Under Construction

I wanted to give people a heads up that for the next month or two, I'm going to be editing my blog a bit. I plan on going through all my previous posts and actually proofreading them haha! ^^;; Also, I plan on adding pictures to my previous posts. You may have noticed that my more recent posts have pictures. I think it's more fun that way! So please be patient. Hopefully you will find my blog more enjoyable once I fix it. Thanks for reading! :) -Stephanie

Tokyo Trip with Travis

For those of you who read my blog, you know that Travis and I had our big trip to Tokyo a few weeks ago. We decided to choose Tokyo as our destination for my spring break because you can’t very well come to Japan for two months without seeing Tokyo. So basically we had to go there by default. Although I have been to Tokyo many times, I was ok with going because it’s fun, there’s always something new to do, and I of course wanted to show Travis Tokyo. Plus, it was my first time going back to Tokyo without an alternative motive like just passing through, picking up a friend, or for work. It actually worked out great because when we got to Tokyo, we had no idea that the cherry blossoms were in bloom there! It was our first time seeing them! At first I didn't even realize that that was what they were because usually the cherry tree front, as they call it, starts from the south and makes its way north.They hadn't bloomed in Osaka yet so I never imagined they'd be in bloom in Tokyo. We looked it up online and found out that for some reason, the cherry blossom trees bloom a bit early in Tokyo. We were so happy! It also worked out that when we left Tokyo to go back to Osaka, we were arriving as they were blooming in Osaka. What luck?!

This trip was quite nostalgic for me really because we stayed in the same business hotel I stayed in the first time I came to Japan. It was great to stand in the same place and recall the excitement and wonder I had during my first time here. Everything was so new and amazing then! It’s not that Japan isn’t amazing anymore…it’s just not new to me. It’s kind of like a famous saying used in the tea ceremony (here’s my rough translation): “You can’t experience the same thing the same way more than once.” In other words, each time you encounter something, your feelings will be different so every moment is precious and can’t be replicated.

Anyway, we stayed for a total of five full days. On the first day of my spring vacation (Saturday), we got up early and hopped on the shinkansen to Tokyo. We were going to take the night bus both ways to save money, but I thought Travis should experience the shinkansen at least once (even though he ended up taking it to and from Hiroshima anyway) and to be honest, I prefer taking the shinkansen even if it costs more. We arrived maybe around noon or so. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, I took him to my favorite place in Tokyo: Shinjuku. We started off by going to a cat café that I had been to before called Calico. It was just as fun as I remembered! This time we bought treats to attract the cats because otherwise they don’t really want to be touched. After that, we spent some time just walking around the city and taking it all in. We went shopping and whatnot. One thing I was pretty excited about was dinner. I learned about this place near Kanto station called Devil Craft that specializes in deep dish, Chicago-style pizza. Seeing as I have grown up around the Chicago area and have been downtown to eat real Chicago pizza many times, it’s been frustrating not having it in Japan. We got to the restaurant and put our names in (the place was very small). They said they’d call me on my phone in about an hour when our seats were ready. So, we went down the street to this wine bar place. We were starving so we got a little bread basket and a couple drinks. I had a lot of fun there drinking and talking with Travis. We laughed for a while about how the menu said “pain” instead of “pan” on it. “Pan” is the Japanese word for bread written in the Roman alphabet. We ordered “pain” and had a good laugh. After over an hour had past, we got a little anxious and decided to go back to the restaurant and see what was going on. When we got there, we noticed people who got there later than us were already sitting and eating! We were ticked! We should have just stood there and waited to begin with. So, we stood in the restaurant for like 20 more minutes until we finally got a seat. Although I was pretty annoyed that they just forgot about us, the service was good, the waiter was friendly, and the food was worth the wait! We got some chips and spinach dip for an appetizer. It was good, but there wasn't enough dip for the chips in my opinion. The pizza was delicious! I really liked the crust! As someone who comes from the Chicago area, I can say that they did a pretty good job. My only thing was that the sauce was a little tangier, which is something I have found in all the pizza sauces I've bought at stores in Japan. We left the restaurant full and satisfied. A fun fact: The restaurant is owned by Americans and not only do they specialize in deep dish pizza, they also make a large variety of their own craft beers. We went back to the hotel pleased about our first day in Tokyo.

My favorite cat at the cafe.

"Bread" Romanized hilariously wrong. I know
I'd like some pain for 250 yen!

Deep dish pizzas at Devil Craft.

Day two in Tokyo was perhaps my favorite day. We did so much! Now, I’ve always been told and read that if you are in Tokyo on a Sunday, you should go to Harajuku in the late morning/early afternoon to see the “Harajuku girls.” There is a whole culture and fashion that has been dubbed “Harajuku.” Basically just think of the most ridiculous outfits possible, and there you have it. There are people dressed up like pretty little baby dolls, ultra gothic, cartoon characters, etc. Occasionally in any big city in Japan, you’ll run into one or a group of these people, but Harajuku is supposed to be the place to go to see them gather in one place i.e the Rainbow Bridge that connects the Harajuku district to Meiji Jingu (shrine).  The first time I went, I didn’t know about the bridge, so I just walked around the streets in Harajuku and saw nothing. This time, I was equally disappointed. I got there at like 11am. I went to the bridge and…NOTHING! Where were these groups of “Harajuku girls” that all the guide books tell you about? I thought maybe I was too early so I went back after an hour or two after walking around to be disappointed once again. I just don’t get it. If anyone out there knows what I’m doing wrong, please teach me. I’ll admit that as I was walking around the streets in Harajuku, I ran in to more “Harajuku girls” than usual. So I was happy about that, but it just wasn’t the huge display I was expecting. Rant over.

