to get to the concert.
After waiting for what seemed like the slowest trains in the world we got home, rushed to get ready, and ran out the door to the station. Seeing as we don't know when the trains come exactly, we actually ran all the way from our apartments to the station in the matter of minutes. From Shinjuku we didn't bother finding the right train ourselves and immediately asked the first station worker we found where to go. Rushing from place to place it was a real rush seeing how from the time we left the school we had no more than two hours and twenty minutes to get to the concert.
Once we reached the train of a half an hour or so, it actually took more like forty-five minutes to get to the right town. From the station, we ran yet again to find the building where the concert was being held, only to get there a mere five minutes before the concert started. But boy, when we got there, we had the biggest smiles on our faces with disbelief of being able to get there on time. We went through all sorts of emotions throughout the day from disappointment to shier happiness when we entered.
When the concert started, everyone rose from their seats with excitement and started waving, cheering, and singing along to the songs. BoA was absolutely wonderful with an outstanding voice and a presence to be known. From slow familiar ballads to her new poppy singles, everyone couldn't get enough.
During the short breaks between songs BoA would speak to us and tell us various things -- such as the city, and things that happened recently. Although she spoke rather fast and slurred, I was able to pick up the gist of what she said and laughed along with the crowd. Whenever she left the stage there'd always be people shouting behind us for BoA to come back out, or other little phrases. When she was on stage you could often hear the word 'cute' being thrown out there. The funniest thing I heard someone shout was "Mos Burger!", making both me and Kenji crack up to no end.
I was the only one that night to shout something in Korean, Saranghae (I love you!) -- for those of you not in the know, BoA is a Korean singer who does much of her work in Japan. Although embarrassing, I didn't care one bit -- I wouldn't see any of these people ever again.
After a little over two hours the concert ended with a bow and the crowd cheered and chanted again for BoA. Leaving the concert hall was a bit unnerving because of how many people were exiting at once. But once in the clear, we made our way back to the station to catch our train home.
However, to our surprise the trains we were soon to catch had its own agenda. We caught the same train to get here to head back, but it wound up going to Ueno. From Ueno, we caught a train which led us to Akihabara. From Akihabara we caught the same train we would home everyday back to Shinjuku. From Shinjuku we caught our usual train making a total of 100min from the city the concert was held in back home.
Adding up the amount of trains caught for the day, we wound up catching a total of 10 trains throughout the day, going to and from places for the purpose of a very well worth concert.
Kenji and I figured it'd be best if we didn't go because those train tickets would be ridiculously high for just a few hours in another town. So we went along with our day in misery -- eating what should have been a delicious bowl of ramen became bland and flavorless. This was a day that I wouldn't forget about Japan, my first real concert, and that of a talented beauty - BoA.
It was about 3:00 and we were debating going to back to school or not to see what the others had planned for the rest of the day. I only decided on Kenji's way out the door that I would tag along with him because a few hours out doing nothing beats staying indoors doing nothing. So we rode the trains to school and found that there was an "Ochakai" (tea ceremony) being held in one of the classrooms. So students and the Japanese volunteers alike were sitting around eating and drinking tea.
We ran into a familiar face, Kanako from our Monday conversation class and told her what was going on about the concert. She asked to see our tickets but I told her I left them at home, seeing how we wouldn't be needing them. When she caught wind of the location, she grabbed us and told us it was no more than roughly a half an hour away from Shinjuku. Shocked, we rushed home to get the tickets and out the door to get to the concert.
After waiting for what seemed like the slowest trains in the world we got home, rushed to get ready, and ran out the door to the station. Seeing as we don't know when the trains come exactly, we actually ran all the way from our apartments to the station in the matter of minutes. From Shinjuku we didn't bother finding the right train ourselves and immediately asked the first station worker we found where to go. Rushing from place to place it was a real rush seeing how from the time we left the school we had no more than two hours and twenty minutes to get to the concert.
Once we reached the train of a half an hour or so, it actually took more like forty-five minutes to get to the right town. From the station, we ran yet again to find the building where the concert was being held, only to get there a mere five minutes before the concert started. But boy, when we got there, we had the biggest smiles on our faces with disbelief of being able to get there on time. We went through all sorts of emotions throughout the day from disappointment to shier happiness when we entered.
When the concert started, everyone rose from their seats with excitement and started waving, cheering, and singing along to the songs. BoA was absolutely wonderful with an outstanding voice and a presence to be known. From slow familiar ballads to her new poppy singles, everyone couldn't get enough.
During the short breaks between songs BoA would speak to us and tell us various things -- such as the city, and things that happened recently. Although she spoke rather fast and slurred, I was able to pick up the gist of what she said and laughed along with the crowd. Whenever she left the stage there'd always be people shouting behind us for BoA to come back out, or other little phrases. When she was on stage you could often hear the word 'cute' being thrown out there. The funniest thing I heard someone shout was "Mos Burger!", making both me and Kenji crack up to no end.
