Halloween Party Round 2

So, last weekend was round two of the Halloween parties. This was the main night everyone goes out on. Every year, Osaka AJET puts on a Halloween party, and it’s my favorite event of the year! This year’s venue was awesome! They really did a good job! I’ll give you a breakdown of how the night went.

My friends and I met around 8 pm downtown. First we went to Balabushka just to get our hands stamped so we could enter later. I remember it being extremely crowded on Halloween last year, so this year we wanted to get our hands stamped in advance in case it got so busy later that they stopped letting people in. We of course had out first round of drinks there. We left right after.

Kohei the clown pouring our first round.

Next we headed to the AJET party. It was inside an abandoned wooden building that is available for renting for various events. The place was at least double the size of last year’s venue. There were two DJ booths. I was super excited because Andrew would be DJ-ing! It was my first time to see/hear him DJ, and he ended up being awesome! When we first arrived, we got more drinks and started mingling. It wasn’t too busy yet. My JET and non-JET friends know each other for the most part, so there was a lot of hellos and chatting at first. It had been a while since I went to a JET event, so I was really happy to see everyone. Once Andrew started DJ-ing at 9:30, I danced a lot. It was so much fun (as usual haha)! My friends that I came with didn’t pay for all-night wristbands , so at 10:30, they left for Balabushka, but I stayed for a bit longer until 12:00-ish. I just danced and hung out with everyone more. It was great!

Aimee and I!

Andrew DJ-ing. :D

JET and non-JET friends mingling. <3

My favorite picture from the night.

When I was ready to go to Balabushka, I grabbed my JET friends who were also planning on going, and we made a pit stop at the Family Mart in Triangle Park. For those who have been in Osaka on Halloween, you know that the place to be is Triangle Park in American Village. The streets are so crowded with people in costumes enjoying the Halloween festivities everywhere that you can hardly move! We chilled there a bit and ate our snacks.  When it was time to move on, my three friends I was with realized that their belongings were still at the JET party, so they told me to go ahead to Balabushka while they went back.

Triangle Park.

Family Mart break.

When I got to Balabushka, I found my friends from before. Balabushka was really busy! I had had enough drinks for the night, so I stopped drinking when I got to Balabushka. I can’t say that for all of my friends, though. Akira was super drunk haha! Basically, while I was there, I just chilled out and talked with people and danced a little bit. The highlight of my night was at Balabushka. There was this buff, middle-aged, Japanese man that was talking to me and hitting on me (I never attract cute boys my age...I always get the weird ones lol). Anyway, I was just chatting with him because why not? when Guns and Roses started playing. At that moment, he took my hand, kissed it, and then pointed at his crotch and said, “Welcome to the jungle!” I couldn’t even be weirded out because it was such a random and hilarious experience. I just laughed at him, and we proceeded to arm wrestle. I of course lost because he was super strong, but he told me that I had a lot of power compared to most women. I don’t know if he was serious or not, but whatever. It was an interesting experience. Around 4:00 am, after Akira and Hiro had a dance contest that I’m pretty sure Akira has no recollection of, we decided to leave because Akira was like falling over.

Balabushka.

Havin' fun!

Hiro: dominated Akira in a dance contest. :P

Hiro dancing. :)

Winner of the Balabushka costume contest: Lone Ranger.

We decided to go do karaoke for an hour until first train. It was short but sweet. We got some yummy food while we sang (takoyaki, French fries, and pizza). Shinya and I sang “In the End” by Linkin Park together, and I thought we sounded awesome haha! The best part was when we heard Kentaro sang for the first time. He sang “Dragostea Din Tei” by O-zone. If you know Kentaro, then you know how goofy he is and how well that song fits his personality. We were all cracking up because when he started singing (in whatever language that song is in), he had a really deep, nice voice and was really serious about singing it well. You had to be there…

Karaoke afterwards: the girls.

Karaoke afterwards: the boys.

Kentaro singing!

