DAY X-3

I got up around 8:30 this morning.

Most of my bags were packed away.

I left my books behind because there was seriously no room for them.
Yeah it was kind of a waste of money, but whatever.

 

Sorry, books.

I went down to eat the last hotel breakfast of my trip.

It was damn crowded down there for some reason.

Maybe I'm just not used to going down that early.

I got back at 9 so I had around an hour to kill.

I was gonna leave at 10:20-ish to catch a 10:56 bus to Narita Airport.

Pretty much I just watched the Olympics and thought about this trip as a whole for an hour.

I was still really reluctant to leave.
Good thing the hotel called and reminded me to check out.

I was kind of nervous since I was by myself, and when I'm by myself I tend to mess things up pretty bad.

The plan was:
- Get out of the hotel.
- Mail my rental phone back.
- Get on the Tozai one stop to Kasai.
- Get off there and find the bus stop 13 to Narita Airport.
...And from there I would be good.

So I did just that.
I got to stop 13.
It was pretty crowded.
Lots of Americans were there (I'm assuming, since they spoke American English).

One of the guys running the stop was asking people where they were headed.
Then he came to me and asked if I wanted Narita 1 or Narita 2.
...
...
...
NARITA 1 OR NARITA 2?!?!?!
I HAD NO IDEA THERE WERE TWO OF THEM.
At this point I was starting to get nervous and all I could do was point to my luggage tag that said Korean Air.
He couldn't really understand or figure out what I was trying to say or where I was trying to go.
All he knew was I wanted one of the Naritas.
So he called over his buddy and asked him which one was the Korean Air one.
He told me it was 1.
Thank goodness.

He took my luggage and put tags on them so I could claim them later.

A charter bus showed up shortly after and the two guys put all the luggage into the bottom storage.
The passengers all lined up to pay up the 1500 yen fee.

I sat by myself for the 40 minute ride.
In my head, I was replaying most of the experiences I went through in this one month.
It really went by fast.
Everything was so packed and all of the memories I had were so vivid.

Before long, the bus made the stop to Narita 2.  About half of the people got off.
Then it made its way over to Narita 1.
NOW it started to look familiar.
This was the place where I first stepped out like a damn noob wondering how the hell I was gonna get to Nishi-Kasai.

I got out of the bus, got all of my luggage, and headed towards check-in.

There was a long line for the Korean Air check-in.
Took around 30-40 minutes, I think.
I checked in two of my bags.
I hope nothing breaks.
I just had my big-ass backpack and my camera bag on me now.

Went through security, immigration, you know the drill.

I went to my gate: gate 27.
And right now I have a pretty cool view.

My flight leaves in an hour (as I'm typing this sentence).

So right now I have some time to reflect.

Japan is an awesome place, I said it before and I'll say it again.
Making the transition to adjust to this country wasn't too hard but making it back might be a little more difficult.

- First of all, I'm gonna have to go back to driving everywhere.
- Convenience stores?  What the hell are those?
- Not everyone's gonna be so polite back at home.
- I can't buy alcohol anymore (since they'll card me in the US).
- Everything will be more spread out.
- No metric system.
- Most of all, JET LAG.  But I can maybe fix that in 2 days, hopefully.

It kind of seems like I'm bashing on the US for not having a lot of the things that Japan does, but I also miss the US for a lot of reasons.

-  My family and most of my friends live in the US.
- People speak English.
- I can actually cook my own food again.
- Some of the food in the US is unavailable in Japan anyways.
- The internet is a lot better at home than at the hotel.
- Fewer crowds (I hate crowds).
- BETTER PIZZA.  FFS.

It was a very good experience overall.

The first things I'm gonna do when I get back are:
- Give my family a slide show of the pictures I took.
- Play "Santa" with my friends and family back home.
- Eat some US food.
- Cook some US food.
- Take a shit.
- Play some Street Fighter.
- Watch Dark Knight Rises (maybe not the DAY I get back).

Geez, I'm making a lot of lists.



So my flight is very soon.
I'm now closing this page.

It's been very fun writing every day about my experiences and I'm sure one day I'll look back on this and smile really big.

Shoutouts to all the readers who made this page-writing worthwhile.
You guys are awesome.


There is a good chance I will reopen this blog on the times when I do go back to Japan.
When I do, I'll let you guys know.


Once again, thank you for reading.






Sayonara.

DAY X-2

It's funny how I plan out my 8-9 hours of sleep and still need to be woken up by an alarm.

I woke up at 10 AM this morning.
I needed to do a few things before this evening:
1) Exchange some money just in case.
2) Eat.
3) Shop for last minute souvenirs and gifts.

So that's just what I did.

I went to the bank, which was right next to the train station, and exchanged some money.
Cuz it would really suck if I needed some last minute yen and didn't have any.

