Climbing at T-Wall and NORO UIRUSU! - December 15th

Today was the exhibition for our art class, so I got to ogle the neat works that other people had produced in their various classes. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries before I could get too many photos, but I was able to get a shot of my own creation, the winter mug that started off as a mistake (explained in an earlier entry). It turned out quite nicely, and I got some very nice comments from the other students and teachers about it. いい気にならないように。

Recently, Sousha told me about a few alternatives to pump that we might consider for our climbing excursions after school. Today, we decided to check out T-Wall, a local gym just one stop away from Waseda on the Tozai line. It has a much lower registration fee than Pump, but unfortunately, a daily pass is still 1,000 yen more, and there are no student discounts. Nevertheless, we had gone all the way to climb there, so it would be silly to turn back without giving it a shot.

The gym itself has an excellent array of bouldering walls, but at the same time, a rather ridiculous set of rules to accompany them. The walls are considered to be broken into separate sections, which are most noticeable by their changing degrees of incline. Apparently, climbers can't be trusted to not step on each other, so at any given time, only one climber is allowed per section. This rule has two negative side effects: On the main walls, there's almost always a queue of people waiting to climb (which also makes the person on the wall feel bad for taking so long), and it means that the routes are limited to a certain horizontal latitude, handicapping the creativity of the problem-setters. My other complaint about the gym is the pitiful top-rope section, which was abandoned pretty much all night. If they are going to dedicate so little space to top-roping and lead climbers, they might as well ditch it and expand their already extensive bouldering selection. Despite these negative points, the climbing was still pretty good, and decently rated. The upstairs area is considered more advanced, so it was pretty deserted for most of the evening. Sousha and I spent some time up there challenging the harder problems and making up some of our own.

Towards the end of our climb, my stomach started to bother me. It got pretty bad by the time we left, so I figured I would get home as quickly as possible and battle it out. Unfortunately, that meant walking for 15 minutes back to the station, taking the Tozai line to Baba, then walking another 40 minutes home. On the way back, it was so painful I thought I was going to throw up several times, but through sheer willpower and an unwillingness to be seen throwing up on the sidewalk, I kept my bodily functions in check and somehow managed to get home. I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom in a variety of positions, all uncomfortable. I thought I had food poisoning, but when I told my host sister the next day, she assured me that it was the noro virus, which had been circulating lately (and afflicted her within the past week). They suggested I go to the hospital and get it checked out, but I knew that it would pass pretty soon, so I decided to let my body sort it out.

The next two days I was in pretty bad shape. After my evening of pain, I got a nasty fever that left me bedridden and robbed me of any appetite that might've been left behind by the apparent stomach flu. It was during this time that I wrote the "current thoughts for a change" post; it should be obvious that I was feeling a bit... off. In the end, I recovered within the weekend, which was deemed miraculous and infuriating by everyone who had suffered from the same virus for a whole week. Gaijin immunities for the win!

Shiai and Milk - December 10th

I woke up grateful that I decided not to stick around for Karaoke. My wallet and my head thanked me as well. Today, I had two missions: one, to find my way to Meiji University to watch my Karate Circle nakama slug it out in a kumite match, and two, to get pretty and go to the International club coalition party in Ebisu, dubbed "Precious Night." The party is being put together by clubs from schools all over Tokyo, so it's kind of a mishmash of attendees from schools like Todai, Keio, Sophia, ICC, etc. I put on a relatively nice outfit and my sumo socks and made for the door.

I got to the university late, but just in time to watch the last battle between my senpai and Meiji's circle. I got some good photos as I cheered my teammates on, and they won every match. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised that I showed up, and disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go out drinking with them. I'm really touched at how friendly and open they are with me, and I wholeheartedly promised to make it to the next nomikai.

I jumped back on the train and went to Ebisu, where I met up with Hans, Kaoru, Maho, and a group of other exchange students getting ready to hit the club. The club itself had a sort of twisted, metallic feel to it, as if they hired the set designer from Alien to be the interior designer. There were several small performances set up by the various international clubs, all of which had to be quite embarrassing for everyone involved. There was even a group that got up on stage and taught some para para (Japanese macarena-style dance moves) to the crowd. We stood back and sipped at our drinks. There was a bit of dancing going on, but for the most part, it was kind of a dead scene. We eventually stepped back outside to find a place to eat, and after ten minutes or so of rummaging through bags of coats, we got our jackets and went to hang out at a restaurant. Afterwards, we stopped at a Wendy's for some dessert, and gawked at some of the outrageous outfits some of the other customers were wearing.

