Today/Yesterday/The day before that

Wow...

Today was pretty frustrating.

I woke up, and it was one of those days where I really just didn't feel like getting out of futon.

I missed my first class (on purpose), and put the final touches on a presentation for my speech class while I was at my apartment.

My presentation was about the 8th wonder of the world. If you would like to see it than download it. Please excuse whatever spelling/grammar errors that may be present in the presentation. For that matter, please excuse the mistakes on my blog as well. I need to start proofreading my work. (Actually, you can't download it).

I had a date two days ago.

It was pretty nice. On the way back home, I was riding the train, and this chic yakked on everybody! It was crazy. I haven't seen anyone throw-up in a long time, and there was so much of the crap. She got it all on this salaryman, and he was so pissed. She said sorry, and ran off of the train immediately, but that shit was all over the place... ok maybe not all over the place. Nobody said anything. I almost threw up from watching. I took pictures:



Actually, over the last couple of weeks, I have had several dates! Which I'm happy about, but... I fucking suck at dating. I don't know what to do, or what to say, and shit. I mean, after about 5 minutes in, when you've asked all of the obvious questions, it's like... ok... I feel as though it's my responsibility to keep the date interesting, even though that is most definitely a mutual responsibility. If the person you're having a date with can't hold a conversation, but they don't realize it, than you get that sigh, mixed with the whole raising of the eyebrows thing, and the slumping of the shoulders, and then you feel awkward, and want to go home, right?

I'm very happy I've had some dates though. I got no play in Toledo. I guess I have to learn many things...

On Tuesday I'm going drifting!!! I'm so excited about it. I haven't driven a car in so long! I'm going with one of my friends (who is a girl), and she says that there is a girl there who she's going to introduce me to... yossha!

I'm going to take my camera of course (I will be taking my camera with me EVERYWHERE I go now. I mean, look at the great yak pic that I got!).

My life is so awesome right now.

Don't forget to vote for Ginza's most oshare.

Ginza's most お洒落 contest

*Update* (9/28/09) - A few people have told me that they couldn't vote, so I will also open a poll on the right side of the page, so that you can vote there as well!! Voting for Ginza ends on the 10th of October.

This week I decided to do Ginza...

This was really difficult. There were SO many people there that wouldn't give us the time of day. A lot of them wouldn't even look at us to decline politely. As a result, we ended up not getting to shoot a lot of the people that we really wanted to shoot.

I think that I will put on my best clothes, and try to go to Ginza again, and see if we get a better response.

It was really tough. It took us nearly 5 hours to get 8 people to take pictures. Nearly the opposite of Harajuku, where we easily got 8 wonderful people to allow us to take their picture.

Most of the girls seemed to have this outrageous, super self-important, conceited attitude. A few declined very politely, but some of them had made us out to be perverts, or something, before we had even said anything. Their eyes, said, "I'm too good for you," but at the same time said, "I feed on this type of attention!!!"

Anyways, here are the pics of this week's lovely, and kind souls: (note that for some of them the pictures really don't do them justice). I'm sorry, I will try my best to take better pictures in the future.

#1 - This guy was very nice. When we asked him if we could take his picture he was so cool about it.




#2 - Is actually a group. It seems we always have at least one group of people who are willing to have their pictures taken, I think I'll continue this tradition next week too. They were very nice, and polite. They were returning from a wedding ceremony. Very classy!




#3 - Wow! I really love this guy's suit. His shoes were also very, very nice (sorry the picture REALLY does not do him justice). He also had a very nice mohawk! I want to be like him.




#4 - Very striking blue skirt. I think we caught her off guard a little bit... sorry.





#5 - Very nice, and simple. On a more personal note, when she smiled, my soul lit up! Her happiness was very powerful, and contagious.




#6 - This guy was also VERY well put together. I loved his tweed blazer. He was very hesitant about taking the picture, and smiled from ear to ear while taking the pictures.




#7 - Lucky number seven. This person was VERY kind, and a joy to be with. I'm going to put two pictures of her up!





#8 - Another pair. I wish I could've taken a better picture, but they seemed to be in a hurry, and I didn't want to take up anymore of their time.




So that's what I got! I WILL go back to Ginza, as I stated above, but I will have to change my approach for the people in Ginza. It is VERY difficult.

I would like to say 'thank you' to all of the people who did let us take their picture. I appreciate it very much.

To vote, simply write the number of the person/group that you like the most in the comments area. Also, feel free to make any other comments. Voting for Ginza will end on the 10th of October.

Next week is Shimokitazawa, and then probably Takadanobaba.

Wish me luck, and please vote!

Great Day!

First I'd like to officially announce the winner to the first round of Harajuku's contest.

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#3!

I'm shocked really. I wish more people would have voted. There were only 12 votes...

So, I WILL be doing another round at Harajuku, but this weekend I did Ginza, and I will post the pictures, and info in another post.

