Hidaka, Here We Come

DO
THIS JUST IN… Its official. I suck at tennis. This is very sad for me because I love the game so much and I want to be so good at it. Today Jarryd, Dylan and I planned a Tennis/ BBQ day in Hidaka. Gabe, Andrew, Chi, Kenny, Sachie and new friend Remy came out. We got in some Frisbee practice too. Super sunny day….Lots of bonding running around in the green grass.

Debut Day

KIN

THIS JUST IN… Salsa of course. Officially found out I will be in the October 24th performance at Daylight in Izushi. Yahoo…..

Sundae=Parfait

SUI

THIS JUST IN…Hitomi is the most gracious, laidback, funny gal I know (so far in Japan.) Today we bonded walking through the crazy crowded Osaka streets, ate awesome Korean food, I scored a great deal on a camera, we had green tea and chocolate parfaits (in Japan parfaits are sundaes not yogurt) and that was it. She sent me off home. Fab day with a Fab gal.

USJ Day

KA

THIS JUST IN… Pure FUN! Universal Studios Japan in Osaka rocks. They even have a whole New York City neighborhood. I was home (fake home) but home for an afternoon. Awesome Spiderman ride, Snoopy land was a dream, The Magical Starlight Parade was well…magical. I got to be on Sesame Street …literally. Glorious day!

Lag Pals

GETSU

THIS JUST IN...Someone in the heavens knew that the madness of the lost Iphone was all I could bear for one vacation because the rest of Silver Week was golden I met with Hitomi at Osaka station looking a bit (understandably) frazzled but I was standing. She looks just like she did in high School. I remember her most from Calculas AP class with Ms. Buddish. She sat in front of me and would help me cause that effin class was beyond me and she would help me with my Japanese hw, too. Sweet gal, dry sense of humor but it suits her. it’s the NY edge.

Merci Maku

GETSU

THIS JUST IN…The plan was to crash at the J-girl’s pad for a few hours, wake up in time to get to the Art Museum in time to wait on the hours-long line, see the Louvre show, dash to the train, go to Osaka and meet with Hitomi. It was flawless.  So there we were rolling out the futons, as the sun was coming up getting ready to fall asleep when I realized I didn’t have my $200 1st Gen. I phone with my 3000 pictures in it that I have had for almost 2 years! Panic. Flawless plan out the window. New plan: FIND FONE!

O Sanity, Where Art Thou?

NICHI

THIS JUST IN…We were basically picking up girls for Ben at McDonalds. I felt like some kinda freak Superhero duo. Except our victims needed to be saved from us. Ben would stake out some cute girls sit next to them and we would chat it up with them. I didn’t care because well all my plans were out the window. I didn’t know where I was gonna stay that night or what I was gonna do and Ben seemed like he had a plan (as slimy as it was) but still it was a plan.

Although the plan sorta blew up in his face because the girls we spoke with seemed to like me more than they liked Ben. Lol…J-girls think Im kawaii (cute). Sorry Ben Boy I cant help being Kawaii. The first girl, Sayuri, who was with her friend , Ai,  even gave me a present (a green arm band with a teddy bear had on one side and heart on the other.)

No monkey, Paris, Silver. No Cigar.

NICHI

THIS JUST IN…Almosts. Today was full of them. Argh. I almost went to the monkey park in Arashiyama with Danny Tan and Mike Lee but I saw a flier at the guest house that morning for the show”The Louvre Museum Exhibition : 17th Century European Masterpieces,” at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art . Sweet! About 70 pieces were flown from Paris to Kyoto and some were taken out of the Louvre for the first time. Some works incuded were Vermeer’s “The Lacemaker;” a self-portrait by Rembrandt; “The Finding of Moses” by Nicolas Poussin; and “Ixion, King of Lapiths, Deceived by Juno” by Rubens. Sorry monkeys. I was off to see masterpieces from Paris! Umm scratch that. ALMOST saw them.

Kyoto Kids

DO

THIS JUST IN…There was a huge tanning bed next to the shower at the Internet café. I thought that was funny. I took a shower at like 4:30 AM slept on the lazy boy til like 9AM. It was a cool bright sunny day. When I left the café I felt like I emerged from some weird vortex in another world to the present. Weird.

I took the bus straight to the grandiose Kyoto station to get info from the visitors center (as was suggested by Lydia). With my itinerary and map in hand I was ready to rent my bike for the day and explore all of Kyoto all by mi lonesome. That’s when I met him. “Where are you headed?“ came a voice from the other corner of the elevator. ( He didn’t look up when he said this. His head was hidden behind a giant Kyoto City map.) Um…Was I supposed to answer….

Cancel Korea, Cue Kyoto, Crazy Coyote, Cool Cafe

KIN

THIS JUST IN…I could not get out of there fast enough. Out of Minato JHS that is. This Monday -Wednesday are national holidays in Japan. (Monday= Respect for the Aged Day, Tuesday=National Holiday, Wednesday=Autumnal Equinox Day) so that means 5 full days of pure freedom aka Silver week. My original plan was to go to Korea and hang with Jenna, My brothers girlfriends sisters friend, who has also been teaching English. I quickly learned after the travel agency people literally laughed in my face that here in Japan you must book anything well in advance. So Korea was a no go. (Unless I was willing to pay $900 and come back a day early to go to a country about an hour away.) Um..H to the Hizzy ..No.