37 posts tagged “japanese”

So there's this guy, Tetsuya from Kyoto, well, there are a whole group of guys from Ritsumeikan uni who are studying here for a quarter and I met some of them at Wednesday lunch. Two of them, Tetsuya and Kensuke asked for my phone number a couple weeks ago and I gave it to them. This week, Tetsuya invited me to a party. I said okay.

I met up with Tetsuya in the University district, he was with another guy, Ryu, who he introduced to me as the most kakkoi of his friends. He was alright, kind of standoffish and quiet, but he looked okay. Tetsuya on the other hand reminds me a little bit of Ai from Osaka, they are both from Kansai, and both are outgoing and smile all the time.

I had already eaten but they took me to drink with a group of people at this Korean place. There were a bunch of Japanese-American girls dressed similarly in black club dresses. They didn't talk to me. There was one other non-Japanese person there, a friendly Iranian-American guy who was born and raised in Tokyo, he had a lisp, but his Japanese was really good. I thought he was an interesting political product, I like meeting people with messed up national identities.

Tetsuya ordered a bottle of soju and let me drink most of it. I spoke with him most of the night but when he went to go to the bathroom I was left seated next to Ryu, who hadn't said a single word to me since we were first introduced. We talked about the Japanese elections and how he didn't vote because he was coming here and about his view of Japanese politics in general. Any guy who can stand talking politics with me for more than ten minutes gets extra points. And his name is Ryu for god's sake, he had already gotten me when I learned that (see: Ryu Murakami).

Anyway, after he finished eating, the Iranian guy left and the girls left to go clubbing downtown, acting all shy about it, like they were doing something super scandalous. The boys stayed with me. We called Kensuke, we considered going to his house on the south side, but he was actually in the University district singing karaoke with some girls. We let him be. In the end, the two guys came to my house, not without two bottles of cheap champagne (I don't have a bottle opener for wine) and cheese (Tetsuya's idea).

We drank the first bottle quickly. We thought to wait for Kensuke to come to open the second bottle, but he was being too slow. We drank the second bottle. When Kensuke showed up, we went to buy wine and chocolate ice cream (Tetsuya's suggestion again). Kensuke had to drink to catch up with us so we forced him to drink. He is the smallest one but he can handle drinking pretty well. We talked about this and that, love and heartbreak...

After a while, Tetsuya was falling asleep, actually, he did fall asleep and start snoring on my floor. We woke him up and made him go home. I was getting sleepy too, and too drunk. I rested my head on Ryu's lap (we were sitting on the floor) but continued conversing, though I don't really remember what we were talking about at that point. I was just paying attention to the feeling of Ryu's hand on my body.

I went downstairs and threw up in the bathroom. The vomit was deep purple like the cheap Merlot we were drinking. I came back to my room and lay in bed, which sort of signaled to the boys it was time to go. I said good night and I heard them leave my house. I got up and I showered, well, I sat under the running water for a while.

When I went back to my room, I saw that my window was open and someone was outside on the roof, ninja-style trying to come inside. It was Ryu. I was in my towel, dripping wet. I closed the door behind me and invited him in. He was trying to explain how he forgot his bag and that he tried to call but I didn't pick up. I told him yes, I was in the shower (clearly), and dried myself off. I told him he could stay, the buses were out of service at that point. He said thank you.

I dried my hair and hung the towel up. I was completely naked so I put on a long shirt. I didn't keep it on for very long. He commented on my tattoo while we were having sex, ukifune? That's always what they say. As if I am the one who needs to confirm the reading. We slept. He left around 7am. I also got up and brushed my teeth, took out my contacts, and went back to sleep.

Miyavi

It took me long enough to post about this... I heard from Heather that Miyavi was coming to Seattle, so I made plans to buy tickets. I am not a huge Miyavi fan, but I know he is really popular among J-rock fans. I think he is cute and I like his tattoos/image, but only a few of his songs. He is a skilled guitarist, and really entertaining as a one-man show, from what I can tell from his videos.

Anyway, after a bunch of drama trying to order tickets over the phone, I went downtown and bought three tickets for Heather, Shu (that girly Japanese guy), and myself. The show is on the 25th of October at the Paramount Theatre, a proper theater with fancy halls and chandeliers... not exactly a rock concert kind of place, I'd say! I am really looking forward to it, only a couple weeks from now, it is his first US tour.

In other news, the guy I mentioned in the previous post is also in my SIS class and discussion section. I will be seeing a lot of him this quarter.

I should be getting my new computer today! Hopefully, if my brother manages to intercept the UPS man. I had the computer shipped to my brother because I was not sure where I would be living. Now it is really inconvenient because my brother has to drive all the way to Seattle. Oh well, it gives me a excuse to see him!

