car troubles

so i know that it's been a while since i've blogged. i have it written in my planner than i need to catch up. but i'll still need to blog later about the last 2 months.

so this morning i woke up late. i was supposed to wake up at 545am to leave at 615a, but woke up at 615a. i get dressed and eat breakfast, wash my face and such. i get out the door and my car won't start. SHIT!!!! i have 88 miles left in my tank and the gas light has NOT come on yet. but i park backwards on a slant. crap crap crap. i should have known better, but this hasn't happened in a while. great!!! so i go inside and ask melody if i can use her car to get some gas.

i drop her off and head to the citi gas. no gas cans. i go to the shell. no gas cans. i go to hess, which is crazy busy because it has the cheapest gas on hwy 25 and no gas cans. he recommends ingles. ok. i go to ingles and get the only gas can, thank goodness. and since i was there i got some pretzels, and finally found the reduced fat cheez-its, and some bananas. i go back to hess and fill melody's tank with 2 dollars and fill the 2 gallon gas can. i get home and some has spilled a little. not crazy, but just enough to make the back of her trunk smell of fumes.

i put the gas in my tank and still nothing. so i go inside and look up the number to pardee pharmacy and call and tell kerri that i can't come in today. i then call steve to see if he can come by the house tonight after my meeting to help with the car. he said sure. then i'm getting ready to leave because i don't want to be there when merry maids gets there. steve calls back and says he might be able to help after work because he is getting out early. i tried to text melody to ask if i could use her car, but no word yet.

i can't miss my dentist appointment... so i've walked to the mahec library to get some work done. we'll see how far i get :)

aug 1

orientation

it started at 7am so i had to wake up at 530a. i was amazed that i did it. then i got ready and we left at 630 am. we see katherine, meg, and teresa. and then the boys: ahmed, adrian, and matt mcbane. we go get name badges made. then we start going through the rules and the manual.. there is a lot of shit this year. a lot. great!

we got information overload all day. we went to lunch and i got the summer salad and it was delish! then more crap. we didn't finsih til like after 3pm.

we get home and me and merd still need to unpack more. then we learn about drama. melody was pissed that we might have wanted to room in her room. uhhh. there is an extra bed. and then she told rachel that she didn't want anyone in her room. she got here in asheville at 830am on purpose so she could have first pick of the room. she even talked to shante on the phoen and knew that there was only one room with one bed and she had it already. she purposely picked the smallest room and rearranged it to her likeing.

we didnt even want to room with her and she's being pissy. so merd goes to talk with her an dno good. so we keep moving and then we rearrange furnitre and head out for target and dinner. we couldn't believe she was still acting like that. we met ahmed and adrian to go with us to dinner. we told them the drama.

we get home and melody is all smiles and how's it going? we get upstairs and then she comes into the room and starts talkign to us. then she starts singing this weird song. "oh i made this up when i was in 3rd grade." then she sings it again. i walk to rachel and say i think she's crazy. rachel looks at me and is like didn't you know. well i thought so, but now i think even moreso. and so she is. i think bipolar. honest. up and down mood swings. crazy. whatever. i don't have time to deal with that. nor do i want to.

i've been trying to clean up and get oganized. but i went to the bathroom and when i get back the light was out. ummmm. hello. i'm still in here. it's not my fault you want to go to bed so early. it's going to be a long year!

july 30-31

i didn't wake up til after 12p. i finally made myself get out of bed. i needed to ship back my piccell phone and fax some forms to mahec for orientation. i finally made it to barons's and they closed at 430p. that's gay. so i headed to the annex and got both taken care of there.

i came home and mom had ordered pizza. then i think i watched movies the rest of the time. and i loaded the car up.

july 31

i asked mom to wake me up at 6am. she did but for some reason it took me a while to get moving. i ate breakfast. i loaded the rest of my things. and then i wanted to check for directions. i went to starbucks to get coffee and was off. i got gas yesterday. i got to chapel hill after 10am. i went to the storage unit and things had shifted and the door was hard to open. then i couldn't find what i was looking for. then i dropped the padlock and broke off the key. i had to go to the office to get a new one. then i had an appointment and then i met up with clayton. we talked for a long time and then i headed to asheville. i finally made it before 10pm.

there was all this drama with the rooms. when i got there, there is shante in the only single room. and then rebecca on first floor, emily melody and rachel on 2nd floor and all by themselves. so i look in rachels room and see that there are 2 extra beds. she said she is saving one for merd. i ask if i can stay and get hesitation. ok. so i go to melody's room. and ask what about that one. she asks if i looked around at the other and i said no because i know rachel and her best. but i go with rachels room because it's bigger. i asked melody if it was ok to see how it went in the big room and if needed move into hers. she said ok.

july 29

i woke up at 415am and kara got up around 430. we took my things down to the car and then came back up to fetch the girls. they drove me to the station. i was going to catch the 509 to yokohama and then i was to catch the rapid sobu line to the airport. BUT because my bags were so heavy it took more than 5 minutes and i missed the train.

now i was freaking out a little bit because i didn't know any other way to get there. but i looked at my jr maps and if i took the local sobu line i should be able to make it. thank goodness we left so early. i got on the train to chiba. i had to get off and wait for the next train. then it went to narita. i wasn't sure if this was the right stop. i got off then got back on. then the train took me straight to my terminal.

when i got there i loaded my bags on this huge cart that even went up the escalators. i went to the 4th floor for international flights and waited in line to check into the us flights. both of my big bags were only 30kg total. that's better than i thought. so i went to some gift shops to kill some time. then i went thru the departure gate and they had to check my bags. then i waited in the terminal. i saw some monks in golden robes get on. i read my book, and then they fed us. i slept for a few hours and woke up. i watched 3 and a half movies. i saw 21, fool's gold, and vantage point, and half of 10,000. we landed. i took the shuttle to connecting flights. i had to go thru customs and then get my baggage and take it to the next send off point. then i waited.

i called mom and brenda and waited. i got a salad from wendy's and then boarded. i fell asleep but there were these children that would not shut up. we landed and i got my bags and then i saw daddy.

we went to the car and headed home. we talked about where i went and what i ate and everything. daddy said he really liked yakisoba when he was there.

we stopped at bojangles on the way home. we got there and i gave them their gifts. then i stayed up. i don't know why. i don't even remember what i was doing. i went to bed after 12a.

july 28

so this morning i wanted to go to harajuku to shop for some clothes. i ended up getting there after 12p and stopped at the convenie for a rice ball lunch. so i started looking at some shops. i thought things were still expensive. the problem was that you weren't allowed to try shirts on. i understand that we are all sweaty, but i'm sorry i don't like to buy things if i don't know if it will fit. and i don't like wearing big clothes. not for me.

so i wandered around a bit. and then i saw this cute dress. it came in metallic brown and black. i didn't care and tried them on. i am a L. that's ok. i got the brown one. it's dressy. i could wear it to a nice dinner. then i found this fun gray dress. with cut parts and different textured fabrics. i will look cute with leggings underneath. but then i was kinda out of money.