Afterwards I went back to the beef bowl place (I really like that place).
THIS TIME though I got something different...for once.

 

One of my last meals in Japan.

Not disappointed.

[Rewind]

Before I left, I decided to go to Oriental Bazaar in Omote-sando, but when I looked on their website it said closed all Thursdays.

Which was kind of gay, cuz Thursday was my last full day here anyways.

But at least I found out beforehand.

So instead, I made one final trip to Asakusa.

The capital of souvenirs.

Surprisingly, I found it with ease.

I got last minute gifts for people and got back to my hotel room.

I was gonna meet up with Ikumi and Mami at 5 PM today at the station, so I had some time to kill.

First of all I took a shower, cuz it was freaken hot and I sweat a lot.

Afterward I just watched Olympics.

So I went on early to the train station.  I didn't want to make them wait.
After about 10ish minutes they found me waiting at the corner of the station.
I was very happy to see them.

They had to buy some tickets (no idea why they didn't have PASMOs) to Akihabara.

The train ride over there was pretty fun.
We talked about all kinds of things, mostly anime and games.
When they didn't know a word in English, Ikumi would pull out her phone and use a translator so I could understand what they were saying.

We got to Akihabara soon enough.

This would be the last place out of Nishi-Kasai I would be at (besides the airport).
What a fitting end to my trip!

The first stop was a maid cafe.
They wanted to take me to, what they called, a ninja maid cafe.
I had no idea what to expect.
And sorry, no photos were allowed in there.
For obvious reasons.

They were doing all the navigating to get there, since I had no idea where we were going.
We finally went up.
It looked like a normal maid cafe with ninja decorations.
That is to say, the maids were at least dressed like maids.
I guess the ninja part comes from the environment.

All of us just ordered drinks.
Mami ordered an oolong tea and Ikumi and I both had melon soda (I really like melon soda).
Over our drinks we talked about SO many things.
I think we might have been there for over an hour (if I take into account the "time flies" factor).
We talked about so many things, that I think I forgot some of the things we talked about.
The bulk of it consisted of talk about our daily lives.
Things we liked, places we had been, and places that I had been around Japan (I showed them lots of pictures).
We talked about our families, differences between the US and Japan, past experiences, everything.

It was a really fun time.

At one point, Mami pulled out a paper and gave it to me.
It was amazing.

Again, it was amazing.  It was more than amazing.  I can't even begin to describe how cool this was.
She said that she worked on it the previous day.
I was beyond overjoyed.
This was an awesome gift.

I had also prepared gifts for them the previous day.
I gave Ikumi a stuffed pink penguin and Mami a black one.
Then I explained to them it was because when I met them at the festival Ikumi was wearing a red/pink yukata and Mami was wearing a black yukata.
They were very happy about it.

After about an hour in there, we decided to take a picture with one of the maids.
Mami wanted one and I wanted one.
One of the maids came over (she was pretty cute) and we posed twice for our pictures.

Here's how it came out.

[Later that day, Mami explained to me that this maid was actually really famous and was on the cover of various magazines.  I'm so freaken lucky.]

Before we left I used the bathroom there.
It was kind of cool (of course it was, why else would I mention it?).
The door to get in was a flipping panel like the ones ninja's use.

After that we went back out onto the street.
We passed by a store called ANIMATE that was a store that sold anime and manga products.
Mami asked if I wanted to go in, and I said yes.
I had actually been there once before with some of the people in our group, but we were rushed in there since it was late and all the stores were closing.
This time we had a good long look around.

We looked around at various products and we would point out things that we knew and if we liked something.  I explained to them most of the series that I watched and most of my favorite characters, like Yui (K-On!), Yoko (Gurren Lagann), Kotomi (Clannad), etc.
I also learned that Mami loves Ao no Exorcist.
Like...she LOVES it.
Ikumi watched some anime as well, but not as much as Mami.
We took a good look at 4 or 5 floors of ANIMATE.
After we were done we took the elevator down.
Ikumi said something to Mami and Mami told me that Ikumi was going to go use the bathroom and that we should go ahead.  She would catch up with us later.
As we were headed out we found a gatcha for Ao no Exorcist.  Mami was overjoyed and tried it out.
She didn't get the thing that she wanted but was still happy with the thing that she got, which was like some kind of dog or something.

We walked ahead to an arcade.  It was actually the first arcade that we went to when our group first went to Akihabara.
We went around the UFO catchers looking at all the figurines on display.  We were going around pointing out the things that we liked.  I also explained to her that I won a couple figurines before at these machines.

After that we went up to the 2nd floor to look at more UFO catchers.
Ikumi then caught up with us.
All of us together went up to the 3rd floor, where all the purikura machines were.
We went into one and made all sorts of poses.
All girls are pro at this kind of thing and they just went to work.

