Sayonara.

I'm currently in San Francisco International Airport, waiting for my connection to Philadelphia. I left Tokyo yesterday around 5 PM.

I'll explain more later. In the meantime, here's a list of things that are freaking me out right now:

- I can understand what everyone is saying
- Everyone is loud
- Insane jet lag
- I'm not in Japan
- My iPod is dead and I packed my charger in my checked luggage 

Apologies, thanks, and explanations.

First off: I'm sorry I haven't been posting much at all lately - typically with any journal-type undertaking I tend to neglect it after a point. Up until this past week there wasn't much to speak of - I was able to spend the day with my uncle, and my good friends from home flew in to visit for 10 days; but I figured I would just recap everything after they left and I was able to upload pictures and such.

But then something pretty noteworthy happened. As I'm sure you're all well aware, a massive earthquake struck Japan Friday afternoon. The quake hit 80 miles off the coast of Sendai (which is north of Tokyo) and is the largest quake in Japan's recorded history, and the 7th largest in the world. It was an 8.9 on the richter scale, and caused massive tsunamis to hit the coast in certain areas. Sendai was absolutely smashed - the footage of the destruction is overwhelming and heartbreaking.

I was on the train to Narita Airport to pick up my mother when the quake occurred. It came out of nowhere - we were about 5 minutes from the airport when suddenly the train came to a dead stop, and then began to violently sway side to side. It didn't help that we were stopped on a raised platform - for a time I genuinely thought the entire train was going to fall right off the tracks. After about two or three minutes the quake ended - but the aftershocks were frequent and very noticeable.

This was my view for 16.5 hours. I was supposed to arrive at Narita around 3:00 PM, but I ended up staying the night on the train and finally got to the airport around 7:00 AM the following day. My mother, meanwhile, had landed twenty minutes before the quake hit - she was going through customs when the tremors occurred.

Of course, because Murphy's Law holds true in every critical moment of my life, the one time when I needed my phone to work the most it decided to die on me. I could receive messages but was unable to send replies out - so for the majority of the night I sat and desperately tried to relay messages to everyone I knew. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers - the few American travelers on my train let me borrow their Blackberries and iPhones to send out messages.

I want to thank everyone who sent me an email, text, FB message, post, etc - it was overwhelming and humbling to see how many people were concerned for my safety, and that's something that I will never, ever forget. And even if I wasn't able to reply to you specifically, I can tell you that I genuinely appreciated your support and kind thoughts, and they did not go unnoticed.

I also want to thank all the people at the airport who banded around my bewildered mother during her stay at Narita. I felt horrible that I couldn't contact her right away to let her know that I was safe - I would never intentionally put her through that kind of stress and panic, but these were extraordinary circumstances. But it's moments like these that bring out the best in people, and the group who kept my mother sane and tried everything they could to contact me (with eventual success!) were INDISPENSABLE. I'm so glad to have met them.

So, long story short, by 7:00 AM I was reunited with my mom, and by 10:00 AM we were able to board a train back into Tokyo. It took us about three hours to get back, but we made it with few hiccups. Bone tired does not do justice to how we all felt. It was exhaustion down to the very fibers of our being.


I was relieved to find that all of my good friends were safe and sound when I returned to the dorm - everyone was rattled, but we were in this together, so it helped. Now we're in the process of trying to restore some kind of normalcy - today I took my mother to the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, and we had a very pleasant time:

The weather was beautiful for walking around, and we got to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession, which was lovely. I'm really hoping we can salvage the rest of this visit for my mother, since I really do love Japan - I hate that the earthquake was her introduction to this amazing place.

As for the aforementioned return to normalcy, I literally just learned that my school has canceled classes due to possible rolling blackouts - the Japanese government is recommending that everyone lay low and stay in their homes. This quake sure is making things difficult. However, the important thing is that we're all safe and together. If you're reading this Stateside, please take all the news you see with a grain of salt - they tend to make things sound WAY worse than they actually are, and nine times out of ten any horrible destruction footage they show is from Sendai or other parts up north, AWAY from Tokyo. And as for nuclear meltdowns... well, that isn't something worth worrying about for us right now. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with the people from Sendai - they need all the help they can get up there. If you get a chance to donate for aid, please take it.