Illumination Party - December 8th

So, even though I didn't really do all that much for the Illumination Club, that doesn't mean I can't go to their parties! In fact, pretty much anyone with 500 yen was welcome, so we had a merry old time with people who didn't even know we'd (and I use the term "we" loosely) set up the decorations. I finally got to hang out with some of the other CSU folks I hadn't seen in a while, like Heather, Jill, Tracey, Bob, and Josh. We snarfed down the food and had a few good laughs before the party started winding down. So where else do you go where the party dies down?

The Hub, of course!

My member's card got a workout that night. Not because I drank a lot, but because everyone else did! I had stuff to do the next day, so I just nursed a gin-tonic for most of the night. We had some goood conversation, and just as I was about to leave, a huge group from the dorms crashed into the bar. They had just finished a large quantity of Jagerbombs, and apparently weren't satisfied with how extremely drunk they already were. So I stuck around for a few more hours, schmoozing with various folks and laughing at appropriate intervals (for some funny shit surely did happen). Afterwards, everyone wanted to go to karaoke, but I had already overspent my daily limit, and it was also almost midnight, which meant I needed to go home and get some sleep. I managed to slip away at last, apologizing profusely and signing several rainchecks to future drunken sing-a-longs.

Asian Kitchen - December 6th

Tonight I met up with Rina, Mariko, and Sheryl to have dinner at Asian Kitchen in Shibuya. The food was pretty good, but the most notable thing about the place was probably this Chili Beer, which is apparently made in the states. It actually had a chili in it, and the cold beer with the chili's spice was a surprisingly pleasant combination! I ate the chili afterwards, but it seemed that the kick was stronger in the beer than in the chili itself. Still, quite a nice find!

Also, today was the last day for my Ceramics studio class. We had already made and glazed a rice bowl, a rectangular plate, and our mugs had been fired and were ready for glazing. I drew a scence on my mug in pencil, with a character drowing at the bottom of the mug like it was a well. Sensei saw it and remarked that it was "too cute" for me to do, and that she expected something more artistic. I then decided to do something more abstract, so I would dip the mug in white, then use a brush to splatter it with other colors. Unfortunately, after I dipped the mug into the white glaze, the assistant told me we were supposed to be glazing subtractively, which meant either using wax or tape before dipping the glaze in order to create patterns where the natural color of the clay shows through. I could have just washed the mug and started over, but most of my classmates had already left, so I decided to just scrape my design into the glaze. I came up with a winter scene of a tree with leaves blowing in the wind. I really like how it turned out, even though it was kind of a mistake. I guess I'll find out next week whether it'll be a failure or success.

Odaiba - December 3rd

The weather couldn't be better for an outing to Odaiba. I was set to meet with Hans, Kaoru and Hilary at Shinagawa station to jump on the monorail, but I arrived to find that Hilary couldn't make it for some reason. Unfazed, we took the monorail to Odaiba, and got off near the man-made island's theme park. We moved towards the ferris wheel, and checked out the Toyota showroom/museum, which oddly enough had a gallery of John Lennon's artwork and photographs. I figured Janis would get a kick out of that. Next to the gallery was a free theatre designed to let patrons experience flying around a racetrack in a formula one racer. It was pretty cool for a free ride, but that didn't stop me and Hans from criticizing the graphics quality.

Outside of the Toyota store, we watched some kids on trampolines before moving towards the Fuji Terebi building, past some kind of motorcycle race. We stopped at the statue of liberty facing the bay, and took some photos around the small beach before moving back indoors. We slowly moved through the Sony Style store, and into the next building to check out the indoor Chinatown. There was a monkey performer, but it was taking a break, sitting in the corner drinking a bottle of water (no kidding).

Inside the Chinatown area, we played a crazy game of air hockey, where multiple pucks shot out onto the table, turning the game into a mad dash for points. It was still fun though. I would later see people on TV playing at that same table; I recognized the horse-racing game next to it.