So, like I said, we were in Harajuku in the morning and early afternoon. We walked around and looked at all the interesting shops. Travis bought me a cute owl backpack from Forever 21! We had lunch at an organic buffet called Hiroba. I had been there once before, and I really enjoyed it. It’s all just really fresh and healthy tasting. I was surprised to find a Garret’s Popcorn and a Wendy’s in Harajuku. I didn’t get food from either of those places, but I was still surprised. I later saw another Wendy’s in Tokyo. I guess that they have simply made their way over to Japan now. Speaking of food, I forgot to mention that I finally made Travis get a crepe for dessert after lunch. Crepes are all the rage in Japan, and you can’t come without eating one. After Harajuku, we went all the way across the city to the Asakusa area. We went to the new Sky Tree, a really tall and cool tower that just opened. When I came to Japan around 2 years ago, it was under construction. The Sky Tree City was really cool. It was just a big entertainment center with shops, really interesting restaurants, a planetarium, and more. We walked around there for a while and then tried to go to the top of the Sky Tree (which was the goal all along), but we found out that getting in is a really complicated process since it is so new and popular. You had to wait in line for a ticket that allows you to come back after a while to get in line for another ticket that tells when you can enter. What?! Anyway, it didn’t seem really possible so we just starred at the Sky Tree from the base which was still pretty cool and headed over to Sensoji Temple (a really famous temple/shrine in Tokyo).  We both got bad fortunes (mikuji) at the temple so we tied them to the little bars so our bad fortune would be blown away. Another Fun Fact: I later told one of my coworkers that I had gotten a bad fortune, and she told me that some people see it as a good thing because you have nowhere to go besides up. That made me smile…even though I don’t believe in fortunes haha! I believe we stopped into a kaiten sushi place (sushi on a conveyor belt) for a light dinner. After that, it was getting dark so we went to somewhere with lots of night lights by Travis’ request.  We went to Akihabara: the anime/gaming /electronic district. We had so much fun walking around there at night! We went into an anime store, Don Quixote, and an arcade. We had a blast at the arcade! We played competitive Tetris. There was even Dr. Pepper in the vending machine (score!). Travis got second place in the daily ranking for Tetris! They had some really good games there like classic Mario Bros. We finished off the night by going to an izakaya near the hotel in the Ochanomizu area. I've never had so much fun at an izakaya before! It was Travis’ first izakaya and nomihoudai (all you can drink) experience. He didn't believe that you could actually drink all you want for such a small price. Welcome to Japan! He said that there was no way you could do this in America because Americans can drink so much haha! He’s probably right. However, I think the reason nomihoudai are successful is because you order lots of snacks while you’re drinking.There was one of those touch screen things at our table so anytime we wanted to have more food or drinks, we just pushed the button, and it came to us! We’ll just say that we got our money’s worth, and they had to kick us out at closing time haha!

Hiroba lunch buffet.

The Sky Tree.

Senso-ji.

Tying my bad fortune to the bar.

Akihabara.

First time at an izakaya.

Day three was just as eventful as the first two days. After grabbing lunch, we went to the Ghibli Museum, one of the happiest places in the world! I was so happy Travis could see the museum since animation is his favorite thing. After the Ghibli Museum, we headed to the Roppongi area. First we went to Tokyo Tower. We go to see the view as it was getting dark. There was a really cool complex below that we couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a little Japanese fairy-tale land from above. I’m still wondering now… Anyway, we walked to downtown Roppongi from there. It was my first time going there! We planned to eat at a Mexican place, but when we got there, we found that it was very ritzy and didn't look like any Mexican food we've ever seen. So we decided to go to A TGI Friday’s we saw on the way. Trav couldn't have cared less about going there, but I was super excited to have real American food again! Before I get into dinner, I’d like to add that Roppongi was a bit different than I expected. I liked that it was very diverse in its food options and stores, but it was more upscale than I expected, and everything was really expensive! I learned that Roppongi was actual an artsy district which began to make sense. One thing that was cool was that I got to see some illuminated cherry trees next to a fancy mall. They were so beautiful! One thing that wasn't cool was that we walked by a pet store that was selling little monkeys in small cages. It was really depressing because you could tell that the monkeys were intelligent and were going crazy and suffering in their cages. The worst part is that you know they will probably never be bought because first of all, who buys a monkey? Secondly, they were ridiculously expensive.  Sad… So back to dinner. Travis was irritated when he saw how expensive everything was on the menu. I had to remind him that we were in Japan and that American food is expensive. I went crazy and just ordered us a bunch of appetizers for our dinner because I wanted to taste a lot of different things. We got chicken fingers, chips and guacamole, caesar salad, and breaded mushrooms. I also got a couple strawberry margaritas! Our waiter was really awkward and funny. That made the dinner more fun. In Japan, if you order guacamole at TGI Friday’s, the waiter makes if for you at your table. That way, you can kind of personalize it by having him put what you want in it. Of course, we liked all the ingredients. After he made it, he explained that you eat the guacamole by dipping the chips in it hahaha! Thanks for the tip. Dinner was delicious. After, we wanted to go to this tequila bar that was mentioned in my travel guide called Agave. It sounded cool. We walked in, and it was really neat and big inside. One problem: we were the only ones there for like the first 20 or 30 minutes. Another problem: Holy Jesus was it expensive! It was a really high class place that had around 400 types of tequila. I think the cheapest thing on the menu was either 1200 or 1500 yen (like $15). You could even do tequila tasting courses. I thought about it, and then decided against it because I didn't want to do it alone. At first we just got frozen margaritas. Mine was regular and Travis’ was banana. They actually cut up a real banana and blended it into his drink. They were good! I decided I could afford one more drink. I bought this drink called perfect patron margarita. It was around $20! It was the most expensive drink I've ever bought. It was really strong and well made, but I wouldn't call it delicious exactly. I think you must really appreciate the taste of tequila more than I do to thoroughly enjoy the drink. Anyway, it was an experience. By the time we made it back to the hotel, my throat was hurting a bit and I felt really heavy and tired. I figured the strong tequila had burned my throat and made me tired.

Ghibli Museum.

Tokyo Tower.

What is this fairy-tale land?

TGI Friday's. YUM!

Poor monkey in a cage...

Illuminated cherry blossoms.

Agave.

Perfect Patron Margarita.

