I★MA(´• ω •`)SU★GU

My adventures in Kyoto, Japan | Spring 2017 | Life back in Berkeley | Fall 2017 and beyond

[koikoikite]

Back in the USA!

yup, the above picture is me being a tourist in SF. My roommate got super into rock climbing/bouldering while he interned in Texas over the summer, so we went to the Dogpatch (?) in SF, a famous bouldering gym. 

It was pretty incredible. I’m glad my muscles didn’t decay much while in Japan. 

Anyway, coming back was pretty uneventful. I had a rough time fitting all my stuff into my suitcases, but I managed it... I definitely wouldn’t have had to leave anything behind if I hadn’t bought so many books... 

it’s sinful how much I bought. 

That’s 67 books right there. Only 66 were for me, since I bought rock-climbing roommate the first volume of 僕だけがいない街. But the rest (君に届け、とある魔実の禁書目録、四月は君の嘘、氷菓、マドカ、時をかける少女、・・・) were all for me. I put all these in my little carry-on sized suitcase, and it topped out at 21 kilograms! Why are novels so much heavier than manga...?

I also went out for ramen with my roommates after I got back. They were talking about this super tasty new place near our apartment, but it turns out I had eaten at this chain in Japan. I remember it being kinda pricey (around 900 yen for a bowl), but it was around $17.00 here!! What??

and the egg yolks were yellow :(

Anyway, a few days after that school started. I’ve been slammed. 

My courses include 2 CS classes (operating systems and security), both project based classes (yay... not); and a Japanese linguistics class. The class is so easy that it hurts. Why is my OS class, which takes over 25 hours a week, the same weight as J160, which takes no more than 5??

It’s cool learning Japanese linguistics though, especially because I’m correcting my pronunciation. Like for the う sound, in English we purse our lips, but in Japanese they’re kinda flat. Some things like this I had been doing unconsciously in an effort to imitate native speakers, but other things (が) I had no idea there was a “better” way to pronounce them. The only way I can describe how to better pronounce が is to nasalize before starting it. Instead of /ga/, it’s /nga/. It’s not really common among the younger native speakers in our class, and I didn’t hear it all in Kyoto, but when I listen to Kalafina songs usually Wakana pronounces her がs this way. (So now I know another reason why my Kalafina karaoke didn’t sound at all close to the real thing...)

My part-time job is also sucking up all my free time. 

I teach a couple discussion sections now!!! That’s a picture of my blackboard the first day of class. I’m a senior TA (omg I feel old), so I work 20hrs/week (it’s more like 25-30 -sob-). I manage people too, so now I know why managers get paid more (it’s cause it’s stressful). It’s the best job ever - I teach linear algebra and applications of it - so I shouldn’t complain.

As for regrets about leaving Japan... I wish I learned more JPop before I left, because now I listen to things like this (私達は未来の花) and feel a dull ache inside that comes from not being able to karaoke it. 

Gonna push (ha!*) out some more blog posts about my remaining japan travels when I have the time. For now, have a picture of the whiteboard down in the CS labs I affectionately call the Soda Dungeons. Apparently we can personify the classes CS162 (OS), CS189 (Machine Learning) and CS186 (Databases? idk) as anime girl tropes. I’m sad that 189-chan got erased, because she was best tsundere. 

[koikoikite]

東京に行こう！①

~let’s go to Tokyo!~

(disclaimer: I’m finally pushing these blog posts out, over a month late... sorry about that. Let’s talk about Tokyo!)

I booked a Shinkansen seat for Tokyo for the first Sunday after classes ended. I originally thought that they ended on the Friday, so I thought I would just have a day to clean and pack, and then leave the day after. However, it turns out our finals run on a Friday to Thursday schedule, so I ended up having two days before I went to Tokyo. I really rested up, went to Book-off (what else do I do) and read some manga, and entertained my friend who was in town Thursday (we went to book-off, karaoke, and round 1).

