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.