I'm so stuffed... and really lazy to write anything. Christmas was great. Everyone was really glad to see me, at least I think they were. :) Nobody's changed and I've adjusted to the culture shock. Maybe because I can now buy my fave Japanese food at the Oriental store. Including Onigiri! 

Currently viewing a list of blockbuster movies... ones that i missed since i was in Japan. Having done as much as I had hoped yet... but will do this coming weekend. It's boxing day soon! alright! :D

RETURN TO AMERICA!!! DA DUM!

I have arrived in California safe and sound. The air is strange, the food is strange, the people look strange... The cars are huge, the highways long and wide and there are houses everywhere... There are no vending machines to be seen. When I approach a fellow American, I find myself stuttering, my tongue stuck in between two languages. When I eat, I'm the only one who thanks for the meal. When I go to the convenience store, I see shelves and shelves of chips and drinks... but no onigiri... 

COULD THIS BE CULTURE SHOCK!?!!?!?!

Yes, I'm afraid it is. When I arrived in Tokyo a few months ago, I expected to be blown away by the culture and way of life of the Japanese. I WAS blown away, but not the kind where you have a hard time adjusting. I flowed in the river quite nicely, so to speak. I never would have expected to experience culture shock back home, where I had grown up all my life!

It's a strange experience. I miss Japan but I also missed my family and friends. Well, I got what I wished for! :) I've returned but... I feel like I'm a different person... like an alien almost to this country of America. Many things have changed, yet things are still the same. I'm probably just missing Japan and Grandpa. Hehe. :D But it's a very interesting thing, this culture shock feeling. I'm sure I'll adjust in no time, too. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Hey, all... I'll be heading off to America for the holidays on Sunday evening. I'll still blog of course! :) But I'm pretty excited and yet nervous at the same time. I wonder what's happening over there. Perhaps my needed 'break' from my family is over? I don't know what'll happen when I get there and afterwards, too, when I return back to Japan. Everyone is excited to see me, to know about my living in Japan, and etc. I've got my computer ready, full of pictures of the country and my friends to show off. Speaking of which, I'm going to have to give them a demonstration of one of my Judo forms. I wish I didn't have to. I'm not very good. :P So I've got all my things organized and ready to be packed away. (I'm glad I'm organized.) When I'm over in America, I'm going to get presents for Yuki and all the other guys. I'm thinking of what to get. I wish I could get them a 'real' cheeseburger, New York pizza, or something cool and totally American. Hm... that'll be on my mind... I've also got my ipod full of stuff to listen to while I'm flying. Though I'm sure there are tons of movies and things to waste my time onboard. Ha. All in all, I'm pretty stoked on going back. 

i want a puppy like this one day. HEHEH.. they have such cute dogs here in japan...

GAHH!1

This is one film from the 60s that you must see. It's the Good the Bad and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone. It's a fantastic movie, I have to say again. It's an epic and it's about three hours long. I watched it online the other day. It's simply amazing. :) The shots, the actors, the story and choreography. Sergio Leone likes things quite artistic, too. He has a style to his work, which makes it different from other directors. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it. I love old films. Most of them were pretty, or at least, just the ones that have hung around till now. I mean, they're not extreme in violence, sex, or other stuff, but they are still very interesting and very well made. Movies nowadays seem to be trying too hard. I don't know. But stories back then were pretty simple but very satisfying in the end. I like that a lot. Plus, it's a Western! Who could not like that? Anyway! hehe... just thought I'd mention it since it's so awesome. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out right away. Along with the other two in the Dollars Trilogy. This one, the good the bad and the ugly, is actually third one. It's the best film of all three, too. 

hooooweeeeeeeeee! i'm sorry.. but i know this is not twitter... :D

okay... two more weeks man till i'm going back. I'm so excited. I've been going to the dojo quite a lot lately and I've been hanging out with some new Japanese friends. Yuki's and Taka have been showing me the coolest things, man. Karaoke and exploring every nook and corner of Tokyo. It's been a lot of fun. So far nothing much has happened; which is why you haven't heard much of me lately. hehe. just the usual. It started to flurry here the other day. Anyway.... :) i'm bored and i'm watching prison break. OMG! What did Self have to betray everyone??? 

c'mon.... it's almost time man! just a few more weeks till Christmas! woot!

