Back in the U.S. of A. (sung to the tune of "Back in the U.S.S.R.")

So, I'm back in my humble home in Saint Louis! It was an amazing two months and I certainly did not want to leave, but I am also glad to be back here in many ways. I got a haircut and trimmed my beard and I feel quite refreshed.

The final week was fun with my parents, but I have no pictures, and all of you who read this will probably hear about it from them so I am not going to go into too much detail. We basically just saw the sights of Tokyo (without walking too much as Father has foot troubles), and it was a really good week.

I may continue to update the blog with various pictures and stories from time to time, but I certainly do not intend to update it on a regular basis, so for all intents and purposes, this is the end. Thank you all for reading! to close out, I leave you with a few pictures from my final night at the Ruby Room, sent to me from my friend Natsumi.

An interesting few days

Thursday: Penultimate day of work at the Missouri Office.
Right after work Shino-san took me to the Tokyo Dome to see a hot match-up between the Tokyo Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. It was quite an experience. Shino-san got us really good seats on the lower level behind home plate. The gameplay itself was pretty different from watching St. Louis baseball. There were no big hits, nothing that even went to the warning track. It was all about the short game, which made it a pretty intense game. It ended up going to 12 innings, with the final score of 3 - 4 (Tigers won). The biggest difference, though, was the cheering from the fans. First of all, even though the Tigers were the away team, they had just as many fans present as the Giants, and both sides sat all together on opposite sides. Whichever team was up to bat, that teams fans did the cheering, and then when it switched they would shut up and let the other team cheer. And the cheers weren't just yelling and stuff like in the US. They had a whole library of set cheers. Cheers for each individual player, fight songs, etc. And people brought instruments. Taiko drums, trumpets, trombones... It was incredible. So much louder than any Cardinals game I've ever been to. And I had heard that the Tigers fans are notorious for being passionate and rowdy, but the Giants fans were pretty much matching their level of intensity.
There were also cheerleaders and stuff, and the beer vendors were all young cute girls in absurd neon outfits with short skirts or shorts and they sold the beer out of mini kegs that they carried on their backs. Yuki said its a really common part-time job for high school girls to do.

Friday: Final day of work (nothing exciting happened, but still).
Yuki came to Shimbashi after she got off work and we went to Echizen-ya, a yakitori place that we had been to a few times now and had become friendly with the owner and the waitress that works there. Also, when we went this time there was a man there (customer) who we had met last time we went, and so we all sat together and talked and had a grand ole time. His name is Kenta and his English is superb. He went to the University of Colorado for all 4 years of college, and lived in Denver for another couple years. He's 39 now so his English isn't as good as it used to be, he says, but it was still really good. After we were done eating at Echizen-ya, he invited us to come with him to a bar that he frequents in the area, so we all went to "El Amigo" together. It was really cool. It was very small, just the bar counter and no room for standing, and everybody in there knew everybody else. El Amigo is one of those bars that stays open all night for the people that miss the last train and don't want to pay for a taxi or anything, so they stay out until the trains start up again in the morning. The bartenders are, not surprisingly, very friendly cute girls and one of them, Chihiro, gave me a business card that she drew a ridiculously cute picture of herself on.
Kenta was intending to stay out all night, but Yuki wanted to leave to catch the last train, so she left on her own and I stayed with Kenta (since I live in Shimbashi, no worries about trains), and not long after Yuki left we were joined by Fumi, the owner/chef of Echizen-ya. So we stayed there and drank and had a good time until about 3 AM, and made plans to meet again at Echizen-ya the next day.

