Another trip to Tokyo

October 21st 2010

I think it has once again been close to a month since I last updated my blog. I don't know why I just haven't really been up to is all that much lately I suppose. But work is still going well. I still look forward to going to work but I have been a really heavy sleeper lately so I don't like the getting out of bed so early all that much.

I took a trip to Tokyo about two weeks ago and I was able to meet up with my friend Courtney. Courtney and I both went to Konan University, and when that program was over I thought we would never see each other again but she is back in Japan studying abroad for the third time so I guess things worked out really well. It is very do-able, but it is a serious trip to go to Tokyo. It takes two hours on the bus and because there isn't a single straight road anywhere in this country, I get car sick ridding the bus very easily. So I can't read or play a game or anything, which makes that two hours seem like a lot longer. There is a train that is a little cheaper but it takes like 2 hour 45 mins. I think I might do that in the future just so I can actually do something with that time.
But I got to Tokyo a few hours before I was supposed to meet up with my friend so I decided to walk from Tokyo station to Akihabara. I have GPS on my phone, but I forgot how terrible my phone is. Granted it was cloudy that day but it was saying I was going the wrong direction when I wasn't and I ended up doing a lot of back tracking because of that.
I meet up with Courtney in Akihabara and we did some shopping. I really enjoy shopping with Courtney because no matter how much I spend, she will always spend more so I don't feel bad about it. I got some animation cells which are awesome because it is literal a piece of an anime. Each cell is unique and for the most part they are very cheap. I got a Tenchi Muyo cells for like 500 yen, a dragon ball z cell for 1500 yen and some unknown anime cells for 100 yen. Its crazy. They are kind of odd size so I haven't found a good frame for them yet though. I also got some Lucky Star figures that we on sale. I went overboard buying figures last time but this time I just wanted something to add some personality to my apartment.
After Akihabara we went to Shibuya I think and had monja yaki. Its kind of like okonomiyaki but its kind of jell like consistency. It was good. And then I had a bakudan takoyaki, it was a single takoyaki the size of a baseball. It was pretty good. We also checked out some arcades and I played a racing game that was in 3D, it was a lot of fun. I really am looking forward for 3D stuff to take over.
After that we parted ways and I went to Shinjiku to stay at a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels really aren't that bad. Its like $40 a night which is cheap considering this is one of the biggest cities in the world. The bed is not comfortable at all and I didn't get that good of a night's sleep, but it served its purpose.
The next day I went to Saitama for a BBQ. Someone forwarded the information about a church BBQ in Saitama and I asked if I could come. All things considered it was pretty far form my house but I really enjoyed meeting those people and the food was great. The fellowship with my church is my lifeline here in Japan. It is how I meet new friends, its how I meet people who worry about me and know I even exist, and it is how I get out of my house and do things. Without it I would have a much harder time living in Japan.
The whole trip to Tokyo made me realize how different Tokyo is from Kamogawa. So many people, so big. I feel like I need to get a taste of this every once in a while, but I do not want to live in Tokyo. I like my little town, I like going to a store and people recognizing me. I like feeling special because I am one of the few foreigners in town.
Besides that trip I got a little sick. This is where living on your own really sucks. Having to get yourself together to drive to the store to buy medicine is not fun. Thanks to asking my friends on facebook I found out what medicine is good here but what I got was just a powder. I tried just putting the powder in my mouth and then quickly drinking something, bad idea. I tried mixing it with water, still bad. I tried diluting it with several cups of water, still not good. So I had to guy buy pills and put the powder inside myself. It felt like I was doing something illegal or something.
Well I guess that's about it. I'll try to write more often.