d90

i'm sorry... but i'm drooling over the nikon d90... it's just so beautiful... i think i've posted about it before. But anyway, it just came to mind because I saw it at the electronics store the other day. Yamada. I was looking for a video cam to bring around with me and do some documenting or something. I was at Judo practice yesterday and we had a special night. Some families were invited to join and we showed them routines and stuff... but it was mostly because it was one of our sensei's birthdays. I wish I had a video cam so I could record what was happening. You know, bring it home when I go to America this Christmas. Yeah, I have an SLR right now but it doesn't take video. The d90 does. So I've been contemplating. I love my camera now, but maybe all I need is a little video cam, too. I like the idea of having an all in one. The D90 can record high def movies. :)

woot! James bond quantum of solace will be coming to Japan in 2009! yay! but actually, now that i think about it, i'll probably see it at home when I go back to America for Christmas. So scratch that. hehe... i just drank two cups of coffee so I may be a little bit hyper right now. lol. :D Anyway! the movie looks pretty good with all it's action scenes and stuff. I remember watching the first one with mr. craig and the choreography was just amazing! Especially the first scene of the movie. That just blew my mind. I was also looking at the cinematography as well. Great stuff. Oh yeah, Miss Olga is pretty. :P

Also been keeping up with Prison Break Season 4. There's rumor going on that Michael or Linc might die. That's impossible! I hope it's not true. Because if one of them dies, i think that even less people will continue watching the show. In the past few months, the viewership has plummeted down. I hope they don't kill one of them off. really. A lot of girls will stop watching, too, cause Scofield is gone. argh! no! 

I need more coffee i think. Must relax. :D

omg, have you seen THIS SHOW?? it's awesome. Man, I can't get enough of Kung fu. It just sorta came across my mind even though it ran in the late seventies. I just saw some cool japanese marital arts movie on television so I somehow thought of this old tv series. It stars ol' david carradine as Kwai Chang Kane. Anyway, it was pretty cool. The first season was... but then after that it started to get REALLY cheesy... haha... I've been into doing judo lately so i've been watching a ton of kung fu and martial arts stuff. I just bought a set of bruce lee and jackie chan movies. I'm such a dork. :p

I've finally made a decision. I think I will go back home for Christmas for a few weeks. It'll be a nice break for me. 

.....

There's no title for this post. It's just been a bit cloudy today and windy. But for some reason I went out anyway to do some... um... you know, shoot interesting things with my camera. I didn't think it would rain. Oh wait, I remember in the morning that it was mentioned that there was a slight chance of rain... but that it would be later on in the evening. So I took advantage of this and decided to go out early. I was in a creative mood so I couldn't control myself. But an hour out of the house, it started to rain. And not just a drizzle, too. Like POURING. I didn't have an umbrella and so I had to shelter my precious camera in my jacket. That was stupid of me. I know the forecast said it would rain much later on, but still, I should've known better. If it's anything, I notice that EVERYONE here are usually prepared on a rainy day. You know? I mean, if the tv says it'll rain, EVERYONE will be carrying an umbrella. It's good. But me being still new around here, haven't got used to that yet. 

Anyway... not much of a post... but... whatever... since I got drenched today in the rain I've been getting a sneeze and a sore throat. I hope I don't get sick or anything, unless those symptoms are already what you call 'sick'... 

HOOOOME

Yo yo mina-san... :) I know I haven't been posting much lately cause I've been sorta lazy... but today I knew I needed to put something down. That's pretty pathetic. But as its getting colder here in Tokyo, so are the ideas in my head fading away. Sigh... So... 

I've been here in Japan for a few months now. It's been great so far. But for Christmas I think I'm going to visit my family back in America for a week or two. They want me to come. For some reason... really badly. I wonder if there's going to be a surprise when I get there. Some important news of some sort... i don't know... maybe someone is getting married? Having a baby? Maybe maybe maybe! But I'll see if I'll actually go. My parents are going to pay for the ticket. Must be pretty big, then, whatever is happening over there. I just talked to my family on Skype for a few hours yesterday. Everything's the same, but my mom brought the subject up about me visiting home for Christmas. That'd be nice, though. Anyway! I'm running in my words here. :P 

But yeah, it'll be a nice break for me. I've been a bit homesick lately. I love Japan, but I do miss the American stuff. Hehe. I miss American girls. :P And English movies. And English video games. :D So I'll see. It'd be nice to show them how I'm doing and to show off my Japanese language skills. lol. 

Yet Another Random Pic

just walking around tokyo and came across this interesting street....

SIGH..... nothing much nowadays. watching prison break and all... eating delicious japanese foood...... 

Hey there... Nothing much to update much here. Just been doing the usual. Living around, talking to my friends, watching prison break, going out on photo shoots at the park or down the road, surfing the net... practicing judo... hehe... that's all I've been doing recently. I've also been waiting for Costco to call and they haven't. How sad for me. Maybe I'll just go get a job at the 711 down the street. No - how about open an onigiri shop and sell onigiri for the rest of my life? Haha. Anyway...

