Hey, guys, what are you gonna bring back from Japan? What are you gonna bring back that won't pass from relevance in time, like just another video game or just another book in a manga series; what are you gonna bring back?
As I collected my Dancemania CDs, a compilation out of which many songs were imported into DDR, and my DDR games, for which I haven't yet bought the Japanese PS1 I need to play them (because they're rare, and I'd have to order it through Japanese Amazon), I realized that I probably wasn't going to listen to all of them. So I eventually stopped collecting them. I might go back and get DELUX 1 and DELUX 2, the only other two remaining that aren't in the annoying "nonstop megamix" form, but apart from that, I think I'm done. But the other thing is, I'm starting to get tired of DDR, too, and I'm curious about venturing into real dancing from now on, instead of making DDR steps to various songs I like. I don't think it was coming to Japan that shifted my interest from DDR, though.
But what kind of things will I bring back that will aid me in my future? (Haha, what kind of things will come back that'll hinder me in the future?) I've learned some stuff, yeah. Now what of it?
I haven't learned how to cook Japanese food from my host mother, who makes it so well. So as far as that goes, I guess I've slipped up on this part. I'll eventually need to cook anyway, and I might as well cook food that's good rather than the usual American food that I could barely stomach anymore before I left.
Oh, I went to McDonald's today. It was actually good and not too overbearing with the being unhealthy, except for the fries, which were business as usual. I might eat that bacon and lettuce burger again before I go.
Yeah, but what am I bringing back? Presents, yes, presents. And when another year's gone you'll need more presents, just probably not from Japan. Hey, how about presence? What kind of presence will I have when I come back? Probably a lighter, more silent one. No, probably a more shrewd one, eager to shout and be raucous in stark naked contrast to sound-naked Japan. But I'll be lighter for sure. I'm worried about how much weight I've lost, even if it's only 5 pounds, because people who know me would know that that's a little too much for lightweight me. But the physique you see isn't all that makes up my presence. What presence will I have, the brave Commodore Perry who opened a foreign shore to his interaction?
Something.
I know many things now, and I still have left to figure out what I now know that I didn't before. That's either a sign of having learned a hell of a lot, or of having learned nothing. But if I want to find out what I found out, I don't think I learned nothing, did I?
We'll find out. In the meantime it's time to start sending stuff that I don't need right now back, and carry the rest home on my two shoulders or wheel it on Japan's ridiculously complicated sidewalks. I should write about that. Well, somebody already has. It's not that interesting anyway as a singular case, but it indicates a larger trend. And now it's back to work for me.
samedi, novembre 29
vendredi, novembre 28
I look askance
I look askance. It's a tough thing, trying to reclaim your childhood and have a drastically unique experience at the same time, but I've done that. That was what I set out to do all along, probably (if I didn't know it before, I know it now), and I've done it, not only elsewhere but here in Japan, too.
I've re-seen what I saw three years ago, the bustling streets of Tokyo, the really friendly deer, the colorful vending machines, natural scenes and the soft and quiet serenity. Does that sound repetitive? Well, as I've said before, this is no place of mere serenity. There's too much brewing under the surface. It's like the massive underground security system I hear they have in peaceful, rich Monaco. It's not just serenity. Perhaps it's not real serenity. But in any case, I've seen what brought me back here in the first place, the marvelously unique country that was so fun to visit before and has been so fun to be seeing now, everything being just about the same as it was when I first came here with the exception of the weather, and my familiarity with many streets and my comfortability with streets I've never been down before. Just another Kansai street. And what's left? Still there is 残り (nokori, stuff remaining).
Tokyo was rude, compared to Kansai, I feel. I was treated more like a foreigner there than I have been this whole time in Hirakata and other places in the area, but I guess that's just Tokyo, crazy as it is and must be. I like Kansai. I might be tempted to live here, were I not cogniscent of all that living here implies outside of the context of this unique semester-of-study experience. "Semestral" is a word I might never use in the context of Japan ever again. But there's more to life than college. I'll probably come back.
