Exciting news everyone! I finally got the pictures and videos for Tokyo and Tokyo Disneyland. This is exciting because this was one of the best trips that I’ve ever taken, and I took this trip with my lovely best friend, Christina. The trip started off wonderful as Chris and I left for Kyoto Station at around 9:00am so that we could catch the 9:30am, and I’m not making this name up, Super Rapid Express train. Obviously this is faster than the Rapid Express and the Express trains. This was the beginning of a grueling journey that led to the Mecca of fashion and gizmos, Tokyo. Along the way we transferred trains around six times all the time carrying our bags. It was a long trip that was made long by us being cheap. It was cheap because we only took the local trains the entire time. It could have been a shorter trek if we had taken the Shinkansen. That’s the super fast bullet train that only takes two hours instead of our eight. Still the trip was brilliant and gorgeous.

Still we had an amazing time just getting there. After trekking through all the trains we finally ended up at our hostel that was tiny as all getup. It was a 10ft by 6ft room with tatami mat floors. Tatami mat is a comfy woven traditional grass mat that is in Japan. Still, this thing was tiny beyond belief for a big tall strapping American as myself. We didn’t rest though that night. Instead, we decided to head out to Akihabara. This is a district of Tokyo that is known for its electronics and overall nerd culture. There we saw people dressed up in maid costumes inviting us into appropriately named maid cafes. We also saw many otaku running around. Otaku is a name given to those who are obsessed with any culture but primarily anime and electronics culture. Its even evolved into one specific type of person and dress. They are kind of creepy actually.

This lovely trip into the nerd paradise was made even greater by the discovery of a gyro stand in the heart of Akihabara. One thing that is hard about living here is the lack of meat in the daily diet. Its a luxury that you can’t really afford to eat here on a daily basis. Beef alone is usually twice the cost it is in the United States. Because of this, the gyro I ate in Akihabara is going down as the best one I’ve ever eaten just due to overwhelming hunger and lust for meat. I had a beef gyro with a spicy sauce. Chris had the chicken. After that we decided to check out all the various shops that glowed beneath their incredibly bright neon lights. One thing I should mention, this post isn’t about Tokyo or Disneyland. This is a post about food which you will see played a huge part in this trip.

The next day was dedicated to Chris and I heading to a museum for a movie studio. This might sound like a boring place to go on a trip to Tokyo but hear me out. This studio is responsible for some of the finest quality animation in not just Japan but the world. The studio is called Studio Ghibli. It is responsible for many classic movies in the anime style of animation. The studio is known for its high quality art and stories. Its even won an Oscar or two if I remember correctly. This was an amazing place that was filled with many exhibits on traditional animation and art.  The building itself was quite amazing in its own right. The building was built in the middle of a gorgeous park on the outskirts of Tokyo. Its shaped to look natural in the setting and is just magical to look at. Christina took some wonderful pictures and most are posted here. Sadly you could not take pictures inside of the building but the way they explained it was as such. They wanted you to experience the world through the eyes and keep the memories as something you’ll cherish. I completely agree. Still, they had an amazing garden on the roof you could take pictures of. It also had an amazing statue of a guardian from the movie Castle in the Sky. They also had a special beer that was only sold in the snack area as well as a store that sold exclusive merchandise. Overall this was an great place to go. I bought some fun little things for myself such as a giant dust bunny and a cellphone charm. It was great to see little kids having a wonderful time playing on a giant catbus. There was that and the wonderful ice cream that I had. It was raspberry. Of course, much it was stolen by Chris.

The next post is right here. CLICK

-Kyle

its been ages since I’ve written anything on here but that is changing as I type away my recap and newest adventures for your amusement. So away I type!

Chris and I went to Tokyo over our winter break. That was over two months ago so what happened to that post about our wonderful adventure to the heart and capital of modern Japan? Well, I keep forgetting to get all the pictures from Chris. As such an event has yet to take place, I will wait until I do. It was a great trip that does need pictures to be explained properly. Instead, what I describe to you is how my semester went. It went well. I learned so so much of the language and culture that permeates Japan that no blog can contain it. All that needs to be said is this: Its a wonderful place, and I’ve made wonderful friends. Each day I find something new and wonderful to add to my collection of ideas and experiences. Ritsumeikan University has been great to me. I’m looking forward to my next and last semester. Hopefully I don’t forget too much over the spring break.

So as I stated, it’s my spring break right now. In the United States, this would mean a break that was a week or two long and that entire time would be spent somewhere warm and preferably near water. No, not here. For one, it’s February, it’s cold. Second, the spring break in Japan is more akin to the United States summer breaks. This is the time between the school years. This is when you are supposed to go home and find a job. Also, hope that you don’t lose too much knowledge over that time. Seeing as its hard to leave this country and that would defeat the year abroad for me, I’m staying here. So 1) Going home. As for the getting a job part, yes, I’m doing that. I haven’t found work but instead have created work for myself. I’m working on various programs for projects and ideas I have. So far so good. If I finish something proper, I’ll post it. Otherwise, I’m not going to bore you with my computer mumbo-jumbo.

So what am I doing with all that free time I have found myself with? I’m doing some traveling in and around my city Kyoto. I’ve been to see all the temples and shrines that are worth seeing or at least trying to see. Honestly, there are hundreds if not thousands of them around this city. I’m also trying to see the area around the Kansai region. Kansai is, as it I typed, a region in Japan. Its a very old and populated region of Japan. It has many great cities in it such as Osaka, the third largest city in Japan, and it has Kobe, known for its fantastic beef. All this awaits me. I’ve been blessed with the luck of being in Kyoto. Kyoto is smack-dab in the middle of these places.

I went, for the first time, today to the large city of Osaka. We started off early and by ‘we’ I mean my friends Chad and Ayla and me. We went to Hanazono station to catch a train bound for the city. We wound up getting to the train station right as it left so we were forced to wait in the cold room. This room wasn’t cold but instead was quite the opposite. Its a room you can wait in so that you are warm. Those stations can be mighty drafty so its a great place to just wait. Finally we were off on the 10:40 AM train headed for Kyoto Station. It was just wonderful to know that we were headed to a place we had never been before. While at Kyoto Station, I bought a card for the trains so that I don’t have to buy any more tickets. Its like a prepaid ticket that works on all Japan Railway trains. I’m excited by this and will demo it in a video sometime. Any who, I digress. We were off to Osaka. Even though Osaka is about 30 miles away it took us only 30 minutes to get there as we took the Super Rapid Express train. This doesn’t mean that the train flies, instead it means there are less stops. There were only two stops between us and our main destination, Osaka Station. From Osaka we went to another part of the city called Namaba or Minami as it is known to the locals. Minami is the word for South in Japanese. This disteric is known as the shopping center of Osaka.

As we walked out of the station, we saw some Japanese youth practicing there dancing in from of a giant mirrored wall. This is much more common then one might think actually. So we really didn’t look twice. Instead, we headed upstairs to the open air and were graced with the presence of a great building that is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. We took pictures of course and then went on our way to find a place called America Town. Sounds wonderful, right? There is always places you hear of in bigger cities in the United States named “Little Italy” or “China Town.” America Town was nothing like those. This wasn’t a place of Americans yelling at one another in Southern accents. Instead, it is a fashion district that all the younger generation flocks to. It is filled to the brim with the latest styles and little boutiques that sell over priced pairs of used pants. It was fantastic. There are people there dressed in things you’d never have imagined existed let alone was worn by someone. That was American town. It was a place where fashion is King and we are its humble servants.

For now, I’ll finish this story up tomorrow as this post is getting rather long.

-Kyle