６月１４日 Day 82: OMG ONLY 7 WEEKS LEFT?!

It's dawned on me that there are only 7 weeks left here... 47 more days.

CRAP.

My friends and I have made a list, aptly titled, "List of Shit We Still Have to Do." There is indeed a lot of shit we still have to do, and a lot of places we have yet to see...

1. Yokohama ~ Chinatown, theme parks, ferris wheel
2. Disney Sea ~ BETTER THAN DISNEYLAND
3. Nikko ~ supposed to be super nature-y and gorgeous
4. Chiba ~ BEACH
5. Odaiba ~ Super technological, futurist area. Newest district in Tokyo
6. Azabujuban ~ chill district
7. Koenji ~ other chill district; lots of second hand stuff :D
8. Mt. Takao ~ a mountain closer, easier, and cheaper to climb than Fuji
9. Enoshima ~ BEACH
10. Trump Room ~ CLUB
11. Ageha ~ CLUB
12. Lock Up ~ Bar that looks like a jail. Your booth is in a cell!! X_X
13. Tsukiji ~ FISH MARKET
14. Cat cafe ~ I think there's one in Ikebukuro... you basically just pay to feed kittehs.
15. Paddle boats in Kichijoji (or in Odaiba)
16. Roller coasters (Yokohama, Tokyo Dome)
17. Yurakucho Flee Market
18. Imperial Palace ~ why not?
19. Soba Factory ~ why not?
20. Sendagaya Jazz Festival
21. Doctor Fish ~ Letting fish eat the dead skin off our feet... tee hee. Can't lie about how excited I am about that one! XD
    

Let's see how I'm going to cross all these things off on my self-mandated $12 per diem...

６月１２日 Day 80: Buddha, Buddha, Buddha...

My friends and I went to Kamakura to visit the infamous giant Buddha and the infamous blogger, half-breed, Texan hottie (our friend) Lisa. We couldn't have chosen a better day ;)

We left cozy little Heiwadai around 9am and got to Kamakura at about 10:30ish. It was a long haul on the Shonan-Shinjuku line... we were standing for a while before some seats finally freed up around Yokohama (more than half way to Kamakura).

But oh, when we got there... I'm going to tell you all right now that if you're cool enough to get some omiyage from me-- it's likely going to be purchased in Kamakura! The shopping street next to the train station is STACKED. There are touristy, kitschy, buddha-y and foodie things by the TRUCKLOAD so I'm definitely making a second pilgrimage before coming home.

Buddha pillows! Haha!

Novelty senbei!

Gorgeous hydrangeas!

I FINALLY FOUND RAIN BOOTS. Just in time for the rainy season (which starts next week... ugh). They're exactly what I wanted: short, sweet, and leopard print! AND THEY FIT-- AMAZINGLY. Japanese people have tinier feet than Chinese people-- guaranteed. They don't even have to wrap them. You have no idea how desperately I searched in vain for shoes that fit my ogreish feet, and rain boots are especially difficult because not only do Japanese people have tiny feet-- they have tiny calves. Calves so small, I can't get my wrist into most boots. These boots were not only a find-- they were a flippin' STEAL. 1500円 baby! SCOOOOOOORRRRREEEEEE! Oh wait-- it's the world cup right now.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL~!

Here's some ice cream on the way up to the Buddha. Maccha means green tea... but this flavor is called Obamaccha flavor because Obama apparently enjoyed it when he was last here. It was delicious, so the President definitely has some good taste. He must also be able to eat fast because that ice cream melted faster than the polar ice caps when I ate it. (Hah!)

Washin' up before sayin' what up to the Buddha.

Look at the size of it! It's MASSIVE!

It really is a sight to see. For 200円 it's not bad.

Contrary to my photos, there were TONS of people standing in front of this thing taking pictures with it and of it. I must have been in about 20 peoples' pictures because of the insane photo crossfire that hits this thing from EVERY angle.

My friend Mehron commented that he didn't really feel spiritual standing in front of the Buddha. It was the same feeling I got while visiting Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto. Both these places were once spiritual grounds, but these days it only matters that you have a picture of them for your Christmas card. Think about that next time one of your Sansei friends sends one of those things over come November. "Look at how Japanese we are! Merry Christmas 2010!"

