Well I am going to leave soon for my plane. A bit nervous since flying always makes me a bit edgy. There is so much things that can go wrong!! It still shocks me that flying is the safest way to travel. *laughs* Well, hopefully nothing eventful will happen and a custom fiasco like last year will not be repeated. >_<;; I swear...I hate customs...they never believe a word you say because they are already in the mindset that you will lie to them. Sort of unfair if you ask me...seeing as I was honest...oh well. Let's just hope for the best!! ^__~ I shall be writing again when I get back to London...I have a feeling that I might be too tired to do anything once I go to the parental unit's place. x.x;;

xoxo Monday, September 1, 2003, 09:11 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Well, today is the second last day of my Japan trip. I know I was here for a month but it felt much shorter. Now I go back to Canada and start school immediately. Wahh...I am going to be so dead when I get back. @_@;; A whole bunch of stuff happened since the last time I wrote but I will just write the interesting bits...since that will be long enough anyway. ^^;;

I went to Yokohama with Hiroko to buy some stuff at China Town. It seems every country with a sizable city will have a China Town. The one in Yokohama was quite nice but it was a bit crowded. The China Town back in Toronto is crowded too but the streets are a bit bigger. Neko had warned me not to eat the food there but I had some anyway. Sorry Neko but I was really hungry. ^^;; But we went to a nice place where they sold cheap dumplings and dim sum. *_* I had some meat ones and they were quite good. So maybe not all Chinese food there is evil? Anyway, Hiroko had come because her mom wanted her to buy this Chinese soup base from this one particular shop. I swear, Hiroko's family has a very keen love for food. They go to very long lengths to get exactly what they want. Not that I mind...since I have been eating so well here. *_* SO yes, we travelled over an hour of commute to get Chinese soup base. *laughs* Well more than that...Yokohama is a nice city full of interesting places so I wanted to see it anyway. We went to the harbour and saw the ocean. There was this huge long structure that shot into the bay and I asked what it was...and Hiroko told me it's where they made Eva. -_-;; Anyone who has seen Evangelion will know what I am talking about. >_<;; But the sad part is...it really did look like something like an Eva could be built there...it was so cool looking. I suspect though that it was either a ship building factory or a dock. Probably a dock. ^^;;

Turns out that Yokohama is a big "couples" place. Lots of nice places for a date. Everywhere we looked there were couples: young couples, married couples with babies, old married couples out for a stroll...they were everywhere. I think Hiroko and I were one of the few who were just friends. Hiroko was so cute because it made her all bitter...because her boyfriend is back in Canada. *LAUGHS* Oh she was so cute...all grumpy because we were surrounded by sickeningly mushy couples. And to add to the insult, we spotted one hot guy and thought to ourselves, "Oh! A single guy! And cute!" And then he walked over to his wife and baby. *DIES LAUGHING* Yeah...Hiroko was bitter...hohohohoho...

Shopping in Yokohama was GREAT. We went to this one mall that had a lot of really cool stuff but very cheap or decently priced. I think it was called Yokohama World Porters...but I might be wrong about that. Anyway, Hiroko and I bought some stuff, all at incredibly low prices. Sometimes I really love the stores in Japan...especially the cheap ones. ^__^ Afterwards, Hiroko really wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. x.x;; As I have stated before, I am afraid of heights and I refused to ride the one in Odaiba (which turned out to be a good thing because she later told me it was the second biggest one in the world!!!). But this time...I let her drag me into it. >_<;; OH GODS I WAS SCARED!! My heart was ready to jump out of my freaking chest!! By this time it was night so the harbour and the city was all lit up beautifully. Hiroko kept sighing about how pretty it was...while I sat on the floor of the carriage and hung on to a metal bar for dear life. @_@;; The ferris wheel is supposed to be this romantic thing...so why the hell is it so scary??!! And then Hiroko noticed that the carriage behind us had a very happy couple in it...and as we turned around we lost sight of them. But when we started descending again, we could see them and they were making out. HOHOHOHOHO!! Hiroko was suitably grossed out while I was amused. I think that is when I actually started to enjoy the ride. ^_^ To be fair, the sight was wonderful. Yokohama harbour at night with all the lights lit up is a great sight. But I was scared shitless. @_@;; And then, as we were going down, we faced toward a really big hotel. Hiroko and I joked about how many people in there were having sex...and then I noticed one of the windows. ^^;; I couldn't see details and all the people were just black shapes but I could see their outlines quite clearly. I wasn't sure if it was a woman and a man (probably) but they were definitely kissing...and then one of the lovers stared giving the other a blowjob. BUWAHAHAHAHAA!! I totally am not lying!! I mean, the hotel was a bit far away but it was definitely a blowjob!! I started screeching at Hiroko to look but she couldn't find the right window...and I had a feeling maybe she didn't want to see anyway. ^^;; She later asked me how I knew that the guy was getting a blowjob...and my answer was "If you see a one person sticking his or her face into the other's groin and that person starts thrusting, it really can't be anything else." So yes, I hate Hiroko forever for making me go on that death trap but since I got to peep on people, maybe it wasn't too bad. ^__^ Oh I am so twisted. ^^;;

Later in the week, at my request, we went to Odaiba to see where Ayako worked. Ayako is Hiroko's older sister and she works at an Italian restaurant in Odaiba. Hiroko and her mom had never visited her work place so we decided to go together. ^_^ And oh, Odaiba is that place where the Comiket was...along with all those cool buildings that got destroyed in Digimon. ^^;; I also realized later that Rainbow Bridge is in Odaiba as well. *_* Anyway, we went to a mall called Aqua City which is right by the bay and you have a GREAT view of Rainbow Bridge. I took some pics which I will probably post here later. The mall itself was very nice and decently priced. The restaurant that Ayako works at is very nice and so so cheap. We had tons of cool pizzas and pasta. Very very yummy too. And we got free tiramisu!! Thanks Ayako!! *_* But perhaps the highlight for me at Aqua City was...THE JUMP SHOP. That's right...a Jump Shop. *__* I had no idea such a thing existed but it did...and I was there to plunder it!! Basically, it's a shop that has, you gussed it, stuff that is published in Jump. *_* It's like the Disney Store but better!! I told Hiroko and her mom to meet me back in an hour and I started my way through. And holy moly, it was crowded!! Turns out that this shop is only open in summer so it's very busy. I was surrounded by so many goods from series that I love...Naruto, Hikaru no Go, Prince of Tennis, Hunter x Hunter and more. *_* If I was a dog, I would have been drooling a huge puddle. I would have to say the Prince of Tennis display was the biggest with One Piece and Naruto as second. I took some pics so I will post those later. *_* Anyway, there was a lot of stuff that caught my eye but the thing that gripped me the most were the shirts. They had shirts from a whole bunch of shows that looked exactly like what the characters wear. I first noticed the yellow and black 5 shirt that Hikaru wears on the book one cover. I immediately grabbed that. I saw the shirt that Sasuke wears but I passed that. Then I saw the Mother Load. That's right...PRINCE OF TENNIS TEAM SHIRTS. OH MY FREAKING GOD I WANTED THEM ALL. *_* Well for one thing, I like the shirts in Prince of Tennis...most of the uniforms are quite nice looking. And seeing as me and brother love Prince of Tennis and play tennis...I thought it would be perfect to get two for him and me. *_* We tend to scream out the moves that the characters do as a joke...we are such dorks!! But seriosly, my brother really does play like Momoshiro...and sorta looks like a cross between him and Tezuka. ^^; So I got him a Seigaku shirt. As for me, I got a Fudomine one. *_* I love Fudomine's shirt. It's mostly black with a bit of white and red. I honestly think they have the best shirt. But I was very tempted by the Hyotei shirt...it was so pretty...but the only Hyotei character I like is their coach. *laughs* And unfortunately, he does not wear the uniform. ^^;; There were a whole bunch of other stuff that I wanted (like Kakashi's glove!!) but I passed them. In the end, I gave up the Hikaru no Go shirt too. Most of the items in the shop were pretty cheap but the things I really wanted were the shirts...and they were more expensive. x.x;; So since my funds were sorta tight, I only got the Prince of Tennis shirts. ;_; Oh well...most of the stuff there I can get in Canada anyway...but just more expensive. >_<;; But I am glad I got the shirts...those are not so easy to find in North Ameriac so it was very worth it. ^_^