Saturday: I woke up late, as expected, and my head hurt (also expected), so I didn't really do anything until about 6:30, when I headed out to Echizen-ya. Fumi said that the place is usually empty on Saturdays and yesterday was certainly no exception. Of course, the situation was worsened by the wild downpour that was happening. There is a typhoon that is sweeping over Japan right now--supposedly the worst typhoon to ever hit Japan in July (the really bad ones typically come in September)--and so it's been raining non-stop for a few days now. Ayumi, the waitress at Echizen-ya, had the day off but she had planned to come there to eat with a friend, so we were all going to eat together. I was the first to arrive (aside from Fumi, of course) and so I just ordered a beer and sat down and chatted with Fumi a bit. There was one other customer in the place when I got there, but he left soon after. And just about 10 minutes after I arrived, Ayumi came with her friend, Mai-Mai. Although it turned out they were actually related to each other. Their grandparents are siblings, so I have no idea what that makes them (second cousins?), but they're the same age and went to the same schools and everything, so they're good friends. Ayumi showed me some pictures that she had on her phone from when they were in high school. Although, by "some pictures" I actually mean more like a hundred pictures. I couldn't believe how many pictures she had on that thing. Ayumi and Mai-Mai are both 21, so they're the closest to my age of all the people (excluding Lauren) I've hung out with so far in Japan. It was really fun, definitely one of the most fun meals I've had here. Later on Kenta showed up with one of his friends, and then Yuki came as well. For most of the time, we were the only people in the whole place and we stayed there until Fumi closed up at 11. After that we went to another bar that Kenta frequents, which was actually right across the alley from El Amigo. I can't remember what it was called, though. It was actually even smaller than El Amigo, with room for only about 8 customers (I think El Amigo could fit about 15 people total) on the inside, although I presume when it's not raining that they probably have people standing outside drinking as well. Yuki and I only stayed for a short while, though, because she had to catch the last train and I wanted to go see her off because I don't think I'll see her again.

Everyone is really impressed by how much I can drink without getting drunk and, frankly, I'm rather impressed with myself as well. Over the course of the whole night yesterday I drank probably 8 beers and was barely tipsy, and feel totally fine today. I have no idea how i got this way, I guess it's lucky?

Today I have no plans because I thought my parents were coming today, but it turns out they're actually coming tomorrow. I don't know what to do... Plus, it's raining still which makes me not really want to do much of anything. I suppose I could use a night off... Maybe I can just hang out with the people in my building, Mauricio and Eddie and Coby. It's been a while since I've done anything with them. We'll see. For now, I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I'm starving!

Ruby Room Finale

Last night I played at the Ruby Room for the final time. It was also the most crowded it's ever been when I've played there, partly because all of my friends came to see me. I wasn't at my best, probably mostly because I haven't played or practiced at all in the past few weeks, but I wasn't bad (I think) and I got some compliments from strangers (one guy even invited me to play in a battle of the bands he's organizing, but it's after I leave) so it couldn't have been that bad. Also, I asked one of my friends to play drums with me on a few songs, which was awesome. I've never played with a drummer before, which probably also contributed a little to the performance being not as good as it could have been, just because I wasn't used to playing with a beat, but I really liked it.

We had a hell of a time, but I was a bit quieter than usual (and I'm usually fairly quiet), I suppose because I knew it would be the last time I would see most of them for a while. I got everybody's email address and everything, so I'm set. Acco, the unbelievably cute bartender, was really sad too, but she gave me a free drink and asked me what I wanted and I asked her what she likes to drink and she gave me a glass of beer with plum sake mixed in and it was delicious. Also, Tatsu, the manager of the Ruby Room, made me a promise that if I come back within a year and need a job, he would let me work there! How awesome would that be?! I'm sure I won't need a job when I go back, but maybe I could work there part time. I would make a lot of friends, I'm sure.

Today, Shino-san is taking me to a baseball game after work!! I'm so excited. It was one of the things on my list of things I have to do before going back to the US. Of course, there were only two things on the list: play a concert, and go to a baseball game. I set my sights low. I like to make sure I can achieve my goals. haha.