I was the only one that night to shout something in Korean, Saranghae (I love you!) -- for those of you not in the know, BoA is a Korean singer who does much of her work in Japan. Although embarrassing, I didn't care one bit -- I wouldn't see any of these people ever again.
After a little over two hours the concert ended with a bow and the crowd cheered and chanted again for BoA. Leaving the concert hall was a bit unnerving because of how many people were exiting at once. But once in the clear, we made our way back to the station to catch our train home.
However, to our surprise the trains we were soon to catch had its own agenda. We caught the same train to get here to head back, but it wound up going to Ueno. From Ueno, we caught a train which led us to Akihabara. From Akihabara we caught the same train we would home everyday back to Shinjuku. From Shinjuku we caught our usual train making a total of 100min from the city the concert was held in back home.
Adding up the amount of trains caught for the day, we wound up catching a total of 10 trains throughout the day, going to and from places for the purpose of a very well worth concert.
Day 42 - Nakano
Well today was rather, interesting. After class no one seemed to have plans (to be expected) so Kenji (Clinton) and I decided to yet again go to another new location. And seeing how poorly our last few choices played out, the Koreans decided not to join us for what could be another disaster of an adventure. We picked Nakano which is actually on the same train we take to school, in the opposite direction.
We stopped by Shinjuku to meet up with Benshiro, who decided to join us for the ride. We promised nothing but a different location to see, and he said sure. Of course Kenji and I don't really care at this point whether or not the place is exciting, only because we're down to the last several weeks with a map of places still unvisited.
Arriving in Nakano, the three of us were starving and decided to look around for a suitable restaurant. We happened to walk so far off from the station that we hit a residential with no food places in sight. Walking back toward the station, we found a place with what I think was the best katsudon I've had yet on this trip. I've had a lot of food, in a lot of different places. Everything is outstanding, and far better than Hawaii. So if you take my word, you should be certain the food is really, really delicious.
Once we could think straight, we pulled out our map again to decide where we'd want to go next. We had two options -- 1) go back to Shinjuku and go somewhere else or 2) try walking around the opposite side of the station. Because we have a tendency to pick the wrong side of the station to walk out of the first time, we figured we'd give walking around the other side a shot. And what do you know, we were right. There was so much more to do that we were shocked. After no more than a three minute walk we found a mall strip full of life and stores selling various items.
At the end of the strip was a mall of four floors where we decided to walk around. As we moved from floor to floor we noticed this place was full of nothing but vintage toys and books, magazines, etc. There were anime toys, anime dvds, anime drawing cells, and anything you could imagine. Just as we thought this place was a place for dorks, Ben received a message from Kouji (our local friend) saying this about Nakano "If you walk North from the station you'll find a mall -- it's known to be a nest for geeks." At that point, we couldn't stop laughing no matter how hard we tried. The message summed up everything we had just come across.
Because it was already past six we decided it'd be best if we didn't go to a new place just yet, because daylight was only going to last another half an hour and we were already pretty tired from the accumulated days.
At night however, we did regain enough energy to hit the Izakaya for yet another time. There was a group of about 13 of us this time, and we drank with no intention of waking up early the next morning. Especially for Kenji and my case where we had already planned ahead of time to skip our only afternoon class due to the fact that we have a concert the following night at 6:30.
In addition, when my big beer showed up, I was verbally challenged to drink it all in one gulp and to prove what worth it may provide I tried. And to my surprise, I succeeded. It was pretty fun because as I was drinking, everyone on our table was either shouting "EK" or "Nomu" but the table across from us (who had all been watching at this point) was chanting "Nonde, nonde, nonde... nonde, nonde, nonde.." On a side note, if you couldn't guess (nomu/nonde = drink).
We drank until morning, and after the Izakaya a few of them came over to hang out in my room. There we sang, told stories, and laughed until the early hours. When we finally called it quits and I walked one of my friends back to her apartment it was already around 4:30am and the sun was rising. I knew the day ahead of me was going to be a fun one.
We stopped by Shinjuku to meet up with Benshiro, who decided to join us for the ride. We promised nothing but a different location to see, and he said sure. Of course Kenji and I don't really care at this point whether or not the place is exciting, only because we're down to the last several weeks with a map of places still unvisited.
Arriving in Nakano, the three of us were starving and decided to look around for a suitable restaurant. We happened to walk so far off from the station that we hit a residential with no food places in sight. Walking back toward the station, we found a place with what I think was the best katsudon I've had yet on this trip. I've had a lot of food, in a lot of different places. Everything is outstanding, and far better than Hawaii. So if you take my word, you should be certain the food is really, really delicious.
