Well, here I am. I'm sitting in the internet cafe listening to Jack Johnson, trying to drown out the sound of the Shaggy CD that they play every day, over and over here. I liked Shaggy, but I don't anymore. Nope. Today was supposed to be onsen day, but it didn't work out. An onsen, if you don't know, is kind of like a public bath. It's supposed to be one of the coolest things ever, and I'm dying to go to one. My friend Sachi and her friend were going to take me and Don to one near here, but Don has run off to Tokyo for the weekend. An onsen would still be fun, but if I'm going to lounge around in a public bath for a few hours I'd like to have someone to talk to. I asked my friend Ryan to go with me instead, but he says that he's scared of being in the company of so many naked Japanese men. Haha, I can't blame him. But hey, it's a culture learning experience! Just go for it!
The other day Ryan and I went to Miwa's apartment for a hand-rolled sushi party. It was super good. We hung out all night with Miwa, her sister, and two of her friends. None of them could speak any English, so it was great practice for Ryan and I. Miwa's boss is going to be taking a trip during the first week of August, so she asked me to come to the clothing shop that she manages and hang out after school. Good times!
Man, fashion here is crazy. Most younger people are very hip when it comes to fashion. I'm quite jealous of the widespread fashion sense that these people have. There's a style right now with guys where they get super dark tans, have HUGE (usually) blond hair, and they wear super tight clothes. I have no idea what they do. Every time that I see them they're just standing on the side of the road or on sidewalks just staring at people. Another thing with younger girls, usually high school age, is maid style. I guess you'd call it that. For instance, a girl just walked by outside the cafe wearing an all pink dress with white lace, super tall white stocking things, pink high heels, a pink and white frilly umbrella, and curly hair with a pink little hat. Pretty crazy.
The thing right now that I see most often is layers. Guys will wear about three or four different shirts, and sometimes two different pairs of pants at the same time with one riding low with the other sticking way out. The array of hats worn is also quite amazing. However the boring American t-shirts that they sell are usually some of the most expensive. Miwa goes to America, buys shirts from thrift stores, brings them back here and sells each for 30-80 bucks. Amazing, huh These people are obsessed with America. American clothes can be seen everywhere. You have to go to a traditional Japanese restaurant to hear any Japanese music. The clubs here also play only American music.
Well, I have to do some school stuff so I had better wrap this up. I uploaded some new pictures and I have a link to the left. I'll start putting all of my new pictures into that album so that it's easier to find the new pictures that I upload. I also want to say that I really enjoy reading everyone's comments! To those who comment, thank you! Sorry I haven't written responses, haha. I'll try to write a response to your comments from time to time from now on. I'm so lazy. Ok! Ja, mata!
- Derek
p.s. Oh, I've fallen in love with this guy's voice. His name is 中 孝介 (Atari Kosuke). Here's a link to a music video for his most popular song right now 花 (hana). Enjoy!
One more, haha.
2 comments:
Love the new pics. Leah wants the bear thing. What is that food on your table? Looks like something gelled. And what a great name - Atari!
I'll take the bear thing home with me. I might have to put him a few different suitcases, but we'll see how it goes. That stuff wasn't gelled, it was just covered in mayo and a sweet sauce. Japanese people love mayo. As far as Atari goes, he's on tv all the time, and I'm almost tired of him by now. His songs are getting overplayed!
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