Continuing on

Okay, so I'm in the computer lab, I've finished typing up the essay that due tomorrow, but I'm stuck on printing... A) The printers aren't connected to lab on a network, rather, you have to go to one of the three computers that has a printer. B) None of the printers have paper in them. I remember someone saying something about bringing your own paper, but I probably dismissed it due to its complete lack of efficiency. Apparently this is true, at least in the lab I'm in right now. Japan is great and all, but I'll be damned if they don't have a thing or two that is just bass ackwards. Aaaanyway, back to Tokyo. After lunch, my host family dropped me off at Shibuya station, where I was to meet my friends in front of Hachiko, which is this famous dog statue where everyone and their mom uses as a gathering point. So once we got the troops together, we killed some time at this crazy manga(Japanese comics), DVD, CD, video game shop that primarily specialized in used stuff, but had plenty of new merchandise around. Of particular note were some of the video games. They had a bunch of the old Nintendo Game&Watch games for sale. Some going for over $200 dollars. Donkey Kong was only $20, and I was tempted to pick it up, but I controlled myself. They also had what appeared to be developer tools for the Super Nintendo, for instance a game controller test cartridge (also quite expensive). It was cool to check some of the stuff out. At the same time, one runs into the problem of being unable to escape the omnipresence of hentai related material...figurines, cards, etc. For those who don't know, hentai is erotic comics/animation. And they don't always separate it from the rest of the stuff. i.e. Aaron and I were looking at some of the collectible cards they were selling, and stumbled onto a rather unsettling card involving tentacles. (In Japan there is a genre of hentai that involves rape by tentacles. Where the tentacles come from? I don't know. Is it an octopus? Could be. I've never bothered to find out more as that is a fetish I will NEVER understand) Sorry for the seedy departure, but hey, you're being cultured. After leaving that store, we killed some time at a local arcade, where Alaina and I broke out our moves on Dance Dance Revolution, and Aaron and Molly went head to head on Taiko Drum Master. (Japan also has a thing with rhythm/music based video games.) After that we headed for dinner at a Indian curry place, a decision that would later come back to haunt me. The chicken curry was excellent, as was the special bread (whose name I forget). Then we headed for...KARAOKE, where we spent the next two and a half hours belting out some of our favorites. (Picture: from left Aaron, Alaina, and Molly after our karaoke session) In particular Aaron and I rocked out hardcore to Separate Ways by Journey, I could barely speak after that one. I think we freaked Molly out during the chorus of it as well, so all the better. I was supposed to meet my host family sometime before the wedding party/reception that started at 9pm, but along came 9 with no call, so I tried to reach them with no luck. Finally I got a call saying it was taking longer than they thought. So we killed some time at a coffee shop, where I once again experienced the sad true reality that Japanese 'cheesecake' is not even close to real cheesecake. It is wholly unsatisfying, and not worth the close to $4 it costs. (Welcome to Tokyo prices!) So I get a call from my host dad saying to head to Harajuku(apparently to try and find this party they were at). Let me just say I HATE trying to have a conversation in Japanese on cell phones, especially with loads of background noise. I didn't understand my host dad's directions at all. I managed to glean that he wanted me to go to the police box in Harajuku. I didn't understand his directions to the police box, so I decided to ask the station attendant. I was tired and frustrated from not being able to understand my host dad, so Molly, who, along with Alaina, was nice enough to accompany me during this excursion, asked the attendant for me. So we find the police box, and call my host dad, who says he'll come pick me up. A few minutes later, I get a call. 'Hey where are you?' 'Umm...in front of the police box, where are you?' 'In front the police box, is your named blahblah?' I look up...I'm at the wrong stinkin' police box. After handing the cell phone to the police officer in the box I was at, my host dad figured out where I was and picked me up in a Taxi. I guess I can't go to Tokyo without getting lost. Must be a requirement. So I bid Molly and Alaina adieu and head to this wedding reception. The groom owns a company that provides high altitude simulation training rooms for athletes. (This dude has climbed Everest, and is in the Guiness World Record book for something...) Anyway, the party was at the building where those training rooms are. Basically, the party consisted of eating, drinking, and talking to people. No dancing, unliike American receptions, but there was no room to dance even if ya wanted to. They also cut the cake in front of everyone. Shortly after everyone started clapping and making noise in an effort to get the newlyweds to kiss. The groom was fine with the idea, but the bride pratically recoiled we he went in for the kiss. I don't know if she was just too embarassed or what, but it didn't look like a normal newlywed interaction. When she finally gave in to the crowd/groom, it was a short kiss and her lips were pursed the entire time. Either that marriage isn't headed anywhere, or she just needs to loosen up. I then went back to the hotel with my host mom (the went out for karaoke and didn't get back until 5am) and hit the bed. My stomach felt a little queasy, but I figured sleep would do the trick. (By the by I hadn't had anything alcoholic to drink during the day). Despite that, I woke up at 4am with the overwhelming urge to puke...so I did. I went back to sleep and woke up at 7am-ish. I thought I'd get in the shower, but the minute I entered the bathroom I puked again, followed by a long spell on the toilet. My host mom immediately realized something was up when we met to grab breakfast. I didn't eat anything from the buffet, and when we got to actually leaving the hotel, I had a sudden rush of fever and dizziness. I had to stop and sit down, at which point my host family was considering sending me back on the bullet train because it would be faster. Luckily, that wasn't necessary. My host dad's car seats recline pretty far back, so I just layed down in the car for the 5 hour drive back to Nagoya. The rest of the day I only had apple juice to drink, and ate nothing. By Tuesday I was feeling better, but I'll be sure to never go that Indian curry place again. Whew! Done with Tokyo. Next up will be Okinawa! And Busha, you're probably going to have to wait until winter break for that 'daily life' entry, but I promise I haven't forgotten about it.