My Shinkansen ride was lovely. (I am currently writing this during my 15-hour local train return trip, which I will blog about soon). I bought some yatsuhashi (a Kyoto special snack) for the Takahashi’s who I planned to see on the return trip and for me to eat on the train ride there. I got the window seat facing Mt. Fuji, but it was a cloudy day so I was unable to see it. No problem! I booked the fastest, the Nozomi, and it only stopped in Nagoya and Yokohama before my shop in Shinagawa. I then took a JR train to Shibuya station.

And I was lost inside that maze for almost an hour. I don’t understand why Japan puts entire malls and restaurant rows inside their train stations. It honestly makes them 300% more stressful. I am glad I booked my AirBNB near Shibuya and not Shinjuku, which is apparently the busiest station in the world. And I arrived at 3PM on a Sunday! I couldn’t imagine Tokyo during rush hour… but don’t worry. I did experience that the next day.

the ghibli shop raised my spirits. I was looking for a new wallet and would have loved a Kiki one... except that all the wallets here were 14,400 yen each. さようなら、キキの財布を買う夢

I eventually made it to my AirBNB around 4:30 PM, after accidentally taking the express subway and having to backtrack a stop. It was a sharehouse, so there were a large amount of rooms marked by the letters A through at least N (that was my room). The room was about as big as my Berkeley bedroom, so it felt like home! (40 square feet, if you’re wondering). There were three bathrooms in the sharehouse, and they had BATHTUBS! I ended up soaking my feet every night, since I walked over ten miles every day I was in Tokyo.

There was also a downstairs area where people could mingle, but I didn’t really go down there since I was busy exploring Tokyo. Also, the couple times I went there, I got roped into conversations (I was reading a light novel outside my closet of a room and I guess that was a conversation starter) and ended up going to bed later than I wanted to. I cooked my hardboiled eggs for breakfast every morning in the kitchen, and stored my 40% off fruit I bought at 11PM from the nearby supermarket in the fridge.

For dinner, I met my friend who lives in Saitama in Shibuya at Torikizoku. I know a chain izakaya isn’t the best I could do, but I wanted a high-protein, cheap (800 yen) meal after my lunch on the train consisted of only the yatsuhashi. The whole bag. We then explored Shibuya at night! It was pretty great. We first went to a Tokyo discount store called Don Quixote, where I discovered my favorite fiber chocolate cookies are 30% cheaper than in Kyoto. I bought 5 packs to bring back to Kyoto; 2 made it. Also found some tea with a taiko no tatsujin PET bottle cover attached, so of course I bought it. 

太鼓って最高（笑）

We then went to book-off (さすがエレナ) and I was astounded at how large Shibuya’s 100 yen section was. I told myself I wouldn’t buy any books while in Tokyo so I didn’t that night (but hooo boy was I wrong). I also saw some cute stuff at Loft that I wanted to get as souvenirs for people, but decided to sleep on it and purchase them back in Kyoto if I still wanted them in a week.

My first day was really only half a day, so it wasn’t too eventful. However, that’s the reason I booked an AirBNB near a major station: so I could have fun without too much travel.

(And after 5 days in Tokyo, I still was only able to orient myself around the station by trying to find Hachiko.)

[koikoikite]

誕生日おめでとう！大阪へ

~happy birthday to me~

I originally had two exams (ugh) on my birthday, July 7, so I told my parents if they wanted to go to Osaka that day, they should just hire a tour guide. However, just a few days before, both of my tests that day were moved/canceled, so I decided to just play hooky and travel that day. However, my friends and I planned on dressing up for the tanabata festival that night, so I still couldn’t play tour guide with them that day… so I just accompanied them to Osaka, and then we split up and did our own things.

They ended up going to Osaka Castle, the Instant Ramen Museum, and the floating gardens.

I treated myself to a pastry for breakfast... shouldn’t have done that, since now i need to do a fall cut...

I ended up going on a shopping spree. (If you know me, it was not much of a spree. I spent less than 10,000 yen, mostly on books and clothes on sale.) I first went to Animate to buy my penlight for the Hello!Project concert (idols) that I was going to the next weekend, and ended up picking up a couple volumes of manga I couldn’t find at book-off. (I did see these volumes at Tokyo book-offs, so I was a little sad later.)