Guuh.. the morning after...
i'm slipping off the chair and my head is throbbing. You must know what I mean. hehe. But anyway, yesterday was a ball, man. Yuki and her pal took me over to Harajuku for a while and hung out and checked out the parade. It was awesome. The Japanese here seem to like Halloween a lot. I saw the craziest costumes. Unfortunately I didn't bring my cam out cause the battery was dead and I didn't have time to recharge it. But oh well... it was still an amazing experience. I said I would dress up like Spike or Ninjai, but that didn't really happen so much. Instead, I just came along with them dressed as some crazy scientist. I know... totally lame. But it's okay. I didn't care so much. I think I still have the make up on.....

So later on they brought me to a Halloween party nearby and that was awesome, too. Got some strange looks though since I'm a foreigner and had quite a bit of attention. That was interesting. Got to practice my japanese... show off some judo skills... just kidding... haha. We did some karaoke afterwards and fooled around. That's all pretty much. But it was fun anyway. I'll never forget this Halloween. Oh yeah, we stayed up late at their friends house and watched some really freaky Japanese Horror film. It was crazy! I don't remember the name of it but man... it was nuts and disturbing. But luckily I was kinda out of myself so I don't remember the worst parts. It was like some B movie or something. I don't know. Actually in fact, most of us were just laughing the whole time at the bad effects and acting. Haha. But anyway... good times good times... :)

3 more days till Halloween! yay! Can't wait to see the Halloween Parade at Harajuku!

Onigiri!

I made onigiri once again today. And they look better and tastier. However they are far from perfect. Did I mention that my favorite type of rice ball is the one with the sour plum? Those are the best. I love the sour taste of the umeboshi. Anyway, from now on, I think I'm going to just make my own onigiri instead of buying them at the store. I'll probably still do that, but I must get better at making onigiri... 

i'm really crazy... haha... :)

Hyah!

Today I went to the Dojo to practice some Judo. As usual it had me sweating like a pig, but what the heck - it was still fun and worth it. My sensei is saying that i've gotten better and that I should come more often like I used to. I just nod and bow. :) I will try. 

I can't wait till Halloween this Friday. Or was it Thursday? I can't remember. But Yuki has invited me to a party that night and it's gonna be so much fun! I wonder who I'm going to dress up like. I mean, it has to be someone or something familiar to the Japanese people. Hmm... perhaps an anime character??? I don't know. But I gotta figure it out this week. Actually, I can't really do anything real fancy simply because to get a costume here (a good one, at least) is quite expensive. So maybe something simple... SPIKE SPIEGEL! But where can I get a blue suit?? Hm... 

But anyway, Yuki and her friend Shigure are going to take me to the bridge by Harajuku station so we can see all the really cool costumes! Woot! ;P

Cool Beans

It's raining today again and I've just been at home, cozing up on the couch watching shows online. There isn't much else to do on a rainy day. I like to sit by the window and just watch the people and cars pass by. I opened my sketchbook, only to close it again when no ideas came into my mind. Recently my Nikon has been sitting alone on the table by my bed. I hope to have another oppurtunity to use it soon. :"] I was thinking of going by the dojo today to practice judo but I'm kinda on the lazy side today. But I should probably go since I haven't been there in a while. I've been a little busy lately. Though I can't even remember why. Haha. 

So here I am, couching around the house with the Ninjai hat ridiculously hanging off my head. I had that Prison Break marathon last night and I didn't sleep until 2 or 3. I'm feeling kinda woozy so I might take a nap. In fact... that's just maybe what I'll do for now. And then later I'm going to cook some spaghetti. That's if I can find the right ingredients around here. :) zzzzzzzz

Wow.

I just found this little 'hack' online that can enable viewers outside of the US to watch websites for US viewers only! Hope you get what I mean. But it's totally neat. Now I can catch up to my fave shows like Prison Break, Lost, and Pushing Daisies! I've seen Prison Break here in Japan but it's dubbed so I don't understand everything they're talking about. It's a good practice, though. but I've been careful simply because I don't want to run into any spoilers!!!! haha. Anyway, so now I can check out the new crusoe on NBC! Gah! Cool. I remember really enjoying the adventures of Robinson Crusoe when I was a kid. So I'm pretty excited to check it out. Haven't seen the pilot ep yet but will soon.

Well, that's one thing that I miss terribly about home. It's the drama shows! Well, it's good I can watch them now. Tonight I'll be on a Prison Break marathon so I gotta be prepared.

Unfortunately I haven't heard back from Costco so that sucks a little. But I will not give up!

