Friends and Fun!

So, there is a group of friends I’ve had in Japan pretty much from the time I got here. At first I hung out with them kind of sporadically, but now I am spending more and more time with them. I love this group of friends so much because first of all, everyone is really cool and nice, we have some similar interests, we come from different backgrounds which is interesting, the JET group also hangs with this group so I don’t feel like I’m torn between two groups of friends, and we always do really fun things together.  I feel so thankful and lucky to have met them all!

Here's part of the group.

Here's another part. Not everyone is pictured.

One great thing about this group is that we like to party together on a weekly basis. We go to bars, restaurants, and dance clubs which I really enjoy. I finally feel like I am living out the youth I skipped in college (I was a very serious student during those times and in a very serious relationship so I didn’t really have “the college experience.” I don’t really regret it though because I loved college anyway). Balabushka in Amemura (American Village) is like our main stomping ground. I have gone there pretty regularly since I moved to Japan, but now I like it even more because not only do I know many people who hang out there, I am also becoming familiar with all the workers, and they are also really nice and cool, too! It’s nice to feel like you belong somewhere. Everyone always smiles and says hello to me when I walk in. :D Ever since I started hanging out with this group more regularly, I am meeting more and more new people which I love! Plus, I’m making more Japanese friends! I have really been wanting some close Japanese friends ever since I moved here!!

Coolest bartenders ever!

Balabushka fun!

Just random times at Balabu.

Also, we do other random things together. For example, we went to a water park recently. Two of my friends in this group have cars, so we can go to places that I normally can’t go. Therefore, I have more opportunities to do interesting things with them. The water park was indoors and really fun! Afterwards, we went to a restaurant called the UK (which stood for University of Kentucky). They had a huge menu, huge food portions, neat décor, and a variety of America pops like Mountain Dew and A&W. Another thing I like about this group is that everyone is very chill and just goes with the flow. We have no problem just hanging out and talking for hours no matter where we are. There is no rush as long as we are having a good time.

The UK restaurant.

It seems like every time we hang out on the weekends, we stay out all night. I remember when pulling an all-nighter used to be a big deal, but now I have just come to accept that that’s what my Saturday nights will be…I love every second of it! Even my body has adjusted, and I don’t even get that tired when I stay out. We have been to various places over the past few weekends like the HUB, El Zocalo Burrito, an izakaya, Club JAWS, and of course Balabushka. The other day we went shopping together in Umeda for sleeping bags because we are going camping in two weeks! It will be my first time to really go camping, and I’m super excited! I’ll definitely be writing a blog about it! Like I said before, thanks to this group, I am able to go places and do things that I wouldn’t normally be able to do. In fact, next month, Akira and I (Akira is one of the friends in the group) will drive all the way up to Saitama to see a metal festival called Loud Park! I’m also super stoked for that!! On a side note, Akira is the only Japanese guy I’ve met who loves heavy metal. He knows way more bands than I do! From the second he told me he knew my favorite band, I knew I wanted to be his friend haha! Not many people in the U.S. even know my favorite band! :P

Burrito time at El Zocalo Burrito!

The HUB.

The HUB.

Izakaya.

Club JAWS.

Balabushka.

What I’m trying to say is that I am really grateful and happy to have found such awesome people who are willing to hang out with me! I feel so happy, and I enjoy every week! Sometimes I think about the future and leaving Japan and how sad it’ll be to say goodbye to them, but I just remind myself to not think negatively and enjoy my time with them now. No matter where I am in the world, there will always be people somewhere that I miss, but it also means that when I visit the place again, they will be there waiting. JET has given me the opportunity to meet people from all over! I’ve met people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Germany, England, Bulgaria, Scotland, Ireland, Moldova, South Africa, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Italy, Peru, Taiwan, and of course Japan (I’m sure I’m missing other places, too.). Even meeting people who live in various parts of the United States has been interesting.  One day I’d like to make the whole world feel like home, and I think I’m well on my way.

I'll leave you with this video of Yuki filming me stuffing

a huge eggplant sushi in my mouth.

