Fuji Q Highland!

(I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures, but I will provide pictures I've found online)

Last weekend me and two others went to Fuji Q Highland! For those who don't know what it is it's an amusement park located in Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture. It's actually close to where we are so we thought, "what the heck let's go!" and so we went! Fuji Q is one of the things that Yamanashi is known for (aside from Mt. Fuji). Compared to Six Flags (Magic Mountain) it's smaller. I've never ridden any of the bigger rollercoasters at Six Flags so I can't really compare the rides. Though, I can say, the rides that we rode were loads of fun!

Eejanaika Track

The first ride we took is known as ええじゃないか (Eejanaika). Which translates to "Isn't this great?" The name fits the ride perfectly! A lot of people compare it to X2. I've never ridden X2 so I have no say. I've heard that they're made by the same company (so don't say that it copied X2). Anyway, the line was long. We waited about 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was a long wait. What was interesting was that there were several tvs as you progressed through the line that showed a bunch of Fuji Q commercials featuring power ranger-like characters doing shenanigans around the park. Very amusing and just plain ridiculous lol The whole time we were in line I was freaking out a little because going to Fuji Q was actually a spontaneous decision for me. I didn't really plan on going, but I somehow ended up going. I was afraid of getting on the ride because, like I said, I've never ridden any big rides so this was like a huge step for me. I didn't know how the ride would be like at all. Well, when it was finally our turn the anxiety kinda went down a little, but I was still nervous. After putting our stuff in lockers and taking off our shoes we got onto the ride. When everyone were seated and secured the floor beneath us went down. At that point I knew there was no return. Btw, you go backwards on this ride.  Also, as you slowly make your way out workers wave and cheer for you (which I find quite amusing). We slowly ascended then soon the sits turn so that instead of looking at the sky you're looking at the ground and that's where the drop is. That part was super scary for me because as we dropped no air would go into my lungs. Basically, I couldn't breathe! That scared me so much, but after the drop I was able to breathe again, but the ride didn't calm down at all! Not only was the track crazy, but you're also moving around like crazy because the seats rotate the whole entire time! The whole time I was on that ride I screamed and laughed. I think I either laughed because I was laughing off the fear or I was laughing because it was totally not what I expected (I honestly didn't know what to expect lol). The photo taken with me on the ride shows me laughing lol (Writing about this makes me want to ride it again XD)

After we got off Eejanaika we took a small snack break then we headed out to our next ride. The next one we rode was Fujiyama. It's on the other side of the park so we walked there. The line was shorter for this one and we waited for about 40 minutes. While waiting I felt more ready since I just rode Eejanaika which was already crazy for me. After the ride I realized you can never be ready... at least for me lol The ride freaked me out while I was on it. Not as crazy as Eejanaika, but it was rougher. There were a lot of turns and hills. No rotations or anything, but the hills were tough cause everytime we ascend then descend at a steep slope that's when I have a hard time breathing. It was also the only ride where I kept thinking "is it over yet?" lol it was kinda long. It was completely not what I expected, though! I don't know why but I expected this ride to one of the smoother and calmer rides (I think it was cause the track on the brochure made it look that way) and was it the complete opposite lol it was still fun, though!

Right after we got off Fujiyama we went straight to the next ride. We were going to ride Takabisha, but saw that it was another 1 hour and 40 minute wait so we decided to check out the next ride, Dodonpa, first. The wait was about an hour long. Dodonpa is a very interesting ride. First of all, when you're in line outside you can hear the Dodonpa theme song where the only words you hear are "dodonpa" in very sensual voices. We couldn't help laughing every time we heard it lol It did get annoying after awhile especially when you're in line for more than an hour... So, let me tell you more about Dodonpa. Dodonpa has a speed of 172km/hr (about 106m/hr). It's not the fastest rollercoaster but I believe it has the fastest acceleration. It goes 172km/hr in 1.8secs!!! Let that wrap around your head. When I first heard about that I literally freaked out! I mean I've never been in such speed in such a freaking short time! Thoughts rolled through my head of how my body would take it  and stuff. Seriously, 172km/hr in 1.8secs?! Is that even safe?!?! Well, apparently since people ride it and still live lol It really isn't that bad really. When we finally got on the scariest part was the beginning. We were slowly rolled into a tunnel and the first thing I see to my left are lights. Not just ordinary lights, but those lights they have at races or something. Then all of a sudden you hear "Launch Time! 3...2...1... *beep* *beep* GO!!!!" and WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH you go. That first pitch felt like the first drop of the other rides I rode in which I couldn't breathe (seriously, every rollercoaster there was a point where I couldn't breathe which was probably the only scary part for me). The ride was able to maintain it's speed of 172km/hr. The ride also only took 60 seconds to complete despite the track going from one end of the park to the other. It was short, but man was it fun! I'd definitely ride it again! Actually, I wish I can go and ride it again right now XD lol