Japan, I love you. That means I love you despite your faults. And I realize that some of those faults are more my fault, and the rest are liable to my perception. In other words, we've had a good thing together. In better words, I could go on about the things that drive me nuts about you, but you always find a way to sneak up behind me and tickle me. No, you don't even have to do the sneaking or the tickling. You're just Nihon. Or Nippon, if you so desire. My royal highness.
And some things can be a royal pain in the butt here. I think I'm really exhausted from pretty much everything; the everyday 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese) communication, being sick three times in three months in a foreign country, having a decent amount of work, various schedule-making situations, getting stuff done for France, the sightseeing, the everyday biking on a weak bike that I now have to go to the repair shop for, that biking including a 3-5 minute climb up a steep hill every school day, trains, walking and walking, thinking, karaoke, tobacco permeating my clothes and bookbag, house dust permeating my lungs, stress permeating my body, hearing about my uncle's death, spending Thanksgiving without a turkey and without my family, thinking (just by typing this list) of things I have to get done. And I've probably lost about five pounds, if not more, which is too much for me.
I don't think I've been good enough to my host family, really. I've only played piano once in this house! Mostly it's been frisbee, with the occasional exceptions from bouts of sickness like this one. At least I've had frisbee. And frisbee brings me to my friends, who I will miss dearly when I leave, some of whom I might not ever see again. And those are just the frisbee friends.
It's so sad that we're leaving. Well, that I'm leaving. Or rather that this semester is so temporary. I haven't had enough time to just chill, here, with you guys, and that's really unfortunate. I wish I could be closer with my Japanese friends, too. And if you understand this, any of my Japanese friends, and you've read this far, then you're really good at English. And I wish I could've spent more time with you! But I guess I've learned a lesson: if you try to do everything, you can miss out on things that are precious. Yep, I tried to do everything. And tried not to do too much. It's a bad combo. You end up eliminating things you really shouldn't and telling yourself that they're unimportant. When you realize they're important later, you slap yourself in the face. Hmm, but perhaps it's the best combo possible.
You guys are great. You guys are great people, and I have enjoyed the time here with you guys so much. I don't think in writing you can see how much I really mean that. Let's have a great end of the trip together with me, to say it Japanese-style, and let's always remember this greatness.
And don't forget me!
Alex
I've re-seen what I saw three years ago, the bustling streets of Tokyo, the really friendly deer, the colorful vending machines, natural scenes and the soft and quiet serenity. Does that sound repetitive? Well, as I've said before, this is no place of mere serenity. There's too much brewing under the surface. It's like the massive underground security system I hear they have in peaceful, rich Monaco. It's not just serenity. Perhaps it's not real serenity. But in any case, I've seen what brought me back here in the first place, the marvelously unique country that was so fun to visit before and has been so fun to be seeing now, everything being just about the same as it was when I first came here with the exception of the weather, and my familiarity with many streets and my comfortability with streets I've never been down before. Just another Kansai street. And what's left? Still there is 残り (nokori, stuff remaining).
Tokyo was rude, compared to Kansai, I feel. I was treated more like a foreigner there than I have been this whole time in Hirakata and other places in the area, but I guess that's just Tokyo, crazy as it is and must be. I like Kansai. I might be tempted to live here, were I not cogniscent of all that living here implies outside of the context of this unique semester-of-study experience. "Semestral" is a word I might never use in the context of Japan ever again. But there's more to life than college. I'll probably come back.
Japan, I love you. That means I love you despite your faults. And I realize that some of those faults are more my fault, and the rest are liable to my perception. In other words, we've had a good thing together. In better words, I could go on about the things that drive me nuts about you, but you always find a way to sneak up behind me and tickle me. No, you don't even have to do the sneaking or the tickling. You're just Nihon. Or Nippon, if you so desire. My royal highness.
