Today I was talking with my host sister's husband about the World Cup. He is a die-hard sports fan (looves American football) and his plan for the 3:30am Japan vs. Denmark game was to go to sleep at 9pm in order to watch it. It's the deciding game for Japan to advance to the next round (or as he called it Judgment Day), but I wasn't sure if they had to win or if a tie was okay too. (win = 3 points, tie = 1 point, loss = 0 points, after 3 games top 2 teams from each group of 4 teams get to move on to next round)
So I asked out loud, "Tie okay?" Well, he understood and answered that either a tie or win would be fine. But the other people around the table had different interpretations of the word.
husband: tie (sports, same score)
host sister: Thailand
host mom/her friend: tai fish (鯛 like taiyaki "tai")
It was funny to see their faces when I said "tie" during soccer talk. And the generation gap.
面白い
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Disneyland: Tokyo
Don't tell our study abroad program, but last Thursday me, Britt, and Elizabeth ditched a day of school to go to the happiest place in Japan: Disneyland! And a few hours in, Anna and Jillian joined us for a wonderful day of amazing Disney adventures.
Before I start, a little background on how this day came into being. A couple of weeks ago, Britt and I were invited by our host brother to a darts party. We were paired with random people for a darts tournament, and me and my partner miraculously won the whole thing! (Don't count on me for darts in the future, though) The first prize was a ticket to Disneyland (to be used before June 30th because of a promotion), and after much persuasion and persistence my partnerforced convinced me to take her ticket too.
Now back to the beginning of our day, after sleeping in and leisurely getting up, we got to the park around 12pm. First of all, from Tokyo Station it only takes 13 minutes to get to Disneyland. (yay!) But the walk to get to the right train line took about the same amount of time we spent on the train. (boo!)
After getting off the train we got a little lost finding our way to the to the park, but once we saw the gates to the world of magic and joy we got really excited.
First ride of the day: Space Mountain! I think the inside area right before you get on the ride is much cooler than in LA. The space ship that hangs over the boarding area has a cool swirl light thing going on.
Confession: When I was younger my dad tried to take me on Space Mountain for the first time. At home we have a Disneyland video that shows Disney characters going on all of the rides, and I remember for the Space Mountain part Pluto and Goofy (?) were all freaked out after. Since they couldn't film the actual ride, they instead had them ride through flashy animated lights which made Space Mountain look really bizarre and fast and scary. Needless to say I really did not want to go so I made up the excuse that I had to go to the bathroom while we were waiting in line. Although my dad claimed that even my grandma went on the ride, it was not enough to convince me. But I really really like Space Mountain now.
Fastpass wise we got a Space Mountain pass and when the start time for that came around we went to the Monsters Inc ride but all of those passes were already gone! (it was only 1:40!) So we ran over to Winnie the Pooh but those passes were for the end of the day (9:30pm - 9:50pm!). What the... I didn't realize how popular those rides were. (In comparison there were still Space Mountain passes for 4:00pm)
Around that time Anna and Jillian arrived so they picked up fastpasses for Space Mountain and then joined us by the Pooh ride area. While we were waiting we snacked on some honey popcorn - perfect for the Pooh theme.
Our first ride together was Peter Pan. While we were in line a parade came by so I was very entertained while waiting.
As we finished up eating, another parade happened to pass by. We were in a surprisingly good spot to watch the super energetic rabbits hopping around the street.
Lots of bunnies because, for some strange reason, Tokyo Disneyland has an Easter theme until the end of June. Not that I'm complaining about the commercialization of Easter.
Somewhere in between all of this, Anna and I went to the bathroom. But this was no ordinary bathroom trip. First of all, because it's Disneyland there was a line to get into the bathroom. Inside there was an actual rope that helped organize the line. And at the beginning of the line there was a staff lady that directed people to open stalls in very polite Japanese. Wow, what an experience.
Next up was the Haunted Mansion. In one part of the waiting line there were some "graves," but two little birds were burrowing in the dirt mounds.
After an interesting mix of English and Japanese audio in the Haunted Mansion, we went on Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. Of course I hate hate hate drops but I pushed through Splash Mountain and still had a good time.
