World Travelers

On Tuesday night after we canceled on the house party, I went to Shibuya all my lonesome to play some 3rd strike. Before I even got to the arcade I randomly met a couple American guys from Washington, who turned out to be brothers. We introduced ourselves, bought beers at the convenient store, then walked around Shibuya. They were a wholesome pair and were having horrible results when trying to hit on Japanese girls, which was quite funny. Thats when I found out that japanese girls aren't exactly all over white American guys. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun and had some good laughs.

Last night I went to Shibuya once again to play Street Fighter. I found a cool bar with a nice view on the 3rd story. I took a seat by myself, when an older but youthful looking German fellow asked in japanese if the other seat was available. He was surprised to find out I was American and I was surprised that he didn't mind sharing a table with a stranger. We asked what each were doing in Tokyo then the conversation never died from there. As I was scrounging around looking for change, he told me not to worry and bought me a beer. He said he remembers what it what it was like to be a young broke student.

We talked about his career, sailing and his favorite hobby - scuba diving, visiting Germany, the German language, his family, japanese girls and their amazing style, the japanese openmindedness to different subcultures, how to thrive in business, the importance of social networking, ... and how valueable this period of my life is.

The first thing that comes to mind when I meet someone new here is if they are out to drug me or steal my wallet. But I'm really good at judging a persons character and I won't do anything stupid. These encounters and conversations are precious to me.

Ahh gotta go, my housemates and I are going to, well, Shibuya!

YAKINIKU

Yakiniku = Korean BBQ

Roppongi Super Deluxe / Melt-Banana Lite

I've been waiting 2 years for Melt-Banana to come back to California. I never thought I would see them live in JAPAN!

It was here in Roppongi Super Deluxe (coolest venue name ever?). I was surprised to find out that it was a full on noise show. I saw around 5 bands, a few that really stood out better than the rest.



It was interesting seeing the "hipster" crowd of Tokyo. I sat next to a couple really nice japanese guys that I talked to sporadically in broken japanese. A handful of gaijin were there too, a couple of the acts being from out of the country. Quite an amazing night, had gin n tonics, smoked my Lucky Strikes while watching quality live music, and at the end I fulfilled a dream of meeting one of my favorite people in the world.



bSAN and YASUKO O!

Roppongi Hills

Yesterday, I went to Roppongi Hills to see one of my favorite bands of all time Melt-Banana. I got to the "live-house" Roppongi Super Deluxe early and asked a random guy waiting outside the venue what time the show started. We were lost in translation it was difficult to talk to him, but he was nice about it. It turned out he was drumming for Melt-Banana that night and he put me on the list =]

I had a couple hours to kill, so I wandered around and checked out what Roppongi Hills was all about. I read a little about it, its a part of Roppongi that got super rennovated with a couple big towers. It looks like this..

japanese language schoolin'

Ahhhhh first day of school was sooo fun. I took the evaluation test then sat as a guest in the class I'm going to take. It's a full immersion school, so the teacher speaks only in Japanese. I'm joining 3 weeks late, but I was able to follow most of what was going on. The teacher even called on me a lot and I was able to answer pretty well. I'm kind of surprised at how much Japanese I know.

The atmosphere is really cool, everyone is nice and friendly. My classmates were impressed when I told them I was American, which was so funny. The majority are Chinese, then Korean, Thai, and one girl from Spain.

I ended up in my friend Will's class. I sat next to a girl that sits next to him. They seem to be friends already. Her name is Han-san. She's really cute and my type, and Will thinks she likes me ^^

After school we took our route through Shinjuku, ate at a good burger place, then took the train back home. I need to start taking more pictures...

For now I get to resttttt.

Tonight we might go out to this big house music event/party.

please teach me engrish

Did I mention that theres a language barrier here? It could be funny sometimes and most people are nice about it, but it is still nerve-wracking with each encounter. I catch myself speaking broken japanese and making silly hand gestures to explain myself. Every day I pass by thousands of people, but it doesn't feel like I'm a part of their world. I feel like the shy kid I used to be.

Going about the day, not being able to have a real conversation with anyone, made me forget about my own personality. A personality that yearns to be expressed.

