Two weeks ago, I went to my host family’s house. To get to their house, I had to take a 15 minute train ride from the city I live in the direction opposite of Tokyo. I left at 10:30am, and it was beautifully sunny out. On the way to Hino, the city they live in, I saw many fields, and I could actually see the mountains!

I arrived at the station, where my host mother was waiting for me. She took me to the car where her husband was waiting and went back into the station. While we waited for one other person to arrive (I was under the impression that it would be just me), my host father told me that he had studies in America for 6 months and spent a lot of time in Germany. The other person arrived, who turned out to be a 23 year old Chinese girl from Beijing. She spoke Japanese pretty well, so I was able to kind of take a back seat and listen mostly.

It took 10 minutes to drive to their house. On the way there, my host father said that my face looks very Irish. He asked me if I was Irish, and I had to explain that I was a mix of nationalities, the true American way. I don’t know how many American students they have hosted, but they seemed surprised or shocked. I guess they haven’t had much experience with mutts.

We got to their house, and from the outside it looks tiny. The height of the house is equivalent to three stories, but honestly I’m not sure if there are three stories to the house. I was only able to see one section of the house – the living area and the kitchen. I saw a staircase that led upstairs, which I assume is where their bedrooms are. Their house was very Japanese style. In Japan, there are houses that can be a mix of Japanese style and Western style, but I do believe their house was Japanese only. They had several rooms with tatami mats (straw-woven mats that are placed on the floor). Just like entering the house, to get into the rooms with the tatami mats, you have to step up. Of course, you take your shoes off at the front entryway before stepping up into the house.

My host family has a dog, which I think is some type of Labrador. It was cute, but shy. Unlike American dogs, it didn’t like the rough-housing playfulness I was trying to do. The most interesting thing about the dog was when my host father let it outside to do its business. Instead of letting it out into the small yard they have, he pulled out some sort of an absorbing mat. The dog peed onto the mat, and after it was done, the host father took a rag and wiped off its paws. The poor Japanese dogs don’t have the same kind of freedom that American dogs have. Though, it mostly has to do with the fact that there is limited space in Japan. Regardless, I still found it strange that they didn’t let the dog pee in the yard.

We all sat around in their living room and talked for a while. Mostly they spoke Japanese, but occasionally they would ask me things in English. We got into all sorts of different discussions, but I think my favorite was talking about language differences between Japanese, Chinese, and English. The Chinese girl, I believe her name was You, shows up the differences between Japanese kanji and Chinese kanji. I found it fascinating.

My host father asked me a couple of uncomfortable questions, such as my opinions on Obama and Mormonism. When we signed up to have a host family, one of the things they told us not to do was talk about religion and politics (which goes without saying). But my host father was really interested in knowing about my religious preferences and my thoughts on Obama. I do not believe my host father is Mormon; I think he just wanted to talk to me about someone he used to go to school with who was a very strict Mormon. He found it so strange the way a person would self-restrict himself from alcohol, caffeine, smoking, etc.

We ate lunch that was a very Japanese style salad. Sadly I can’t remember everything that was on the plate. It had noodles that tasted very eggy, seaweed, cucumbers, pieces of cold chicken, and some other stuff I can’t recall. It certainly wasn’t my favorite meal.

After we ate, my host mother, You, and I went on a walk over to a nearby river. It was a very hot and humid day, but there was cool breeze that made it very tolerable. The area by the river was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I lived nearer so that I could go there every day to write or study.

Afterward, we came back to the house and had some cool drinks. My host mother asked us if we would like to go see Kabuki, a style of Japanese theater. We said of course! She reserved the tickets, so in the first week of July we will be going to see Kabuki! I’m excited. It should be very entertaining, even if I won’t understand what will be said!

We also set up a time to go do some sightseeing in Kamakura, a place my host mother has described as “Mini Kyoto.” She told me that there are a lot of temples and shrines there. We will be going next weekend.

While my host mother made dinner, we watched some TV and talked some more. You and I actually got to help make sushi, but not the kind that most people think of when the word “sushi” is said. We had these little pockets of dough, and we had to shove rice into them. The outside dough tasted sweet, which was a bit unexpected. The table spread looked something like this:

My host mother made me Katsuton, breaded pork that is fried. It was soooooooooooooooooooo gooooood. They also made me try tofu, and it is very much not my cup of tea. The taste isn’t bad, but the texture is rather disgusting to me. There was tomato salad, asparagus, chopped uncooked cabbage, and miso soup that wasn’t horribly salty.