so i went to some other places. i was trying to find monchichi for kara. i've seen him all over the place and when i actually want to buy one, i can't find it. i did find one, but he wasn't in a cute character costume.

then it was time to meet the students at school. i made it to the university after 4pm and then took pictures with some. i got to meet ken, aki, and both kazus. kazu 1 showed me pictures of his trip to nc. they like walmart and pizza. they went to durham bulls games and new york. it looked like they had a fun time. they also met up with alice.

i said goodbye to akiyoshi sensei and matsuyama sensei. then it was dinner time. it was me, yoshi, taka, chinatsu, ken, kana, youko, mari, and naoko. we had monja and okonomiyake. it was tastey. but they didn't always listen when i said it wasn't ready.

then we went back to the university. and i said goodbye to them. it was kinda sad. when i was alone in the elevator i wanted to cry.

i went back to kara's and stayed up too late sorting through things and packing.

july 27

today i woke up so groggy. it was about 10am i think. i got dressed and started packing up my crap. the girls had to clean the bathroom and kitchen. kara cleaned up her room. i started playing zelda. i love that game, but i can't do it without cheating. kinda sad.

bonnie and billy came over after 2pm. we were all playing our ds. kara left to go get ice. then when they were talking about dinner bonnie realized that kara didn't have vegetables that weren't frozen. and she doesn't eat stove top. so she needed to go back to the commisary. but kara wouldn't go with her. kinda weird.

she came back and they cooked dinner. i liked everything. pork chops, can green beans, rice pilaf, stove top, rolls, frozen corn. we put in willow. bonnie had never seen it. i played my game. bonnie looked tired. and no one would make the margaritas. well i got up and started. kara was just gonna keep sitting.

then we started playing mario party 8 on the wii. it was pretty fun. i had two little glasses of margaritas, but i got a headache.

i checked the train times and i need to be taken to sagamino station before 5am. it takes 2.5 hours to get to the airport. but i only want to change trains once. it will be much easier on me since i'm carrying all this stuff alone. it's still gonna suck.

next time i come back i won't buy as much, i hope.

oyasumi nasai!

july 25-26

this has been a lazy lazy last few days.

july 25
the girls had a doctor's appointment early that morning. so i heard them leave around 8ish and kept sleeping. i woke up again and saw skyelar in the dining room. surely kara wouldn't have left her here. i look at my watch and its 1230p. wow! i didn't mean to sleep that long at all.

i finally get up and we go to the nex so kara can buy willow and i found these really cute tweed-ish capri's that could go with some brown heels and a cute top.

we come back home and do a whole lot of nothing. at 6p bonnie and billy pick us up to go to the pirate ship. it was cool. i almost fell off this rope swinging thing. we played and took pictures, but then came home. watched more psych.

july 26
we woke up at like 930. kara said mom called. i got up and dressed. bonnie and billy picked us up at 1130a. first we went to the post office and i sent two more packages home to mom and dad. i wish kara would have told me about the flat rate boxes last time. but oh well.

next was the fish pond. it was really cool. the girls bought some fish food and we fed the coy. they were huge! and they follow you around the tank. if you put your hand over the tank they all start coming out puckering their mouth. and when you feed them, they nibble on your fingers.

then we went to the daiei. it is a really cool store. it is grocery, and everything. i find my lunchbox and chopsticks. i bought some hapitan and more haichu. and anpan. they had a game center too. we should have taken purikura. we had to go home after because bonnie needed to eat lunch. she's diabetic.

we go by the commissary and it's really stupid but visitor's can't go in. kara gets some milk and we head home. it's a lazy afternoon and night. i was going to go running before dinner but i started to rain. of course. but i've been eating and snacking all night. i can't help it. japanese food fills me up. american, not so much. i had spaghettios for dinner. i watched another disc of psych.

showered and almost time for bed.

july 24

july 24
today was toon's farewell party. i knew we were doing bbq in odaiba. but i'm never really given the details about anything. i had to wake up at 730 to leave after 8a to walk to the station and catch the 840 train. i dressed nice because i got tired of being in jeans and my zipoff pants all the time. but i was in all black.

i make it to the university at 10am and chinatsu calls. i was at the elevator on the first floor. then i see everyone come out of the elevator. so we head out. we are walking toward hamamatsucho and instead of taking the train we are taking the bus. it's cheaper. only 200 yen each way. nice! we get to odaiba and go past joypolis and muscle park. we get off the bus and start walking to the park. good lord it was hot that day! i was melting in all black.

it was a crackhead idea to have a bbq in the sweltering heat. we were by the river. it's a place where many people come to rent equipment: grill, chairs, to bbq. we had beef, pork, seafood, hotdogs, and yaki soba. i wanted to help, but wasn't sure what i should be doing.

later they gave some presents to toon and she gave presents to them. yoshi and taka drank too much. taka went barefoot for a while and then took off his shirt and went to go sit by the rail near the water. kinda funny. and yoshi had to work that night at the pharmacy. tsk tsk tsk.

we had some icecream and then packed it up. luckily we caught a bus right after we got to the stop. then we went back to the classroom and i was going to go to the zoo, but it is only open until 5 and the last admission is 4pm. i was too late. so instead i went to akihabara to go back to animate. it's like 5 or 6 floors of cool stuff. i bought some more manga and other souvenirs. i love japan! have i said that enough?

i got invited to go to fireworks with toon, taka, and naoko. they were meeting at the university at 630p. i told toon that if i made it back in time i would go. well i did. i saw some of the other students going to class. i went with them. my mistake. we went to ueno station. if they just told us to meet there that would have been great, but they don't really like to fill us in on things. toon was already in ueno to go to her teachers hotel. and i was only one station below ueno. so we both wasted time going back to the university. when we get to ueno (standing the whole time) we switch to another line (and stand) and get off the train. then we walk for over 30 minutes. as we are walking we see the show has started already. we keep walking and when we get to a good spot, we stand. SHIT! i really didn't need to come all this way to stand for 3 hours! i saw fireworks already but wanted to hang out with toon one more time. i should have went home. yes, it was a cool show, but wow. i should have gone home. on the way back i switch at tokyo station to the tokaido line and have to stand and then on the sotetsu line, standing again. and then the long walk home.

much too long of a day.

july 22-23

Yesterday we didn’t really do a whole lot. I woke up late and then we went to the post office again so I could send my mt fuji stick home and two more packages to friends. We came back and I think I blogged. I repackaged my belongings and I may need to post more things home if the weight limit is over. I looked up train schedules for kamakura.

Today we woke up before 830a and got ready. we didn’t leave til around 930. we got to ofuna a bit after 11am. We went to see ofuna kannon, the goddess of mercy. We were going the wrong way and a nice lady gave us directions. I understood half of it. But we eventually found it and it was really cool. A giant kannon statue. It was cool. I even got me a little statue of it. We stayed there for a bit and ate lunch.