Speaking of lists, I now have a short list (also only two items) of things I want/need to do (and the reasons why) before coming back to Japan:
1) Lose some weight (so I can fit into more clothes here because I absolutely love Japanese fashion)
2) Learn to play guitar (because it's far more portable than a keyboard and makes performing way easier--I could even perform on the street, which you can't do with a keyboard cuz you need power)

I am actually considering signing up for guitar lessons at Wash U, if I have time for them.

Take care everybody! Until next time...

Kitazawa Music Fest and pics from Ayako

After a good rest at home yesterday I got a message from Taro asking if I was coming to the music festival, so I replied "yes" and headed out to Shimokitazawa (about a 45-minute train ride away).
There was a pretty good crowd there, although smaller than I expected, and it turned out that one of the bands that was playing was a band that I had seen and met before, so not only did I know one of the bands there, but I knew a bunch of people who were there to see them play, as well. So I was in good company at the festival, and afterwards a bunch of us (10 people total) went out to eat. We went to another place where you sit on the floor and take your shoes off, and the food was exceptional, and Taro would not stop ordering beers for the table! haha. But it actually ended up being really cheap after we split up the check -- about 12 bucks per person. Then after that they all wanted to go to a hookah bar (side note: the word for "hookah" in Japanese is mizu-tabaco, which just means "water tobacco"), which isn't really my thing but I was enjoying the company so I tagged along, but when we got there it was totally filled up so we went to a normal bar that was right next door, which was SO cool. the bar had 4 floors. The bottom two were more for dining purposes and the third floor was for live music. We went all the way up to the 4th floor, which was actually the roof. It was gorgeous. They had it decorated really well with some antique lounge furniture and christmas lights. You could see the tall buildings of Shibuya in the distance. It was awesome. I mean, seriously. I would start going there all the time if it wasn't so damn far away.

My time here is drawing to a close, for real. It's really sad, but I'm starting to become mentally ready to go back.

My friends taught me a phrase that they said is used fairly commonly here: 一期一会 pronounced ichigo-ichie. The meaning is sort of hard to explain, but in the simplest way, it means that it's a once-in-a-lifetime meeting--that we're extremely lucky to have found each other and it's something that we can treasure forever. I'm glad to hear that they all feel that way because I certainly treasure the friends I've made here.

On a related note, Ayako made a post on Yucca's (her band) blog about me, the going-away party, and ichigo-ichie. You all will most certainly not be able to read it, but you can click here to see it. There are a few pictures (some of which are also posted below), at least. In the post she says how we've become good friends and it will be sad to see me go, but that we expect to meet again in the future. She thought a little bit about the meaning of ichigo-ichie and how if you meet someone for a short time or for a long time, they can still have just as big of an impression on you. She writes that when she was in school, she had a dear friend who moved away and changed schools and when they had a going-away party for her, Ayako gave a speech in which she said, "In life there are meetings and there are partings--hellos and goodbyes-- and those are the things that make a person grow," to which her classmates responded with a roar of laughter, which shocked her and made her turn red. But she thinks the same way now that she did back then.

Alright, that may be boring to you all, but it means a lot to me. Now then, pictures from Ayako (not great quality, but hey, a picture's a picture--even the bad quality ones are still worth a thousand words):

送別会 - "soubetsukai" - farewell party

Wow, I really haven't written since the 4th? I've got a bit of catching up to do...

On Thursday night I simply went to a bar in Shibuya with Lauren as a sort of one-day-late 4th of July celebration. Good fun. Good to speak English with someone for an extended period of time. That's about it. Not too exciting, but still fun.

Friday night I basically did the same thing only with Yuki. She came to Shimbashi after work and we went to an (very very tiny) izakaya that we went to last week (or maybe it was the week before?), which was fun because the girl that works there remembered us (even remembered my name!) and we had some fun conversations, etc. We also sat next to a guy who had lived in Denver for a while and his English was really good and he was quite nice. All around good times. Afterwards we took a walk and went to this foot-bridge that goes over one of the big streets in the area, which I have gone to quite a few times at night because it's pretty and peaceful, in a way, to stand over the middle of a Tokyo street and look at the lights/cars/buildings.