After the splash (my head got all wet..) we sat down on the side of the road to save seats for the Electric Light Parade. During this time I grabbed "dinner," which was a beautiful Smoked Turkey Leg!
Thislittle treat has been a favorite since my family saw someone chomping on one at the LA Disneyland. I'm glad they had it here too.
Sadly no giant bald eagle with the American flag at the end but this Electric Light Parade owns the original in terms of length and amount of floats! There were so many, mostly ones that I had never seen before. (Monster's Inc, Toy Story, Lilo and Stitch, ect)
After the parade Disneyland started to close down. Unlike LA, people (and employees) have trains to catch back home so everything, shops and all, were going to close at 10pm flat. At this time we finally used our Space Mountain fast passes so that we could bypass the main line and make it out in time for the fireworks.
For dessert we went to the Disney bakery for some yummy baked goods. The best thing ever: sweet potato pastry. The Mickey shaped walnut banana muffin was a snack for school. There were also Mike (Monster's inc) melon buns and other good looking pastries - I wanted them all but couldn't fit them in my stuffed stomach.
Finally, we had to choose between the Monster's Inc and Winnie the Pooh for our "last" ride. Pooh-san won over in the end (they both had 40 minute lines at 9pm!) so we headed over to Fantasyland.
Oh my goodness, the queue for this ride was gorgeous! Giant story book pages with excerpts from various Pooh bear stories. The ride itself was amazing! You get to ride in a hunny pot which acts like it has a mind of its own. Three hunny pots are "grouped" together and they each go on their own "path" in some of the rooms, so theoretically there are three different experiences to the ride. You get to see everything but the areas each pot closes in on to are different. The only thing I didn't enjoy (and is a general pet peeve) was that they had to put in a crack area with wacky elephants and neon colors. It happens in Pinocchio (the ride), it happens in The Lion King 2 (the movie), it happens in the 3rd season of Digimon, ect. Oh well, the ride was still mind blowing and awesome.
Favorite picture of the day:
Haha, I love all of their faces.
The castle!
Before I start, a little background on how this day came into being. A couple of weeks ago, Britt and I were invited by our host brother to a darts party. We were paired with random people for a darts tournament, and me and my partner miraculously won the whole thing! (Don't count on me for darts in the future, though) The first prize was a ticket to Disneyland (to be used before June 30th because of a promotion), and after much persuasion and persistence my partner
Now back to the beginning of our day, after sleeping in and leisurely getting up, we got to the park around 12pm. First of all, from Tokyo Station it only takes 13 minutes to get to Disneyland. (yay!) But the walk to get to the right train line took about the same amount of time we spent on the train. (boo!)
After getting off the train we got a little lost finding our way to the to the park, but once we saw the gates to the world of magic and joy we got really excited.
First ride of the day: Space Mountain! I think the inside area right before you get on the ride is much cooler than in LA. The space ship that hangs over the boarding area has a cool swirl light thing going on.
Going up the moving walkway.
Last chance to turn back!
Confession: When I was younger my dad tried to take me on Space Mountain for the first time. At home we have a Disneyland video that shows Disney characters going on all of the rides, and I remember for the Space Mountain part Pluto and Goofy (?) were all freaked out after. Since they couldn't film the actual ride, they instead had them ride through flashy animated lights which made Space Mountain look really bizarre and fast and scary. Needless to say I really did not want to go so I made up the excuse that I had to go to the bathroom while we were waiting in line. Although my dad claimed that even my grandma went on the ride, it was not enough to convince me. But I really really like Space Mountain now.
Fastpass wise we got a Space Mountain pass and when the start time for that came around we went to the Monsters Inc ride but all of those passes were already gone! (it was only 1:40!) So we ran over to Winnie the Pooh but those passes were for the end of the day (9:30pm - 9:50pm!). What the... I didn't realize how popular those rides were. (In comparison there were still Space Mountain passes for 4:00pm)
Around that time Anna and Jillian arrived so they picked up fastpasses for Space Mountain and then joined us by the Pooh ride area. While we were waiting we snacked on some honey popcorn - perfect for the Pooh theme.