I woke up the next day feeling like I got hit by a bus, and it wasn't a hangover. Our plan for the day was to go to Shibuya. I wasn't exactly feeling up to it, but I didn't want to ruin our trip so I tried to suck it up. We got to Shibuya and walked around a little bit, we decided that it’d be a good idea to just go see a movie because firstly, it’s fun to see movies and it’s something Travis and I always do together. Secondly, Travis had never been to a Japanese theater, and for those who have, you know that they are very nice and classy and you really get your money’s worth. It’s like going to an actual show or performance. Thirdly, since I was feeling terrible (and Travis wasn't feeling his best either), we figured we could relax a little. We saw “Oz (The 3D one with James Franco).” It was a fun movie. I knew I was getting really sick when I started getting really feverish with the chills. I was in the theater with two winter coats on and gloves, and I was still shivering. It wasn't even cold in the theater, but I felt cold even though my skin was on fire. After the movie, we walked around a little more. We saw the Hachiko statue, Shibuya crossing, and went into that Shibuya 109 mall which is very popular. After that, I decided that I just couldn’t continue anymore. Travis wasn’t feeling too sick so he wanted to explore some more. It was sad, but I went back to the hotel and slept while Travis walked around a little more in Shibuya and then went to Meiji Jingu Park for a little bit. I was burning up! My mom told me that it was probably because we went too hard the first three days in Tokyo, and my body became exhausted. She’s probably right. When he came back, I woke up. He bought me a present! It was a funny hat we had saw in Harajuku before that says “FUKK” on it haha! We talked for a bit, and went to bed.

Hachiko statue. If you want to know the back-story,
Google it. Be warned, it's sad.

Shibuya Crossing.

First Japanese movie theater experience
together. Before my fever got bad.

I had tried this hat on earlier and thought it was hilarious.
 Travis ended up buying it for me. :)

During the night, my fever broke. I had sweated a lot. I woke up happy to find my fever subsiding, but still felt pretty tired and sick. My throat was hurting pretty bad. There was a park somewhat close by that Travis had wanted to see. I told him to go without me while I slept a little longer. He met me around check out time. I decided that I needed to get some medicine. I went to a doctor and got the medicine. It took a little bit, but I got much better after taking it. We went to Subway for lunch. We decided to take it a little easy again because we both were a little under the weather. We went to the Sony building in Ginza and saw lots of nice electronics. After that, we went back to Shinjuku because it turns out that it was his favorite place, too. We decided to see another movie because even though I wasn't feeling good, we still had a lot of fun going to a movie theater together. It reminded us of our college days together. We saw “Jack the Giant Slayer.” It was pretty entertaining! We went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner in Shinjuku Station, my treat. I also treated us to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. The people who made our ice cream sang us a song. They were crazy! After that, we had to go pick up our bags from the hotel and then return to Shinjuku to go to the bus station. We were taking the night bus back to Osaka. While we waited for our departure from Tokyo to get closer, we sat in a Royal Host and had drinks (hot tea and Coca-Cola I believe). We were taking a Willer Express bus. I believe it was like 5,000 yen one way. We were horrified when we got on the bus because despite how the website said there was room for overhead storage, it was greatly exaggerated. The website said you could fit a carry-on on the bus, but it was a lie! Literally, you could fit something about the size of a women’s purse overhead.  Travis had a huge backpack and shopping bag, and I had a carry-on size suitcase and my purse. The only way to fit (by the way, the seats were small, and there was hardly any room for your legs even though I’m short. Not to mention the people in front of us were reclining their seats) was to put your entire luggage on your lap. I literally could not do it, so I did what some other few misguided people were doing. I put my suitcase in the aisle, blocking it entirely. I put my purse under my feet. Travis was barely able to fit his shopping bag above in the storage area. He put his huge backpack between his legs, making it really uncomfortable for him. So began the night from hell. Good thing the medicine was kicking in enough for me to not feel super sick anymore. So, imagine this: An eight hour drive on a bus full of people who are snoring. No room in your seats. No possible way of getting comfortable. Lastly, hot. Very hot and muggy. This was the worst night ever! We eventually got to Osaka feeling miserable. We rode the trains home like zombies. We showered when we got home because we felt disgusting and went to bed at like 9 am. We tried not to sleep too long so our sleeping schedules wouldn't be so messed up.

The Sony Building in Ginza

Almost back to my apartment. Feeling like death. 

In any case, despite the night bus and getting sick, Tokyo was a blast! I hadn't gotten to experience it like that since the first time I went. It was wonderful to experience it with my boyfriend. I could tell he really liked it, and we will both have the memories forever.

Travis in Japan (Part 2)!

In this post, I will write more about our adventures together in Japan. It’s always fun showing someone who has never been to Japan different famous places. It reminds me of my first time in Japan and how wonderful it was.

The first full weekend Travis was here, we stayed the night in a ryokan (traditional Japanese style hotel) in Kyoto. We didn’t stay in an expensive, nice one by any means, but I figured that it would be fun for him to sleep on a futon and wear a yukata. Plus, it gave us more time to explore the city for two days.

The first day, we did the Southern Higashiyama walk. Basically, you start in the Southeast corner of the city at Kiyomizu-dera (a famous temple), and work your way up until you tire out. We did pretty well! We made it all the way to Heian Shrine. This walk is my favorite in Kyoto because the streets are lined with traditional Japanese arts and souvenirs, you can see many beautiful temples right in a row, and it’s very scenic because you are walking along the mountain edge. We really enjoyed ourselves. Travis really seemed to like Kyoto. He’s an artist, so he just kept talking about all the things he wanted to draw throughout the day haha! We went to Kyoto station and got some pretty good Chinese food for dinner and called it a night.

Kiyomizu-dera.

The next day, we did a lot of hopping around. First we went to Arashiyama to see the river/mountain view and the bamboo forest. We saw maiko there (geisha in training). Oh, I should add that the day before, for the first time, I saw geisha/maiko (I’m not positive which) up close for a brief moment. It took my breath away. I turned a corner, and there were two of them in a rickshaw right in front of me! They looked me in the eyes, and I froze. Once they had turned the corner, I let my excitement and disbelief out. I had tried to see geisha every time I went to Kyoto, but was always unsuccessful. Back to the next day…After Arashiyama (where we also shopped and had lunch), we took this little tram to Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion).  Our feet were killing us because of all the walking from the previous day and the current day. We had to walk a really far way from the tram stop to the temple. So, we took an ice cream break. Travis was really impressed by the temple which made me happy. We got to see a big bird (a crane, perhaps) catch a fish out of the pond and eat it. He got a picture of it in action! After that, we made our way to Fushimi Inari, a shrine known for having hundreds of red tori (gates). It was only my second time seeing it so I was pretty stoked. It was a lot more fun being there with someone compared to when I was alone the first time. Unfortunately, I had to work the next day so we didn't have time to climb the mountain to see all the gates, but it was fun nonetheless. We were planning on getting okonomiyaki at Osaka Station on our way back, but the place I wanted to go to had a really long wait so we decided to try this place called The Mango Tree Café. It was an upscale Thai restaurant. The portions were small, but it was super delicious! All in all, it was a great weekend.

