Kamakura

I finally made my way to Kamakura. It was quite exciting. I had a lot of fun with everyone that came, new friends and old.

In case you don't know, Kamakura is just really a nice getaway from Tokyo. It is just filled with nice eye-candy sight seeing places to enjoy. Also I had the best Soba ever. As soon as I finished my meal I took a good nap too. Wow I never had such a great meal in Japan, maybe. Kamakura also has some great, fine beer.


Thank you You-chan for the beer. IT was fine and great.

Also I saw a quite a few bit of animals. Wild and not.









Cute dachshund. Sorry no front shots... but














FUZZY BEAR DOG!!!












Some dog with a crazy retro hair-do.







AND THESE!!!




SQUIRRELS, I haven't seen one in Japan until now.













They are so awesome - these squirrels.











So yes kamakura does INDEED have Squirrels, which is defiantly any easier word to spell in Japanese, Risu. But they also have one of these:









It's a buddha. Or a Daibutsu... it has something to do with Japanese culture and all. You know, very influential stuff. I like it. It is a very beautiful statue.











I was thinking how weird it would be if I looked exactly like the Daibutsu, gladly I do not.

So then we left, and then I had a good time with my host family again, It sure is nice having company while in a foreign country. I like it a lot, today I talked a lot with Lokesh who is from India and my host brother, We made fun of eachother, had all kinds of interlingual jokes, and we all talked about was how sad we are for not having a girlfriend. That's going to be our new years wish. We just wish that someone out there is looking for girlfriends for us. We honestly had way too great of a time. It was quite extraordinary. And I'm really having a good time here. Defiantly a better time than two nights ago in Roppongi... That was a night to never forget though. I do miss Kansas in many ways. The main reason is everyone there that I can't see here. I hope you all are doing fine. And I am sorry for not keeping up with everyone, now is the time though, I got it please talk to me if you can.

Back In Chiba

My host family really knows how to throw a good party. It's always a good time here, and everyone seems so nice.

I decided to enjoy my Christmas meal the Japanese way, At KFC. I think that's all the KFC I need for a year. I got some pretty sweet Christmas presents as well from my buddies. One in particular is a brown egg that transforms into no other than a grizzly bear.







I carry it around wherever I go. I also bought myself a PSP, but I was told to get the PSP 2000 model because of all its hackable... I mean more superior format. I purchased the 2000 but didn't really do the research on it, and so when my buddy was try to 'fix' it apparently he wasn't able to because it was had a unhack... I mean unworthy motherboard. So I took it back to the store and tried to play the stupid gaijin to see if I could get it exchanged for a different one. I tried my best to excuse me way into getting it exchanged but they basically were telling me "fuck you" but in an ever most polite way. So i ended up selling the brand new PSP to them for the price of a used one, then I bought a new one, so in the end I lost 5000 yen. And now you may be thinking, "Well Jake, serves you right for cheating the system." honestly I agree, but negative karma does not end there. I had to see if they had any of the older models, they in fact did have one.



I love my new sparkly rosy pink PSP. I even asked them to wrap it up for me like a christmas present.

I also love going to the arcade now. But the only game i ever play now is Tekken 6. Recently i haven't been doing too bad, but it wasn't too long ago my buddy and I went up there when it was packed filled with the strangest looking dufuses around. Like they all looked like they were straight out of an anime. Well I challenged a couple of them to a game and got my ass handed to me. I felt so inferior... I was about to cry. These super otakus were owning me. I couldn't understand why they all wanted to ruin my fun, they just started picking on my after that. I just wanted to leave and cry, I wanted to tell one that he was a cheat and his ridiculous hair-do would never score anything with the ladies, and that's about when his girlfriend came up behind him and started massaging his back as he continued to play his next game. Sometimes I do hate Japan, but I live on.


I really Hope all you guys have a nice Christmas, it wasn't too much of a Christmas for me without seeing all my family and friends back in Kansas but I look forward to seeing you all in another half a year or so. Take care of yourselves please. =)

Wow, what a long 3 months that has been

First I guess I owe everyone an apology for my lack of updating. I could apologize but really I am more mad at myself for lagging behind the goals I wanted to set. I started keeping a diary for to keep me from forgetting things to write, but my diary entries are never about anything productive or worth mentioning that would interest you. Rather, it's more like I just use it to vent my frustrations. I do of course get uneasy here just as I had at home. And I knew that would be the case from the start, but unlike what I did not expect is that I really had nothing to worry about while I was in Kansas, I feel so happy here, it makes all my self-conscious worries back at home seem like little raps of nonsense. But I guess we all get over our selves in one way or the other. I still feel like myself. I haven't changed much, at least I don't think I have. I'm still just as air-headed, just as easy to get laughing, and I am still single.

I guess the best way to recap a good 4 months of not posting is rather than telling you all my experiences you may just have seen on facebook with pictures is just really to tell you how I live day to day and my reflections, and of course I have to leave some mentioning of some activities as well.

I haven't mentioned it on here, but I had mentioned it several times in the past to people, but I no longer “officially” live with my host family. Nothing despicable or bad happened between us. It was just time for me to move closer to a place from my college. But I take many visits back to my host family, and I miss them now as I write this. (This Wednesday I'll be making a visit to them for their Kurisumasu paatei. (Christmas Party!) So anyhows, I am alone now in my single room apartment, and I am honestly not too fond of it by any means. I try to avoid staying there. Why would I want to be there? I know no one there, I have no internet or any easy entertainment, like a TV. I just basically just go there to sleep, or though only recently, my laundry. I usually find things to do in the town of my college or I am back in Chiba, or exploring the Tokyo area.

Christmas is here in Japan too. It just has a different quality to it. I mean of course there playing your obligatory Christmas music, people are finding excuses to buy things, There are illuminations all around the Tokyo metropolitan, and you still get to wear santa hats. Maybe it's just the lack of Eggnog and Gingerbread, but this is not the Christmas spirit I am feeling, it's more like the Kurisumasu spirit that is ringing in my soul. Colonial Sanders is the real Santa. Everyone will be buying chicken on Christmas. Christmas cakes also seem quite popular. But truly here in Japan Christmas is just another good excuse to have a party. But I was told by several people that in Japan, and really in the East Asian part of the world, Christmas is just a good time for a party and really a time to enjoy the lights and be with your significant other. Rather than being a family gathering type of holiday. The real holiday here in Japan is New Years. I am excited for that.

I am going to end here for the day. But I promise I will be updated more, which means I will be writing shorter posts but hopefully that will motivate me to get on to write more. I am truly sorry, I am not around my computer much since I do not have internet in my place back in Yurigaoka. I usually just leave my computer at my friends house that has internet since its a pain to lug around everywhere.