They urged me to write something on one of the photos.  I wasn't sure how to make a photo better, but they insisted, even if it was just our names.
I wrote our names as nicely as I could on one of them and they were very happy at that.

This is how the final product came out.

They had 3 copies and gave one of them to me.
I was very happy with it.  I'll cherish it forever.

Next up was eating for real.
Ikumi told me that she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
My response: EHHHHHH?

So we headed over to a place to eat.

We walked over to a tall building that was near the station that we got out of.
On the 7th floor was a TON of restaurants.
They asked me what kind of food I preferred.
I had no idea how to choose from so many.

 

Besides, I didn't feel right choosing for everyone.
Ikumi then asked me if donkatsu was ok, and I said OK.
So we were off!


So we sat down and we decided on what we wanted.
Ikumi and Mami talked with me more.
They really are nice people.
Most of the time, they had to use Ikumi's phone to translate some ideas.

At one point they were taking pictures of me, so I took a picture of them.

Our food came.
We started eating, and I almost forgot to take a picture of my food.

It was really good, but I'm a dumbass for eating beforehand.
I was super full at this.
Mami is a very fast eater.
Ikumi is just a straight up beast.
She ate a TON.
Mami then pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her stomach one time when she ate a shitload.
She seriously looked pregnant.
I have no idea how she stays so thin.

It was around 10ish and we started to head back.
They also asked me about my flight back and I told them I was leaving tomorrow morning.
It was so depressing to say.

Surprisingly they didn't get off at Minami-sunamachi (where they live, one stop before mine).
Instead they got out with me at Nishi-Kasai.
They asked if they could walk me back to my hotel.
I was eternally grateful.

We got to the hotel and I wanted one last picture with them.

We asked one of the hotel front desk to take the picture for us.
I gave him my camera and it took the guy a while to figure it out, so we ended up holding our poses for like a good 30-40 seconds, but in the end he took the picture.

And then they wanted pictures for themselves too.
Ikumi took Mami's picture with me and Mami took Ikumi's picture with me.
Before they left, they gave me one last thing.
Ikumi told me that it was a present to me from them.
It was a blue bag with something inside of it.

I was seriously overwhelmed at this point.
I couldn't thank them enough for going this much out of their way for me.

It was very sad exchanging our goodbyes but it had to be done.
I told them that I had a very fun day today and that they were really good friends.
I also told them that I would come back to Japan eventually to see them again.
And we parted.

I got back up to my room and set the bag down.
What could it be?

As I was fumbling around with the bag, I noticed this sticker:

I thought back to the time when Ikumi said to go on without her at the ANIMATE store.
Did she buy this then?
It would seem so...I couldn't remember if she had it before then.

I opened it up.
Inside was a blue package with stickers on it that said "Best Wishes".

I was very careful in opening it.
When I did, words could not describe what I felt.
Seriously.

Inside was a red box with Yui on it (I didn't know what was inside), a sealed envelope that said "K-On!" on it, and a tiny replica of Geeta (Yui's guitar).

I had told them before that Yui was my favorite character in K-On, but I had no idea that it would come to this.

Now, I'm just gonna put it out there that I don't cry a lot.
I never cried at Clannad, Angel Beats, AnoHana.
I hardly ever cry at real life things.

But let me tell you...
I could not stop bawling for 20 minutes straight.
I couldn't control it and I was sobbing like mad.

The weight of what happened today finally hit me.
Everything we did today: the maid cafe, the card they made me, the pictures we took, the restaurant they took me to.
Everything just hit me all at once, and I cried harder.

How do you describe a friendship like this?
You can't.  It's impossible.
Still, I was trying to make sense of everything that just happened through all of my tears.
These were people that I met for 2 days and they already did this much for me.
There is no way you can take this kind of friendship for granted.


I sent them both very long emails thanking them for today.
I seriously couldn't thank them enough.
I could spend my whole life trying to repay them and it still wouldn't have been enough.

Hopefully, we can mail each other every day (or close to it), when I'm back home.
They really were nice people.



On that note, I'm just gonna let it all out right now.
I freaken love this country.
I love everything about it (short of the weather).
The people here especially are awesome.
Kengo, Miyu, Kiyoto, Erika, Ikumi (Jikei one), Mana, Kotarou, Ikki, Shiori, Rina, Maki, Nobu, Kanno-san, Oochi-san, Yoshimizu-sensei, Mami, and Ikumi are all freaken awesome people and I would not give them up for the world.
I know for a fact that I'm coming back here.
I might even come back here next summer.
I love everything here so much.


And thus concludes my last full day in Japan.
It's gonna take way too long to reflect on it now, so I'll wait till tomorrow when I have time at the airport.

In summary, though,
It was definitely a life changer.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I've been through this month.