Ginkakuji.

Geisha/Maiko in Arashiyama.

Fushimi Inari Taisha.

I should add that during the weekdays before we made our big trip to Tokyo during my spring vacation, we did a lot of other little things in Osaka. For example, I introduced him to kushi-kastu in Tennoji (which has turned out to be his favorite Japanese food), we shopped around Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi, I took him to a nice yakiniku restaurant in my town for a date (you can grill the meat and veggies on your table), and we also visited the shrine in my town. That was the first time I had seen it. We climbed up the mountain in my town a little bit which was interesting. I also took him to my favorite bar in my town. We've gone there a few times now, and each time, we are given free gifts and drinks from all the customers. I really need to bring some sort of gift for them!

I’m going to skip the Tokyo trip for now and write only about that in my next post since there is a lot to say. So, I will continue on about some of the other things we did after getting back from Tokyo. We still had a little over half of my spring break left when we got back from Tokyo. We went on a double date to an okonomiyaki place with my friend Aimee and her boyfriend who was also visiting from America. We went to L&L (a bar that we often go to) after dinner. We met some interesting people there…but not in a good way. There was this really drunk Japanese guy who was blatantly hitting on my in front of Travis which was really awkward… Anyway, we had fun spending time with Aimee and her boyfriend.

There was a random festival in my town one day. It wasn't that spectacular, but it was good because Travis got to try a lot of different festival foods. Speaking of food, we finally made it to El Pancho (because there was over and hour wait the first time we attempted going).  Also, I have really been enjoying cooking for Travis a lot. I cooked a lot of intricate meals for him since he came. We went to this foreign food store somewhat close to where I live and bought a lot of stuff. I was able to make him things like homemade chicken and avocado enchiladas, falafel, spinach/mushroom/chicken gnocchi, and more! Another random date of ours included going to the Osaka Pokemon Center (which is basically just a store selling a bunch of Pokemon stuff), the Umeda Sky Building (which Travis thought was amazing), and to the HUB (a British pub chain that has a great fish and chips and a good happy hour).

One day of my spring break, we went to Nara. It was beautiful because the cherry blossoms were in full bloom! We ate lunch at the maccha café I am growing to love. Travis liked his lunch, but not the dessert he got which was a parfait that had mochi (rice cake), azuki (sweet beans), and jellies in it. We got to play with the deer. Travis feed them deer biscuits which was entertaining. We took our time walking around Nara Park and Kofuku-ji. We got laughed at by a bunch of Japanese girls when they saw us bow to the deer even though you are supposed to. We sat by a pond full of fish and turtles and got laughed at again when Travis helped me up from the ground. I’m not sure why the lady laughed at me. :S She seemed nice enough, though so I didn't take it personally. We made our way to Yoshikien garden. After that, we went to Todai-ji and saw the giant Buddha statue. We then continued to Kasuga Taisha (a shrine known for having around 3000 lanterns. On our way there, we came across a beautiful park chock full of cherry blossom trees. We stopped there for a bit. After leaving Kasuga Taisha, we headed home. It was a great day!

Cherry Blossoms in Nara Park.

Kofuku-ji.

We also went back to Kyoto for a day during my break. This time we went to the North Higashiyama mountain area. This day was special for a few reasons. First, this was only my second time doing this trip so I was able to discover new things. Second, it was 70 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside which was the warmest day we had had yet! It felt pretty hot. Third, the cherry blossoms were still in full bloom, and for those who don’t know, North Higashiyama is known for the “Path of Philosophy.” The Path of Philosophy is a stoned path that runs a long a canal and the mountains. It is lined with cherry trees. Since it was cheery blossom season, we were very lucky to be there. It was absolutely gorgeous! The only problem was that it was very crowded for this reason. We went to Nanzenji (a temple known for its cool aqueducts) at first. After that, we went to Eikando Temple. From there, we started on the path of philosophy. Despite how crowded it was, we were surprised to run in to Aimee and her boyfriend not once, but twice! As we approached Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavillion-which isn't actually silver unlike the Golden Pavillion which is actually gold), I saw some touristy streets that I had never seen before. I enjoyed that because touristy streets are usually filled with fun food stands. I got something called a potato tornado which was yummy. We went to Ginkakuji and made the long journey home after that. All I will say is **** Kyoto buses. They are terrible.

The Path of Philosophy.

Potato Tornado. Wahhh!!

On the last day of spring break, I met a lot of friends for hanami (flower viewing-a Japanese tradition during cherry blossom season where people get together and eat, drink, and socialize/play games under the cherry trees) at Osaka Castle Park. It was my first hanami experience so I was very excited. Unfortunately, the day before, there was a big rain storm and almost all the flowers had come off the trees, but we made the best of it. Despite it being a little damp and cold, a lot of people showed up, and we had a lot of fun! Perhaps the bottle of wine I drank to myself had something to do with it :P We met around noon, and headed home around 5 pm because we all had our first day of work the next day after the spring vacation. I was sobered up by seven and went to bed early. I can’t say the same for Travis, though. He was so drunk when we left that he ran into a wall, told me he did it on purpose, and then didn’t remember doing it the next day bahahaha! It was a successful first hanami in my opinion.

Hanami.