Japanese dressing rooms require make-up masks! 

took purikura by myself... kinda lonely but ehh

I then went to the Hep-5 mall, and made my rounds on all the floors. It’s July, so all the shops were having their July sales. I got some clothes for ridiculously cheap, like 70% off, and further discounted when you bought multiple items. That sounds nice, until know the price of normal Japanese clothing… To be honest, I feel like when I wear the Japanese clothing, I’m not as hot in this weather. Probably because I swapped out my skinny jeans for their flare-y harem pants (not sure what they are actually called) and my tight t-shirts for their light ones. I also went into the school uniform shop… and was blown away by the prices of uniforms. A skirt for 13,000 yen?!?! There go my schoolgirl dreams… I ended up buying a pair of socks with the brand logo on them, because I had seen other girls wearing them and they looked super cute.

my haul, minus the penlight

I returned to Kyoto around 4PM, and went to my friend’s dorm in order to get dressed up for the tanabata night market. My friend is in the yukata club at school, so she tied all of our obis for us and helped us into our yukatas… I still don’t know how to put one on and tie the obi. (Part of the reason I bought a male yukata to wear to Tokyo Obon).

The market was so much fun! I wore tennis shoes for everything but the pictures, like all of the other elementary school children… what does that say about me? We tried fishing, and ate lots of festival stall food. We were going to do fireworks, but all the ones at the konbini were marked up, so we decided it wasn’t worth it.

My friend and I caught the last train home, luckily.

I turned 21… and I didn’t even go to a nomikai! Honestly, being able to legally drink here, I can probably count on one hand all of the drinks outside of an izakaya I’ve purchased. I had a pretty awesome day – there’s a festival on my birthday – so I’m satisfied with it!

[koikoikite]

二日残る

Most of my new blog posts are actually stuff that happened during July, but this is a more recent post! I’ve officially left Kyoto, and am staying in Osaka for a few days until my flight back to SF. I didn’t do much today, except buy more crap that I don’t have room for in my suitcase. 

The other day, though, I did go to this delicious バイキング in Arashiyama (the one that was closed on my birthday). Considering I’m having a hard time fitting into my American clothes, this wasn’t the smartest idea. (It’s all muscle, I swear! Japan is leg day 25/7)

I also got invited to go to the bookstore with my friends on one of their last days in Japan, so of course I bought more novels I don’t have room for. 

It’s ok! Some were on sale! Hooray for Book-off. (hyouka, the girl who leapt through time, and your name.) 

As for today, first I went to Umeda Animate to pick up the new Kalafina single. It’s only 5 tracks (2 are instrumental) for 1,500 yen... so pricey. 

Potato quality pics to minimize glare from lighting. I got the awesome postcard with it, too!

Umeda Animate has two stores, so I was looking around one of them for this CD for like 5 minutes, wading through the sea of BL merchandise and BL fangirls before I realized I was in the manga/character goods store and not the CD/DVD one. Luckily when I went to the other store, the display for this single was right at the front. 

I don’t want to unwrap anything until I get back to America, and additionally, I don’t have a CD drive on my laptop, so I guess unboxing this and perhaps scanning it (if anyone is interested) will have to wait about a week. I’m super excited to listen to it, though! After singing all their songs available in karaoke (and attempting all of the harmonizations for Kyrie), I’m even more impressed with Kalafina, if it’s possible. 

Also, I went to karaoke the day this was released (the 9th?) and it was already available to be requested?! Kinda crazy. 

Anyway, I met up with my friend later and we went to eat lunch and take purikura. 

 It took me like 5 tries to write “大阪” since the calibration of the pen on the screen is not the best. 

We usually use the “cyunt” machine (yes you read that correctly) because we get a kick out of saying the word cyunt, but decided to branch out today. 

Of course, we then saw that en entire CORNER of the purikura floor of HEP-5 was cyunt machines. The cyunt corner. People were lining up to get inside them. We couldn’t handle the jokes we were making.  

(We also went to the schoolgirl store and freaked out over the ￥16,000 skirts. I then bought some socks and a necktie for a cosplay...)

So now I just gotta pick which of my thousands of photos I want to print for a scrapbook...