And some things can be a royal pain in the butt here. I think I'm really exhausted from pretty much everything; the everyday 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese) communication, being sick three times in three months in a foreign country, having a decent amount of work, various schedule-making situations, getting stuff done for France, the sightseeing, the everyday biking on a weak bike that I now have to go to the repair shop for, that biking including a 3-5 minute climb up a steep hill every school day, trains, walking and walking, thinking, karaoke, tobacco permeating my clothes and bookbag, house dust permeating my lungs, stress permeating my body, hearing about my uncle's death, spending Thanksgiving without a turkey and without my family, thinking (just by typing this list) of things I have to get done. And I've probably lost about five pounds, if not more, which is too much for me.
I don't think I've been good enough to my host family, really. I've only played piano once in this house! Mostly it's been frisbee, with the occasional exceptions from bouts of sickness like this one. At least I've had frisbee. And frisbee brings me to my friends, who I will miss dearly when I leave, some of whom I might not ever see again. And those are just the frisbee friends.
It's so sad that we're leaving. Well, that I'm leaving. Or rather that this semester is so temporary. I haven't had enough time to just chill, here, with you guys, and that's really unfortunate. I wish I could be closer with my Japanese friends, too. And if you understand this, any of my Japanese friends, and you've read this far, then you're really good at English. And I wish I could've spent more time with you! But I guess I've learned a lesson: if you try to do everything, you can miss out on things that are precious. Yep, I tried to do everything. And tried not to do too much. It's a bad combo. You end up eliminating things you really shouldn't and telling yourself that they're unimportant. When you realize they're important later, you slap yourself in the face. Hmm, but perhaps it's the best combo possible.
You guys are great. You guys are great people, and I have enjoyed the time here with you guys so much. I don't think in writing you can see how much I really mean that. Let's have a great end of the trip together with me, to say it Japanese-style, and let's always remember this greatness.
And don't forget me!
Alex
mardi, novembre 25
Tookyou so long
I went to 東京 this weekend. This can be romanized as "Tokyo" or "Toukyou" or "Tookyoo" but the one that's really correct is the second. You can also put a flat mark above each "o" in the first option but I feel like that doesn't tell you the whole story. I have decided to mix the last two romanizations.
It was fun. I can start with the Imperial Castle grounds, which are pretty and pretty strange. You can't go inside the walls (unless it's New Year's, I think), and the grass is cut to about a height of .1 mm, which makes it really prickly and hard to sit on. Then there's アメ横 (Ameyoko), a long street with tons of fresh fish and decently-priced clothes being sold really enthusiastically, as well as a really awesome supermarket that sells imported products, including COOKIES WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN THEM (this particular package was imported from Canada). I also got a new winter jacket there that it turns out isn't really that warm or that great-looking. Maybe I'll sell it at a used clothing store before I leave here and make a profit. hee hee. It was only 5180 yen, a 60% discount off the original price, I believe.
After that, we went to Roppongi where I learned I had missed Sébastien Tellier (the Greek god who represented France this year for Eurovision) by about 5 hours. Aww. There was another French act that was performing and it sounded pretty good. And the lights, the lights were pretty. Pictures on Facebook eventually.
Also that night, we went to Tokyo Tower by accident, thinking it was a smaller tower in Roppongi, and went to the 150m-high observatory. Tokyo isn't as pretty as Osaka is at night, but it goes. on. forever. There is nothing more strange than seeing a city extend seemingly infinitely in all directions around you. Admittedly, it was night, but I think in the daytime you'd still get that feeling.
We ate at a French restaurant that was on the cheap side for a French restaurant in Tokyo, which isn't saying much. The food was good, though. It's been so long since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread for free along with the rest of your meal. And after that, home.
Or, rather, hotel. But something was very home-like about that hotel: the neighborhood around it (in Ueno) was very, very quiet. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. I said several times (as a joke that nobody really found funny haha) that "Tokyo's sure a quiet city, isn't it?" Even in Roppongi late at night, which is home to several clubs and restaurants that I'd think a reasonable amount of people would frequent, it was still rather quiet.