Since work has started back up, we have enjoyed doing little dates and fun things. We got Indian food one night and saw Paranorman in theaters. I really enjoyed the movie. Actually, we tried to go to one of my favorite Mexican places for dinner because Travis has been planning to treat me to a meal there, but when we got there, they said they were reserved for the entire night! Wtf? We got there right when it opened, too… So that’s why we got Indian. It was good, though. They gave us the biggest naan I've ever seen in my life! A different night, last week actually, we went for kushi-katsu a second time and went to the Japan Mint Building. It’s the building where they mint all the coins in Japan. The regular cherry blossoms are gone, but at the Japan Mint, they have this event where they do a very popular cherry blossom illumination event for a week. The cherry blossoms are a different breed. They are fluffier and pinker. The event attracts around 82,000 people in a week! Needless to say, it was crowded. It was really cool though! It was along the river somewhat close to Kyobashi Station. We stood by the river and looked at the lit up suspension bridge, the water, and the riverboats. The streets were lined with the most festival food I’ve seen so far in Japan. They actually even had makeshift restaurants put up for the event! It was insane! It was too bad we had just come from dinner (even though it was delicious) because there was so much interesting food to try there, but we were full. The blossoms were really nice, and it was free!

Cherry blossom illuminations at the Japan Mint Building.

One night, we went out to dinner with three of the English teachers I work with. I really wanted Travis to meet some more Japanese people and get a sense of some of the people I work with. We went to an izakaya called Shirokiya (Japanese style bar called "White Tree"). I love going out to eat with my coworkers because they always know what to order, and I get to try new things. Travis ate cow intestines and loved it haha…gross! I ate escargot, I think. It tasted like a mushroom…or really it was just a mushroom. I’m not sure.

Besides also having a lot of nights in together where I cook, we watch movies, and cuddle, that’s what we have been up to. I will write all about our trip to Tokyo in my next post.

Graduation and the New Year

At the end of March, the 3^rd year students graduated. I was pretty sad because out of all the students, I felt the most connected to the 3^rd years. I knew more of them and talked with them the most. Most students were able to get into a high school. The ones who didn’t were the ones you weren’t expecting to, if you catch my drift. The ceremony itself wasn’t too different from a U.S. ceremony except for the fact that the students didn’t wear caps or gowns (they wore their uniforms), and there was a lot more singing. The three homeroom teachers of the third years wore kimono and hakuma (traditional Japanese formal wear). That was exciting! After the ceremony, the students cried and took pictures together. It was sad and happy at the same time. From what I know, many students have been able to adjust well to their new schools and make new friends (because high school is not mandatory in Japan and you must choose and apply for the school you want to go to). I heard that one day, however, one girl came back to the junior high school, crying, because she wasn’t making new friends in school. I feel like that that wouldn’t really happen in America. I’ve never heard of anyone going back to their high school to cry about how they aren’t liking college. Cultural difference perhaps?

With the old year ending and the new one beginning, it brings a whole new atmosphere. In Japan, there is this really strange system that I don’t agree with and no one can seem to really explain. On the last day of the school year, teachers are told whether or not they will remain at the same school or be transferred to a new one in the area. They have no choice in it….WTF?! So every year, several teacher leave and new ones replace them. The only explanation for this that I’ve been told is that it’s done so teachers don’t get bored with their jobs. Ya, whatever. My mother is a teacher and has worked in the same school for like 20 years, and doesn’t want to leave her school. It wasn’t until my first day back after Spring break that I found out the extent of everyone who was leaving. I knew my best friend at work would be leaving along with a few other teachers that were nice, but the biggest shock was to come back and find that my Vice-Principal was gone! I had no idea! He was basically in charge of me, and he was the nicest, friendliest, best Vice-Principal ever! He gave me gifts, let me go home early, and always put treats on my desk. I was so sad! I’m not the only one who was sad, though. A few days into the new year, all the teachers came back for a morning to say their farewells to the students and other teachers. Some teachers broke down in tears as they said goodbye. I just can’t really grasp the reason for doing this to everyone.

There is one more strange thing. Teachers do not teach the same grade each year. They move up a grade with the students. So the teachers who taught 1^st year students last year, now teach 2^nd year. The teachers who taught 3^rd year now go back to teaching 1^st year. I asked the reason for this as well, and I was told that it’s because teachers can easily learn how to teach new and different curriculum better than forming relationships with new students. I suppose that when I was in junior high school, there was only one teacher for one subject because I went to a small school so they taught all grades, but it just seems weird to me because we have 5 English teachers. I don’t think it’s the same way in bigger American schools. In high school, I had different teachers each year, and it wasn’t difficult. To make teachers change grades each year seems impractical and harder for them. Sigh. That’s my rant about weird Japanese school systems. I could go on about other things I find silly or inefficient, but I don’t want to sound hateful because I’m not. I’m just a little confused and annoyed.

Travis in Japan (Part 1)!

I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that my boyfriend, Travis, would be coming to Japan to visit me. Well, he’s here now, and it is amazing! He came March 9^th and is leaving May 12^th. So, he’s here for a while. It’s already been a month since he arrived, and we've done so many things that I think I will have to break this up into a few posts. I’ll start off by simply explaining about when he first got here and my feelings. I’ll write about specific events in later posts.

Our first purikura together. :3

When he first got here, I met him at Kyobashi station. I was very anxious while I was waiting for him. When I finally saw him I was nervous because I hadn't informed him yet about PDA in Japan. Basically, holding hands in the extent of PDA in Japan. So, when I saw him, I gave him a really quick hug and kiss and told him that we couldn't kiss a lot in public. I felt kind of bad because we were so excited to see each other. As I lead him home, it was very strange. He was very tired and jet-lagged because he didn't sleep at all on the plane. He had a long train ride from the airport in which he was worried about getting lost. I think his brain was kind of fried. Before getting home, we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some quick dinners. We got home, ate, got him unpacked, and went to sleep after catching up a bit.

For me, my tension was pretty high at first because this was the first time we were actually going to live together…even if it’s only two months. We had lived in the same dorm buildings before in college, and when we got our own private places in school, we always took turns staying at each other’s places each night, but it was not the same as living together for a few reasons. We did have to do each other’s chores, cook, grocery shop, pay bills, etc. I am an insanely neat and clean person. In my mind, everything has its place. I’m probably a bit obsessive compulsive. I can’t function, and I feel like I’m going to freak out if anything is dirty. Travis, on the other hand, is not the cleanest. It’s hard to describe it, but basically, he’s just kind of unaware of what he is doing because his mind is always running. Seeing as I have a particular way of doing things and he is kind of the opposite, I was very tense about how he was going to come into my place and mess up my order. We had discussed this beforehand, and he agreed to do his best which was good enough for me. It was just really hard the first week or two to teach him about how I clean, shop, etc. Not to mention, I had to help him acclimate to Japan by teaching him where things are, how to get around, and how to say things in Japanese. I must say, he acclimated to Japan way better than anyone else who has visited me. Within the first week, he was taking trains, grocery shopping, and going to restaurants by himself no problem! I think it helped that he enjoyed the challenge of speaking to Japanese people by using gestures and a few Japanese and English words. I’m always nervous and afraid when I have to do something I’m not confident about. Once we got past the hurdle of him adjusting to my lifestyle, things got a lot better. I hope someday we can get a place together and create our own lifestyle instead of him just coming into my apartment and having to do things my way.

