Day 269 - 26th of May

11:07pm　普通

天気：雨天

The fact that I’m writing this now on a local train means that yes, I’m still in Japan; I missed my flight!!! I think this would have to be the biggest, most costly mistake I’ve made in my entire life; I feel terrible. At least I have Carly; she’s been a rock, and a shoulder to cry on. So now, we’re going to go back to the hostel, and try to book another flight for as soon as possible. I’m so exhausted; lugging my luggage here only to find I’d missed the flight was heartbreaking, and backbreaking. The airport was already really empty when we got there, and there were only a more flights. These really nice ladies stayed around and tried their best to help, but they had to leave eventually. I bought a phone card, and eventually figured out how to use it; my mind just wasn’t working by that point. The phone started ringing, and mum answered and I was soon reduced to tears; breaking the bad news wasn’t easy on either of us. I really feel like I’ve let everybody down, most of all myself. I had the wrong time stuck in my head; I should have checked the time again. Well, hopefully this has taught me a lesson; something for everyone to be wary of. Anyway, the rest of my day was quite pleasant, and we got a lot done…

In the morning, we got ready and packed and checked out at about 10. Check out consisted of putting our linen in the basket and leaving our key on the bed; too easy. We went over to the main building and Carly booked another night with them; it was the cheapest and easiest option. They were also nice enough to hold our luggage. After we returned with Carly’s luggage, we made our way to Sensouji for one last look around. I bought a heap of souvenirs and found a really great bargain on a carry-on bag; it was a perfect size too. The best thing was, it was free; I finally used the gift cards I had won from singing at INFES. After Sensouji, we went in search of the cat café nearby (I saw the ad in Asakusa Smile), and eventually found it. For 800円, we got to spend an hour in a room full of cats and kittens, playing with them and petting them as much as we like; it was so much fun! The woman who ran it was really nice, and I was able to talk with her a lot in Japanese; she appreciated my Osaka dialect. Most of the cats were pretty placid, but all the kittens were super energetic; they were jumping and running about all over the place. They did tire out eventually though, and they looked so cute sleeping. We left there at about 2, and then made our way to 九段下 (Kudanshita) Station, in hopes of looking around the imperial palace… Well, this is the last stop; we didn’t make it back to Asakusa. Now we’ll have to find somewhere to sit and wait; maybe a Denny’s?

12:54am　マック　

天気：雨天

We’re here in 津田沼 (Tsudanuma), a place that I otherwise would have never had visited, were it not for my stupid mistake; how lucky I am. Well, we didn’t find a Denny’s, but a 24 hour Makkas is right outside the station, and that’s where we are now; thank God for 24 hour restaurants. I just enjoyed a midnight meal (double cheeseburger set), and got a blue coke glass, in commemoration of the FIFA world cup; another thing fate has delivered me. It’s actually really cool, and I’m sure it’ll be a collector’s item someday. Carly’s curled up in a ball, sleeping; I wish I could get to sleep that easy. Oh well, I may as well write about the rest of my yesterday… Getting off at Kudanshita turned out to be really successful; I noticed a sign for 靖国神社 (Yasakuni Shrine), shortly after exiting the station. I had forgotten about wanting to go there, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a beautiful, but solemn place, filled with the spirits of the war dead; man and animal alike. I was really glad I got to see it. From there, we walked through 北の丸公園 (Kita no Maru Park), walking past the 日本武道館 (The Budokan), and through some wonderful gardens. Since the Imperial Palace grounds were in fact closed, and it was starting to rain, we made our way to the nearest station (竹橋駅 – Takebashi), and took the subway to Shibuya; the 東西線 (Tozai line), and then the Ginza line.

In Shibuya, we searched around a little while for a good, reasonably priced place to eat; I wanted my “last” meal in Japan to be Japanese cuisine. We found this nice, little vending machine operating place and I ordered the katsudon set, which came with udon noodles and trsukemono; simple and delicious. After dinner, we went in search of purikura machines, and ended up finding a bit more than we had hoped. Searching diligently for a purikura place, Carly spotted a Krispy Kreme restaurant; of course we had to go in!!! I was thoroughly impressed. While we were making our orders, we were given a free donut; the original glazed. Since I was going to order that (since it is undoubtedly the best tasting donut ever), I could now order two different things; I got one with strawberry filling, and the other with raspberry. I only ate the glazed one at that point, saving the others for the train ride. We kept on searching for purikura, and eventually found a room full of them. Not too fussed about the style we could have, we just got into the first vacant one we could find; this one made our eyes look intensely blue. By the time we exited it was 7 o’clock (the time at which I should have already been at the airport), and I took a few more photos of Shibuya, and videotaped the crazyness of the crossing.