YAY! I to Akihabara again yesterday but this time with my friend Yuki. She showed me all these really cool manga and anime stores. They have tons of the those in Aki. Like, seriously, dozens. Non stop. Most of them practically sell the same stuff, too. But, yeah, there were just blocks and blocks of anime. I guess that'd be great for the anime/manga fan. Which I AM one. the only thing is that I can't read japanese other than hiragana and katakana! haha. I guess I'll have to learn one of these days how to read kanji. Yuki laughed at that. But I DID buy some souvenirs to send back home while I was there. I bought some anime action figures of Naruto and Inuyasha to send to my little cousins back in California. Apparently, they like those popular anime shows. Anyway, she also took me to an interesting Indian inspired restaurant in I forgot where. HAHA! But it was good. I love indian food. But the only thing in the restaurant was, was that the rice was japanese rice and not basmati. It was good. But I have to say Indian Food is not Indian Food without the thin basmati rice. :) 

So it was fun. We stopped by some other shops but mainly the otaku parts, too. Her tour of Aki was a lot more fun than my little guide book. 

Cool Random Pic. :)

Hello, not gonna be a very long post today. I've just been exploring some places around the area. I also went shopping and stuff. There's nothing new to say really, that's why. Costco hasn't called and oh yeah! I forgot to mention. My friend, whom I went out with today, brought me to this part of the city called... er... i can't remember... something like Hachi-oga? I don't remember. But it was nice there. It's got a lot of shoe shops, which is actually what I was looking for. And so I got a pair of neat puma shoes. Wish I could post the pic of it, but my gramps borrowed the camera for a day. So, yeah, Hachi place was interesting. We ate together at this Thai restaurant. It was good. My friend is named Yuki. She's really nice. :) She's into anime like me. She'll take me around Akihabara for the anime/manga.

Homesick???

Well today I'm just sorta been lazing around a bit. Nothing much to do around here much. I'm going to see a friend I met at the party the other day. Costco hasn't called yet. Darn! Anyway, that's all I really have to say. Hehe. Sorry for the boring post. Can't help it. I have this feeling in me that I can't understand. It almost feels like loneliness. Maybe I'm getting homesick?? 

Drawing

Sigh... it's a beautiful day in Tokyo. The autumn here is just fantastic. So beautiful, serene, peaceful... I couldn't help it so I went over to the park nearby and started sketching things that I saw and drawing some Anime characters that I know. (I won't be posting them up, fyi!) I'm not much of an artist but i really like the relaxing feeling of drawing and interpreting what you see in real life onto a blank sheet of paper. It's quite soothing.

So I was drawing trees and people... took some photos. Oh yeah, i was trying to draw Ninjai as well. He seems pretty simple but, trust me, it's a lot harder. I kept getting his hat wrong and his body. Man, basically just the whole thing. At that moment, I knew I wasn't meant to be an artist. In fact, I decided that when I couldn't draw a fricking square. hahah.

YOyo ma!

So that outing with my granpa was awesome! We went out to his friends house for the weekend a little bit outta town. The house was an old japanese house but it was huge. His friend is a bit rich, I think. But that was good because there were so many people that came over. Young and Old. It was a lot of fun because I got to meet a lot of cool people and practice my conversational japanese. Most of them seemed somewhat impressed by my fluency. HAR HAR.

So the whole night was one big bash. Maybe that's over exaggerating. It was my first Japanese Paati. Most of them were drinking and smoking, but I'm still underage for that kinda stuff. But that didn't stop me from rocking out on the karaoke! Hahah. Luckily, they had some English songs avaliable so I was able to sing some U2 songs, and lame pop songs I knew. Hahaha. ANyway, it was lots of fun. I took some pictures with some of my new friends. In fact, next week I think I'm going to meet up with my granpa's niece of something. He's going to take me to this district in Tokyo. I forget what it's called. Maybe Harajuku or something to check out the artsy scene there. That'll be definitely fun.

So Costco hasn't called yet. But I'm sure it'll be soon. My granpa says that I'm being impatient. haha. Anyway, gotta go out to the groceries. Jaa!

 
I wish someday I will visit Fujisan. This is a picture my sister took when she went to Hakone. I heard its beautiful there. Maybe I should visit there this weekend? It's not so far from Tokyo! Don't you think the mountain looks so majestic? It does to me! It's been sitting there for who knows how long, watching over Japan like a demigod. Wow. I'd love to take snapshots of Mt. Fuji with my awesome camera. :) 

Holidays...

It's a long weekend here. I hope we get to go somewhere. I wouldn't mind going back to the beautiful Ueno park again. It was very beautiful there. If not, it's okay. My granpa is planning to take me out eating. He is so cool! I LOVE FOOD! I can't wait. Then we're going to go to a friend of his who's going to have a party. I'll get to meet other people which will also be a good time for me to practice my Japanese. 

I talked to my mom this morning. It brought back a few memories and made me miss the dry lands of california. She's doing well with her boyfriend and stuff and she hopes I'm doing alright. AND I AM, man. No need to worry, I told her. We talked about other things like the weather, the time difference, if I found a girl yet... haha... She's going to go to my family Thanksgiving gathering in Sac. I told her to greet my cousins. 

