Pachinko

I got to check another thing off of my “Japan Goals” list! Pachinko! Do you know about pachinko? It’s basically the same idea as slot machines and gambling, but pachinko is unique to Japan. Actually gambling for cash is illegal in Japan. Pachinko sort of works its way through a loophole in a pretty sketchy manner, but for cultural and historical reasons, is not cracked down on. The government sort of turns a blind eye to it…probably because it brings in money. If you look at it from a less judgmental standpoint and appreciate it as a simple form of entertainment, then it can actually be pretty fun and not a big deal. Just don’t let it become a habit lol!

Two weekends ago I got to try pachinko for the first time after wanting to for years. I just hadn’t found anyone who understood how to do it and was willing to take me. Well it turns out that my boyfriend occasionally likes to go for fun, little did I know! I begged him to take me to which he happily obliged. Let me explain what it was like.

For those of you have never seen a pachinko parlor, basically they are pretty large buildings (some can be massive) that have all sorts of flashing lights, smoke, and loud music pouring out of them. When you walk inside, it’s super loud from all the music coming from each machine and pachinko balls clanking together. There are rows of machines that look similar to slot machines at first glance. Each machine has a theme. I wanted to play one that was based off of an anime. The machines vary in difficultly. There are little signs with fractions on them that say 1/89 or 1/200, for example. It stands for the probability of winning. 1/89 means you’ll win at least once in 89 times which is considered to be an easy machine. 1/200 is harder to win, but if you do, the payout is better.  I know you can choose more or less expensive machines too, but I wasn’t really sure how you could tell. I just know my boyfriend sat me down at one that was either 1 or 2 yen per pachinko ball, which is cheap. Basically the equivalent of penny slots in the U.S. Once you sit down, you put your money into the slot. At any time you can choose to cash out and get your remaining money if you want to quit or move to a different machine.

Pachinko machines.

I realize I keep saying “pachinko ball,” but I haven’t explained what they are. Pachinko machines are kind of similar to pinball machines in that you are flinging little silver balls up and trying them to bounce around into the correct holes. You don’t actually have much control of how the balls fall or where they go, just over how hard they get flung. At certain times there’s a big button in the center you can push that will have certain effects like starting a number roulette on the digital screen, for example. The screen tells you when you need to push it. The main point though is to get the balls in the hole. If you get balls in the whole, more balls will pour out into your tray enabling you to play longer. If you run out of balls, you either have to pay more money for more or it’s game over. If you win the number roulettes, then lots of ball come out, and your tray start filling up! If your tray gets too full, there’s a button to call the staff over, and they put an new empty tray down for you while stacking your full ones next to you on the floor. The high rollers have stacks and stacks of balls next to them.

The first machine I tried.

The balls come out here.

The balls fall into here when you start winning.

My winnings.

When I went, I put in ¥1,000 (about $10). For whatever reason (seriously I didn’t understand what I was doing), I started winning over and over again. Since I was on a cheap machine, I wasn’t winning a ton of money, but still. I ended up only spending ¥800 and getting ¥2,500 back in return plus a drink and cookie lol. I was so excited and had a blast! Shinya was pretty impressed although, as I explained, I didn’t feel like I was really in control, and it was all just chance.

Pachinko!

You may be wondering, “How did you win money if it’s illegal?” Well that’s where the sketchiness comes in. First, you have the staff dump all your balls into a machine that prints out a ticket with a number. You take that ticket to the prize room where the staff will hand you little gold items inside of plastic according to how much you won. Any leftover points that don’t add up to be enough for a gold piece can be used for snacks and other little prizes, in my case juice and a cookie. You then take the gold pieces to a tiny little hole in the wall hidden in a corner of the building. You set the gold things in the window and without any words, a hand reaches out, grabs it, and replaces it with cash. You take your cash and be on your merry way hahaha! Crazy right?! I was so very amused! I’m excited to go back and try again even though apparently it’s quite uncommon to win so easily like I did.

The hole. Lol!

This was the first part of a random date with my boyfriend. After that we had dinner at a robata-yaki place where you cook your food on a little grill at your table followed by a couple new bars. I had so much fun that night! I hope that gives you an idea of what pachinko like! Happy gambling!

Robata-yaki.

New bar. Chelsea.