Trying to find the Ginza line to take back to Asakusa was not fun at all; this was the start of the downfall of the night. We ended up going up and down and around in a great big circle before realising that it was actually on the third floor; why a subway line would be there I have no idea. Since we were going from one end of the line to the other, it ended up taking about 30 minutes to get to Asakusa. I enjoyed my strawberry filled donut, getting jam and icing sugar all over my vest; it was wonderful. It was when I was just about to step into the hostel at almost 8, when it finally clicked that the flight was actually at 9:25, not 11:25. I immediately went into overdrive, packing my carryon bag at lightning speed, and then rushing over to the station to find the Toei Asakusa line to Narita Airport; there were lots of stairs involved. Things fell apart when we realised we were on the wrong train, and we had to switch twice to right it. Waiting around in the train was the worst experience ever, because I knew that everything was out of my hands; meanwhile the clocks were steadily ticking. I hoped against hope that I might just make it, forgetting the dismal implausibility of it.

We were still on the train by the time the plane took off, and ended up being only 10 minutes late, well really, I would have had to have gotten there at least 30 minutes before departure time to make it to the terminal. So that was that; my “last” 269^th day in Japan. Hopefully I can book a flight for tomorrow, and it’ll be all good; lucky I have the money for it. I guess now I’ll just write some general pointers about Tokyo, to sum up my holiday here… Asakusa Hostel is a wonderfully cheap place to stay if you just want somewhere to sleep and don’t have much luggage; having as much stuff as we did is absurd. I think the train system is pretty easy to navigate once you get used to it, and if you make mistakes (like we did) it’s not too hard to right them. Yes, there are over 20 lines operating both above and below ground, but that just means that everywhere is really accessible; the prices are decent too. There are lots of places in Tokyo that don’t smell too pleasant; just putting that one out there. We would just be walking down some street, and then suddenly our noses would come across a most unappealing stink. In general, it seems that residents of Tokyo automatically assume that foreigner = tourist = zero Japanese ability; and that’s what makes it different to Osaka. There wasn’t as much English signage, nor as many foreigners in Tokyo as I thought there would be. Of course, the touristy areas were more catered towards foreigners but still, not as much as I expected; not like Kyoto. And I think that’s about it; for now. We’ve still got a few hours before the trains start up again, so I might try to get some sleep, just like the two old guys either side of me and Carly in front of me…

Day 245 - 2nd of May

11:55pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Well sadly, karaoke was atrociously anticlimactic tonight. Because it is Golden Week, Makino Karaoke is not offering free time; we only found this out after getting to the counter. So, we ended up just doing two hours, which was over before it had begun. At least Ash got to spend a bit of time with her friend Roisin, who is staying in Osaka for a while; she studies at NUFS with Alex. Maureen, Tori and another girl from NUFS also joined Ash, Rachel and I. Anyway, back to today… I got up at 9:30, and after breakfast (which was porridge with water), I put some washing on, and then showered and shaved; I had certainly been neglecting that. After putting out the washing, it was time to get into my blog. I worked on that until about 12:30, and then talked with Carly; 6 days until she comes! We really have to start planning Tokyo, but first of all I have to buy the tickets for the Ghibli Museum; get onto that this week. After talking, I went grocery shopping at Kirindo and Fresco, and came home so much food; I was very low on supplies. After lunch, I relaxed for a while (it’s still a holiday), playing some of KH: 358/2 Days; it’s looking really good so far, and I ‘m having fun reading the Japanese.

I worked on me blog until dinner, and managed to get up to Friday done. It was a bit after 7 when I was sitting down with my yakisoba, and soon after I was rushing to get ready for karaoke; we left at 8. After getting to Makino, we waited a bit, and then the others found us; they had been waiting a little further up the road. After another purikura session (I just love it), we made our way in to Karaoke, sharing one room; it was fun, but too short. And I think that’s about it, after getting out we took Roishin back to the station and walked home… oh, the moon tonight was really beautiful; it was glowing yellow. Ash and Rachel have decided to walk to Fresco since they’re not tired, but I want to try to get up early tomorrow, so I opted not to join them; gotta get started on my presentation…

Day 244 - 1st of May

10:10am　バス停　－　保険所前

天気：晴れ

It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Hikone and we’re sitting here outside the hotel, waiting for the next bus; we’ve just checked-out. The first order of business today is to find an ATM that will accept my debit card, as the one in Laswons did not; we’re going to take the bus in to the station. After that, I don’t know…