Then we were off to kitakamakura. First was engakuji, the 2^nd most important site in kamakura. This also had the Zelda triforce symbolI didn’t go to this one before. Then we went to meigetsu-in temple and all the hydrangeas that the temple is know for had fallen off and died. But they did have a cool bamboo garden. Then we went to kencho-ji, this is where I saw the triforce symbol first. It has a nice garden in the back. then we walked to tsurugaoka hachimachi. It was a cool shrine and we got to see mikos and went to the lilypad garden and saw huge fat coy fish. And a mutated turtle. Not sure what kind it was. Then we walked down the street and looked in some gift shops.

Then we took the enoshima train line to hase where daibutsu (big Buddha) is. Its still impressive the second time around. I love it. We took pictures and I asked for someone to take a group photo of us. It got the girls a dragon and tiger Buddha for their zodiac year. and a plushy Buddha for me!

We left and headed back for home. The train was a bit packed. the girls don’t know how to stand up on the train. And they get tired so easily. I guess I’ve gotten used to standing up. For long periods of time on the train. I just read my book.

We got off at sagami-otsuka to walk to the beef bowl place. It was tasty. Then we walked home. It felt great to shower of the sweatyness. Oyasumi nasai.

July 21, 2008

So today I woke up around 10 am and spent nearly all day transcribing from written to electronic. And I had to make entries from july 11 to today. It took a while..

So then actually went running after the sun was going down and it wasn’t as hot. I went to the little track and ran 10 laps that took about 25 minutes. I think that is pretty good considering I haven’t worked out since before may? It felt good.

Tonight we went to the skate park and watched billy bash his head on the fence and come running back to his mom because he was bleeding so much. It was just running out. They ran to her friends house. They called 911 and an ambulance, 2 fire trucks, the police and another little fire emergency van came. I took pictures to give them later.

Then we came be to the house, showered, and watch some psych. It’s a good show.

Tis all!

july 20

So today I woke up at 10am and got ready to leave the house. I needed to catch the 1132am train. So I left at 11am. I was going to leave 5 til, but there is always something that delays me. Anyways, I made it to the station just in time. Caught the train and actually got a seat. Played some Zelda on the ds and got to yokohama. I switched to the minato-mirai line and went to motomachi-chukagai (old town – Chinatown) station. I met with chinatsu, youko, and yoshi. But as soon as I got there yoshi left to go and reserve our seat in yamashita coen (park) to watch hanabi (fireworks). So the three of us went to take purikura (tiny sticker pictures) and then we went to Chinatown to find food. We found a little restaurant that had some seats open. Amazing because there were sooooo many people out and about today. One, there were hanabi in yokohama and two, it is a holiday weekend. People everywhere and many in yukata. I wish I had bought one! We had pork and shrimp with rice. I liked the shrimp because it had sweet and sour sauce.

We left in search of the hot bun that I like. We found one store, but the bun was too big. Then we found another and it was just the right size. And I found a notepad with pen, AND the best part of all: I found bootleg lesportsac of tokidoki! I was very excited! chinatsu said "i don't think this is lesportsac." me-- "yes, bootleg!" "bootleg?" "fake" "is that ok?" "YES!" so of course i had to buy it. it was super cheap! And come to find out, the real lesportsac is made in china anyway! Awesome!

Then chinatsu gets an email from yoshi, saying that his phone does not have much power left and he cannot talk on the phone. chinatsu is worried that we won’t be able to find him. So we go to yamashita coen park. Chinatsu decides to stay and find yoshi. And when she does she will call/email youko. So youko and I go to landmark tower by the minato-mirai line to minato-mirai station. We walked thru queen’s tower on the way. It is also another huge mall. We walk around landmark tower and Youko keeps asking what do I want to buy. I don’t really know. I just want to look around. We found a ghibli (totoro) store and saw a really cute nekobasu (cat bus).

A bit ago youko gets an email from chinatsu that she found yoshi. And it’s almost 5p so we go meet mari and her son at the station. Then we go to the park. We find yoshi and chinatsu. Chinatsu said that yoshi was a liar and his phone worked the whole time. He was being mean to her! We sat and hung out. Mari’s son is humiya. He was really shy. But very cute. He had mari’s eyes. It was a very cool show. Of course my camera sucked ass. Oh well. i will ask chinatsu for pictures.

We walked to the jr line because the minato mirai line was way too crowded. Motomachi means old town. Yokohama is a very old city. It is also very expensive to shop. They have a mikimoto shop. We get to the ishikawacho station. It means stone river. We get on the train to yokohama and it is packed. We all get off and they walk me to the sotetsu line. They are all very sweet. Then I walked it home. I showered and put things in my new purse J

July 19th – mt fuji

So today we had to wake up at 3am to get ready. the mwr bus leaves at 4am from the corner pocket store. Thankfully it is across the street. We get on the bus and sleep a bit. Sumi-san is our tour guide and she wakes our ass up at 530 just to say this is mt fuji. But we still have another hour left. Great. You shouldn’t have woke us up. Whatever. We get there go to the store to buy our sticks. It is already stamped with the first one. We take a picture of all of us and off we go. we got dropped off at the 5^th station and were told that if we could not make it to the 8^th station by 11am we should forget about it. And we should leave the top by 3pm.

We start going up the path and it is not that bad. I think. kara and skyelar are having some trouble. Kara’s side already hurts. Not good. we get to the 6^th station and kara doesn’t look so good. she says she’s out of shape. She has to keep stopping for water breaks. Then I offer to switch bags with her. Her’s is like a ton. “what did you bring in here?” “everything on the list” I open it up and there is this huge sweatshirt and big ass first aid kit. “why did you bring this?” “that is my long sleeve shirt.” “you don’t have a long sleeve shirt?” “no, that is all I have” “you should have showed me this huge first aid kit, we could have brought my small one.” It fits in the palm of your hand. Whatever. We switch and keep going. They are still not doing good. we make it to the 7^th station. I’m still pumped to go. we keep going to the 8^th station. Kara calls it quits and skyelar doesn’t want to do anymore. Autumn and I decide to keep going. We make it to two more huts. I think the last was the 9^th station. Maybe. And then autumn says she wants to go down. GGGGGRRRRRR!!!! I am so fucking disappointed it is unreal. I didn’t pay and come all this way to only make it part of the way. That pisses me off to no end. I really wanted to drag her ass up the mountain, BUT I didn’t want to hear it from kara. This really disappoints me. Going down the mountain sucks ass big time and there is no victory or retribution in not making it all the way to the top. That is failure. I am not satisfied with only making it to the 9^th station. We make it down in about 2 hours. We see some navy guys on the way down and they are walking much faster. I see them go the wrong way, but I can’t call them back. the problem was that I couldn’t just leave her and say I’d come back. I wish I could.

We get to the bus and find kara and skyelar. We go back to town to buy souvenirs. I got a folder, cup, and little plushy. Also a coin. Fujichan is really adorable. We get some yakisoba for dinner and go back to the bus.