This country is too quiet.
The next day we woke up and made it over to Asakusa to see a temple or shrine whose name I forget. It's one of the oldest in the city (or maybe the oldest in Japan, or oldest in Tokyo; I can't remember) and was rather noisy. Isn't it interesting how the holy places are on the noisy side and the non-holy places are so quiet? Hmm. Well, the fake autumn leaves that they had above each stall in the shopping street right in front of the temple were quite picture-worthy. Oh, yeah; one thing I did this weekend was take too many pictures. And particularly yesterday.
Shibuya had a big, famous intersection where tons of people cross, but little else unique. The Italian restaurant we went to had a good pizza, though. Then we went to Harajuku. Oh, Harajuku, how I missed you. With little in the way of men's clothes, I didn't buy anything. Words pretty much fail this place, with its narrow, narrow main street and strange stores, many of which I can recall being there three years ago. I looked for good Engrish shirts; the Engrish I recall being good but the shirts weren't. :-*(
Train again, Ueno again. It was this day (Sunday) that I revisited Ameyoko and got my Adidas winter jacket. Then we went to Roppongi again and ate at a restaurant called Havana Cafe. I had a cheeseburger; 外人スマシュ! (Gaijin smash!). Then we almost managed to get back to the hotel at a decent hour but decided to do karaoke which became 90 minutes when we originally planned on 30. I couldn't hit the high notes on "Somewhere Only We Know"; lame.
Monday was a holiday, at least at our University. We took the opportunity to go to Mt. Fuji. Well, at least we tried, but we were informed later that the bus going to the mountain was out of service because of "many snow" (she probably was thinking 大雪, which means "a lot of snow" but could be literally translated as "big snow"). We went instead to a lake nearby, and this was probably the prettiest part of the trip for some reason. And this wasn't even the lake itself so much as the walk on the random streets on the way to the lake. I took about 400 pictures there and I still don't know why. The rain and the autumn leaves and the rather rural surroundings were the Japan I had been waiting to see. I don't know... I think that when you take Japan and add a lot of space to it, that's my dream Japan.
But as we took a gondola up Mt. Kachikachi which promised a view of Fuji on a good day, I realized I was sick. This is why my writing is so stunted right now and why the 7 hours I was on trains and in train stations on the way back were so horrible. But yeah, I was glad to be back someplace where I have a lot of memories from. And I took pictures of the Prince Hotel where we stayed from the Tokyo Tower. They came back blurry, as do so many memories. It was nice to see my memories in full color again, this time the color being autumn.
It was fun. I can start with the Imperial Castle grounds, which are pretty and pretty strange. You can't go inside the walls (unless it's New Year's, I think), and the grass is cut to about a height of .1 mm, which makes it really prickly and hard to sit on. Then there's アメ横 (Ameyoko), a long street with tons of fresh fish and decently-priced clothes being sold really enthusiastically, as well as a really awesome supermarket that sells imported products, including COOKIES WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN THEM (this particular package was imported from Canada). I also got a new winter jacket there that it turns out isn't really that warm or that great-looking. Maybe I'll sell it at a used clothing store before I leave here and make a profit. hee hee. It was only 5180 yen, a 60% discount off the original price, I believe.
After that, we went to Roppongi where I learned I had missed Sébastien Tellier (the Greek god who represented France this year for Eurovision) by about 5 hours. Aww. There was another French act that was performing and it sounded pretty good. And the lights, the lights were pretty. Pictures on Facebook eventually.
Also that night, we went to Tokyo Tower by accident, thinking it was a smaller tower in Roppongi, and went to the 150m-high observatory. Tokyo isn't as pretty as Osaka is at night, but it goes. on. forever. There is nothing more strange than seeing a city extend seemingly infinitely in all directions around you. Admittedly, it was night, but I think in the daytime you'd still get that feeling.
