Yesterday Chi and I went to the local library. When Chi was a child she went to that library with her mom often and has read most of the children's books there. She recommended a few to me. While I'm here I want to read lots and lots of books in order to become fluent in Japanese.

At 7:00pm Chi's stepdad came over to pick us up and take us to a yakiniku restaurant. There we cooked various meats and vegetables over a grill embedded into the table. It was delicious. Chi's stepdad payed for everything again. This time it was about $385. Japan is so expensive!

After that we went to a small local karaoke bar. It was quite noisy there and most of the people were drunk, but it was fun. Everyone there was friendly and could sing well. When Chi finally sang a song, everyone in the bar started cheering, clapping, and singing along. Chi is a stunning singer. I was amazed. I wish I had taken a video of it.

Today we woke up early to take Chi to a kanji test. Kanji are the picture characters that Japanese use to write. Chi needs to pass this test in order to be able to find a decent job. She was not worried about it though because she knows her kanji very well due to reading lots of books. She studied for it anyways.

After that we went to the library again so I could borrow a few more books.

Tonight me, Chi, and Chi's mom went to a ramen shop for dinner. It was delicious. My 3rd favorite kind. First is the ramen I ate in Osaka last year with Jason. Second is the ramen that I ate at Sapporo station.

Yesterday Chi went to her 説明会 and I went to see a 節分 festival in Shinjuku. Some famous 芸能人 (geinoujin; performers) there were handing out bags of candy. I haven't tried any of it yet.

After that we met up with Natsumi and went to a 食べ放題 (tabehoudai; buffet) shabushabu restaurant. While we were eating a loud fire alarm went off exclaiming that there was a fire on the first floor and that we should evacuate immediately. But the staff of the restaurant checked and told us not to worry, that it was a false alarm. We ate lots and lots. It was delicious. Natsumi and Chi taught me many girly and cutesy ways of saying common phrases. We laughed until our stomachs nearly burst.

After that we took some purikura pictures. Chi uploaded three of them to her Facebook.

Today Chi and I went to the hospital to see Chi's grandpa. He had a stroke about a month ago and can no longer speak. He can nod his head yes and no though. I'm glad I was able to meet him.

After that we picked up Chi's mom from work and went to eat ramen. 美味しかった (oishikatta; it was delicious).

Now Chi and I are watching a drama called Glee together. We're going to sleep soon. おやすみ　(oyasumi; good night)

Today Chi went to a 説明会　(setsumeikai) and then went to her tutoring job. I spent the day at home with shokora (Chi's dog) and then Chi's mom. Chi's mom made me some おにぎり　(onigiri). They were delicious. I ate four of them. Other than that, nothing too interesting to report today. Tomorrow Chi is going to another 説明会. I'm planning on going somewhere to celebrate 節分　(setsubun; a Japanese bean-throwing holiday).

In Japan Again

I'm back in Japan again. This time I'm staying at my girlfriend Chi's house.

I arrived in Japan about five days ago. Again, over the north pole. At my stop in Canada I discovered an express walkway to help move people down a long hallway. It starts at a normal speed and then the plates that you stand on soon separate and extend. I was moving so fast on that thing that, despite being indoors, I could feel the wind in my hair. I found a video of it on YouTube. Apparently it's the first one ever made. Maybe the only one?



The other day Chi went to take a TOEIC test and I spent the day hanging out with her friend Sawa and Sawa's boyfriend U- (pronounced eww). They took me to a street full of candy stores. I saw and tasted lots and lots of new treats. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of any of them right now. U- is a funny guy. We had a great time

After that we picked up Chi and went to Sawa's house. There we walked Sawa's dogs and ordered pizza. The pizza here is quite different from the states. There is no pepperoni pizza. No mushrooms either. There is sausage, but they put the whole sausage on there, not ground sausage. There is salami, but I'm not sure if it tastes the same as pepperoni. There are many other ingredients you can add to the pizzas, many of which I don't know the names of. The pizzas are smaller and more expensive than the ones in the states. They taste different, but are still good.