Because we finished so early we have hours until the bus leaves. Great. We meet another woman who just got to the base. She asks why I’m here and I saw for school. She says “yea, I don’t know what I want to do yet, that’s why I had a kid, so I’ve got another 15 years to figure it out.” Umm… I don’t really have anything to say to that. I go back to the bus and sleep a bit. Bus still hasn’t left. Finally at 7p we leave and I sleep. We stop to gas up and I go to the convenie. Unfortunately I got a rice ball with umeboshi. L so I eat around it and ditch the rest. I got an anpan and aquarius. Sleep again. We make it back to base at 930p. we get home and immediately take showers to get rid of the grime. Then sleep for real!

july 17 and 18

July 17 – happy birthday mom and Ashley

Today was a rest day. I went to the pool with kara and the girls. i met Christina and her girls emi and lily. We went on the slide a lot and watched the girls jump off the diving board. Then I took lily into the pool for a while. She kept wanting to get in and out.

When we went home bonnie and billy were waiting for us and they cooked dinner. Chili verde. It was really good. then we watch hellboy which is actually a good movie. I’ll have to buy it and see the next one.

Then I sorted through all of my gifts for people.

not much going on.

July 18 –

Today we went to the post office and I mailed myself some papers to mom and dad’s and then presents to others. Then we went to the nex and the mini mart to get snacks for the trip.

It was a slow day.

july 16

So today we were all meeting Brandon at the front of shiba park hotel. They arranged for a bus to take Brandon to the aiport. It takes up to 3 hours. We were meeting at 815 in the morning. So I had to wake up at 6 am. Great. But amazingly enough I made it. I was the first one there. I was carrying the stuff for my kimono too. Slowly more and more people started trickling in and then we started taking pictures. Yukiko could not make it but rie called her on the phone and they had video capabilities. She really wanted to say goodbye to Brandon.

We saw him off and then we went to the classroom. I wanted to go to the zoo because I wanted to see the panda. Akiyoshi sensei looked it up for me and it opened at 930a. I told chinatsu that I would go to the zoo and she and yoshi said that the panda was gone L so sad. But then I asked if they have kapibara and they said yes. So now I really need to go to the zoo. I need a real picture.

I told chinatsu that I wanted to go to odakyu in Shinjuku and maybe donki to check for my bag. Chinatsu wanted to go with me. So we went to odakyu and I got a little lesportsac bag with octopus on it. It was really cute. we went to another mall place but now luck. we went to the don in Shinjuku but nothing either. So we went back to the university to start getting ready for the pleasure boat. We stopped by the convenie first to get something to eat.

I washed my face and put up my hair and then put on my make up. Then I went to the girls locker room to put on my kimono. Everyone was surprised that I could do it on my own. We left and it was slow moving down to Tokyo bay. We bought our tickets and loaded up. It is free drinking once you are on the boat. You just have to pay for food. There were so many of us.

Later they had yukata dancers that all the crazy men liked. I thought it was going to be something more, but they just danced. They were moshing and I had to get out of the crowd because I was being squished and it got old. Then later I saw chinatsu crying and I went over and wanted to cheer her up. So I ended up sending her a picture of me in my spidergirl costume.

taka saito made some new friends when the boat was over. we asked a guy to take a picture and then his friends got in our picture. and then they asked taka to be in there's. then all of us. too funny. and taka igarashi, his yukata was coming undone. he was trying to fix it, and one guy went over and pulled the top apart again and taka pushed back hard. i think he smiles a lot, but if he got pushed he'd beat the crap out of someone.

The pharmacology girls know how to party. They like to drink.

We headed back and needed to change. I had to leave because I needed to catch the train. I stopped at 711 to get something to eat and I heard footsteps behind me. It was kana trying to catch up. J she’s really sweet. We walked to hamamatsucho together and got on separate trains. I walked home, showered and went to bed.

july 15

Today was kabuki. The actor is a very famous kabuki actor. He rumored to have many scandals. He has many girlfriends.

I was supposed to meet them at 9 am at ginza. But I could not wake up in time. I missed the train. So I was 30 mintues late. but it was ok, because all we did was wait in line anyway. We had to wait until 1150 when they started selling tickets. We were first in line.

We bought our tickets and then we got upstairs and bought the English headphones. They tried to give me the Japanese ones, but I needed to switch. Then we sat down. We were in the highest seats up. It was really cool. There were many old people there, but it was awesome. I wished we could have seen all of it. I got a little sleepy but I still liked it.

When It was over, we met taka and mari had to go back to school. We went to have sushi donborri. Delicious. Then we went to the hakuhinkan toy park. It was cool. 4 floors of toys and figures. Then naoko had to go back to the university. b wanted some more marui handkerchiefs. We get there and I looked for my bag, but no luck. we left to go back to the university. we ate dinner in the cafeteria. Every time we thought chinatsu was with us she kept disappearing.

We got back up to the room and I wanted to leave because I wanted to get home early because we had to be there so early the next morning.

So I headed home.

And actually because I was so tired last night I sent kim leadon the wrong file. I spruced it up a bit and resent it.

july 14

I woke up early to go to kara’s. I showered quickly and headed back to the station.

We were meeting maiko and her friend at lunch in shimokitazawa. We were meeting at 1pm. I was 5 minutes late even though I was 10 minutes early to start with. Brandon was already there talking with maiko. I came up and gave her a hug. It has been such a long time since we’ve seen each other. And her English has been much improved.

She has been working in hong kong for the last 2 years and she works with buttons. I kept forgetting that she was 3 years older than me. She looks just the same.

We found a restaurant to eat lunch. I had beef and tofu and rice, with miso soup. before we left I said I had a gift for her. I brought her bath and body works lotion and yatsuhashi from Kyoto. She was excited that I remember she liked it. She got me an address book and a little box from china. We left and started wandering around the town. I told her that I was looking for a bag from lesportsac. She said she thinks she’s seen it in china.

We left shimokitazawa and went to Shinjuku to find a place that sells lesportsac. But no luck. We found a café to have an iced coffee. It was so hot outside. She said that her father has been sick and that both of her parents have been pushing her to get married. It was really nice to see her. We had to finish writing our note cards to the students so she didn’t mind hanging out.

She had dinner plans so we left to go back to the university. we were in luck and dropped off of the presents while they were not there. The only one that saw us was miho. We stayed and talked with akiyoshi sensei some more and then we left. We ate at mos burger and then I needed to go home. I was so tired.

When I got back I had to write that report to kim leadon about the rotation. I was soooo tired. So I sent it and went to bed.

july 13

I went to akihabara one more time to find b’s figures. Got them and left for nakano broadway. I met b and we checked out mandarake. It was a cool manga place. A couple floors full of random items. I found my bag but then this woman was circling it and would not step away. So it was hopeless. I told Brandon that we needed to leave at 430. we had a timeline. And I was getting tired of waking up so early to get somewhere. We get back to b’s and I’m changing into my kimono in the bathroom.