After getting of Dodonpa my two friends decided they wanted to check out the Haunted House before the park closes (For some reason businesses in Japan close way too early. Fuji Q closed at 6pm that day and we got there are 12pm and waiting in line took away a lot of time). I didn't want to go into the Haunted House so I decided to check out a gift shop. 10 minutes later I get a call from them saying that the Haunted House had closed at a few hours before because there were too many people. They were deeply disappointed by that. They plan on going again just to go into the Haunted House xP

It was about 4:30pm at the time and we decided not to ride Takabisha since the wait was too long and we wanted to get our money's worth from the Free Pass that we got. So, the next place we went to was the Gundam attraction called Gundam Crisis. I was super excited about this one because I love Gundam and that attraction was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Fuji Q. Honestly, I had no idea what the attraction is. I just saw that it was Gundam so I had to go lol We waited in line which was small actually. The attraction opened at 5pm. This wasn't a rollercoaster or anything. It's like a sort of game-type attraction. Basically, we were given these PDAs and they let us loose into these rooms where we had to find these small red screens where we had to scan with our PDA. We had to find data for rebuilding a gundam. We had to find leg, arm, body, head, etc data. People were just scrambling around trying to find the data we needed. I only managed to find the arm and leg data before we had to proceed to the next room. In the next room, there was the body of a gundam and there were computer screens surrounding it and in here you had to find the screen in which you can install the data you have in your PDA. You had to find the right one in order for it to install. There were also some that would delete your data. I had one of my data deleted. There were also red screens where you can get more data if you found the right one. If all the data were installed then we succeeded. I only managed to install two, but as a collaboration we managed to win. We ran into the Shelter Room where we watched what is supposed to happen because we fixed the Gundam. This attraction was actually really fun and really hectic! I'd play again since this time I actually know what I'm doing lol I didn't really know what I was doing when I was playing. I just followed people XD

The next place we decided to check out was Evangelion World. I'm not a fan of Evangelion, but one of my friends is so we went there next. We weren't sure what it was going to be and it turns out it was like a museum that had a bunch of Evangelion figures, drawings, a bunch of random stuff, and life size figures of the mechs (are they called mechs?) from the anime. It was pretty impressive. If you're a fan of Evangelion I think you'd really like this place (my friend sure did). Near the beginning there's a room where there's a chair and a desk that's lit up on the top. You can do the infamous pose (sorry I'm not exactly sure what they call it, but it's pretty popular). The pose that the main character's dad is known for. My friend did that and the picture she took was hilarous lol Like the real thing! but creeper lol. As we proceeded there were several places where you can take some good pictures. I found this one spot where there's a small bench and there's a cut out of a character (which I assume is one of those perverted characters) who has one leg on the bench and one arm resting on his leg and he's leaning over and looking as if someone was sitting there. So, I had the idea to go sit down on the bench and react to his pose in a "you're scaring me" kind of way. I had my friend take a picture and send it to me. My other friends seem to really like that picture lol and I do to. Every time I look at it I become highly amused. Now I know how anime girls feel like XD lol Not too far from where that was there was a life-size figure of the main Evangelion mech, which I believe is called Unit-01? It's not the entire body, but just the head and shoulders. There was a clip playing on the side. I think it plays parts from the anime/movie because the statue reacts to the clip like when they talk about how there seems to be something wrong with Unit-01 and smoke appears from the mouth and the eyes go crazy. I thought it was really impressive. My favorite part of the attraction (aside from taking a picture with the creeper cutout lol).