Yesterday me and Hiroko went back to Yokohama for a rock concert. ^___^ I had told Hiroko that I wanted to go to a concert while I was here but I thought it very unlikely. But when we were having dinner with Hiroko's aunt she gave us free tickets to a concert!! Turns out she couldn't go so she gave them to us. *_* The band is called Southern All Stars and I only know one song by them, but it is very good. ^__^ They are an older band and this concert is their 25th year anniversary tour! Amazing! Their music is very rock and roll with a touch of big band and jazz. I have never been to a concert before so I was pretty excited. Their current song is number 2 in the charts and I like it a lot. ^_^ Our seats were pretty good and I could see the whole stadium. The stadium we went to was the Yokohama International Stadium and had hosted the first Japanese game in the World Cup 2002. ^__^ The show was really really good and I enjoyed it! The lights and the fireworks were the best. ^___^ And the main singer's antics on the stage were very amusing. I think the best one was when he put on this hat that looked like a mask but it's actually a giant penis. ^^;;;; The song was also called the "G Spot". I died when he started singing that!! Not to mention that he was surrounded by lovely dancers and he was hugging them all. His wife plays the keyboard in the band...oh that poor wife. But I suspect that she finds him amusing too. ^^;; He had to be the most hyper 50 old I have ever seen. Seriously, he was in good shape though...I mean, he would have to be to jump around on stage for 3 hours!! I really enjoyed myself and I am very grateful to Hiroko's aunt. ^___^

Wahh...I think that is all I can remember for now. I gotta go finish packing my bag so I should stop writing. x.x;; I gotta wake up early tomorrow to do some stuff before I head off to the airport.

xoxo Monday, August 25, 2003, 08:34 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Wow I have a lot to write about. O_O I have been pretty bad about writing in this everyday but everyone knows I am a lazy arse...

Yesteryday I went to Tokyo Tower and Shinjuku. *_* Pretty cool stuff all right. ^_^ Hiroko was very sarcastic about my excitement over Tokyo Tower...seeing as it is just a TV tower. *laughs* It is the tallest self-supporting steel tower in the world...and it is used to transmit radio and TV waves. How mundane. But I was sort of hoping for things like dimensional portals or really good looking men fighting it out with huge swords. ^^;;; Alas, there was no such thing. But it was still really cool. ^__^ We went to the main observation deck and I saw the whole of Tokyo spread out before me. It was a sunny day but quite smoggy so some of the distant buildings were blurry. On a good day, you can even see Mt. Fuji...but it was way too smoggy that day. ;_; I bought myself a cute Tokyo Tower pencil case (I really need one because my old one is falling apart) and we had cold drinks at the cafe. There was this annoying little boy with a whistle who would not stop playing it...and me and Hiroko were once again reminded why we will never have children. @_@;; There were other neat stuff at the tower like an aquarium but we were too cheap to pay the entrance fee. ^^;; When we came out of the building, there was a big crowd. We went over and saw a woman making a monkey perform tricks. Everyone was enjoying it but I didn't. >_<; I don't like seeing stuff like that...I feel bad for the animals.

Oh yeah, there was this really cool temple complex right in front of the tower. *_* The main temple seemed to be Buddhist but there was this tiny old looking shrine in the back...and Hiroko told me that was a Shinto shrine. So I threw a coin in and prayed to a few shinto gods. I thought it was sorta fishy how there was this huge temple right at the foot of Tokyo Tower...maybe it was to protect it from random Dragons of Earth...HOHOHOHO!! Oh I am such a Evil Fuuma slut. ^^;; I also bought some nifty good luck charms. *_* I can always use some luck. ^^;;

Shinjuku was MUCH better than Shibuya. The two locations are pretty close to one another but Shinjuku was just so much better. ^^;; I don't know why but for that day, some of the streets in Shinjuku were closed off and there were street performers. I think the best one was this guy on a unicycle who was juggling a torch and a knife while eating an apple. ^__^ There was also a group of Shinsengumi cosplayers but I didn't take a pic...which I regret because I couldn't find them again. ;_; There was also some dancers that were dancing...very oddly. x.x One girl looked like she was have an seizure and another group were dragging a crow doll on a rope. x_x;;; Very odd. But the shopping is so so good!! *_* Oh I wish I had a lot of money because I saw some really cool stuff! *_* But yeah, I am poor...but I did get a funky hat. ^__^ We went to one department store that sells mostly Jrock stuff. Basically, the kind of clothes you would see on Malice Mizer, Dir en Grey and those other visual kei bands. There was even a store that carried a line of clothes that were designed by Mana from Malice Mizer. ^^;; I swear...I have never seen so many levels of corsets, goth wear, and frilly lacy lolita style clothes. I am so used to the North American way of having tiny hole in the ground stores and boutiques for goth wear. O_O This department store had about 8 levels, brightly lit, very clean, and all the workers were cheerful and oh so polite. It was sorta surreal...and I saw way too many girls who were dressed up like gothic Chi from Chobits...except for these girls it wasn't cosplay. x_x They were all very jailbait-ish...I can see why men have fantasies about Japanese school girls...

Anyway, Shinjuku was pretty cool. I loved all the shops and cafes. I didn't get to see all those infamous host clubs and prostitutes but that was because Hiroko wouldn't take me to see them. ;_; I really really wanted to see a love hotel...and a host club with lots of cute guys....boo hoo...

And some other things that I have forgotten to mention before. I went to Asakusa last week. It is a very famous area with a huge temple dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu. For those Buddhism knowledge challenged people, Kannon is the goddess/god of mercy and compassion. And for Saiyuki fans, yes, it's the goddess/god who is practically naked in the manga. ^^;; All the statues of Kannon I saw had clothes on though...sorry to disappoint. ^^ Anyway, the temples area was really cool and they had so many cool shops for souvenirs.

I also went to a matsuri. A matsuri is kind of like a festival with games, food and dancing. Anyone who has read some manga will know. You dress up in kimono (or in summer, a yukata), eat junk food, try to catch goldfish with little nets, buy masks, etc. So yeah, I dressed up in a yukata for it. A yukata is like a kimono except it's only one layer of the robe...so it's much cooler for summer. ^_^ I borrowed one of Hiroko's mom's yukata...it was a really pretty shade of green with bunnies on it. ^___^ The obi (the big belt around the stomach) was a bit tight but not too bad. The problem was walking. @_@ Since the robe is cinched around you quite tightly, it doesn't give much room for your legs to move. At first, my walking was so stilted and uncomfortable...but then I got a bit of a rhythm and I got used to it. Hiroko had a bit more trouble...and I made fun of her since she is Japanese. ^_^ I mean, she should be used to it right? *laughs* The matsuri was a small one but still very nice. I ate takoyaki and yakisoba. *_* I just want to mention here that those two are probably my favourite Japanese food right now. *_* I LOVE TAKOYAKI. *_* I would eat it everyday if I could. I also had this banana that was dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. I had wanted to try it out since I saw that treat in a doujinshi...and um...it looked intriguing. *COUGH* ^^;; Hiroko gave me this funny look and asked me why I saw it in the doujinshi...AHEM. No comment. ^^;; Anyway, they didn't have any goldfish games but they had a game to catch little toys and balls. They gave me this little dipper that was made from ice cream cone waffles so as it got wet, it would weaken and break. So the idea was, to get as much as you can before it breaks. I managed to get 5 bouncy balls including two I really wanted. *_* Then the nice man gave me another really big one fore free since I was a foreigner. Heheheh...sometimes it pays to be different. ^o^ I also prayed at the temple that was holding the matsuri and they gave me this little plate of sake. Ahh...takoyaki and alcohol...so good. *_*

On the subject of food, I finally went to something that I was really looking forward to...KAITEN SUSHI!! *_* Since the first time I saw it in Hikaru no Go, I really really wanted to go!! Basically, a kaiten sushi restaurant has sushi on a belt that travels around the whole restaurant. So you sit at your table, and a whole bunch of sushi moves right in front of you...and you take the ones you wanna eat. *_* What a concept! The prices were really cheap and I had a mountain of my favourite sushi. *_* They also have drinks and dessert on the belt and I had some of that too. Wahh...was so good. I think I ate too much though...I could barely move after. I think my old roommate Joe would have died in heaven at that place...he eats a lot of sushi and it can get pretty expensive. I loved how each plate you took off had a certain price depending on the colour. I took this one plate that was all sparkly and I was afraid I had taken an expensive plate. x.x;; But it was ok...and it was tasty. ^__^ They also had endless amount of green tea. *_* There was this little tap and you pressed the button and hot water came out...and they gave you tons of tea packets...I was so happy. *_* Wahh! I wanna go back!!

