７月１７日Day 114: FujiQ Highland

I can never go to an amusement park in America ever again.

Today, I went to FujiQ Highland-- a theme park right next to Mt. Fuji that boasts the world's most hardxcore roller coasters like Fujiyama, that has the highest vertical drop in the world: 90 f*ckin' meters!!

We left Heiwadai at about 7 in the morning to take the bus to FujiQ from Shinjuku at 8:20. It took us 3 hours to get there. There was SO MUCH TRAFFIC. As someone who exclusively rides the train, I had completely forgotten that traffic even existed and sat there in agony as we inched out of Tokyo and into the mountains. Once we got there though, we wasted no time and went on every scary ride that makes the park so famous.

First, we went on Dodonpa-- a ride that shoots you 180km in 1.8 seconds. (Please note that the shoddy video doesn't do the ride any justice.) I've never felt anything that exhilarating in my entire life. I felt my eyeballs shaking, we were going so fast. I also didn't realize there was a huge vertical drop after being shot out from the starting point and screamed my pants off for that. TOTALLY worth the 2 hour wait. Holy balls.

Here's a picture of the Dodonpa drop.

Here's a better picture that I didn't take.

My friend Harriet and I on Fujiyama with some random Japanese girls.

Fujiyama at sunset.

Other memorable rides included Fujiyama, your standard fast paced, huge vertically dropping loop-less roller coaster, and Eejanaika-- the world's scariest mofuggin' ride... ever.

Eejanaika is without a doubt the craziest roller coaster ever imagined. You ride the entire time backwards in seats that spin in circles as you go down the steepest drops and loops that can only rival the American stock market (see what I did there? Haaaa)

The closest thing I can harken it to in the states is "X" at Six Flags. But the difference between all the rides at Six Flags and the rides at FujiQ is the fact that they last for at least a minute if not two. Rides in the US are a 2 hour wait for 30 seconds of, "Well, I guess that was cool," whereas every ride at FujiQ has you screaming for your mommy on the verge of pissing your pants wondering when it will ever be over/if you ever want it to end. I seriously thought I was going to die on some of these rides because I could feel myself hanging from the harness. Like this ride. I don't even know what it's called but I wasn't aware that anything could reach this sort of height... safely.

All life-affirming rides aside, I was really glad that the clouds parted long enough for me to see Mt. Fuji. I actually saw it while riding backwards on Eejanaika before the first drop. I remember thinking, "Wow, I'm so glad I get to see Mt. Fuji before I die."

Nothing will ever compare to the sheer beauty and terror of this day.

７月１６日Day 113: Shin-Okubo and Yasukuni Jinja

Omg, only 2 more weeks here.

Today I went to Shin-Okubo, the Koreatown of Tokyo, with my family friends. Literally... every shop was Korean boy-band oriented. Every corner was covered in shops upon shops of both real and fake boy-band merchandise ranging from coffee cups, pencils, frames, posters, umbrellas, DVDs, shirts, underwear... you name it.

I felt bad that I had no idea who any of these people were, but it was interesting to see that they had such a huge Japanese following considering Koreans hate Japan and vice versa. Although I suppose getting middle-aged Japanese women to buy all their andro K-pop merchandise is a nice way of saying "F-you!" and taking all their money... way to go, Korea!

Which brings me to what I did next...

I went to Minato Matsuri at Yasukuni Jinja. For those of you who don't know what Yasukuni Jinja is, you're lucky I just did a report on it and went on a mandatory field trip. Yasukuni Jinja is a temple that houses the souls of all those who died in service of the emperor. This includes waaaaaay back to the 17th century up until WWII. It's a super controversial place because Class A War Criminals (those directly responsible for starting WWII) are enshrined here alongside the war dead.

Yasukuni also boasts a museum with all the war artifacts and fun little history about what the Japanese think happened during WWII. The exhibit (which I went to a few weeks ago) fails to mention the atrocities the Japanese committed in both Korea and China-- referring to the Rape of Nanking as "The Nanking Incident," and neglecting to mention the use of Koreans as comfort women for the Japanese army. *Fun little note: the descriptions of what happened during WWII never exceeded more than 2 paragraphs.

Btw, if I hadn't gone to this exhibit with someone who spoke Japanese, I wouldn't have known that the Japanese translations and the English translations are verrrrrry different when it comes to the WWII section.

