Winter Break Starts.... A FEW DAYS AGO!

Evening people -- well, it's evening here. I've been busy and that's a good thing.

Last weekend was a weekend to remember. It was Greg's birthday and we celebrated at Gut's Soul -- an izakaiya that we frequent often and it is amazing. Getting pretty wasted, a few brave souls decided to try our hand at Roppongi. Roppongi is the foreigner club district and it notoriously shady and sktechy. There were four of us and we made it to the club (GASPANIC, I think) and it was really fun! I danced for hours to great (American) music! One of my companions noted was amazed that I danced for as long as I did -- coming back after a bit and to his amazement I was still there. After a while, realizing we certainly had missed the last train, I went up to meet with the guys as they had moved on. They were in a Karaoke place, very fancy, with a trio of ladies. This was the beginning of the downfall... I arrived to the near end of a two-hour session. (It was around 4:45am) and plans were being made. We walked out of the club only to be played. Long story short, I ended up having to pay 15,000 yen (around $180 USD) for karaoke. I've been paid back, so no worries there. Lesson learned though... Stay in the club till dawn. Haha...

Yesterday was a good day. A few friends and I traveled outside of Tokyo to Kawasaki to see Noah's girlfriend's Dance performance. It was quite an adventure -- a bit pricy, but fun. We arrived in Kawasaki to be greeted by a Krispy Kreme -- we somehow denied the urge to enter, all the while screaming "見えない！見えない！" meaning "I can't see! I can't see!" We walked outside of the JR station to be greeted by a tree. This tree was alive! It even had a friend... Any-way... We arrive at the club and purchase our tickets. We get our beers and walk into the club. Now, this was a very unique experience. This club was huge and everyone was sitting -- that's right, sitting -- on the floor. Some in seiza (sitting on one's knees) others sat cross-legged, but we were all sitting. In America, everyone would be standing and pushing people out of the way to get closer. This experience, everyone queued up and sat. When people got up, we scooted forward. It was a pretty cool thing to see. (Not really, but I found it fascinating.) The performers were quite good, the DJs not so much. It's interesting to see Japanese girls act ghetto. And by interesting, I mean hot. During Sophia's Modern Dance performance we shouted every girl's name in the club -- we had a list. It was fun! Haha...

After the performance, the Sophia girls went on their own club thing, and us guys were left to wonder an arcade. We found a table flipping game -- Noah did quite well, I have video and may upload it later -- and a punching game with real boxing gloves! I went first and did okay, I beat my opponent. The next two fellows punched harder than I did, but that's what happens when they out weigh you by 10 kilos. Noah decided not to punch the machine... We ate at a true Italian Pizza restaurant (this place was like a Little Italy) and it was delicious... We arrived home not too late... Not too late to try our hand at a snack bar...

This snack bar ranks up there with Japanese experiences. Well, experiences in Japan. My god it was awesome. Noah, Alex and I headed to a snack bar which they were familiar with; however, the bar was closed because it was the Emperor's Birthday. (Happy Birthday!) We walked around a bit and found one with no seating charge and we entered. We ended up staying there for over 2 hours. We drank beer and sang Karaoke. Now, let me explain a snack bar. A snack bar is a small -- seats 6 -- bar where a hostess serves a beer, liquor, and snacks. Normally, do to their size, the only allow locals and familiar faces in -- No Foreigners! This one, however, welcomed us with open beer! There was one other person in their besides us, a 30 year old Japanese guy. We, with the hostess, shot the shit and sang Karaoke. This bar had a fascination with Studio Ghibli, with Kiki's Delivery Service stuff everywhere. (And a Crystal Skull made out of aluminum foil.) It was an fantastic...

Today, I went to get some papers sorted out at the Health Insurance place -- Thanks Kaz! It was taxing, but rewarding. If approved, my health care will be completely free and the government will actually give me money. Like, crazy... I'm moving here... Haha... (Maybe!) Random picture time!

Hachiko from Shibuya Station