Ralph

I saw the most biggest splatter/puddle of puke on the train platform coming home from school tonight. It was everywhere. Nobody cleaned it up. Just thought I'd let you know.

Otaku

I must confess, I've been a little nerdy as of late. My excitement for video games has never reached this point before. Except for when I got Resident Evil 4. And except for when I got Tony Hawk for Christmas. And except for when I got GTA: San Andreas. And except for when I got a different Tony Hawk for Christmas. And except for when I got a different GTA. Anyways, I've been nerdy nonetheless.

I went to the Tokyo Game Show this past sunday, which made many of my friends at home jealous (maybe one). Here I would get to play the new games and systems, PS3 and Wii before they even hit the shelves. But I must admit that my excitement for this day diminished quickly when I realized that A) all the games and directions are in Japanese and B) 80% of the games there were Japanese games, popular in Japan but don't make it to America. I still got to check out Metal Gear Solid 4 and Devil May Cry 4 amongst other games which were pretty tight. But for the most part, the lines were a 30 minute wait to play a game for 3 minutes, and a lot of Japanese games suck. The Wii wasn't there either, whatever. So overall the whole event ended up sucking, but I did end it on a good note. Before I left I played Sonic The Hedgehog (for Bill) on PS3, and it was a fantastic game. Not so much the gameplay but that one of these girls:

girl

Was on the left of me, jumping up and down, cheering me on. Im pretty sure she kissed me, and then we made out. That was awesome.

worship the PS3...even though it sucks

And last night I walked though the pouring pouring rain to Shibuya to attend my first show in Japan. It's a little comfort of home brought to Japan. I would often spend $300 a year on concerts and shows, granted them being $10 a show, I ended up attending around 25 shows per year. But shows here a little more expensive. This one ended up costing $28 which was alright because it was an American band, The Advantage. And what better music to listen to in Japan than "instrumental Nintendo rock." This band was friggin awesome (and features the guitarist from Hella). The audience ended up asking for 2 encores, but the band eventually ran out of songs to play. Being in the audience, I felt like I was in a movie. The reason being that on the Hella DVD of mine, they recorded their tour of Japan and the crowds were filled with Japanese kids. I felt like I was at one of those shows on the DVD (and I pretty much was). Many kids snapped open cans of beer, smoked their cigarettes, and bounced up and down to the MIDI plucks of the guitar. Towards the end of their set, the guy next to me shouted in broken English, "Mega Man 2, Wiley's Stage! Please, please, please!!" I had a good laugh, and continued to bounce up and down. The Japanese bands are much more creative than any American band I've seen. In America, every startup band tries to rip their style off a band they look up to. In Japan, creativity is encouraged and if you're not original or crazy then get the hell outta here. The crowd is much more polite too. No rude boys and no pushing and shoving like Philly shows. Boo you Philly. Boo you.

Hununhum - dude playing clarinet and sax at the same time

Either Way, There Was Wetness

Being sick in Japan is really a barrel of fun. I don't know which medicine is for which symptom, the pills are weak, I can't blow my nose in public, and I have to wear this mask:So a good night's sleep and plenty of fluids are my best defense against this cold. Oh yea, and fun too. Fun is the also the medicine the pharmacist at the store prescribed me. But I may have overdosed. And gone to the hospital and removed my left kidney. Let me give you a weekend recap.

Friday...I did nothing. I had to sleep. I had to take every pill and spray I had.

Saturday though was pretty pretty pretty good. It started with a 1 1/2 hour train ride to Kamakura, the coastal town of Japan 50 km south-west of Tokyo. I am beginning to appreciate these long train rides because it gives me time to read my books. I'm hoping to get through with 6 or 7 by the end of the semester. Anyways, Kamakura is home to many temples and shrines along with the most popular attraction, the Amida Buddha, a giant outdoor bronze statue of the Great Buddha placed within the hills and mountains of Kamakura. Friggin beautiful.

husband and wife dogs

they turned around for a picture

leaving the ghost temple

There were many hills we walked up and many tunnels we traveled through. But we ended up in this little area, tucked away from its surroundings, which featured many little shrines, toji gates, waterfalls, and small cave you could enter. In this cave you were encouraged to put all your money into a basket and pour water over your money, which is beleived to make you a rich man. I actually lost about $5 earlier that day, and $5 the next day. So its a dirty filthy lie. A kind of lie that stinks like rotten eggs and RC cola. Real friggin gross. While we spent a good amount of time resting in this area, Brian and I found a little staircase that led to a bunch of stumps and a wooden table. From here we found some narrow dirt paths hidden by high grass, nobody else was around. We proceeded to hike up up the hill which took us quite a ways up, to a place that overlooks the shrineland below (sort of). There were many trees in the way, but I could tell that we were high up there.