Fugu fish and Tokyo again (part1)

Okay, so I am going to try to catch up some ground here. I'm jumping all the way to about three weeks ago. November 12 was Shio-san's birthday, so that night we all went out together (we had a group of about 10 including other friends of hers) and had fugu(blowfish) for dinner. For those who don't know, fugu is somewhat famous because it contains a lethal amount of poison (paralyzes the muscles and you go from asphyxiation), and thusly, only licensed chefs are allowed to prepare the fish. This is considering a delicacy in Japan, and quite the birthday meal, so I was lucky to be able to attend and try some of the stuff. No, I didn't die, so that's a plus, but on the other hand, it wasn't some out of this world delcious food either. It had a distinctive flavor, but that flavor was weak (especially when raw). The fried fugu had more bone than flesh, so it was quite hard to eat. But it was definitely and experience (and almost $100 a plate, not one I'm going to repeat unless my host dad is footing the bill again). I brought Shio-san a little stuffed Wisconsin badger for her birthday, but then it typical fashion for her, despite it being HER birthday, she gives me this pot of pointsettia(she owns a flower shop), as well as this funky little knick knack that you can look through and see a little picture. She is incredibly nice, it's insane.
Fast forward one week and I find myself back in Tokyo, this time with my host family. My host dad was already in tokyo on business so I went with my host mom via the shinkansen (bullet train). Here's a good example of how my host family rolls: I had gotten a special student discount voucher from Nanzan University, and thought I could maybe use it and save her some money, but when I showed her it, she said something to the effect of 'Oh, well I wanted to ride the Green Car today' The green car is the equivalent of first class. Instead of three seats in a row, there are two, and there is more leg room, etc. But it is not worth TWICE the price of the unreserved regular car tickets. Needless to say, that student voucher was a moot point. ...I'm just not used to living the high life, it doesn't always compute with me. The actual ride was pretty spiffy, and the train got going pretty darn fast (I want to say 400+ km/h, but don't quote me on that). In any case, the scenery was clipping by, and close objects were pretty much a blurr. From Nagoya to Tokyo in 90 minutes without having to board a plane. Not too shabby. So once we got into Tokyo we met up with my host dad and grabbed some lunch near Ginza at a really, really fresh sushi place with professional sushi chefs. This was by far the best stuff I've had. Incredibly fresh, and expertly prepared, I don't know if better sushi is availbe. The toro (fatty tuna) pretty much melted in my mouth and was by far my favorite thing there. But we basically let the sushi chef pick out what he thought was good that day and ate what came to us. I also got to try a lighter, white miso soup(a Tokyo thing), as opposed to the normal tan-ish miso or the smack-you-over-the-face dark brown miso available in Nagoya. The creepiest thing I had to eat, though, was the shrimp that the sushi chef killed right in front of us and then threw it on top of the rice...tail sill twitching. So despite the fact that it was moving, I threw all but the tail into my mouth and had the freshest shrimp possible.The really unnerving part, though was that even after I had bitten off all the body (and muscle that could possibly sending the tail electric impulses), the tail still twitched a couple times on my plate. I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. The next half of the Tokyo trip (involving karaoke, Indian curry, incorrect policeboxes and throwing up) will have to wait until the next post. Okay, the photos aren't uploading, so they'll have to wait, too.