12:18pm　米原駅

We’re in Maibara station, waiting for the train to 南彦根 (South Hikone). We decided to come here to Maibara, and then found out there really was nothing here; oh well. So we’re going to the mall in South Hikone and hopefully that’s okay… I was able to find an ATM that would take my card; it was in a post office. I’ll have to remember that for next time, even though there probably won’t be a next time; my last JASSO instalment should be coming in soon. After getting the money out, we had a look around a nearby department store, and I had to buy a ひこにゃん ("Hikonyan" - the cities samurai-cat mascot) plushie becuase he is absolutely adorable ~ he is modeled off the Daimyo (lord) "Ii Naokatsu", who ordered Hikone castle's construction in 1603. Coming out of the store, we noticed there was a protest going on in the street; I didn't get a chance to read what the banners said, but I think it was something to do with money. We took a few more pics of Hikone, and then were off to Maibara. As soon as we got out of the station, we realised that there really wasn't much to do here; the map confirmed that. So, after a bit of deliberation, we decided that it would be best if we went to the mall; it was my original plan after all...

5:19pm　新快速

I’m on the special rapid express, back to Kyoto. It’s been a long, tiring day and while I had fun, I’d glad to be going back home… After getting to South Hikone, we made our way over to “Viva City”, the mall, which was just outside the station. As soon as we got in, I had to find something to eat, and right there was a bakery; the bread was so cheap, and so yummy, and one of them was shaped like Ponyo. Just inside the main entrance, they had a heap of stalls set up, like those you would see at festivals, with balloons, balls, and of course 金魚すくい (kingyo sukui – “goldfish scooping”). After eating, we browsed many of the shops on the first floor, and I bought a Totoro pencil case, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on DS; both were on sale. I also wanted to buy some boots, because the store was having a really great sale, but there weren’t any I like enough to pay for even at the discount. On the second floor, I found some nice plaid shirts that were all half price, so I bought two; one green, and one maroon. Looking around at the other guys shops, everything was so expensive. We did find this shirt that read, “Underground f**k department” on the front; and no the other letters weren’t stared. We eventually came to an arcade zone, which included karaoke, bowling, purikura and even a cinema. While the karaoke was much too expensive, we had to do the purikura; it’s mandatory. It was actually really intense, as the time between photo-taking became increasingly shorter and we would have to get ready for the next picture really quickly, changing from a lower, to upper camera sometimes; got some great photos though. After the rakugaki and printing them out, we had a bit of a situation.

Alex had dropped her phone somewhere in there, and couldn’t find it; we searched around and under the machine for about 10 minutes. Not having any luck there, we decided to go and ask the people at the counter, who immediately got onto it. Within minutes, we had a lady taking as down to the information centre on the first floor and there it was! I think that’s incredible that in the space of five minutes, someone has picked up the phone, and taken it downstairs to hand it in; Alex was certainly very relieved. After all the excitement, we had a well deserved ice cream from Baskin and Robins. I tried two of the new flavours, Peach Melba, and Coconut Grove; both were amazing. And the fact that, during Golden Week double scoops are 31% off, made it even sweeter. Our last stop for the day was Toys ‘R’ us, just to have a look; it was in a building on its own adjacent to the mall. I really wanted some Lego (which is a lot cheaper over here) but restrained myself, knowing that I wouldn’t want to ship it home. After that, we made our way back to the station, and I decided to take the train to Maibara with Alex, since I would be able to catch the special repaid from there; only local trains stopped at South Hikone. Getting to Maibara, the train to Kyoto was already in the station, so are farewell was cut short as I had to run down the stairs to make in on just as they were closing the doors; the last time with Alex in Japan was over! I’m about halfway to Kyoto now, so I’m going to get some rest…

10:49pm　セミナーハウス

It feels so good to finally be in bed; I’m so exhausted. After getting back to Hirakata, I decided to take a quick look in animate, and picked up a few things. Then I caught the bus home, and was soon in the kitchen making dinner. I got to catch up with Julie, Ash and Rachel, while eating my gyudon. At 9, since no one else but Rebecca had shown up, with decided to help clean the kitchen; I didn’t really mind. After that, a group gathered in the lounge to watch Princess Mononoke, and while I love the movie, I wasn’t too fussed; I’ve seen it many times. Instead, I took a shower and then started to get everything sorted out. I think tomorrow will simply be a catch-up/blog day, and I’ll have to do some washing and buy groceries too. Wow, this is my last month in Japan; I’m still having a blast…