Okay...I think that is about it for today. Boy...I am tired. Been busy lately. ^^;; I can't believe that my time here is almost done...I am going back in about a week. And then school will start. ^^;; Wah...I miss my cat...

xoxo Wednesday, August 20, 2003, 10:27 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Geez I am tired. -_-; I am tempted not even to write a blog entry but I should...or I will never get around to it. Let's see...re-capping the last few days...

I was talking with my bro on MSN messenger a few days ago when there was an earthquake. Yup, I joked about experiencing an earthquake while I am here but I didn't think it would actually happen. o_O;; The whole house swayed side to side and I was freaking out. Hiroko and her family on the other hand was very calm about the whole thing. Downright nonchalant actually. ^^;; Hiroko told me that was a little one but it was quite scary. That was the first earthquake I have ever been in...I don't want to know what a big one feels like. O_O;;

Been hearing different reports about the blackout that hit Canada and US. Some of my friends only lost power for a few hours while some lost it for two days. Those poor suckers. It was all over the Japanese news but they mostly only showed footages of New York. I thought that was awfully unfair since we had power out from Windsor all the way to Ottawa. But I did feel sorry for those people stuck in the subway in New York...I personally detest the subways there and the thought of being stuck there with no air conditioning would drive me to kill things...

Today we went to Ueno Park. ^__^ It was something I wanted to do because I am a dumb fangirl and Seishirou will remain the only CLAMP character I truly like. ^^;; It's the wrong time of the year to see sakura blossoms so the trees were not pink...but it was still cool. I walked around and spotted a particularly large tree that was standing sort of isolated...I had a feeling that might be the one with all the dead people under it. ^___^ Hohohoho...I am so lame. I saw lots of guys in suits but none of them were tall, sexy, and sorta dangerous looking. ;_; But I did see a few girls dressed funny enough that Hokuto would look quite plain. ^^;;; And no...none of them were dragging a very cute and flustered twin brother with them. After walking around a bit, we went to the Tokyo National Museum. Ueno Park is famous for its museums and such. It was quite a nice place with really interesting stuff. I loved the swords collection. *_* Took many pics of swords and armour...I am such a weapons maniac. x_x;;

But one thing that really surprised me was the homeless people. O_O I was looking through the cluster of trees and noticed t-shirts drying on lines. I was really surprised to see this and looked deeper...and saw tents and blue tarp everywhere. It seems that Ueno Park is a popular place for homeless people to camp out and there is a lot of them. You don't notice them immediately because they camp out where the trees are thick but when you see them, it is quite surprising. I hadn't seen any homeless people or beggars in Tokyo so far which I thought was quite nice...but now I see they all gather in Ueno Park. O_O There is a huge fountain in the middle of the park where lots of people take pics. Then I noticed the blankets and pants that were hung to dry on the fence beside it...and then I saw the homeless people doing LAUNDRY in the fountain. O_O;;; I asked Hiroko if this was allowed and she said no...but the police sorta puts up with it. x_x;; Well CLAMP certainly didn't show the homeless beggars in Tokyo Babylon or X...I guess they didn't want to disillusion the fans. It certainly did it to me.

Also saw Pirates of the Caribbean with Hiroko and her mom. I know Hiroko and I already saw it but they had free tickets and Hiroko wanted to see it again with Japanese subtitles. It didn't really occur to me until later but I guess the movie is quite difficult to understand for people still learning English. Most of the actors are speaking with accents or slurring words. And the vocabulary is not very modern...like "Scallywags" and "Poppet". Very pirate-ish vocabulary. ^^;; I bet the One Piece fans loved the film.

Oh yeah, I also bought some manga a few days ago. *_* Got Naruto 16 - 18, Full Metal Alchemist 1, and Harlem Beat wa Yoake Made 1 and 2. The last manga title is by Takashima Kazusa and I really like her style...want more of her stuff...like her yaoi stuff. ^^;;; This new one is printed in Asuka so it's mostly shoujo...with lots of bishounen...wai! *_* And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Full Metal Alchemist. I know Toriyama's World is scanlating it and I read the first volume but it has been printed to book 5 in Japan...so must get the rest and spoil myself rotten. As for the new Naruto volumes...HOLY SHIT ITACHI IS SCARY! O_O Itachi as in Sasuke's murderous older brother. He is one mean mother fucker. @_@;; I also really like Naruto's development and Jiraiya is always a hoot. ^__^ I just wish there was more of Kakashi sensei...but he got his ass kicked by Itachi...sort of. ^^;;

All righty...I think that is enough for me. x.x;; I am tired as hell. Bye bye!

xoxo Saturday, August 16, 2003, 11:05 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Ok so I haven't updated in a long time...but that tends to happen a lot in this blog doesn't it? Anyway, lots of stuff has happened with COMIKET probably the biggest thing. But I shall get to that later after a few other summaries. Of course if you don't want to read about my trip to Ginza and how me and Hiroko broke into her house like common thieves...then you are welcome to just scroll down and read about my Comiket trip. This is gonna be a long one folks.

Hiroko's birthday was the 12th and it was indeed memorable. Turns out that Hiroko's family doesn't really celebrate their birthdays on the actual day...just sort of when it is convenient. Anyway, we were going out to run some errands downtown in Ginza but the day started off pretty badly. First off, Hiroko locked us out. Now to explain this problem, you have to understand her house. Her house has three levels: the first floor has Hiroko's room and her grandma's section of the house. She has her own room, bathroom, kitchen, and livingroom. The second floor has another kitchen, bathroom, and livingroom and also her parents' bedroom. The third floor (which is more like a really big attic) is her big sister Ayako's room. The second floor has its own door that you access from the stairway. Now...Hiroko (that dummy) had accidently locked that door, leaving the second and third floor inaccessible. We tried a whole bunch of keys and other instruments (like hair pins) but nothing worked. So for now, we sorta gave up and went to Ginza. I wanted to buy something for grandma but most things were ridiculously priced. A lot of things are expensive in Tokyo but Ginza was a league of their own. I mostly window shopped with Hiroko and her mom, which was quite fun by itself.

Anyway, back to the day when just me and Hiroko went to Ginza. We didn't do much but this time, I did manage to get grandma something. I won't put it here in case my bro is reading...he might squeal on me. ^^ When we got back to the house, it was getting dark and we still hadn't figured out a way to open the door. So we went to plan B.

Plan B was...effective. Yes effective but VERY STRESSFUL. >_<;; We decided to get a ladder and break into one of the windows and open the door from inside. The problem was that most of the windows in the second and third floor were closed and locked. I kept telling Hiroko that we should do it the Onizuka way: tape the window and break the glass. But she didn't want to break anything. So the only one that was open was the bathroom window...which was pretty small. Now, this part wasn't so bad but the ladder was. Turns out that Hiroko's dad had tied down the ladder pretty firmly. Most houses in Japan don't have garages due to lack of space...so since it is in the open and vulnerable to theft, I can understand his sentiment. Unfortunately, this made A LOT of work for me and Hiroko. Let's just say, we were both cursing his name by the time we managed to extract the ladder. >_<;;

Seeing as I have a fear of heights, Hiroko was nominated by me to climb the damn thing. But I was sorta afraid to hold the ladder too since the last time I held a ladder, I broke my wrist. That was due to the person on the ladder falling on me. I threatened Hiroko a lot not to fall on me or face DEATH. ^_^ But first, we had to position the damn thing. This ladder was pretty big...and really dirty. UGH. When we turned the ladder upward to the wall, so much debri fell on me. I don't want to think about what fell on me...all I know is, I shook myself vigorously and took a shower afterwards. Anyway, her neighbours across the street were watching us with amusement as we struggled with the ladder. Finally, a man came over and helped us out. Hiroko climbed up, climbed into the bathroom and voila! The second door entrance was open. Thank god. Because by that time, I was being eaten alive!!!!