Year Two

I am currently in my second year of the JET Programme. This change took place on July 29^th, marking one year since I came to Japan. I still am not used to calling myself a “second-year JET.” I must say though, I am in love with Japan. Sometimes I get annoyed with things or homesick, but overall I really feel like I am where I want to be. I still often get feelings of amazement and excitement that I am living here. There is still so much more I want to see and do while I’m here, too. I feel like my Japanese and tea ceremony skills are developing, I am becoming interested in new aspects of Japanese culture, for example, Osaka-ben (dialect) and Japanese dramas, I enjoy teaching the students, I am making more and more friends, and I have so much fun every weekend! I never get bored. I have a nice weekly routine, and I feel like I am melding into the community

I always knew I wanted to stay for two years, but I didn’t consider staying for longer than that for a few reasons. First of all, I still want to go to graduate school, and I feel like I shouldn’t put it off too long. I know that that will be a whole other adventure, and I am excited for it (especially if I achieve my dream of studying in London)! Also, after two years, I have to start paying taxes again haha! When I was still with Travis, I had the worry of keeping him waiting, but now instead I’m  worried that if I stay here for too long, I will be too old by the time I’m ready to settle down, and I will be alone forever.  

Right now, though, I feel like I would like to stay longer. I now say that I would for sure be done after a third year (and I really do believe that), but that’s what I thought about doing only two years, and now (with the choice of re-contracting only about 3 short months ahead), I feel like there is a good chance I will sign up for a third year…we shall see. I could see a third year being kind of long, especially if a lot of my friends decide to leave after two years. Plus I will have to change schools after two years, but these are the plusses: 1) Even if friends do leave, I am making new friends all the time. Although I would miss them, I don’t think I’d be lonely. 2) There are new JETs coming each year. I like meeting them. In fact, there is a new JET in my town now as I mentioned two posts ago, and he is really cool! It’s really nice having him in my town, and it has changed the way my town feels a bit…in a good way! It feels more friendly and inviting because he is here! 3) Both of my predecessors left after two years, and both of them (well, especially one) seemed to have a lot of regret about leaving after only two years. 4) It’s another year of a stable job! 5) My visa lasts three years. 6) Although I have to switch schools and it would be sad, it might also be kind of fun to meet new teachers and students. 6) Pay raise…which means more saving for school (or more partying/traveling/shopping :P) 7) Like I said, I’m loving life here. It just feels good right now. I want to keep experiencing it and get better at Japanese. So, we’ll see what I decide!!

As I mentioned, new JETs have arrived. I am pleased to say that I think they are a good group! No weirdos from what I can tell haha! I went to meet them all in Rinku Town for dinner during their language seminar. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. I hope the year difference doesn’t form a barrier between us. Seeing their facebook statuses and whatnot really brings me back to when I first arrived here. In some ways it seems like such a long time ago, but sometimes it feels so short. I feel like I have grown a lot and have become stronger and more independent. I’ve had to face some difficult things while I’ve been here. I have learned some about myself. I am not the same person I was one year ago. There are some things I’ve realized about myself that I don’t like (and things I do like), but now that they have come to my attention through living here on my own, I am working on changing them. I think that’s why I feel so happy and content here. I feel like every day I am making progress. When I think about all of this, one year seems like a really long time ago, but certain events seem like they were just the other day. My favorite band has provided my with a life motto that I would like to live by, “Run free!” I feel like I am living life freely and the way that it should be lived. I want to thank everyone who has helped me get here and shaped me into becoming who I am today. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have worked and tried so hard to get here and achieve my dreams.

The new JETs with some of the old. :)

Walking this road in the early morning to my
apartment is always such a relief after staying
out all night. The air is cool, the town is quiet,
and it's a place I can relax. I'm home.

It's beginning to feel like home.

Just my regular commute to work on a hot summer morning.

Feeling good about life and myself.

Tokyo Trip (Drinking Edition)

I recently made another trip up to Tokyo during the summer vacation. This time, however, was different from other times I’ve gone because my reason for going wasn’t for sight-seeing and whatnot. This time I went to visit some friends and to go to the Summer Sonic concert. Like I did with my last post, I’ll give a day by day breakdown of what I did.

August 9^th: I went by shinkansen in the morning, and got there in the afternoon. I met my friend Anna (she’s the one who came to visit me before. I’ve written a post about it) at the hostel we were staying at for two nights in Asakusa-Tokyo. We met at college and became friends then. We both are now in the JET Programme, but she lives in Hokkaido. There were three reasons we met in Tokyo. First, it’s the central point between Osaka and Hokkaido. Second, we were going to see the Summer Sonic concert together in Tokyo (the concert also took place in Osaka, but we didn’t meet in Osaka for the third reason). Third, we were also going to Tokyo to meet our mutual friend, Laura, from college who just got a job at an eikaiwa (English conversation) company in Tokyo. So that’s why we met in Tokyo.

Like I was saying, I met Anna at the hostel in the afternoon. Her friend who also lived in Hokkaido (he was returning home to New Zealand) was staying at the hostel and going to the concert too. So I met him, and then shortly after, we met Laura in Ueno to go to an izakaya. The night’s goal was to party (but not too hard because we had the concert in the morning (except Laura)). You’ll soon find out that the point of my Tokyo trip was to party with friends. That’s what made this trip different from the rest.