Afterwards, we parted ways and went home. By the way, my friends from before who went back to get their stuff, they ended up showing up at Balabushka later like they said except one of them (the new JET in my town who I’m good friends with) because he was sleeping in the street! >_< Apparently he wanted to be left alone which I can understand. That’s a rare occurrence for him! I think Halloween brings out the devil in everyone. However, since I had a hair appointment and I was meeting my friend for dinner the next day, I made sure not to overdo it. In fact, when I got home in the morning, I wasn’t even that tired! That was a first for me! I picked up my apartment a bit, took a shower, and went to bed around 7:30 am. It was a successful Halloween! I can’t wait for next year!

*I'm still waiting for friends to upload their pictures on Facebook, so I'll probably add more pictures to this most eventually. I know there were some good ones.

Loud Park 2013

Last weekend was probably the most exhausting weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it was really fun!! My friend, Akira, and I went on a little road trip up to Saitama to see a two day heavy metal concert. It’s called “Loud Park,” and it’s at the Saitama Super Arena every year. Akira and I have been friends basically since I moved to Japan. He is the only Japanese person I know who likes the same music as I do. I remember when I asked him over a year ago if he knew my favorite band, Asking Alexandria, and when he said, “yes,” I about crapped my pants and thought he was awesome right away!!

Actually, although I like metal, I didn’t know many of the bands at the concert, just a few songs from a few bands. Akira was planning on driving up to the concert and watching it alone. I thought that was a little sad. Plus, he was planning on leaving after work and driving through the night with no sleep. After going to the concert all day on Sunday, he was planning on driving back without sleep as well. I thought that was super dangerous, and I was worried, so because I like metal as well and like hanging with Akira, I told him I’d go with.

As planned, we left around 8:30 pm from my town. We listened to his Loud Park playlist he had made on the way up. That way we could familiarize ourselves with some of the songs. I knew some of the bands already like Bring Me the Horizon, Behemoth, Stone Temple Pilots, Trivium, and Crossfaith. Crossfaith is a metalcore band from Osaka! They sing in English though. I had been getting into them ever since Akira introduced them to me not too long ago. Therefore, I was most excited to see them.

On our way up, we stopped at rest stops a few times, but overall, we drove there pretty quickly. It took us around 7 hours. We just talked and listened to music. It was nice. I think I took like a 20 minute nap when we were almost there, but other than that, we stayed awake without much trouble.

When we got there, we went to a 7-11 to buy a snack and then brush our teeth. After that, we found parking near the stadium. We slept in his car there. However, we only slept from like 4 am to 6 am. It was hardly a restful night of sleep after working all day and then driving 7 hours. We got up early because we wanted to get in line to buy T-shirts. Before going to the stadium to get in line, we went back to 7-11 to get a light breakfast, change clothes (well at least I did lol), brush our teeth, wash my face, etc. The doors for buying shirts opened at 8 am. When we got there around 7:00, the line was ridiculous! I will never understand why things have to be so strict and complicated in Japan when it comes to stuff like this. I mean seriously, do you really need to form lines hours in advance to buy a T-shirt? They were only selling them before the concert from 8 am to 9am. After that, you could buy them during the concert, but you’d miss a lot of bands while waiting, and many of the shirts would sell out. So in any case, we waited in line, but ended up not getting in by the deadline. What a waste… :/

Next, we got in line to get into the stadium. We were so tired from not really sleeping and waiting in lines. When we got in, we checked the T-shirt line, and it was crazy. So, we got drinks and went to the stages. We watched all the bands both days with the exception of missing a few songs now and then to use the bathroom, get food and drinks, and so on. About half way through, we checked the T-shirt line again and it was short. However, most of the shirts were sold out. I decided to just get my third choice of Loud Park T-shirt. Akira was able to get some of the shirts he wanted, but not all of them, so we decided that we’d get up even earlier the next day and try to get in line again so he could get the other shirts he wanted (he was buying shirts for himself and his family).

Day 1 of Loud Park.

