So I haven't updated this blog in forever.
About a month ago, I spoke at a new student orientation for Temple Students going to TUJ in the fall. I told them everything I had to say.
I met this girl, Shine, who will be living with Yamanaka-san. Good to hear that.

Unfortunately, I've been too lazy to post those damn pictures, but give me my time!

I do not know if it qualifies as reverse culture shock, but I know that ever since I've been in Philly, I've been heavily disgusted by SEPTA, the public transportation of Philly. When I was in Japan, if you miss a train, it's there in 3-5 minutes. Maybe 10 on a BAD day. But here in Philly, 8-10 minutes is the norm, and it usually gets as bad as 15-20 minutes! I'm a busy man I don't need to deal with that.

One major thing I miss about Japan is the training. What can I say? I met my idol, trained at his gym, and in no time, I had to come back.

I've come back to graduate school in Fall 2009, but trust me - when I graduate, I'm going off to Japan! Whether I teach English or work for a Japanese company doing something business-related, I'll be glad to be back and work on my Japanese.

I've been looking into JET and ECC (Preferably ECC so I can go back to Tokyo). The pay is very low - about 2500 a month, so we're talking at least 30,000 a year. Not bad, but for Japan, I'll be living like a beggar. But get this... I plan to have supplemental income from fighting PROFESSIONALLY! OSSU!

My parents don;t quite agree with my plan, but I will do whatever is available to me and whatever is more feasible.

Reverse Culture Shock?

Back in orientation at TUJ, many of the people in Office Of International Students were warning us about "Reverse Culture Shock." I feel that even the Gilman site covers this for returning scholars.

I've given it some thought if I am actually experiencing it. I've been wearing my hair like Masato and painting my nails like him - and if anybody questions it, I tell them "IT IS JAPANESE STYLE!"
When I am with friends, Japan is basically what I talk about. But could it because I just came back?

Suddenly going from Tokyo where I am 15 minutes away from Shibuya to going to Bloomsburg, a rural town in Pennsylvania seems like quite a difference. Because I'm from here, I wouldn't call it "culture shock", but when I am with friends, it seems as if there is nothing to do. I'm used to being in Shibuya, going to some weird stores, maybe going to a bar full of salarymen and OL. But in Bloomsburg, I'm back to hanging out at Wal-Mart like I used to do in High school (especially since most of my friends aren't 21 - so no bar for them). Soon, I will head out for Philadelphia, which will be closer to Tokyo because it's urban - but still, not quite.

However, before I returned, I stated that I was looking forward to coming back, and I am certainly glad to be back. I have stuff to do here before I go back to Japan - like graduate!

Anyway, in other news, my brother, who inspired me for this blog, was on the Colbert Report last night. Hasan Elahi. The reason it inspired me was because wherever he goes, whatever he does, he posts his location on the internet supplied with an image of his surroundings. Additionally, there are photos of everything he's eaten and the toilets he used.

Unfortunately, what I did was not as sophisticated or in-depth, but I feel that this is the best I could do. Since I am now back, I will be going back into my posts by each entry and editing photos into them since I wasn't able to upload ANY of my photos in Japan (insufficient software on my computer).

SAIGO HI

So I went back to the gym. Nothing big. Except I took a lot of pics and a video of my training there.
Masato wasn't there and I wasn't able to hand him the award. But I gave it to the trainers and they did it right away the day after.

Friday, I just went to school to print out my itinerary and then walked to Tokyo tower to check it out since I never went there, then I hung around Shibuya, said my farewells to the FreeHugs people.

I'm gonna really miss Japan and the people I've met here. It's unfortunate I have to leave, but I have a duty to go back to the US and contribute my international experience to my peers and anyone else it may concern.

I did talk to one of my professors, and I have many routes I am considering to return to Japan.

Today, I saw SHAMO - a movie featuring Masato and I also bought tickets for the Narita Express.

I leave rather early tomorrow, so I will return to packing.

Japan, all I gotta say is - Sayonara, Mata na.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjlGGyMLVYg

SILVER WOLF IS #1

So the day after I got to school, I was telling my friends about how I didn't have a fight, and I showed them the video. OH SNAP! I suddenly had a fight!
Basically, because all I did that week was party, I rapidy lost my weight in preparation for this match.
I was 67.2kg before Practice on Friday
Now fast forward to the match on Sunday: I weighed in at 63.5 kg
NICE-O!
Here's a video of the match:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sknhFjTtETg
I lost by points due to a yellow card for holding and kneeing. However, I did well and am proud of my performance in my first fight overseas.
After the fight, I told my teammates, "Because these are my last three days and I have no damage, I will be at the gym everyday"
And I have done so.

Today, before my session, I bought cake for all my trainers. After I got back, I saw this on the blog:
http://ameblo.jp/silverwolfgym/entry-10092615598.html
They are basically telling fans that I am going back home and telling me to come down to the gym when I come back to Japan.

It is very sad. While I did not come to Japan for the sole purpose of training martial arts, it is a major reason why I chose Japan as my destination. I learned Japanese and studied Japanese culture mainly to be able to train at a Japanese gym, preferably this one.
Upon my return, I am more motivated than ever to "ganbare" - do my best - in my studies and kickboxing. In that way, I can have either the option of returning to Japan after I graduate in either grad school in a Japanese MBA program or fight professionally in Japan - and maybe even both.
SILVER WOLF#1! WASURENAI!

Finals over

Finals were pretty rough. I struggled with International Trade, but International marketing was a JOKE. My Asian Business final was hard too - but thankfully, I got to go out drinking with the prof afterwards. That was something fun and truly a "only in Japan" moment.

Last night, I went to Roppongi to a year end party, but I wasn't feeling it, so I bounced with some friends to Odaiba.
Today, I woke up late after being out in Odaiba all night. In the evening, I met my buddy Annas in Shibuya and later ran into Jesse. Eventually, we went to GasPanic - the first club I went to in Japan - the meat market. And surprisingly, I met a K-1 fighter:
ANDY OLOGUN from NIGERIA.