Probably the most unbelievable aspect of Yasukuni Jinja is that government officials (i.e.: prime ministers) pay homage to the place; sending flowers, droppin' off some money, clapping twice and ringin' the bell-- the whole shebang. These visits rightfully piss off China and Korea because it makes it seem as though Japan condones the depiction of history and the enshrining of Class A War Criminals... and they never say sorry!! X_X

So you're probably thinking, "Kate, if you knew that this is what this place represented, why the hell did you go to their matsuri? You're just as bad as the prime ministers!" Let me just say-- you're right. I feel awful and I'm a horrible person for buying food and essentially supporting that matsuri and vicariously supporting the Japanese interpretation of what happened during WWII... but I wanted to go to an actual Japanese matsuri and see just how nationalistic Japan could be... boy. They're nationalistic alright.

If you didn't know the history behind the place, the matsuri would have been 10 times more enjoyable. It had all the flavors of obon season back home in LA: lots of fried Japanese food, games, inflatable prizes, haunted houses, taiko, odori-- the works. I had a pretty good time, I was sorta drunk-- so I joined in the bon dancing ^^. But the 209672087603+ lanterns with the names of the war dead around were a constant reminder of exactly what the place was supporting so at the end of the day, I felt kinda guilty.

It was a genuinely Japanese experience though...

...and another thing to add on my list of "Why You're Going to Hell."

７月４日Day 101: Happy Fourth

This is how I spent my fifth consecutive Fourth of July away from home: swan paddle-boating in Kichijoji.

A few friends wanted to go hit the American army base to celebrate Independence Day and to watch the fireworks. But seeing as I don't like to increase my chances of being violated, degraded, and harassed by members of the American Armed forces, I chose the swans... and the sweat.

No amount of words could describe the disgust I feel in this humidity. Walking outside feels like walking into a sauna. Sweat drips down from my face and I'm not even running... I'm not even MOVING and I'm sweating.

You would think that wearing a skirt or a light dress would save me and make the humidity more bearable and airy. Instead, I feel sticky. Nothing I can wear will make me feel NOT sticky. I've had a lot more 2 shower days than normal because I literally can't stand the feeling of clothes sticking to my body, or oil emanating from my forehead, making my hair stick to my face. I had to open a handkerchief that I had originally bought for someone at home and use it for myself because I needed something to wipe my perpetually sweaty brow with.

What I don't understand is the fact that despite this repulsive weather, Japanese girls are still wearing 10,000 layers of clothing, leggings, jeans, and cakey makeup with their immaculately styled (and somehow non-poofy) coifs. I look a fine mess every day-- hair in a tizzy, make-up running, fan frantically and shamelessly waving in one hand whilst brandishing a precautionary umbrella in the other... but these girls look like they all just stepped out of some horribly over-dressed fairy tale, which is amazing considering it's the rainy season.

梅雨(つゆ, tsuyu)：the rainy season. It's certainly been interesting living through this... and all Japanese weather in general. The rainy season is basically like a menopausal woman: seemingly quiet and over-exaggerated for the most part, with random unprovoked downpours of Biblical proportions the rest of the time...

My basic rule of thumb for avoiding and predicting the rain is simple: if your neighbors are hanging their laundry to dry outside, it's not gonna rain. If there's no laundry out, bring an umbrella.

*Cultural note: Japanese housewives do laundry EVERY DAY. It's their job. Seriously.

Today, the bastards had their laundry inside, so I wore my rain boots and brought my big umbrella, expecting a fair amount of moisture. WRONG. It only drizzled from 8:30-12:00, meaning I looked like a total jackass in my rain boots while everyone else was wearing platform sandals to keep their feet dry. God-- don't my neighbors know how much I depend on them?! We're supposed to be a team! A thriving ecosystem! >_<;;

But luckily, it's the last week of the rainy season... so it'll be drier heat again! LET THE SUN SHINE IN!

７月２日 Day 99: Alcatraz

Sorry this is WAY late, but I've been too busy with final projects, essays, field trips and fun to be updating this blog...

I've also been ducking the rainy season like a NINJA. Thanks, new leopard boots!! ^w^

Last Friday, my friends and I went to Alcatraz, a prison style bar in Shibuya. We had been to this other bar called Lock-Up the week before, which was a bar that looked like a jail, where the prisoners/waiters scared the crap out of you while you were eating.