After our delicious dinner, we talked a little bit about Japanese/Chinese/American history. Pro tip: Know your history when you go abroad! It would have been a rather embarrassing conversation if I didn’t know anything. Another Pro Tip: Read classic novels. I’ve been asked several times whether I’ve read Jane Austin books, which I haven’t. I need to remedy this.

Overall, it was a fun time, even if I did have quite a bit of trouble communicating. At several points throughout the day, we all had our electronic dictionaries out to try to figure out how to say things to each other.

The next time I go to their house, I will ask for permission to take video/pictures of their house. It is quite fantastic. Especially their toilet. I’m not even kidding…

The toilet is magical. The toilet is in a closet of a room. When you walk in, there are slippers you can put on. Right front of the door was tiny little sink for hand washing. On the right, facing the toilet, is a tiny button panel. You walk up to the toilet, and the toilet lid automatically lifts. The moment you start to pee, water starts swirling around the toilet bowl. After you’re done, you push a button to flush. Or, if you forget to flush, the toilet will flush for you. There’s also a button to push to lift or lower the seat.

It seriously freaked me out when I saw it the first time. Haha.

I’ll try to write more often!! On Sunday is a dorm BBQ to celebrate the start of summer. Next weekend is the trip to Kamakura. And after that is the Kabuki excursion.

I also need to write about my awesome cruise around Odaiba bay. Stay tuned!!

Sunday, Chloe and I took a trip over to Takeshiba and Odaiba. It takes about an hour from where we live, even when we hopped onto the special rapid.

As always, click to enlarge photo.

Sitting in Mitaka waiting for the special rapid to come. Our adventure was rainy.


Takashiba pier.


Takashiba pier.


I have no idea what this was, but it looks hella cool.


Rainbow Bridge from afar.


We took the train over to Odaiba Seaside Park. We found some public “art.”


More public art.


Despite the slight drizzle, people came to the beach to play volleyball.


Fish were jumping out of the water, thinking the rain was bugs.






For some reason, there was a small scale Statue of Liberty by the beach…


Awesome graffiti.


Things you should not do at the park! Such as:


Do not partake in dangerous activities, GOLF, skating, etc.


Ms. Liberty again.


There was this huge yacht party going on, which we later discovered was for a wedding.


Outside the “Captain Santa Museum” … we did not go in.


Creepy…


Mr. Sunny Man is one of Captain Santa’s favorite words.


Rainbow Bridge again.


The polar bears cry because YOU CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING.


IT’S A TRAP! DO A BARREL ROLL!


That kid is totally KAMEHAMEHA-ing the photographer. Chloe and I also got our picture with the creepy things called “Moncchichi” …


I have no idea what it is, but it points to the big ferris wheel.


The big ferris wheel! It cost 9 bucks. You do one complete rotation in 16 minutes.

The view from the top of the ferris wheel:









After the ferris wheel, Chloe and I did tons of purikura (I’ll post later) and went to Starbucks. Dude, TI CHI!! (inside joke) I WAS SO HAPPY!! Though, I asked for a shot of vanilla, and she didn’t seem to understand me. Regardless, it was a yummy happy time.


Ferris wheel lights up at dusk.


Rainbow bridge that is not Rainbowy. You have no idea how disappointed we were. Today, I found out why it wasn’t rainbow-y: The colored lights run off of solar power, and it was cloudy 80% of the day.


We went back to Seaside Mall to buy goldfish (the first place I saw goldfish!!) and eat some dinner, which was…


MONSTER BURGER!!


Bread chicken bread, bread ham bread, bread burger bread. Honestly, it wasn’t nearly as big as my friend talked it up to be. It didn’t even fill me up. But it was still delicious. The fries were REALLY good.


On the way back home… I can’t remember which station this was.. I think Kanda?

As soon as we got back to our town, there was a HUGEEEEEEEEEEEE thunderstorm going on. Pouring rain, lots of wind, TONS of lightning and thunder. It was thrilling, and made both of us SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY. We ran to the dollar store to pick up an umbrella for Chloe (she had left hers in Odaiba). We also bought a little plastic container to keep our goldfish in. We each bought two goldfish, and one died for each of us. Sad day, cuz it was the one we picked out too. Oh well.

