JAAPAAAAAN!

Ok. Today was a super adventure that lasted all day. Jerome and I planned on going to the mega mall, Joyful Honda, today, just to scope it out. Then, Viren got in touch with us and we invited him along. And thus it all began.

First, I drove Kimi, my new car, to a gas station. I was getting close to empty, because why would they give me a car with a reasonable amount of gas in it? So the first one I see is a block from my house. Score. Good to know. I roll up, and the guy is directing me where to go. I'm like "Cool, cuz I have no idea which side of the car the gas thing is. Then I get out and explain that this is the first time Ive gotten gas, and that I just got the car yesterday. And he's like, "ok." He does unscrews the things, asks if unleaded is ok, I say yes, and then he starts gasing it up. And then he asks if I want to fill it up and I say sure. then eh starts washing my car and windows as we wait for the gas to be filled. Hell yeah.

So then I go to find Viren...who isn't very good at giving ladnmark directions, but since we have no idea what anything is called, we kind of have no choice. After some initial buffoonery, we get it figured out, and head over to pick up Jerome. We get there and he's not back from running errands with his IC. Which is cool cuz he told to wait 15 minutes, but we didnt have anywhere else to go. So he shows up and runs inside to drop off his stuff, so we start chatting it up with his IC, and she's like "omgyouspeaksuchgoodjapanese." And I'm like, "score!"

So we go to the mega mall, and its mega epic. We eat first, cuz we're all starving. Then we just wander around. Check out the movie theater, the home center shops, the clothing store, and spend some time in the pet store too. I saw a shiba...and he looked at me the same way Kiba does when she knows I'm not gonna play with her. And it almost broke my heart. So I had to run away.

Then we tried to join the mafia. Or at least board their ship. Let me explain: We found out that a very large mafia family is stationed in hitachinaka. Which makes all the pachinko places we pass seem a lot more shady... We wanted to see the coast. So we head towards it. We didnt want to go to the park, so we head for the port, thinking that wed be out by a dock and see some boats near the water. No biggie. We'll we end up on this road where there is no whre to turn around. And all of a sudden its a giant pier warehouse area. And I'm like "This is wrong." BUT THERE'S NO WHERE TO TURN AROUND! So we keep driving. Passing these men in masks waving cars in different directions. And I try to turn around but they wont let me. And eventually I get to the gate where you need a special access code or sticker or something that I didn't have. So I put on my "Bakagaijin" face (stupid foreigner face.) And I say "I just want to turn around." So this guy lets me do a u turn and leave. So then we try to go back the way we came, but the road makes a weird turn and we end up at some crazy construction site, and its a one way street. So we couldn't get out. I tried to sneak through part of the parking lot into somewhere else, but WE COULDN'T GET OUT. Eventually, we follow some angry looking lady, back the wrong way down the one way street, and make a quick turn to get on a side road that leads back to where we were trying to get in the first place. Then Viren pulls out his Gps, and we follow it to the beach. Hooray.

The beach was fun, but windy. The weather wasnt spectacular. I tagged the beach with my fraternity symbol though. It was really nostalgic. Well, the candidate class symbol, not the actual emblem of the frat. Eff that. Then we kept driving, taking a couple pictures as we went down windy narrow roads. We passed a couple of our schools, and eventually ended up back on what we call "Main street." its the street that leads away from the train station. Then we went in search of an arcade. And boy, was that harder than it needed to be. We kept getting directions, but they weren't very clear or specific, even when given by someone who speaks English as a first language. FINALLY, the lady at the supermarket was able, in japanese, to give us solid directions to the ARCADE/BOWLING ALLEY!!!! HELL YES!

During our search, we stopped for dinner at this place called The Drunken Duck. But since we're regulars now, we just call it,"the duck." And it was tasty. We watched some rugby, cuz some australian guy ran the joint.

There is this game at Japanese arcades. Its a rhythm game with TAIKO DRUMS! I rock at it, by the way. They had mario songs, naruto songs, other j-pop madness. It was so much fun. Jerome and Viren did some car racing, then we did some time crisis. We stopped by the liquor store, just to say we went. But 1 drink, and its illegal to drive in Japan. I am the only one with a car. So monday Viren will get his, and he doesnt drink, and he already down with the DD idea, so im sure things will work out fine.

Today was the best day. Strengthened some relationships, got to get some driving on the left side of the road practice in. Had a blast. I think I might like it here...