I almost forgot how to tie the obi. Brandon was not able to figure out his obi. So I tied it. I asked him if he got direction and he said yes. We were running late and he couldn’t walk any faster. I was so annoyed. Then he took us to Shinjuku. We couldn’t find the exit and then I realized that we were supposed to be in shimbashi. Why can’t he ever find himself??? I was so annoyed and pissed off at him. I swear he would get lost without our guides and myself. We ended up being an hour late for dinner with akiyoshi sensei. He was ok. He saw us dressed up and he got excited. He said we looked Japanese.

He took us to fish bank. It was a really nice upscale restaurant. We got an appetizer each, I ordered the tuna. I can’t remember. I was really full. I had a dessert made for the made of honour movie. Chocolate and cheesecake with raspberry sauce. It was delicious. Akiyoshi told us that he has been dating his financee for 3 years. She was a student at the other university. her name is akimi. And his said his mothers first name was yoshi something. Kinda funny. He said it was important to keep personal life and work separate. We left and headed back to b’s to change and then I got to the train station too late and my train wasn’t running. There was not way I was going to make it to kara’s. and I tripped and fell on the escalator. I’ve got 3 nice prong marks in my right knee. Of course I need a scar from japan.

So I ended up staying on his couch shivering in the cold.

july 12

I think today I woke up a bit late and so I was late meeting igarashi san, chinatsu, and b. then we walked to laqua – Tokyo dome. This is where the Tokyo giants (baseball) play. And they have a little theme park. Taka, chinatsu, and I bought the unlimited ride ticket because we wanted to ride the jet coaster a lot. It is pretty huge. Brandon only bought the 4 ride ticket. He doesn’t like outdoor roller coasters if they aren’t themed. He’s really picky.

But first we needed to go eat lunch. We went to jonathon’s. and they showed us how to make maccha latte. It was really tasty. I can’t remember what I had for lunch. Then we went back to laqua and the first ride was thunder dolphin. The roller coaster. B was being a girl and rode the big O the ferris wheel. Chinatsu reserved seat times thru her phone and so we moved to the front of the line. They have the barcoding system and they had a machine to read it from her phone. way cool. The ride was awesome! I loved it. It takes you so high and drops you completely. Then we met with Brandon. We went on the water ride. And because 4 people were in the boat. But the only partition is in the middle. so we decided that the girls in the front and the boys in the back. poor chinatsu got really wet. And Brandon guarded taka. We tried to get on the swinging ride but we got on and then they had safety checks go bad. So we had to get off.

The shinkansen ride that b wanted to ride was out of order. But we found a little shinkansen to take pictures with. And we found the power rangers cut out board to stick our head in. we rode the roller coaster again and then we rode the swinging ride and then we rode the drop ride again. We also rode the big o together. It started raining a lot when we got on the drop. Chinatsu had to run to the ladies to fix her hair. Brandon had left to go to the uni qlo. Then we needed to leave to meet kuni at kachidochi station. I told Brandon to meet us where we were. But he called saying the station was closer to him and that we should come to him. Shit like that pisses me off. The world does not revolve around Brandon-sama.

We met kuni and had a fun time with monja. Every time taka helped he shook his head and re did it. It was delicious. I drank one and half beers and got too tipsy. I needed to sit down. I hadn’t eaten all day so I drinking first was not such a good idea. Then we gave kuni our gifts from Kyoto for him, saito sensei, and fukui sensei. We left to walk around and chinatsu told b about ken. I already knew. And that ken liked taka’s girlfriend. Interesting. Then we left for home.

july 11

I went back to akihabara early to try and find those figures that b liked for his birthday. But nothing opens up til after 11a. and I needed to be at the university by 1130am. Today is our going away party. So I headed back and stopped by the cafeteria to get a coffee, but they didn’t have the one that I liked, so I got a fire special. Then I went back up to the room. We got herded down to the 3^rd floor and then we took another elevator to the 5^th floor. Then into another room that we have never seen before. Then we walk in and it says Brandon and kimlee’s going away party. Matsuyama sensei was with us and was a little worried because toon’s name was not there. Toon’s party is later.

We walk in and there are all the m1 students lined up along the wall with sushi and pizza and donuts on the table. They were all really cute. And there were some m2 students that came back from rotations. We ate like 3 bites of sushi and they ushered us outside on the deck to take pictures. It had a great view of Tokyo tower. we took so many pictures. They gave us a scrapbook album for Brandon and I and each little gifts. The girls got me a hair clip to wear when I wear my kimono.

We also gave toon her gift from Kyoto. The party was over after 2p. toon had to go to the pharmacy in the university and b had a meeting with a bangledesh professor that he met on the train. He said Brandon would be a good addition for his phd program. That’s pretty funny. I waited around a bit and left to meet him at mcdonald’s. we ate because they didn’t really let us eat that much and we sorted presents for the students. Then we left for akihabara donki. We saw a boy dressed as a girl. We went to look for note cards to write to the students. Then we went to yodabashi camera. They had a gachapon center and I bought the final fantasy advent children soundtrack. We went to mcdonalds again before leaving for the train. I really don’t like walking around all night long. Goodnight.

july 10

I woke up at 8am to get ready and get ou the door to get to the train station at 904. well like yesterday I was 5 seconds too late. the train was leaving when I got there. Great. So I waited for the 912 train and made my switches and arrived at shin yokohama a bit after 10am. I found the ticket office and reserved my ticket for Kyoto. I was stil in time to catch the 1022a shinkansen. So I made my way to the train and it hadn’t arrived yet. I found my seat and was still playing Zelda. I had eaten a poptart that morning. Than I slept a bit. And when I woke up at 12, ate some pb crackers. I got to Kyoto and had a look about the omiyageya (souvenir shops). I found some cute note cards. Then I found the nara line and headed there. It takes 45 min on the rapid line. I got there and went to tourist info for a map. I wanted something to eat but I only saw this really little stand in the station with not much food. So I left. I was going to walk but then I saw a bus that had a daibutsu written on it. Yay!

So I hoped the bus and waled toward todaiji temple. This is the largest daibutsu in japan and the largest wooden building. Along the path were many deer. They are domesticated and want to be fed. They have a stand where you can buy food for them. They walk right up to you and sniff. No shame. The der are so populare that they have deer kitai straps with the Buddha. Funny! So I went inside. 500yen and Buddha was hugte. I tried to get a good picture but my camera sucks. I asked thise two brits to take my pic. I was walking around and they had statues that b liked. There was also a scaled temple with the Buddha inside. And there was a wooden pillar with a hole and people were sticking their bodies in side with their head sticking out. They were loud and obnoxious and taking pictures. This is a temple! Sheesh!

Next I went to kasuga taisha. It was a shrine that I think I went in the wrong way. They had many lanterns and a big tree. As I was leaving I was asked by some ladies to take their picture. I understood the Japanese and they asked me where I was from. I said I was Korean but adopted and from America. They were interested and we talked a bit about what I was doing in japan. Then I walked back down the long path. I saw the 5 teired pagoda and the 3 tiered pagoda. And kofukuji temple. And many deer. A lady asked me to take her picture with the deer and she did the same for me.