Alcatraz wasn't like that. It was supposed to be kinda...

*Please note that this post has an 18 and over requirement from this point on*

...kinky.

We were a big group... about 16 of us, and we ordered the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink courses. The courses had some very memorable highlights. We had Russian Roulette takoyaki, which was a plate of about 20 takoyaki... but 5 of them had tons of wasabi in them. I hate wasabi, so of course, I picked one with wasabi in it. Blegh. Straight up my nose. (X_X)

We also had a flaming chicken, complete with intertwined chicken feet... which I totally didn't expect (Like, srsly? Are we in China? Dirty!)

Yes, here are the waitress uniforms. Exposed thongs. Note the guys in our group... haha ;)

The place had some pretty spiffy drinks, I must say.

Test tube drink.

Some really cheap beer in test tubes.

My penis banana drink... and my other friend's drink... that was mixed with (if you haven't guessed already) a vibrator.

We all got pretty hammered... and took drunken purikura.

６月２６日 Day 94: Yokohama & Trump Room

Saturday was spent on my feet. A few friends and I went to Yokohama to see Chinatown, Cosmo World, and shop.

I have to say in all honesty that Chinatown was a bit underwhelming. *This coming from someone schooled in San Francisco, mind you. I mean, yeah it was cool seeing all the better Chinese architecture and decor and food, but it was WAY over-priced and a little repetitive after a few blocks of restaurants.

The GREAT thing about Yokohama Chinatown (and most of Japan) is its cleanliness. How unauthentically awesome X]

Definitely made me miss SF Chinatown and my favorite dim sum place down the street from my apartment with the softball-sized jendui.

After eating lunch in Ishikawa-cho, we headed to Sakuragi-cho to go see Cosmo World and all the great Yokohama shopping we had heard so much about.

Cosmo World is a theme park in Sakuragi-cho, one stop away from Yokohama station. It's basically like a mini-carnival... the closest thing I can harken it to is Santa Monica Pier... but better because the rides don't suck.

We didn't go on this, but we did go on the Ferris Wheel!

WE WERE SOOOOO HIGH~ and Lisa and Joelle were a little scared... but that's ok because we made it off alive!! ^_^

Photo by Lisa

Greatest moment: seeing a couple in the next gondola sucking some serious face. PDA in Japan is a HUGE no-no, so I think the false sense of privacy this couple felt in this glass enclosure was too much to handle and they just went for it while my friends and I watched, pointed, and laughed.

Oh, Japan and your sexually repressed masses. Gets me every time.

(It was raining when we went, so I clearly didn't take this picture)

After we went to Cosmo World, we went to this mall by the train station. I think it's called "Diamond" but I could be wrong. I scored some serious swag at this place because THE ENTIRE MALL WAS HAVING A 30-50% OFF SALE.

New sandals... from Top Shop ;)

New belt from Top Shop ;)

Then we ate dinner at a soba place inside the mall. I got tempura. DELICIOUS.

On the ride home, I was debating over whether or not I should go to Trump Room, a super posh night spot in Shibuya, and stay up until 5am. I had been up since 9am, walking all day... by the time we got home, it was about 10:30pm. I decided to go out to make sure no opportunity remained un-seized. I downed 2 coffees, threw on some make-up and my zebra print dress from the Flee Market and my friends and I jumped on the shuu-den (the last train).

(Obviously, not my picture)

Trump Room was a surreal club... there's just no other word for it. The interior was basically a baroque wet dream. The walls were covered with ornate gold-framed mirrors of varying size and you couldn't see the ceiling because it was obscured by crystal chandeliers and 2 gigantic disco balls. Red velvet, leather and velour chaises lined the walls while some serious Euro-trash trance music lit up the dance floor and dual-facing stages.

The atmosphere was by far the most interesting one I've felt in Tokyo but the music was undoubtedly the worst... I'm still not sure if the place was empty because the music was so crappy, because we showed up late or just because there wasn't an event going on, but it was a little deader than I expected it to be at 2am on a Saturday...

By the end of the night, everyone had passed out on some kind of chaise and we rode the first train back to Heiwadai bleary eyed and beautiful. CARPE... DIEM'D.