So... life continues for me... 

Outing!

Koncha world! 

It was a very beautiful day today. Even though Costco hasn't called yet, I still got to do lots of cool stuff to ease my mind. I went to Ueno Park today with my grandpa. We drove there. It's such a beautiful park. I managed to take a few cool looking pictures as well. The trees there are AMAZING. I think I said this before, but the trees in Japan really look like they have a story to tell. The trees just look so ancient. 

so it was really beautiful there. I really enjoyed my time in the park and also the temple. I wish I could post more pictures. Oh well. The scenery here really reminds of the scenery in Ninjai. I guess it's because they're both in Asia. Well duh. An example is like this. But too bad it doesn't show the whole tree. :p

 

Yo

I'm at home right now waiting for a Ninjai episode to load. I really digg this show. It's so great. Can't get enough of it. Sorry for the short post. I'm kinda lazy and hungry... :p

Ugh.

So i went job hunting yesterday and it was a bit difficult since most of the help wanted ads were in japanese. I brought some business cards and flyers back home so that my granpa can help me translate them. I still don't know a lot of kanji... well, i went to ikea and they weren't looking for anybody (sadly) but then I went to costco and they were. That was the best news of the day! I swear, man. the whole day was cloudy and dark and cold. everything was in japanese. ikea rejected me. So, yeah, that was great news. So i dropped an application and they'll give me a call if I'm chosen for an interview. I really, really hope that I get to work there. It's kinda nice at costco for me simply because there are a lot of English products inside. It's almost a relief, really. It makes me feel like I'm back home! I love it here in japan, but it's nice to be nostalgic sometimes. :P So I hope they do give me a call one of these days. If anything, I think they'll put me in the loading section. You know the place where we have to restock things and carry huge boxes around. yeah. That's ok. I'm pretty built for that kinda stuff anyway. Well. I'll let you know soon. Jaa!

Koncha!

Koncha Minasan. Just came back from a workout at the dojo. I practiced today for 3 hours, I think. Aikido really takes alot out of me. At the end I'm always sweating like a pig. Haha. So I stayed behind a little bit to learn some more techniques from Sensei. He corrected me and guided me through some more exercises. It was very educational. Then afterwards we went to get some ramen at the ramen bar. It was very cool. We talked a while, with me struggling to speak and understand Japanese. Hehe. Well, I AM proud to say that I've picked it up quite a bit now. I can do simple conversation.

I think it's time to end this little vacation of doing nothing and touring around. Now that I can speak Japanese pretty well, my granpa is asking for me to get a job. I'm not exactly sure where yet. But I've been thinking about maybe Ikea or Costco since there are SOME english speaking people working there. It'll be good for me to get a job and make money and new friends. It'll be a nice experience, working in Japan.

I'm going tobe job hunting later this afternoon so I'll let you know how that goes.

jaa!

COOL

So I went to the zoo and it was lots of fun. I took a ton of really awesome pictures of animals and stuff. God, I LOVE my CAMERA! I can't wait to upgrade to the new Nikon D90. It looks amazing! Not only can it take nice shots, it can also do video! I think it's the first SLR that can do video. The video can also go up to HD, as well, and the lens you're using also affects the video. Like if you use a fisheye lens, then the video will be in fisheye. Anyway... got carried away there. So it was really fun. um...
so I went to Ueno zoo in Tokyo. Not as big as the one in San Diego. But it was still interesting. One of my favorite exhibitions was the Tiger Forest. It was cool to be nose to nose to the animals there. Haha. There was also a pretty cool five-story pagoda and tea ceremony house there. That gave the zoo a japanese touch. The park was pretty big and so I walked around for a couple of hours. Man, my feet ached a lot afterwards. It was interesting. It kinda made me homesick as well.

Gomen nasai..

Gomen nasai. I haven't been able to post recently. We had some computer problems and I had to bring it to the store and try to communicate what the heck was wrong with it. It was tough work! A lot of people here don't know how to speak English. Man. But at least I got to practice some of my Japanese. But, anyway, it's fixed now - up and running. :) So you'll be hearing from me now! Yay. So nothing much has happened lately but the usual. i'm starting to get used to being here and stuff. When that happens, I don't really go out and explore as much. It was only just the first few weeks, I guess. I still want to check out places but these past rainy days, I like to just sit back home, draw, photograph, or something else like READ. Oh yeah, that's one those things here. Not many places to find English books. Well, there are. But you gotta go to the city to find a really good English book store. I miss the libraries back at home. Sigh. oh well. So i've been practicing Aikido. My sensei Juro-sensei, tells me that I'm already getting better but I lack the FEELING. Well, something like that. I'm getting there soon though. Anyway, just wanted to update what's been happening. (Which isn't much). So that's all for now. Jaa ne!

