Kyoto and Roppongi

Since the last blog, time has been flying here in Tokyo!

I have been thinking that summer has been moving slow for the most part since I came to Japan. We go to class from 9 to 1, and I come home, take a nap, and do homework. I eat dinner with friends (I hate eating alone), watch TV, and go to sleep. On the weekends, I either travel or go to Roppongi. It felt like a pretty good routine. ..

But then I go to Kyoto, Kobe, visit Nishimura sensei. I come back, it's Monday. I take Tuesday off because I wasn't feeling well and we get 2 days from the Academy. I went to school for only 3 days last week, and I realize there's only 2 more weeks left!

I had so much fun in Tokyo this summer. Everyone here at SANC is so awesome. I'm glad I had the chance to meet these kids. But time is running out, and summer is coming to an end. I am sad.

Ok, enough of this emo stuff. Let's get to the details.
In Kyoto last weekend, we visited 5 temples. From Buddhist temple to Daoist temple, to the Golden temple and the Castle, I got into intimate touch with the traditional Japanese culture. It was a nice break from the make-ups, high-heels, and orange hair of Shibuya and Shinjuku. People in Kyoto and Kobe would not fit the imaginations of foreigners when they think about Japan. They wear normal clothes, keep their natural hair color, and don't walk around in shopping malls all day going on crazy spending sprees.


We went to a nice bar in Kyoto last Saturday night. We walked around for 30 minutes, and couldn't find a club that fit over 10 people. The bars there were cozy and smokey. A place fit for intimate conversations, rather than flamboyant metro dancing. I kept my eyes peeled for cute girls, but instead, we got dragged into a conversation with some Kyoto-zin softball players. I used to think soft ball was only for girls, but I guess I was wrong. These guys threw pitches underhand and looked decently straight, so I'll make that mental note.

After Kyoto, it was Nishimura time in Koobe! We met her in Kobe station just like always- paranoid smile, crazy antics, and a combination of running and walking. Nishimura sensei is never running or walking, she always seems like she's doing both. Anyways, it was great meeting her.

She took us to this rou-chuan restaurant (I labeled that in Chinese; for those English-speakers, I mean restaurants where you get meat and vegetable on a stick, you fry them and eat as much as possible in an hour and thirty minutes). It was delicious and fulfilling. Hardly ever do I get the chance to get full in Japan, because everything is so small and expensive here, but that was a good night.



She then took us to an Onsen, which is a bath, the same that Tetuya took me to a month ago. Naked asian male in rows washing themselves... Lol
We slept over at her crib in Kobe. It was so much better than the crappy hostel that I reserved in Kyoto, small, smelly, and not exactly clean as well. Nishimura sensei was so nice, hosting us. We watched transformers on her big screen TV, with Bose-quality surround sound, and the company of her ultra-cute son. Going back to Tokyo on Monday and waving good-bye to the Nishimura family was hard.

Moving on to this week in Roppongi.

I went there 3 times this week, every time making a stop at 911. I think the waitress there knows me and hates me. I've never bought a drink there, and if I am in my right mind, I never will. What's the point of drinking if it costs 10 dollars. I have vodka in my own fridge. And the drinks in Japan tastes horrible anyways. I am not falling into that hole.
But obviously, if bar owners want to see that profit margin, then they have to kick young, broke brothers like me out. I am definitely not contributing to their wallet.

Fortunately, the girls of SANC are nice enough to the guys. The 911 staff kicked one of the guys out this friday for repeatedly not buying drinks, and the girls moved out in unison. It was great. This move costed the night club a big effort on the dance floor. We were drawing heads from left to right, we were obviously the center of attention on that stage. Lol

I met Tetuya again yesterday en route to Roppongi. He bought a friend with him, so I left him alone with her for the most part. I tried the whole ordeal with approaching Japanese girls at Heartland, and I think I did well. I "hooked the set," and only "ejected" because they were too old for my age and my friends were leaving.

It was some great fun. We came home around 3 AM because waiting for the subway was too much. Subways starts again at 5:30 AM, and these Japanese people, for the most part, will party until that time. Isn't that silly?

The light fellowship gives us the permission of one week off our blog at whatever time in the summer. I guess I took a week off last week. It's been 10 days since I wrote my last entry post, and jeez, a lot of things have happened between now and then.

Well, once again, since the title of the blog is TokyoNightFiles, I will write mainly about what happened at night and not bore you with the mundane happenings of the day.

For the entirety of last week, our main focus was Kabukicho, the red-light district of Tokyo.
If I remember correctly, I have been there 5 times now.

1st time, two other students at the Academy and I were looking for a gym to join. We traversed across Kabukicho without realizing it. I only came to this conclusion now, probably a month later.