HAH.

Then we went to get lunch at this cold udon place. MANNNN it was GOOD!

Mmm cold udon and dashi with green onions, ginger and sesame.

My friend Mehron ordered this unintentionally phallic lunch. This is called Daibutsudon, literally Buddha udon. Although in my opinion, it looks a little like something else... heh heh...

After that, we headed towards Fujisawa to look at the gorgeous place where Lisa lives. It was so breathtaking that I couldn't even bring myself to take a shoddy picture of it because it wouldn't do it justice. I was so happy to see the ocean though. Growing up in LA really makes you appreciate the healing power of the ocean. It was so refreshing to smell the sea salt in the air, to feel the sun warming my shoulders, and to be surrounded by good friends. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to be living in Japan.

６月９日 Day 77: MIDTERMS ARE FINALLY OVER

THANK THE GOOD LORD JESUS THAT MIDTERMS ARE FINALLY OVER!

Now I can go out and enjoy the awesome weath-- oh wait. It's raining. DAMMIT.

Well, last weekend, I went to an Eco-fest in Yoyogi. NOW I HAVE TIME TO WRITE ABOUT IT.

Here are my friends Kelsey, EPA and Alex. Haha.

Here's a man-band we watched... note their matching shirts. They were great... and they helped the environment, while simultaneously scouring their last shreds of masculinity.

The fair was basically a bunch of environmental protection agency booths... the funniest one was entitled "FOE: Friends of Earth." HAH. Guess you never know who your friends really are...

After that amazingness, I saw Sex and the City 2 and it was AWFUL. So awful in fact, that I spent most of the movie with my head in my hands as the Japanese people laughed at the horribly translated subtitles. My non-Japanese friends and I all guffawed mechanically at the over-abundance of menopause and gay jokes... while the Japanese members of the audience sat there in complete bewilderment. How can one possibly translate the reference, "Lawrence of my Labia," into Japanese? HOW?

We were so loud in the theater, saying things like "Oh for the love of God," and "KILL ME," with unrivaled gusto. I'm sure we were annoying the whole theater with our laughter. My phone also went off in the middle of the movie, which didn't help the image of stupid foreigners. -__-;;

After that, I got some major studying done for my horribly difficult Literature midterm-- which I'm praying I passed. I did well on my Religion midterm though! Even though I freakin' hate that class...

６月１〜３日 Day 69-71: Birthday/Midterms Week

This week was everyone's goddamn birthday... and it's midterms-- so things are joyous and painful at the same time right now.

On Monday, I went to cake-houdai for my friend Kelsey's birthday. It was actually more like a cake orgy than a feast. SOOOO MUCH CAKE... We went to the Shibuya Branch of Sweets Paradise, which was full of cutesy middle/high school kids filling tiny bowls with scrawny portions of sweets while my gaijin friends and I stacked our plates with spaghetti, curry, potatoes, kanten and cake. Lots of cake. Puttin' those dainty little Japanese kids to shame.

On Tuesday, we went to kaiten-sushi, otherwise known as sushi boats. I ate 9 plates of nigiri... aka: 18 pieces of pure, uncooked deliciousness for under $10. I didn't need it to be someone's birthday to go completely hog wild on sushi. I just go for excellence.

Yesterday was my friend Natasha's birthday. She had her party at a tabe-houdai and nomi-houdai izakaya in Shinjuku. The food was definitely sub-par... nothing but appetizers and flavorless nabe... but I must have downed at least 4 glasses of beer and 6 or 7 gin tonics... followed by a brief 2 hour karaoke sesh with the birthday girl and crew. *Note: this is what most college kids do on a school night.

Whilst on the way to the karaoke box, we were all unabashedly intoxicated on the 10:30 train. We were all foreigners, exchanging words the way most inebriates do: at a more than audible decibel level... and we were told off. To be more specific, my friends: Nick, Harriet and I were told off my an old Japanese woman who curtly informed us, "This is a public train." in perfect, accent-less English.