At the izakaya we ate a lot and had a few drinks. Laura and I were kind of boy crazy the whole trip (for clarity purposes, I was not (and still am not) in a relationship with Travis anymore). Our waiter was one of the cutest guys I’ve ever seen, so every time he came to the table, I got all flustered. I looked at his nametag, and it said “Tokyo.” What kind of Japanese name was that!? So I began to look at him more closely, and to me, he looked pretty similar to Daesung from Big Bang. I made the assumption from his strange name and his physique (he was pretty tall)/facial features that he was Korean. So, when he came to the table again, I asked him in Japanese if his name was really “Tokyo.” Then he said no and told me his real name and that he is Korean! I knew it haha! I thought he was so cool! We talked a little bit, and I told him I went to Korea recently. When our time was up (we could only stay for two hours at the izakaya), I sadly left. I tried to say goodbye to “Tokyo” as I left, but I thought he didn’t see me, but then he popped his head out of the kitchen to say bye to me as I walked out the door, and he didn’t realize that I saw him say goodbye to me…it was bad timing and a really sad event for me, especially since I wasn’t sober. p_q I’ll never forget you “Tokyo!!!”

After that, we went to the HUB (which becameanother theme of this trip). We chilled there for a bit and chatted and drank until Laura decided that she wanted to ask someone for a cigarette. So she and Anna took off to search for guys while I chilled with Anna’s friend at the table. They were gone for a while, so I was wondering where they went (the pub wasn’t that big). I went to the back and peeked around the corner to find them sitting with four salary men drinking and chatting away! Laura had her cigarette haha! So, we joined them and hung out. They started buying us tequila shots! It wasn’t long before I saw Laura and Anna the most drunk I’ve ever seen them haha…in a good way! For whatever reason, the alcohol wasn’t really affecting me that night. I was almost sober (even after a tequila shot and wine! D:). I was fine with it though because I was really entertained.

Friends reunited.

Salary man fun!

The men decided to leave because they wanted to get home and whatnot. We stepped outside and decided it was our new mission to do purikura. Laura was chatting with like every person that walked by on the street, so it was easier said than done! There were these two young guys sitting in the middle of the street, shitfaced. We realized that they had also been inside the HUB. So Laura went up to them and asked them for a cigarette lol. They happily started talking with us, and we invited them to do purikura with us. We meandered in the alleys of Ueno until we found an arcade. On the walk there, there were a lot of silly conversations. Remember, I’m like completely sober at this point, and every else (besides Anna’s friend) is wasted. One of the boys (I swear he looked like he was like 17 or 18) was all like, “You must be popular with the opposite sex.” Bahaha! I didn’t realize what he said (because he was speaking Japanese), but I figured it out later. I laugh now because at the time, I was thinking about how young he looked and how I was in no way attracted to him! Laura kept calling him Mizutama-sama which meant “Lord Polka-dots” because she couldn’t remember his name, and he was wearing a polka-dot shirt. We all did purikura together and called it a night. We put Laura on her last train, but she never made it home that night. Instead, she met a friend in Shinjuku, and stayed out all night! The rest of us went back to the hostel and slept because we had to get up kind of early for the concert.

Purikura with strangers hah!

August 10^th: The three of us got up, got ready, and headed to the concert. I’m just going to say now that it was super hot and humid and probably the sweatiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. My clothes were soaked with sweat the whole day! Anyway, from pretty much the beginning, I split off from Anna and her friend because we wanted to see different bands. I basically stayed at the main stage the whole time. The band I was most excited for was Maximum the Hormone which is a Japanese heavy metal band. It was the first time I actually got to see a Japanese band I like! They were the first to play, so that was really cool. After that, I watched Bullet for my Valentine, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, and Metallica. I also took a break from the main stage for a little bit and came across the most amazing beat boxer I’ve ever heard! It was unreal! Linkin Park was the only band I got in the pit for. It was a long process to get inside the standing area, and you weren’t allowed to have drinks. They put on an AMAZING show! I’ve seen them once before, but this time it was even better! Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park tried speaking some in Japanese, and it was so cute haha! Two things I was surprised by at the concert were first of all, many Japanese people had tattoos, and second, there was actually moshing and circle pits! I didn’t think Japanese people did that! I joined in and had a blast! At the end of the day, I met up with Anna and her friend, and we headed to the hostel.

Before the concert...we are pissed because it's
unbelievably hot!!

During the concert...Chester from Linkin Park!