I went to Uwajimaya yesterday and stocked up on zaru soba and chuka soba noodles. I want to make yakisoba for my brother tonight (if he shows up). I practiced yesterday and it turned out pretty good, I think he will like it. I feel like soba and udon are the only things I know how to cook. No complaints though, I could eat soba everyday!

Well I had to say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City this morning, but it was fun while it lasted. I got to the airport on the back of a motorbike... very fun way to escape the city.

I made friends with a Japanese ojisan on the airplane to Thailand and we took a taxi into town together. He called his friend in Bangkok and told him all about me (nihongo wakaru americajin josei) while we were in the taxi. We three are planning to meet for lunch tomorrow!

I feel a little ignorant because I must admit that Bangkok is a lot more than I expected. It's huge! Skyscrapers, high-rise hotels etc. make it look more like Tokyo than I imagined... well, besides the whole slums-in-the-middle-of-development thing. I have not seen anything like it, the obvious disparity between classes here... the effects of the tourism industry... are glaring.

Met up with my friend Charles and I am at his place now. We went out to eat with his Aunt's friend's son, a 21 year old Thai guy. He was soooo friendly and polite (as far as I can tell from Charles' translation)... We went around the city, checked out tourist traps and night markets... I am going to try to get out of Bangkok tomorrow if at all possible, after having lunch with that Japanese guy.

Anyway, good night from Siam!

Happening bar was pretty cool, but it was totally not happening for me. It was a little troublesome getting in, kinda strict about foreigners, you had to be able to speak Japanese and fill out a form (a few other gaijin were denied because their Japanese was not up to par, the staff stressed the importance of communication). I had to return to Nishi Azabu from Shibuya to get my passport, entrance cost about 20,000 yen all together, but we got in relatively easily.

At the end of the night, I was left sort of unsatisfied. I tried! With two different Japanese guys, but both of them were unable to perform very well (I experienced the quickest session in my life). They might have been too nervous about the whole thing (both were newbies like me) or alcohol had something to do with it. Probably a mixture of both. Baldy didn't get lucky either and spent most of the night on the sidelines.

Overall though, it was a cool experience. Liberating, kinda like the first time you try public bathing or onsen (not everyone was naked though, only in the designated sex rooms). The clientele were all very friendly and there was no creepiness at all. The place was quite big (the building used to be a love hotel) and quite busy. There were the type of people you would expect to be there (older unattractive men) but lots of normal people too! Several young-ish couples and singles hung out and got busy, and the older guys were mostly voyeurs.

I didn't see anything I would want to erase from my memory, and to be honest, I thought it was all pretty hot. I got to try some things I've been curious about (namely, another girl, was not disappointed with her) and I met a guy there who is quite familiar with the whole scene. He gave me his number, I might call and go somewhere else with him.

I got home around 6AM and went to bed. I need to go all the way to Saitama for the GAZETTE TODAY!!! Yay!! The concert starts at 17:00 so I better get going.

I mentioned Kazuo before. I met him last month, once. He has been calling me every week, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday, asking to hang out. I always have work and say no. Or I just ignore his call altogether.

Last night he called me around 23:30. I was writing so I ignored it. He called a half an hour later and I picked it up. He said it was his birthday and that he was celebrating. He asked me if I was in Roppongi and I said no, I was at home. He invited me to go drinking with him in Roppongi, and for some reason, I said sure. Free drinks, why not. I had slept a lot during the day (making up for about a month of continued sleep deprivation) so I felt genki.

I was surprised when he was alone at the crossing. I had expected all his goofy friends to be with him. But he was alone. I understood the situation. I felt stupid suddenly, I usually would have known. Right off the bat, I asked him what he wanted and he said it was difficult to say. I reprimanded him for inviting me out like that, but I joined him for a drink.

I told him I had a boyfriend so his advances were a little inappropriate. He asked me if the guy was in America or if he was Japanese. I said Japanese. He seemed relieved. He said that he would still try me in that case, but if I had a serious boyfriend back home, he would respect that. I know that I have only been seeing Yusuke for a few weeks, but there is a definite boyfriend&girlfriend vibe going on, he calls me daily and makes date plans. I felt loyal to him for a bit. That loyalty disappeared, as I had hoped and planned, after a couple shots, and I said okay to going to Shibuya with him. He reminds me so much of Hajime, I could not resist.

So yeah, we took a cab to Shibuya and went to a love hotel. It was around 2 AM.

Sex was really, really, really good. We left the hotel around 8 am. He walked me to the station. He lives in Shibuya and walked home.

I slept for a couple hours and showered. I have to meet Yusuke in 30 minutes. I have a small love bite on my neck.

I definitely want to see Kazuo again.

I have a whole month left in Japan. I feel like I have been here a long time already, but just two-thirds of my stay is finished. My room mate seems alright. Right now she is sleeping. She works in Roppongi at night, and showed up while I was sleeping, very early in the morning today. She cleaned up a bunch of her stuff and put it away, so our room is much more livable now.