2nd time. Hans and I were going to the Gym early in the morning to workout. Unfortunately for us that day, the Gym was having its day off, so we basically woke up two and half hours before we needed and had nothing to do. I suggested going to Kabukicho to chill since it sounded like a popular place to be. We head over, and I realize that it was the same place with all the love hotels when we were looking for a gym. I saw a basketball court and made a mental note to myself. Even though the streets of Kabukicho was empty and quiet, it was a morning on a Thursday.

3rd time, Atish, a fellow student at the academy, and I are both avid basketball fans and players. We both have not even touched a ball since coming to Japan. We were desperate to get some action on the streets. We first traversed to Shinjuku. Atish remembers that there was a respectable street court in the middle of a group of tall buildings. However, as we made our way to the court, we saw that it was actually a dirt court, and no one was playing there. And the height of the rim was also highly questionable. I then suggested Kabukicho since I remember clearly that there was a court there. We make our ways and see that the condition in Kabukicho is no different- dirt court, no one playing, and there were even construction tools lying around. I was disappointed and beaten up. We have just spent over 3 hours looking for a basketball court in the street of Tokyo and failed miserably. I don't think basketball is going to happen, at least until when I head back to Houston.

4th time, last Friday night. We just had our midterm, and were in the mood to celebrate. Hans and I head to Kabukicho because Roppogi seemed trite and over-done. Plus, apparently I am the only person out of the whole group who likes it and have fond memories of going there. Others refer to it as the despicable place in the middle of Tokyo that belongs to Las Vegas, or New Orleans or something.
This is the 1st time that I came here at night time, when it's supposed to be active.
I will leave most of the details out, because it doesn't sound appropriate, but even censored, Kabukicho is an interesting place.
I had over 10 guys, of either Japanese or Nigerian nationality, approach me on Friday night about prostitution. They have the ability to look at me and tell that I have a foreigner, "Gaizin." I am proud and happy to say that I rejected every time, because prostitution is not my cup of tea, but it was in all endearing. Having spent nearly all of my life making approaches on others in the club or bar, this is the first time where I had the tables turn on me.

5th time, the next night, Saturday.
We had a lot of friends come over this time. A friend made her way from Yokohama, and 2 others from Hong Kong. We had a blast.


I think this should be good evidence of the blast that we had.












I once again had guys in suits approach me from left to right the entire night, and it never gets old. I still cannot understand why women can think getting approached is annoying. I find it flattering and nice.

Besides Kabukicho, another worthwhile activity that went down is our elementary school visit. I had the honor of visiting the 4-2 class, which means 4th grade, class number 2. The numbering system is exactly the same as China, and the entire experience reminds me of my own childhood days. In fact, I had multiple flashbacks during the day.

Those kids were great. I had the perfect age, around 10. They are mature enough to not cry and not around in circles all the time, but not old enough to have lost their innocence to puberty.
They surrounded me with gifts and letters, and the class as a whole even asked about my romantic situations. Whether I had a girlfriend, how was she like. They were so cute! It was beyond words.


I found that there were Chinese and Korean kids in my class. They didn't stick out since Asians don't look much different across nationalities, but it reminded me of my own journeys.



I had so much fun the whole day. I never concerned or stressed myself with coming up with games to play or words to say. Others in the program always complained about not finding the right games to play, and it surprised me. Come on guys! They're kids. If you love them and show it, it doesn't matter what game you play. They'll love you back. That's exactly what I did.
I smiled and acted like a goof the whole time, and made it entertaining for the kids. And they loved me.

We visited Kamakura this weekend!

Kamaura is a historic Japanese city with a ton of culture. It was the capital of Japan back in the old days. Right now, it is nowhere near the size of Tokyo or Yokohama, but it's got a lot of shrines and old temples.

We first visited the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine. It reminded of old Chinese temples in the beginning, and in some aspects, it is like Chinese temples. Same architectural qualities, lots of kanzi, and similar historical background.

We had to clean our hands with the shrine water. I think that it is deemed holy and pure. We could drink it as well. Very interseting.

After that, we hit up the shopping district, Komachi-dori. It featured a variety of traditional Japanese toys, snacks, and gifts. I bought a post card for my mom. I think she would like this surprise, because I have never sent her a post card before.

Tugi (next), we visited Hase-dera temple. It is believed to have been built before the Kamakura period, which is in the 1200s. It is a huge buddhist statue, with closed eyes and big ear lobes. I saw a bigger buddhist statue in China last year, but the interesting thing about this one is that we can go inside the statue.



Chinese Budda

Japanese Buddha

I have the big midterm coming next Friday, so I have to go study. Our grades are apparently dependent on these big tests. To sum it up, this weekend was also another fun non-Roppongi adventure. I miss Roppongi now.