I can’t believe I leave in 2 days!!

[koikoikite]

両親と一緒に：京都の歴史

~together with my parents in Kyoto~

First: I apologize for the delay in posts. I was caught up in exams and traveling, so although I leave Japan in a few days, I still have over 20 posts to put up. Some are already written, so look forward to them! 

My parents went to Hiroshima on Tuesday and Wednesday, so when they returned on Thursday we decided to do some sightseeing in Kyoto. I had a test that morning in my first class, so I zipped over to school, took the test, apologized to my stunned sensei (I have a good attendance track record) and left the school in order to meet my parents at the subway station by their airbnb.

this station has a nekoatsume gachapon machine! unfortunately, I had collected 5/6 of the keychains and they removed the machine!!! 残念

We first went to Tenryuu-ji in Arashiyama, a Buddhist Temple with a nice zen garden. Unlike the last time I went, we splurged and paid the entrance fee that allowed us to go inside the temple in order to escape from the heat. We also walked through the bamboo forest, although I told my parents that it was famous for its spiders after we had left.

my parents, and one of the rooms of the temple

Tenryuu-ji

I wanted to take my parents to this super tasty buffet I had gone to before with Sayaka, but it turns out that week it was closed for renovations!! I intended this to be my birthday lunch (I turned 21 the day after this day), but sucked up my disappointment and we found a tasty (and cheaper!) restaurant where my parents got katsu dishes and I got soba noodles with some kind of fish… can you believe I ate a fish that I'm not even sure what it was??

I am the most photogenic.

After that, we continued our quest to visit one of Kyoto’s most famous temples: Fushimi Inari Taisha. This is probably my favorite shrine I’ve ever been to, for multiple reasons:

Foxes!

There are thousands of torii (red shrine gates) that you can walk through

No entrance fee! I put this money towards buying a mamori (charm) instead.

The one drawback is that since there are thousands of gates that don’t get cleaned off… the amount of spiders residing on them is absolutely ridiculous. If you go, just don’t look up. You’ll thank me.

Lastly, we made a stop at Kiyomizu-dera. It’s under construction for the 2020 Japan Olympics, but my real reason for going is that a few of the shops on the road up to the temple have samples, and my favorite shop has over 10 different kinds of yatsu-hashi, a Kyoto sweet. I’ve actually never bought these, since when I am craving them (they are expensive and don’t keep longer than a few days) I just drag my butt up there and eat my fill of samples.

I really wore my parents (and myself, let’s be real) out, so we took a taxi back into the city. Since we had subway passes, we decided to go get dinner up in Kitayama and see my dorm. I finally tried the family restaurant Royal Host, and although it was tasty, the price was not worth it for the portion size (Saizeriya size).

I was glad I was able to be my parents tour guide, since hiring one for the day (like they had to do in Tokyo and Osaka) runs around $300. My fee was just feeding me and buying me mamori from all the temples – what a steal ;)

[koikoikite]

Last Day of School!

Mostly a photo dump of my classmates and favorite teachers, as well as what I did to celebrate. 

That first pic is of my JLPT N2 prep class and sensei. Despite her class being めっちゃ厳しい、she was always sweet and gave us a merciful final. 

Next is a photo of all my classmates from my general 総合 class. Classes are pretty small here; my friend in level 0 said that her class only has 6 people!

My two favorite senseis are these. Their explanations were always super crisp, and they both had great senses of humor. I had them both on Tuesdays, and our last Tuesday class both of them independently told us about the huge firework event/大会 in Osaka that evening... “But you all have to study, so although I recommend it, I also don’t recommend it.” Such sass. 

This last group isn’t actually my class; it’s the level 3 class. My Tokyo friends and I happened to be eating lunch at the same restaurant they picked, so I popped in to say hello. A sizable amount of them were in my Business Japanese class, though. 

Bonus!

Reusing this picture because this sensei is too awesome. She runs yearly marathons, for a start. I’m glad I took a level 1 class!

The celebration

I am an extremely boring person. After my tabehoudai katsu lunch, my friend and I went to karaoke. It was his first time! However, the intersections of songs we both knew was rather small... we had a great time singing 光るなら、oath sign, 残酷な天使のテーゼ、and 前前前世 among others. 