After the concert...sunburnt. D:

 August 11^th: I said my sad goodbye to Anna in the morning because she was heading back to Hokkaido. Then I made my way to Laura’s apartment. She lives in Tachikawa which is a suburb of Tokyo. When I got there, we chilled out for a bit and then head towards the city. Our plan was to party hard that night. I forget what the name of the town we went to was, but we went about halfway between Tachikawa and Shinjuku to walk around before heading even closer to downtown to go to bars. We got coffee and browsed stores a bit. It was fun, except for the fact that I lost my ICOCA which had about 3,000 yen (about $30) on it. Once it got later, we went to an izakaya to eat dinner and pregame. I was worried that the alcohol wouldn’t affect me again (probably due to the fact that I pretty much became an alcoholic over the summer vacation), but for whatever reason (perhaps it was because we were drinking as much as we could as fast as we could or because it was a really nice place, and their drinks were well made) it hit me hard! I was feeling awesome!

Cute Laura!

Feelin' saucy with my chu-hi.

So after the dinner, we went to…you guessed it…the HUB! The reason we kept choosing to go to the HUB was because there are always Japanese people who go there that want to hang out and talk with foreigners since it’s a British pub that many foreigners like it. I should mention that it was a Sunday, and if you remember, we weren’t actually downtown. So when we got to the HUB, there were hardly any people there! We sat at a table with two young guys who looked our age. They were really nice and fun to talk to! I would’ve stayed there all night chatting with them, but since Laura was looking for a possible future boyfriend, she didn’t want to stay. The reason being is that one of the guys was dating the bartender there haha! Plus it was dead, so we left. We decided to go all out and just head to Shinjuku, and what do you know!? …We went to another HUB haha! This time it was decently busy! They sat us at this large community table with a bunch of dudes. Right off the bat we started talking to these two other guys. One guy was studying in America, and he was just home in Japan for summer vacation! Despite this fact, we spoke in Japanese the whole time. I was proud of myself for speaking Japanese with everyone all night in my drunken condition…I thought I did pretty well! We talked a lot and did tequila shots together. I found out that I was actually older than both of the guys! I was so surprised because they didn’t look young at all! I felt it was my duty as an elder to buy a tequila shot for the guy I was talking to haha! I think that was the first time I ever willingly bought a drink for a guy. I had a really good time hanging out and meeting new people. There was actually one guy who is Italian and studying in Japan. He didn’t know English, so we spoke in Japanese! I always think it’s kind of funny when that happens.

Being a good elder.

When the bar closed (maybe around 2 or 3 am), we left and hoped to go somewhere else with the two guys like another bar or karaoke, but they ended up going home. So Laura and I wondered the streets of Shinjuku for a bit, pulling shenanigans lol! We ended the night (or should I say morning) by getting breakfast at a fast food curry place…BAD IDEA. We eventually made it back to her apartment and went to sleep. However, it didn’t take long before I woke up feeling like crap because of the curry mixed with alcohol.

Pulling shenanigans.

The sun is rising!

August 12^th: I was actually supposed to go to my friend Yuta’s house in the afternoon on this day, but since I felt sick, I told him I would come the next day instead. This actually turned out fine because Yuta was busy finishing up a school assignment, and this gave me some down time with Laura to just chat and bond. I rested up and felt fine at the end of the day.

August 13^th: I got up and headed to Ibaraki Prefecture where my friend Yuta lives after saying goodbye to Laura…another hard goodbye! It had been around 6 months since I saw Yuta last, and I was really excited to see him again! We got to his house and then went out for an early dinner after a little bit (I hadn’t really eaten anything that day). At dinner we caught up and had a nice time. We went to the batting cages after dinner. I sucked so bad lol, but it was fun. J We wanted to get shitfaced that night (I have the best friends haha), so we went to the store and bought drinks. We were chilling at his house, watching TV, and drinking heavily when his aunt showed up and told us that his whole family was going out for a late dinner at an izakaya. We told her that we had eaten earlier, but they insisted on us going. They said they could wait like another hour to help us work up an appetite. We were really drunk and not hungry at all, but we just agreed…because we were drunk probably lol! Plus, I we wanted to spend time with his family. I found out on our way to the izakaya that Yuta has a younger sister who is 20 years old! I was so shocked because I had no idea! Yuta and I ate a little bit at the izakaya but mostly continued drinking. Again, I was sobering up because the alcohol wasn’t strong enough, but Yuta was getting more drunk. It was hilarious! I had fun talking with his family. We headed back to his house with plans to resume hanging out and drinking, but when we got there, his sister called me into her room, and we ended up chatting for like an hour. She was so nice and funny! When I went back into the living room after hanging with Yuta’s sister, I found him asleep! So that was the end of that night. :P

August 14^th: This day we planned to go to Yuta’s grad school in Saitama to have a BBQ party with his friends, and that’s exactly what we did! However, we had a master plan…which was to get everyone drunk, especially two of his friends who are very weak with alcohol…like they get drunk after one drink and turn bright red haha! Yuta kept telling me he wanted the BBQ party to be “American style” which I took to mean like drinking like Americans…which to me means shot gunning beers and taking shots.