I want to establish a fact here...JAPANESE MOSQUITOES LOVE MY BLOOD. I don't know why that is...maybe because I am from Canada. Who knows. But in 15 minutes, I had 6 mosquito bites. The day before that, I had 7. So I was absolutely covered with huge red ITCHY bumps. When I say huge, I mean like 5 cm diameter. Some bigger. And the really shitty thing is, I can't even feel these little buggers. They don't even look like mosquitoes...more like black flies. I only noticed them when I looked down to my leg and saw it covered with these black bump and shooed them away. They even bit me through my fucking pants!! ARGH!!!! I hate them sooo much! If Hiroko gets one bite, I get 4. I swear...these things are targetting me on purpose...

Afterwards, Hiroko was pretty emabarrased about the whole fiasco. I teased her that her neighbours were probably talking about her over their dinner. Hehehe...poor Hiroko but it was sorta funny. ^^ When her parents came home, we had cake with candles and stuff. She told us not to sing but we did anyway. Torturing Hiroko is fun that way. ^_^ We all teased her some more but it was all in good fun. ^____^

A few more stuff happened after that but I can't remember because I am a bum. So let's just get back to what everyone really wants to hear about...that is right...COMIKET.

All I can say is...wow. When they talk about how big this thing is, it doesn't even come close to the reality. I thought I was prepared but I wasn't. In the words of Hiroko, Otaku Power is amazing and frightening.

To those who are ignorant of Comiket (you lucky lucky people), Comiket is a doujinshi event. More appropriately put, Comiket is THE BIGGEST CRAZIEST DOUJINSHI EVENT IN THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD. I have been told the summer one is slightly bigger than the winter one and about 30 000 (or more) people attend it. Honestly, it felt like there were more people. O_O I have heard so many horrific stories about the suffering you go through at this event. Lines that go on forever that takes AT LEAST 3 hours to get into the building. Hot sweltering August heat as you wait in that line for 3 hours, dying because there is nothing to block out the sun. And once you get into the building, literally thousands of people sharing the same air with you and rendering the air conditioning next to useless. Craziness everywhere.

Before leaving for Japan, me and Hiroko had joked about how I will melt in Comiket. Or get separated and be lost in Tokyo forever and other gruesome stories. So beforehand, I had prayed to many deities (good and evil because discrimination is a crime) that the day I go to Comiket will be a cold one. Somehow, somewhere, someone heard me. It had been raining for two days straight by the time that Comiket rolled around. It was cold, wet, and miserable. I was SOOO HAPPY. Hiroko on the other hand was not so happy. But I would take a cold rainy day over a disgusting hot muggy day any time of the week. Besides...it wasn't that cold...but then, I am Canadian. HOHOHOHO! ^o^

But of course there was a price to this. I have a feeling that a very evil or mischievous god answered my prayers. Yes, indeed. Because you see, I got my period. Let's write that in capitals and bold to convey how dire and terrible this was to me. I GOT MY PERIOD. -_-;;; Of all the days to get my period, why Comiket? I get killer cramps, I hate wearing my icky pad when it is hot (and I knew I was gonna sweat in the building...) not to mention that I bleed like a fucking flood!! If there is anything that life has taught me, it is this: women's public bathrooms are always crowded with line up and this gets worse at an event. I was DREADING the line up in the Comiket bathrooms. >_< I think Loki must have answered my prayers. Or maybe Pan. Or maybe Satan himself. Thanks a bunch Loki/Pan/Satan! Yeah! Thanks a lot you bastards!!!

But you know what? Hiroko and I got crazy lucky in other areas. For example, when we got to the bus that would take us to Comiket, the line up to get on the bus was very long. This already foreshadowed for me how gruesome the line up would be when we get there. It was raining pretty hard and we both wanted a seat on the bus. Luckily, when the bus arrived, we were standing right before the door and we managed to get seats. *_* This was a very good thing. There was so many people jammed in there and everything was wet. I would not have enjoyed being squashed against someone who was dripping. After about 20 minutes of the bus ride, we passed by the Big Show, which is the name of the building where Comiket was being held. I saw the line in the street as the bus passed...and it went on...and on...and on...you get the picture? ^_~;;; My mouth was hanging open while Hiroko looked all smug. Yes dear, you had warned me and yes, I still wanted to go. ^^;; When we got off the bus, we were directed to the line. Turns out that there is two main lines to get in...and as we progressed, I had a feeling that maybe the two main ones had branches. ^^;; We walked away from the building...went down the street...went around a whole bunch of other buildings, etc. But as we approached the Big Show, something was very strange. There were these huge groups of people waiting in parking lots and other large open areas but our line kept moving. THIS is where our luck came into play again. I don't know exactly what happened...but our line kept moving and went right into the building. *_* Hiroko was as shocked as I was. Instead of waiting 3 hours or more like everyone said I would, I had waited exactly 45 minutes. 45 MINUTES! That's less than an hour!! Holy shit, were we lucky or what??!! *___* Thank you Loki/Pan/Satan!!!

So yeah, we were inside and I was pretty excited. I could barely contain it really. *_* All this doujinshi for my picking. *_* And where did I start? Well...I started with Prince of Tennis. *laughs* Ok ok...basically it's like this: you get this huge telephone sized Comiket book before the convention. In the book, it showed you all the doujinshi groups with little thumbnails of their work as an example, their location, and what day they are gonna be there. It also comes with a map. Comiket is a three day event with the first two days devoted to shounen, shoujo, game, movie etc. Of course, most of the doujinshi are yaoi. ^^;; The last day is for hentai, yuri and yaoi. But most of it is yuri...of the bad kind. *shudders* I had spent a day going through the whole book and marking down which tables I wanted to go to. I had looked at the day three groups because I was curious and I really regret it...there were WAY TOO MANY pics of little girls and tentacles. @_@ I am ok with porn...but please...NO TENTACLE PORN!! ;___; Tentacle porn makes me cry. ;___; Especially if it is Card Captor Sakura. ;___;

The first thing I did though was change my pad. x_x;; And like I had dreaded, the line up was killer. It took a while but I did manage it. >_<;; And holy moly, there was a lot of people!! The building is huge but it was so full!! The hallways were not too hot but the huge rooms where they had the doujinshi were quite humid. Lots and lots of bodies. @_@;; There were a lot of cool cosplayers too but I didn't take any pics. And the politeness that the Japanese is famous for? Totally non-existent in Comiket. ^^;; There was a lot of pushing and shoving and not even a "Sumimasen". The thing I hated the most were these fans that had little suitacases with wheels for their doujinshi buys. Were they gonna buy so much that they needed a suitcase? o_O;; And they kept rolling them over my feet and they wouldn't apologize. By the end of the day, I was ready to throttle these people. @_@;; But anyway, on to the good stuff.