That was fun. After that, I met my homestay parents with Annas, who used to live in the same homestay last semester. We then ate at a restaurant in Eifukucho, where Annas lives. Good stuff.
With finals over, there will no study and plenty of abroad. I'm going to definitely enjoy the rest of my time at SW

KIMATSU SHIKEN

So I went on the RISE site, and it turns out I'm not fighting. Too bad and a major dissappointment. The biggest matter is that I gotta wear my American flag shorts in Canada, because I may not have another chance to fight in Japan.

Anyway, I've been very busy because of finals lately. ANd just as busy training.

However, last Saturday, I skipped training to go to Akihabara. I was told that I would be disappointed if I went alone, but I had a good time. It was basically a nerd's world. You see those guys with long hair and dragon print shirts? Yeah, they were there - in two flavors: White and Japanese. Akihabara itself is filled with Anime stores, Arcades, computer stores, and porn shops. The computer stores didnt interest me because I don't need any new computer equipment, and I was tired of the few Anime stores I went to. I'll have to admit that the porn stores were rather funny, but rather uncomfortable when a random Japanese man starts smiling at you and attempts to initiate conversation. I spent a good amount of time at the arcades though.

On Sunday, I went with Chiemi-san to Asakusa. Asakusa is part of the Shitamachi, which is the old part of Tokyo. There, I went to Kaminarimon Gate and Senso-ji. It was a good time. Right after we were done there, Chiemi-san took me to a Dojou place - apparently one of the few restaruants that serve it. Dojou looks like a small mudskipper. I'm not too big on fish, but this was alright. My personal highlight was eating WHALE sashimi - tastes like beef.

Later that day, we stopped over at Ginza to go to a UniQlo. UniQlo is basically Banana Republic quality at Old Navy pricing. Personally, I always have trouble finding jeans in my size. They're either too wide or too short. But here in Japan, I saw 26 waists, 27! 28! 29! I'm personally 29-30, and I was soooo happy to see 29 waist jeans. However, when I put them on, they were incredibly long. Solution? UniQlo custom tailors the jeans to your size... FOR FREE. I went on a shopping spree and got some shirts that I gotta say look SEXY. I'm gonna be careful wearing these shirts because girls are gonna be all over me - TRUE MASATO STYLE.

Monday and Tuesday was more training. Strarting from Wednesday, I began to prepare for finals, but yesterday, I saw the bad news of my non-existent match. However, it gave me more time to focus for finals. Now, I only have one more final left,and I look forward to seeing more of Tokyo after I am done with that.

OSU!

RISE KAMINARIMON

So on Friday, I asked my trainer, Daiguji if I could enter RISE Kaminarimon, an Amateur kickboxing tournament. One of my goals while coming to Japan is to get some International experience and bring it back to the US with me.

I wish I could fight at 60kg, but I have to do 65kg (because of Gyuudon) and I will be doing B-Class. Anyway, here I am representing SILVER WOLF.

On Friday, I basically got beat up by all my senpai. But it was worth it, and this Friday, I'm going to spar them all again.

Saturday, I trained again - Boxing class with alot of punchout drills. My trainer, Daiguji told me "Ippai renshuu." So that's what I'm doing.

Sunday I rested and went to the Kanamara matsuri, a Japanese Phallus Festival. Originally, the festival was celebrated by prostitutes to prevent against sexually transmitted diseases. But over time, it became a Shinto Fertility Festival. THe legend has it that a demon lived inside a woman's vagina and would bite off the members of her husbands on the wedding night. However, a suitor finally had a blacksmith forge an iron sheath for his penis and broke the demon's teeth.

Here are some pictures:

Kazuya Yasuhiro, "Oishikatta", Meeting Kohiruimaki, Dude's Last night, and The Hair Salon

Ever since I got back from the Kansai trip, that was all I posted. I haven't even posted pictures from that trip yet!

The Tuesday after I got back, I went to the gym, and it FILLED with TV crews, reporters and cameramen. I was a little hesitant to go in, but somebody told me that it was okay, so I did. I peeked into the gym and saw that everything was going normally aside from the TV crew. I took off my shoes and walked into the lockerroom, and guess who I see? KAZUYA YASUHIRO!!

It was rather pleasant. I have a lot of respect for that guy because when he fights, he brings it! He was also glad that I talked to him because he now knows he has a foreign fan, and because everybody was all over Masato and not him. Later that night, I had noticed that Masato hung his towel under my coat. So I licked it. Oishikatta.

The rest of my week passed by as usual - bogged down with schoolwork, but on Saturday, me and the girl I was dating unfortunately broke up. So sad. However, when I was in Roppongi later that night, I met another fighter! TAKAYUKI KOHIRUIMAKI! I talked to some of my friends, and they told me that he always parties in Roppongi and Shibuya, but they also told me that I was very lucky to get his picture, because he never allows people to take pictures. Maybe he was happy because I was a foreigner.

After all that, on Monday, I was at the gym, and noticed that it was a training partner's last night. After class, he told everybody, "These last two months have been great, but I got a new job, so I must live life." It was so sad, because I know in 27 days, that will be me. After that, I had to live life on my own and get to work on classwork.

On Wednesday (youtube from my friend is available). My friend was being very obnoxious at a hair salon. He was so obnoxious, that they put us in the VIP area. Here it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kWSFZHLRt30

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fwQOaXamc4E

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2RLcCLG5M78

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CNwN-7FBsvk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_sRR_qdjUlA

My most expensive haircut ever - 4000 yen, and that's after using a coupon and not getting charged for our VIP treatment.

KANSAI

Sorry I haven't been updating lately
I finally fixed my computer last Wednesday, right before leaving for Kyoto.

