Bye Japan, I’ll Miss You, but I Will See You Again Soon!!

One last post.  I got back to America on August 3rd, and the jet lag about killed me.  But I’m starting to feel better, so I figured I’d do a post, just in case anyone is still watching.  Also, one more update of the homestay drawings! ——–>

1.  A view from my hotel room in Tokyo.  It was really cool.

2.  This is a kind of slot machine / pinball machine hybrid.  Once again, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

3.  The last dinner in Tokyo.  We ate Chinese food.

4.  And back at the airport in Denver.  That’s my dad on the left.

So, that’s the end of that trip.  It was an amazing experience, I don’t think I’ve ever had one quite like it, or will again.  I want to thank everyone who I stayed with in Japan for making it the experience it was, and for your amazing hospitality and generosity.

Wow.

An Amusment Park in Yamanashi

I updated the Homestay Drawing page. ——>

I just spent the last few days in Yamanashi.  The place I stayed was absolutely gorgeous, it was in the middle of a forest.  Supposedly you can see Mt. Fuji from the house, but it was cloudy and rainy every day I was there and you couldn’t see it.  I also went to an amusment park, and that was awesome.

1.  This is Fujiyama.  It holds the world record for being the tallest coaster at about 259 feet.  It used to hold the world record for the fastest coaster, clocking at about 108 MPH.  I’ve been wanting to ride this coaster since I was like 10 years old.

2.  I also rode that red coaster way in the background with the 90 degree drop.  It holds the world record for the spinniest roller coaster, because it’s car has these sort of wings that stand out and the seats spin freely on them.  You spin head over heels.  I wish I had a picture of the car, but I didn’t have my camera when I rode on it (I gave it to someone for safe keeping), and then I didn’t have time before we left to run back and get a closer picture.

3.  This one is called Dodonpa.  That green thing acts as sort of a cannon, and it shoots you out at about 106 MPH.  It has an age limit of 18 because the G’s on your body are so high.

4.  Through the ferris wheel you can see another part of the track of Dodonpa.  That huge hill is 90 degrees up on one side and 90 degrees down on another.  This roller coaster was super intense!

5.  Mt. Fuji.  It was cloudy, and rain moved in like 10 minutes later so you can’t see a whole lot of it.

This post is super short.  Sorry.  These roller coasters were just too cool!  I love roller coasters, and like I said, I’ve wanted to ride Fujiyama since I first heard about it all those years ago.  This is probably my last post before I get back to America (I leave in 2 days), but I’ll try and post one more batch of pictures when I get back.

Tokyo

Hey, I added a new page over on the right side about homestay drawings.  You should go look there too! ——->

This is day four in Tokyo, and it’s been a lot of fun!!  Tomorrow, I leave for…Yamanashi…I think.  I’m going to see Mt. Fuji up close, so that should be cool.

Here’s some Tokyo pictures (in a different format than the other blog entries):

1.  That black spot way in the background is Mt. Fuji.  I took this out the window of the plane on the way to Tokyo, as evidenced by the plane wing.

2.  A closer shot of Mt. Fuji.

3.  We went to the Ghibli Museum, and this is the bus we rode.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t take pictures in the museum.   But it was super cool!!  They had original paintings and storyboards done by Miyazaki, and original backgrounds and cells from the movies.  They also had this really cool room about animation, where they had a 3 dimentional zoetrope.

4.  Akihabara.  A geek’s paradise.

5.  We went to a Maid Cafe in Akihabara.  That was super fun!!  I couldn’t take pictures inside, so here’s a picture of me standing out front.

6.  I told the people I’m staying with that I like Neon Genesis Evangelion, so they took a picture of me with everything they found that had to do with the show.  Cause it’s everywhere here.  So here’s me with Eva Unit 01 and Asuka dolls.

7.  Hey, it’s a catgirl!

8.  After Akihabara, we went to Tokyo tower.  I was kind of hoping something awesome would happen like in Magic Knights Rayearth where I’d get sucked through the floor and be sent to a crazy world with giant robots and magic swords.  But alas, no such luck.

9.  This was the line to get on the elevator up to the observatory.  It was long.  By the time I took this picture, we were already half-way through.

10.  A view from Tokyo tower.  It was a foggy day, so you couldn’t see very far, which made me kind of sad.  It was still an amazing view though.

11.  Looking down through a window in the floor.

12.  This is the main gate of Asakusa Temple.  Holycrap were there a ton of people.

13.  This was one of the cieling panels in the temple.  The temple was absolutely gorgeous.

14.  A five story pagoda at the temple.

15.  I saw a lizard yesterday when we got back from the temple.  It was cute.

So, that’s Tokyo in a nutshell.  There’s so much more here that I wish I could have seen, but that’s ok, cause I got to see a ton.  It’s a huge city, so it’s impossible to see it all in the short time I’m here.  I guess I’ll just have to come back!

Miyazaki pt 2, a Party in Kagoshima, and Back to Fukuoka

I’m leaving for Tokyo tomorrow, and I don’t know when I’ll have internet again.  I’m sure I’ll have it in Tokyo, cause…it’s Tokyo, but still, I don’t know.  So I’m updating now even though I have to pack like a fiend.