We then went to book-off and he helped me find some novels (branching out from all the manga I buy). I got 氷菓 (Hyouka)、とらドラ (Toradora)、とある魔術の禁書目録 (A Certain Magical Index)、and 狼と香辛料 (Spice and Wolf)。At least I’ll have something to do during my travels to Tokyo on Sunday!

Lastly, we went to Round 1 and took some プリクラ photobooth pictures and played arcade games. I beat a song on oni (hardest) level on Taiko no Tatsujin for the first time!! It’s a drum rhythm game, and I am slightly addicted to it. However, I don’t play taiko drums at all, so I usually can only do around 10 songs before my forearms give out on me. Keeps me from using up all my money, I guess! 

[koikoikite]

i accidentally spent 7 hours in karaoke today

also, sorry for a lack of posts recently. I’m in the midst of finals, and am still playing catch-up from when my parents were here (I missed a lot of school). I”ll be posting some more stuff this weekend: hopefully the rest of our travels, and then some doshisha guides! 

...how did I accidentally spend 7 hours in karaoke? 

i decided to go for 2 hours

biked all the way to the far-away jankara in kitayama so I wouldn’t run into anyone 

arrived at 3:15 and decided to do free time since it was only 200 yen more

thought free time was from 11AM-7PM

apparently the 夕方 free time is from 3PM-10PM and is the SAME PRICE

cue me looking at my receipt with confusion for 3 minutes 

“i’ll just karaoke until my voice gives out”

voice doesn’t give out till 9:30 PM

tough out the remaining half hour

waste an afternoon not studying for finals :(

but hey... got some reading practice in, singing a bunch of 東方 songs I hadn’t heard in years! ケロケロケロケロ

also, I can finally do vibrato! yay! can finally do the kalafina songs justice!

UPDATE: I don’t think I will be sleeping tonight. I had two grape sodas and around 15 iced teas during that marathon.... I guess it’s time to slog through my railgun manga...

[koikoikite]

Part 1: 両親と一緒に・・・

~Part One: together with my parents in Japan~

My parents arrived in Kyoto yesterday! This photo was taken right as we met outside the Shinkansen exit at Kyoto station. Despite it being 90 degrees and 70% humidity, I think we look pretty good! 

They rested the rest of the day as I went to a post-JLPT karaoke session, but today (Monday) we had a lot of fun! 

This morning I went to class like the good student I am, and they took a tour of Nijo castle. 

I still regrettably haven’t been, but I’m glad they got to experience it. 

We then got lunch at the 回転寿司 (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant. 

This one has every plate at 100 yen (with exceptions for the non-sushi), so we racked up a total bill of 1300 yen for the three of us... quite the bargain for lunch. My parents were really impressed with the screen to order whatever sushi we wanted, and the “shinkansen” that brings the food right to your table!

We then went down to Gion and did some shopping at Gyoumu Supermarket and Daiso while my dad went back to the Airbnb to charge the electronics. 

At 5:00, we met at the Super Karaoke-kan in Sanjo. 

singing “Hotel California”: the English language songs have the Japanese phonetics written above the words! 

I sang “oath sign,” one of my favorite LiSA songs. 

My parents got a kick out of all the automated machines: lunch and dinner orders, the karaoke song and food requests, and the karaoke machine where you pay.

We headed to the izakaya next door for dinner. 

We got a ton of food: skewers, tempura chicken, cabbage, rice that cooks at your table, and some cheese croquettes. 

My parents head off to Hiroshima for the next couple of days, so I am staying at their Airbnb in the meantime. Next up: Arashiyama and Fushimi-Inari on Thursday! 

[koikoikite]

一番簡単やけど、好き：my favorite class

Here at Doshisha University, there are 9 levels of Japanese classes for foreign students. You have general and supplementary classes for each level, and then electives in the afternoon. Most electives are grouped by level: for example, the Business Japanese I’m in is for levels 3, 4, and 5; and the grammar class I have is for levels 4, 5, and 6.