The thing I really wanted to talk about, though, was last night. My friends had a 送別会 - farewell party - for me. They wouldn't tell me what we were going to do, they just told me to meet them at Shinjuku Station at 7 PM on 7/7/07. July 7th also happens to be a big holiday here called Tanabata, the star festival, which celebrates the one day a year when these two gods (lovers) are allowed to meet, when they are normally separated by the Milky Way. It's a HUGE wedding day in Japan and I saw many many people walking around in very nice dresses/tuxedos/kimonos. Anyways, back to the story...
So I met up with Aya at the station and, honestly I don't know why they were so secretive about the whole thing because their plans were just to go to a restaurant and eat and drink a lot. It was so fun, though. This was one of those restaurants where you take off your shoes at the door and you sit on the floor. We got our own little room again and altogether there were 8 of us: me, Aya, Yuki, Shibata, Taro, Tani, Natsumi, and Sachi. Taro gave me a really nice set of chopsticks! I was so surprised, mostly because this was only my second time seeing him. I really like him, though. He is from Osaka, which I could tell right away because he speaks with that old familiar dialect. People in Osaka and Kyoto speak with the same dialect, so when I was in Kyoto I became very familiar with it. So I would occasionally use some of the dialect when talking to Taro, which he loved. Yuki gave me a mix CD, which I'm excited to listen to. Sachi gave me a necklace that she made out of clay, which is so cool, despite the fact that I'll probably never wear it. It's really neat, though. It's in the shape of a key and she said "it's the key to the door to your happiness," to which I just laughed and told her that was so cheesy. But it really is awesome and I love it. I can't believe I've made such friends in the short time I've been here. They gave me a poster (which you can see a picture of below) that has some pictures of all of us and they all signed it. I may have cried a bit when they gave it to me... It was an emotional evening. After the restaurant kicked us out, we went to a bar and drank for a while, until it was time to go to catch the last train. Except 4 of us, including me, missed our trains, so we ended up taking a taxi to Taro's apartment, which was nearby, and we slept there. It was basically a sleepover, which I haven't done in god-knows-how-long, but it was so much fun. Plus, it was really neat to actually see where one of my friends lives. It was a really nice apartment. I hope I can get a place like that when I come back *wink*!

Yuki told me about a free music festival thing that's going on today, so I may go to that, but I just got home so for now, I'm gonna rest and shower and stuff. I drank quite a bit last night so I'm not exactly in the best shape right now. Enjoy the pictures from last night! Aya took some, too, so I'm sure she'll send those to me and I'll send them to you all when they come.

Happy 4th!

It's the fourth of July and as far as I know that means absolutely nothing here. Just another Wednesday. Apparently on the 5th, though, every year the American Embassy has some kind of big celebration, so I'll have to look into that. It's been a slow week so far, but yesterday Aya confirmed that they are planning on having some kind of party for me on Saturday, so that's something to look forward to.

I will be playing at the Ruby Room again tonight. It's been two weeks since I've been there, so I'm sort of looking forward to that as well. It may also be my last performance, since next Wednesday one of my friends is playing a show and I sort of want to go. But I'm not sure yet. Either way, it's bound to be a good time.

I'm afraid that's all the news I have right now. Back to work. Love.

Not Found

I keep reading about this clothing boutique in Tokyo called "Not Found" (and by 'keep reading' I mean twice now). It's apparently impossible to find--it's not on any maps, its address is not listed anywhere, there's no sign for it, all I know is the area that it's in--the only way to actually discover its location is to know somebody who already knows. Also, they only allow shopping there one person at a time, by appointment only, but they have totally unique one-of-a-kind products that are supposed to be amazing. Since I only have 2 and a half weeks left here, I don't think I'll be able to find it and get an appointment, but it is now one of the top items on my list for when I come back here. The interior was designed by Wonderwall (and their site is one of my new favorite things to look at), but they were not kind enough to reveal the location: http://www.wonder-wall.com/space/detail.jsp?id=0703

If you have time, its worth it to check out some of the other projects on Wonderwall.