Miyazaki

1.  This is my Miyazaki homestay family’s dog, Lucky.  Very cute.

2.  We went across this crazy suspension bridge.  It was really tall. 

3.  At the end of the bridge was another castle called Aya Jyou (Aya Castle).  This one was almost kind of cooler that the one in Kumamoto because it wasn’t as touristy and sort of more historical looking cause it wasn’t as well kept.

4.  This is Koki-chan and Risa-chan from the top floor of the castle.

5.  Later that day we went across another suspension bridge.  It was like 5 times higher than the first one.

6.  This is a view through and open grate in the bridge.  That’s the river far below.

7.  After the brige, we went swimming in the river.  It was gorgeous!

8.  Japanese people don’t need a special reason to set off fireworks!  From left to right is Shinichiro-san and Saori-san’s mother, Koki-chan, and Shinichiro-san.

Kagoshima

9.  This is Rumi-san’s father’s family.  It was very large.  I’m too lazy to list everyone’s names, so you can just enjoy the pretty picture.

10.  This is Koki-chan singing the theme to Dragonball Z.  It was awesome.

11.  The day after the party we went to a huge aquarium.  It was super!

12.  A dolphin show at the aquarium.

13.  On the way back to Fukuoka, Shinnosuke and I had an epic Gundam battle in the car.

Fukuoka

14.  We went to this crazy play the night we got back to Fukuoka.  There was a play, and then dancing, and then all the males in the acting troupe dressed as women and did dances.  You would have never guessed most of them were men.  It was 3 hours long.  This is me with the (male) leader of the acting troupe.

15.  Holy crap!  Today, Sae and I went and saw the BRAND NEW, just came out 5 days ago in Japan Miyazaki movie!!!!  It was called Gake no Ue no Ponyo, which roughly translated to Ponyo on a Cliff.  It was awesome!!  This is me and Sae in front of the poster for the movie.

16.  The last night in Fukuoka.  From left to right, Rumi-san’s mom Motoko-san, Shin-chan, Rumi-san’s dad Michio-san, Sae-chan, and Rumi-san.

Wow, well, I guess this is the end of my stay on Kyushu island.  It was absolutely amazing and gorgeous, but it went by too fast.  I would love to come back again.  But I’m looking forward to going to Tokyo, where new adventures await!!

A Bus to Kagoshima & Miyazaki pt 1

Hello.

Haven’t had internet in while.

Also, I promise I’m replying to comments.  You just have to go back and look at them because there’s no ‘reply’ function.   Sorry.

So, I took a bus to Kagoshima.  That was an adventure.  I stayed there for about 3 days, then I came to Miyazaki.  I say ‘Miyazaki pt 1′ because I’m still here and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more pictures to come.

But first, here’s a crapton of pictures.

1.  Rumi-san, her mom, and children waving goodbye to me from the bus station in Fukuoka.  Taken from in the bus.

2.  A picture taken out of the bus window on the ride to Kagoshima.  It was a spectacular ride.

3.  A group picture taken on the first night in Fukuoka.  We went to a restaurant where all the served was unagi, which is my favorite.  Some people’s names I don’t know, but here goes: on the left side of the table in the front are two children belonging to the woman on the right named Satsuki-san.  On Satsuki-san’s left is Mitsuko-san, who I stayed with while in Kagoshima.  Behind them is Satsuki-san’s husband.  Then, on the right side of the table from back to front are me, Kenichiro-san is to the left of me, then his wife Tokiko-san, and their mother.

4.  This is Sakura-jima, a volcano in Kagoshima.  We hiked around it’s base, but we didn’t get to go to the crater like in Aso.

5.  I got to pet a T-Rex in Kagoshima….

6.  Oh, no!!!  I got eaten!  Haha, not really, this was taken at this awesome dinosaur-themed kid’s park.

7.  Wall-E and I say hi from Japan!  It rained the second day in Kagoshima, so we took a train into the city and saw a movie.  Unfortunately it wasn’t Wall-E, but we saw Speed Racer which was pretty cool.  On the ad thing it said Wall-E came out in 2008, so I guess it hasn’t even been announced when it will be realeased in Japan.

8.  There was this huge ferris wheel at the movie theater and we rode on it.  This is a picture taken from inside the ferris wheel.  The white thing on the left side is the train station we arrived at.

9.  Ok, now this is Miyazaki.  This is Koki, the son of the people I’m staying with.

10.  Hey look!  It’s Risa and Rissa!!  The daughter of the people I’m staying with is named Risa, so it’s sort of confusing, cause my nickname is Rissa.  This was taken at a river we went to on my first day here.

11.  This is the view from the balcony of the house I’m staying at in Miyazaki.  It’s gorgeous.  There’s also a huge garden that they’re mother takes care of that beautiful.  I think most of the vegetables that I’ve ate while being here have been from the garden.

12.  This is the sunset from the balcony.  We had a huge BBQ the first night I was here that was delicious.

13.  Yeah, I kick ass at badmiton.

14.  This is a beach at Miyazaki.  Saori-san (the woman I’m staying with) told me that the story behind this is that a monster comes and washes it’s clothes here cause it looks like a washboard.