Then it was back to the station to catch the nara line back to Kyoto. Then I headed back to Tokyo. I was really glad that I got to see it. I even bought a little Buddha! Sleep!

july 9

I was meeting b at 11am in akihabara. He found a good map of stores so I printed it out and off we went. He found mnay figure stores. They all had multiple floors. We went to many shops but I was waiting to get used manga. We ate lunch at a rice ball stand and tako yaki. I had one with tuna and one with salmon. Very tasty. We saw a few maidos on the street, we turned down the next side and were looking for a bookstore Brandon found. It ended up being only ½ price novels and novels are too much. Too many words. I need the pictures of manga. B didn’t know what doujin was and I had to tell him. Funny. We found other bookstores, K books after walking a bit and having to urn around. The map isn’t to scale he says. Yea whtever. Maybe if you would read it correctly. So I found manga that looked interesting. It will be a challenge to translate but I’m looking forward to it. Then we left and went to the station to go to hamamatsucho.

We got to the station a little after 5p but I tried to call chinatsu but no answer. We were 15 min late. we tried to go to a restaurant but they were all full. We went to this other place. I had chicken with rice, miso soup, green beans. It was good. the chicken was covered with sauce and you pour an egg yoke over top. It was good. it was me, b, toon, chinatsu, taka, and yoshi. It was awkward when we left for school before dinner. We got to the elevator and nakashima sense was standing in her doorway and said that toon should go with these 2 people. They were going to a party or something. We got to the first floor and there was toon with the people. They one girl spke English very well and very fast. That was the first time toon had met her. But she ahd seen the boy before. They said she could go with them if she wanted. No worries. So toon decided to stay with us. Interesting.

We cambe back to the classroom and toon was talking with kana about plans for tomoorow. They were going to some place I can’t remember the name of now. They invited me, but I was still unsure of my plans. We all needed to write a note to saito sense because kun was making a scrap book for him. He will be picking up the notes tomorrow. So we did that a little earlier. Yoshi showed us pictures of him and his friends at the eigamura dressed up as maiko and samurai. It looked really cool. So we were going to the sation and b was like lets go to shinagawa or shimbashi and reserve tickets. Uuumm.. we get to hamamatsucho and he’s like what do you want to do? Well let me look up times. I wanted to go to nara and we already left our the eigamura and today you bring it up all of a sudden. I don’t think there is time for both. So I went home. Stopped by the am/pm for a fibe mini. I bought green tea just for the price. It was a monkey box with a measuring tape that I’ll use to hold Tylenol.

I get home and kara and her friend are playing Indiana jones. And the girls and bonnies son billy were on the other couch. It was pulling teeth to get her to log into the computer. I offered the soft yatsuhashi to bonnie and billy. Billy like the wrapping but not the red bean. Bonnies said it should be cooked. Yea, this is a different kind. I gave them the baked kind. They played the game til about 11p. I was so tired, I looked up times for the trains and if we did both it would be rushing from place to place. And it’s expensive to get dressed up. I called b and told him this. It took him forever to decide if he wanted to go to just nara or both. He decided he wouldn’t go and he would join toon and kana. I was like ok. I wanted to get off the phone because I was so tired and he’s like what if we go to iga ueno? The ninja school. Uuuuhhh… he looked up train time while on the phone and said we could go to nara then to iga ueno. It takes 1.5 hours btw. There is not enough time to do all this. And I don’t want to wake up that early. If you got to iga ueno first it takes 5.5 hour to get here. Umm.. yea.. no way. Well I said I’m still going to nara, because I want to utilize our railpass. It was definitely paid for it self. Good!!!

july 8

So I had to wake up at 445 to catch the 545 train to yokohama. I was late and had to run a bit. Ouch. So I made it. Got to the station and switched. I got to the yokohama station and to the tokaido line and actually got a seat. Very nice. I got to Tokyo station and called Brandon. I said where I was and he was like “uhhhh, well where are you?” “Well, I will walk there.” But I told him that he could have walked this way too. We reserved our ticket and I slept nearly the whole time.

We got to himmeji and got a map. We took a bus up the street but didn’t get off at the right stop. It took just as long as it would have if we walked. So we went into the castle. And ti started raining. We went all the way to the top. Himmeji was the first world heritage site in japan. It hasn’t been well kept. But it was never destroyed by fire or anything so it never had to be rebuilt. It was a nice view. We headed down to the gift shop and got a coin. Then we walked back to the staion and caught the very next train to Kyoto. I meant to stay awake but I slept. We got there and bought a sushi lunch box.

Then we took the bus to higashiyama yaui and went to ryozan kannon. I thought it was very cool. We even got to go inside. There were many buddhas for the different calendar years. I wanted to buy a mini but they didn’t have any. We left and went to Kyoto tower shop and I bought more yatsuhashi. Some for Suzuki san, saito sense, and fukui sense. One for me and kara. Then we went inside to book our ticket. Unfortunately there was an accident with the shinkansen and they weren’t sure when it would be up and running again. We went and got some gelato and went to the basement of Isetan for snacks. I bought anko and maccha shue cream. They even gave me some ice to keep it cold. B found some maccha covered yatsuhashi.

Then we went back to the ticket office and reserved seats. We got to the gates and it said many trainswer delayed. We decided to try for non reserved and waited in line. A train came and it was packed. too many people got on and had to stand. That’s crazy. We ended up on the kodama train. It takes an hour longer but at least we got seats. I got off the train at shin Osaka and b had to wake me up I almost missed it. I took the yamanote line for yokohama but wasn’t paying attention when I should have gotten off and switched. I rode back one station. Had to get off wait for the next train and go to the next station. Get off and switch again. What a fucking hassle. I played my Zelda game on the way back to kara’s. I stepped in a huge puddle too. Oh well. I got home and the girls were asleep already. I bought some more yatsuhashi for kara and bonnie. Now time for bed.

july 7

I woke up at 630a and then an alarm in another capsule wouldn’t stop going off. So I got up and checked out by 7am. And now I’m on the kehin tohok bound for yokohama. So it took way to long to get to yokohama. Tehn I get ther and call kara. She may or may not be able to picke me fup form the station. Skyelar has a dentist appointment. Great. So it take 30 mintues to get there from yokohama. I called and its like 9am. Kara picked my up and we went back to the base and I had to get my pass. It took a while. She said on the way that autumn could stay home alone now because whe took a class. She called her on the way saying that she should come downstairs and meet us because she and skye had to leave. And I was like I can’t believe you are making me walk. She said if she misses an appointment they call the CO and Robert and it reflects badly on Robert. Uuumm..ok…

Then we went upstairs and I emptied my bag. I grabbed some water an sent out. I left the apt around 10am? It took me 30 minutes to walk to the station and then I caught the train. I know which train I’m supposed to take now; if I go to Tokyo I take tokaido and it’s best if I’m on rapid. I got to ueno and met Brandon and went to this really cool store. 5-6 floors of cute shopps action figures. Cool things. I might go back and get this hanging wall scroll and this gooba change purse and this cool Zelda peg thing. We left and started walking to the zoo and we got there and it was closed. Great. So we walked down ameyoko an dit wasn’t a whole lot of anything just clothes out of boxes, shoes, and food. We got some pineapple on a stick and walked around. Found some other streets and went to asakusa. I bought my zori and purse. I think the purse is wrong but oh well.

now we left and went back to the university. we saw taka and he have us a schedule that yoshi had made for us. They only got as far as Kyoto. They were buys with work to do. Funny. They had us changing trains all over the place. Weird meeting spots. So I found a website that put destination and time and told you routes to take in English! Very nice. So we figured that we should start early. The shinkansen that left for 703. which meant that I had to be at Tokyo station at 645.