I’ll explain our first full day together before finishing this post. His first full day here was a Sunday. The plum blossoms were in bloom at Osaka Castle Park so I took him there to see the castle and flowers. I thought it’d be romantic. It was fun, but there were some small problems. First, he got really sick for about an hour or so. We blamed it on the supermarket meal he bought at the store for dinner the previous night, but I suppose it could have been the plane food or the stress of traveling and sitting on a plane for a whole day with not much sleep. In any case, I feel like I let him down because he got sick probably off of his first Japanese meal. I wondered if he wouldn't have a stomach for Japanese food the whole time he was here. After he felt a bit better, we continued to view the flowers and the castle. The flowers were gorgeous! There were white, pink, and red blossoms. Oh, I almost forgot, Travis had the privilege of experiencing a Japanese style squat toilet for the first time at the park. I asked him how he squatted over it only to find out that he had done it backwards haha! After that, I was able to tell him the correct way. For dinner, we went to a Japanese restaurant in Kyobashi. He got curry udon and loved it! I worried about whether he would get sick again, but he ended up being just fine. In fact, as of now, he’s only gotten sick twice, both off of the supermarket meals. We've decided to avoid those from now on (even though I’ve never had issues). Other than that, he really loves Japanese food a lot. His favorite is kushi-katsu (deep fried pieces of food on a skewer like meat, veggies, and cheese that you dip in a sauce). As of now, things are great, there’s no more tension, and I will get into specific events in later posts.

They were beautiful!

I couldn't believe he was here!

My favorite plum blossoms were the red.

We are obsessed with kushi-katsu.

Kanto Trip

When people think of the Kanto region of Japan, they usually think of Tokyo.  Last February, after my Okinawa trip, I went to visit one of my Japanese friends, Yuta, who lives in the northern part of Kanto on the boarder of Tochigi and Ibaraki prefecture. Tochigi prefecture is famous for Nikko: a mountainous area full of temples, world heritage sites, and the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu. I went there once before when I traveled to Japan the first time. It’s a very calm and beautiful place. I met Yuta when he studied abroad in America. To me, it’s interesting how fast you can escape the city of Tokyo and all of a sudden be in the middle of nowhere it seems like. That’s the feeling you get in northern Kanto. I went for only the weekend, but it was fun and interesting nonetheless.

I left work a little early and took the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo. At Tokyo, I switched to a different bullet train to Oyama, Tochigi. Yuta met me at the train station, and we drove in his (nice) car to his aunt’s house. His aunt was hosting an American girl around my age at her house for a few months so I got to meet her too. We had dinner at his aunts. She had a huge kotatsu and TV! We ate pizza and other snacks. It was really comfortable. We also had a little wine (except Yuta because he had to drive). There’s a zero tolerance rule in Japan for drinking and driving (or riding a bike for that matter). You can be arrested for knowingly letting someone else drink and drive as well…there is reason to why I’m explaining this unfortunately. Notes about his aunt’s place: 1) She had a cute dog that wouldn’t stop barking unless she held him. 2) I was surprised when his aunt said she hates people from Kansai! I’ve never heard a Japanese person be so direct like that before. However, I don’t think she hated me because I’m not Japanese…even though I live in Kansai... 3) Yuta’s cousin lived at the house.  He was pretty shy and quiet, and we pestered him to come with us to go bowling or drinking (he had just turned 20 years old: the legal drinking age in Japan). He didn’t want to come with though because he had plans to meet some people. We decided to just go to the store and pick up some snacks and booze and go to Yuta’s guest house (next to his real house). That way, Yuta could drink too. It was the three of us: Yuta, me, and the American girl. We watched TV, Youtube videos, drank, ate, and talked. I had a good time! I forgot to mention that we were under a kotatsu as well. I love kotatsu (Japanese table that has a heat source underneath covered by a comforter-like blanket)! We all slept in the guest house.

Kotatsu fun.

We slept in the next morning (Saturday). When we woke up and got ready, Yuta brought in a huge western-style breakfast made by his Grandmother next door. It was sooooo delicious! I feel bad because I never got to see her or thank her. Unfortunately, despite the delicious food, the breakfast was pretty solemn. We found out that the previous night, Yuta’s cousin, the one we asked to hang out with us, ended up drinking and driving and crashing his car into a rail with his friend in the car. He was injured, but at that point, we didn’t know how badly. Eventually we found out that he was going to be ok. However, the severe punishment he and his family were going to face was pretty horrible. There's a ridiculously huge fine, loss of license, his acceptance into college would probably be revoked, and his parents would have to pay for everything. We kept thinking about how things might have been different if he had just hung out with us. We dropped off the American girl back at his aunt’s house so she could get ready. The aunt and uncle were at the hospital so no one was home, but it was pretty scary anyway because we saw his cousin’s coat, and there was blood on it. While his friend got ready, we decided to relieve some stress by going to the batting cages. It was really fun! I was pretty sore the next couple of days though haha!

Homemade breakfast! Yum!