However, most of my friends from the University of California are level 1. So, I somehow managed to weasel my way into their culture class... and it is definitely the most fun class I have, if not a little boring at times (due to the level of Japanese spoken). 

There are tons of Japanese student volunteers who come in to help out, so I get to have conversations with them every week. Additionally, we learned about these topics, to name a few: 

Japanese anime and manga: I actually did a presentation on Kimi ni Todoke for this one, and brought in the volume that DIDNT deceptively look like a yaoi comic.  

Japanese pop music: I did another presentation because no one else steps up to do anything, and made the class listen to Kalafina. I wore my concert t-shirt, and everyone thought it was funny how dedicated I was. 

Japanese clothing: we had a lesson on how to wear kimono. 

we also did a lesson on Kansai dialect and Japanese slang. I volunteered to do a skit, not knowing it was about a breakup... my partner was a champ and read the lines up in front of the class with everyone, and helped me with my intonation. We then compared slang in English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish...

this was the last day Takagishi-sensei was teaching, so some of my friends and I took a picture with her. She’s so enthusiastic, and runs marathons!

Just today we had an aikido lesson. I scared everyone when I fell, since I am used to it from Judo and made an appropriately loud noise during the ukemi. The sensei also said he could tell I did a martial art, since I was strong when pinned (for a girl)...

ignore my failed punch. I’m used to seoinage, not street fighting.

All in all, I’m glad to have a class with my American friends. 

Also! My parents just landed in Japan yesterday. I’m going to be blogging a lot about our traveling when they arrive in Kyoto next week (Golden Week Part 2?), so be on the lookout for those posts!

[koikoikite]

私らしくない | a night on the town

Guess who went out shopping, drinking, and to an arcade and an izakaya this past friday night? It was a nice change of pace from my usual anime marathons ;)

I decided to celebrate the conclusion of test hell week by going to Kyoto’s Nishiki Market with my friend. She had never been to an izakaya, so were were going for dinner. 

I started out the day with school: two tests and a surprise debate (I was the only one who chose to defend the merits of cats in class, so I had to carry my team by myself...). After that, I made a quick run up to Imamiya Jinja, a shrine I’m fond of, to buy a mamori charm to give me some luck for the JLPT I take in a week. 

After that I biked around half an hour down to Nishiki Market to meet my friend. We got delicious crepes on a whim before our shopping. 

Mine was cookie crumbles, hers was tiramisu, and we both got matcha tea/vanilla swirl ice cream. 

We then went to the mall and proceeded to empty our wallets. First was Daiso, a dollar store, where she bought some flashcards for kanji. I managed to make it out without buying anything. Next, we did some clothing shopping and stumbled across a store having a summer sale. 

original price: ￥8600.  sale price: ￥3100. 

Japanese clothing is quite expensive... Luckily I managed to snag this outfit. All of the clothing in the store was “free” size, so I was worried about it fitting my “American” (read: chubby) proportions, but it all fit! These pants are nice and light for the upcoming heat of summer :) :( :) :(

We then went up to the top floor, which houses a Book-Off, the most dangerous place in all of Kyoto for my wallet. I managed to get out of the shop with a mere 6 volumes of manga, whispering to the remaining volumes and series yet unbought that I would be back for them someday. 

I bought manga from the series Madoka Magica, Kimi ni Todoke, and A Certain Scientific Railgun. 

It’s a secondhand store, so all of the books are usually a good 50% off the original price. Older ones, like Kimi ni Todoke, are a mere 100 yen each, but newer ones like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (my recent favorite about a violinist and pianist duo) are over 400 yen each. I reeeeeally wanted to buy that one, but I will wait and see if I truly need it...

I know the layout of the store pretty well, so I don’t have any more awkward moments like when I was reading Death Note in the middle of the yaoi/BL section...

We then went to the izakaya, torikizoku. It’s on the 6th floor of a building, so we got this nice view. 

At an izakaya, you order lots of small plates of food like yakitori (chicken skewers), cabbage, edamame, rice bowls, and of course, alcohol. 