We ate at a French restaurant that was on the cheap side for a French restaurant in Tokyo, which isn't saying much. The food was good, though. It's been so long since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread for free along with the rest of your meal. And after that, home.
Or, rather, hotel. But something was very home-like about that hotel: the neighborhood around it (in Ueno) was very, very quiet. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. I said several times (as a joke that nobody really found funny haha) that "Tokyo's sure a quiet city, isn't it?" Even in Roppongi late at night, which is home to several clubs and restaurants that I'd think a reasonable amount of people would frequent, it was still rather quiet.
This country is too quiet.
The next day we woke up and made it over to Asakusa to see a temple or shrine whose name I forget. It's one of the oldest in the city (or maybe the oldest in Japan, or oldest in Tokyo; I can't remember) and was rather noisy. Isn't it interesting how the holy places are on the noisy side and the non-holy places are so quiet? Hmm. Well, the fake autumn leaves that they had above each stall in the shopping street right in front of the temple were quite picture-worthy. Oh, yeah; one thing I did this weekend was take too many pictures. And particularly yesterday.
Shibuya had a big, famous intersection where tons of people cross, but little else unique. The Italian restaurant we went to had a good pizza, though. Then we went to Harajuku. Oh, Harajuku, how I missed you. With little in the way of men's clothes, I didn't buy anything. Words pretty much fail this place, with its narrow, narrow main street and strange stores, many of which I can recall being there three years ago. I looked for good Engrish shirts; the Engrish I recall being good but the shirts weren't. :-*(
Train again, Ueno again. It was this day (Sunday) that I revisited Ameyoko and got my Adidas winter jacket. Then we went to Roppongi again and ate at a restaurant called Havana Cafe. I had a cheeseburger; 外人スマシュ! (Gaijin smash!). Then we almost managed to get back to the hotel at a decent hour but decided to do karaoke which became 90 minutes when we originally planned on 30. I couldn't hit the high notes on "Somewhere Only We Know"; lame.
Monday was a holiday, at least at our University. We took the opportunity to go to Mt. Fuji. Well, at least we tried, but we were informed later that the bus going to the mountain was out of service because of "many snow" (she probably was thinking 大雪, which means "a lot of snow" but could be literally translated as "big snow"). We went instead to a lake nearby, and this was probably the prettiest part of the trip for some reason. And this wasn't even the lake itself so much as the walk on the random streets on the way to the lake. I took about 400 pictures there and I still don't know why. The rain and the autumn leaves and the rather rural surroundings were the Japan I had been waiting to see. I don't know... I think that when you take Japan and add a lot of space to it, that's my dream Japan.
But as we took a gondola up Mt. Kachikachi which promised a view of Fuji on a good day, I realized I was sick. This is why my writing is so stunted right now and why the 7 hours I was on trains and in train stations on the way back were so horrible. But yeah, I was glad to be back someplace where I have a lot of memories from. And I took pictures of the Prince Hotel where we stayed from the Tokyo Tower. They came back blurry, as do so many memories. It was nice to see my memories in full color again, this time the color being autumn.
vendredi, novembre 21
Dance & Dance Revolution
On Tuesdays, I have 6 hours of free time in between two classes. So this Tuesday I decided to use one of those hours to eat lunch and the other five to go to Osaka and play DDR.
I took the Keihan from 枚方市 (Hirakata-shi) to 淀屋橋 (Yodoyabashi) and switched to the 地下鉄 (chikatetsu, subway) which I took to 難波 (Namba). From there I walked about twenty minutes to Game Amuseum next to the Loft department store, and le voilà, a DDR machine. Outside.
On a slope. A slight slope but a slope nonetheless. But the great part was that they had four speakers slightly offset from the four corners of the pad set, and because the machine wasn't inside the arcade itself, it was just the DDR music from those speakers and the whoosh of the autumn wind that you heard in this peaceful corner of an otherwise noisy city.
