Okay, this weekend was one for the record books. I'm just going to do a day-by-day account because otherwise it will just be too long and confusing. Friday - Skipped my morning class, went to Reading and Writing. Then Zach and I headed into Shinsaibashi to do some window-shopping. We found Osaka MUSE, kicked around the Apple Store, drooled on the iPODs, went to Namba and Den-Den Town, and ate dinner at a Thai restaurant. Then we met up with Levi, Sebastian and a friend of his and headed to Cafe Absynthe. Where they serve real absynthe. I had the most [View Full Entry]

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Whoo, it's been a while since I've written! I've been busy, in a good way, and this is the first time I've really sat down and made time to write. Okay, let's see... last Saturday? I think it was, Jim and I headed off to Kyoto once more, this time without a map or guidebook. Our goal was to find his hotel for during break, which we did quickly, and then just explore. So, wandering around the Gojo - Kujo section of the city, we discovered Nishihonganji, the other temple where the Shinsengumi were based. Also the head temple of the [View Full Entry]

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Yatta! I'm actually going to a concert! Not the one next week that I wanted to go to; it was sold out. But I got a ticket for a show at Osaka MUSE on the 15th of October. Featured bands are Kra, Duel Jewel, MASK and Antic Cafe, with perhaps a couple more to be announced. Let me tell you, the Lawson's ticket machine is an adventure in and of itself. First, you have to find the show you want, and if you don't know the L-code, it's kind of like searching for the Holy Grail. The machine was convinced Osaka [View Full Entry]

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Actually, this was my third AND fourth time in Kyoto, but I'm getting ahead of myself. To put things simply, yesterday sucked. We (the usual suspects) had decided to go back to Kyoto to check out Gion and Pontocho, the two big geisha districts. We waited 'til five when Levi was done with class, joined at the last minute by Sebastian, which was fine. Took the express to Keihan Shijo-eki. No problem. We had decided to check out Yasaka Shrine, Minamiza (or whatever) theater, Ichiriki Teahouse, Gion Corner, and some other places. We went to Yasaka first, and it was really [View Full Entry]

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Last night we (Zach, Levi, Sebastian and I) went out with Haruna, Madoka and Ayako for karaoke and dinner. We ate at a great little okonomiyaki place... I had pork, and it was really great! I usually hate cabbage, but it didn't taste like cabbage at all. We were stuffed when we finished, I thought Haruna was going to explode! We then headed to "Green," a karaoke bar (club?) that has all-night karaoke and 2-hour nomihodai (all you can drink) for 2,100 Yen. So we did that. (Haruna paid for me since the 5,000 Yen I thought I had in my [View Full Entry]

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So, I headed off to Kyoto... not alone as planned, but with Jim because he was going anyway and seemed open to checking out the places I wanted to see. So I was basically in charge. We got on the train at Hirakata-shi, off at Kyoto Shijo Station. From there, it's a good long walk (30 mins?) to Mibu-dera, the first stop on my itinerary. Mibu-dera is the Buddhist temple where the Shinsengumi trained during the Bakumatsu (Revolution). The Shinsengumi were basically a special force charged with maintaining peace and putting down the Isshin rebels. A few of them are buried [View Full Entry]

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We decided to go to Kyoto on Thursday to prepare ourselves for the "official" tour on Friday. It ended up being only Jim, Chris and myself, and we set out pretty late. We did manage to get to the Kyoto Museum before it closed, which was nice but kind of lacking. I thought they would have more Bakumatsu stuff, but I didn't really see any at all. I did learn they once had a Shinsengumi exhibit, which made me very jealous! After that we walked around the area near Sanjo and eventually made it up to around the Imperial Palace, which [View Full Entry]

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Well, I've been in Japan for a week now, even though the time has flown by and it barely seems real. It's been an adventure from the beginning. Our (Zach and I) flight from Baltimore was cancelled, so we had to get a plane from Reagan International in Washington, D.C. From there it was all smooth sailing, although the flight was very long. I slept most of the time, waking up long enough to catch parts of bad movies and change radio stations on my headphones. Thank god for Jpop and instrumental! We landed at Kansai International and my first thought [View Full Entry]

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It's down to less than 3 weeks 'til we leave, and I'm beginning to get anxious. Not nervous, just excited and ready to go. Everything seems to be falling in line: I have my passport, visa, certificate of eligibility, insurance info, and flight confirmed. The latter I did today and tried to get Zach and I seats together. No problem on the Baltimore-Detroit flight, but Detroit-Osaka was difficult. We may have to try again when we get to the airport. Ah well. My mom bought me a DigiCam, and my Grandma bought me this cool travel satchel thing that will hold [View Full Entry]

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This week I mailed all my information/application stuff to the Japanese Consulate in New York so they can send me back my visa. It was pretty scary placing what is essentially my entire life at the moment (passport, certificate of eligibility) into an envelope and giving it to complete strangers. Correction, complete strangers who work for the Postal Service. *shudder* Just kidding! Still, I did insure the package and get tracking/delivery confirmation, so it should be fine. I hope. I just realized that three years ago at this time I was just arriving home from Ireland. I guess I'm f [View Full Entry]

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