Our first ride together was Peter Pan. While we were in line a parade came by so I was very entertained while waiting.
Mickey!
After Peter Pan we sat down to eat. I had a slice of seafood pizza (half Japanese, half American) which came in a cute box with a handle.
Shrimp, squid, octopus, and mushrooms!
As we finished up eating, another parade happened to pass by. We were in a surprisingly good spot to watch the super energetic rabbits hopping around the street.
The bunny ladies were crazzy
Moar bunnies!
Pooh bear and friends as... bunnies!
Lots of bunnies because, for some strange reason, Tokyo Disneyland has an Easter theme until the end of June. Not that I'm complaining about the commercialization of Easter.
Somewhere in between all of this, Anna and I went to the bathroom. But this was no ordinary bathroom trip. First of all, because it's Disneyland there was a line to get into the bathroom. Inside there was an actual rope that helped organize the line. And at the beginning of the line there was a staff lady that directed people to open stalls in very polite Japanese. Wow, what an experience.
Next up was the Haunted Mansion. In one part of the waiting line there were some "graves," but two little birds were burrowing in the dirt mounds.
Whoever is "buried" here won't be able to RIP much longer.
After an interesting mix of English and Japanese audio in the Haunted Mansion, we went on Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. Of course I hate hate hate drops but I pushed through Splash Mountain and still had a good time.
The cheap way of preserving memories.
After the splash (my head got all wet..) we sat down on the side of the road to save seats for the Electric Light Parade. During this time I grabbed "dinner," which was a beautiful Smoked Turkey Leg!
Heh heh heh...
This
It starts!
These were the coolest things of the parade! Knights riding horses!
Choo choo!
Winnie the Pooh float!
Sadly no giant bald eagle with the American flag at the end but this Electric Light Parade owns the original in terms of length and amount of floats! There were so many, mostly ones that I had never seen before. (Monster's Inc, Toy Story, Lilo and Stitch, ect)
After the parade Disneyland started to close down. Unlike LA, people (and employees) have trains to catch back home so everything, shops and all, were going to close at 10pm flat. At this time we finally used our Space Mountain fast passes so that we could bypass the main line and make it out in time for the fireworks.
Here we go! Don't know how much the Japanese people in the back appreciated this..
For dessert we went to the Disney bakery for some yummy baked goods. The best thing ever: sweet potato pastry. The Mickey shaped walnut banana muffin was a snack for school. There were also Mike (Monster's inc) melon buns and other good looking pastries - I wanted them all but couldn't fit them in my stuffed stomach.
Open one in LA Disneyland please!
Finally, we had to choose between the Monster's Inc and Winnie the Pooh for our "last" ride. Pooh-san won over in the end (they both had 40 minute lines at 9pm!) so we headed over to Fantasyland.
Oh my goodness, the queue for this ride was gorgeous! Giant story book pages with excerpts from various Pooh bear stories. The ride itself was amazing! You get to ride in a hunny pot which acts like it has a mind of its own. Three hunny pots are "grouped" together and they each go on their own "path" in some of the rooms, so theoretically there are three different experiences to the ride. You get to see everything but the areas each pot closes in on to are different. The only thing I didn't enjoy (and is a general pet peeve) was that they had to put in a crack area with wacky elephants and neon colors. It happens in Pinocchio (the ride), it happens in The Lion King 2 (the movie), it happens in the 3rd season of Digimon, ect. Oh well, the ride was still mind blowing and awesome.
Favorite picture of the day:
I love eggs! And strange faces.
Haha, I love all of their faces.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
21st Birthday
Hey all, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. :)
Sooo... on Monday (6/7) I got to celebrate with the host family. The kids came over and Britt (secretly) baked a brownie cake and topped it with homemade chocolate sauce! Although the pieces were the cut the same, the kids ended up fighting over who got the bigger sized bowl.