It was 100 yen per play, per play three songs. Nothing new. Supernova 2: the newest DDR machine out there. By no means the best, and probably the worst, but it'll do. The good speakers made everything so much better. They replaced the usual machine speakers that just don't do it for Supernova 2's questionable music selection. Now either the buttons on the pads didn't press down far enough or the slope made playing a little awkward. But that was okay. I got to see the wind blow these small, small leaves off of a couple of trees about twenty footsteps away. It was so beautiful, it deserved a picture. I didn't take one, though, as I was in the middle of a round and I couldn't get my camera out. But I have the memory of it in my head, and that I cherish.
Inside, upstairs there was a machine too. That one had a camera behind it, and it seems that you could've gone up to the desk and asked them to tape you and paid however much for a video of yourself playing DDR. Awesome. It looked like a pretty good deal, too; the camera was well-positioned and the video quality was tight. But not today, I said. I got out and left, well-exercised.
I walked along some train line, possibly the JR, and came across a shop that really wanted to be a bagel shop. It was called "BAGEL & BAGEL." And let me tell you, if there's one thing I really miss from Japan, it's bagels. And oh my heavens--that cinnamon raisin bagel was incredibly delicious. A little softer than the usual Dunkin Donuts cinnamon raisin bagel, and I'm not sure whether that made it better, because doubtlessly the amount of time I've been away from them probably added to the heavenly nature of the taste. But it was so great. And there was a nice chocolate chip cookie I bought in addition with it. I've had chocolate chip cookies very frequently over the past month, ever since I discovered they had packages of them at various convenience stores, so it wasn't exactly the same experience as the bagel was. Good nonetheless. Eventually I came to wish I had bought another bagel.
And then I came back slightly late, quite satisfied, for my economics class. I love Japan.
I took the Keihan from 枚方市 (Hirakata-shi) to 淀屋橋 (Yodoyabashi) and switched to the 地下鉄 (chikatetsu, subway) which I took to 難波 (Namba). From there I walked about twenty minutes to Game Amuseum next to the Loft department store, and le voilà, a DDR machine. Outside.
On a slope. A slight slope but a slope nonetheless. But the great part was that they had four speakers slightly offset from the four corners of the pad set, and because the machine wasn't inside the arcade itself, it was just the DDR music from those speakers and the whoosh of the autumn wind that you heard in this peaceful corner of an otherwise noisy city.
It was 100 yen per play, per play three songs. Nothing new. Supernova 2: the newest DDR machine out there. By no means the best, and probably the worst, but it'll do. The good speakers made everything so much better. They replaced the usual machine speakers that just don't do it for Supernova 2's questionable music selection. Now either the buttons on the pads didn't press down far enough or the slope made playing a little awkward. But that was okay. I got to see the wind blow these small, small leaves off of a couple of trees about twenty footsteps away. It was so beautiful, it deserved a picture. I didn't take one, though, as I was in the middle of a round and I couldn't get my camera out. But I have the memory of it in my head, and that I cherish.
Inside, upstairs there was a machine too. That one had a camera behind it, and it seems that you could've gone up to the desk and asked them to tape you and paid however much for a video of yourself playing DDR. Awesome. It looked like a pretty good deal, too; the camera was well-positioned and the video quality was tight. But not today, I said. I got out and left, well-exercised.
I walked along some train line, possibly the JR, and came across a shop that really wanted to be a bagel shop. It was called "BAGEL & BAGEL." And let me tell you, if there's one thing I really miss from Japan, it's bagels. And oh my heavens--that cinnamon raisin bagel was incredibly delicious. A little softer than the usual Dunkin Donuts cinnamon raisin bagel, and I'm not sure whether that made it better, because doubtlessly the amount of time I've been away from them probably added to the heavenly nature of the taste. But it was so great. And there was a nice chocolate chip cookie I bought in addition with it. I've had chocolate chip cookies very frequently over the past month, ever since I discovered they had packages of them at various convenience stores, so it wasn't exactly the same experience as the bagel was. Good nonetheless. Eventually I came to wish I had bought another bagel.