From here, we took the bus in search of the Great Buddha. We got off the bus and after using the bathroom, me and my friend Tomo were nearly running to get there. We couldn't wait one more second, it was something I was looking forward to since I got here.We gave the women our 200 yen, gave a strange look at our tickets, shoved them into our pockets, turned the corner and stretched our necks passed the trees to see one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen.

I threw my hands up to my face, ran my fingers through my hair, and in wide-eyed amazement gave a very appropriate, "Oh my God," followed by a "Wow" and maybe a, "Are you serious?"
It never really hit me before. The feeling that I am living in Japan. But now I was certain that this was the feeling happening to me at that very moment, a feeling I've been waiting a long time for. To be awoken from this daze that I've been under for so long, and realize that I am alive. I am put on this earth to live. On this earth to see all that has been created.

Tomo took my camera and proceeded to take a picture of me. Before he pressed the shutter down, he told me that I looked like the happiest kid. I laughed. But I kind of wanted to cry for a moment. It was just too overwhelming.

me and daibutsu

backside windows

inside of the Great Buddha

From here on out, I don't think my day could have gotten better. We contined to visit some more temples, those of the Hase Kannon in Hasedera. I've seen a lot of it before, but what I had not seen was the giant 2.8 meter tall golden Jorokubutsu, which stood there in intimidating fashion. I couldnt take my eyes off of him. He was just too beautiful. I couldn't take pictures of him because if you tried, he would reach out his golden hand and crush your damn camera. I saw it with my own two eyes. After I emerged from the temple, I looked forward to see another friggin amazing view of the coastline:

But some jerk got in front of my camera and gave a very typical American thumbs up.


Here he is again getting in my shot of the bamboo stalks. Friggin jerk.

After setting sights on the beach, we were determined to find it and sit on its sandy sand even for 5 minutes. We took the train and walked a mile to shore. The walk seemed similar to the jog we made when we in search of the Daibutsu, we couldn't wait to get in that water.


The sand was a near black and the water was warm. There weren't many seashells but there was trash. For a city with no trash on the ground, there sure was a decent amount on the beach. But I didn't mind. Hundreds of surfers sat in the dark waters awaiting the ideal wave. Once they caught it, it was all their own, for a moment they owned the sea.

And by the end of the day, I felt well accomplished but I still felt sick as a dog. Too bad I bought the wrong sick mask.

Weekendganza

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what the hell just happened. I have seen and experienced more in 2 1/2 days than I have in my whole life. Let me put it in terms you could understand:

Friday, after class, with books in tow, you go to the top of the Eiffel Tower:

Tokyo Tower - Shiba Park

250 m view

754 f view

And then you walk 3 miles to Oktoberfest. But in Tokyo.


Theres nothing better than dancing in a conga line with a bunch of drunken Japanese business men, dancing to German polka music, singing in half german/half japanese, who hand you beer after beer, with ties on their foreheads, while bumping butts with the man in the green jacket, as another pees his pants, and the parties of Japanese cry "Encore, Encore!" and the final song is the chicken dance. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Oktoberfest.

Then on Saturday you go to a museum (pretty standard):

told you i would

all hail king chicken

overkill

After that you go to the World Series (Sumo):


So after the World Series, you head home only to head out again. Upon arrival to the grocery store for a cola, there was a festival in my small town:

i played ring toss to try and win a bowling trophy

After that little surprise, I headed off to Kicijoji to meet with my friend Chi, a term I use loosely because I only hung out with her for 2 hours 3 weeks prior. But now shes totally my friend. But she invited me to a party, so I thought what better than going to a party in a town I'm unfamiliar with and hang with a bunch of Japanese kids I have never met. To my surprise there were Germans, Russians, Japanese, Chinese, Australians, and a New Zealander. But I had an amazing time and met almost everybody at that party. Blah Blah Blah.

mackey, chen, chi, and me
(sounds like a fantastic tv programme)

Oh yeah, and since Mackey was leaving for London, I had to bring him something that started with the letter M. So naturally I got him McDonalds and he was the most grateful human being I have ever met. He gave me many many a hug. Just for a cheeseburger.

The next morning, after my night on the tatami mat and a 2 hour train ride home, I was surprised to find yet again that damn parade from the night before. At first I only heard bells and a drum. I couldn't locate the direction of the source, it sounded like it was coming from all angles. And then it was right in front of me.



There's so much I can say about this. So I guess I'll just save it for the history books rather than typing it all down. This post is way too f'n long. I cannot go on with this post or with the day. I had to go home and let it all absorb before I go into shock. The scary part is that this is only the 2nd day of my 3 day weekend.