But before I came home, I went (by myself.. haha) to Akihabara to scope out the restaurant I wanted to eat at the next day. And, since I was there, I had to check out the UFO catchers. At the Taito arcade, Istalked watched a couple clear out a machine of its prizes so I observed their tactics and waited to attack. After they left I asked a worker to move the plushies I wanted to try and win and put in 500 yen for 6 (!!) tries. I got another Love-chan in 2 tries and then a French (Ko)Rilakkuma in 1 try! After that I didn't manage to get anything else but I was pretty darn satisfied with 2 animals for 500 yen!
On Tuesday first up was the Pokemon Center. If you visit within 3 days (before or after) of your birthday you get a special birthday service. First from the Tokyo shop you get a birthday Charmander for the DS games. It has the moves Quick Attack, Return, Hidden Power, and Howl (for you few who appreciate it). I also got a giant shiny Pikachu card and happened to win a free folder from the Pokewalker scratch card promotion which is running until the middle of July. There was also the opportunity to have a birthday battle (against an employee on Pokemon Revolution for Wii) but I opted out because all my good Pokes are in my English version (are they compatible?) and we had to get back for class.
After class I went out to ゴーゴーカレー (Go Go Curry - and they have a gorilla logo) for dinner with Britt, Elizabeth, Anna, Jillian, and Gary (Keung-san! who happened to be visiting Japan). This place serves Ishikawa-ken style curry which I saw on TV one night and wanted to try it out. The curry sauce is thicker than usual and although the whole pile of rice is completely covered the sauce doesn't soak through. They also put shredded cabbage on top with whatever other toppings you choose.
And for the very reasonable price of 1000 yen, Jillian got the jumbo sized Major Curry.
She did a good job and whittled it down to about 1/8 left. Toppings: 2 sausages, 1 hardboiled egg, 2 chicken katsu-s, 2 ebi fry (fried shrimp) - all piled on an extra large rice. Apparently there's a Go Go Curry in New York so all you East Coast people go find it and eat!
Afterward we went to look at the UFO catchers (again... but they change them a little each day!). Gary wanted to get some plushes as gifts so I showed him the easy machine from the other night. However, today it was 500 yen for 3 tries instead of 6. He was trying for a Rilakkuma but a Snuggle bear (detergent mascot) was getting in the way of one of the arms. Somehow the Snuggle bear ended up getting knocked down into the prize chute and Rilakkuma shortly followed. With a few tries left, he asked to try for a black dog holding a picture frame and ended up getting it in 1 shot. A salaryman was hanging back waiting for us to finish (kind of how I was the day before) and we inadvertently made him wait for quite while. He played after us and tried for (and eventually got) a... Snuggle bear. I wonder why they're so popular.
Finally, my parents sent me a gift basket from a shop in Japan. It came with a few fruit, muffins, and other snacks. I got a good number of people trying to peek into the box (it had a clear top) when I was carrying it home.
Sooo... on Monday (6/7) I got to celebrate with the host family. The kids came over and Britt (secretly) baked a brownie cake and topped it with homemade chocolate sauce! Although the pieces were the cut the same, the kids ended up fighting over who got the bigger sized bowl.
But before I came home, I went (by myself.. haha) to Akihabara to scope out the restaurant I wanted to eat at the next day. And, since I was there, I had to check out the UFO catchers. At the Taito arcade, I
The new members of the family! Capybara-san is from Jillian. This Rilakkuma is going to one of the kids in the host family.
ラブ兄弟 - They can hang out with each other.
After class I went out to ゴーゴーカレー (Go Go Curry - and they have a gorilla logo) for dinner with Britt, Elizabeth, Anna, Jillian, and Gary (Keung-san! who happened to be visiting Japan). This place serves Ishikawa-ken style curry which I saw on TV one night and wanted to try it out. The curry sauce is thicker than usual and although the whole pile of rice is completely covered the sauce doesn't soak through. They also put shredded cabbage on top with whatever other toppings you choose.
来た！ Looks soooo good!
Katsu curry!
And for the very reasonable price of 1000 yen, Jillian got the jumbo sized Major Curry.
Oh my goodness!!!
She did a good job and whittled it down to about 1/8 left. Toppings: 2 sausages, 1 hardboiled egg, 2 chicken katsu-s, 2 ebi fry (fried shrimp) - all piled on an extra large rice. Apparently there's a Go Go Curry in New York so all you East Coast people go find it and eat!