3 Things I Don’t Like About Japan

Believe me, I could turn this into a super detailed rant-like post that never ends, but it would only frustrate me and make me upset dwelling on the matters so much. I’m not particularly upset or frustrated about anything at the moment, so I don’t really feel like going into too much detail…which is probably for the better anyway. I plan on keeping this post kind of brief. Before I wrote a post called “12 Things I’d Miss About Japan,” and it was about various things I like about living here. Well now I’d like to add some balance and tell you some reasons I don’t like living here.

Sure, there are a lot of little things like the lack of variety and affordable cheese or the humid summer and poorly built housing, but these things aren’t that important as they are just simply annoying. I’ve narrowed my list down to three important things. These three things make me not want to live here permanently. I struggle with them often because more and more lately, I feel like I could end up living here for quite a while. Please, if you have any advice for helping me deal with these three issues, leave a comment!

Without further adieu, the three things: 1) Discrimination/Racism 2) Sexism 3) Sex Culture. For a more detailed post about Discrimination/Racism in Japan, please read my post called “Being Foreign in Japan.” I go into my feelings a lot more there. For this post, I’m going to stick to a few short paragraphs for each point.

1)      Discrimination/Racism.

I realize I have been lucky to be born in America as a white person. I never experienced racism or discrimination until I moved to Japan. I realize now how incredibly frustrating it must be to be treated unequally in the very country in which you were born. In light of recent the news about the Charleston church shooting, I just want to say I’m sorry, and I think it’s not right and unfair that African-Americans and other minorities must suffer in their own country. It must feel inescapable and incredibly frustrating. I’m sorry.

It’s really hard to explain how closed off Japan is from the rest of the world. They aren’t used to seeing people from overseas. If anything, I’d call it ignorance. If you are not ethnically Japanese (or at least look Japanese), then you will experience all sorts of racism and discrimination in this country. Some things will be as little as a kid pointing and yelling “FOREIGNER!!” at you to being denied things that I would consider to be human rights like jobs, housing, and entrance to certain places. In America, not hiring someone based on race or not letting them rent an apartment is ILLEGAL. In Japan, it isn’t. Foreigners can be denied simply on the basis that they are foreign and there is nothing they can do about it. This is not something I’m looking forward to dealing with in the future. I can deal with all the shock and excitement over my light hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, but I can’t deal with being denied cell phone contracts and credit cards just because I’m not Japanese.

Hopefully this situation starts to improve rapidly. I think with Miyamoto Ariana, the half African-American and Japanese Miss Universe Japan, causing a stir lately, the subject is at least being talked about more. I’m just hoping for the future while educating as many people as I can.

2)      Sexism

Japan is a man’s society. I feel like it’s slowly getting better but still has a long way to go. It is ingrained in their culture that a woman’s role is in the house, not in the working world. It is not uncommon for women here to even aspire to be a housewife. Men are expected to be the full provider. Women are expected to clean the home, raise the children, and cook every single meal for the man, and if they don’t they are not considered to be a successful wife or woman. Now obviously this isn’t the case for every man and woman. There are plenty of exceptions and woman who want to work. However, there is still this looming presence of “what a good woman should be.” For example, I know a married couple who both work and the man gets home at 8:00 pm and the woman gets home at 10:00 pm. The man will not lift a finger to even turn on the rice machine. He waits for his wife to get home after him so she can cook his whole dinner followed by cleaning.

It’s no secret that women are often not seen as equal in the work place and have less pay and opportunities. I don’t even know if there is a female president of a company in Japan. Women are usually expected to pour the tea and serve the men the food at work events.

One of the things that irritated me the most was when a Japanese woman named Igarashi Megumi was on the news facing charges. She is one of the few women I’ve seen stick up for Japanese women’s rights. She is an artist who makes works of art resembling female genitalia. Police showed up on her doorstep and arrested her on obscenity charges. She is still currently at battle. Her goal is to “use her art to ‘demystify’ female genitalia in Japan, where 3D images of male genitalia draw thousands of visitors to the Kanamara penis festival at a Shinto shrine in the city of Kawasaku, near Tokyo, every April.”