Yesterday after work I went to have a drink at Crossover so I could apologise to Daisuke for being drunk and silly last time I saw him. He brought it up before I did, You were drunk last time, huh? I told him yes, and sorry for my stupid behavior. He laughed at me and said it was nothing. We talked a little about both of our vacations, and I left after finishing my drink. The ball is in his court.

Kinda bored. I need to go to the grocery store but the nearest one closed early yesterday (probably because of Obon) and it is usually closed on the weekends. Today is Saturday and I do not have much to do. I used to hang out with Takahashi on the weekends, but I have not spoken to him in weeks.

I have five days off work. Tomorrow Yusuke wants me to go with him to Yokohama from 10 in the morning... And suggested we go to Asakusa at 7 in the evening. What a long time! Asakusa is boring! I do not have many better things to do with my time, but it will be so hot and humid and I do not want to be walking around aimlessly anywhere. So if I do end up going, he better have a solid plan and it should involve air-conditioned spaces. I missed a call from him today when I was in the bathroom. I wonder if he will call again.

Anyway, he cannot come to my house since I have a room mate. And he, like the true parasitic Japanese university student he is, lives with his rich mommy and daddy. So if he wants to have sex, he is going to have to pay up for a hotel. Curious to see what happens tomorrow, sort of like a test. If he asks me to pay for anything, it will be the last time I see him.

I emailed the tattoo artist from last year, and I have consultation Monday evening about a new tattoo, and plans to get it done on Friday. Excited!

Yesterday I went to the Imperial Palace with Lisa. There was not much to see there, but it was a nice visit.

It was her last night in Tokyo so I bought a bottle of umeshuu for us to drink at my place then we went out to Kabukicho to take pictures and have fun. We visited the old club I used to work at and got some free drinks. Afterward we went to another bar where the bartender gave me the change from some guy's 5000 yen bill (he bought Lisa and I two shots). I pocketed the change, a little more than 3000 yen, and we escaped quickly to the station!

We went to Roppongi and drank a little bit more at a few different bars. We both got a little bit too drunk... I threw up everything I had eaten that day, but felt a whole lot better afterwards. We visited crossover, where Daisuke the cute bartender from Osaka works... he was wearing a yukata and I found out he was 29. I finally was more forward with him (probably due to my drunkenness) and told him that we should hang out sometime. He sounded like he wanted to... but he is leaving to visit Osaka this week. We'll see what happens.

Lisa and I went to shisha bar toward the end of the night where we met some guys from the University of Tokyo... Lisa was not so interested in them, so she left early, but I ended up spending time with one guy named Yusuke... we went to a love hotel in Shinjuku early in the morning.

He was a graduate student and I thought he was pretty good looking. He wants to hang out again, but the next couple weeks are going to be busy. My weekdays will still be full of school and work, Saturday, my brother is coming to Tokyo, so I have to spend time with him. Then, Sunday I will leave Tokyo to go to Shonan on a week-long retreat with my class...

I will miss about a week of work, then about 4 days off for Obon... I plan to visit my friend Ai in Osaka during that time... if it works out.

IMG_0724

The past couple days have been busy! I freaked out on Monday night after I dropped my computer and it started making strange noises. My user profile will not load but that is fixable. I still have all my writing and photos (priceless to me) but I do not trust this computer to last very long so I want to buy a new one. Too bad I am super broke and laptops here are expensive! We will see...

I was happy to go to work last night to get away from my sad and dying computer, but once I got there I realised, again, how much it sucks. WH wasn't there either so that made it double-boring. Customers are so retarded.

I am moving into my room at Waseda this friday. I was just informed that I have been given a single room! So I will not wake up any annoying roommate after midnight when I come home from work. And no one will know what time I come home. Yes! One school problem is, though, that the textbook I need got mailed back to my house in the United States. That book has been so troublesome.

Practiced karaoke and drank at the club after work yesterday night. I joked (half-serious) in my drunkenness about planning to sell my body to make some extra cash. Afterward, around 4:30 in the morning, Clair and I went to Vibration, she said to find my customers. Instead we met a couple young Japanese guys randomly. Guy I liked was 25 years old (I am proud of myself for choosing a younger guy!), tall and slim. We talked and danced... then all four of us took a taxi to Shibuya and went to the same hotel.

Yeah I went to another love hotel, but I actually did it this time. I had a good time... I got his phone number and mail address so maybe we can meet again. Who knows. I took the bus back to Nishi Azabu from Shibuya this morning. It is actually much more convenient than taking the train, I have learned. I usually walk to Shibuya anyway, but the bus is quite nice!

It is gross and humid today... I need to take a shower. Lisa is coming to Japan tomorrow, I am gonna meet her friday afternoon. Stressing about it! Stressing about school and money! But I gotta take it day by day right now.