Our plan for the afternoon/evening was to go to a college party at a college in Saitama prefecture (also in Kanto). Yuta had some friends at a college there. There were foreign students as well like German, American, Finnish, Thai, etc. His American friend also came along. We picked up some booze at the store again before going. I got a bottle of wine that I wanted to nurse throughout the night, Yuta got some beers and chu-hi I think, and his friend got the big bottle of Korean vodka-type stuff called Jinro. When we got to the party at first, it was a little awkward because I was sitting in a big circle of people I didn’t know, and we were trying to get to know each other. Once more people showed up and everyone started drinking, it got more comfortable. I actually met a lot of cool and interesting people! We played videogames (Smash Bros. and Pokemon Snap ftw!) and drinking games. I was feeling pretty good ;) That bottle I decided to nurse throughout the night became empty, and we all (like 10 of us) went to the store to resupply ourselves with food and drink. I got sick of playing the drinking games so I decided to take a break and sit out. At this point, I was starting to sober up. However, there were a select few who were not doing so great. That Jinro (pretty much straight Korean vodka I think), was being passed around the game (I didn’t get near the stuff though…eww). I came back to the main room after watching TV somewhere else for a bit to find that the game had ended, and many people were MIA, including my friend. By this time, I was sober. By the way, our plan was to stay the night at this dorm/frat place, but I quickly realized that sleeping would not be possible. I walked around until I saw that many people were huddled around the bathroom area. There was one guy (who had been drinking the Jinro straight out of the bottle) who was sitting on the toilet with his underwear around his ankles, puking into a pan. He was a hot mess. People were trying to help him, but he was so out of it. I quickly fled that situation back to the main room to find another guy who was sleeping sitting up. That’s kind of a common thing in Japan so no one was too worried. He looked pretty uncomfortable so we asked if he wanted to lay on the couch. He didn’t respond. That’s when we realized he was pretty drunk. We picked him up and put him onto the couch. Seconds later, he’s gagging on his own vomit. We grab a bucket and rolled him onto his side. He began to fall off the couch into the bucket. At that point we realize it was time to bring him to the restroom too. By the way, this whole time, I don’t know where my friend is and he isn’t responding to my texts. It was pretty scary because the first guy was looking pretty gross, and this new guy was basically unresponsive. We started googling alcohol poisoning because we weren't sure if we need to call an ambulance. That’s when one of the drunken guy’s friends dropped a bomb on us…the guy with the pants around his ankles was underage. We had no idea! In Japan, like I said, there is no tolerance with alcohol. If we called an ambulance, they would find out that he is underage, and everyone at the party will be arrested! What the hell?! I had no idea the kid was underage! At that point, I found my friend, and told him that if we called an ambulance, I’m getting the heck out of there. We watched the drunken guys for a while, gave them water, kept them warm, and slowly but surely, they improved and started vomiting more up and became responsive. We passed that hurdle. The second hurdle was this: it was about 5am, the three of us were exhausted, there was nowhere to sleep, and we didn’t know what to do. We were all pretty sober at that point. We decided to wait about an hour just to make sure Yuta was completely sober and drive back (about 1 ½ - 2 hours away) to Yuta’s house. It was a very good feeling to get into that bed at about 8 in the morning.

The cursed Jinro.

We slept until around 2 o’clock (Sunday), I think. We got up, got clean, and decided to get one last meal together before I took the bullet train back home to Osaka. We went to a ramen place. I suggested ramen because I had yet to try real Japanese ramen because I was afraid everything would have meat in it. I knew that if he was with me, he could help me read the menu better. We had a really nice meal together. I got a ramen that only had one piece of meat in it that I was able to pick out and give to him. It was tasty! He drove me to the train station, and while I waited for the next train, we had Starbucks together. I had enjoyed spending time with him, and despite the craziness, I had a really good time catching up and drinking with him! It was fun seeing his town because he lived in such a rural area. We got to walk around a bit, too. The air felt fresh there. I made it home around 9 or 10 at night, and had to work the next day. It was a really busy weekend, but one I won’t forget!

My first real ramen.

Rural fresh air!

Okinawa

So, I made a trip to Okinawa recently over one of our three day weekends. It was exciting! Before I get into the details, I want to get my one disappointment out of the way. I went in the middle of winter thinking it would be a nice getaway from the cold and snow…and it was, BUT it was not the tropical vacation I was hoping for. For one, it was kind of drizzly and overcast when I was there, and secondly, although it was a lot warmer in Okinawa than Osaka, it was still not warm enough to swim in the ocean or sunbathe. I didn’t need a coat, and I could still sit on the beach and watch the water…and even put my feet in. It just wasn’t that warm. So I recommend going when it’s hot if you are looking for the lazy beach experience. I did still have fun though!

Okinawa is a tiny island way out there!

I took Peach Airlines. It’s a new discount airline in Japan. I got round trip tickets to Okinawa for under $300! You get what you pay for, though. I would describe Peach as charmingly ghetto. For one, it was located in a weird terminal that you had to take a bus to. There weren't any gates. You just sat in a big waiting room until they said you could walk to the plane. Yes, walk. There was no walkway from the terminal to the plane. You had to walk outside to the plane and climb stairs into the plane. There were no free drinks or snacks. When I got to Okinawa, it was the same thing; weird terminal, no gate, long wait for a shuttle bus to the main terminal. The up side to peach was that the workers were nice, the plane is pink and cute, the flight attendants are wearing the cutest uniforms, they plane J-pop as you board and get off the plane, and you had the option of buying food that actually looked really good. I got there kind of late at night around 9 pm on a Friday after work. I checked into my hostel. I booked a tiny little one person private room for one night…it was only $30! I decided to go out and look around a bit after checking in. I went to Kokusai-dori (International Street) which is the main drag in Naha, Okinawa. Naha is the main city in Okinawa. It was all lit up, and even though I have never been to Vegas, I feel like maybe that Kokusai-dori would be comparable to Vegas because it was warm, there were palm trees, everything was bright and flashing, the streets were packed, and the atmosphere was very lively and playful. There was a really touristy feel to it too. I just walked a little, overwhelmed by the new sights, and even though I wanted to eat some Okinawa food for dinner, it was pretty late at night, and I wasn't sure what restaurants were open…and I didn't feel like sitting down and eating a nice meal alone at 10 pm. So I went to McDonalds, a little disappointed in myself. I tried to make up for it by finally ordering the ebi filet (shrimp filet) that I had been meaning to try. It was not as good as I hoped, but I was glad that I tried it. By the way, I was expecting to see a lot of American military men out and about, but was surprised to see none. I later found out that recently the curfew was pretty early due to reasons you can probably guess. I’d rather not get into that because it upsets me. In any case, it was strange because I didn't get many glances like I do in the mainland, and when I went to order my food at the counter, she didn't even give me a chance to start speaking Japanese, she just started talking to me in English…guess they are pretty used to Americans in Okinawa not being able to speak any Japanese. Before I move on to the next day, I just want to say that my overall impression of Okinawa that I formed starting from the first night was that it was like there were a bunch of Japanese people vacationing on a tropical island. I say this because it didn't really feel like I was in Japan exactly…it was more international feeling. However, there were Japanese people everywhere (and also some people from other Asian countries who obviously were tourists). The area was very touristy, giving it a vacation-y feel, and I was, of course, on a tropical island. Hence, my impression of Okinawa was such.