We took the Shinkansen to get down there, and it only took 2.5 hours. However, once we got there, we were disappointed. Not only was it raining, but nothing was open. It was a mess! We then tried finding a Manga Cafe to stay overnight, and with the help from the police, we did.

I'm normally not one to rough it without showering, but we pulled it off and it was alright. The following day, On Thursday, my friends decided to rent bicycles. Now, keep in mind, I don't know how to ride a bike, so I was left to sit behind Tommy, who was rather reckless at first. Over time, I got used to it. That day, we went to Kiyumizu and other places, which were AWESOME. To end the day, we went to Ginkakuji, but found out it was closed.

On our way back to the Manga Kissa, I found some lodging. Me and my friends went to the place, but it was full. However, we found a public bath and got cleaned up among a bunch of dongs. Whatever, I'm not afraid to be naked in public - you know what they say about the Japanese. That night, we then went to Karaoke in Shijo, which was like the Shibuya of Kyoto. Once that was done, we decided to find a Manga Kissa around there. Nice - it was FULL. So we returned back to Gojo where our first was at and then retired there. That night, I was looking into lodging at Osaka, to make sure we wouldn't be living at Manga Kissas. Everything was full - so I called Mr. Schwartzman... Nathan Schwartzman who now lives in Osaka.

On Friday, we saw Kinkakuji and then went to Ginkakuji again. This time, we found out that Ginkakuji was actually closed for renovations. Oh well. That night, we went straight to Osaka. Once we got there, we went to a SpaWorld to get clean among a bunch of dongs. It was much fancier than the Kyoto public bath, but the surrounding area of SpaWorld was really sketchy. Later that night, we walked into a "ROYAL BUSINESS HOTEL AND SPA". Turns out, it was acutally a Gay Love hotel. We each got our own rooms and had to pay extra, but that was still alright.

On Saturday, we went to Osaka-jo, ruined some tours, and then later that day, met Mr. Schwartzman and his wife, Junko. We went to a Mexican restaurant where they had a practically all-day happy hour (11:30AM-5PM), got some burritos, coronas, and margaritas, and then headed to Hineno. We then spent the night at the Ikeda-Schwartzman household and it was all good.

The last day, on Sunday, we headed back to Kyoto and split up. We all ended up in the same place - Nijo-Jo. It was a nice place, but I got lost easily. Once that was over, I headed back to the station to do Souvenir shopping in the mall.

Kyoto tonight

The computer's still busted, but I plan to fix it tonight before I head out to Kyoto.

That's right - KYOTO. We're getting there by Shinkansen because the bus tickets were sold out. However, we'll be returning by bus.

Our plan is to get there at night tonight, staying out and discovering what's around, spending another day there, and then going to Osaka maybe Friday and/or Saturday and then going back to Kyoto to catch the bus to Tokyo. Prices for Shinkansen were about $150, just what I expected, but the bus tickets were nearly $90, when I had expected much less.

Anyway, the rest of the weeks been interesting. I went to the Machida last week to hang out with a girl I had met at the Embassy party and hung out with her again at the 2nd Embassy party. Suddenly, we're official, especially since it's been confirmed on FACEBOOK.

What irony - I come to Japan and end up dating a Lebanese girl. But I'm not gonna complain. This is why:

No post in a long time

My computer has been busted, so I haven't been able to post.

Anyway, it's all been pretty bland, with the exception of the UAE party on Friday.

Let me tell you, it was off the chain. People got messed up (bad news), but there were lots of girls (good news). And HOT girls too. Not lying, I'm for real. I spent the night at the Embassy and when I opened my door (which had been locked so no drunk people could disturb me in my slumber), I had opened the door on my friend's head who was asleep. As drunk as he was, he didn't notice.

So I farted in his face.

The next day, I went to Ontakesan and talked about it. Good news... there's another party this weekend. I've realized that with all the partying I'm doing, I can't make 60kg while in Japan, so I'll move up to 65kg if I compete.

More good news... I talked to MASATO on Monday. It was his birthday, so I gave him a bag of Darjeeling tea from my parents and took his picture:

Computer Issues

Not much this week. I had off on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I had alot to do.



On Tuesday, I trained again. This day was weird because as soon as I finished warming up, they threw me in the ring with a kid about my size. His name was Kushima, a student at Waseda University. 頭がいい、がキックボィングが上手なさそうです.

Yeah, smart kid, but didn't seem very skilled. He told me I had SUGOI POWA. The sparring wasn't hard at all. We were at 50%. He was a bit of a spaz, but as I stayed relaxed, so did he. On top of that, MASATO was watching.

Had some conversation afterwards, so it was good.



When I train, I don't like taking a break when people are working. I was the odd-man out today, so I was partnered up with Trainer Yasu, so I did double the work as if I had something to prove. ANd really, I do have something to prove. I WANT TO FIGHT IN RISE KAMINARIMON!



Wednesday was interesting. Took off from training, but not much to do. My computer at home CRAPPED OUT ON ME. Hopefully now, it'll be able to get fixed with some help from my brother. I have so many files on that I'd have liked to post, but never got around to it, especially the street fight I saw in Ontakesan. ANyway, on Wedesday, I spoke English and Bengali until about 4:30 when I decided to hang out at the dorms. Why was I speaking Bengali? I went to that Indian restaurant.



Thursday, not much, other than my friend helped me find a Pho place in Sangenjaya.



And tonight, I'm going to a party at the UAE Embassy. So officially, I'll be at UAE for a while... and it's covered on my commuter pass.

LAST SAMURAI

So as I said, I've been busy with schoolwork. However, today was the end of it.

After class, me and my friend, Evan went down to SilverWolf. That's right, another friend of mine just joined. Anyway, the training was rough as usual and Evan and I were BEAT.