Lastly, we went to the Fuji station briefly, to check things out. It hadn't changed much since I was here last year, but we still had a good time. Afterwards, we went back toward the Statue of Liberty (so as to get some good Odaiba night shots) before taking the last ferry back. We met up with Hilary for some good 'ol karaoke before calling it a night.

Omimai - December 2nd

A few days ago, Otousan fainted on the train and took a sick day. The next day, he went to work but wasn't feeling too good, and came home around 10am and headed for bed. Yukiko was also home, and about half an hour later, she heard a thud coming from the other room. At first, she thought he just dropped something, but after a minute she didn't hear any more noise, and went to investigate. She found her dad lying on the floor, conscious and claiming he was alright, but unable to muster the strength to stand up. Yukiko knew he wasn't alright, and called an ambulance.

At the hospital, they discovered that he had some sort of laceration in his stomach, and the loss of blood was causing him to have low blood pressure, which accounted for the fainting. They used a stomach camera for non-invasive surgery to close the wound, but when he first swallowed the camera, he coughed up a significant amount of blood. At this point, Yukiko had sent a message to Yusuke, but wasn't too clear on the specifics, so for a while he thought that his father was spraying blood from his mouth like a garden hose (thankfully, this wasn't the case). They sealed the wound but his blood pressure was still pretty low, and due to the staples he wouldn't be able to eat or drink for several days, so he would have to stay at the hospital for at least a week.

I got home that night and Okaasan told me what had happened that morning. My response was "why didn't you tell me earlier!?" Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done, I felt a bit guilty for not being home and therefore being unable to offer some kind of assistance. It's not like any of this is my fault, I would have been more than willing to help if I knew what had happened. Okaasan told me that things were looking good, and we'd have plenty of chances to visit, so don't worry.

So today, Yusuke, Yumi and Haruto came to Tokyo so we could all go to visit Otousan in the hospital. I had gone to a clinic last year to see a doctor about a sore throat, but this would be my first time in a real hospital. Children aren't allowed in the patient area, so Haruto had to stay back near the elevators with a chaperone. We stopped at the nurse station to don surgical masks and wash our hands with some alcohol-based hand cleanser. We went to find Otousan's room, and found that he'd been moved to a larger room with other stable patients. Upon entering the room, we removed the facemasks and went to Otousan's bed. He looked ghastly pale, but seemed otherwise ok. We talked for a while and gave him the books and clothes we had brought for him, before taking our turn watching after Haruto, who had been playing with the payphone the whole time.

I have to say, the hospital seemed a bit more... homely than the ones I'd been to in the states. On one hand, it is a warmer atmosphere, but on the other, doesn't feel as sterile. I'm not sure which one I prefer, but the nurse uniforms here are definitely much cuter!

Back at Pump - December 1st

Finally getting another chance to get out to the Pump in Kawaguchi, Sousha and I meet up after class in front of Building 22. Turns out that they were preparing to light up the trees for the Waseda Ilumination Project. I somehow got roped into the project, and although I showed up for the first meeting, I didn't receive word about the others, so I ended up feeling a bit guilty for being a lackadaisical participant. Yesterday, I decided to stick around school long enough to see if there were any last minute preparations I could help with. I ended up spending a good hour twenty or thirty feet up the tree, wrapping it in tin foil and lights. At one point we burned out an entire cord; the girls were wiring up lights, and as I was climbing down from the tree, they fired it up for a test run. One cord lit up and got increasingly bright, until the bulbs began to smoke and turn black. After fixing the lights, it actually looked pretty good all lit up.

Fast forward to tonight. It's already dark, and the streets are lined with spectators, waiting for the lights to come on. They were taking too damned long to actually flip the switch. They'd better hurry up, cause the trees look like shit with the lights off, and we had to get moving. Sousha and I met up with a friend of his on the way to the gym; a half white and Korean named Donny, who'd lived in Japan pretty much all his life. His English was perfect; I wouldn't have guessed that he had been born and raised here. He currently works for a company that brings great foreign movies (like Trainspotting and Reservoir Dogs) to Japanese audiences, but soon plans on going to study in Alaska; citing "being in Japan for wayy too long" as a major reason.

