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?)