So, after getting to his campus, meeting everyone, going shopping, and setting up, the party began! I made the “weak” guys take shots right off the bat! It was incredible how quickly they turned red and were laughing at their own drunkenness! Like literally after 60 seconds! :O For hours we cooked, ate, talked, and drank. I made every guy shot gun a beer, I was mixing drinks for people all the time (which was fun), and making people take shots like every half hour or so haha! People were so funny! I introduced everyone to Captain Morgan which was a big hit! I was buzzed for a bit, but it kind of wore off, and after that, I couldn’t get drunk even if I kept drinking! D: This summer kind of taught me that come the new semester, I needed to keep drinking strictly limited to Fridays and/or Saturdays! Which as of now, I have been succeeding at.

Since there are strict laws in Japan about drinking and driving, we all slept in their students’ office. It was actually pretty comfortable! We stayed up late talking (mostly me teaching them bad words in English hahaha). When we woke up the next day, Yuta and I headed back to his home to have lunch and get cleaned up. Then he took me to the station, and I headed back to Osaka. It was a really fun time seeing all my friends, but it was too short! However, my body probably couldn’t have handled hanging out with them much more!! Good thing the only thing I did with the rest of my summer vacation was party and drink with my Osaka friends… :P ;D

My targets: mission accomplished!

Yuta shot gunning a beer!

My Mom in Japan!

On Sunday July 21^st, my mother came to Japan to visit me. My last day of work before summer vacation was the 19^th. So, right from the beginning of my summer vacation, it was action packed! I was so excited for my mom to experience Japan because she is very open-minded and interested in learning about all cultures. The only thing she was not very good at was saying anything in Japanese haha! I think by the time she left, the only thing she could say was the name of my town. :P

Mother and daughter purikura.

Anyway, I will give a day by day breakdown of what we did.

July 21^st: She arrived in the evening. This was the first time someone who has come to visit me had flown into Itami/Osaka Airport. It was kind of complicated to get there, so it took a while getting back. It, of course, was super humid and gross out. My mom got a full taste of Osaka summer heat the second she stepped out of the airport!

One strange thing happened on the train ride to my place. I have always told my mother about how polite and reserved Japanese people are, but I swear my mother ALWAYS attracts crazy people. So on our ride home, a group of about four middle aged ladies walk over to us and start asking us tons of questions (in Japanese) with very loud voices. They were examining all my mother’s things like her suitcase, purse, wedding ring, and fingernails and commenting on them.  When they learned she was my mother, they freaked out and asked her how old she was. Then they asked me and did the math. My mom was kind of embarrassed. Apparently they were on their way back from a concert. They seemed kind of drunk. In any case, my mom’s first experience talking to Japanese people (well, me translating) was not what she was expecting. When we got to my place, we chatted and went to bed.

July 22^nd: We woke up a little early and went to my school. My mother wanted to see what a Japanese school was like since she is a teacher in the U.S. Since it was summer vacation, it was ok for me to bring her. When I brought her, I introduced her to some teachers and students. I was surprised by how shy my students were around her! Usually they are not that shy and are very talkative around me, but when my mother was here, they were so nervous and couldn’t speak! One of my JTE’s kept making them do self introductions. It was amusing. I think my mother enjoyed seeing my school.

After that, we went out for lunch with two of my JTEs at a place called Getten. It was a gourmet kushi-katsu place. It was super fancy and delicious! There were a couple pieces of kushi-kastsu that kind of made us nervous, though. For example, there was one with a fish tail sticking out of it and another which was a whole shrimp with the eyes and face antenna things. I was so proud of my mom for eating them! It was a perfect first meal out (not to mention like all the workers were really cute young men haha)! After that, my teacher took us to her house. She wanted to show my mother and me her house because it is a very big traditional Japanese style home that was built by her family. It almost reminded me of a temple! I got to meet her mother-in-law who was the cutest little Japanese woman I’ve ever seen! Then we went to the nearby local temple. My mother was so impressed by everything. I enjoyed the beautiful lotus flowers at the temple.  It was a good first day!

*By the way, I should mention that it was one of my mother’s goals to try all sorts of different Japanese foods while she was here. So I will also be giving a breakdown of what we ate while she was here.