Hey all!

Hey all! My friend sent me this link to this Ninjai article! Isn't that sugoi! actually, it only MENTIONS ninjai. But that could mean that Ninjai is getting popular again. When they start heading the news it means there MUST be some action! WHICH FURTHER MEANS THAT SOME NEW EPS might be coming out soon! It gets me so excited that I want to drink four shots of hot coffee. Anyway.... here it is!

http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=9079811&nav=menu550_2

Park

Hey there! Sorry for having not posted anything since Sunday. Well, it's a very beautiful day today and so I'm going to head to the park for some fresh air and to practice my photography. So, that's what I'm going to do now. Can't type much. I'm too excited! Maybe I'll write some more later on. Jaa ne!

Today I will remain at home...

Right now it is raining hard outside. It almost seems like a typhoon. So here I am, in my grandad's house, just surfing the net and relaxing myself and loading some pics into flickr. The old man is visiting the countryside for a wfew days so I am here alone. He had a friend who died recently or something like that.

I really like it when it rains here in Tokyo. I can't exactly describe it, but it seems to me that everything becomes much clearer when you are alone on a dull day. I can think more. Reflect on my business here. I don't doubt at all moving to Japan. I can only imagine what it would be like back home in America now. I'd probably be crazy by now. :) Anyway, nothing much has happened so I'm just going to do something else. Like watch TV or study Japanese. But you'll hear from me again soon.

Another random pic...

Here's a random pic I found on the web. But I just decided to post it up because it reminded me of the Kiyoki mountains in Ninjai! I wish I could be there right now. Melting away. Ok. That was weird. More like, freezing away. And learning from a mysterious man. "I am your father." Wait, that was from star wars. MOre like, "Don't you REMEMBA?" haha. I'm hyper. I just had a shot of hot coffee from one of the vending machines here.

I MADE MY FIRST ONIGIRI!!!!

Guess what!? I made my VERY FIRST Onigiri! Woot! It was a lot of fun. My granpa helped me a lot. But when I molded the rice ball, it just crumbled in my hands or became so squashed up. But it was fun anyhow. Even then, it was still good in my mouth. We put seaweed in it and umeboshi, since they're easier to make. Sigh.... my ultimate worldly posession: ONIGIRI. I wish I had pictures of it. But my hands were all dirty from the molding and I was enjoying my riceball too much to get my camera.

oh well.. maybe next time!

Japanese Shows

OKay, I was sitting at home flipping channels on the tv and after watching several animes to which i couldn't understand btw, and then I came across a game show. I swear it was the most funniest thing I ever saw. (Oh, yeah, I was wearing my ninjai hat, of course) It was this show and the game they were playing was human tetris. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.... I couldn't stop laughing. I really can't explain it to you and preserve the hilariousness. you have to see it for yourself. I think they posted it up on youtube or something. Just type it in on the site and you'll find it. But anyway, I have never seen anything more funny than that. Whoever thought of these games must be really bored! hahaa. Apparently, there are a lot more funny stuff like ping pong matrix or something. They have like a fight scene live but they make it so that it's slow and matrix-like. It's SOOOOOO funny. I was laughing my ass. I was rolling on the ground. Awesome, man. Awesome.

Here's a picture to give you an idea: I DON'T OWN THIS!

I've been training aikido every day in my granpa's backyard lately. I'm so excited for the next class. I feel SO cool. Hehe. And I'm wearing my Ninjai hat. Now, I just need my samurai sword.

I would just like to say that Miso soup is really good. My granpa makes it really good. He puts tofu and spring onions and that's it. It always turns out so oishi. (japanese word for delicious). At breakfast we usually just have miso soup, gohan, and nori. It's a very satisfying meal. For now I don't really miss American food but there are times when I crave it. Like when I crave for something in English. Haha. Yeah, everything here is in Japanese. Well, almost everything.

Anyway I'm kinda exhausted from my vigorous training (ha!) so I'm going to take a nap now. The journey continues another day..... zzzzz

went out shopping

Hey guys, again! I decided to go shopping today for some clothes in some department store nearby my gran's house. I forget what's called. But I got some clothes. Most of them, I found, were a bit too much for my taste. I'm a simple guy. I don't really wear really fashionable clothing. Maybe I was just in the wrong kind of store. Being here for almost a month now, I'm starting to get used to the unique fashion in Japan. I'll probably eventually start buying those type of clothes with the chains and the prints and the ripped denim and... stuff... 

so yeah, i bought some clothes and went shopping around the area. Then I came upon this store that sells all kinds of stuff. I think there's a term for it. And then I saw IT. 