Day 210 - 28th of March

10:11pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Even though I spent the entire day inside, it was far from unproductive; a fitting end to the spring break… I got up at around 10, and after getting ready for the day, I tried to get in touch with the family over skype; I had to get set up in the lounge since Hugo was still sleeping. 30 minutes later, and they still hadn’t picked up; I rung them several times throughout the day, with no luck. So I ended up not talking with them at all, which is a bit of a bummer. Anyway, getting to my room, I worked on my blog until lunchtime; still had a bit to go. I sat and ate with Rachel and Ash, and we talked for a while. When I came back downstairs, I was able to talk with Carly, and we started to plan Tokyo, so I’m going to book the hostel very soon. We talked until almost 2:30, and then it was time for me to get ready for the music party. The koto was already in the lounge, but I also had to retrieve the makura and music stand; okaasan calls it a 立 (tate) which means “to stand”. She also brought out the stand for the koto (same as the ones we used during INFES), which was great cause I meant I could sit on a chair; much better than sitting in seiza on a tiled floor.

Shortly after 5, the performances started, kicking off with Tristan on guitar, which was really amazing; he used so many difficult-looking techniques. I recognised the melody he was playing, and later when I was talking to him about it, he revealed that it was an arrangement from one of Ryuichi Sakimoto’s pieces; I have some of his music. So yeah, I really enjoyed that. Then, it was my turn, and I ended up just playing Hanagoromo, and Sakara sakura at Okaasan’s request; I think everyone enjoyed it. After that, Biancha and Yuji did there Manzai skit, which was absolutely hilarious; they had obviously put a lot of time into it. The skit actually explained what manzai was in a mock classroom setting, so it was not only very funny, but educational too. Manzai is basically stand-up comedy that involves two performers – the tsukkomi and the boke. The boke is basically the idiot, who misinterprets things, forgets, and slips up a lot, and it’s the tsukkomi’s job to correct the boke, and this usually involves physical and verbal abuse. I thought Biancha and Yuji portrayed the roles really well. Biancha was looking for volunteers from the “class”, and every time it was inevitably Yuji. He was supposed to demonstrate how a tsukkomi is supposed to act, but every single time, he ended up becoming the boke; so clever.

So I thoroughly enjoyed that. Then it was time for Otousan to sing, accompanied by Tristan on guitar. He sang sukiyaki, which many of us know, and he did a really good job of it; Otousan’s so awesome. Then it was Brett’s turn on saxophone, and he played some cool jazz. Finally, it was everyone’s turn. After a bit of stuffing around, we ended up getting everyone to sing, John Denver’s “Take me home, Country Roads”. Of course, Yuji made me take the microphone, not that I minded too much; it was kinda fun. That done we had a big group photo around the koto, and then everyone began to slowly disperse. Getting back to my room, I finally got my blog completely up-to-date, and uploaded some more photos to facebook. Soon enough it was time for dinner and I made spaghetti Bolognese, using the taco sauce; turned out tasting really good. I was joined by Ash, Sarah, Rachel, and Katie, while I enjoyed a word game show on TV; I could actually understand some of the questions. Eventually it was just Ash, Rachel, and I, watching the international figure skating competition hosted in Italy; as usual, Rachel was in her happy place. We cheered for the Japanese girls, who were doing really well.

At around 9, I decided it was time to retire for the night, but ended up bumping into Rachael. She was looking for Sarah, but couldn’t find her anyway; a lot of Firefly references ensued. I came up to her room, and she told me that she had looked in Ash and Katie’s room for her, but couldn’t find her. I was then lucky enough to get two CDs off her to burn; the Yoshida Brothers’ “Prism”, and the music from Sengoku Basara, an anime. I’m listening to it now, and it’s really epic. I then went to check in Ash and Katie’s room, and found Sarah casually sitting on Katie’s futon; she told me she had hidden out on the balcony. I had come in here to collect the purikura photos from last Saturday; I got mine, and also went back down to the kitchen to give Rachel hers. Getting back to my room, I found a note and a cookie taped to the door handle; it was a little thank you from the RAs. I had a shower and washed my hair; which still really needs to be cut. Simon got his cut today, and I must say it looks very… interesting; I don’t think I’ll be getting it cut like that. Anyway, maybe I’ll get it done this week. Hugo soon returned, finding a cookie and note on the handle for him too; for lending his cords to Yuji for the music party. He was soon out the door again, leaving me alone for the second time today; he had gone out to Kyoto to watch a movie with a friend. He had also found yatsuhashi, the wonders of which I had introduced to him last week; he’s hooked, just like Diego was. Ah, classes start again tomorrow; I guess I’m looking forward to it. My time here is rapidly expiring, but I still got a lot to do…