July 23^rd: I figured that it was best for me to show her downtown Osaka right away so she could get a feel for where I was living. First, however, we went to Osaka Castle. I think she was impressed by it. We were planning on eating takoyaki on the castle grounds, but many places were closed. Perhaps it was because it was a Tuesday morning. Instead, on our way downtown, we ate at a place in Kyobashi that I always bring visitors too. It’s simple Japanese home style cooking. My mother got a big curry udon, and I got teishoku. We then headed downtown. We walked down the Shinsaibashi shotengai (covered shopping street) and did some shopping. I showed her the Glico Man and other areas. For dinner, I took her to kaiten-zushi. That was fun!

Mother's curry udon.

Osaka Castle.

Dotonbori.

Kaiten-zushi.

July 24^th: On this day we went to Kyoto to the Higashiyama area. First we had Italian food for lunch in the station (I know, not really Japanese). My mom was obsessed with the smoked salmon spaghetti which is really common in Japan, but not so much in America. Then we made our way to the Higashiyama area and shopped along the old streets up to Kiyomizu-dera. After looking at the temple and going in “the womb (which is a pitch black underground cavern with a “magical” rock inside that you make a wish in front of),” we continued North up to Yasaka-jinja and Maruyama Park. There we met our friend Satsuki. My mother hadn’t seen her in years, so it was nice. We shopped a bit around the Gion district before going to dinner together. We got omu-raisu.  It was a nice outing. We took pictures in front of Kyoto Station and Kyoto Tower before saying our goodbyes to Satsuki.

In front of Yasaka-jinja.

In front of Kyoto Station.

July 25^th: We went to Tenjin Matsuri. Tenjin Maturi is the 3^rd biggest festival in all of Japan. That being said, it was really crowded! We did a LOT of walking. On our way to the river where the boat parade would take place, we stopped at some food stands and saw the ground parade. I really liked the parade. We also happened upon a street performer doing magic. That’s always fun! Once we reached the river, we watched the boat parade a little before making our way to the main food stands. My mother tried takoyaki for the first time. I think she liked it except for the fish flakes. In addition to the yakisoba and chocolate banana we had earlier and the takoyaki then, we also had kara-age and kaki-gori that was alcoholic throughout the night. Oh, I forgot to mention that during this time, we were drinking chu-hi and beer (well my mom was drinking beer and I was drinking chu-hi). I was drinking the large, strong cans, so I was getting pretty buzzed. Later we met up with a couple of friends and tried to watch the fireworks, but it was so crowded that we couldn’t even see them. After that, against our better judgment, we got coaxed into going to an izakaya with my friend at the time (he turned out to be a creepy stalker). We ate some stuff even though we weren’t that hungry (but he was), and we drank a lot more. I was for lack of a better word, wasted! So I guess something good came out of it haha!

Partying at Tenjin-Matsuri.

Ground parade.

River parade.

July 26^th: This was our Nara day. It was a good day indeed! When we first got to Nara, I took my mom to the matcha café that I love. We had the small butter chicken curry set and then for the main event, matcha parfaits! They were so good! Then we made our way on the course I usually take through Nara. First we played with the deer in Nara Park and checked out Kofuku-ji. The antlers on the deer had grown so much since I last saw them in like May-ish! Then we made our way to Isuien Garden. I was excited to take my mother there because when I showed my mother pictures from my first Japan trip, she thought my most beautiful picture was from Isuien Garden. When she saw the main scenic view, I think she was in awe. I felt pleased haha! After that, we went to Todai-ji, of course, and saw the biggest Buddha statue in Japan. Then we made our way to Kasuga-taisha, a shrine known for having around 3,000 lanterns. Up until this point, this was the way I always went, but accidentally on our way back, I took a wrong turn, and we ended up at this beautiful pond with a gazebo in the middle. We enjoyed that view for a bit before finally making our way back to Nara Kintetsu Station. When we got back to my town, we went to Daifuku which is a yakiniku restaurant in my town. I think my mother really enjoyed this dinner a lot. We cooked vegetables and meat on the grill at the table, and we also had kimchi, bibimbap, and soup. We finished off the night by stopping at the “dog bar” in my town for a couple drinks. She loved it! It was a super eventful, jam-packed day!

Matcha parfait.

Nara Park.

Isuien.

Gazebo out on the pond.

Yaki-niku (Well actually yaki-yasai). Haha!