3)      Sex Culture

You often hear that Japan has a weird sex culture. It’s true. It’s so strange how it’s such a hush hush matter but also in your face at the same time. Did you know that owning child pornography just became illegal in Japan last year?! Seriously, WHAT?! Japanese pornography in general tends to be a little on the abnormal side; lots of videos of rape and incest with a little bit of tentacle and strange animated porn. There’s also all the weird places like maid or idol cafes where cute girls in costumes wait on your every need. Those are tame compared to hostess clubs and girls bars. Even those are tame when you compare them to soap-lands (Google it) or other strange pleasure shops like where men go to watch girls in school uniforms study with their legs spread open, sometimes under-aged. One of the things I hate the most is that female pornstars are idolized here and are as popular as singers and actresses for example. They appear on TV a lot and are seen as popular, cute and are known by name in some households.

People don’t talk about their sex lives, but everywhere you look, there are porn mags in plain view of children at every convenience store, and the streets in cities are lined with undercover prostitutes and pleasure shops. The thing that gets me the most is that I saw a study that said only 15% of Japanese men consider going to a pleasure house to be cheating! I made damn sure to tell my boyfriend that that was OFF LIMITS! I hate seeing all the weird porn stuff here…just in like one of my recent posts on how I was sitting in a snack bar with my boyfriend when the background of the karaoke screen became a naked woman in plain sight of all the customers.

I don’t know. It’s just that this particular point is really hard to describe for me. There’s just so much weird sex stuff that you hear about and see when you live here. It also seems to tie in a bit with sexism…like woman are these helpless sexual objects or something. Some men think they have a right to be sexually satisfied by woman whenever they want. Makes me sick…and angry.

As expected, writing this has made me feel upset, so I want to be done. I can’t say that I really clearly elaborated my thoughts and feelings on these matters, but hopefully I gave you an idea of what I’m getting at. I’m not saying these issues are unique to Japan, but they are definitely something I didn’t struggle with until coming here. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts and advice on these matters. I realize that some or many of you might not agree with me, and that’s ok. I also realize that this isn’t very well thought out or nice written, however, thank you for reading.

Snack

In Japan, there are all sorts of different entertainment places where you can have a drink. In America, we have bars, but that’s basically it. Under the category of “bar,” you might say there are lounges, sports bars, or pubs which are slightly different, but in a sense, pretty much the same. I’ve found that in Japan, there are many different types of places to drink at, and they are all quite distinct. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of what is what, though, so I thought I’d educate you.

 For example, there are izakaya which are basically just like loud, smoky restaurants where people gather to eat and enjoy all-you-can-drink menus. There are dance clubs/lounges which are the same as in the U.S. There are “regular” bars which include two types: 1) a small shop with a counter (maybe a few tables), decent selection of alcohol, and a skilled bartender (usually male) who will chat with you and make nice cocktails. Some bars offer full meals or light snacks. OR 2) a bigger, louder, more lively bar with a counter, tables, and several bartenders (male and female) who can make you all your basic cocktails. Food can usually be ordered here as well. There are places called tachinomiya which mean “stand and drink shop,” which is exactly that. Usually filled with salary men on their way home from work, you stand at a counter while drinking your standard, cheap drinks like highballs, chu-hi, beer, or plum wine. Small food dishes can be ordered, too, like fried octopus, soy beans, sashimi, and so on. Karaoke booths are also another place you can go to drink, but the focus is more on actually doing karaoke.

Then we get into some of the more adult-themed places that have subtle differences. This is where I start to get confused. I may be off a bit on some of these things, but I’ve had my boyfriend, Shinya, try to explain the differences to me several times, and this is what I’ve gathered. “Snacks” are a place where there is a middle-aged female bartender, karaoke available, and a very limited selection of drinks. Food is not available, only snacks like candy and chips that are placed in a bowl in front of you as part of the entrance charge. Supposedly the highlight of a “snack” is being able to engage in interesting conversation with the female bartender who has had many life experiences since she is middle-aged. “Girls bars” are similar, but a young girl (or girls) who are willing to engage you in conversation are behind the bar. From what I gather, Kyabakura from the English phrase “cabaret club” are basically (if not exactly) the same thing as Japanese hostess bars. This is where men go and pay a lot of money to have beautiful girls sit next to them, drink with them, flirt with them, and entertain them with conversation and karaoke. These are not sex or strip clubs. There is no dancing or nudity (although, it’s rumored that some hostesses will privately arrange to meet with the customer at a later time). Host clubs are the same thing but for women and are usually cheaper. I may be missing other types of Japanese drinking establishments, but this gives you some insight on Japanese night life and drinking culture. I think it would be interesting to go to a host club just once to see the culture and what it’s all about, but I’ll save that for a different post in the future if I ever go.