We stopped at a different station this time, and took the bus to the gym (which I later realized was actually within walking distance from the station). Yamada-san, one of Sousha's senpai, was already at the gym, and one other member of the Expedition Club was on his way. We did some bouldering, then roped up for some top-roping. Since a majority of the wall at Pump is dedicated to lead climbing, I might take that up sometime. We had a good climb, returning to the bouldering wall from time to time. Although they have an interesting way of setting and taping the walls here, I have to say that I still prefer how things are done back home. I will admit that I prefer the way they belay here, which feels much safer and controlled than the way I was taught in the states. Unfortunately, the senpai that was on his way went to the wrong bus stop, and got lost for about three hours. By the time he actually arrived, the gym was closing and we were packing up to leave. We all walked back to Kawaguchi station and spotted about 4 bus stops that had the exact same name as the one we got off at, so it wasn't entirely his fault either. Note to Japan: giving bus stops different names helps your passengers know where they're going!

Other honorable mentions of the day: Liquid Chalk (a wonderful concoction of magnesium and other "safe" materials) does a surprisingly good job of keeping your hands dry as you climb. It's also nice that if and when you peel off the wall, you don't land on your chalk bag and send a cloud of white dust everywhere. Also, Shakey's viking (pictured at the top of this thread: all you can eat pizza, pasta, and curry between noon and 4pm, 787 yen) kicks ass. The word for buffet here is "viking," by the way. Apparently, it's because we eat like freaking barbarians when we go to buffets.

Yokohama - November 26th

After going to Nintendo World in Chiba with Hans, Jon and Katy, we headed back towards Tokyo. I had gotten a message from Sheryl, who was hanging out in Shibuya with some friends. Katy was anti-social (or just tired; this is all from memory so I'm taking poetic license damnit), so she headed home at that point. We met up with Sheryl and a fairly large group of Yokohama students at the El Torito in Shibuya (yes, apparently there's more than one). Having recently splurged on conbini junk food, I turned my attention to their free chips and salsa. Everyone else ordered and enjoyed mediocre Mexican food, as I occasionally craned my neck around the pillar by our table to watch some action flick on a projection screen. On the way out, a majority of the group went home, and some other people wandered off to entertain themselves. Myself, Sheryl, Hans, Jon and a Korean-Russian fellow named Sasha went to the Shibuya Hub for a nightcap. We met up with one of Sasha's friends from St. Petersburg, who turned out to be pretty funny.

As we left the bar, the last train to Yokohama was fast approaching. Sasha and his friend were going to go shoot pool for an all-nighter, and Hans and Jon were going home. Sheryl was heading back to Yokohama on her own, and asked if I wanted to come along. I hadn't been to Yokohama this year so far, so I tagged along. The dorms are actually pretty nice, but also pretty far away from the school. I watched Simpsons episodes with Sheryl and fell asleep on the floor.

The next morning, Sheryl and Davina took me to nice tonkatsu place, and they told me about some of their crazy encounters in Japan. It seems that they're coming out of their experience here with many more wild stories than myself (ie creepy stalky Ramen guy, etc). We then went over to Motomachi to check out some expensive shops. 5000 yen for a box of See's Candies. Yikes.

We checked out the various shops to see just how much Japanese consumers were paying for trendy American products (answer: too much). I paused in front of a particularly eye-catching window display that included what seemed to be a lens for a spotlight. I took a bunch of photos before running to catch up with the girls. We ducked down an alley that led to a small shrine where some children were playing. turning down a road parallel to motomachi. There were a few shops and antique stores, and a parking garage that worked like a giant ferris wheel for cars. We finally turned off that road and walked up a long staircase for a better view of the suburban neighborhood we found ourselves in. Backtracking a bit, we walked up some more hills and found a closed public swimming pool where the water had turned green. Moving on, we happened upon a very nice park that overlooked a christian-style cemetary, filled with foreigners. As home to one of the larger foreign population of Japanese cities since Perry landed here more than a century ago, there have been quite a few white Christians who didn't quite appreciate the space-saving, bone-crunching cremation method the Japanese favored. Although several generations of a single family could take up less space than one casket, it just isn't the Christian way. Turning away from the cemetary, there are rows of late-victorian looking houses, one of which was commonly dubbed "gaijin house." I snapped a photo and moved on.