On the first day I got to see Crossfaith which was super fun! I got to do moshing and the wall of death. I will write a complete list of the bands that were there at the end of the post. Our bodies were so tired from standing a ton and moshing. I got really tired, but we made it until the end. After, we went to a public bath house where we had dinner and took baths. That was super nice and relaxing. I got into a really cold bath after soaking in warm ones in order to help my muscles. I felt like I was going to die and pass out or something. It felt really weird. I wasn’t sure if it was due to exhaustion, the change from hot to cold, or both. I was like wobbling as I walked. After the baths, we were so tired. I felt loopy. We went back to the parking lot and slept in his car again. This time I went to bed at 2 am, but Akira couldn’t sleep (because he’s freaking crazy), and apparently he fell asleep at about 4 am again. We got up at 6 am again (we meant to get up at 5am). Instead of going to 7-11 though, we went straight to the line (at like 6:15 am). This time we were close to the front thankfully! Since they didn’t start letting people in until 8:00 am, while Akira held our place in line, I went into a parking garage bathroom to change, wash my face, and brush my teeth. This time Akira was able to get the other shirts he wanted.

Crossfaith. They were awesome!

Bring Me the Horizon. I like them. :)

We went to Lawson’s to get some breakfast and then chilled in his car for like an hour before going to day 2 of the concert. Even though I slept for about 4 hours, sleeping a total of 6 hours in like 2 days is not enough, not to mention the car isn’t that comfortable. So, pretty early into the concert, I was feeling messed up. I was completely exhausted. The 10 am alcohol probably didn’t help either (although that was the only drink I had that day). :P During the third band, I started hallucinating and falling asleep standing up. I saw a grapefruit floating in the sky, and I saw Akira run away from me even though he was standing right there. I also remember waking up because I was about to fall over. It was super weird. So after the third band, we sat down to watch the next one. That helped. I felt much better after that. I was able to make it the rest of the time without sleeping even though I was still tired.

10 am alcohol. :S

Taking a sitting break because we're dying. Haha!

The concert was really cool! I enjoyed listening to the songs and bands I did know, and I also got to learn some new bands. After the concert, we made our way to the same bath house again. We had dinner and baths again. I got scolded by a worker because I tried to charge my phone in one of their electrical outlets. My phone had been dead for like a day… Oops.

Trivium. They are always good.

Akira got one of Trivium's picks!

Babymetal...only in Japan haha! 14 year old girls in dresses
dancing and sing to heavy metal music.

Yngwie Malmsteen smashed up a guitar
and threw it into the crowd. Cool!

After that, we began the drive home. I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to make it all the way back without sleeping. I know I for sure couldn’t! I decided it would be better if I took a little nap right at the beginning since I knew I couldn’t stay awake the whole time. That way, if Akira became too tired towards the end of the trip, I’d be awake to notice and tell him to take a break. I slept for about 20 minutes (I think I had another accidental 20 minute nap towards the end too…damn). We drank tons of energy drinks. On the way home we talked more and listened to the Loud Park playlist again. It was fun to hear a lot of the songs that we had just heard live. We made it pretty close to Osaka, but at about 6:30 am when the sun had already risen, Akira said he had double vision, so we decided to sleep for little bit. It was weird because the rest stop was crowded, and it was bright. I wondered how many people starred at us during the 4 hours we slept lol! We woke up to the loud voices of elementary school students getting off of charter busses. It was really hot in the car compared to when we stayed in Saitama. We decided to go ahead and leave. We made it to my town around 11:30 am on Monday (I had taken the day off…it was my first time to ever take a day off when I had classes except for sickness).

I thanked Akira for the awesome time. He lives about a half hour away from me, so I told him to tell me when he made it back safely, which he did. I didn’t want to mess up my sleep schedule for work too much, so after doing some laundry, I took like a three hour nap. I went back to bed at 10:00 pm and slept until it was time to get up for work at 6:20 am. I think my body has recovered now. I saw really violent dreams that night though. I can’t help but wonder if it was because all of the death metal bands I watched haha!

Here’s a list of the bands that were there:

·         Lost Society

·         Crossfaith

·         Bring Me the Horizon

·         Devin Townsend Project

·         Therion

·         Lordi

·         Lynch

·         Behemoth

·         Carcass

·         Angra

·         Europe

·         Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington

·         Metal Clone X

·         Breaking Arrows

·         Enforcer

·         Mokoma

·         Amorphis

·         Babymetal

·         Trivium

·         Spititual Beggars

·         Stratovarious

·         Last in Line

·         Yngwie Malmsteen

Halloween Party Round 1

On October 12^th, my friends and I celebrated an early Halloween. One of our friends is traveling during the main Halloween weekend and doesn’t want to miss out, so we figured why not celebrate twice?! Best idea ever in my opinion!