It was hard getting a hold of toon. chinatsu called naoko for me and naoko went to toon’s room and asked if she could meet me at the dorm at 830. so I left school at 8am to catch the asakusa to sengakuji. So I ate my dinner of rice balls on the way and met her. I loaded up my bag and repacked. It was really havey. And toon offered to help me carry my bags to the station. That was very nie of her. Chinatsu told us that fukui sensei drove her to yokohama to go sightseeing and that nakashima isn’t really that helpful. She has to go to the hospital and it take 2 hours to get there, 2hr practice, and 2 hrs back on the train. That sucks. So we made it to the station and I said goodbye. The askusa line goes all the way to yokohama. Cool. But I went down the wrong track. The train was ridiculously packed. good lord. So I put my shit on the train. Standing the whole time. we got to yokohama and I had to fight to get thru. And dragged my bags the whole way to the sotetsu line. Then I dragged myself off the train and called kara to ask her to pick me up. I was really tired so I had to drag my things to the elevator and waited for her. Both girls came with her and we rode home. I unloaded my crap. I gave skyelar her spidey hand and autumnh her hello kitty strap. They put them in their ds. I gave kara the plain yatsuhashi and she liked it a lot. I got the girls to try the anko yatsuhashi and they didn’t like it. I don’t hink kara did either. I really like anko. Very delicious I unloaded my camera pictures and charged my phone. kara has wireless but it wouldn’t work. I did my laundry and took a shower. It was nearly 2a before I went to bed.

july 6

We woke up at 745a and I start getting ready. we meet mika at 9am and check out and leave our bags. The night before we found pepsi drinks with starwars bears as the prize. We bought a bunch for akiyoshi sensei. We gave the drinks to the hotel staff because we didn’t want them. We left for sumiyoshi taisha. The oldest shrine in japan. It is the headquarters for 2300 shrines across japan. I I like the huge giant trees. The are really old and they have rope tied around them.. they reminded me of inuyasha.

We left for lunch at the aquarium and had donbori – rice bowl. I had pork and ramen seto. It’s a bit wearing when we have to go where b picks because he can’t eat pork or beef. Whatever. Then we went to the aquarium kaiyukan. It was really cool. My favorite was the jellyfish and baby penguins. There were two whale sharks and gigantic sting rays. It was cool. We left at 3p to watch the IMAX show. We wanted to see the dinosaurs, but for some reason it wasn’t playing. We watched the 3D aquarium instead. It was still cool. Narrated by Johnny depp and kate winslet.

Yesterday I bought an electronic jisho (dictionary) it was a bit expensive but I want to keep studying japanese. I think It will be a great resource. Now I can buy manga too! Sweet!

I fell asleep toward the end of the show. I couldn’t help it. Then we went to the gift shop. Cute stuff. Then we left for a jr office to reserve shinkansen back to Tokyo. We went and had some ice cream at hep 5 there are so many people every where and it was so humid. We went back to the ryokan and got our bags and we met mika back at the station. Then we went to shin Osaka. We gave mika a billiken and a kaiyukan coin. She said goodbye before we went thru the gate. She was so nice to us. We also did a purikura. On the train and time for sleep.

We got back to Tokyo and I went to akihabara and tried called the capsule for directions. It was frustrating. I went out showa-dori exit and took a left. He said 5 minutes, but I think it was more like 10. eventually I found it. Then I went to the 9^th floor and dropped off my bags. The capsule doesn’t really have a lock. The door to the capsules does. I got a locker for my stuff, but my bag is too big and needed to be in front of my capsule. The man at the desk explained the rules that the top floors were for girls and that shower and computer were on the 10^th. Inside the capsule was a tv with about 10 channels and a radio and alarm. Then sleep.

july 5

So we woke up and met mika in the lobby and were off to Osaka castle. Midway there I realized I left my camera. Oh my gosh! I had to run back to get it and it was hard in flip flops. It was less awkward in person. Good! we gave her the yatsuhashi and she gave us some paper crnes. Then we went to Osaka castle. It was impressive. Very cool. The history of it, we went thru and made a coin and stamp. Then we went outside and had some takoyaki. Then we went to eat a futsubu to eat okonomiyaki. Our menu was limited as usually because b can’t eat beef or pork. So we had shrimp and squid okonomiyaki and omlet soba. Then we left and had sweets. I got blueberry chop ice.

Then we went to den den town. We found a gachipon and the gundum store. I was amazed at the amount of nudie stores there were. You might see nujey girls or nudey manga store. If mika wasn’t there I would’ve taken a picture. I didn’t want to offend her. Then we came upon shin sekai and the tsutenhaku tower. we didn’t go up because we were going to umeda sky building later. And then we found biliken. I was looking for the gold statue and we found a brown one. We took our pictures by it. It’s supposed to be good luck to rub it’s feet. We were going to leave when I noticed the blowfish from the picture and we walked to the end of the street and there he was. We took our picture with it and then left for the umeda sky building. We ate dinner at a pasta restaurant of smoked chicken.

Then we left for umeda. It was really cool at night. Up 140 meters. It has a sky garden and it was cool. Mika showed us pictures of her trip to italy with saori and other girls. Also of her homestay in England. We stayed to long and the figt shop was cloased. That was ok because they had coins and stamps. We left for home. We got back to the ryokan and I checked my email. And registered for the capsule hotel. We are getting home too late to go to kara’s since I haven’t been there yet.

july 4

Today is universal studios. We leave at about 945a. and ask for directions. They said we should have taken chuo line and switch switch switch. But we thought it would be better to take the jr line. We walk 15 minutes to morinomiya station. B whined that it was too long of a walk. He said tomorrow I’ll meet you there then he kept trying to say stuff about how long we walked. And I said “please don’t do that all day. I know it was a long walk. Not much I can do about it.” We rode the jr line all the way and switched at nikushika? For universal city. We get there and buy our tickets 5800yen. Wow! There is a whole mall before you go to usj. It was more than Disney land.