So we skipped the conditioning class and decided to head to an Okinawan restaurant a block away from the gym. It was rather funny in the lockerroom after I was done. One of my training partners pointed to my shoulder and said, "Sugoi! Ii punch resource desu ne?" Translation: "AMAZING! Good punch resource!" Made my day. Then we got talking about how long I'm here and what my study aborad program was like. I said, "I'm only here till April, but I want to live in Tokyo longer." My trainer, Yasu-san said "Last Samurai desu ne?" and in English, "ARE YOU TOM CRUISE?" Made my day again. So as of today, I'm removing my "Brown Recluse" nickname on Facebook can replacing it with LAST SAMURAI.

Anyway, at the restaurant, we had some Sushi and I got Goyah Chanpuru - Spam, Eggs, and BITTER MELON. Many people were surprised when they saw it. The guy next to me, pointed to it and said, "This is very Bitter" in English. Oh yeah, he also taught us the proper way to enjoy sushi. The whole time, I been dippping the rice in the shoyu (soy sauce), but I learned that you turn the sushi over and dip the fish in the shoyu. Tastes better. As for the Goyah, I let Evan try some and his face turned upside down. He didn't like it. But I LOVE IT.

-Imam, The LAST SAMURAI (Is it just me or do the Japanese just like to throw that name around? Andy Hug, Kozo Takeda, Yoshihiro Sato, now me?)

STUDY abroad?

I just gotta say: SCHOOL IS RUINING MY STUDY ABROAD experience.

When people talk about studying abroad, they focus too much on the ABROAD part and not enough on the STUDY part. I'm just as busy as I am back in Philly and doing the same stuff back in Philly. It is ridiculous.

I'm always told by previous students "Oh it's easy. Such a joke." Whatever. It's a joke when you take Intro-to-this, Intro-to-that, and Japanese Elements I because you're an ignorant Gaijin who thought it'd be cool to come into another country to party without learning the language or any of the local culture.

That being said, it feels that some of the courses are designed as weed-out courses. International trade? 40 student class... ordering 20 books. Great. Study guide and none of the answers for the difficult questions on the answer key. Even better.
I have 3 classes, one of which is 1 credit, which are easy. But this International trade is HARD and my Japanese class is a close second.

Why my Japanese class is the earliest Japanese class? I don't know. They should make all the Elements I and II kids take 9 AM classes. But nooo, they get to enjoy later classes.

Coming to school at 8:45, staying till 4:15, and possibly sitting in the computer lab/library to study/write papers really leaves me little time to enjoy Tokyo.

WTF IS THIS?

First Time in Roppongi

Friday was interesting. EK called me about a modeling gig he got where he had to do martial arts. As a result, he had me take him down to Silver Wolf. So once there, we took care of all the information and then we got changed in the locker room, and totally passed Masato on his way out. Btw- Masato SMILED AT US!

As we're getting dressed, EK says, "Where's this Masato guy at?" and I said, "That was him, dude!" It was off the chain. EK's doing well. It's rough for him coming from a different martial arts background and having trouble speaking Japanese. But we're from the same Japanese class and he's athletic, so he should be fine.

Saturday was NICE. I been preparing for an Econ test I have on Wednesday, but aside from that, I decided to hit up Shibuya and later Roppongi with EK and ED, and met some other guys there too. At Shibuya, we were at a bar called Tasu Ichi, just hanging out. EK had me wear my Pikachu hat as a conversation starter. Worked perfectly. Some guy at the bar pretty much gave us his food. A Japanese beef tripe and vegetable stew and some fries to get rid of the tripe flavor. Eventually, we bounced and headed out to Roppongi.

At Roppongi, we went to a club called "Muse", which had a 2000 yen cover charge. Kinda alot, but really not that much for an exclusive place like that. Apparently, Masato used to hang out there when he was younger. Speaking of Masato, I love using his name to meet girls.

"Why are you in Japan?"
"I'm an International student, but I'm also here to train with MASATO."
"MASATO!?!?!?! OMGGG!!! HE'S SOOOO DREAMMMYYY!"
"He got married last year. His wife is very beautiful." (Gotta rub in that part - NO MASATO FOR YOU!)
"Yes, she is."

I literally pull the Masato card. Tell them I train with him and show them my Silver Wolf card. WHoo!

Anyway, Muse was a fun night, but not sure how much I'd be willing to continue clubbing. It was definitely more chill and relaxed than the last club I went to.

Cat piss!

Monday was cool. On my way back home, I felt social, so I told a girl on the train that she was very pretty. Suprisingly, I got a positive response. Later that night, I met with CP in Shibuya and got Kaiten Sushi for 100yen a plate later that night. I wasn't able to hit up training because I didn't have time to clear my bag from staying over and switching to training stuff.

Tuesday, I slept in heavily and then went to train, which was interersting. Other than an E-mail I sent out to my one professor, I don't think I spoke any English that day until 10PM. It was the shit! Later that night, I found the worst EVER. Cat piss. In my room. So I cleaned it up.

Wednesday, I got some cat piss deodorant and the day itself was rather monotonous.

Today, I woke up with heartburn and got some "onaka kusuri" because I had no idea how to say "antacid" in Japanese. The first stuff I got sucked, but when I returned with CP, she helped me get what I really needed. Also today, I did the MMA club, which was more fun. Many friends from other dorms were there and it was fun to see them there and watch them train.

Unhomestay?

On Friday, I went to the gym and there he was - the man himself, MASATO

Apparently, Masato told the trainers that he liked my right straight, but my kicks need work. So a trainer came up to me and fixed my kick. From now on, I'll kick the way I was tought here. If it's good enough for Masato, it's good enough for me.

Friday was also my first day sparring. They went light on me, but it was ROUGH. The leg kick is a staple of training here, along with volume punching. I'm not too impressed by the boxing of the guys I sparred, but the kicks were NICE. I personally was able to get in good jabs, but being out of practice, that was about it. My leg kick defense needs work.