15.  Here’s Shinichiro-san (Saori-san’s husband), Saori-san, and Koki.  Risa was on a school trip thing.

16.  This was a temple we visited today.  It was kind of inside a cave thing by the ocean.  It was really cool.

17.  This sign was at the temple.  What the hell is it trying to say?  I have no idea.  I thought it was funny.

18.  OCEAN!  We are ten minutes from the ocean here in Miyazaki.  Wow.  I love the ocean.  This is Shinichiro and I body-boarding on the ocean.

19.  Me sitting by the ocean.

So, there’s an update.  It’s been absolutely spectacular here.  Mitsuko-san didn’t speak English, so I got lots of Japanese practice.  It was a fun experience.  It’s also been nice because I’ve been out of the city and in the country-side.  It’s much more open here…obviously.  But it’s hot.  It is SO hot and humid.  Very different from Colorado.

Anyway, it’s like 2 AM here, or possibly later.  I don’t have a clock in here.  So I’ll sign off for now.

Later.

Aso volcano & the end of week 1

We went to Aso volcano yesterday.  It was really exciting to go to a volcano for me because when I was young I really liked studying volcanoes and natural disasters.  Aso is an active volcano.

1. The crater of one of Aso’s volcanoes.

2.  Me, Sae, and Shin standing in front of the volcano.

3.  We were supposed to get inside of this little round building if the volcano erupted while we were up there.  Looks super safe, huh?

4.  Sae, me, Shin, and Rumi-san’s father Michio in our yukata (bathrobes) in our awesome hotel room in Aso.

5. & 6.  Me in my yukata.  It’s a different yukata from the hotel, and has the obi (bow) like a kimono.  Pictures taken from the front and back.  This is back in Fukuoka.

7.  This is nato.  It’s a breakfast food they eat here and it’s made of soy beans and some sticky stuff.  It doesn’t taste so awesome, don’t eat it.  That’s my advice.

Wow, it’s already the end of week one.  I’m exhausted.  It’s been non-stop sight-seeing.  And on top of that, I’m trying to learn and understand a language I barely know.  But it’s been absolutely amazing.  More to come when I get the chance.

Kumamoto Castle

Today we went to Kumamoto Castle.  It was absolutely gorgeous!

The first picture is an approximately 500 year old tree.  It’s turned on it’s side because I forgot to rotate it before I posted it and I can’t figure out how to delete it and replace it.  I’ll do it when I have more time.

The second picture is part of Kumamoto Castle.

The third picture is the view out of one of the windows on the top floor of the tallest tower.  It was really cool.

The fourth picture is the inside of part of a newly built building that commemorates the castle being around for 400 years.

The fifth picture is Shinnosuke, me, and Sae standing in front of the castle.

Other notable things that happened in the past couple of days were going to a manga store that had five stories.  Or, it was more of an everything store, cause it had manga, anime, movies, games, vintage things, music, dolls, buidable models, cosplay costumes, and about a million other things.  It was like being in a store made of geeky awesome-ness.  I also went to a hyaku yen store (100 yen store) that is the equivalent of a dollar store in the US.  Only it was bigger, and filled with stuff that didn’t look like it would fall apart at any second.  And I ate the freshest sashimi (raw fish) I’ve ever had in my life.  It was awesome.

So, it’s been eventful so far.  Later.

Arrival in Fukuoka

Whoa, internets!  I has them!

Alright, so here’s a bunch of pictures.

The first three pictures are a really badly drawn sketch journal about the plane ride to Japan.

The fourth picture is from left to right, Shinosuke (Rumi-san’s son), me, Sae (Rumi-san’s daughter), and Rumi-san (my Japanese teacher).  The sign in the background reads ‘Fukuoka Airport’.

The fifth pictue is me wakeboarding.  It was super fun, but I got REALLY sunburned.

The sixth pictue is me catching tiny koi fish in a bowl.  You used a little tissue paper paddle, and you could keep catching fish until it broke.  The seventh picture is my amazing catch.

The eigth picture is of this festval where men carry these huge floats on their backs, and compete for what is the best float.  This was a practice, the floats are usually like 3 stories tall. 

And finally, the ninth picture is the first Engrish I could find.  It’s not terribly funny, but I had to take a picture of it.

So, these are nine of the tons of pictures I took on my first and second day here.  It’s been an amazing trip so far, and I know it can only get better.  I’m about to go to a 100 yen shop and a comic shop!  I don’t know how often I’ll get to update (it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be real often), but I’ll update whenever I get the chance!

Itinerary

So, this is where I’m going.  I don’t know exactly when I’ll be in these places.

First, I’ll be travelling around the island of Kyushu in the south.  I’ll be on that island for about three weeks.  I’m going to Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Miyazaki (the town), and Kagoshima

Then, I’m going to Tokyo, and I’ll be staying there and the surrounding area for about one week.

It’s gonna be an exciting trip!

oh man…

I leave really soon!  I’m so excited!…

 

But I am also REALLY stressed and nervous at the same time.

I’m sure it’ll all turn out fine though.