My favourite doujinshi group Private Label was there selling Prince of Tennis stuff so I was pretty damned excited. Actually, the event's most popular series right now were Naruto and Prince of Tennis. I was gloating the whole time because I love both of those series. Hehehehe. But first, I went to the table of K2Company. That is the doujinshi group name of Kodaka Kazuma. She is the lady who drew Kizuna, KKH, and a whole bunch of other yaoi manga that I am sure most North American yaoi fans would know. When I heard she was doing my favourite Prince of Tennis pairing (Oishi x Kikumaru) I was pretty damned happy. It turns out that the most popular groups get the tables against the wall because it gives the most room with the other popular groups at corner tables. The less popular groups are sorta stuck along the sides of the table with the least amount of room. When I looked at the map and the groups I wanted to go to, most of them were against the wall or corner tables. Of course I was congratulating myself on my good taste...along with cursing myself for picking all the popular groups. >_<;; The line up for the K2Company was pretty long and crazy. ^^;; I was sorta hoping I could have time to look through the books to make my decision but there were so many people...so I looked at the books really quickly and just grabbed the books that had Oishii and Kikumaru on it. ^^;; I sorta regret that now because it turns out that I grabbed book 1,2,3 and 5 of her O x K books...I am missing 4!! ;___; But they are all pretty stand alone so I guess it's ok...*sniff* ;_; I think I saw her talking with her friend but everyone was so busy and the table was so crowded...so I couldn' ask for an autograph. I was quite sad. :_:

Next I went to the table of Private Label. Anyone who has been to the Yu Yu Hakusho Doujinshi English Translation site will know her work. I LOVE her Yu Yu Hakusho stuff and she has done many other series and pairing that I like. I really like her FFX stuff...her Tidus is so so sexy. *_* And her Prince of Tennis stuff does not disappoint either. *_* She does mostly Momoshiro x Ryouma parody and gag. ^_^ Go check out her cg and comic section. Anyway, I was so nervous about speaking to her that I started speaking to her assistant thinking it was her before I was corrected. >_<;; Anyway, later with Hiroko's help I managed to tell her that I am from Canada and I love her stuff. *_* I gushed a lot. And she was all surprised and thanked me. *_* And I got her autograph. *_* I just wish I had remembered to bring some of her manga and her YYH doujinshi with me so she can sign them. ;_; She would have drawn me something but I didn't bring a sketchbook with me. ;_; Gods I am such a putz. >_<;; But still!!! *_* I met her and talked with her and stuff so I was genki genki and I bought everything that was on her table. ^^;; Her Ryouma reminds me of Hiei...they are both so cute and grumpy. ^___^

I bought an artbook from one of my favourite FF7 doujinshi group, Yubinbasya. *_* I think her gallery section is down but try again later...or just keep refreshing the main page since the main pic keeps changing. I hate buying her stuff on ebay because they are always so goddamned expensive (VERY POPULAR) but I didn't buy any doujinshi. ^^;; When I saw the colour artbook that she had, I just HAD to get it...and I had set a money limit for myself so no actual doujinshi. But it's ok...the artbook has all her good stuff anyway. *_* I drool over it regularly. *_* If you wanna see some examples of the artbook, here is a site that has some scans. It doesn't have all of the pics though...heheheheh...oh this artbook is sweet!! *_* I can easily sell this artbook for 200 bucks on ebay but I will never ever let it go!!! *__*

I picked up an anthology Hikaru no Go doujinshi from a group called V-Kids. They do really cute Waya x Isumi stuff. *_* And yes...I like Waya on top. *cough* It's just...Isumi san is so delicate...and pretty. *COUGH* ^^;; Check out the gallery for some really nice stuff. ^_^ And bonus! She gave me 5 stationary paper with this picture on it!! Wahh!! Isumi san!! *_* I love you so much!! I don't care if Hiroko thinks you are boring!! *_*

I had wanted to get some Hikaru x Akira stuff from this one group but when I looked through their stuff, it was mostly Akira x Hikaru. ^^;; I know that sounds picky but I don't like that so much except in parody form. ^^;; Akira is a much more interesting seme when he is funny and stalker-ish. ^___^ So I didn't buy from them. But when I was passing by this one table, something caught my eye and I stopped. I haven't figured out their doujinshi group name but this is their main page. The gallery seems down but the main picture gives you a pretty good idea of the style. Anyway, I stopped and looked at their stuff. The first thing that caught my eye was a cover of Akira, Hikaru, and Ogata sensei. I flipped through it quickly so I wouldn't be rude and what I saw made me want to get it. Ok...now...some of my friends know this but...I am sort of a Ogata x Akira fan. *COUGH COUGH COUGH* ^^;; I can't help it!! ;_; I mean...look at Ogata!! That blone hair! That white suit! That blue tie! It screams at me "I am a sexual predator". That is probably because of the influence of Muraki sensei from Yami no Matsuei but there are other examples...like Onizuka from GTO. ^^;; And other yakuza oriented manga. ^^;;; And he picks up Akira from school in a red sports car! ;_; And he leers at him! ;_; And he makes comments at him! ;_; Touya Meijin, open your eyes!! Your star pupil is sleeping with your son!!! >_<;;;

Anyway, I looked through it quickly and I saw a scene with them kissing...so I had to get it. ;_; I felt so guilty but...well Akira is 16, not 10. And he seemed willing in the pic...^^;;; So I got it. Now I am really happy with the purchase. *_* Turns out the story is kind of like Akira and Ogata having this secret affair but Ogata ends it. I am not too sure about the reason but I think it is because Ogata feels that he is not the right person for Akira and their relationship is probably not very healthy for the boy. It seems Akira vists quite often...maybe too often. ^^;; Poor Akira...always so obsessive. >_<;; Anyway, Ogata says sayonara although he has feelings for him. ;_; Akira is sort of comforted by Hikaru (but not in a sexual way!!) and there might be something starting there. But well...Akira has trouble forgetting Ogata and vice versa and they almost get together again...but Ogata once again pushes him away. While this is going on, Hikaru seems to know this is happening but he just sort of waits for Akira with this "I know you can't forget Ogata but I will wait for you until you can" sort of look on his face. ;_; Wahh...Hikaru...I wuv you. ;_; For a doujinshi that I bought without planning it, it is probably my fav. Just the way the artist draws Hikaru's hand gently brushing away Akira's hair while only showing the lower part of the face...so sweet. ;_; And for those who say Hikaru is out of character, I disagree. We all saw how distraught he was when Sai disappeared. He is a boy who seems careless and shallow but in truth, feels very deeply. ;_; I love this doujinshi.

Hahahaha...*nervous laughter*. Now we get to the doujinshi that makes me squirm in my seat in total guilt. @_@;; When I was looking through the Comiket catalogue, I saw this thumbnail of Ren and Horohoro from Shaman King that looked so cool! I loved the way the artist drew Ren! *_* And their pose was so funny and cute! ^__^ So I decided to check it out thinking it was a parody or gag doujinshi...and I was so wrong. x_x; Ok, half wrong. Yes there is a lot of humour and cuteness...but there was also a lot of graphic sex. @_@;;; You know, reading fanfics about Ren and Horohoro and looking at graphic displays of them having sex is...quite different. x.x; Especially if the artist draws them looking very young. x.x; I felt like such a shotacon pervert looking at them. ^^; The only good thing was that they were both very willing and there wasn't any tentacles. @_@;; The group is named Azmaniacs and the art is fabulous. This is the cover of the book I got. The other stuff is really good too like this picture or this picture. My favourite is probably...this one. Gahhh...Ren is so...he shouldn't look this good...I feels soooo pedophile-ish. ;___; Wahhh!! I feel so guilty!!! >_<;;

But the really ironic part is that I hadn't realized how graphic my book is. ^^;; I had only looked through the book quickly so I wouldn't be rude and I only saw a kiss and some hugging...so I thought it wasn't too bad. Boy was I wrong! x_x;; Took the doujinshi home and cracked it open and holy shit!! Yeah, it was pretty graphic. But it was also very very funny. Now I regret not buying more. ;_; I think Ruaki would like their stuff though...maybe I should give her a notice about them?