And then I came back slightly late, quite satisfied, for my economics class. I love Japan.
lundi, novembre 17
Korien featuring Tokyo
This title is like saying Nate Dogg (gangsta... singer, uhh, who was famous primarily for his appearances on other people's songs) featuring Barbra Streisand. It's the sort of thing the word "juxtaposition" was invented for.
But that's how my mind worked today. I'm supposed to be completing plans to go to Tokyo for the long weekend, but instead of resolving to get that done this afternoon (though I still have time to do it tonight, as it's slightly less than 4 hours before midnight) the first thing on my mind was going to Korien, a random suburb three train stops away by local train and one stop away by the brand-spanking-new purple train (YES) where I got a 1000 yen haircut, which is slightly more than 10 dollars thanks to ingenious central economic planning. And it was possibly the easiest, most satisfying haircut I have ever had. Maybe I should just get my haircuts in Japan from now on. That was my "new wardrobe" policy for the last three years, right? (I basically decided I would wait until I returned to Japan, which took three years, until I would add substantially to my wardrobe.)
If that wasn't enough of a reason to get me to love Korien--and by the way, thank you Tim for telling me about the haircut place--how about the amaaaazing cinnamon donut I had at the bakery? I wish I bought, like, 5. I will probably stop off there if I go to Osaka again. No, I'll probably spend 400 yen just to go there, make dollar-money into donut-money and go back. But it was so good! Picture having a cinnamon donut, except it being actually good. ...Okay, that image does lack a little in description. Picture a soft, soft donut with cinnamon sugar sprinkled more than adequately all over it, and imagine that donut being as fresh as fried dough that you got at one of those places at Salisbury Beach two seconds ago. (I say fried dough because you generally spread cinnamon sugar all over that stuff.) It's like fried dough, except even better!!! And cheaper and healthier (because it's Japan). I need to buy my 5 donuts tomorrow.
But oh, wait. There's Tokyo plans.
Aw, hell, what's a few seconds re-cherishing the taste of a Japanese donut?
But that's how my mind worked today. I'm supposed to be completing plans to go to Tokyo for the long weekend, but instead of resolving to get that done this afternoon (though I still have time to do it tonight, as it's slightly less than 4 hours before midnight) the first thing on my mind was going to Korien, a random suburb three train stops away by local train and one stop away by the brand-spanking-new purple train (YES) where I got a 1000 yen haircut, which is slightly more than 10 dollars thanks to ingenious central economic planning. And it was possibly the easiest, most satisfying haircut I have ever had. Maybe I should just get my haircuts in Japan from now on. That was my "new wardrobe" policy for the last three years, right? (I basically decided I would wait until I returned to Japan, which took three years, until I would add substantially to my wardrobe.)
If that wasn't enough of a reason to get me to love Korien--and by the way, thank you Tim for telling me about the haircut place--how about the amaaaazing cinnamon donut I had at the bakery? I wish I bought, like, 5. I will probably stop off there if I go to Osaka again. No, I'll probably spend 400 yen just to go there, make dollar-money into donut-money and go back. But it was so good! Picture having a cinnamon donut, except it being actually good. ...Okay, that image does lack a little in description. Picture a soft, soft donut with cinnamon sugar sprinkled more than adequately all over it, and imagine that donut being as fresh as fried dough that you got at one of those places at Salisbury Beach two seconds ago. (I say fried dough because you generally spread cinnamon sugar all over that stuff.) It's like fried dough, except even better!!! And cheaper and healthier (because it's Japan). I need to buy my 5 donuts tomorrow.
But oh, wait. There's Tokyo plans.
Aw, hell, what's a few seconds re-cherishing the taste of a Japanese donut?
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