On the 12^th, we met up at Balabushka, all in costumes. We got some funny looks, but I didn’t really care haha! Balabushka is already decorated for Halloween which made me feel festive. Basically we just chilled, drank, and pulled shenanigans while we were there. I didn’t remember this until my friend posted a video, but we all started dancing randomly to a song while we were there…Haha! The guys really got into character and were attacking each other. I bought a round of shots for everyone for the first time. It made me feel so cool! :P

The girls.

Who would like a round of shots? ;)

Group photo!

We all just started randomly dancing one by one haha!

Our main plan was to go to Giraffe (a really popular dance club in Osaka that I hadn’t been to yet) for their Halloween event that is taking place during the month of October. Also, since we were all planning to go to Universal Studios together the next day (in the morning), we agreed not to stay out all night. So, we got their pretty early at like 9:30. It was already full of people! If you wore a costume, it was really cheap to get in. It was only 600 yen for girls to get in if you were wearing a costume, and it was nomihoudai (all you can drink)! WOW! The music was really good, and we were all having a blast dancing! It seriously was SO MUCH FUN! I remember looking at my phone to check the time, and my last train was already finished…oops. I think we were all having so much fun that we just didn’t care. However, for whatever reason, once we realized we missed our last trains, we decided to leave, which in my opinion was counterproductive since we would be staying out all night. I asked my friend the next day why we decided to leave so early (like at midnight or 1:00 am), and she didn’t know either haha! I guess we were all a little out of it. Anyway, Giraffe was great!

We decided to go do karaoke for the rest of the night. I don’t know where we went, but it was surprisingly super cheap! I had the most fun I’ve ever had doing karaoke. We had our own little dance party at one point in the karaoke room. Some of my friends have the same taste in music as me, so we sang a lot of rock and metal songs together. It was AWESOME!!!

Every day we're shufflin'!

In the morning, we made our ways back home. We decided to meet at Universal Studios at 3:00pm rather than 10:00am like we originally planned. It worked out nicely because the tickets were cheaper from 3:00pm. The reason we wanted to go to USJ (Universal Studios Japan) was because of the “Surprise Halloween” event. Basically, at night, zombies come out and scare you! It was so entertaining! I thought I would be scared, but actually I just thought the zombies were really cool. Some of my friends were scared, and I enjoyed making them jump by sneaking up behind them and grabbing them. >:-) Everyone’s reactions were really great!

Zombies eating someone! :O

Zombies dancing to "Thriller."

So, this past weekend was perfect!  I feel totally in the Halloween spirit now! I definitely don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything this year! I’m loving life in Japan. <3

Fall! Fall! Fall!

Fall has always been my favorite season! It suits my personality perfectly. I love cool weather, warm clothes, changing leaves, the smell of autumn scented candles, Halloween, haunted houses, pumpkin patches, scary movies, and most of all warm delicious fall foods and drinks. I love the rich spices and flavors of fall.

My first year in Japan, I became very depressed during this time of year because fall just wouldn’t seem to come. Facebook statuses of friends and family back at home told of the cool weather and the return of the Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. I felt like I was missing out on everything, that the leaves would never change, and it would always be a sweaty humid mess here. This year, I told myself that I would not let the late coming of fall get me down again.

Now that I’m in my second year here, I have become quite used to how things work. I wasn’t expecting the temperature to start dropping slightly until the end of September. In all honesty, either I’ve adjusted a bit to the heat and humidity here, or this September has felt a little cooler than the last in my opinion. Also, I am aware that the changing leaves won’t happen until November. Although I am envious that fall is already in full swing in the U.S., I know that the time will come here. In fact, it has already begun. Like I said, the temperature is no longer in the 90’s or above, some days are actually quite cool, the Halloween decorations have come out in stores, and most importantly秋分の日(Shuubun no Hi) or the Autumn Equinox has passed (on September 23^rd). In Japan, the Autumn Equinox is actually a national holiday! I’ll explain why that is so important to me later.