Uh...well that is pretty much what I got at Comiket. And oh my god, no I didn't get any Naruto stuff. ^^ Weird huh? Well, the only group that I wanted from was also popular and I was so tired by this time. I really didn't want to brave the line. And also, I had gotten a whole bunch of their stuff at Mandarake two weeks before so I wasn't that eager for it. As for money, I only spent how much I had planned to so that was good. I bet Dave would be proud of me. ^___^

We left around 2 pm so we had been inside the building for 2.5 hours. But still, I felt like I had been beaten with a sledgehammer. I am glad that we had left early because the line up to the bus alone was insane. To anyone wanting to go to Comiket, DON'T. Or if you want to go, just go once and never again. Even though I was spared from the 3 hour waiting, I was still sooo tired. The event is soo evil. After one day, I told Hiroko I am not coming back for the second or the third day. I said I will go to the second hand book store where the crowds are not crazy and I can get doujinshi cheaper. @_@ But it was a great experience...just to experience once and never again. I can't believe that Hiroko's sister does this every year...and goes to the summer AND winter Comiket. O_O;;

And oh yeah, Japanese Otaku? Everything that I expected and more. @_@;; I know I sometimes joke that I am an otaku but I am not. Even though this blog might make me look like an anime fanatic that only does anime stuff, this is not true. I have a life. I go to school, I have friends, a social life. And I bathe. Everyday. Unlike some of these people. @_@ I am just happy it wasn't a hot day or the stench would have been overwhelming. But I think the most disgusting one I saw was the guy standing behind us when we were waiting for the bus to leave. He was very hairy (which is not bad in itself but very alarming in an Asian man). He had hair on his arm up to his shoulder. x_x;; And then...while talking with his equally yucky friend, he lifted up his arm, and started pulling on his armpit hair...as though to judge how long they were. @___@;;; I am SOO GLAD that Hiroko didn't see this because she would have screamed. >_<;; YUCK YUCK YUCK. And let's not discuss the other things he did with his armpit hair...Gods, male otaku scare me. o_O;; And I thought North American male otaku were freaky...I see the original Japanese ones are just as bad or worse. @__@;;;

As an aside, the Comiket building was beside Odaiba. That is the area built on area re-claimed from Tokyo Bay. It is a newer area and very popular with couples...or so I am told. The only thing I noticed was the buildings that get destroyed in Digimon. *_* Yes I am lame but I recognized the area because it was in Digimon and got destroyed in it. ^^;; I kept hoping to see a Digimon suddenly appear before me...hopefully with T.K attached to it. *_* Oh T.K, you're so cute! And oh yeah, the train ride back was gruesome. So many people...I got squished like a sardine. There was this cute little boy beside me who looked like he was suffering so I tried to make more space for him. His equally small mom kept leaning against me every time the train turned and the poor woman kept apoligizing. ^^;; At that moment, I was happy that I am tall by Asian standards. Unlike the smaller people, I had my head above the crowd and could breath a little better. ^^;;; And oh wow, I mentioned two cute little boys in a very short time. -_-;; Maybe I should just admit that I am a shotacon freak and be honest to myself. -__-;; But I don't want T.K. in Digimon in a sexual way. ;__; I just want to hug him and steal his Digimon.

It is still raining...so it has been raining for three straight days and at this rate, a fourth day. Wow. I am so glad I didn't go to Comiket today...although I was gonna get some LOTR and Harry Potter stuff. ;_; Me sad...sorta. We went to a restaurant tonight for dinner and I was much amused by these little kids. Small children tend to hide when I speak English in public. They hide behind their parents and start yelling "Kiku! Kiku!" which means "Listen! Listen!" and stare at me. The little girl at the restaurant got all big eyed and immediately ran to her dad. Then they started listening intently to my conversation with Hiroko. ^^;; I was quite amused. I think they get especialy surprised by me because I am Asian so they expect me to be Japanese...but then I open my mouth and English comes out. I shocked a lady at a bus stop like that. She literally jumped and stared at me. ^^;;

Ok...I wrote a freaking novel by this point. The whole family is amused by me and Hiroko's dad says I should write a manga script and sell it. ^^;; Better stop now before my fingers bleed. ^^v

xoxo Saturday, August 9, 2003, 03:19 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Ok, I haven't blogged in ages. It's just been so busy and crazy. I usually come back home pretty tired. Anyway, I will try to summarize what happened so far...

Hiroko's family took me to Nagano. That is Nagano as in the Nagano where they hosted a Winter Olympic. It was the one where Snowboarding was introduced as an Olympic event and a Canadian won gold...and almost lost that gold due to possible drug charges...which were later dropped. Anyway, turns out Hiroko's family go to Nagano for vacation at least once a year. Japan is full of nice little bed and breakfast places with good view and nice clean air. Tokyo is pretty hot so escaping to Nagano which was of higher elevation was nice...less humidity. And of course, Japan is famous for its hot springs! Hot spring in Japanese is onsen. I was sorta iffy about it since you have to do it naked...and the baths at the onsen are all public...meaning I am naked in front of Hiroko, her female family members, and total strangers!! I am too Canadian now and the thought of bathing in public is sorta scary. O_O;;; But well...I got over it...kinda.

The drive to Nagano was cool. Japan really is very mountainous. Everywhere I turned to, we were surrounded by mountains. I can see why space is a problem in this country. It turned out that the hotel itself was on top of one too! That was very nice since the air was much cooler. The hotel room was very nice and even had a section that was covered with tatami! They gave us yukata (which is like a kimono but more casual like a bathrobe) that you can wear and walk around the whole hotel. There was even free laundry service and massage chairs. The breakfast they gave us were pretty good but the dinner was sorta weird. Hiroko told me that this particular hotel made interesting but usually tasteless dinners. ^^;; Oh well...I still enjoyed trying out new things. I just had trouble when Hiroko and her sister Ayako ate natto. @_@;; Natto is basically rotten soy beans. Sorta. Kinda fermented. Anyway, the smell doesn't bother me too much (although very strong) but the way you eat it is to mix it with a raw egg and stir it into hot rice. O_O;; I am very sorry but I have a thing with raw eggs...it's so nasty!! How can you eat raw eggs!!?? EWW!!! And I could hear them eating and slurping and ewwww. >_<;; I tried not to look because I didn't want to be rude and make faces but Hiroko noticed that I wouldn't look at her when she ate natto. ^^;; Her family was pretty amused by my reaction. ^^;;;

On the second day, we rode on this trolley up another mountain. We didn't go all the way to the top but close enough. The rocks were all black since they were volcanic and the plants were mostly shrubs and moss. There were hiking trails and Hiroko suggested we take a long one. ^^;; I was sorta nervous about that since I am not in the best of health but she said it was only an hour hike so I thought, oh why not?

But I should have known better. -_-;;; The hour hike turned out to be 2 HOURS OF MOUNTAIN CLIMBING!!! The trail that was there was more of a goat trail and extremely treacherous!!! It was mostly huge rocks that I had to climb over on my hands and feet! Not to mention those huge gaps in the trail that only had a few skinny logs nailed together as a sad excuse for a bridge!! I swear, there were so many times when I thought "one slip and I am so so dead." @_@;;; Honestly, I don't know how Hiroko's parents managed it. They are obviously much more healthy than me. >_<;;

But I have to admit that the view from the top was incredible. I was eye level with clouds. I could see the city of Nagano stretching out before me and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Then of course, to continue my journey into hell, we had to make another trek down the mountain. I actually was more stressed going down. The trail is really steep in most areas and trying to get down without slipping to your death was hard. Hiroko and her mom both slipped once and gave me a heart attack. It was thankfully not fatal. x_x;;

After that ordeal, the onsen was reallllly nice. At first, the whole naked thing was sorta weird but I got over it. And Jesus Christ, I love that hot water!! At first, it's so hot that it is positively painful! Then you get used to it and the water feels so damn good. And since it's natural spring water, the minerals were great and my skin felt so smooth and nice. They had a jazuzzi with the hot spring water too...which I also adored. They had a cold pool to cool down and I spent hours going back and forth between the cold pool and the hot. Hiroko was a little worried since first time onsen users can get overheated and get sick but I was fine. And the public bath thing was ok too. You sit on this little chair and the water faucet in front of you has a hose to wash your whole body. I really liked the fact that I could sit while cleaning and splash water everywhere without worrying about flooding the bathroom. I think Canadians should have onsen...it was sooo nice.

When we came back from the trip to Nagano, I spent a day recovering. My legs still sorta hurt from all that mountain climbing. Then Hiroko suggested we go to Tokyo Disneyland so planned that for the next day. Now, I have never been to Disneyland or Disney World so this was a big deal. As a kid, I had begged my parents to go to Florida but they had always said no. Now at age 21, I could finally fulfill one of my childhood dreams. *_*

The trip to Disneyland was quite short. One of the subway station connects directly to the park. When we got there at 8 am, it was quite hot and very full. I was all googly-eyed with wonder while Hiroko was laughing at me. But I couldn't help it! I was in Disneyland!! Of course, it was in Japan but still!! I might despise some of the things Disney does (hello!? Hercules was so incorrect!! Not to mention Pocahontas!!) but Disneyland is one of those lifetime landmark things. I saw Mickey and Minnie and they were bombarded with people. Me and Hiroko had wanted to take pics but the kids were going nuts so we just watched. I felt so bad for those Disney workers in those full character suits...I mean, I was sweating from the heat while wearing t-shirt and shorts...can you imagine how hot it was for them? Poor saps.