But thank god for my friend Will. We've had some good conversation and lots of laughs too. Today we walked to visit my new school, taking a route through Shinjuku. I'm still in awe, I can't believe I'm here.

So heres to getting over shyness, and remembering that I have a lot to offer.

Shibuya Crossing. also pictured in previous post. The busiest crosswalk in the world. Sorry for the shaky video, I didn't know the camera was so sensitive.

Sunday Sunday

After spending 2 straight days sickly in my room, I had to get out for a bit. I'm not fully recovered, but a couple Tylenol gets the job done for awhile. So on Sunday, I spent some time wandering around, mostly getting lost, being confused, going back and forth between different trains. I realized that I should research a bit before going out. I went to Yoyogi to visit Yoyogi Park, but it was all Yoyogi and no Park for me. I couldn't find it. I felt like a noob. Which is how I feel 90% of the time here.

I got lost many more times trying to get back to my house, but eventually I made it and overall enjoyed the day out. When I got back to Hatagaya, I got the sense of home for the first time. I love this neighborhood, its nice to come back to after being in the busy parts of Tokyo.



sooo relaxing if you get a seat

A sort of random day. I also realized that I haven't been in full health ever since I got here. I can't wait to get better, I'll have fuller updates when I do.

sickry

I've been in my room all day, with the exception of going out for an hour for din din. I went to Mos Burger, I think its a popular franchise here in Japan.

Last night my housemate and I were looking for something to eat when all of a sudden he shouted, "Whoa! Burger King! This placed closed down in France about ten years ago." I thought it was funny, I've never seen anyone get excited for Burger King. I taught him that the "Whopper" is their signature burger. It was good, but honestly, it just tasted like Burger King lol

This evening after dinner I took a little walk down Nishihara street. It was nice. It's filled with local family shops, kids playing in the street being happy its Friday, and people riding bikes and walking their dogs(Inu^^)

Yes, it was a slow day. time to rest once again, I'll be better in a couple days hopefully. Then exploring and photographing will resume! For now you could check out the treats I brought home from my walk ^_^


I have no idea what the label says. But I'm guessing it reads "CHOCOLATE!!!!!"

Infamous Lucky Strike cigarettes. Probably not the best thing to do while sick, but hey, they were only 300yen ($2.50)

The greatest drink ever. Cold green tea, available at convenient stores and vending machines. We really need these back home.

I'll be enjoying my chocolate and green tea, you guys are probably enjoying a good sleep. Its 3:00AM there?? hah

AMURICUH

I don't know what to think about this, I saw it in the subway and laughed. I can't believe they made his secret service agent black too haha

my housemates:
2 from Italy
1 from the UK
1 from Paris
2 from Spain
2 from Denmark

I still haven't met an American here, but I'm pretty sure I walked passed one last night in Shibuya.

Incredible first day, thanks to my housemate Will from Paris. I was worried about meeting new people and making friends, but one short conversation with him lead to an invitation to show me around Tokyo. He's looking for a job, so we went out to a French restaurant where he needed to meet up with an old boss.

He bought me a beer at a French cafe, he showed me around Harajuku, taught me how to hit on Japanese girls, we talked a lot about France and America, we went to his favorite bar in Shibuya (which was so dope), then had another beer at home where I hung out with my other housemates for the first time.

I'm happy my housemates are so cool, lots of plans on the way.

As much as we are down to party, we are also all attending the same language school. I'm looking forward to studying in May.

Hatagaya

I cant find my Tokyo city guide, so I have no map or anything right now. But thats what makes exploring even more fun! This morning I walked around my neighborhood for the first time and had a great time.

My house. Its small. I think some American walk in closets are bigger than my room =/

Its so pleasant here. There are a lot of people, but everyone keeps to themselves, they're all really quiet. Im really quiet. And I look japanese. I get the feeling people here just think Im a local walking around with them.

I wanna buy a bike! With a basket on it ^_^

I just time warped to some place amazing. There was a portal and I walked through. Im slightly in the future, the people are nice, and a lot of them ride bicycles.

I have a camera! Ill show you things