By the time we got out of the attraction we only had 15 minutes left before the park closes. Right next to Evangelion World was a ride called Pizza-la. Since we  had time to spare we decided to go ride it. There were only a few people in line so we didn't wait long. Actually, not even half the seats were filled when we were on it lol The ride is basically like those viking-ship rides that swing back and forth except this one has the sits rotating in a circle as you're swinging. I guess they call it pizza-la because it's circular like a pizza? Actually, I have no idea why they call it. I like to call it the Pizza ride lol also one of the Fuji Q commercials has one of those power ranger members trying to ride this one while holding a box of pizza. Get it? Riding Pizza-la with pizza? Well, I thought it was funny :P

So that ends our Fuji Q Highland Trip. Some things I forgot to mention: It was really cold that day despite it being blue skies. Riding the rides was even colder. I remember getting off each ride and have my throat feel cold and scratchy, but totally worth it. Also, every time you finish the ride and reach the end people clap and cheer for you. It actually feels good having people cheer for your lol So yeah, Fuji Q was awesome. More awesome than I expected! It makes me want to go ride the ones at Six Flags (what are the height restrictions anyway?). I'd definitely go back again :D It was so much fun! And I want to get a chance to ride all the rides! I highly recommend going there!

Also, some tips for those who want to go in the future:
1. It closes early and considering that lines will be long I suggest going at an early time. Arriving after 12 is probably too late. Especially when you purchase a Free Pass.
2. How the rides work here is you have to pay to ride each ride. That's why I suggest purchasing the Free Pass. It's the most expensive, but it allows you to ride any ride without having to purchase the tickets. You can totally get your money's worth. We sure did.
3. Bring a jacket! or something warm because it does get cold. I'm not sure if that's the same case during the summer, but probably not?
4. If you want to get your money's worth on the Free Pass I suggest riding the expensive rides first. The expensive rides are probably the funnest, too, so that shouldn't be a problem. Though, the lines are longer.

Fuji Q Highland may not be as big as Six Flags, but it sure is fun! I'm glad I went :D

Tea Ceremony and another day with the Host Family

Tea Ceremony
A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to participate in a tea ceremony. Something I've always wanted to do. It was an awesome and painful experience lol We had to sit in seiza for more than an our. If you don't know what seiza is it's a style of sitting where you basically sit on your legs. They sit like this because back then people often wore kimonos and similar attire and sitting in that position was the best way to sit.


Tea ceremonies are pretty complex. There are different steps that you have to take and there are a lot of minute details such as how you hold your cup, what you do before drinking, saying thank you and telling the person next to you that you are going to drink, etc. When we sitting there listening to the instructor, who was speaking only in Japanese btw, a lot of the information escaped my head since I can't retain information in Japanese very well. We were given instructions on paper, but they were in Japanese, too. So, I had to follow the people before me (thank goodness I wasn't first). A few mistakes here and there, but overall we were able to do it correctly and, aside from the pain from sitting down in seiza, it was a great experience! The tea was really delicious, too! The funny thing about this whole activity is people's reactions to sitting down in seiza. You can see the pain in people's faces lol when we were allowed to take a break from sitting down that way (the instructor knew that we would be in pain) a lot of people just sighed with relief. It was pretty funny lol I did the same thing.

The Tea ceremony activity was great. I'm really glad it was part of the program. I somewhat still remember the procedure, but I'll probably still make a mistake. Hope to have this opportunity again!

A Day with the Host Family
This past Saturday I spent most of the day with my host family. First we went to my host sister's basketball practice game. They didn't win, but it looks like they had a lot of fun! It was fun watching them. Reminds me of my sisters because they also play basketball. After the game we went to a restaurant close by where I had ramen and Chinese fried rice. It was delicious! We talked a lot while we were there, too. My two little host sisters wouldn't talk to me at first probably because they were shy, but they were able to talk to me with confidence later on.