So I had a pretty good day today. I met with a very beautiful girl, and we explored Yoyogi park. Today there was an Indian festival called 'Incredible India' in Yoyogi park, and I saw a pikachu picking up garbage with the help of Rudolph the red-nose reindeer! I was lucky enough to get a picture with the duo.

Harajuku's most お洒落 contest.

I've been talking about doing this for a REALLY long time. Well I've finally did it.

I've went out with a friend, and we searched for the most fashionable person in Harajuku. It was SO much fun. I basically walked up to people, and asked them if I could take their picture. There were a couple of people who said no, but for the most part, everyone was glad to do it.

So, my plan is to go to different areas of Tokyo and get an idea of how people dress there. I think that it would be useful for people who want to keep track of trends here in Japan.

What will happen is that I will take as many pictures as I can of people in each area, and each week people will vote on who they think is the best dressed person out of the pictures I've taken. I will keep the photo of the person who wins, and months from now I will do Tokyo's most お洒落 (fashionable), and the winners from all of the different areas of Tokyo will be entered.

Understand?

I may do some areas twice (I actually plan on doing Harajuku again), and I reserve the right to throw in at least one person's photo into the finals.

This is not a beauty contest. If you're going to vote, please do so based on the person's overall appearance. Please do not vote for someone, because you like their lips.

I forgot to get the names of all of the people (...), so I will number each photo, and if you want to vote, simply post a comment with the number of the person that you like the most.

So, here they are:

#1. - This person insisted that her dog be in the photo with her.



#2. - A duet. I actually helped the girl on the left with a homework assignment after I took her picture.


#3. - I've seen a LOT of people where neon colored clothing here, so I had to take his picture. I will try to get more later.



#4. - I love this guy's shirt.



#5. - Believe it, or not, but I think this is #4's girlfriend. They're both awesome.



#6. - This guy was so incredibly well put together. He's not a tiger, he's a snake (like my brother).



#7. - My friend, and I were drawn in by this guy's shirt, and pink shoes.



#8. - And last, but most certainly not least we decided to take the picture of someone who wasn't as flashy as our others subjects.



Please vote! If your picture is up here, feel free to vote for yourself, or someone else. Also please comment! Tell us what you think. If you'd like to see me shoot a different style than say so. If you want to suggest a place to shoot, let me know. I'm open to all suggestions. Voting for this will end on the 20th of September. If you post a vote after the 20th, it will not count, but feel free to do so anyways. Thanks.

I was on TV!

Last week, I went to Shibuya, and there was a guy, who asked me a few questions about earthquakes in America, and if I would be properly prepared in the event of an earthquake here in Tokyo.

I entertained him, by answering his questions, and whatnot, but my Japanese is not perfect (quite far from it), and so when I finished it, I prayed that they would not use any of the footage.

When he approached me I initially said no, but I'm a communications major, and so I thought... if I were to approach someone for an interview, or something, I would want them to answer my questions, and whatnot, so I gave in.

I'm not sure when it was on TV, but it was posted on JapanProbe. Here's the link:

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12371

If you just want to see me (no one else is important, right?) skip to 1:53. I'm only in for like a second. I'm hitting my head, and I smiling from ear to ear...

Enjoy.

WOW!!!

...

Ok. Last weekend was really an adventure! It started out when I was returning to my apartment, and struck up a conversation with another American on the train. This guy was hilarious. We talked about how all of the little kids will never sit next to us on the train (even if their parents ask them to), and how they sometimes cry when the look at us.

He seemed like a very funny, and nice guy, so I figured I would go out clubbing with him.

...

So... apparently he has two apartments. One out in the middle of nowhere, and one in the heart of Akihabara. We were supposed to go to Roppongi, which all of my teachers have warned me against, but I told him that I would meet him in Akihabara at 9, and then head out from there. I actually really like Akihabara, because I LOVE Street Fighter 3rd Strike, and this is where all of the best players go to play (I will try to upload a video of that soon). So I went early, maybe around 8:30, or so. This guy never showed up. I was watching people play video games for nearly an hour, and a half.

I went back home, hopped in the tub, and went to sleep. Around 11:15 (I kid you not) I was awaken by my phone. This dude is completely plastered, and he's asking me where I am. OHHHH!!! Wait. I forgot something. When I got there at 8:30 I called him to let him know that I got there early, and he said, "Ahhh... you're going to be mad aren't you? Don't beat me up to bad, although pain sometimes feels good, and releases a lot of endorphins." To which I replied, "Is this your way of telling me that you're a masochist?"

...

My dumbass should've known to stop there, but no. I want to be kind, and give people the benefit of a doubt, and try not to judge them right off the bat.

Anyways. I was about to go to sleep, and this guy calls me, and is like "Where are you at? I'm in Akihabara now." I wasn't really all that mad for some reason. I think it was because, my time in Tokyo has been phenomenal, thereby placing me in a great mood.

