YAREN, SORAN, SORAN, SORAN, SORAN, SORAN, HAI HAI!!

Well well, after the overwhelming response my last blog elicited (from both of my aunts), how could I not finish writing about my last days in Japan?

One reason that I decided to stay for two weeks in Tokyo after the semester was because people kept bugging me about staying in Japan "only" for a semester. So I tried to extend my stay a little. The other reason was to see friends, and the other reason was to see the New Year in Japan, which is the biggest holiday of the year for them.

Considering that, my New Year was kind of...not that exciting.

I lived in the International House at my campus in the US. I was staying in Tokyo with my friend Pearl, who is also from the I-house, and on New Year's Eve four other friends from the I-house joined us: two Japanese girls, one American guy, and one Thai girl. We made a hot pot, ate lots of snacks, and watched the special New Year's Concert on TV. According to one article, "Unlike in the U.S., where people go out to celebrate New Year's, in Japan nearly everyone stays home for what is the most important television night of the year, and the concert is their version of the Super Bowl, the show that everyone watches." For a sample of the craziness I watched, check out this gem. Also, Gackt dressed as a samurai. Also, Ayumi Hamazaki CAN'T SING. Just for the record.

The American guy and I watched the concert and had fun trying to guess the gender of certain performers. It wasn't always easy. At midnight we all went out to the balcony and irritated Pearl's quiet neighborhood by cheering our heads off WOO! I LOVE YOU TOKYO!!! I saw some fireworks go off in the direction of Tokyo Disneyland.

In the morning we got up early to head off to Meiji shrine. Judging from the crowds there, half of Tokyo had the same plans as we did.

Every good Japanese goes to a shrine to toss money into the box and make wishes for the upcoming year. Meiji shrine is one of the most popular places to go, and it was packed. Our American friend, at 6'2", towered over everyone else and took the above pictures for me. Two elderly Japanese standing in his shadow said to each other, "No wonder the Americans always beat us in soccer."
It took us about an hour to get to the front of the shrine and toss in our money, which is actually relatively fast. Afterwards we went to the huge food court that had been set up nearby, where booths were selling everything from ramen to hamburgers.

So what should we do now, guys? Let's go to Akihabara and eat at a maid cafe. Ok.

What is a maid cafe? It's just a normal cafe, except that the waitresses are young, cute girls dressed up in maid outfits who address their customers as "master." They talk in high, squeaky voices and will play games or chat with you. For an extra fee you can also take pictures with them. (That's why the above picture is blurry- it was taken when she wasn't looking.) When our maid brought us our little bunny and panda-shaped cakes, she said something about wanting everyone to make a wish over the food for its deliciousness. She demonstrated, making a heart shape with her hands and moving it from side to side while saying, "moe, moe, kyuuu!" Aww, how cute. Or something.

Japan is a bizarre place. I kind of miss it.

So long and thanks for all the fish

I am going home TODAY!!

I am so ready to go home. So ready. Mom and Dad, I require that a box of brownie mix be on the premises upon my return.

My last few days in Tokyo have been interesting, including fish eggs, French maids and little Buddhas wearing red hats. But I don't have time to write about it right now. If you guys leave comments saying you're interested (and I mean someone besides my parents for once) I'll write more after I get home.



Sayonara Japan! I am sure that we will meet again.

It's New Year's Eve

There are two times in my life when I have encountered something so gross that I literally gagged.

The first time was back in Jr. High while I was babysitting. I had to change the diaper of a little girl who was very sick. Let's not go into that any further. You don't want to know.

One of the most popular questions the Japanese ask me is, "have you ever eaten natto?", usually accompanied by a smirk. This evening I tried the infamous natto for the first time. Natto is fermented bean crap, the taste and smell of which has been compared to "battery acid." Tonight my Japanese friends insisted that I try it before I leave Japan. They stirred up a little bowl of beans in some sort of brownish-yellow slime. So I took a small cluster that looked like baked beans but smelled like rotten trash. No exaggeration. In a stunning act of courage I ate them, long strings of gooey stuff draping from my mouth to my chopsticks.

And that marks the second time in my life that I have gagged.

I shoved the bowl of natto and my chopsticks into the hands of my friends and ran blindly towards the sink, firstly for a gulp of water and secondly just in case I was about to see those beans again.
"Wow, is it really that bad?" My friends asked.
"It's terrible!!" I exclaimed, and after several glasses of water, soon I was curled up on the couch, clutching a little bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Shibuya scramble

I've spent the last few days in Tokyo, and honestly, so far it's been kind of mediocre. The friend I am staying with and her family have been nothing but hospitable and kind, and I am very grateful. But I think I'm a little burned-out on Japan. Stuff is starting to look the same. And for some reason, the friends I came here to visit seem tired and quiet. Maybe it's because they're busy looking for jobs and writing thesis's. Or maybe they just don't like me?