This weekend, I volunteered to give my room off to my host-parents guest. On Saturday, after I was done with Karaoke in Shibuya and attempting to serenade girls with Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", I stayed with friends at Ontakesan and slept in the TV lounge, where everybody got a good view of me drunk and in my boxers.

That night, I went home and roamed around in Shibuya for a little. There were many interesting things, but also somethings that looked rather shady. However, I found the Donkihote there and bought a nice hat and this fancy screen cover for my phone that prevents people from reading my stuff from my shoulder. This idea was given to me by EK, who told me it was an easy excuse to get close to girls when showing them stuff on my phone.

After that, I stayed at my homestay's friend's place in a nearby area called Hachimanyama, the place where all the nice restaurants are at. It was a nice older lady's house and she prepared a room for me. ANd this morning, even woke me up, which gave me so much extra time to get out for class AND eat breakfast, which I normally skip.

Living outside the dorms and homestay was a good experience. It felt like I was really roughing it, but at the same time, not.

Valentine's Day and SILVER WOLF BLOG

Last night, I had a DATE. That is right, I peaced out in the middle of my 3-hour Asian Business class to go on a DATE in Shibuya with a Taiwanese classmate who graciously gave me a cupcake for Valentine's. I expected it. I'm like super star here with my Masato connections.

Speaking of that, I made the Silver Wolf blog: http://ameblo.jp/silverwolfgym/entry-10072445868.html

Along with this very sexy picture of me:

It kinda pisses me off that many of the other study abroad kids have no idea how big of a deal it is that I'm training at the Silver Wolf Gym - A WORLD CLASS KICKBOXING GYM and that I'm meeting MASATO - Japan's David Beckham of Kickboxing.

For some reason, this girl was getting fed up with the fact that I was showing everybody the blog entry on the site. I quickly compared it to "Imagine acting on the same set as your favorite actor." And her ignorant response was, "But nobody knows Masato!" Bullshit. I actually got pretty heated at this point, but kept it inside. I simply told her that she doesn't know Masato, but ask any Japanese native, usually a girl, and she'll get giddy at the mention of Masato's name.

MASATO #1!

Yokohama Chinatown

So on Tuesday, I met Koji Taguchi, my father's friend from when he went to school in KU. He was a really nice guy. Kinda absent minded, but very helpful. Unfortunately, I left his omiyage at home and need to go back to Yokohama to get it to him.

Yokohama wasn't very far from me at all. ABout an hour train ride to the Yokohama Chinatown, which was really nice. The Yokohama station itself should be about 45-50 minutes. For the most part, it seemed more foreigner friendly than most other places I have been to. Possibly because the place neighboring the Chinatown, Motomachi, was one of the first first ports open for international trade.

Later that night, I went down to the gym and met the man, MASATO, again. One of the trainers got a pic of me airhumping, so hopefully it will make its way up on the Silver Wolf blog today.

ANyway, just today - I FOUND OUT I CAN DIRECTLY UPLOAD PICTURES AND HOST FROM HERE.. WHATTT??? So I'm going to go into my previous posts and make some posts with some pictures I have available.

Retirement from Clubs

On Friday night, I ended up going out. Sorry. We went to Shin-Okubo (I think that's what it was called), which was a major Korea-Town of Tokyo. There, we went to a Korean restaurant and got all this food which in my opinion, was overpriced. I spent the most on one meal this time - 3000 yen. Personally, not going back there again. After that, my new friend, who I met at the MMA club, JB, decided to go to a bar in Shibuya called, "Ghetto". ALong with us was our new friend, Y. On the way, I blatantly took off my shirt in the train to reveal my new shirt: "Looking For a Japanese GIrlfriend" in Kanji. When I purchased the shirt, I was worried people would HATE it, but people loved it. I had so many random people taking pictures of me. As for the bar, let me tell you - that bar wasn't Ghetto at all. When I heard "Ghetto," I expected something like Gas Panic, but this was more like a bistro. So we got some drinks and left.

Saturday was pretty lame, just me dropping by Ontakesan dorm and coming back quickly for dinner. Lately, I've had an unwritten rule for that whenever I miss dinner at my homestay, I NEED to be around for the next day. Since I skipped last night on Friday, I had to be around on Saturday, and so I was.

Sunday, I slept in till 4PM. Yeah, really wasting my time. Sorry. Again, I decided to go to Ontakesan. There, my friend EK talked me into going to another gay club. This was the largest club in Asia. Why he has an interest in gay clubs? I dunno. BUT, I had a great time there. My friend EK enjoys meeting many new girls and to him, it is an artful science. Not my thing, but DAMN there were lots of girls at this event, probably most of them transgendered though. But I met some nice girls. I'm not one to go meet random girls, but rather friends of friends.

Monday (today), didn't do much. Got back home at 8 AM because I had to run back to the dorm and grab some stuff. I saw my friend EK's blog and it puts mine to SHAME. Anyway, after I got home, I just slept in till 5PM. I know, lazy, sorry. I had plans to go out to Akihabara, but I decided to reschedule to have dinner with my homestay father since I skipped dinner last night.

Tomorrow, I go to Yokohama to meet Koji, my father's one friend from Kansas University when he was studying abroad from Bangladesh. Koji-san is now an immigration attorney and I'd like to meet with him to get his perspective of what America was like for him when he was studying abroad.

And one more thing - the reason for the title? I caught a cold from running around showing off my "LOOKING FOR A JAPANESE GIRLFRIEND" shirt. And clubbing after that wasn't a good idea. No more partying. I need to train harder. That's what Masato would do.

Mobile Technology

So my phone is wayyy fancy. Flashlight, ultra-thin, internet (not for pre-paid though), games, comics, etc.