I actually got up, and went BACK to Akihabara. We were supposed to meet in the station. This asshole didn't meet me there, and I had to talk to the Japanese girls that he was with in order to find my way to the bar they were at. I get there, and... I'm really not very smooth with the ladies, which I think he noticed right away, so he offered to buy me a beer. NOTE* I say he offered to buy me a beer, I did not say that I asked for a beer. Please keep that in mind, also keep in mind that this person is in his mid-30's, and I'm 23.

I drank a beer, and then I started to conversate with the girls. This guys speaks NO Japanese, absolutely none, so the girls didn't really seem to have much interest in him. After about an hour, or so, they actually started buying me drinks (lol), and it was almost like he wasn't there. I think that this pissed him off, because he asked me to buy him a beer, to which I said NO. Then he said that since he bought me one, I should buy him one.

...

WTF!*&@^

We were at the bar for like 5 minutes. He tried to order the most expensive beer in the bar, but since he can't speak any English, it was impossible. I got him the cheapest beer on Earth. At this time the girls approached ME, and said that they had to go, because the last train was about to leave the station. I said, I would go to (in Japanese), and the other guy didn't know what the hell was going on. He's like, "We're supposed to go to Roppongi, right?" I said yeah, but the last train is about to leave, so had we met at 9, then we would've been able to go to Roppongi, and I'd still have time to get back home. Then... I kid you not, this dude said, "DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT! YOU'RE GOING TO STAY AT MY PLACE!" I swear. He said it angrily too, like that was the plan from the start. That comment + the comment about liking pain made me question this man's sexuality. I have NO problem with gay's, bi's, whatever, however I don't want to get raped by a 40 year old.

I literally ran to the train station, and I kid you not, this guy followed me! The girls were there too. It was F*ing bonkers! Imagine this for a second... You've got a 40+ something, possible gay rapist chasing you while you're trying to catch the last train of the night! If that's not a nightmare, than I don't know what is. I get there, and the girls ask me what he's doing, and I say I have no idea, although he said we're heading in the same direction... how the hell is that possible, if he lives in Akihabara! I make my way to the platform, and this guy is still right behind me! WTF!!! I ask how to get to Tabata, and someone who works at the station says that I have to go to a different platform, and that I have to hurry, because the train leaves soon.

I rely on my speed to ditch the late 40's, possibly gay rapist guy, who is most definitely going through an mid-life crisis, and I hid until my train came. He didn't find me. The train ended up stopping half way through the trip ( I guess the last one doesn't go all the way), and I had to walk from Ueno to Tabata at 1:30 am. I didn't get home until 3:00ish.

Wow.

I have to say that it was interesting though, and that I don't regret going the second time. I DO however regret not getting those girls phone numbers. They were all over me!

お部屋探し

Hello,

So...

Yesterday, I went to Tokyo to look for an apartment, and I saw a side of Japan that I did not want to see.

There was an apartment in Ikebukuro that was absolutely perfect. It was 40,000 yen, and it had a tub, a toilet, and a closet (the tub being the main reason I wanted it). It had a balcony to! It wasn't huge, but again, it had a tub! The ad said that it was available, only for male students, so I went to the real estate agency's office with Touchan (my guarantor) to schedule a seeing.

Earlier I saw two apartments, and apparently if you want to see an apartment in Japan, they take you over to the place immediately. No checking planners, or scheduling of any kind.

So we go there, and the guy was very kind, he showed us a bunch of places that they currently had listed, but the one with the tub (ha) is the one that I liked the most, so he called the landlord, and told him that a gaikokujin (foreigner) was interested in the unit... THEY WOULDN'T show it to us! CRAZY!

I was blown.

So I asked to see one of the other units they had listed (one without a tub which, if you haven't realized by now, is quite common). Again, he calls the owner, and the owner will not rent to foreigners. We did this three times, before we actually found a place to look at.

The place was EXTREMELY small. It was literally the size of the hallway in my house. It had a shower, and a toilet, but they were right next to each other, and I'd have to sit on the toilet while taking a shower (I will try to post pictures soon).

I was really taken back by that. Touchan said that it's mostly because there are a lot of people who come from nearby countries that will rent a place, trash it, and leave, and the owner won't be able to do anything about it as the tenant is not Japanese. Being a landlord myself, I can understand the trouble, but I can't understand the generalization that ALL people from ANY country are prone to do such things. I wouldn't have been insulted if they asked me to meet with the landlord, and talk with him for a little while. That would've been nice.

I did find a place though, or rather I told someone that I was interested in there place, and I will most likely hear from them tomorrow, as to whether or not I can rent the room.

I guess it was a pretty bad way to start things out in Tokyo, but I'm still VERY excited about living there. Nothing is perfect, right?