たのしかった

 

DAY X-1

I woke up to the Olympics.
I guess I forgot to turn it off when I was going to sleep.
I've never seen a white water kayaking event before.
Right now as I'm writing this, the USA basketball team is going against what I think is the Turkish team.
...
Sorry, I just checked, it's Tunisia.

So I've been exchanging emails with Ikumi and she told me that I should go to Sky Tree today.
I decided to go check it out since I haven't actually been there yet.
I had no idea how long it was gonna take, but I decided in the case that it didn't take ALL DAY, which it probably wouldn't, I'd go to Nakano.
I needed to buy stuff for people back home still.
And also I wanted to buy gifts for Ikumi and Mami, since I'm seeing them tomorrow.

So as of right now, I'm all alone again.
Just like in the beginning.
Lali's gone and the people who are still in Japan are in other parts (like Osaka).
I really prefer it this way.
It seems that, generally, the most fun I have is when I'm exploring Japan by myself.

The first stop was Sky Tree.
Remember when I went to Washinomiya (the Lucky Star town)?
I used the Sky Tree Line to get there.
So it wasn't super foreign to me.
If you refer to the train map again, I went from Nishi-kasai to Nihombashi, switched to Ginza, went to Asakusa, and then got to Sky Tree Line.
From there it was just one stop from Asakusa to the Sky Tree City.

I mean Sky Tree Town.


I got out of the station and was wondering where the hell Sky Tree was.
I mean, it can't be that hard...it's the tallest damn building in the entire area.
Turns out I was standing right under it.

I still wasn't sure how I was getting to the top so I followed the signs.

I was getting closer!
And I broke my back to take this picture:

So I found the entrance but I still didn't know what the hell I was doing.
How do I get to the top?

The map didn't really help me that much.
I turned the corner and BAM!

So this was the line to go up.
This line wrapped around all the corners of the building, and I guess it's even safe to say that this line might've been longer than the line at the hentai panel at last year's AX.

And I did see a sign that said "TICKETS" on it so you had to purchase a ticket on your way up.
Which is expected.

In the line there were a couple of interesting things.
Like 10-12 artist's interpretations of the Sky Tree.

And a giant panoramic animation of the city around the Sky Tree.

I think I probably spent around 30-60 minutes in the line.
Passed it by faster with music.
The ticket itself cost 2000 yen and before I knew it I was on my way up.

There was a line for a set of 4 elevators that would bring us to the 350m mark.

Now, I had been to Tokyo Tower, but I didn't go up, so this was my chance to get a bird's eye view.
The Sky Tree really reminded me of a Space Needle type structure.

When I was 350m up, I finally got the view I wanted.

The room was circular so I started walking around and getting different views.
It was crazy being this high (height, not weed).

 

There were a couple of things scattered around the room.
There was a folded screen with an older birds eye view.

There were also some people suspended on a scaffold cleaning the windows of the 350m level.
I have no idea how the scaffold is holding them up when their balls are so big.

There were also several screens replaying the fireworks show we saw a couple days back from the perspective of the tower.

There was an option to go up to the 450m level, but you had to pay another 1000.  It was probably the same view, just smaller buildings, so I decided not to go that way.  Besides, there was another long line for it.
So I went down a floor.

From here I went around getting more views.

There was even a Sky Tree shop on this level.

As I was making my way around, I noticed that some people were all gathered around something looking down.

I moved closer and saw that people were walking on glass floors.

It was pretty damn scary when I finally made my way on top of the glass.

After spending a total of around 30 minutes up there, I went back down.

God bless Ikumi for recommending this place to me.

Afterwards, I didn't wanna go back just yet, and as you probably saw earlier, there was an aquarium nearby called Sumida Aquarium.
Yes, please.

It was 2000 yen again, but worth it.
Why?
Cuz who the fuck doesn't like looking at fish?
I LOVE LOOKING AT FISH.

Wait...I thought these things were extinct...



Then I paid the visit to the INFAMOUS TENTACLE MONSTER OF JAPAN.
I mean octopus.

And then some cleaner shrimp.

I found a crab pinching and beating the shit out of a fish.  Poor thing.

I wandered over to a bridge where on my left was a giant area full of penguin-like birds.

On my right was a giant tank full of all kinds of things.

Before I went down a level, I looked at several more tanks.

Think: Diglett underwater.

BIG FISH.

So I made my way down so I could get a good look at the penguins.
Was not disappointed.

Can you find the arrogant bastard?

I also found a couple of baby sea turtles.
Shoutouts to Jeff T.

I almost missed the seals.

It was a pretty small aquarium, but a cool one nonetheless.

I had time so I headed over to Nakano to buy presents for people back home.

And then I went back.


I have one more full day tomorrow.

And back to Cerritos.

And then back to Irvine.

WHYYYY