When I picked it up on Wednesday, I had to try some goya chanpuru; bittermelon (Karela as we deshis call it), egg, and spam. It was good other than not getting rice with it (since I thought it would be included).

That same day, I got my gaijin nerd shirts - "Accepting Applications for Japanese Girlfriend" in Kanji and "Kiss Me, I'm Gaijin" in Katakana.

Thursday, I went to the Temple MMA club, where I sparred my one friend and then sparred another kid who I then discovered was pro. My friend was just starting out, but was decent. The other guy ripped me apart, even going as light as we were. I'll definitely be sparring him more often.

Friday, I wore the Japanese girlfriend shirt and got some comments. People like it. I'm still debating on whether or not I'll go out tonight. I'd like to train tomorrow at SILVER WOLF

Meeting Bangladeshi Compatriot

So yesterday, I got my Foreigner Registration Card.

I went to the ward office in Minami Asagaya and it was QUICK and EASY. On my way out, I decided to go to an Indian restaurant. There, it was rather awkward - two people with no real grasp of Japanese attempting to speak to each other in Japanese.

I started thinking, "Man, this guy would probably understand me better if I spoke Bengali," since Bengali is somewhat close to Hindi. Suddenly, he serves me my meal and asks in English, "What country are you from?" I tell him I'm American, but of Bangladeshi heritage. To my surprise, he says, "Me too." So I began speaking in Bengali, since I haven't had any chance to other than calling my parents.

They gave me a minor discount (100 yen) and told me that I'm welcome to come back and whatever I want, they'll try their best to accomodate me.

I got back and had to tell my parents. I didn't expect to find Bengalis in Japan. I'll definitely hit up that restaurant again.

Another thing I've been doing lately is dropping by the phone store before training in Sangenjaya. Yesterday, I bought my phone, but I had to pick it up later so they can activate it. Unfortunately, it was during my training time, so I told him I'd come back tomorrow, which happens to be today.

I might have purchased too many minutes on my phone, but hopefully they'll be sufficient until the very end of the semester.

K-1 Rules

Yesterday, on Saturday, I went to K-1 at the Nippon Budokan. The Nippon Budokan, meaning "Japan Martial Arts Hall" is primarily a Sumo Hall, and very traditional.

So anyway, I went there yesterday for K-1, with my 23,000 yen Ringside ticket. When I got there, I had missed the first 2 amateur fights of the U-20 60kg division.

The show started and the opening ceremony was OFF THE CHAIN. Pyrotechnics and Fireworks ALL OVER THE PLACE. It was electrifying. Another thing I noticed was that most of the audience were girls! In the USA, at MMA or Kickboxing events (I've only been to one pro show, though), the girls are mostly there because their boyfriends are there too. In Japan, it seems like they are at a NSync concert, going crazy over the fighters and most of the cheering is done by girls. This girl next to me ran to find Hayato and Buakaw after their fights.

Another thing is that Japanese fans are relatively quiet. They call out the name of their fighter occasionally, sometimes a chant is done when it's really a big deal, they react to impressive techniques and knockdowns, and at the end of the round, they give a golf clap.

I really felt like I was in the Mecca of Martial ARts. Unfortunately, I didn't meet many of the fighters. I got my picture with Artur Kyshenko, and shook the other fighter's hands (after my camera battery had died).

It was a great event. Now I feel more motivated than ever to train!

Uneventful week

This has been a rather uneventful week because of 2 exams and 2 papers. Last night, I had to pull an all nighter to complete everything, and also out of fear that if I fell asleep, I'd miss class.

I really need to invest in a new alarm clock, and maybe a keitai (cell phone).

I'm planning a trip to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara soon, but my friends and I are being extremely unorganized. We've decided how to get there, but as for lodgin when we're there, we are CLUELESS.

During my cultural exchange on Wednesday, I met some kids from Osaka and Hyougo. They told me a little about their hometowns and on our official meeting on Thursday, they elaborated on how I should visit West Japan and in what order I should visit the cities.

I'm getting some guidance, but I'm still totally unsure of where to go and what to do.

Also, because of my workload, I haven't been training much this week. BUT... TOMORROW IS K-1 MAX!! WHOOOOO!!!

Help from the office

Ever since Saturday night, not much has been going on.

I met my homestay parent's friend, who is currently learning English. Our language exchange was a good experience. We later went to an Italian restaurant and had dish after dish or oyster items. Apparently, it's high oyster season right now.

Once that was over, I just got home and went to bed.

On Monday, I did my thing in class. I finally bought all my books, put them in my locker, and when I went back, I realized I had accidentally changed my combination number to something totally random. So I went down to the office, and I got help right away. The people in TUJ are so much more helpful than the people at Temple Main. At Temple Main, people act like helping you is a major chore for them, especially when its their fault. For example, I was double charged for my meal plan. When I addressed, I got nothing but attitude - and it wasn't my fault at all. But this, on the other hand, was all my fault, but once I told her, she took care of it right away.

Later that night, I went to Silver Wolf and from a block away, I heard a guy yelling and hitting the bag. As I kept walking, I wondered who it was. I go up, and it was MASATO. You guys know he rules, right? This was my first time seeing Masato's training, and he was in good shape.

After Masato was done on the bags, I started hitting the bags and the Thai trainer corrects my stuff. Afterwards, he pulls me into the ring for padwork and just outside the ropes is MASATO, stretching and watching. I paid my homage to him by ripping the pads up as if I never had before. It was the shit.

I then did more training in the class and then a conditioning class with Daiguji-san. I was beat, so I went home, ate, and went to bed.

Today, I got a lot of classwork, so I'm going to get that all done tonight and unfortunatley, not train.

Tokyo Nightlife 2

Yesterday, I mentioned that there was nothing worth mentioning. Not anymore.

Last night, I ran into MASATO again. And he talked to me! He told me take of my shoes, and I said, "Sorry," and did so. Training that night was rough, especially with the language barrier, but all the drills were similar.

