Time’s up, wise up, eyes up.

Time, Dr. Freeman? Is it really that time again? It seems as if you only just arrived. You’ve done a great deal in a small time span.”

Alright, so I got roughly two weeks left before I head back to America. But, I can say for sure I’m not ready to go back 10 weeks is not enough time. But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy with the things I have been able to do. I’ve been able to improve my Japanese a lot ( it still needs a LOT of work.) but, I’m ready to keep diving into my studies.
I keep feeling this rush to keep doing things. On one-hand it’s a good thing but on the other I need to make sure I’m not pushing myself too hard.
Also, I really want to thank the people that have let me join in on the little shebangs that have gone on including Karaoke and what I’m dubbing Karagge Thanksgiving.
Anyways, I got a loaded schedule next week which includes ice skating and preparing for final exams/ presentations. I got this yo.

Self-Trekking Across Japan

[HAMILTON]
How you say, no sweat
We’re finally on the field. We’ve had quite a run [LAFAYETTE]
Immigrants: [HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE]
We get the job done

Ever wonder what it’s like to walk 65 miles in 5 days? Well, I just found out what that is like. The past three days I’ve been backpacking by myself across western Japan and it’s been a lot of fun being able to discover new places. I visited one new place per day and I won’t ever forget it.

Day 1: Last year I made some friends that came from Nagoya and they recommended me some places to visit while I was there. Nagoya sort of reminded me of towns in America. Tokyo is huge with its towering buildings. Also, there were trees and that was nice. First, I went to the port aquarium there and was blown away by how beautiful it was. I also got to see penguins, which was really cool for me to see them up close. Next was Nagoya Castle, the castle towered above me and I was stunned at the sight. Lastly, was Osu Street filled with shops and places to eat. I’m really glad I got to visit Nagoya. The only thing I regret about Nagoya is the fact I could not hug a penguin.
Day 2: I headed to Osaka and met a friend there. I’m really glad I got to meet them on their hometurf. They were able to show me around and we visited a lot of famous locations in Osaka. We went to numerous shrines and went to a few places to eat. My friend showed me a place where we ate some pretty amazing Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki. I love Takoyaki so I had been anticipating going to Osaka to eat Takoyaki there. Dotombori was beautiful and was bustling but it had a totally different feel than most of the streets in Tokyo. I’m really appreciative of the time they took to show me around. I had a lot of fun and Osaka was beautiful.
Day 3: The last place was Kyoto. Kyoto is abundant with historical sites and unfortunately I could not go to each place I wanted to go. I went to Fushimi Inari Taisha, Tetsugaku no michi and Kinkaku-ji. I really enjoyed these places because of abundant nature there. I ended up going on a bit of a hike in Inari Taisha and it was a bit fun to get lost in the bamboo tree area. I really need to go back to Kyoto sometime.

Racing to do as much as possible.

“I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I’m a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I’m gonna go, go, go, there’s no stopping me”

Alright, so I’ve done a lot this past week. I’m still trying to do as much as possible. Today I went to Asakasa, Meguro, Tokyo Skytree, Pokemon Center and Akihabara. Yup. In one day. I just feel this urge to keep going and do as much as possible.
It’s been a wild ride but I’ve been enjoying it immensely.
I feel that my Japanese has grown a lot during my time here. Granted, there is still a lot that I need to work on, but comparing it to where it was while I was volunteering in Eugene a week before Ieft, it definitely shows.
Japanese is like one huge puzzle. Its vast but once the pieces start weaving and interconnecting it becomes easier and easier to complete the puzzle. It feels extremely satisfying when I learn where a new piece of the language goes and how to apply it. It’s what keeps me consumed when I study.
I visited Asakusa and Kamakura over this past week. It was a change of pace from what I’ve mostly been doing, but I like it. Theres still a lot I need to learn about Japanese culture and I guess this serves as sort of a preview.
I’ve also visited more things related to pop-culture related. I dont really watch too much Anime personally but I’ve been playing video games since I was 2 and a half years old [Thanks Mom] and they’ve always welcomed it. I love any form of storytelling and video games allow writers to tell stories in a unique way. I’m excited to see what Hideo Kojima penned for his next project which I saw a pretty cool interactive advertisement for at the station. Also like….I’m really happy that like Guillmero Del Toro is there cause like Latino representation in video games is pretty terrible. Annnnnywayys. I’ve still got a little bit of time here. I’m gonna make sure I make I use as much of it to the fullest as I can.

Ship has left the harbor see if you can spot him.

“Gotta go, Gotta go see you later by the cat
And you cant beat that with a bat.” So I’ve been trying to be as active as possible during my time and Tokyo and trying to experience new things as often as I can while I’m here. My time is relatively short so I’m trying to make the best of it.
I ended up seeing 天気の子 on Friday as a sort of challenge. Some of my freinds while they were in America saw films in English and it was a little hard for them sometimes. I sort of wanted to see what they experienced. Although it’s a little bit different since my Japanese still needs a lot of work. But, that’s why I’m here. Also, the seats moved and there were gusts of air that blew in your face during certain scenes in the movies. It was wack.

I’ve been loving it here. Because of how often I’m going out I’m starting to easily make my way around certain spots without having to use any programs. I’m starting to find places to unwind at after class and trying to make the most of it. “Ev’ry day you fight Like you’re Running out of time Like you’re Running out of time Are you Running out of time?”

This is all I got for now. I’ll keep updating on this blog as I continue through my journey in Japan.