What I am going to explain to you in more detail now are “snacks” aka my living hell. I briefly explained above that it’s a place with karaoke and a middle-aged female bartender who serves you a very limited selection of alcohol and some cheap snacks while engaging you in conversation. On a random weeknight, my boyfriend suggested we go to one since I had never experienced it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just assumed it’d be a bar with a small selection of drinks and an older female bartender. I didn’t know about the karaoke. I’m trying so hard to think of a way to adequately describe it to you… there just are no words. I felt like I entered a different dimension, like a bad dream or a circus or carnival fun house. Just imaging the feeling of like a mosquito biting the back of your neck but not being able to swipe it away…constant irritation. That’s the only way I could describe how it felt. Perhaps if I had gone at a time where there were less people, it would’ve been slightly more tolerable, but when I went, the entire place was full.

Let me paint you a picture. You walk up to a dimly lit door, the streets are quite, and you read the sign in front of you that says, “Karaoke, Charge ¥1,000.” Little do you know that when you step inside that door and leave the peacefulness of the streets, you will not feel ok again until you are back outside. Being a foreigner probably makes it 100x worse, but once you show your face inside, heads turn, and you realize that you are the only person in the room under 60 years old. I felt like I was in a senior citizens’ home but with booze and obnoxious music. Scratch that, it was more like a nuthouse where everyone just so happened to be a senior citizen.

The second I walked in, the ooos and ahhs started, and the personal questions about my life start rolling in from strangers who don’t care or understand that they are being rude or in your business. The questions aren’t too bad, but forget trying to sit in peace. “Are you Japanese? Beautiful! Beautiful! *touches your arm or hand* Where are you from? Oh! Chicago!! Chicago! Al Capone. You said, ‘arigatou!’ You are so good at Japanese. Why are you in Japan?! How long have you lived here?! 3 years?! I think I saw you riding a bike! Is that guy next to you your husband? Are you married? Why aren’t you married?! Hurry up and make babies! Where is your house? Where do you work? OH!! A teacher?!?! Teach me! I speak English. This is a pen! HAHAHA! Do you know Japanese karaoke? Sing!” Now repeat that one-sided conversation with six other people.

Once you get a chance to breathe, you can order a drink: beer, chu-hi, or ­sho-chu. Chu-hi­ was the only thing I could drink. The shelves behind the bar are littered with sho-chu bottles with chicken-scratch of people’s names on them. This is because the regulars buy a bottle and are served from their bottle when they are there. I’m sure each snack looks different on the inside, but the one I happened to be at was decorated with weird porcelain rabbits, frilly doilies, and knick-knacks. A complete mess. I forgot to mention that it was very bright inside.

The one thing you cannot escape is the music. Oh dear Jesus the music… Just think of the music your great grandparents used to listen to and then put it in Japanese. It was so loud I couldn’t hear Shinya sitting next to me. There were maracas, tambourines and clapping. I think I unintentionally laughed out loud at the 90 year-old-looking man with no teeth shaking the maraca extremely out of beat to the song playing. I’m sorry. I have nothing against old people at all. It’s just that the whole scene was hilarious. There was even a stage where you could stand and sing/dance which people took full advantage of…I’ll leave imagining how talented they were to you. People were passing the mic back and forth singing as loudly (and poorly, I might add) as they could to these songs that neither me nor my boyfriend had ever heard. Apparently Shinya likes snacks, though, because he enjoys the conversation with the bartender and other customers. However, the place was so full that there was no chance to speak with the bartender even once. I watched her running back and forth doing her job, filling our little bowls with snacks (the only part of the place I enjoyed) and clapping to the beat at the correct moments. To me it was all just a silly act. The woman herself had a down-to-earth air and was genuinely pretty (according to Shinya, snack bartenders are hit or miss). I wondered why and how she got into this business. Did she genuinely like her job or had she become so used to showing the customers a certain face that it just became second nature? Either way, the customers seemed to believe her enthusiasm even if I didn’t. Working at a snack, for me, would be the equivalent of slowly scooping out my brain with a small spoon.