Today, I was going to either go to Boxing at Silver Wolf or do Fighter's Medical Training in Suidobashi. But instead, I opted for Kaiten Sushi in Harajuku with some friends. While there, we had a friend, Z (who's name I will release with his permission), who was too shy to talk to girls. My other friend, EK (same thing), kept pushing him forward to hit on one of the waitresses at the sushi place. The sushi itself was good. I had some simple bean curd and rice, shrimp tempura, shrimp sushi, and I decided to try out whelk and herring roe, all of which were good.

After sushi, my one friend, EK, said "Let's go to a gay bar. We'll meet with V and have a good time." Z was against the idea and I was 50/50. I told him that if he went, I'd go. And so we did. In Shinjuku, Kabuki-cho (a real shady area - Yakuza hangout), we ran into V and J and went down to a club called "Dragon Men." Keep in mind that neither me, Z or EK are gay, but we did just to see what it was like. On the way to the store, we passed a gay porn shop where in clear view was a Masato photobook. I quickly stopped everyone, ran in and showed everybody Masato. Because you know, MASATO RULES.

After that was done, we moved on and went to the club. It wasn't awkward at all, but me and Z had to leave to catch the train. We almost missed it, but were set, and here I am now.

Not much to report this time around.

Due to the sheer fact that I don't have much to report, I might blog less. Nothing new has been going on nor has anything interesting happened.

Everything is basically my everyday commute and what not.

SILVER WOLF

Monday and today, Tuesday, were very eventful.

On Monday, I went to the Silver Wolf Kickboxing gym, the gym of Superstar MASATO (Did you know? He rules). On my way there, just a block down from my homestay, I was stopped by the police. They asked to see my documentation and then searched my gym bag. I wasn't sure if they were allowed to search my belongings legally, but I let them do so anyway, because I wasn't sure. I later found out that they can, but I do have a right to refuse - but it just becomes more suspicious. I have nothing to hide anyway, so why bother?

At the gym, I finally paid my membership fees and got to train. The Japanese trainers were surprised that I spoke some Japanese. The Thai trainer at the gym, speaks no English or Japanese, so it was hard to greet him, but I stuck with Japanese. When I went to the locker room, I saw a man in a suit who looked to be a sarariiman (salary man) finishing his afternoon workout. Then he looked at me... It was the man, MASATO. I was totally starstruck, turned around finished getting dressed, bowed to him, and left. The training there was very good and tiring and all of the Japanese trainers and training partners are very friendly.

Today, it snowed here in Japan. It's not freezing, about 5 degrees celsius here, so the snow was very wet. The one man in the Office of International Students, Aki, who is also the dorm manager of Ontakesan dorm, told me that snow is very rare in Tokyo, only once or twice a winter. I personally am not a big fan of snow, but I'm glad to have experienced it.

Tokyo Nightlife

On Friday, I had the Sake tasting at Roppongi, run by Temple. The sake itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't too good either. They had 7 different types available and a sake expert, John Gaunter was giving a speech and explanation of sake. Also in the same night were several performers including a shamisen player, models, and both contemporary and Japanese musicians. I ended up coming back late at night since the even didn't end until 11:00 PM.

Saturday, I had originally intended to go to Shibuya for some "field research" and I learned many things from this night that I would like to share:
1. Tokyo nightlife begins early. We got to the club around 8:00 and it was POPPING.
2. Some clubs are free or relatively inexpensive.
3. From what I found, the cheapest drinks are where all the other foreigners are.
4. Don't drink 151.

Of the places I went to that night, my favorites were a hip hop club (taken over by mostly Nigerians who according to my friend "were eyeing us down really hard") and the "3 Coins bar" a 300 yen drink place where a Gay Swede was hitting on me and my friends.

Sunday was a recovery day, I went to my friend's dorm and had to hear about how much of a d-bag I was. Other than that, pretty uneventful.

Lately, I've discovered that I can only make International Withdrawals at certain times of the day and TODAY, I found out that we can only make International withdrawals only at certain times, and today I've found out that I can only withdraw about 30,000 yen a day. This is why I've been unable to join Masato's gym. Daiguji said that I can pay my months ahead and I'll be set. BUT... I'm gonna have to start saving up for the next few days until I can do it. Hopefully tomorrow I can pull something off.

Traveling to Japan and roaming Tokyo

I haven't been able to post because I haven't had the time to post a blog or Internet, but this will cover everything so far.

My way to Japan was VERY smooth - everything went on time. Airplanes were very cramped and not very comfortable. I don't sleep at all on planes. But it was okay. I got off the plane and realized, "My Japanese isn't as good as I thought it was." I didn't expect it to be so bad, but it really sucked. However, it was okay and enough to get by.

My homestay family was VERY helpful and I found out I have no curfew, which is good. My first meal was Sashimi and it was delicious, even though I'm generally not a big fan of fish, especially raw fish.

The following day, I had an orientation at TUJ, which was basically blatant information, nothing new. After our information session, we got to roam Roppongi, where I finally had some Gyuudon at a Matsuya. It was CHEAP - 330 yen for a bowl. Afterwards, we went to a Don Quixote, a Japanese Wal Mart basically, just a little raunchy. They had a plethora of erotic underwear - for men and woman, one brand name being "Black Man".

That night, I was bored and I decided to roam Shibuya alone. Here, I discovered that my Japanese is really not up to par. Forming a sentence to ask a question is no problem, but understanding the directions I get is HARD, I'm left to say nothing but ”わかりません”。

On Saturday, we went out to Shibuya again as a group. At this point, it was much easier as I did not have to get directions anywhere, and if I did, I'd just ask my Japanese tour-guides who spoke English. Later that night was another story. Me and a group of 15 other kids from Ontakesan, in Ota-Ku, went down to Gotanda to do Karaoke at Big Echo. We had a blast there, until we saw one of our fellow classmates, who had decided to get drunk, started vomiting all over the place. Luckily, he waited till the last song, so we wrapped up and left. As we were checking out, we found an extra 5000 yen charge. Yes, we were charged a 5000 yen clean up fee. But among 16 kids, it was easy to pay off. As I returned with the Ontakesan group to their dorm, I found that I was going to be charged 2000 yen to stay over, and I did anyway.

