First trip

---

Yokoso Nihon e

My first time outside the US, except for the Philippines. I went with my friend. His name is Wei (can't remember his last name. We were friends from my college days in UCI).

We went to Tokyo but stayed with his older brother in suburb of Tsurumi. The commute to Tokyo was about 30 mins. Eventually we had to leave because I started to snore loudly, and neither of them could sleep. It turned out that the I was jet-lagged but I just didn't know it.

We joined a bus tour and went to Kamakura and Hakone. The skies were clear, so it was a picture perfect day. We could see Fujisan from the lake. After the tour, we would stay with my friend Tuan in Ibaraki.

When we returned, we met my friend Junko in Ueno Park. She took us to Shibuya, and later on, we had dinner with her cousin Tomoko. Her cousin works as a seiyu (voice actor) in some animes. She had a small bit in one of the 3x3 OVA's. But she knew all the big time names (like Hayashibara Megumi, Touma Yumi, etc). At that time, I was like the biggest anime fan ever! It was one of the best Christmases I can remember.

I met Tuan and his wife. Unfortunately, I started to get sick, so Wei and I decided to return to the US, cutting short our vacation. It sucks to be sick when your on vacation!

---