God, I've never been so ashamed in my life (in Japan). I've always made fun of obnoxious foreign assholes on the train, but now I've lived to see myself become one. One that makes Japanese people cringe... One of their own converting to the crass and ugly form of communication that is only reserved for shameless gaijin with no regard for the observed dead silence of the sacred train. I sobered up real quick and wanted to die then and there. I hope I never see that woman ever again.

After that public shaming, I kept insisting that I wouldn't go to karaoke, "Nooo, no... I have a midterm tomorrow..." But unfortunately, because of the presence of an extremely hot err-- persuasive French neighbor of mine, I was convinced it was a good idea. After a few good rounds of Disney songs, The Cardigans, David Bowie, Queen, and Britney Spears-- Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On came on, and my friends and I decided to call it quits.

I showed up to my midterm today-- without a (debilitating) hangover! Amazing how Celine Dion cures that... maybe her music reeks of ginger and not French Canadian post menopausal bliss.

５月２９日 Day 65: FML

God, today was just all kids of fail.

I guess it all started last night err-- really early this morning. My dorm mates and I were all pretty sloshed, and decided to make a massage train after a long night of low budget drinking courtesy of Circle K and McDonald's. What seemed to be a nice, relaxing, and likely one of the most surreal experiences of my life ended up being the most painfully rude awakening this morning.

Since I'm always the one giving massages rather than receiving them, my shoulders were in complete and total agony from actually being attended to... and I was slightly hungover, which didn't help things. -___-;;

Then I got a haircut. Going to the salon was fun-- I spoke nothing but Japanese, got my gray roots covered and was talking shop with a lot of the girls, explaining how there are only 2 months left in my trip with sooo much left to do. They all seemed so nice and understanding, telling me places I had to see before I left and how much better my Japanese has gotten, yada, yada, yada. More like...イヤーだ！I must have dropped some sort of bomb that caused THIS to happen:

God dammit, I look like a freakin' soccer mom. I'm praying that it looks better when it's wavy-- and doesn't make me look like a drive a minivan. I look like I'm 20, going on 40. GAWD.

I think I said something along the lines of,

Me: My friends from out of town are coming tomorrow, I want to show them how "Japanese-y" I look.

Hairstylist: What do you mean, "Japanese-y?"

Me: Well you know, cute and fashionable.

Hairstylist: *Bwahahaha... foolish kid thinking she's knows what it means to look Japanese...* cough cough I know exactly what you mean!!

Or something like that. Nah, just kidding. They were really nice, but it's COMPLETELY different from the picture I had shown them which looked something like this:

Ugh. Whatever. As the Japanese would say, しかたがない。Shikata ga nai. It can't be helped.

After that amazingness, I went to $hibuya and decided to go aimlessly wandering around for a while since it was about 1:30 and all the rest of my friends were still sleeping off their chu-hai and beers. Plus, there are only 2 months here and I've basically gotten myself into a painfully predictable groove of going to the Sendagaya Flee Market or Shimokitazawa every Saturday and cleaning my room and doing homework on Sundays (and you all thought I was blowing off this blog because I was doing something interesting...)

First, I went to Loft, my favorite "everything" store. It really makes me feel comforted looking at their beautifully designed furnishings and housewares. Shit-- this hairdo might be more fitting than I'd like to admit... Anyway! I bought some new green headphones because I thought my old ones were broken. Turns out, my iPod is what's broken, not the headphones. So not only did I waste money, I found out my iPod only plays music in my left ear! YAY.

Then I went into Shibuya 109, hoping to finally have the stamina to see all 9 floors of frilly, overpriced goodness. Got through 6 floors and 70 bucks and decided to call it quits.

It's weird how many boater hats I tried on today. Of course, none of them fit really well, and of course, they all looked terrible on me because I'm not a brown-haired 60lb Japanese girl in a floral romper and a jean jacket. But somehow... I wanted one. It's really weird how seeing everyone wearing something makes you want it... and it'll be something you'd NEVER wear-- like this flippin' boater hat.

Click this to make it bigger.