We got to a nice lookout that gave us a wide view of the bridge, port, and bay. The view was stunning, but I got distracted by some graffiti carved onto some nearby pillars. We hung out for a while longer and caught a bus back to the station, where we got snapped at by an older Japanese guy for standing idle too close to the ticket machines while I considered my options for getting back home. I eventually decided to tough it out on JR, and went through the turnstiles.

I asked a station attendant which platform I should wait at to go to Shinagawa, and followed his advice. I got on the train as advised, and settled down in an empty seat for the roughly 45 minute journey to Tokyo. About 40 minutes later, the train stopped at a station I had never heard of. A bit flustered, I walked to the door to read the overhead map of the train lines, but I couldn't find the name of the station anywhere along the line to Tokyo. It was after a minute or so that a kind gentleman got out of his seat to point out that I was looking at the wrong part of the map.

I'd like to say that I simply got on the train going the wrong direction, but I didn't. I followed the attendant's instructions and boarded the train at the platform headed for Shinagawa. And I ended up in Nishi-Kokubunji, adjacent to (but still far away from) Tokyo. There is no single line that goes from Sakuragicho to Nishi-Kokubunji, it was physically impossible for me to get there without transferring. I still to this day have no idea how I ended up there, but I was just glad that I finally knew where I was. Fortunately, the Chuo line runs right through Kokubunji, so I was able to jump on that and make my way home. What should've been a 45 minute ride took about two hours. Since it was all on JR, it didn't cost me anything extra, so I have no complaints; I'd just like to know what phantom train circumvents Tokyo without stopping more than twice and isn't market on the map.

Weirded out, I walked back home from the station, and encountered some more weird. There was a guy dressed kind of like a traditional Japanese courtier in a face mask, photographing an equally strangely-dressed woman, leaning against my neighbor's wall. I didn't know what to say or how to approach them to ask for a photo, so I shook it off and went inside, but as I headed upstairs, my host mom came in and beckoned me to come out front, for there were "some weird people" out there. It turns out that they were costume designers trying out ideas for a school festival. We wished them luck, and I ended getting a photo with them after all.

Nintendo World - November 25th

So, I didn't go to the Tokyo Game Show a few weeks ago for two (maybe three) reasons.

One: I'm not a gamer. Well, not really. The only console I own is a Super Nintendo I bought in a fit of nostalgia, just so I could play Super Mario. And Mortal Kombat. I used to have a pretty unhealthy addiction to computer games, but I finally put down the Steyr Scout last year. I've just never been crazy for consoles.

Two: I don't really like the gamer crowd. I have individual friends and even family members who are gamers, and they are perfectly agreeable human beings. I treasure their friendship (and in the case of family members, their matching blood types and organs that come in pairs) But if you gather gamers into a crowd, things turn ugly. Real ugly. My disdain for fanboys and girls knows no bounds; just because a company does good by their demographic and puts out a decent product, that doesn't give them carte blanche to churn out piles of shit and take advantage of their fanbase. If a company puts out a good product that I'm able to enjoy, great. If they're going to dump incompleted projects on the market and laugh as their customers flounder in confusion and dissatisfaction, then I'm looking elsewhere for entertainment. Just because the Playstation 2 was a decent console in its day (and still is) doesn't make the PSP any less of a piece of crap, and doesn't guarantee that the PS3 will be any better. I like the concepts, but the execution is sloppy and disappointing. This doesn't just apply to gaming, but practically every market. Any diehard fan who looks at the brand over the product itself is a fool. I used to hate pretty much all things Apple, until they released OSX. I no longer think they all belong in the garbage heap, and although I think Steve Jobs is still a miserable human being, he knows his audience well.

Three: Although they probably are considered to be a part of the "fanboy" crowd, cosplayers deserve their own section. This is a difficult subject to write about, because I have friends who have committed this sin, but there's just something sad about dressing up in broad daylight on days that don't end in "Halloween." It's not so much the act of cosplay that offends me, but rather the general notion of nerds trying to rape my eyes by forcing their fantasy world upon me. You are not your favorite game/manga/anime character. Dressing up like them does not make you cooler; in fact, it makes them LESS cool. You are squatting upon their image and smothering it between your unathletic ass-cheeks. Please, stop. The few people who do a good job at reproducing the look of their characters (or those that do a bad job on purpose for laughs) do not redeem the scores of people who take their twisted obsessions seriously. Like a trainwreck, I am simultaneously mesmerized and disgusted. It's a sick world.