They really get into their seasons here which is something I appreciate. Sure, there is no Thanksgiving or several other American holidays here, but there are holidays here that we don’t have in the U.S. Also, the Japanese fall foliage is a grand sight to see in your lifetime. American fall is quite beautiful, but the Japanese put a lot more effort into it. Let me explain…it’s like they arrange and plant trees keeping in mind how it will look when fall comes. At night, certain temples will illuminate the trees in an artful manner that is breathtaking. I am very much looking forward to it again this year! Also, Japan is more mountainous compared to where I come from, and there are many tree-covered mountains where I live. I can enjoy the natural beauty of them right from my own window. What I’m getting at is that fall in Japan is very nice as well, it just comes later. Consequentially, there really isn’t much of a winter. I of course miss having a lot of snow, but really that seems to be the only part of winter I’m missing out on in Japan, and it’s something I can deal with because I can always travel in Japan to somewhere with snow. I’m just going to through this out there as well: The American spring pales in comparison to the beauty of the Japanese spring. Japan wins hands down, no competition.

I found a bright red leaf when I was
camping in Mie Prefecture.

So despite the fact that I’m doing much better this year with the turn of the season, there are still some differences between Japanese and American fall. However, I am embracing the differences and doing my best to incorporate American tradition. So, back to the Autumn Equinox day…the reason I like it so much is because I’ve decided to make an actually holiday out of it seeing as we get the day off of work. I celebrated by having the windows open (because it was kind of actually cool outside), burning a pumpkin scented candle all day, putting up my fall decorations, and cooking lots of fall food! I made vegetarian chili, cornbread, and pumpkin desserts. Also, I had a warm chai tea latte in the morning at breakfast time. It was a fantastic little day, and I really got into the fall spirit. Ever since then, I have been regularly cooking fall food and burning autumn scented candles. When the weather is cool enough, I open up all the windows and enjoy the cool breeze. Last year I didn’t eat any American style fall foods really because I thought they were impossible to make, but after living here long enough, I’ve found import stores and substitutes for ingredients. Who knew that Japanese pumpkins tasted the same as American ones?? Since they don’t sell pumpkin puree in cans here, I had to make it myself. It takes more effort, but it’s totally worth it! Also, I must thank my mother for sending me the fall candles. They make a big difference! I may not get to go to a pumpkin patch this year, but I am excited to say that I will go to Universal Studios for the Halloween event going on. It’s like the same thing that 6 Flags and other theme parks do during the fall. You can wear a costume, and there are workers dressed up as scary creatures and such that walk around the park trying to scare you. Also, I think there are haunted houses. That reminds me! I have also been watching more scary movies lately which has put me in the fall spirit. I have two Halloween parties to look forward to, and of course I have decorated my bulletin board at school for Halloween, and I’m having the students do another Halloween project this year.

Fall decor.

Fall decor.

Vegetarian chili and cornbread.

Pumpkin desserts.

French onion soup and roasted sweet potatoes.

Pumpkin soup and cornbread casserole.

Pumpkin cake.

Pumpkin chai smoothie.

Halloween board.

Lastly, I want to say that although I’m doing a pretty good job of incorporating American tradition into my Japanese life, I am also embracing Japanese fall tradition too! Like I said, I will definitely be making a trip or two to see the fall foliage and night time illuminations, and Japan has its own slew of fall food that we don’t have in America! Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to the persimmons again this year...they should be hitting the stores soon! I also made it out to the Oktober fest in Tennoji again this year. It’s kind of funny because I am beginning to realize that once I leave Japan, I am going to be missing Japanese fall food and scenery. It just goes back to what I said a few posts ago, I’m making the whole world my home a little at a time. No matter where I am, I will miss something about somewhere, but at the same time, I feel incredibly happy and thankful to have had the experience! I can always go back, and visit places, and when I do, I will always feel comfortable and welcomed.

Fall yum-yums. <3

Chestnut rice. :)

Japanese fall goodies!

Japanese fall veggies. I'm loving them!

Chestnuts.

Pumpkin dessert from the supermarket.

Oktoberfest.