Since I am a protein bro to the core, of course I ate two orders of momo yakitori, as well as some tempura shiso chicken and a whole bowl of cabbage.

Lastly, we went to the arcade, where were tested out luck with the gyachapon machines (my friend got Yuuri from the Yuuri!!! on Ice one! I’m so jealous!) and took photos in the photo booths. 

These booths are a little stressful since you are under a time limit to decorate the pictures, but I have gotten faster at it!

I almost forgot! I found the cutest drink at the supermarket:

It reads “wednesday’s cat,” how cute!

[koikoikite]

受験地獄 | test hell

For some reason all my tests lined up this week: 

Monday: general class kanji test, reading class unit test

Tuesday: speech class presentation, general class second kanji test, grammar class midterm

Wednesday: mock JLPT

Thursday: reading class vocab test

Friday: general class unit test, speech class presentation, business japanese test

Is this even possible???

Also, in 2 weeks I will take the 日本語能力試験 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), so I’m studying my butt off for that. 

Just a reason why the posts are going to be 少ない for a little while. And of all times, I decide to become obsessed with an anime...

とある科学の超電磁砲

I reeeeally want to make a cosplay of the heroine, but probably won’t have time for that until next winter break... I seem to like schoolgirl cosplays a lot these days (last comic-con I debuted Ryuuko and Fukawa). I also think I will buy the manga from Book-off and try to read it in Japanese (that is, if I ever finish Kimi ni Todoke, pictured below).

Anyway, I have a few posts lined up, and I’ll have lots to write about once July hits! 

[koikoikite]

着物や浴衣着ながら哲学の道を歩いた日

~the day we wore yukata and kimono and walked the Philosopher’s Path~

This happened SO LONG ago and I’m finally blogging about it. While writing this, I’m currently listening to my new favorite artist: Nana Mizuki, who is apparently a prolific voice actress (Naruto) and trained as an enka singer. I want to perform her songs at karaoke... 頑張らなくちゃ！

Anyway, my friends and I decided to all dress up in our Japanese clothing and walk the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto and take pictures during the sakura season. 

We first went to our friend Caryn’s apartment and she helped us get dressed, while my friend Vi did our makeup. It took us 3 hours! 

We then went and got curry for lunch... not the best option when wearing a tight obi (belt)! Luckily, I drank a lot of water before putting on the yukata, so I just peed before lunch and made some room :) 

We then walked to the path, and took lots of pictures! 

I luckily brought a pair of tennis shoes to wear outside pictures, because the shoes you wear with yukata/kimono are not too comfortable for someone with plantars fasciitis. 

I can’t wait for summer to come, and wear the yukata at festivals! 

[koikoikite]

回転寿司

昨日の晩ご飯、回転寿司だった。魚あんま好きじゃないけど、食べてみて、焼いた方が好きや！びっくりした。私７皿たべて、友達13皿食べたから、共に20皿になって、ギャチャポン機械を４回してみた。最後のトライに、勝った！友達の方がもっと食べたから、賞をとった。楽しかったなあ。

最初、焼いたエビが好きなことを知ってたから、一番目の皿はエビだった。次は、卵。初めてごはんとかいそう（？）を食べたけど、美味しくないわけじゃなかった。でも、卵の裏にマヨがあったから、ちょっと残念な感じ。

その後、綺麗なエビ・さけ・まぐろ皿を食べた。でも、魚の下にごはんの代わりにおもろい寿司があった。最後は、牛肉だった。

戻りたい〜　多分、両親が来日したときに、連れて行くかも。

I tried writing this in Japanese! My level is pretty basic, but I think I got my point across. 

I went and got conveyor-belt sushi last night with my friends. I don’t really like fish, but I can handle it cooked, so I ate shrimp, mackerel, tuna, and salmon, along with some non-sushi rolls (egg, beef, and cucumber). My friend and I ate 20 plates combined, so we got to play the gyakupon machine four times (one time for each 5 plates consumed). We won the final time! 

I’d like to return... maybe I’ll take my parents! They have non-sushi a la carte dishes there like gyuudon and ramen, too, so I know everyone will be happy ;)

[koikoikite]

🐛🐛🐛

Got my first mosquito bite today. It only took over two months! 