Tomorrow we’re going to a pet store to find a better home for our fishies. It’s really nice to have a living thing in my room. Makes me miss my cute little fishies at home.

Yesterday evening, the American girls met up with some Japanese friends to go over to Takagawa to celebrate Shana’s birthday. Chloe and I were told it would be a “all you can drink/eat in 2 hours for $20″ extravaganza. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out that way. Regardless, we had some food and drinks, watched the bartenders do their flair for Shana, and got to eat a chocolate cake.

Chloe and I left at 9pm to head back to the dorm. We picked up some alcohol earlier in the day. I dragged my computer to her room, and together we drank White Russians and played Super Mario World and Earthbound until about 2am.

Today at 1pm, we met up to go meet our Japanese family. We were both really nervous. The building that held the event is 11 stories high, so I was able to get some pretty awesome pictures of the city.

We went into the room, got some papers and a name tag. We sat and watched a power point presentation, then were broken up into groups to meet other students and talk about how families a little bit. Afterward, we split up to meet our Japanese family.

My Japanese mother is named Mari, and she’s 60-something years old (she never told me her age). She has been playing (acoustic) guitar for 12 years, and lives with her husband and dog. She has two daughters, one of whom is married (I think it’s just one). She doesn’t like science fiction. She’s read one Harry Potter book and seen the first three movies. She likes traveling and does Japanese calligraphy. And she’s taking English conversation.

She told me that she can understand English, but can’t speak it very well. I told her I’m the same way, therefore I will speak Japanese to her and she can speak English to me. Hehe.

A picture of the two of us:

After the meeting was over, we went downstairs to one of the restaurants and had some ice cream. I found out that the restaurant we went to makes pancakes… I cannot tell you how excited that makes me! Haha.

Anyway, we set up a time to meet and go to her house on June 7th. I’m pretty excited, actually. She doesn’t live in the same city I’m in; she’s about 15 minutes from here by train. She’s going to meet me at the station and pick me up. Evidently they live out in the country, which is pretty damn sweet. I’m definitely going to take a lot of pictures while I’m there.

I’m excited. I hope she’ll take the time to teach me how to say things correctly as we get to know each other better. I’m definitely going to help her out with her English.

Yikes! I haven’t written anything during the month of May yet. I’m sorry, everyone! Aside from very few trips, I really haven’t been doing much of anything that isn’t reading, writing, or going to school.

Golden Week was Thursday, April 29 through Wednesday, May 6. Golden Week is a bunch of single holidays that happen to fall one day after another, so people get a week off from work and school. On Friday of the start of Golden Week, Chloe, Kay, and I went to a bar by the station and had ourselves a little drinking party with a few Japanese friends. Alcohol is pretty watered down here, but Chloe and I had a proper amount of Nihonshuu (sake) STRAIGHT, and took an equivalent of a double shot of whiskey to help ourselves along. We got pretty trashed, but we managed to get home before curfew. Yes, I know, a drag. But we can have alcohol in our rooms, so we continued the party in Kay’s room.

My initial plan for Golden Week was to try to attend J’s fanclub only concert. I wandered out to Ebisu on May 4th, hoping to find someone with an extra ticket. These two girls came over to me (I was holding a sign cuz I was too scared to approach people) and told me that they had a list of names that they would be checking. I was sad, but there was another band that I like that was having a concert. So I wondered over to Shibuya, got properly lost, but some nice guy helped me find the venue. Turns out it was a sort of music fest thing with about 10 bands, and the band I wanted to see didn’t play until 6:30. I found this out at 2:30, and there is no re-entry. D:

It was worth it, even if I didn’t really care for some of the music. They were all indie bands, some of whom where pretty damn good. But Japanese people don’t seem to know how to get into music. First of all, the standing area was hardly full at all. I think the most people on the floor at one time was MAYBE 60 people, if that. Mostly everyone stood in the back and kind of bobbed their heads.