Afterward we went to look at the UFO catchers (again... but they change them a little each day!). Gary wanted to get some plushes as gifts so I showed him the easy machine from the other night. However, today it was 500 yen for 3 tries instead of 6. He was trying for a Rilakkuma but a Snuggle bear (detergent mascot) was getting in the way of one of the arms. Somehow the Snuggle bear ended up getting knocked down into the prize chute and Rilakkuma shortly followed. With a few tries left, he asked to try for a black dog holding a picture frame and ended up getting it in 1 shot. A salaryman was hanging back waiting for us to finish (kind of how I was the day before) and we inadvertently made him wait for quite while. He played after us and tried for (and eventually got) a... Snuggle bear. I wonder why they're so popular.
Finally, my parents sent me a gift basket from a shop in Japan. It came with a few fruit, muffins, and other snacks. I got a good number of people trying to peek into the box (it had a clear top) when I was carrying it home.
Thanks parents!
Wednesday after baseball practice and lunch meeting, my team sang Happy Birthday and gave me gifts. The 四年生 (fourth years) gave me a baseball charm with a message inside:
Kate - Wherever you are we are teammates! Until August have fun with baseball! From: 4th year(s)
Thank you everyone who got me things, wrote on my facebook wall, or though of me!
Elizabeth - the socks you gave me are in the wash.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Moar Reunions, New Shoes!
Saturday we had a four hour practice (!!) for baseball. And it was pretty hot even when it was cloudy. All of the other sports teams were in Nagoya for the Sophia-Nanzan sports festival so it was a rare occurrence where we were the only team on the entire sports grounds.
After practice I got to meet up with Angela Sun (!!!) and Elizabeth. We first went to Ikebukuro tolook at play the UFO catchers. We had a few sad reality checks and coins down the drain, but we managed to get Angela a fluffy Toy Story alien!
It was one of the machines where the plush is hanging off the edge and you have to push it down. Well push it down we did but eventually it refused to go down any further. We ended up asking an employee how to win from there but he ended up opening the case and giving it to us! Not as exciting as the feeling you get when the plush falls down the prize chute but it was still a satisfying experience.
Somewhere in-between looking at the various UFO catcher arcades, we went to Tokyu Hands where we wandered around until reaching the "home security" department area. Among other things there were the personal alarm devices that make loud noises that supposedly thwart away attackers. Well, I was curious to see (hear) exactly how loud it would go so I ended up activating one which ended up blaring a really obnoxious alarm that resounded throughout the floor. I'm sure I scared some customers away from our section because it was really really loud. The employees came over to try and stop it but they too had some trouble. (why do you put these things out on display if you know people like me are going to try to play with them?) I tried my best to profusely apologize for my dumbness but it seemed like they didn't care too much.
Big news: I also managed to finally get new shoes! We passed by a huge shoe store and we stopped to look at their "sale" items. Besides Uniqlo Shoes, shoes are usually expensive (5000 - 10000 yen!!) but there were some amazing shoes for 4000 yen. I figured that if I use them for a long time (and it looks like they're sturdy with thick pads) it would pay itself out.
I really like them! They're watermelon colored, sparkly, and big! Elizabeth also got a pair but with a different color scheme. :D
When coming to Japan I only brought one pair of shoes. Besides regular walking around I also use them for baseball (warm-ups) so they have gotten dirty and worn out really quickly. My other shoes at home are also in a battered state. I did get pastel green shoes from Uniqlo a while ago but I wanted something more substantial. I'm not going to wear these new ones to practice so look out for them when I get home!
After touring around Ikebukuro (池袋 - the pond bag) and eating dinner, Angela and I went to Asakusabashi where there was the Torigoe Shrine Matsuri. There were really huge mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) with a ton of people holding them up and swaying them while other people played drums and flutes. There were also a lot of guys (males) that were part of the mikoshi support group that were not wearing anything on their legs (no shorts or pants, but at least a loin cloth) so sometimes a little butt was visible if you looked down. D:
And, of course, there were a lot of food stalls. Points of interest: ramen burger and giant tako tentacle takoyaki. Seriously when they stuck the tako in the batter filled pan they stood up like a tree of sucker goodness. It was amazing how they managed to turn the batter into a ball with that much filling but the end result looked amazing.