So, when Hans told me about the upcoming Nintendo World, dedicated solely to showcasing the Wii (and a few DS titles for which I care not), I wasn't sure how to feel. The concept for the console is deceptively simple, but hidden behind the facade is a sinister paradigm shift that threatens to change the way we look at games. For Nintendo's target gamer isn't just the pasty-faced masses snorting and salivating over the latest Zelda, or Pokemon title, it's everyone. You, me, your kid sister, your parents, your grandparents, your baby's daddy, your Senator. Anyone can play, and everyone should. World domination. I'm impressed, but scared. What if I'm sucked into the void and find myself actually wanting one of my own? Besides, who wants to wait 45 minutes in line to make a fool of myself playing Warioware? I shouldn't go. I mustn't go. I won't go! Then Hans told me it was free.

So on the way to Nintendo World, we met up with Katy and Jon. We got to the convention center and were given grab bags and lottery numbers with which we might win our very own Wiis. Ushered into the main auditorium, there was a large gate with the Wii logo leading into the exhibition area. It seems that Nintendo is taking their cues from Apple, focusing on a simple, minimalist design. Doesn't quite nail the same effect, but it does a better job than Microsoft. Whee.

The crowd was surprisingly tame and diversified, reflecting the target audience for the console. Whole families waited in line, chatting and playing with their Nintendo DS's. A few foreigners peppered the crowd with their blond or red tufts of hair. I waited in line for boxing with the others. A lone man in line was playing with his PSP, but I couldn't get a clear photo of him. The boxing game was alright, but I wasn't terribly impressed with the response of the controllers. I would later be told that this is the least responsive game, and that the others are much better, but I have yet to find this out for myself. Scouring the crowd for games that we actually wanted to play and didn't involve a long wait, we settled into the Mario Party line. This was actually much more enjoyable; I could see myself having fun at a real party playing Mario Party. As you can see, Hans was excited to the point of nerdification.

Katy and I had yet to eat, and decided to take a break from waiting in line to grab some food. Hans and Jon went off to join lines for games that I had no interest in, so it turned out well. At that point we saw Claire in the Zelda line. Katy had mentioned that Claire had talked about coming, and mercifully, didn't know that we would be there. She was busily gnawing at the ear of the poor Japanese guy who had the misfortune of standing next to her in line. The estimated wait for Zelda was a couple hours. I wondered if he brought a rope long enough to hang himself from the rafters.

We went to a local cafe and had sandwiches, then a conbini for more filling fare. Returning about an hour or so later, we saw that the Zelda line had barely moved, and Claire was still chatting up her newfound best friend. His eyes had glazed over and rolled into the back of his head. Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east. I later heard that she waited over three hours to play the game. If the family of that young man ever finds this blog, you have my condolences.

There was one guy dressed up as Mario. I did not feel the need to projectile vomit all over Hans mainly because he was the ONLY guy there dressed up like that. He was just wandering around, eating snacks and looking at the games, with a small group of friends (who were dressed normally). There were no hordes of people following him and asking him what part of his body he shaved to make the moustache, and no attention whores dressed up as other characters. He seemed pretty laid back, as if he didn't even realize he was wearing overalls and a red cap. This guy may get no points for dressing up like Mario, but I'll admit that he at least did a decent job.

We wandered around a bit more and tried out Warioware, which was surprisingly fun, especially with our own "booth babe" there cheering us on. Another great party game, although I saw it almost more as a showcase of what can be done with the wiimote than anything else. Finally, on our way out, we stopped at the almost vacant "Mii" exhibit, where we could make our own character. We decided to make a Claire. This was surprisingly fun as well; we had the booth babe laughing out loud as we said things like "make the mouth bigger!" and "can't you make them any taller?"

In all, the Wii definately has a lot of promise. The concept is solid, and if the online features and legacy support really work as promised, I think Nintendo has a winner on their hands. There's a lot of fun to be had. I might not buy them, but I'm looking forward to going over to my friends' places and playing with theirs, if they'll still let me past the door after all that talk about fanboys and cosplayers... Just kidding, guys!