The first thing I did was ride the Pirates of the Caribbean. *_* I had seen the movie in Canada and had loved it so I wanted to see the ride. There were some parts of the ride that they had kept in the movie, like the prisoners trying to get the jail key from the guard dog by trying to bribe him with a bone. I later saw a picture frame with that scene on it and I bought it. *_* So cute! The ride itself was fun but pretty tame. I was much amused by the animatronics. The pirates chasing after the town's women was quite fun to watch. ^^

The line waiting for rides were actually pretty good. The lines moved pretty well and I don't think I waited for more like 30 minutes on any ride. Tokyo Disneyland has something called a FastPass which I loved. Basically, you get a FastPass ticket at rides that has them. Those passes have a certain period of time when they can be used. In that time, if you use the FastPass to get into that specific ride, you get to join a much shorter line and get into the ride much faster. So the really popular rides all have this system. Me and Hiroko would get a FastPass for a ride we wanted to go to, then we would kill some time by riding rides that have shorter lines, and at the alloted time, go to the popular ride. I really liked Splash Mountain. It's one of those rides where you ride a boat on water and you fall over a cliff. The ride itself also went into the mountain and falling in complete darkness inside the mountain was so fun! Turns out this ride was Hiroko's least favourite because the boat feels so open and she hates long falls. Heheheh...well I had to make her do it, you know. The first time, she said it wasn't so bad. But the second time, we sat in the back row where the gravity pulled you more. So when we fell, we felt the fall more. She didn't like that at all. Poor thing...heheheheh. They took a picture of you when you fall and the expression on my face was priceless. Mouth open like a fish and screaming my head off. Actually, on the second ride, there were two boys sitting in front of us who started pulling out their cell phones before the fall. I was thinking that was sorta dangerous but when I saw the pic, I saw what they had done. They were posing with their cell phones and fanning themselves with a fan! As though they were so relaxed and non-chalant as they fell off a cliff. ^_^ I was quite amused.

All in all, Tokyo Disneyland was quite fun. I picked up a few souvenirs and I love them. ^_^ We actually took lots of pics but I can't upload anything while in Japan. @_@;; Sorry everyone.

Right now the weather is sorta scary. A typhoon hit Japan and when you look outside, the trees are bending drastically. The wind and the rain is amazing. But I am more amazed by it then scared...I have never seen a typhoon before. ^^;; Let's just hope there isn't an earthquake while I am here. O_O;;

xoxo Thursday, July 31, 2003, 11:19 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Holy shit I am tired. Today was a pretty full day too. I think most of my days will be like this. *laughs*

Well today, we went to Shibuya to exchange my money into yen. But before that we went to a nice little Italian restaurant in Hiroko's neighbourhood. The prices were really low but the food was quite good. I loved my dessert: coffee jello with a vanilla ice cream on top. It sounds so simple but it was oh so tasty.

Shibuya is...interesting. My first thought was that it was REALLY crowded. The subway in Tokyo is pretty crazy but so was Seoul so I wasn't too surprised. But still, I am most reluctant to go out alone. I mean, at least in Korea, I could ask for directions. And since some Japanese people get confused by the subway too, what chance do I have?

I was very excited to see the 109 shopping center. Ok I know I am just a lame anime fan but seeing the 109 center which I saw in X (and was destroyed by Fuuma...or was it Nataku?) was pretty damn cool. I even went inside and holy shit did I regret that desicion. Hiroko told me Shibuya is full of very trendy young girls...she didn't mention that they were all Ayumi Hamasaki clones!!! Holy moly they were everywhere!! It was so scary!! And every level was so loud and full of very strange clothing. I know Japanese clothes are supposed to be unique and stuff but a lot of the stuff were sorta questionable. It makes me think of the 80's and that is a very bad thing...

After that, Hiroko took me to Mandarake Book Store. I knew about this second hand bookstore so I was very very excited. So many cheap doujinshi and manga...I swear I was gonna cry. I found so many doujinshi that I had bought for disgustingly high prices on ebay...which I found for like 2 bucks in that store. I really felt like crying. ;_; But it's ok...because this means that I can get more for much cheaper prices. I bought 10 doujinshi today although I was TRYING to restrain myself. I got a bunch of Final Fantasy 7 stuff and some Naruto stuff. It looks like the books I like and the doujinshi groups I like are sorta on the expensive side...but they were still cheap compared to getting them in Canada!! I was so so happy...I must go back to that store. *_*

We also went to an arcade in the same building as Mandarake. It was the arcade that the movie Wasabi was shot in. In that movie, Jean Reno (The Professiona/Leon) dances DDR. I had always wanted to go where he had done that so I can do it too. They didn't have the same song he did but I danced on the machine and I was quite happy. Wow, I am such a dork...

Shibuya was cool but so noisy and smelly. We passed by a lot of strip clubs. I hadn't known it but we had passed many Love Hotels too. But Hiroko hadn't pointed them out to me! ;_; Why?? I had wanted to go in one so bad...just to look...I am so curious about them. *_* But we are planning to go back so I guess it is ok.

It was pretty ok in temperature wise. So far, Japan has not gotten as hot as I had imagined. The good thing about having negative expectations is that if you are proved wrong, it is a pleasant thing. ^_^ But Shibuya was hot since there was so many people and it was downtown. Wow, it was so claustrophobic.

Came back, took a shower and met Hiroko's ex-host brother, Rob. He is very very tall. O_O;; He seems quite nice but I can see why he could have gotten on Hiroko's nerves. He is a little over-the-top for her temperament. ^_^ The funny thing is, I am pretty similar to him! *laughs* We played with fireworks, then walked to a Seven Eleven and he bought us ice cream. ^_^ The dinner we had today was very yummy, as usual. I don't know where Hiroko gets this idea that her mom isn't a good cook...she is fabulous!

I think I have a cold. My throat has been hurting since two days and now my nose is running. Holy shit, getting a cold in JAPAN in the FREAKING HOT SUMMER. O_O;; Only me man...only me...

xoxo Wednesday, July 30, 2003, 04:39 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Ok so here in Japan...pretty exciting stuff huh? Well the trip started out pretty exiting too...in a bad way. >_<;; Me and Hiroko were supposed to take a flight from Toronto, then transfer to Vancouver then to Tokyo. Well, when we got to the Toronto airport we discovered that the plane we were gonna ride broke down and the plane got changed to a smaller one. This meant a lot of people didn't get any seats. Hiroko was lucky and she already had a boarding pass so getting a seat was no problem for her. I on the other hand was totally screwed. After much stress and arguing, we discovered that the passengers who got shafted were getting on the next flight an hour after. This wouldn't have been such a problem if I could catch the connecting flight at Vancouver but with the new flight, this would have been impossible. So here I was, with the prospect of being stuck in Vancouver or Toronto for a day while Hiroko went all the way to Tokyo. >_<;; My bro thought it was funny as shit and told me to demand a hotel room from the airline and a first class ticket to reimburse my loss. @_@ Oh right Dave, like that is going to happen.

Anyway, Hiroko went ahead while I pulled out my hair in stress. After waiting a bit, the passengers that were left were told to get on the next flight and that the connecting flight in Vancouver would be delayed for us. Thank God!! So it turned out ok I suppose but that 4 hours to Vancouver was not cool. I was so stressed from the possibility of missing that connecting flight that my gums bled. x.x;; I think I was clenching my teeth too tight. ^^;;; But on the ride I talked with the nice guy who got shafted like me and that was cool. He was currently living in Tokyo to teach English. Maybe I will do something like that someday.

When we reached Vancouver, the flight attendent told us the connecting flight was still there but it was gonna take off in 30 minutes!! Then our plane had to wait 15 minutes to get a gate!!! So I had 15 minutes to rush to the next gate and catch that flight! And let me tell you...it was not close!! I think I ran from one end of that airport to the other...and I had no idea that the Vancouver airport was that big!! Holy shit, by the time I made it to the gate, I was so dead!! But very very happy when I saw Hiroko! *_* We hugged and screamed and stuff. ^^;; Then I got my new boarding ticket and it was to Tokyo!