People Enjoying themselves at Oktoberfest.

Camping in Mie

Recently, I went camping for the first time ever! It was awesome! There were a total of nine of us who went. We went to a campground in Miyama, Mie Prefecture. We left really early in the morning on Saturday September, 28^th. The weather was perfect! Not too hot and not too cold. We took two vans. I believe it was about a three hour drive or so.

As we approached the camp area, I was in awe of the beauty. The drive itself was beautiful on the way into Mie. For me, the most impressive aspect was the river that goes through the campground. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all! Where I’m from, the rivers are always muddy, dirty, brown, and disgusting. I would be lying if I said I was excited to swim in a river before I got there. However, the river in Miyama was impeccable! First of all, apparently mountain rivers in general are cleaner than rivers in populated areas which makes sense. Also, this river was not a dirt river, it was a rock river! Therefore, the water was crystal clear! You could see the bottom flawlessly no matter how deep it was! On top of that, the water was the most beautiful turquoise blue in the deep spots. For someone who has a fear of entering natural water sources (I’ve had this phobia since childhood), I was anxious to get in!

The beauty of Miyama.

This water was incredible!

So let’s back up. When we got there, we immediately started setting up camp. We put up three tents (three people per tent since there were nine of us…luckily there were three girls haha!). We hung up hammocks, started preparing food, and set up all the tables, chairs, and coolers. I must say, for people who have never been camping (except for a couple), we really went all out and set it up right!

Building tents.

Hanging hammocks.

Success!

Our first day mostly consisted of setting up, cooking and eating, exploring the river area, bathing in a nearby onsen and at night, having a drinking party with a fire and s’mores. It was so much fun! One of my favorite parts was looking up at the stars at night. It was like being back at home in the countryside where I live! It was so beautiful!

Lunch: Shellfish, mushrooms, and onions over rice
(other people ate beef instead of shellfish...I'm so difficult lol)!

Skipping rocks.

Dinner: Meat and veggies BBQ.

Drinking party! We may or may not have been told to
quiet down once...

S'mores!! Believe it or not, we had to order the
Graham Crackers online!

I thought sleeping in a tent would be uncomfortable, but actually it was really nice! I started raining gently during the night, and I really enjoyed the sound of the droplets on the tent. It soothed me in and out of sleep.

We woke up pretty early the next day. It was still drizzling in the morning, but by like 9 am, the rain went away. We cooked and started cleaning up in the morning. While our homemade curry was cooking, we played a little badminton and relaxed. I went to the river and stuck my feet in.

Group shot at breakfast time minus Akira who is
taking the picture. 

Tenchou cooking the curry haha!

Badminton!

Sticking my feet in. :)

Lunch time: curry! XD

After we ate lunch and got things pretty much packed up, everyone went canoeing (except for me haha…like I said, I have a water phobia, and I didn’t know how deep the river would be, and I was afraid of falling in. I can swim, but it’s kind of hard to explain). So, I was the designated picture lady. The river was actually pretty shallow I some spots, so while I took pictures, I enjoyed walking around in the river. After all, one canoe got tipped over haha!

Have fun guys! The water was actually pretty shallow,
so I probably could have done it.

Yeah!

Noo! Haha!

 Then came the most exciting part….swimming in the river! Normally, I wouldn’t have done this, but the water was so clean, and I could see the bottom. So even though there were times I was scared (and I slipped on a rock and fell on my ass), overall I was able to swim in the river…a first for me! We left the campground and followed the river by car until we found a good spot. The spot we chose to swim had shallow and deep parts, waterfalls, and tons of huge boulders to climb. The water was freezing cold, but we swam anyway. It was really fun! We swam until it got dark.

Lot's of fun rocks to climb on.

NATURE!

Absolutely beautiful!

Go Yuki!

Fun times.

We went back to the onsen to get warm and cleaned up before heading home. We stopped at a rest stop for dinner. It was nice to feel like I was on a little road trip; driving long distances is something I commonly did back home, but haven’t really done here. Even the car ride itself was fun because we could talk and listen to music. I got home around 11:30 at night. It was the perfect first camping trip!

What a perfect little camping trip! I
only wish we had more time!