We went to spiderman first. We wanted to do the ones we wanted to do the most. It was cool. Then we waited in line 60min to ride back to the future. We were going to buy the fast pass but that was 2200 more yen. Then we went on the T2 ride. It was 3d and live. It was cool. Then we went for jaws and it was closed. But they had the jaws replica you could take your picture with but they took the picture. Then we went to the wizard of oz and everything was nearly closed except the gift shop and the merry go round. we went on the Jurassic park ride and you got wet at the end which was nice. We split up so I could ride the roller coaster and he could ride backdraft. It was so cool. You had to put your bags in a locker and rubber band your shoes if they were sandles. It was awesome. It dropped you straight down and had music blasting. Fun! Then we met up and they had some weird parade. Usj was not as fun as Disney.

We left and found a gachapon center and an Osaka store. Random food inside. We found a giant takoyaki and I took my picture with it. Takoyaki is octopus inside a breaded outside. Tasty. Then we went to tenjimsaibashisunji. The longest shopping st in japn. 2.6 km. I found some socks to wear with my zouri. I found some cute purses and I probably should’ve bought it. I know which fan I want. It’s going to be expensive for a fan and it’s in Kyoto. I tried on some zouri that were white with pink straps. I didn’t really like it. It does match the best though. We make it back homeafter a while we couldn’t figure out the ticket machine. Then we called mika or rather b did. He said it was really awkward. Funny! I check my email and chinatsu said that nakashima sense didn’t introduce toon to anyone in her lab and that no one will take care of her. She said that she cried and that really messed up. So matsuyama sensei and chinatsu cheered her up. That was of nice of them. Chinastsu made plans to go shopping with her. Time for sleep.

july 3

We woke up late and got to Kyoto imperial palace. We had to register for an English tour. It was so hot it took forever to get there. Then we got registered for the 10am tour and had to wait 30 min for it to start. We go on the tour and the lady is talking about the gates and how we actually had to walk thru the servants gate. They make roofs with cypress wood and bamboo nails. We finish around 11a and we headed to the station to get reserved for the shinkansen to Osaka. I’m ready to go. well b needs to eat. I bought more anpan so I don’t need anything. We go back to detour and he gets a sandwich and I get some iced coffee. We walk to find honnoji and of course it’s under construction. Honnoji is where nobunaga killed himself. And there’s a lame museum that he wants to go to. Great. 500yen down the drain. It was only room. Then we went down stairs and he got a postcard and poster.

Then we go to ippodo the green tea shop that akiyoshi recommended. We got koicha, the thickest kind of maccha. And we also got dango with mocchi. It was really bitter for me. We had a hard time ordering because we didn’t know what each one was. The waitress tried to explain that once we were finished we could add water to drink the rest. I interpreted it as once you were done you could get more green tea. She came out with a note on an index card to tell us. It was funny and she was really nice to us. When she came back to add water to the remaining I asked for sato (sugar) and she said nai! No supposed to use sugar in green tea.

So we left and went to nijojo castle. That was cool. It was walking through the house and the garden. They have nightingale floors that creak when you walk. It was their security system. The gift shop sucked but we found those special coins to imprint your name. then we headed for nishi honganji. It’s supposed to be a treasure house. We got there and we sea a geisha and a man get out of a cab and taking pictures. I run across the street and take her picture. Then we figured out that they went to the toei movie land and got dressed up. We get to the temple and it’s closing. Great. We went to the gift shop and got this mini picture cards and some plain yatsuhashi. It was good.

Well damn. No time to see the Buddha. I will be coming back to Kyoto. Then we went back to the station and stopped by the Kyoto tower gift shop and picked up some yatsuhashi for mika and got a tawawa souvenir . Brandon wanted a little Kyoto tower. we go back to the ryokan to get our things and wait for the bus. It was jammed packed. there was no way we would make it. We squeezed ourselves on the next one and got to the station. We get there at 615. but we do not think we will make it.

We go to the ticket office and find out the next one won’t get there until 730p. we wanted to check in before 8p because that is when the desk closes. So we decide to take the rapid jr service and it took 23 min. we get out and go to the taxies. And no one knows how to get to our ryokan. 4-5 taxis turned us down. Then this one guy tells us he can take us but he was kind of arguing with the security officer. We don’t know what is going on. But he lets us in. we ride in silence and he was talking to himself for a while. We were almost there when he stopped the cab and pulled over and went into a conveni. He was lost. He came back and knew wher to go. great! Shorly we were at the weekly mansion in otomae Osaka. It’s more like a hotel. We had our own bathroom. Cool. Pretty nice. We drop off everything and go to find a Japanese restaurant the staff recommended. I got some fish and miso soup. yum. And rice of course. We walked around and went to the convenie and came back and showered. I catalogued some pictures and went to sleep. When we got to Osaka Brandon realized that the Kyoto tower was really a pagoda. Whoops!

july 2

So we woke up this morning at 445am because the people in the room next to us woke up. We heard their alarm. So we went to kiyomizudera early. It opens at 6am and we got there about 7am. Brandon goes to take a shower and he says he take 30 minutes. What?? That is too long. I don’t have time for that. Maybe I can buy some stamps. It’s now 20 til 6. found another outlet, sweet. Kiyomizudera was really nice and peaceful. We got there so early that no one was there. We took all the pics we wanted. Also the view from the top of kiyomizudera was really awesome. But we were so early that the gift shop was not open. No biggie. We went back down the hill and went to nanzenji. When we entered the gate there was a big building and we saw school kids hanging out up there. Then we noticed that they were waving at us. And we waved back. they were very excited. It was sanmon. We got to the top and me tomes girls at the stairs. They said helloo and were really excited when branond said konnitchiwa. Brandon is sanmon hoshi. Se we rested at the top and then went to nanzenji. They had a small rock garden and rooms with screen. Tiger, crange. It was nice. Brandon bought some souvenirs.

Next was ginkakuji (silver pavilion). Well it sucked. It was under construction and it was really wasn’t silver. So we took some picks of lame construction and walked around the garden. Then I bought a postcard and we left. Next was kinkakuji. That was crowded. We were taking pics of it when some korean people ( I think) were like “hello we are trying to take pictures.” My bad. We we got out of the way and we took pics of each other. We walked around and I bought a little kinkakuji. We left and went to ryoanji. It was a rock garden. It was ok. Bought a post card of a dragon that was on some screen doors and of the rock garden. Then we went to find tazoin temple. It sucked. A lame garden that took way too long to get to. So we missed the eigamura toei movie land.

We went back to the mall and got dinner. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast. I ate my protein bars and then at lunch I ate anpan. Yum. Then we went to Kyoto tower. it has a cute mascot tawawa in the shape of Kyoto tower. while we went up there we saw a really cool statue that was huge. There was a huge grave yard behind it. I really want to find it. B kept saying “if we have time.” “Well I really want to go.” “we already have a plan and we can’t change it.” “well I’d rather bump something to go.” “well if there’s time.” FUCK! This is my trip too. I want to go dammit. It really pisses me off. So we walk around a bit and go back to the ryokan. I ask nao where to find it. Sleep.