The highlights of the night were when 1) an excited old man singing and swaying his hands spilled his beer all over me and 2) when the background video of the song on the TV was of an erotic naked woman showing close-ups of her nipples and pubic hair. Boy did I love sitting there watching boyfriend stare at that. I made sure to let him know that it was a part of Japanese culture that I thought was wrong and upset me (stay tuned for my future post, “Three Things I Don’t Like About Japan”).

When I stepped out of the nuthouse, I felt a relief, but also scarred for life at the same time. Shinya understood that it was the opposite of what I liked and apologized for taking me there. He felt bad for making me uncomfortable. I assured him it was ok because it was something different to experience. He took me to my favorite dimly-lit, quiet bar after in order to “correct the mood” as he put it.

Now I’m not saying all snacks are like this because I’ve only been to one. I really do think it would have been a little better if there were less people, and I could have actually spoken with the bartender once, but Shinya told me that that was basically the gist of what a snack is like. If you are my friend and know me, please never invite me to one. I have no intention of ever stepping inside one again…at least not until I am as old and whacky as the other customers and just don’t give a damn.

One Year Together

Life is pretty magical, isn’t it? I wouldn’t consider to myself to be a religious person at all, but I like the ideas of fate and destiny, and I believe things will usually work out the way they are supposed to, and often even good things can come out of bad things. The probability of certain things happening can be so very small that when they do happen, I wonder to myself if it was meant to be.

That’s kind of how I feel about my boyfriend. If you think about it, the likelihood of us meeting was so very small, it’s a wonder that it worked the way it did, and furthermore, that we connected in such a good way. Think about it…What are the chances that I would become so interested in Japanese culture that I abandon my decision to major in architecture and study Japanese, then choose to uproot my whole life and move to Japan (not to mention that I was selected to go out of thousands of people around the world)? I get randomly placed in a quiet suburb of Osaka. I am introduced to a bar near my new home that I like. After two years of going there regularly, it just so happened that I saw someone there who caught my attention. The funny thing is that he had also been going to that bar regularly for two years. We had always just barely missed each other. I’d leave a little after midnight, and he’d arrive around 1:00. What is the chance that a boy with no interest whatsoever in foreign languages, traveling abroad, or American culture would hit it off with someone so different from himself? Well the thing is, Shinya and I, we aren’t so different after all.

I have never met anyone with a temperament so similar to mine. I didn’t even know it was possible to be with someone so effortlessly. I thought arguments, fighting, crying, and anger were all parts of a normal relationship. I feel stupid for thinking that now. It could be that I have simply matured as a person since then and don’t let things upset as much as I used to. A friend recently told me, love doesn’t mean someone who is the same as you, has the same upbringing, the same hobbies and interests, the same beliefs even. Love is between two people who support each other, who care for each other, who make a good team.

I’m not naïve. I cannot say where my relationship with Shinya is headed for certain, but I can say that what I have with him is different from anything else I’ve experienced. There is a high level of respect between us. We are always kind to each other and try to understand each other’s ideas, opinions, and thoughts when they aren’t the same. He being Japanese and me American means that we were raised with different values and ways of thinking about different things. It just means that we have to be open and understanding. We are never hostile towards each other, and have never raised our voices or fought once. We have discussions and try our best to see things through each other’s eyes. If one of us does something unintentionally to make the other upset, we are quick to apologize. We have gotten past the point of easily breaking up. I was actually surprised to hear from Shinya that if my face was mauled in an accident, and I looked like a mutant, he’d still stay with me haha! Yes, we had that discussion recently.

What I’m trying to say is that I feel good. I feel happy. I feel confident. I feel content with him by my side. Being with him is always fun and conversation flows so naturally (when I’m not fumbling over my Japanese that is lol). Shinya is patient with me. He is kind. He is caring. I feel like we can get through anything. A short year has passed together. I know that this is the time when challenges start to arise. I’m anxious to see where it goes. Seriously dating someone from a country that is not your own poses a whole new set of challenges in addition to the ones regular couples have. I get nervous thinking about forging a life in this country and worry about if I can make it through, but if it is meant to be and fate is in control, we will be able to get through all the obstacles ahead. If I can get through the pain of missing my country and being away from my family, it will be because Shinya was the one helping me. We shall see! In the meantime, please enjoy this short story about our one year anniversary date!