THE HAT OF NINJAI!!!!!!!!!!! da-dum

I had to buy it. It was so cool. It's like a ninja hat, or like those stuff those cool guys wear in anime. LIke Jin from Samurai Champloo. Drool... So I got it, and I wear it at home. My granpa laughs at me. He says it's for farmers or something. But it's so cool. Maybe one of these days I'll go to Harajuku or some anime convention and dress up into an Anime character. Cosplay! I don't know much about it, though. And I'll probably look funny, too. But maybe... one day...

aikido clas

i went to an aikido class today and boy it was a workout. I think the teacher was even taking it easy on me, too! I'm not much of an exercise person, too, so I was sweating like a pig in the dojo. My form of exercise is usually walking and bike riding. So the martial arts class is entirely in japanese but I could understand a little. I decided to just throw myself in the language because I'd learn faster. Luckily the teacher knows a bit of english (though his speech is hard to understand.) I bought a japanese phrase book and it has helped me a lot, too. I know much more japanese since I arrived here. I'm also practicing how to write hiragana and katakana. Anyway, the aikido was fun still. It's all about discipline! I feel so cool...... soon I'm gonna have muscles to attract the ladies... hehe :p

This picture is NOT mine. I just wanted to show you what aikido looks like. I can't imagine that i'll be able to do that in the future. Makes me nervous.. 

ninjai again

ok, i've been watching ninjai and cowboy bebop recently. They're really cool animes, man! Anything by Shinchiro Watanabe? is good. Like samurai champloo. Oh yeah, same with the Ninjai Gang. As a matter of fact, they have a new show called Karma Kula. It' been on the wait for a while and I hope it comes out soon! Here's a pic:

It's really cool. You guys should check it out. Both Ninjai and Karmakula and samurai champloo and cowboy bebop! YAY. onigiri...

a random picture!

a random picture I took while i was at the park today.  I swear there is something special about the trees in Japan. I noticed it the minute I arrived. It seems like they have a story to tell. Like they've been there for centuries (which some of them have been) and have seen all the battles and tales of ancient japan. When I get near them, they seem alive. Like they listen when you speak to them. As if they can feel. I probably sound like some tree hugger, man, but i don't care. It's really interesting. I LOVE TREES. Yes, Jon, I admit it.

beautiful tokyo

Aah. Fall is coming now. Brown leaves. Red leaves. Orange Leaves. It's all so pretty. A lot of the time I like to hang around in Maruyama Park and lay under the trees, just daydreaming the hours away. And eat onigiri. And wonder what'll happen to ninjai. I'm going out later again today to take pictures. I think since I've been here, I've taken at least about 500 shots. I can't help it. Japan is just so beautiful... compared to where I used to live. But I can't imagine China. That must be beautiful as well. Actually, any place with a very interesting history. But anyway, it's becoming fall now in the land of the rising sun and I have to say, it'll be a very beautiful season. I can't wait till the peak. I gotta go now. 

Dewa mata! Hope the fall looks like this. 

The Ninjai Mystery

Damn I just realized that there's some really cool music from Karma Kula on the Ninjai Gang's myspace account. It makes me wonder how the hell these guys live. The Ninjai Gang is just about as mysterious as their character, Ninjai.

It just makes me wonder somehow, how these guys live, how they got their mad ass skills... it's just pretty ... amazing. Anyhow, I know that in time it will probably be revealed to us. I just want to hear it from them, because a lot of people like to say a lot of things about how "they think" these guys live or this and that and the other person. Everyone always wants to give their opinions. I just figure, I'm going to wait to find out about them from them. I like to hear things from the right and proper sources rather than from the "all authoritative" grapevine. Ha, I have more taste than that thanks very much.

So I've been doing some research on how Tokyo's going to be.. so .. I'd say.. beeeautiful.

onigiri!

I think everyone should eat onigiri. seriously. it should be known throughout the whole world. no - the WHOLE UNIVERSE! I bought like 10 onigiri's today. I think i like ume the best. and I ate them all in one sitting. Man, I gotta control my diet if I'm gonna get into aikido. I also have to control my spendings. onigiri is a dollar each. but it's SO OISHI!
AND WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO CUTE???? I guess to save money, I'll learn how to make them at home. Looks so fun...

Back home

I went to Denden town yesterday and go so caught up at Gundams Osaka it was past midnight that I got back to the cell I'm staying in. I mean, damn, Nipponbashi is any anime fan's HEAVEN. And I when I say heaven- I mean it totally.

Anyway... I've been looking for some Aikido teachers here.. it's the place to learn it anyway. I know this guy back home - he's already 76 years old man, and if his hair wasn't white and if half of his head wasn't so shiny and bald, he could easily pass as a 20 year old weight lifting freak. All from his Aikido training. Damn what I'd give to look like that. My dad's in his mid 50's or so and ..well.. he doesn't look too good. (Sorry dad! Stop drinking all that beer!) With my mom's asian genes in me, should be bout fine.

some random thoughts

Lalal... walking around Japan again... taking pictures of all sorts of things... proudly wearing my ninjai tshirt. hehe. Just seeing someone watching ninjai suddenly reminded me of being at home again. And brought my ninjai obsession back from the dead. Now I'm watching all the episodes again. 