I slept about 30 minutes in that whole flight, which was about 14 hours. I don't sleep well in planes. >_<;; We saw 10 Days to Lose a Guy, Ghostbusters, and Chicago. 10 days was a typical romantic comedy but it was ok. Ghostbusters is always good. ^_^ Chicago was fabulous! I can see why that movie got best picture. I think my favourite scene was when the murderers in the women's prison was dancing and telling their own story to the murder they committed. It was very sexy and well done. I had no idea Mya was in that movie but she was one of the murderers. ^^;; Bet Ryan loved that part. ^_^

Once we got to Narita airport, I waited in a long line at customs. Since we were from Toronto, we had to do that SARS questionnaire but it was no biggie. The line was really long though. @_@;; Then we met up with Hiroko's mom and we left for her house. I was told that her house is on the eastern edge of Tokyo near Chiba. On the way, I was so busy looking at everything. If I took a quick swipe of the scenary I could believe it might be Seoul. But when I looked a little bit more carefully I could see the difference. The highway that we were on had these huge plastic walls that curved over the road. Hiroko told me these were to stop noise pollution since there were houses right beside the highway. It gave me a very futuristic feeling looking at them. There were rice paddies along the way just like Korea. The tollbooths were so expensive! One of them that we went through was 14 bucks! Holy shit! O_O;; This made me glad that highways are free in Canada.

When we were going through Hiroko's neighbourhood, I kept reading aloud signs that I could read. Her mom was pretty amused by this. My hiragana is good but my katakana is sketchy and my kanji knowledge is next to non-existent. >_< But I am trying to learn more while I am here. All the houses had really cool trees or bushes in the gardens. I noticed that even small houses has a small tree or two. Most of the trees looked like big bonsai trees. They were cut with roundish leaf bunches on skinny bendy branches. I thought this was so cool since you don't find trees pruned like that in Canadian neighbourhoods.

Their house is quite nice. I was surprised that they don't lock their door for much of the day but Hiroko told me that her grandma is usually in the house and knows everyone in the neighbourhood. Also, the houses are so closely built that a burglar would be easy to spot. Their house is right beside a river so there is a raised walkway beside it. It brings that walkway to the eye level of their second story so when I am sitting in their livingroom, I can watch people go by on bikes abd stuff. It really is sorta distracting. ^^;;;

Hiroko's family is really nice. They know some English because while she spent a year in Canada at a host family, one of sons of her host family, Rob, went to live with Hiroko's family. Hiroko's mom seems to know the most English. She is really nice and a wonderful cook. Hiroko's dad is so funny!! I can't understand everything he says but what I do understand is really funny. He likes enbarassing Hiroko and calls her Hi-chan. So cute! Hiroko's older sister Ayako seems really nice too. She is a cosplayer and showed me some of her costumes. I really want to see her in her Dejiko one. ^___^ She is the one taking me to Comiket for massive doujinshi buying. *_* I looked at some of her and Hiroko's manga and doujinshi collection and I am so envious. ;_;

Today, me and Hiroko went out to get some food and exchange my travellers cheques. We went by the bus stop but I was thirsty so we went into a convenience store to get drinks. When I walked in, I immediately saw the book rack full of manga and magazines. Holy shit, they have manga at convenience stores!! And right next to them was the porn magazines. *Laughs* I was told how obviously the Japanese is about the porn industry but this was hilarious. It wasn't even hidden from view but proudly displayed. Hehehehe. So then Hiroko told me to get what I want but I had no idea...I don't really know Japanese drinks. But then I saw a Fanta Grape and I had to get one! I am such a geek...but Ryouma from Prince of Tennis drinks Fanta Grape...it was quite tasty. ^_^

We got on the bus and went to a shopping district. Unfortunately, the bank wouldn't take my travellers cheques. They only accepted American!!! We were told to go to Shinjuku to get it changed. ;_; I was not so happy about this since Shinjuku is like 40 minutes away but since we were planning to go there from the start, I guess it's not so bad. But still, this is very inconvenient. Even small banks in Seoul took Canadian currency. ;_; After that, we went to eat Tonkatsu. Oh the restaurant we went to had such good tonktasu! When we sat down, they gave us a small bowl with a wooden grinder. The bowl was full of sesame seeds and we were expected to grind them a bit and then pour tonkatsu sauce in it. I really liked this idea and the sauce tasted better with the sesame seeds. When our orders came, we were told that the rice, the miso soup, and salad were free refill!! I asked Hiroko if this was common and she said not. I love the idea of a free refill. *_* But when I reached to eat the mniso soup, I couldn't find a spoon. So I asked Hiroko where is the spoon when I remembered that you drink miso soup right out of the bowl. >_<;; I am such a dumb gaijin. *laughs* The food was really good. We ate so much and it was pretty decently price. The service was very nice too but the waitress talked so fast so I could barely catch anything she said. @_@;;

After that, we went shopping for some needed stuff like shampoo and a folding fan. Yes, a folding fan. So far, Japan is not as hot and humid as everyone told me it was gonna be but I expect it will get hotter. Hiroko was saying how hot it was and that she was dying but I was quite all right. ^____^ I did some training before coming here. I wore long pants and shirts in Canada to get used to the heat and it's definitely paying off. Heheheh...

I love the dollar stores in Japan. Or should I say 100 yen stores? Well, that is roughly a dollar. The dollar stores in Canada and US are so cheap and cheesy but a lot of the stuff they sell here are really good!! I saw some dishes and cutlery that were really nice but only 100 yen! I think I will go back and buy some bowls. I also got a cute folding fan for 100 yen which will probably get destroyed by the end of the trip. I am very rough to my fans. ;_; Then we went to a book store and I was dying...there was so much manga!!! ;____; I wanted to buy some so desperately!! ;___; I saw some Kazusa Takashima manga that I wanted soooo much!! ;___;

We went back home afterwards seeing as I had no money and Hiroko had jetlag. She is taking a nap right now so I am writing this. I don't get jetlag because even in Canada, I sleep really odd hours. My body is used to it. I will probably raid her Houshin Engi manga and Naruto doujinshi after I finish writing this. Even though I said I can sleep on the floor, Hiroko gave me her room while she sleeps with her sister. ;_; So nice of her...I don't deserve it. ;_; But I have to admit it is sorta nice having a room and a bed to myself. She has AC in her room, a comfy bed with lots of pillows (I need a lot of pillows, ideally 4), lots of CDs (she and I share similar music taste like Gackt!!), and so so many manga and doujinshi. I love her room. *hugs Hiroko's room*

Holy moly, I wrote a lot!! I have no idea if I will write this much as the month goes but I hope so. Hey Dave, if you are reading this, I really miss you and everyone back in Canada. I really miss my cat too. ;_; Say hi to everyone for me!! Bye!

xoxo Sunday, July 27, 2003, 03:36 p.m. xoxoxoxo

Going to Japan tomorrow. Really really excited and a bit nervous. *laughs* Me and Hiroko have some stuff planned but in general, everything is pretty relaxed. I am not looking forward to the plane ride though. x.x; Unlike the Korean trip last year, we will be stopping at Vancouver before heading to Japan. I wish it was an express flight. ;_; I hate switching flights.

And oh, here are some pics of my cat. Finally! I have been meaning to put these up ages ago but...I am lazy. ^^;; This is my cat Zena...I didn't name her. >_<;;

Here she is on the couch. Picture is sorta blurry but she moved! ;_; But still so so cute. ^-^

This one turned out so good! Hiroko took this picture of her while I distracted her. Too bad the background is so messy. That is my bro's room. ^^;

It's very hard to take a picture of her because she runs when I get the camera.So I usually end up taking pics of her when she is asleep. I like the orangey lighting in the pic.

Another one of her sleeping.I wanted an even closer shot of her face. Oh she is so cute. *_* I love her so much.

All right, that is all I have for today. I hope everyone is doing good. I will try to update this blog regularly while I am there. And maybe I will be able to put up some pics too. ^_^ See ya everyone!