Technically our one year anniversary was on May 18^th, but I was in America during that time, so we celebrated when I got back. Shinya took me to a nice Italian restaurant he had found, and it was really good and had a friendly atmosphere. We could talk easily in a lighthearted manner. After that, we went to one of our favorite, romantic bars in the area. It was the same one he had taken me to for my birthday where he gave me beautiful earrings. I’m wearing them right now (hehe). After that, we were feeling like a livelier atmosphere, so I took him to the HUB for his first time. Not exactly a romantic place, but it was the kind of atmosphere we were seeking. Of course, on the way home, we had to stop for a last drink at our local bar where we first met. It was only appropriate. When we got home, I gave him an album of memories from our first year together. A great way to end the night. We sat for a while looking through the pictures and reminiscing about all the fun times we had.

Mussels in a garlic-tomato sauce.

Carpaccio.

Margarita pizza.

One year together. :)

We wanted to do purikura on our one year date, but we
forgot, so we instead did it on the next date. We decided
to do purikura together once a year.

The Rainy Season

It’s that time of year again. The temperature is starting to rise, the humidity is setting in, and it’s raining every day; Always burdened by having to carry an umbrella everywhere, hoping the rain lets up just in time for you to commute to work by bike instead of walking. To me, the rainy season is the precursor to hell, the hell known as Japanese summer. Having a long summer break doesn’t even alleviate much of my depression that peaks in early July to late September because the placement of the break is so poor. The last thing I want to do is step outside into a moist inescapable sauna and leave the comfort of my “cool” apartment. Summer breaks often go to waste avoiding the heat and saturated air, if you can actually call it "air."

There is one thing, however, that helps ease me into the impending doom. That is hydrangeas. Hydrangeas, or “ajisai” in Japanese, are the symbol flower of the rainy season, and they just so happen to be my favorite flower. I look forward to their blooming as much as I do cherry blossoms. Hues of magenta, purple, and blue (occasionally a rare white or pale pink) soothe my eyes…and my soul. They remind me of coolness and rain, things that relax me and I pray for in the blistering summer. I particularly enjoy the ones that are clusters of little buds with rings of flowers around the outside. So intricate. I hope they bring you some comfort as well.

Visiting Home After 18 Months

In May I went home to be the maid of honor in my friend’s wedding. The other two times I visited home were during Christmas break, but since my friend was getting married in May, I didn’t go home last Christmas vacation and instead waited until May which meant I didn’t see my friends or family for a full year and a half, the longest in my life. It was a long and difficult wait, but it was actually quite nice to go home in May because the weather was absolutely beautiful, and although I left at the beginning of Golden week, I still took off two weeks of work which was kind of nice haha!

The first time I went home, it had only been six months since I had left, so nothing felt really different. The next trip home was after a year, and I had pretty bad reverse culture shock…bowing to the cashiers at Wal-Mart, starring at everyone because they are bigger and all have different color hair, skin, etc., and being surprised by the rudeness of people in general. This time however, it was a strange feeling. I just felt comfortable. I felt home. I didn’t feel shocked by anything, just like I fit in and belonged. It was so nice. I embraced the American that I am without feeling like some weird outcast.

My trip home was very busy with the wedding, meeting friends and family, and taking care of things like renewing my driver’s license, getting a new Costco card, guest speaking to my mother’s students, and getting shopping done. Even though my trip was longer than the other times, it flew by faster than I expected. I wasn’t ready to go back to Japan when the trip was over. I felt like I wanted to stay a couple months. When I think about it now, I get pretty depressed thinking about how long it will be until I can go home again. This post is turning out to be kind of sad, so let me tell you about some of the yummy things I ate, fun things I did, and good memories.

FOOD: There were so many things I wanted and got to eat. Number one being Taco Bell! Of course I was looking forward to my mother’s cooking, but I also had a list of particular things too including Turtle’s Tap, Casey’s taco pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, authentic Mexican, Chinese (particularly crab rangoon and sweet and sour chicken), Panera Bread, deep-dish pizza, Wendy’s spicy chicken nuggets, Chipotle, a cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen, pizza rolls, hot fudge sundae Pop-Tarts, American sushi, and basically anything I could get my hands on that is not common in Japan like veggie burgers, alfredo pasta,  bleu cheese dressing wedge salads, baby carrots with hummus, cheeses, dips, cheap fresh fruit, and a s’mores flavored frappuccino. I also was able to enjoy going to really nice expensive places too, and eating fancy seafood dishes like scallops over risotto and mussels in a garlic tomato sauce. Seriously, food is just so dang good in America!!!