Another thing I can't stand about Japan is how you basically get bullied into buying things with kindness. People are so nice to you, so flattering and so accommodating, that it's basically impossible to say no once they've caught you gawking at something. In these types of situations, my friend Jordan simply says, 高すぎる(taka sugiru) "It's too expensive," and just walk off. I admire her complete shamelessness. And her spine.

Today, this really nice (slightly cross-eyed?) girl saw me eyeing a lacy 60's looking top. The conversation basically went like this:

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: Irasshaimase~

Me: . . . *touches cute top*

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: Do you like it? We just got it! It looks just like what you're wearing right now. You have such a cute style. It goes with your leggings. I'm wearing the same one in pink! I'm wearing it as a dress, but you're taller than me so you can probably wear it as a shirt! And since summer's coming soon, it'll be perfect! You should try it on! What color would you like? Pink? White? Navy? You're already wearing Navy~ is that your style!? Is that your favorite color?! It's cute, isn't it?!

Me: . . . yes, it is cute.

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: Oooooh you should try it on, I can tell it's your style!

Me: . . . Well . . .

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: The fitting room JUST opened up! You can try it on now!

Me: . . . Well . . . ok.

In the dressing room.

Me: Goddammit, how the flip am I going to get out of buying this?

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: How does it look, oh honorable customer??

Me: Uhhh...

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: Let me look at it.

Me: *Hesitantly opens the curtain*

Wonky-Eyed Shop Girl: (*≧▽≦) KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~ KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIII~!!!!!!!

Me: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Well, here's the shirt that goes along with this awesome story:

Yes, it's hanging from my water heater controls. I'm in college and am getting increasingly more broke by the minute. Don't judge me.

Beautiful craftsmanship... better be for frickin' $60...

Well, at least I have an outfit to meet the Inouyes with.

( ・_・)

５月２４日 Day 60: Shabu Shabu Shibuya

My friends Keith and Harriet took us to this awesome tabehoudai shabu shabu restuarant in Shibuya on Monday. The weather's been rainy, depressing and HUMID so we all thought it would be the perfect occaision to get shabu shabu before it's hot, rainy, depressing and humid.

The way we cooked shabu shabu was a way I've never seen before-- and with sauces I've never used either. We cooked one side of our veggies and meat in soy milk and the other half in spicy stock. The sauces we used were the regular ponzu and daikon sauce, with an additional goma (sesame seed) sauce that was thicker. FLIPPIN' DELICIOUS-- you should all be very, very jealous.

５月２０日 Day 56: Geriatrics and Gambling

So, I finally tried pachinko for the first time in celebration of the fact that I don't have a torn ligament and that my friend Joelle got medication to combat her nasty cough! Hurray for modern medicine! Too bad all my make up got washed off and my hair got all messed up in the rain without an umbrella so I look like a psychotic hobo!!!

Pachinko is a game that is essentially stand-up pinball-- and you're controlling how hard the ball gets flung around. The object of the game is to try to get the ball to land in this little hole at the bottom of the table you're looking at. If you get enough balls to land in the hole, you get more balls, and more holes open up for you to shoot more of your balls into. The more balls you have at the end of the game, the more money you win!

Balls, holes, money-- make your own joke.

Too bad I sucked! I couldn't figure out the strategy. Honestly, it didn't feel like I really had control over all those little metal balls. The just sort of did their own thing while I watched in agony. Although, I only lost 500円, and Joelle lost 1000円.

Like everywhere else in Japan, the pachinko parlor reeked of beer, cigarettes, and salary men. And since pachinko is a gambler's game-- there was no shortage of grinning, toothless old ladies. The machines' gambling music is DEAFENING; every time you landed your balls in the hole, your eardrums would fill with this jaunty tune that would somehow convince you to keep playing. We left the place screaming,

"OH MY GOD-- THAT WAS SOOOO RIDICULOUS!"

"I KNOW! DID YOU SEE HOW MANY BALLS THAT OLD LADY WAS CARRYING?!"

It was an interesting atmosphere to be in, but I'm still not 100% sure I understood what was going on... or if there's even a strategy to winning. I'm guessing that you have to find a sweet spot that guarantees your ball to land in the hole, but that requires some serious trial and error... and some serious yen as well.