Once we could think straight, we pulled out our map again to decide where we'd want to go next. We had two options -- 1) go back to Shinjuku and go somewhere else or 2) try walking around the opposite side of the station. Because we have a tendency to pick the wrong side of the station to walk out of the first time, we figured we'd give walking around the other side a shot. And what do you know, we were right. There was so much more to do that we were shocked. After no more than a three minute walk we found a mall strip full of life and stores selling various items.
At the end of the strip was a mall of four floors where we decided to walk around. As we moved from floor to floor we noticed this place was full of nothing but vintage toys and books, magazines, etc. There were anime toys, anime dvds, anime drawing cells, and anything you could imagine. Just as we thought this place was a place for dorks, Ben received a message from Kouji (our local friend) saying this about Nakano "If you walk North from the station you'll find a mall -- it's known to be a nest for geeks." At that point, we couldn't stop laughing no matter how hard we tried. The message summed up everything we had just come across.
Because it was already past six we decided it'd be best if we didn't go to a new place just yet, because daylight was only going to last another half an hour and we were already pretty tired from the accumulated days.
At night however, we did regain enough energy to hit the Izakaya for yet another time. There was a group of about 13 of us this time, and we drank with no intention of waking up early the next morning. Especially for Kenji and my case where we had already planned ahead of time to skip our only afternoon class due to the fact that we have a concert the following night at 6:30.
In addition, when my big beer showed up, I was verbally challenged to drink it all in one gulp and to prove what worth it may provide I tried. And to my surprise, I succeeded. It was pretty fun because as I was drinking, everyone on our table was either shouting "EK" or "Nomu" but the table across from us (who had all been watching at this point) was chanting "Nonde, nonde, nonde... nonde, nonde, nonde.." On a side note, if you couldn't guess (nomu/nonde = drink).
We drank until morning, and after the Izakaya a few of them came over to hang out in my room. There we sang, told stories, and laughed until the early hours. When we finally called it quits and I walked one of my friends back to her apartment it was already around 4:30am and the sun was rising. I knew the day ahead of me was going to be a fun one.
Day 41 - Roppongi
After yet another day of classes, I decided to tag along with Nami and Pinky to visit Roppongi. It was their first time and my second, but I was sure I'd see different things than the first time there. After a somewhat long ride and another million stairs I had to climb to get out of the Roppongi station I made it back to the streets of Roppongi near the Roppongi Hills (department/mall).
Instead of walking along the various streets the girls specifically came to check out the mall as a whole, to see what's there. On our way to the mall, perhaps 100m within distance of the entrance the familiar red and white sign of a Cold Stone Creamery caught our eyes and we decided to wait in the around-the-corner line to get some delicious ice cream.
After we devoured what little ice cream they gave we walked over to the mall to see what there was to do. Walking around, we found various little shops and restaurants and a few interesting sights. First of which was a giant metal spider in the middle of an open area of Roppongi Hills. Once we took a few pictures with this beast of a bug we came across a movie theater, a small art gallery, and a few other sights.
Waling down the back of the complex we spotted a nice groomed park-looking patch of grass with a pond and waterfall, where we took some nice pictures and relaxed. Next to this nice little greenery was the Asahi Television studio who is famous for shows such as 'Power Rangers' and 'Masked Rider'. Just down the strip of this studio was a small little shop that was very, Hawaiian. To my surprise I thought it'd be just another Japanese-owned knock-off Hawaiian store in the middle of Japan, but when when I peaked inside, to my surprise I saw a Hawaiian inside. Haha!
When I got home it was about time for dinner so we walked over to the nearest super market to pick up some groceries to make some good home-cooked donburi's.
Instead of walking along the various streets the girls specifically came to check out the mall as a whole, to see what's there. On our way to the mall, perhaps 100m within distance of the entrance the familiar red and white sign of a Cold Stone Creamery caught our eyes and we decided to wait in the around-the-corner line to get some delicious ice cream.
After we devoured what little ice cream they gave we walked over to the mall to see what there was to do. Walking around, we found various little shops and restaurants and a few interesting sights. First of which was a giant metal spider in the middle of an open area of Roppongi Hills. Once we took a few pictures with this beast of a bug we came across a movie theater, a small art gallery, and a few other sights.
Waling down the back of the complex we spotted a nice groomed park-looking patch of grass with a pond and waterfall, where we took some nice pictures and relaxed. Next to this nice little greenery was the Asahi Television studio who is famous for shows such as 'Power Rangers' and 'Masked Rider'. Just down the strip of this studio was a small little shop that was very, Hawaiian. To my surprise I thought it'd be just another Japanese-owned knock-off Hawaiian store in the middle of Japan, but when when I peaked inside, to my surprise I saw a Hawaiian inside. Haha!
When I got home it was about time for dinner so we walked over to the nearest super market to pick up some groceries to make some good home-cooked donburi's.
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