Anyway, I've been watching the morning cartoons in Japanese at my granpa's little tv set. I'm starting to like anime. I've also found that watching jdrama and anime helps with my learning the language. (Even though I only understand 10% of everything that's being said.) But whatever. IT's interesting. Especially with subtitles. Since coming here, I'm already picking up lots of words as I've said before. 

Sigh. I'm just SO glad to have come here. To learn about the Japanese way of life. To eat their delicious food. (onigiri!) And to just observe another culture. 

Ninjai, the little Ninja

I'm still getting used to being here in Japan... but I do find it interesting that I saw someone watching Ninjai at a park a while ago. Ninjai! Who'd have thought that I would meet people here in Japan who were fans of the same Little Ninja I spent so much money on when the Ninjai Gang sold shirts.

Come to think of it.. I wish the Ninjai Gang sold those shirts again. I really liked them. I still have some old worn out ones that survived all those years of me sweating in them, skate boarding in the park and running down the beach.


I did, however, get some of the Karma Kula merchandise from the dude selling that stuff at ebay.
They were totally rad for sure.

Having said that, that kinda makes me feel home sick for Maui's beaches, the mugginess, crickets.. :'(... it can be quite ironic.

Akihabara

Ok. I came back from my Akihabara trip yesterday and slept a good deal. I walked around the entire district for a couple of hours checking out gadgets and manga, anime. I'm not so into manga but I decided to check out the stores just to learn about it more. By the way, Manga is Japanese comics. So like I mentioned yesterday, I went looking out for an SLR. Well, I got one! It's a used NIkon D70 that came with a lens. When I got it, I immediately began snapping shots of everything I saw. From those vending machines to the cosplayers  standing in the street. Everything really. It was a lot of fun. Speaking of cosplayers, a girl dressed in a maid outfit invited me to go to their maid cafe. That sounded interesting so I tried to follow the directions on the brochure she gave me. But I got lost. (I'm not so good at directions.)  I walked all around and then found myself walking around in circles. I tried to ask for directions but nobody really knew about this cafe or they DID give me directions but I couldn't find it. Talk about IDIOT. Well, maybe I just misunderstood the directions. But anyway, I just gave up after 2 hours of wandering around. But at least I got to explore the area a bit. Akihabara was fun anyhow. It was nice to see some foreigners, too. 

I know I was supposed to talk about the transit system, but I got carried away with Akihabara. So maybe I'll talk about the later. Jaa!

Iraishaimase!

Hello World! My name is Shirota Toma. I am half Japanese half American. For most of my life, I lived in California until I was 17. Life wasn't working out for me so well over there. So I decided to learn more about my Japanese heritage and move to the country. I just arrived in Japan last week and  have been staying at my ol' grand pa's house in Yokohama. He is a master of the Shamisen, a traditional japanese 3 stringed instrument. Anyway, so far Japan has been great. I am starting to pick up some basic phrases and words like konnichiwa and arigato. (Those are the obvious ones.) It is a strange place, here in Japan. It's like being on another planet. Everyone is so polite and helpful. Fashionable and not to mention 'short'. Everywhere you go there is a vending machine that serves both cold and hot drinks. There are convenience stores all around... which sell onigiri. drool...

onigiri is so good it deserves it's own space. That's why I called this blog Onigiri Obsession. I seriously buy at least 3 of them every day. In case you didn't know, onigiri is a snack of Japanese rice formed into a triangle and wrapped in seaweed... with something inside: fish, sour plum, salmon or basically anything that's sour or salty. It's the best snack I've ever tasted in my life. Period. 

ANYWAY... other things that make Japan seem different is that all the cars are so tiny. I swear they're smaller than a Honda Civic. They drive on the left side of the road. In Tokyo, it is very busy with people of all kinds. It is also very high tech. Most stores and buildings have automatic sliding doors. The toilets are NEVER cold. They are electronically heated and have numerous functions you can use like the pressure of the water. The shower at home talks to you. The house talks, too. For example, like when the temperature changes it tells you in Japanese. 

All in all Japan is very cool. There is always something different everyday. Today I'll be going to Akihabara or Electric Town. It is a district where they sell tons and tons of electronics and gadgets and stuff. I'm looking to buy an SLR camera while I'm there. They say you can get discount if you show them your passport. 

Anyway... I've gotta go. I'm gonna grab some onigiri on the way. Next time: the transit system! 

Jaa Mata!