So yeah, next time I come here I will be spending so much time wandering around Azabu-juban until I find that damn place. If I save up enough I may be able to afford one item of clothing from there, right?

Ping Pong Pictures

Awesome Alliteration!

Not much to report today. I did laundry last night--not so exciting--so I basically just stayed home and rested. Really not much planned this whole week. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'll figure something out. Or I'll just stay home and get lots of rest. I'm okay with that, too.

Here's the pictures I took at ping pong. The girl with the hat is Sa-chan, the girl in the grey/blue-ish shirt is Aya, and the other girl is Kayo. As you can see, I played with all the girls. Where are the guys? They're not as cool as me and are playing at another table across the room.








Aya was hilarious because she got really into it and was literally bouncing around the table and would do an angry little run-in-place thing whenever she lost a point. Also, you can't really tell at all from the pictures, but she's still wearing her corset under her shirt from her skiing injury (like 4 months ago).

Ayako's pictures!

Aya sent me her pictures from yesterday, so here you go! I'll upload mine later today (although I'm not in any of them, so they might not be as interesting to you).

Writing to stay awake

Man am I sleepy this morning. Totally worth it, though.

Yesterday was one of the most fun days I've had here so far, which is good because it totally redeemed the whole weekend that I spent basically sleeping. Not because I was being lazy, but I just still didn't feel like I was back to 100 percent and so sleeping seemed like a really good idea.

On Saturday night I texted Aya just to say hi, and it's lucky I did because she ended up inviting me to come with her and a bunch of friends on Sunday to play ping pong. Awesome. I hadn't played ping pong in a long time, so I was bad, but it was fuuuuun. We met at 5:00 and went to this place that had 9 floors with different things on each floor (arcade, bowling, cosmic bowling, billiards, karaoke, and ping pong). They had about 15 or 20 tables and you rented a table by the half-hour (paddles and balls were provided for free). It was so much fun. We got two tables because there ended up being 8 of us altogether, 3 girls and the rest guys. All the guys except for me drank lots of beer. I wanted to, but I was still a bit sick, plus I had work today, so I just had water with the girls, haha. One of the guys there, Taki, is actually a ping pong instructor at a school, and he is of course quite good, so he became 'sensei' to everybody else and helped us out with technique and stuff, which was also sweet. We played there for about two hours and when we divided up the cost of it, it only ended up being 850 Yen (like 7 bucks) per person! Great deal!

Afterwards we went to eat at an underground restaurant where we got a private room and everyone drank more and had great food and it was sooo fun. Some other people met up with us, too, including 2 English guys, George and Darren. who were both very cool. We stayed there until about 11, when they closed, and then went our separate ways.

I have been emailing a lot with Aya and become quite close with her and I wasn't sure I would get a chance to see her again because she works a LOT, so I gave her the CD I made her and she started to cry! It really surprised me. She said something like "Until now it had always just felt like you would stay here forever, but now it's really hitting me that you're going to leave." It was sad, but also very flattering and it made me very happy. She and Taki also decided that they are going to throw a "Sayonara party" for me, which will probably be this coming Saturday, so I'm so excited about that.

How's the USA? Have people gone iPhone crazy? They haven't announced when they're gonna release it here, I think, but apparently Steve Jobs (head of Apple) is really good friends with the head of one of the major phone companies here, so that company is going to get it. Lucky.

The other day Shino-san's phone rang and the ringtone was the "Sex and the City" theme song! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.

I do have pictures from ping pong and Aya also has some from ping pong (some with me playing, I think) and from the restaurant, so as soon as I get all those together, I'll load them up for you.

Love, Lawrence