The ramen burger was a "patty" of fried ramen noodles that was placed in a bun (?) with regular ramen fixtures (bamboo, green onion, egg, ect) as toppings. It smelled really good and I had never seen anything quite like it before.
Angela got baby castellas (caste iron cooked cake bites) and I got kakigori (shaved ice) with ramune flavored syrup. I wish I could have eaten more but I was already full from dinner. :P
Thanks for the fun time Angela and Elizabeth! Let's do it again sometime. :)
After practice I got to meet up with Angela Sun (!!!) and Elizabeth. We first went to Ikebukuro to
It was one of the machines where the plush is hanging off the edge and you have to push it down. Well push it down we did but eventually it refused to go down any further. We ended up asking an employee how to win from there but he ended up opening the case and giving it to us! Not as exciting as the feeling you get when the plush falls down the prize chute but it was still a satisfying experience.
Yatta! 95% of the work: Edeng
Somewhere in-between looking at the various UFO catcher arcades, we went to Tokyu Hands where we wandered around until reaching the "home security" department area. Among other things there were the personal alarm devices that make loud noises that supposedly thwart away attackers. Well, I was curious to see (hear) exactly how loud it would go so I ended up activating one which ended up blaring a really obnoxious alarm that resounded throughout the floor. I'm sure I scared some customers away from our section because it was really really loud. The employees came over to try and stop it but they too had some trouble. (why do you put these things out on display if you know people like me are going to try to play with them?) I tried my best to profusely apologize for my dumbness but it seemed like they didn't care too much.
Lesson of the day: don't do it.
Big news: I also managed to finally get new shoes! We passed by a huge shoe store and we stopped to look at their "sale" items. Besides Uniqlo Shoes, shoes are usually expensive (5000 - 10000 yen!!) but there were some amazing shoes for 4000 yen. I figured that if I use them for a long time (and it looks like they're sturdy with thick pads) it would pay itself out.
The new!
I really like them! They're watermelon colored, sparkly, and big! Elizabeth also got a pair but with a different color scheme. :D
When coming to Japan I only brought one pair of shoes. Besides regular walking around I also use them for baseball (warm-ups) so they have gotten dirty and worn out really quickly. My other shoes at home are also in a battered state. I did get pastel green shoes from Uniqlo a while ago but I wanted something more substantial. I'm not going to wear these new ones to practice so look out for them when I get home!
The raggedy taggedy old. The shoe lace even frayed!
After touring around Ikebukuro (池袋 - the pond bag) and eating dinner, Angela and I went to Asakusabashi where there was the Torigoe Shrine Matsuri. There were really huge mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) with a ton of people holding them up and swaying them while other people played drums and flutes. There were also a lot of guys (males) that were part of the mikoshi support group that were not wearing anything on their legs (no shorts or pants, but at least a loin cloth) so sometimes a little butt was visible if you looked down. D:
Cute Japanese ladies and a float with drum people.
Lots of people shaking the mikoshi. They were all really genki!
And, of course, there were a lot of food stalls. Points of interest: ramen burger and giant tako tentacle takoyaki. Seriously when they stuck the tako in the batter filled pan they stood up like a tree of sucker goodness. It was amazing how they managed to turn the batter into a ball with that much filling but the end result looked amazing.
The ramen burger was a "patty" of fried ramen noodles that was placed in a bun (?) with regular ramen fixtures (bamboo, green onion, egg, ect) as toppings. It smelled really good and I had never seen anything quite like it before.
Ramen burger tabetai!!
Angela got baby castellas (caste iron cooked cake bites) and I got kakigori (shaved ice) with ramune flavored syrup. I wish I could have eaten more but I was already full from dinner. :P
Festival foods.
Thanks for the fun time Angela and Elizabeth! Let's do it again sometime. :)
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