It seems my Japanese has improved since last year. I can understand maybe 60% of conversations now. Yay :). Things like the TV and books are still way too difficult though.

I'm having a great time here. And everyone has been treating me to everything, so I haven't spent hardly any money. I tried to pay back Chi's mom by sneakily putting some money on her bed, but she said that if she happens to find any money that is not hers, she'll throw it away. :(

The three pizzas that we ate the other day costed ~$80.
We went out to dinner at a nice traditional japanese restaurant the other day and chi's stepdad payed for everything. It was ~$200.
I was treated to many other things, but I think those were the most expensive.

I'll try to get into a habit of updating this blog every night. また明日 ( mata ashita; see you tomorrow)

Today me and Yu went to Odaiba. We walked around Palette Town and Fuji TV Studios, visited a pet store, saw many strange looking buildings, walked through some parks, chatted by the sea, played some games, and explored Shinbashi. Odaiba is a very pretty place. Fun day.

There was a museum inside Fuji TV Studios. One thing they had was a large diamond with a sign claiming it was the largest diamond in the world. I think that might be wrong. And it sure didn't have much security around it. Maybe none. I could have just picked it up and ran. There was also an extremely realistic looking robot model face-thing that was apparently used in the Terminator movies. It looked almost exactly like a human face.

Oh, and Yu taught me a new way to tie my shoes. I'm going to tie them like this from now on :).

I'm going to spend tomorrow in Yoyogi park with Shino. It feels like I've been just about everywhere in Tokyo, so I decided to go to Yoyogi park again. Yoyogi park is probably my favorite hangout place here. I've been there many times.

Hi~
Long time no update.

My two week vacation to the rest of Japan went great.
I visited Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Kokura, Fukuoka, Beppu, Nikko, Hachinohe, Aomori, Hakodate, and Sapporo. 12 different cities in 14 days. I could have seen more, but I got tired and lazy.
I'm sleepy and there's too much to write about, so details on them later!

I've gone back to my routine of hanging out with friends around Tokyo again. For my last week in Japan I plan on seeing the fish market in Tsukiji, Tokyo tower, and Odaiba.

Yesterday I hung out with my roommates all day. We sat around our room and chatted, went to a soba shop, and probably some other things I'm forgetting. Nothing too special.

Today me and Chihiro went to a Starbucks in Shinjuku to hang out and study Japanese/English. I was a little nervous the whole time, don't know why. Maybe she didn't notice. We took some purikura pictures afterwards.

Oh, I don't think I've explained what purikura is. It's Japan's version of a photobooth. Much more high-tech than the ones in the states. The insides of them are like.. um.. miniature studios. Everything is bright white and there are lots of different lights that go off when the picture is taken. Somehow I guess it enhances the look of your eyes. Looks great for asians, but other people end up with bug-eyes. After the pictures are taken, you can then doodle on them and send copies to your cellphone. Oh the cellphones here are pretty awesome too, but that's a story for another time.

Check my Facebook page to see my bug-eyes.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Odaiba with Yu. Odaiba is known for being a romantic place where couples go. But it's also famous for high-tech things, unusual buildings, games, rides, and shopping.


I think my English is getting worse..

It's 5am Friday here now. The weather outside is quite nice. I just got back from a quick run to Matsuya. I woke up and was hungry.

Yesterday I was planning on hanging out with Toshi, doing some studying, and getting my hair cut, but Toshi ended up having to work too late. Didn't do anything of any significance.

Today, when Mana gets off work, we're going to go see the Imperial Palace and Hibiya park. She worked late last night and is working again now on very little sleep, so I'm wondering if maybe we should cancel instead.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Toshi again somewhere. I'll try to get my hair cut too. I'd probably be fine, but I'm nervous about going to get my first haircut here by myself.

I'm planning on starting my two week trip around Japan on Sunday. First stop: Osaka.