Pump - November 24th

Sousha is back from his adventures traipsing through the riverbeds of Touhoku and generally freezing his ass off, and is free to go to the Pump with me on Friday night. We jumped on the train and made our way to the gym, but after leaving the station and descending from the raised platform, as I made for the right, towards the same road as last time, Sousha was like "oh I usually go this way," indicating a left-hand turn. I knew that my way would get us there, but perhaps he knew something I didn't, and we headed left. He said we could stop at the 100 yen shop down the road for drinks, but when we didn't see any such store, we stopped at a Family Mart for libation. Sousha didn't remember there being any such conbini, so he asked the clerk "is this place new?" to which the clerk responded "uhh, no." Sousha went "huh, ok" and we left the store.

It didn't quite click yet that we were going the wrong way, so we walked down the road for another five minutes, and the landscape opened up into a flat suburban neighborhood. Directly in front of us was a family restaurant with a sign that looked like someone took the in-n-out logo and decided that it was too complicated. It reminded me of the first time I came to the Pump and got lost en route, and it was at this point that we decided to backtrack and go the way I suggested (which, as it turns out, was the way Sousha thought he was taking me).

Only losing about 15 minutes, we got to the gym and had a good climb. We made plans to make this a weekly event. More climbing stories to come!

Thanksgiving Dinner - November 23rd

As none of us have a chance to go back home for thanksgiving (it's not really a holiday anywhere other than America or Canada), Takako has arranged for a thanksgiving banquet at the New Sanno hotel, a ritzy hotel near Ebisu. The catch is that it's somehow tied to the military, so only people with military IDs and their guests are allowed onto the premises. Fortunately, Lindsey is a military dependant, and became the escort for the entire CSU group.

I jumped on the Oedo line near my house at what I thought was the appropriate time, but instead of "ten to twenty minutes" like I was told, it took damn near 45 to get there! I finally arrived and Hans, James, and Takako were the only ones by the exit, as everyone had already gone to the hotel. Although I was late, I was not last; Micah and Heather were even further behind schedule than I was, but neither of them ended up coming at all. So I was last.

We walked to the hotel, which was a surprising distance from the station, and met Lindsey by the gate, as she had to confirm that we were her guests. We flashed our passports to the guards, and walked through the courtyard into the main lobby where everyone was gathered. The crowd was choking traffic through the lobby, so a few of us broke off to check out the stores inside the hotel. They all take (only) American money, so I brought all of my five dollars with me. I didn't end up buying anything, but most of the others did. I got a great photo of Toru trying to figure out just what maxi-pads were.

We got into the banquet hall and took our seats. The spread was impressive. Really impressive. A varied and fine selection indeed, and I've worked at some pretty fancy weddings. Bob was determined to stuff himself with as much food as humanly possible, and quickly got to work. I took a slower approach, but was eating pretty voraciously. We took occasional breaks to chat and take photos, before returning to the bounty before us.

At some point, it was made known to me that Akebono, the former Sumo yokozuna-turned-K1 trainer was eating at a table across the room. At first I didn't believe what I was being told, so Ayaka dragged me across the room to point out the mountain of a man. He was surrounded by other large men, but he towered above them all, even in his seat. I couldn't bring myself to go confront him and ask for a photo or anything, so I went back to mull over my own pile of turkey. Finally mustering up the courage to confront a bonafide celebrity, I traversed the dunes of shafers with Ayaka and Yukako in tow, but we were shocked to see that he had already left! I was shocked by how quickly a sumo wrestler could leave a banquet... Dejected, we returned to our seats, content in the fact that we'd soon look like the yokozuna ourselves.

Towards the end of the evening, Takako introduced me to an American named Eric who had come to Japan in the same program 11 years ago, met his wife, settled down and had three children (all of whom he brought with him to the dinner!) it was really interesting to hear about how his experiences in Japan changed the course of his life, and blessed him with a lovely family. Meeting Eric made me wonder about my own future; where will Japan fit into my life in the upcoming decades? Just what am I going to do with myself? I suddenly find myself filled with anxiety about what lays ahead.