The morning after, on Sunday, there was an Ontakesan Kodomo Festival. They were making Omochi and selling Omochi soup for 100 yen. As I moved on, I saw a huge audience watching a FIGHT. It was KAMEN RIDER fighting evil villains for children. All the fights had a recurring theme - Kamen Rider fights the bad guys and starts winning, but then the tables are turned, and Kamen Rider is beaten up, but his friend jumps in to save him and thus the cycle starts again. It was very exciting to watch, however my camera ran out of memory as Kamen Rider was going to do his Full Charge.

Later that day on Sunday, I went to Odaiba with my Homestay parents to a popular Ramen place. It was very delicious. Though I'm Muslim and not supposed to be eating pork, I must say, Japanese pork, 豚肉, is so lean and so delicious. Apparently in Japan, pork is considered to be healtheir than beef. This place was popping. It was basically a strip of Shopping malls. According to my homestay parents, it's a hip place for teens to go on dates. While there, we also went to a Sony Dream Theatre, which was an interactive technology museum, mostly with stuff Sony has been developing, I guess.

Monday was a waste of a day. I went back to TUJ for a mandatory orientation. It was the head of Office of International students spewing the same shit for 5 hours, no lie. Just running in circles telling us obvious bullshit like "Don't do this, don't do that". Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to steal bikes, and I can't even ride a bike anyway (本とに). He did go over the trips available, which did seem interesting, especially the Hakone trip that I can't go to because it's the same night as K-1. And because K-1 rules, there's no chance I'm skipping it for a Hakone trip, especially since I already got RINGSIDE tickets (23000 yen, for real).

Tuesday, I had no class, so I went to campus to work on this blog more (not having Internet and playing catchup with this blog sucks because it's now Friday) and then went to Suidobashi to find a store that sold kickboxing gear. Long story short, boxing gloves are too expensive here. Everlast gloves that sell for 80 dollars in the US are selling for 22,000 Yen in Japan, about 220 USD.

Wednesday, I went to SILVER WOLF GYM, the gym of K-1 MAX CHAMPION, MASATO. Did you guys know? Masato rules. I didn't meet Masato, but I saw all of his trainers and met Susumu Daiguji, one of his main sparring partners. He was a nice guy and spoke some English. I got the paperwork and everything and filled it out that night. He said that as long as I paid my months in advance, I wouldn't need to do any EFT or pay the joining fee.

Thursday, I didn't have class until 3:45, so I went to Ueno park for a robot festival. It was pretty small, just some Gundams and Honda

s new robot, Asimo. Seeing Asimo was very interesting until Asimo got stage fright and there was some technical issues. Later that night, I went to Setagaya-ku to go to SILVER WOLF GYM because MASATO RULES and... I wasn't able to withdraw the gym tuition because it was 7:00 PM and they don't do International withdrawals that late. ざんねん.

Now today, on Friday, I am going to a Sake-Tasting Event in Roppongi run by Temple. It seems pretty interesting. Now that I'm caught up to date, I'm gonna include what I did on the next entry.

OSU (Not Ohio State - OSU is a Martial arts term for PUSH AND ENDURE)

Leaving For Japan

This is a trip I've been looking forward to for a long time.

When I was in High School, I've always wanted to be an exchange student in Japan. I'd watch shows like Yu Yu Hakusho and read manga like Midori No Hibi and was fascinated by the Japanese high school uniform. If I were mandated to wear that as a uniform in high school, that'd be NICE. And also, whenever an episode ended, my reaction would often be, "Damn! If I were in Japan, I'd be watching the next episode right now and not have to wait for Cartoon Network to broadcast it two weeks later!"

But my anime nerdiness aside, one of the things that also compelled me to Japan was it's rich martial arts culture. When I was younger, I decided to take up Jiu Jitsu. Why? because I wanted to be a SAMURAI. But I was 13 and played Dungeons and Dragons in my free time, so I'm sure you can see why. Over time, I matured as a martial artist. I decided to try my hand at MMA, mixed martial arts. And from there, I decided to take up kickboxing. I made this sudden realization after watching a highlight video of K-1 MAX fighter, Masato.

I began to "prepare" for a Japan trip. My father hired a Japanese International Student from Bloomsburg University to teach me privately. It was fun and learned a little bit, but I wasn't able to keep it up because of Wrestling and already taking French and Spanish in school. This is about where I started to take an interest in Japanese music. I assumed that if I listened to it enough, I may be able to pick up small amounts of Japanese - which is true, I've used song lyrics to memorize vocabulary in my Japanese classes now that I'm in college.

In my Sophomore year of college, I took up Japanese and decided to minor in it as well. Going to Japan has always been one of my goals during my education, since I was in high school and the reason I chose Temple was for it's study abroad program and their Japan campus. It is also the reason I chose my International Business major. I want to put my language skills to use. I want to be able to travel. I want to experience other cultures.

I understand that my main purpose to conduct this trip is not for martial arts or to relish in all my anime nerd glory (Not that I watch much anyway nowadays), but these are major motivators of my decision to study abroad. I will go to class just like everybody else and try to get my grades up as if I were still in Temple Main, but when it comes to time out of class, I'm going say to myself, "I'm in JAPAN," and enjoy myself as I learn a few new things.

My flight leaves out of Allentown in a few hours, I'm all packed, and ready to go.

日本に往きましょうよ！
(written Jan 8, 2007, Posted Jan 12, 2007)