Archive for the ‘Leon’ Category
8 hour days suck, but today at orientation I learned a lot about people with a mental illness. They’re people too. I’ll post a poem that one of them wrote when I bring it home.
un-edited Journal continued:
9/17
Ditched my plan today. Went to Osaka Castle. Its just like in Alex’s videos. The park itself though is huge. I didn’t take pics of the forests because they would’ve sucked. Got lost for a bit then trained to Osaka-eki. Crossed the st. to a 8 story mall. Tons of stuff everywhere! Toys, games, phones, art. Its kind of scary being alone here, but oh well. Sucks that my Japanese sucks..
Found a cool okonomiyaki places called “Fugetsu”. They cook it for you @ ur own table. I thought I would make it myself but I’m wrong lol. I ordered large but it looks normal sized to me (saw others) looks tasty. Cost me $12 but it has squid, pork, shrimp. Its sooo good. Breakfast was carboriffic but only $5. On second thought I’m gonna be full. Taking my time, my feet hurt. I’m not even sure if I can cover Umeda in 1 day. I guess I will though.
Failed. I got lost a whole bunch in the underground area. Later I walked to the station on foot & got an idea of whats around. Found an underground food area. They sold everything from eel to hot wings & dessert. Need to go back and explore later…
9/18
I missed the train to Hakata, so I’m going to Hiroshima instead. Ate at the museum cafe. Omellette & salad. The salad was good. They eat lots of carbs here in Jpn. At least the egg had some protein. Tons of kids here on field trip. Looks kind of nice, not as much as Osaka castle though. Found a ramen shop where u order from a machine. I got… well I find out when they bring it. Really, really wish I was fluent in Japanese. Servers here are cute. Apparently I ordered shoyu ramen, plain. Its almost as good as Daikokuya, but soy sauce…. not as good as pork. Went to Hiroshima Castle. They recreated the rampart and ppl can go inside. I saw a big temple but didn’t know wat to do, so I left… Central park was mostly grass, stopped by a mall on the way back.
Got stuck in a smoking car, all the cars are full! After the first stop, I got a normal seat but was standing between cars for a good 15 minutes. Better than being smoked to death though. Cute girl 2 seats over. Want takoyaki. Days in Japan w/o Sushi: 2. Its getting foggy for some reason. Girl 2 seats over not so cute. Hope I can charge camera. It only uses USB. Next change I get, I will play Border Break. Looks fun. Have lots of bug bites on one leg. Wtf? I’m dreading switching hostels. The other one is near a subway not covered by JR pass. Need to use ticket machine. My suitcase is not heavy but is large and unwieldy. Hope yuri & Tina & kaz actually want to see me, former 2 can’t say no, its too direct. They do that “its not convenient” thing that 日本 ppl are known for. Yes, I wrote 日本 in my journal instead of “Japanese” even though it should’ve been “日本人”. I guess I’ll see when the day comes, eh?
Stopped at takoyaki shop near osaka stn. They have 5 kinds, hope I ordered the right one (squid). 12 for 4 bucks. No sauce =[ really hot/fresh. Soft... wish it had sauce though.. Squids very real though. They have soy & vinegar but it isn't as good as okonomiyaki sauce. Its a popular place though. Everyone works super hard in Japan. At least at restaraunts & stores... & trains &gardeners.. Kind of like Americans before the 90's... Saw a notebook like mine (its small and green!) I wrote in it! Guy next to me wolfs them down. No sauce or anything. Hes mad!
Met Jim, and 2HK girls. Had fun talking with them all. Matthias left. I checked out but am staying an extra night in secret. HK girls share a bed. Met matt & Diane from CND [Canada]. cool ppl.
I’ve actually been busy for once since I got back. I work for LA County’s Department of Mental Health. Be careful, you don’t want to see me between 8am and 4:30pm Monday-Friday or else it means you’ve got a problem…
Well enough of that, without further ado, I present to you Leon’s unedited (excluding punctuation and some grammar!) travel log:
9/15/2009
-Waited an hour to board, first flight to Asia on K-Air
-Best plane food ever, bibimbap, soup, pickled
-Stewardesses all cute
-10 hours to go
-Dinner not as good, seafood pasta
The good thing is, 4 hours later its ->
9/16
3pm: Lunch time again! No time for it though, on the way to Tokyo. Asian roofs & crop fields. Can’t believe I’m here. Trains fast. Not even on the shink yet. Train has a table to write on ^^. Japan has those stereotypical rivers you see in animu (ppl fish!). Any space not being used has FOREST on it. Saw skoogirl in uniforms train too fast + jailbait anyway. too bad. Having 2nd thoughts on Takamatsu & Fukuoka. If I don’t go this time, I’ll never go. Writing on a train is hard.
I saw an article on Jpn construction workers & their fashion. Just saw some. They’re freakin cool. For Castro-> I saw a Jpn crow looks, like USA crow. Cool drink machines. 3 hours to Osaka. I missed $5 ramen at Tokyo-eki b/c train was leaving when I got there. From the train, Tokyo doesn’t surprise me. Tokyo Station does, though. It makes Downtown LA’s Union Station look like a regular bus stop. Saw “Game Panic” 3 levels at Shin-yokohama. Tina, Maki, Yuri are out there somewhere. Kaz arriving on Friday. Office building called “Techno Center”. Gas station looks just like in “Initial D” . Its 6pm local time & I don’t have jetlag (yet). My sleep schedule is so jacked up. My bullet train is “old” but it goes 200mph. Its like recording a drive on the freeway shot from the side window on 4X FF. If only I could fly this fast…
Odawara has a Robinsons May. Everyone is sleeping. I want to but… I’ll miss the sights. Plus I’m hungry. I see a food stand like where GTO gets stuff from the principal. I need a shower. Too dark to see out now.. Dozing now not writing.
End 9/16
That day I arrived at Shin-Osaka at around 7pm, took a train to Osaka, then to Fukushima station. Got lost, asked for directions, walked a circle around a block, then found the hostel. Passed out at around 8:30pm
Street near hostel in Osaka
Where I had breakfast on the 17th. Too much carbs =X
Okay so I probably won`t have any photos to upload. Its really crowded and kind of scary here. The train and bus systems are quite confusing. The food is good though. Pretty cheap too. Photos and such when I come home, I guess…
Prepare to get flooded with posts! Unless of course, I can’t upload pics. Then prepare to call my bluff.