That's all for now. Again, thank you all for everything. I'll try to update here again when I can - still, Facebook and email are the best ways to reach me quickly, and for the best new info concerning what's going on over here.

I'm posting this for my Mom.

This is what my room looks like right now. And this isn't even a big laundry day. Living here has given me a whole new appreciation for home dryers. I'd figured my mother would get a kick out of this since she's the queen of laundry back home.

Also, I got an awesome care package today!

Everything arrived safe and sound - I'm going to try my best not to devour all of the candy in like, three days or something - I'll probably share it with my friends so I don't eat it all myself and get really fat. Except the Swedish Fish. And the Hershey Bar. Those are MINE.

Uneventful weekend...

Midterms are next week, so I'm holed up in the dorm this weekend. In between studying, I've been watching old movies - like Funny Girl and Meet Me in St. Louis.

Consequently, I've been humming this song all day long. I'm sure my neighbors are rather sick of me by now.

I've also been trying my hand at seafood - I was getting tired of plain old veggies on top of rice every night, so I've ventured into an unknown realm - buying fresh fish.

I had to shell uncooked shrimp the other night. I was kinda weirded out because I had no idea that shrimp are gray at first, and then turn pink when you cook them. I thought they were just always pink! I made shrimp scampi with spaghetti, because I was a little homesick - it was good, but not quite the same as how my Mom makes it - but it's always that way with those kinds of things.

Apparently some of my friends thought that it looked delicious, so I think I'm going to make it again, but for more people this time.

Tonight I made this:

Just call me Julia Child! Hopefully I'll branch out further from here.

Next weekend will (most likely) be more eventful - midterms will be over by then!

Neko Ja La La the Cat Cafe!

So I've been talking for ages about going to a cat cafe - they're almost entirely exclusive to Japan. What is a cat cafe, you ask? Pretty self-explanatory, to be honest: it's a cafe full of cats. You pay to sit and drink tea and pet the (very clean and well-cared for) cats.

These cafes became popular because many people who live in Tokyo can't have pets because their apartments are too small, or don't allow pets whatsoever - these cafes provide the temporary illusion of having a cat, which (for an animal lover) is really fun.

Obviously, I had a blast - the only thing that could top a cat cafe for me would be a golden retriever puppy cafe, but I don't think they get that specific. The cafe is in Akihabara, but it's tucked away pretty well - I must've wandered around for a solid half hour before I finally found it (through sheer luck).

From the second you walk in, there are cats everywhere. It's not like they bum rush you or anything, but pretty much everywhere you turn or step there's a kitty, just chilling. You take off your shoes at the entrance, wash your hands, and then you get your tea and hang out with the cats. They even give you a booklet to identify which cat is which because there are so many.

I tried to take some good pictures when the cats weren't moving about, which was kinda hard to do in some cases...


















But then again, some were easier than others.

This one kept on trying to stick her head into my teacup - she was quite the spaz.

This is Taki, a Ragdoll kitty - she was hands-down my favorite cat, since she was really calm and super soft. You can't tell from the photo, but she has really blue eyes - she's a beautiful cat!

This is Coco, a Maine Coon - he has to be the biggest cat I have EVER seen! Seriously, this guy is huge.

I mean, really, look at the size of that paw. That's a mega-paw right there.

He's a total sweetheart, though - he let me rub his tummy for some time, purring like a truck all the while.

I think this Maine Coon was the runner-up in terms of size. They make their kitties big here, for some strange reason - but they make their dogs microscopic! The Japanese are an odd people.

I have days where I feel like this. I don't have any energy to do anything, so I drape myself awkwardly over the furniture. So I have that in common with cats. Awesome.


Don't worry Mom, I won't be taking you - but they do have plenty of lint-rollers on hand that you can use when you're ready to leave! Tempting...

Alcatraz Prison Hospital ER and Karaoke

So while the weather didn't really improve at all for the remainder of this weekend (lame...) everyone tried to make the most of our time off. That's what led myself and several of my friends to a theme restaurant called Alcatraz Prison Hospital ER. It's a little off the beaten path in Shibuya, but definitely worth checking out - they really get into the whole "creepy prison" theme big time there.

The restaurant was pretty big, and you need to take an elevator up to get to it. As soon as the elevator doors open, you're greeted by the two creepiest doctors you've ever seen. They don't say a word to you, and their faces are completely blank - even when you take pictures of them!