Day 202 - 20th of March

天気：晴れ、風が吹いている
Today was so much fun, though very exhausting… I woke up at about 9:30, and got ready for the day. Since it was such a nice, sunny day, I put on some laundry, trying to be as quiet as possible; Hugo was still asleep. At around 11, I heard the reception desk bell ring, and I knew straight away that it was Ash, trying to sign her parents in; by the sounds of things, Otousan wasn’t coming. Soon after, Ash came to my room, and asked if I wanted to go to the park for a picnic; of course I did. I went out to meet her parents, and then let them know I’d catch up in a bit, since I had some washing on. Like Katie, Hugo was going to the graduation at Kansai Gaidai today. I had wanted to go, but at the same time, I wanted to go to the lake with Ash and her parents. After putting my washing out, I left on my bike, and in no time at all, caught up with them; Rachel had also joined. The walk to the park was surprisingly hot, and I found myself stripping down to just my shirt. Getting to the park and some relief from the sun, we made our way around to the northern side of the lake; I abandoned the group to take photos of flowers at one point.

I met up with them at an undercover area, and we sat down to enjoy our “picnic”, which consisted of grapes, Ritz, chips, bread sticks, and chocolate. We sat for a while and just talked about various things; Ash’s parents are very well travelled. At around 1, we continued our walk around the park, and came across a grove of what might have been sakura; not entirely sure. Indeed, there were many people taking advantage of the warm weather, lounging under the beautiful blossoms. It was quite windy by this point, and it was an amazing sight to see all the petals flying about; many other flowers were out too. We circumnavigated the lake, wandering through the bamboo grove, and watching the carp, before making our way out. Ash had decided that we go straight to karaoke; we would meet a few others there. So, we made our way back along the river, a route I had never taken, on to Makino; it was very pleasant, with lots to see along the way. Getting to Sanko, we stocked up on a few supplies, before continuing on to Karaoke. Rachael and Katie met us along the way, and when we got there I went around to the back to park my bike; by this point it was more of a burden than anything else.

Getting inside, I signed us in, and then we had to wait for about 30 minutes to get a room. Peter arrived just as we were about to go in; perfect timing. Since it was almost 4, we decided to get daytime free time, which goes till 7. We soon found Peter to be an amazing singer; I was equally as impressed as I was jealous. Seriously though, his singing voice sounded completely different to his normal voice, and he really knew how to get into it; he was doing funny things with the mic chord. Rachael didn’t feel comfortable singing much, but we made her sing a few, as we did Ash’s parents, finding out that Ash and her Mum have the exact same singing voice. All in all, we had a wonderful time, although I was a bit disappointed we didn’t stay that long. Peter had to leave a little early, so he missed out on doing purikura with us when we got out; we had to do it with Ash’s parents. After that, we walked back, intending to go to Sandoru in Makino for dinner. When we got to Sanko, both Rach(a)els decided to go straight home, Rachel because she was going to Tokyo tomorrow and had to eat the rest of the food in her fridge, and Rachael because she isn’t too keen on Japanese food; Rachel was kind enough to take my bike back with her.

When we got to Sandoru, we soon realised it was closed; Friday and Saturday are regular holidays! So that idea went out the window. We walked back down the street, and ended up coming to a place called Zenya; the menu looked good so we thought why not. After a short while, we were seated; the interior was really nice, and traditional. After ordering, the conversation began to flow. For a Japanese restaurant, it actually took an uncharacteristically long time for our meals to arrive. And, there was a bit of a mistake. Ash had ordered two of the same set for both her parents, and they only ended up bringing out one. When we realised this, we promptly informed the waiter, and eventually Ash’s Dad got a meal. That sorted, we all had an enjoyable dinner, and I even got to finish off Ash’s rice and her mum’s meal; so lots of variation for me! After hearing Ash being referred to as Chirstina (or Chris or Chrissie) by her parents all day (it is her name after all), I had to bring up the, “Why is your name Ash,” question; and tonight, I finally got the answer, and not from Ash. Her mum proceeded to tell as that Ash was short for Ashley, a boy’s name Christina liked and would use as part of her pen name if ever she were to publish a book. Ash herself had completely forgotten this, so it was really awesome to have the mystery behind the name finally revealed.

At around 9:30, we made our way back out into the windy night, and Ash escorted her parents back to the uni, so they could find their way back to the hotel, and Katie and I went home. I was quite tired by this time, and was very grateful to Hugo for bringing my laundry in. I spent the rest of the night chatting with Carly and Alex. Much to my surprise, I found out that Alex would in fact be in Kyoto tomorrow; the time just stuck up on me. So, after going to Nipponbashi for the parade tomorrow, I’m going to go meet up with Alex, and her Aunt and Nan, and we’re going to go to karaoke; can’t wait…