Today I went to Shibuya, a hip and happening shopping district. After I came out of the train station, I noticed that the massive intersection in front of me looked familiar. Then I laughed as I remembered that this was, of course, the famous Shibuya Crossing, and I had seen it in one of my favorite movies, Lost in Translation. How could I forget?
I watched "the making of Lost in Translation" a while ago, and the director said they filmed some shots from a Starbucks above the intersection. I looked up, and there was the familiar green mermaid sign. That settles it. One chai latte, please. Extra foam.
It was really crowded but I managed to find a little space near the window. It was like lunch and a show. Every time the lights went green about two hundred people crossed the street from every direction.

I was trying to find Engrish shirts for one of the boys on my Christmas list, but no luck. I found this on the way home, but alas, it was on an ashtray, not a t-shirt. I'm not really sure what this is trying to communicate.

Images of Christmas

No, I don't know what this is.

In Japanese they call snowmen "snow daruma."

The Japanese love elaborate Christmas light setups. Well, who doesn't, I guess?


Back when I was in Nagoya, my church had a Christmas concert. As Robert would say, it was "pretty much amazing."




Merry Christmas everyone!

I wanna go fast

Woo! Shinkansen! So there I was flying across Japan at 186 mph on a train that badly smelled like cigarettes. I went 320 miles in just two hours.

I knew that, in good weather, you can see Mt. Fuji from the train window. For some reason, everyone on the opposite side of the train car had the curtains pulled down over the windows, and I was afraid that the mountain would pass by on that side and I wouldn't get to see it. I was also scrutinizing the green hills we were passing, worried that Mt. Fuji would go by and I wouldn't recognize it. Then we emerged from a tunnel and - oh yeah. That's definitely it.

No wonder Mt. Fuji is Japan's pride and joy. (Second only to the fact that they have four seasons.) The picture and video really don't do justice to how impressive this sight was. Surrounding it was just flat plains, and it seemed to float on a pillow of clouds, this huge, snow-capped, beautiful mountain. I've seen so many photos and drawings of Mt. Fuji, and then it was just suddenly there. It was awesome.
The photo below is kind of funny because of all the ugly industrial development in the foreground. But hey, it kind of makes a statement, don't you think?

A chapter ends

Today was my last day with my host family. Tomorrow I am going to Tokyo to stay with a friend until the beginning of January. Hopefully I will still be able to keep blogging while I'm there.

In the morning we all went over to the host grandparents' house, where my host grandma and her cousin (?) dressed me up in a furisode, a type of kimono with very long sleeves. I think this is a ritual they've done with all four of their past exchange students. They said the last one was so fat they could barely wrap the kimono around her. In my case, I have such a little waist that the obi was giving them trouble and they were considering padding my middle with towels. Anyway they did a very thorough and professional job. Afterwards we went outside to take pictures together. The day before the grandfather had actually gone through the trouble of pruning one of the trees in the yard to give it a nice Japanese shape to make a good background for the photos. I won't post pictures of my host family online, but here's one where you can see Whiney in mid-air in the background. Also, you can see the pruned pine behind me and to the left.

After pictures, I changed back into my normal, boring clothes and we all went out to lunch at a nice restaurant, sitting on a traditional tatami mat floor. A huge tray loaded with fancy-looking food was brought for each of us. I'm sure all the food was delicious, but I didn't enjoy it much. When dealing with unknown objects that must be eaten, my strategy is to eat the least-appetizing first. So I promptly attacked the shrimp, which were fully intact, little black eyes and all. I also ate mushrooms, lotus root, ginger, and some sort of raw white slimy something, among other somethings.

Knowing that lunch was a bit of a challenge for me, afterwards my host mom graciously took me to the dessert store, also known to me as "The Happiest Place on Earth." We chose our Christmas cakes for the evening.

Even though it was two days early, we ate our Christmas cakes after dinner, which is pretty much all the Japanese do for Christmas. Even though they don't give presents on Christmas in Japan, I had gifts for my host family. To Origami Boy I gave a set for making a huge paper dinosaur, which to my gratification he immediately began working on. To Whiney I gave a book about airplanes. To my host mom I gave Jelly Bellies, which she had once told me she ate in America twenty years ago and especially liked the watermelon flavored ones. (She also said that the licorice-flavored jelly beans taste "like air-fresheners." I've never liked that one either.) To my host dad I gave Asahi Super Dry, wrapped in wrapping paper and placed lovingly in the fridge. My host family didn't give me anything, but I didn't mind, since of course they've taken care of me all semester, and I don't have any more room in my suitcase anyway.

I'm kind of surprised to realize that I'm going to miss my host family. Even though they really drove me crazy sometimes, I have grown to care about them and I want them to be happy. After hearing stories from other exchange students, I don't think I fully realize how lucky I was to have such an understanding and flexible host family. (A classmate was recently woken up at midnight by his host family and told, 'We hate you! Go back to America!')

Tomorrow, I ride by the famous shinkansen to Tokyo! If the weather is good, I should be able to see Mt. Fuji from the window!