Once you've confirmed your reservation, you're handcuffed and led to your "cell." But because our group was so big, only two people could be handcuffed - fortunately, I didn't need to be volunteered for the task!

My friends Niko and Cynthia were brave enough to volunteer - that's our waitress in the nurse costume on the far left.

My only complaint about our table was that we had to sit Japanese-style - meaning, there were no chairs, just mats on the floor - it was a little uncomfortable at first, but not that bad. We also accidentally asked for "a la carte" so we each ended up paying more than we intended to, but the damage wasn't terrible, considering the lengths everyone at the restaurant go to in order to play up the theme of being in a prison. 

We weren't the only gaijins there, either - there were some (quite drunk) Australians a couple of tables down who got pretty loud and silly, but they were definitely entertaining!

The food, while presented in a rather unappetizing manner, tasted pretty good once you got over the fact that it looked gross...

All in all, I had a good time - I might not want to spend the money to go back, but it definitely was an experience worth having!

I even got to pose with our nurse/waitress!

One of my friends heard of an Alice in Wonderland theme restaurant - that might be more my speed, and certainly a lot prettier! Hopefully it won't be too expensive, because I really would be interested in going!


The next night I went out to karaoke with my friends Derek, Dan, Walter, and Aaron. It was kind of a small place in Shibuya, but it wasn't as expensive as other places, so we checked it out. After paying an entrance fee we got a booth, and we sang/ordered drinks for the next hour and a half. I'm definitely not the next Gloria Gaynor, but my rendition of "I Will Survive" was a hit with all my friends!

Here's a video of us singing (terribly)

I will survive (karaoke)

My friend Walter mentioned making going out to karaoke a once-a-week kind of thing, and I would absolutely be down for that! It's so fun, and a lot less tiring than clubbing until 5 AM - and it's cheaper too! I'm issuing a warning to anyone who comes to visit me here in Tokyo - we're going to karaoke, and there's nothing you can do about it!

Heck, I might even buy a karaoke machine to bring back with me so I can sing with everyone back home! Beware!

Akihabara the "Electric Town"

This weekend is a long weekend for us, which is awesome - unfortunately, the weather hasn't been very cooperative for sightseeing; it's currently snowing. It's not sticking, of course, but it's pretty cold for Tokyo and the snow is very wet and heavy! Because of the inclement weather, we decided to push back our Tokyo Disney trip, which was a bummer. However, I was able to go to Akihabara with a couple of friends the other night and have some fun.

Sega isn't very big back home in the US, but here in Japan Sega is everywhere - and in Akihabara, you can spit and hit a Sega arcade. They're typically six levels or more, and filled with claw machines and huge arcade games, like these:

There isn't much to do in Akihabara except go into huge arcades and spend money, walk through enormous comic book stores and spend money, or get lost in an even bigger electronics store and spend money. Some of the duty-free electronic stores have really cheap, state-of-art cameras, laptops, and other gadgets. After going to several of these stores, I have to say that my intense anxiety over losing my camera has eased up slightly - I know that I can get an awesome replacement one that won't break the bank if I happen to accidentally leave my camera somewhere.

Anyway, I ended up coming back from Akihabara with a few things:

I won this in a claw machine on the first try! These kinds of models are typically at least 2000 yen, so the fact that I was able to get this for only 100 yen was pretty cool! They put the coolest stuff in the claw machines - of course, they make it as hard as possible to actually win the prizes, but I got lucky! I figure I'll give this to my boyfriend, since he really likes these kinds of robot models.

I bought these items at an 8-level comic book store called Animate - they're both from the Miyazaki movie called My Neighbor Totoro - the little stuffed guy is one of Totoro's friends, and the charm has the actual Totoro on it. I'm not sure who I'm going to give these souvenirs to, and I'm not entirely confident that I'll give Chibi-Totoro away to anyone, since I've become rather attached to him... he keeps me company at my desk!

Also, this is completely off topic, but these candies are AWESOME:

They're gummies that taste like green apples - and they don't stick to your teeth like Swedish Fish do! I'm a little addicted to them - I'm gonna have a buy a whole bunch before I leave because I highly doubt they have any thing like this back home!

I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tonight - hopefully this rain/snow mix will let up tonight that we can go out! I'll post again soon!