Taco Bell! :D :D :D

Chicken crunchwrap and supreme and cheesy bean and rice
buritto.

Oh, hello there wedge salad.

Delicious mussels and crab rangoon.

Bdubs. I ate half a new ghost pepper blazin' wing
and thought I was gona die.

Deep Dish!

My first Chiptole in over three years!

Mmmm....enchiladas.

Haha, pizza rolls.

FUN TIMES:

·         Going shopping with my mom, grandmother, and sister. So many new clothes!

·         Playing with my pets/Walking the dogs.

·         Going to downtown Chicago and Chinatown (for the first time) with my mom.

·         Seeing my friends Rodney, Kaitlyn, Mitch, CJ, and Stephanie.

·         Seeing and spending time with my family/Chilling at home (wish I would’ve had more time to do that).

·         Exercising with my sister.

·         Getting drunk with my parents at a super nice restaurant on Mother’s Day.

·         My last dinner with my parents.

·         My friend Kaitlyn’s shower, bachelorette party, and wedding. I was so happy I could participate in everything. Spending time with her in general was so nice.

·         Playing Wii and eating Taco pizza with Rodney.

·         Watching movies and playing Wii at home (Mariokart, Warioware, and Cooking Mama).

·         Spending time talking with CJ. <3

·         Seeing my Grandpa and having lunch with him.

·         Teaching at my mother’s school.

·         Taco Bell, Taco Bell, and TACO BELL!

·         Driving a car again/Listening to music loudly.

·         Spending time chilling with my sister and her boyfriend.

·         SCRAPBOOKING!

·         Sleeping in my own bed.

·         Laughing so hard and almost peeing myself with my sister on many occasions/Crazy face pictures.

·         Rum Chata

Shopping!! :)

Puppy!!

Sister!!!

Mother's Day dinner.

Gettin' crunk. Lol!

I love Warioware so much!

Day drinking Rum Chata & Fireball with CJ.

Scrapbooking...or at least trying to.

Chinatown.

Chicago and The Bean.

Mitch!

Bachelorette.

Happy Wedding!

The crew.

Luckily I had my boyfriend waiting for me to come back to Japan which helped ease the pain of leaving America. I do like my like my life here in Japan. I have friends, a good job, and I still enjoy the culture, but I simply was not ready to return. I want so badly to have friends and family to come here and visit me. I want to show them my life here. I think I have finally hit that point in my time living abroad where instead of trying to abandon my own culture and embrace a new one, I want to cling to my roots and be proud of who I am and where I was raised. I love Japan. I have embraced their culture fully. However, I am American. I love that about me. I don’t want to change.

Vegetables in Nara

Towards the end of April, I took a day trip to Nara with some friends. We did some sightseeing, but the main focus was lunch. Nara has always been a magical place for me with the free-roaming deer and traditional Japanese feeling. During this time, the wisteria flowers were in bloom and absolutely gorgeous.

Deer fun.

Wisteria in full bloom.

I want to tell you about this restaurant, though. It’s called Sankouen (杉幸園(さんこうえん)), and it’s less like a restaurant and more like someone’s house. Your room overlooks a pretty Japanese garden, and it feels so unique.

Garden view.

In front of the restaurant.

Greeted by a tanuki, of course.

They specialize in vegetable dishes, and it was one of the most delicate and interesting course meals I’ve ever had. Unfortunately not everything on the menu is vegan friendly or even vegetarian friendly because some fish and fish products are used, but for the most part things are vegan, so you could probably still go and enjoy most of the dishes served. The price is very reasonable. 3,000 yen for eight courses! Let me introduce you to each course:

1)      Peach and soy milk smoothie (forgot to take a picture).

2)      Spring bagna cauda (Italian dish).

3)      Nine colorful plates.

4)      Bamboo shoot pancake with banana sauce.

5)      Hot and sour rice-noodle soup.

6)      Fried onion decorated with vegetables.

7)      Kakiage with ginger rice and clear soup.

8)      Dessert.

I was so full after all of this, and it was like a 2-3 hour ordeal. It’s not often I get to eat a meal like this, so I thought I’d share. Hope you could enjoy!