July 27^th: This day was a little more relaxing. In the morning, I brought my mother to my tea ceremony class. She tried onigiri for the first time on the way there. It was cool that my mom could actually see me practice and meet my classmates and teacher. After that, we went home and chilled out and ate supermarket food for lunch. My mom really likes Japanese potato salad haha…so do I. Later, we met up at Balabushka with some other JETs to celebrate the JET year coming to an end. It was fun to just chill out, drink, and talk with everyone. I think my mom was impressed because I know and meet people from all over the world. She met some people from different countries at the bar which she enjoyed. After that, we went back to my town and stopped in at White & Cigar. This wasn’t the first time we went together since my mom came, but I don’t remember which day was the first day. We enjoyed having a few drinks (my mother may have gone home before me haha) and chatting with everyone.

Tea ceremony class.

July 28^th: This was karaoke night! I don’t know if we did anything in the morning, but I know we met everyone around dinner time at Torikizoku in West Shinsaibashi. We ate a bunch of izakaya food like yakitori. I don’t think my mom will ever forgive me for having her try nankotsu (chicken cartilage). Many people I know like it, and I thought maybe she would too. I didn’t want to tell her what it was though because I thought that if she knew, she wouldn’t try it. Well, it turned out that she hated it anyway. :P We drank at the izakaya and my mom got sufficiently “loose” for karaoke haha! We headed to Rainbow Karaoke in Dontonbori. It was my mother’s first time to go to a karaoke box. She had a blast, and everyone enjoyed watching/laughing at her. She kept drinking at the karaoke box, got really rowdy, and was dancing on the couches! It was so funny!

On our way to karaoke!

Fun times!

Andrew surprised us all with his fast rapping!

July 29^th: This was the one year anniversary of me coming to Japan, so we had a mother-daughter date. It was really nice! First, we went to Osaka station to satisfy my craving for an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. From there, we took the subway to Namba. We browsed around in Tower Records to kill time before going to see Monsters University in theaters at Toho Cinemas. We both enjoyed the movie so much! It was great! After that, we went to my favorite restaurant; the all-you-can-eat kushi-katsu place in Namba Parks where you cook it yourself at the table. We seriously had a blast there! I think my mom’s favorite Japanese food ended up being kushi-katsu as well. It was a perfect little one year anniversary celebration.

There is this crazy cool fountain thing at Osaka

Station that my mother and I starred at for a bit.

I love this place so much!

July 30^th: This is the day we went to Koya-san in Wakayama Prefecture. I had been meaning to go there for a long time. It’s a place famous for having a cemetery called Oku-no-in where many famous Buddhist monks are buried. Plus it’s on top of a scenic misty mountain, very secluded. There’s also a really nice temple called Garan there too with a gigantic 2-tiered pagoda called Konpon Daito. It’s very impressive. It’s about a 3 hour trip from my town to the peak of Koyasan. One of the fun parts is getting to take a cable-car to the top. Once you get into Wakayama, the view from the train window becomes incredible! When we got there, we went straight to Oku-no-in. It was so surreal. I was completely visually stimulated by the sight. After taking it in and walking around a bit, we left Oku-no-in and headed to the Garan temple complex. On the way, we stopped in a few stores and another mini temple. When we got to Garan, the view of the Konpon Daito pagoda took my breath away. It was so big! We went inside it and looked around in awe. We were sufficiently stimulated for the day. After walking around the temple complex and getting a quick snack of oyako-don to share, we made our way back to Osaka. It was a long trek, but when we made it back, we got okonomiyaki for dinner. It was so good! We kind of went at an off time, so we had the place to ourselves. Therefore, the nice workers cutely decorated our okonomiyaki for us. After dinner, we shopped around again in Shinsaibashi before heading home.

Graves in Oku-no-in.

Oku-no-in. So cool!

Konpon Daito.

Cutest okonomiyaki ever!

 July 31^st: We went to Kyoto for a second time this day. This time, however, we went to the Arashiyama, and one of my students came with. Now before you get all freaky-deaky on me for spending time with a student outside of class, please let me explain. So first, she is totally a teacher’s pet to me which is cute. Without saying anything to me, she went home and seriously asked her parents if she could come to America with me to stay for a couple weeks when I go home next. Her parents seriously said yes haha! Then she told me about her plan. She really likes English and America. I told her that when I am finished teaching in Japan, she could come visit me in America (after I asked my parents). So, whenever I finish JET, I really think she will come stay a couple weeks at my house.  I have met her mother several times and her father once. I attended her trumpet recital that she invited me to. So what I’m trying to say is that I know her parents, I’m not a creep, and she really wanted to meet my mother when she was here. So we invited her to come along with us to Arashiyama. I was surprised to learn that even though she’s a Japanese girl living in Osaka, she had never been to Arashiyama! I’ve been there like five times!