When my band came on, I was up front, rocking out! Singing along, fist pumping, head banging, you know! Showing that I enjoyed the music. During a small break between songs, I glanced behind me and there was about 20 feet of space between me and the next person. It was ridiculous! Like, why pay the $30 to go if you’re not gonna get into the music. It was kind of disappointing in that way, but oh well.

I got to meet a couple of the band members, who I assume are probably the two that respond to my myspace messages. It was pretty sweet cuz one of the members who approached me said, “You’re Liz, right?” Aww! I like being recognized and remembered. Heee! I talked to them for a while, and it turns out that the lead singer is from Seattle, based out of Bremerton. SMALL WORLD.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good pictures from that night. But it was a blast!

The weather turned ugly for the rest of the couple days I had off, so I spent most of my time reading and writing.

Two Mondays ago, the 11th, the other American girls and I went to Harajuku to eat some crapes and hang out. Chloe and I wandered over to Yoyogi park, which is a superbly magical place. Hidden inside is a Shinto shrine. Because we went on a Monday, there was hardly anyone there. It was beautiful, and magical, as if you could feel the spirit of nature in the air. Ah, I want to live there.

Entrance to Yoyogi Park. Gates are HUGE!


Stream inside Yoyogi park.


The walkways in Yoyogi park are huge! And the trees are AWESOME.


Entrance to the shrine. Before you enter the shrine, there’s a little area where you pour water over your hands to purify yourself.


Buildings inside the shrine. The sunset was AWESOME.






You can buy these pieces of wood to write down your wishes, then place them in front of a tree.


The main building where you pray.

Shintoism seems like a very interesting and intriguing religion. I’m definitely going to do some research on the topic to add to my writing.

Like I said before, aside from these two little trips, I haven’t been up to much of anything. However, tonight is Shana’s birthday, so we are going to go celebrate by getting properly drunk.

Saturday, I’m meeting who I am going to refer to as “my foster family.” Through the school and the city, people who decide to participate are matched up with families in the area who (I assume) have kind of the same interests that you wrote down on the application form. I really don’t know what to expect. Chris met his family last weekend and said that they were totally awesome. I’m hoping that my family will be awesome too! It’ll be a good opportunity to practice what Japanese I do know.

Sunday, Chloe and I are going to go to Odaibo, which is THE hangout place for couples and stuff. Mostly I’m interested in seeing the rainbow bridge at night.

Next Sunday, the 31st, Chloe and I are going to go on a rave cruise. Four decks of DJs, food included in the price of the ticket (about $45), and the ship cruises around Tokyo for three hours. Should be a blast! Expect more posts and pictures soon!!

Not much has really been happening lately. I go to class, come home, take a nap, and then I read, write, study, or a combination of the three.

The creative juices have been flowing lately, which is very good. They’ve been brewing in my head since February, and they’re finally making their way out to my fingertips. It’s a nice feeling. I think in the next week or so, I’ll have some short stories written for my fantastic friends to enjoy.

Classes are starting to get a tad bit harder. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m learning vocabulary I didn’t learn in the states. The format of the class is the same as it was the first week - daily quizzes, dictation, so on and so forth. We watch dorky videos with extremely awkward actors in them. It’s quite fantastic, really. There’s always a guy named “Miller-san” in every Japanese/English textbook, and this Miller-san is extremely KY (in other words, AWKWARD!).

Today marks the start of Golden Week. Golden Week is a week of government holidays that all happen to fall one day after another. Today is… Nature day? It used to the Emperor’s birthday marked the start of Golden Week. Sunday is “Constitution Day” and May 5th is Children’s Day, also known as Boy’s Day.

All governmental business and such shut down for the week, and we get a week off from school. Thursday to next Wedesday, I think, is our little holiday. I plan on using this week to write and see several live shows. Two shows I know I can go to, the third… hm, it’s gonna be tricky.

I can’t remember if I’ve complained about this here or not, but Japan likes to use a lottery system for very popular shows. I signed up through a commonly used vendor, Lawson, but it turns out that they won’t tell you that there’s an error with your method of payment until AFTER the lottery completes and you are NOT picked. Thanks!

Luckily there’s a fantastic thing called ONLINE AUCTIONS, which is how I’m going to be getting my tickets from here on. =B

Here are a few random pictures for you.

Japanese keyboard, and some really bad Engrish! Pictures of FISH GALORE!!, and a few from a park.