Peach airlines.

My hostel the first night: Grace Inn.

Kokusai-dori (international street).

 The next day, I checked out of my hostel and began exploring the main street and its offshoots in depth. I had lunch at an Indian restaurant which was delicious. I had truly spicy food in Japan! I decided to head to Shuri Castle (one of the main sights in Naha), before continuing to explore. The castle looked different compared to many other castles in Japan. One of the highlights was that I paid 300 yen to enter the tea room in the castle. I got all you can drink, delicious, high quality jasmine tea and a variety of tea cakes. Also there were workers there who explained the history of the castle and the sweets. From the castle (which was on a tall hill/mountain) I could see the ocean for the first time. I was really excited about that! When I was leaving the castle, I had one of those truly priceless moments; the ones you don’t expect, but turn out to be one of the most memorable moments. I was walking up some stairs outside when I saw what looked like a family up ahead. There was an older man and woman, a little girl, and a puppy. The woman and the girl were looking around in the grass while the man sat on a stair playing the guitar and the puppy sniffed around (it was tied to the handrail). It was a really cute baby yellow lab, so naturally, as I approached I smiled and asked if I could pet the puppy. We said hellos (they spoke a little English with me), and the man continued to play the guitar. I decided to sit down and chat with them. The little girl and the woman were looking for four leaf clovers. The girl found one and handed it to me. I wasn't sure if she was showing me or giving it to me so I handed it back, and she told me to keep it as a present. It’s moments like this that I cherish most. I thanked them, and left feeling refreshed. The train in Okinawa is actually a monorail. Very simple. I sort of felt like I was in Disney World haha! I took the monorail back to the main strip, and continued my exploring. Some staples of Okinawa which I discovered were habu sake (sake with a whole dead poisonous snake in it D:), Shisa (the dragon-dog looking mascot of Okinawa (they usually are in pairs-1 boy and 1 girl)), beni-imo (purple sweet potato treats), glassware, bouncy balls that looked like breasts :S, taco rice, sea grapes (a type of seaweed), little treats shaped like privates :S, chili sauce, coin purses made out of a dead/dried frogs, shamisen (Japanese instrument), and more that I’m probably forgetting.

Shuri Castle

Nice tea and sweets at the castle.

The four leaf clover.

Breast bouncy balls. :S

Penis candies. :S

Habu sake.

Umi-budou (sea grapes).

Glassware.

Shisa.

Beni-imo.

Taco rice.

Later in the day, I met up with an Okinawa JET who is also from the Chicago area. We met before departing for Japan. She was kind enough to host me for the rest of my trip. We actually stayed at her friends’ apartment (another JET) on Saturday. Her friend lived right in Naha. That night we basically met up with a bunch of Okinawa JETs and got dinner and drinks. We ate at a place called Picnic Land, I think. The service was unbelievably slow, but it was kind of a cool place. It was fun talking with other JETs. From there we went to something called a “snack bar” where one of the JETs performed some songs. That was entertaining. Then we did karaoke at the same place. There was one guy there that looked like he was just tired and sleeping, but when we eventually got up to leave, we realized that he was like blackout drunk and couldn't even stand on his own two feet. That was kind of creepy. Some people took him back to his hotel because he is actually from an outer island of Okinawa. We went to my friend’s friend’s apartment and went to bed.

On Sunday, we woke up and began the journey to my friend’s town, Yomitan. It’s north of Naha past some huge American military bases. I never realized how many bases there were in Okinawa. I just thought there was one or something, but there are several kinds all over the island! We made it to her town. Her apartment was so nice and big!! One thing I noticed was that the two bathrooms I saw (hers and her friend’s) had no bath. I guess it’s probably always too hot to bathe. I was very excited for this day because I was going to get to go the beach finally: the thing I was most excited for! We took a bus from her town to another town called Chatan. In Chatan, there is American Village. It’s actually very legit compared to the one in Osaka. We spent the whole day there. There was live music, stores, restaurants, beaches, and other entertainment. First, we ate at an awesome Mexican place called Obligado’s. The portions were huge! The first beach we went to was Sunset Beach which was kind of small, but I enjoyed putting my feet in and playing in the sand. Then, we shopped around, listened to some live music, did purikura in a huge arcade, and ate ice cream before going to a larger beach. We went to Araha Beach which was absolutely beautiful! The water was turquoise! I played in the waves and the sand, watched and listened to the water, and searched for seashells. The shells on the beach were amazing! There were so many different shapes and colors! A lot of it was bits of coral too! Araha Beach was by far my favorite part of the trip. We returned back to my friend’s apartment. I slept very comfortably that night (she had 3 huge couches in her place!).

Obligado's.

We ran into some of Gina's students at the arcade.

They were playing this game hardcore! This is an

example of Japanese culture at its best!

American Village a night.

Sunset Beach.

Araha Beach.

Araha Beach.

Listen to the water. :)

The shells/coral I found.

The next morning, I started the long journey back to Naha airport. Do you know A&W? Like the root beer? In America, there are some A&W restaurants, but they are kind of old and going out of business, I think. Well, in Okinawa, they were all over! I ate at an A&W in the airport before flying back to Osaka. Root beer isn't that common in Japan, so it was so good to taste it again! I got curly fries and chicken nuggets. Despite the lack of ketchup, I must say that they were seriously the best chicken nuggets I've ever had in my life! A nice old lady saw that I still had some root beer left after I finished my food, so she gave me two Okinawan donuts (another staple I forgot to mention) and told me that they went well with root beer. They did. Japanese people are so nice and give you stuff all the time. That basically sums it up! It was a good trip. If I ever go back, I’ll make sure to go back when it’s hot, and I will lie on the beach and snorkel the whole time!

A&W. Best chicken nuggets ever!

Okinawan donuts. Thanks nice lady!