When we first got to Arashiyama, we had lunch. We ate ten-don. Then we made our way over the big bridge (after playing by the river a bit) before heading to the monkey park. We climbed up the mountain to the monkey park. I really enjoyed seeing wild monkeys and feeding them (from the safety of the little safe hut on top of the mountain). There’s such a beautiful view of Kyoto from up top. The monkey seemed a little more irritable than when I last saw them. I think it was because of the heat. After getting our fill of monkeys, we climbed back down the mountain and made our way to the bamboo forest. We stopped for ice-cream cones on the way. They were particularly good ones! We happily walked through the forest while eating our ice-cream cones. Then we came to my favorite garden in Japan so far. It’s called Okochi Sanso. It was the personal home and garden of the Japanese jidaigeki (period film) actor, Okochi Denjiro. I had learned about him and saw some of his films in college. It had been a couple years since I went there for the first time! The entrance fee is a little expensive, but you get a nice post card and a cup of tea and tea cake included in the price (1,000 yen). First, we drank our tea and ate our tea cake before exploring the garden. It’s such a beautiful garden in my opinion. We stopped and walked around Tenryuji a little before heading home. I think my student really enjoyed herself. My mother and I did too!

Ten-don.

I forgot the name of this bridge, but it's like the
icon of Arashiyama.

Baby monkeys!

Bamboo forest.

Okochi Sanso.

The new ALT in my town arrived this day. So after I got home, I met him and gave him a little walking tour of our area. He seemed really cool and friendly, so I was excited to have someone like him in my town!

August 1^st: Honestly, on this day we were completely exhausted from going on two major trips two days in a row. Actually, I had some things I needed to take care of at my board of education in the morning/afternoon, so on this day we just went out for a dinner in Shinsaibashi. I had been so proud of my mom for trying all sorts of Japanese food every day, but this day she (and I) needed a break. Like typical Americans, we were craving Mexican food. So, we went to El Pancho and had a nice meal. Oh! I almost forgot! This day, in the evening, I taught a little English night class for adults. I brought my mom with me! My mom enjoyed interacting with the older Japanese folks in English. So actually, this day ended up being kind of busy. I think we ended our night at White & Cigar (I ended my night there more times than I have mentioned lol…I seriously love that place and the people there so much!).

Mom and I at White & Cigar.

August 2^nd: On this day, we had a nice trip to the Osaka Kaiyukan (Aquarium). First we stopped for ramen in Kyobashi on the way there. I’m not sure if ramen was tied for first place with kushi-katsu or not for my mother’s favorite Japanese food, but I know that she REALLY liked it! When we got to the Aquarium, we walked through it and had a nice time. Just like me, my mother was impressed by the whale sharks and the Japanese spider crabs. After the aquarium, we got bubble tea floats in the Tempozan Marketplace before riding the huge Ferris wheel outside of the Aquarium. When we were at the top of the Ferris wheel together, I felt very happy and thankful that my mom came to visit me. J

Japanese spider crabs.

August 3^rd: One of my favorite experiences took place on this day, my mother’s last full day in Japan. We went to Kobe to see a huge, popular fireworks show over the sea. It’s called the Minato Kobe Fireworks Festival, and it takes place every year at Kobe Port. This was the 42^nd year, I think. They light off about 10,000 fireworks in an hour!

Before going to Kobe, we got lunch at an Indian restaurant because my mom never gets to eat it in America because my dad doesn’t like it, and it is a lot more popular in Japan than America. It was spicy and delicious! The chai tea was particularly good. We made it to Kobe a few hours before the show, but the area was already packed with people! So many people (men and women) were dressed so nicely in their yukata. I really appreciated looking at all the effort that went into their outfits. To me, yukata and kimono are artistic and beautiful.  After buying some snacks to have for the show, we decided it would be best if we camped out in a spot like everyone else was already doing so we’d have a good view. We sat there for teo or three hours! We passed the time by playing games and talking. It was a test of patience but totally worth it because when the show started, our view was awesome!

Kobe Port.

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Here's a video of the fireworks.

Last summer, since I was stranded without a phone or internet, I had no idea where to go to see fireworks or how to get there. I had been looking forward to seeing a Japanese firework show for a whole year! I had heard that they were stupendous compared to American ones…and it was true (with the exception of like Disney World). I love fireworks so much. I think they are so romantic and make you feel so good inside. Seeing as they were extraordinarily beautiful fireworks, I was moved by this experience.

August 4^th: What can I really say about this day? We got up and made our way to the airport. I was sad to see her go, and she was sad to leave me. However, I think we were both happy and thankful for her visit. I really got to spend some quality time with my mother, and we’ll always have the memories.

Goodbye Mom! I love you, and thanks for coming!