My friend had a birthday gathering along the river, so we all sat in the grass, ate fruit and made mixed drinks, and had a good time. 

The bite is on my upper thigh, but I wore jeans... so why???

Bonus picture of the bento I made to eat at the gathering: 

I’m proud of it. 

Reason for the daikon and umeboshi: constant stomachaches for the past two weeks, and I’m hoping that these foods will help. 

[koikoikite]

おにぎり

I’ve been making these beef onigiri for a few weeks now, and I really like them. They’re a good morning snack. Recipe: 

3 handfuls thinly sliced cooked beef, marinated for 30 min in:

3 parts soy sauce

1 part sesame oil

dash of pepper

2 parts water

5 tsp sesame seeds

seaweed powder

3 cups rice, cooked

I take half the rice, and separate into 5 piles, flattening them out on top of plastic wrap. I pile the beef on top, and shape the rice around like a cup. I then sprinkle the seaweed and sesame seeds, although the seeds can be done at the end as well. 

Then, I start piling the remaining rice on top. I cover all the meat, and then wrap entirely in the plastic wrap, squishing the rice into a triangular shape. 

I usually refrigerate them, and have a tasty onigiri for a snack every day of the week!

[koikoikite]

二番目のコンサート| my second concert

Guess who is going to an idol concert????

This girl!!

My friend and I went today to buy tickets for the Hello! Project summer tour. If you’re unfamiliar with the Japanese Idol scene (perhaps for the better), it is basically an equivalent of the American Disney Channel: young girls with questionable singing talents fulfill their dreams to become famous stars, with unnecessary sexualization along the way. It differs in a few places, though: 

the idol business over here is MUCH bigger than Disney’s stars

most of the fans are adult males (ヲタ)

There are other differences, of course, but I’m not writing an essay on idols. Some of these girls can actually sing, though; here are some of my favorites: 

Oda Sakura from Morning Musume: ウソつきあんた

Takeuchi Akari from Angerme (the short-haired one): ねえ先輩 

Takagi Sayuki from Juice=Juice: レソナントブルー

Some of my favorites have also graduated (Riho, Reina, and Risa, singing 「シルバーの腕時計」) .

I’ve got some preparations to do beforehand, however! 

Buy a penlight. If you watch the videos above, you can see all of the fans in the audience have glow sticks. There are fancy ones that last for hours and change colors, and since it is an integral Japanese concert item, of course I am going to buy one and support my favorite singers by changing it to their color! 

Decide what merchandise I want to purchase. I’m sure there will be boatloads of it, and I want to make sure a good portion of the profits for the stuff I buy goes to the girl(s). 

Read up on common practices. I have no idea what to wear, bring into the concert, expect out of it...

I’ve been following these groups for a few years now, though, and I can’t believe I have the chance to see them perform in person. Some of the girls are my age, so it’s interesting seeing someone as old as me having such a different life. 

Also, I decided to include a quick tutorial here for those who would like to buy concert tickets from a convenience store. I usually go to 7/11 because I am a loyal American, and I also can withdraw money there. 

look up the p-code online (website is here)

go to 7/11, locate their multiuse machine

select the ticket pia option, and follow this tutorial! 

The process was surprisingly painless. I probably would have a different experience if I tried to get into an Arashi concert or AKB48 one, however. 

[koikoikite]

cafeteria food was excellent today. 

miso soup with seaweed and fried tofu

roasted chicken with spicy Korean sauce

salad: julienned daikon and carrot, topped with more seaweed and tofu

I wonder what the cafeteria workers think of my meals... they’re quite different than the ones I see the Japanese students buying. Usually the girls have a low-calorie entree and bowl of rice, and the guys have some kind of noodle soup/donburi with side dishes. And then there’s me, cramming as much protein as I can into 500 yen worth of food (can you believe this came out to 430 yen?). 

Update on the tofu: I still do not like it. I ingested it by putting half a block in my mouth at a time, chewing it to mush, and chasing it with the miso soup. 

If anyone has tofu recipes that make it taste NOT LIKE TOFU hmu. 

6/2/17