After lunch we went to the public library in another town not too far from Tsuru. The library is a bit different from the ones in America. For one they have carts. I've never seen a cart in any library I've been, too. I thought that was pretty amusing. Well, I guess that was the only difference I saw lol it was nice being in a library, though. I was amused mainly by the children books mainly because I can understand them lol

After the library we headed back to their apartment where we proceeded to eat a bunch of snacks. I'm not kidding lol we just sat at the table and ate a bunch of cookies, chocolate, and senbei. Oh, before heading back from the library we did stop by a shop and bought these Japanese pudding snacks. Super delicious! My host mom bought 2 for me and I still have 1 in my fridge which I will eat later :D There are mochi versions of this snack, but I personally like the pudding ones better ^.^ After eating the snacks we watched tv for a bit and I talked with my host dad a lot. He seems to be really interested in America. When we were at the library he would show me books about America and ask me if they were accurate. Most of them were.

Before I left my host mom gave me some curry that she had made and persimmons ^.^ So much like a mom. I love her. I love my host family! I also told them I was going to Fuji Q Highland the next day so my host dad printed out a coupon for me and my host mom gave me a jacket that would keep me warm since they said it gets really cold their. There are so sweet <3 After that they drove me home.

Tokyo and Yokohama

Another Trip to Tokyo
Last Saturday I went to Tokyo to visit my friend since it may be the last time I see him. We were supposed to do some things I wanted (such as go to the zoo, go to this big park, go to a temple, etc), but that ended up getting ruined because it rained all day. He had told me that it would rain all day the day before, but I still went to Tokyo because I wanted to hang out. The day was still fun, though, despite the rain.

I got to Tokyo around 11am. The first thing we did was eat ramen at a ramen restaurant that he claimed to be really good. So, we went to a restaurant called Washo (I hope I got it right) in Sangenjaya near Shibuya. We arrived minutes before it opened and thank goodness, too, cause it's one of those small ramen shops so there were very many chairs and it would have sucked if we had to wait outside in the rain. The ramen was pretty expensive, but I gotta admit it was probably the best ramen I had since I came to Japan. Totally worth the money.

After lunch we went to Shibuya (still raining at this point). We first tried finding a place that sold bento boxes because I wanted to buy one. We ended up not finding much. Oh, almost forgot. When we got off the station at Shibuya we went to check out the Hachiko Statue that's right next to the station. If you don't know who Hachiko is I recommend looking up his story. One of the best true dog stories in my opinion. It's actually my favorite. My friend wasn't very excited about it because he comes to Shibuya a lot so he sees it a lot. I was a bit too excited when I saw it lol My friend then went and told me a sad fact about Akita Inus (which is the breed that Hachiko was). Apparently, because of the war a lot of people let their dogs go (I forgot why) and the dogs became feral so the government decided they would kill them. Only the rich people managed to hide their dogs and there ended up only being 24 left. I'm glad they didn't go completely extinct. (There's a little 2 cents for you).

After walking around Shibuya we decided to go to Akihabara to do a favor for a friend back in the states. When we got to Akiba (Akihabara, I will just be calling it that from now on since it's easier to write) we went straight to Kotobukiya which is one of the many buildings in Akiba. This building had a lot of anime/manga related stuff. We went upstairs to where the "Tales of" shop. It's just a small section on the second floor that sold merchandise from the Tales Of video game series (which is becoming one of my favorites). I couldn't get what my friend wanted, but was able to get something that would her happy. On the same floor there was a small section that sold Nyanko-sensei stuff. One of my favorite anime characters x3 I had to control myself from buying anything lol I already have like 3 keychains of him so I think that should be enough xP After we left Kotobukiya (still raining btw) we headed to the Sega building which is just an arcade building. We went there to look at the UFO Catcher games. While I was there I saw this really awesome Nyanko-sensei merchandise, but the game cost 200円 per game so I had to resist. Me and my friend ended up watching this guy try to get one of those huge cat-head plushies. How this game worked was you had to puncture holes on to a paper to the point where it just rips off and the prize falls. It's a lot harder than it sounds. We watched the guy for a long time. He didn't give up. He won it in the end. It sucked for my friend because he was gonna try it after the guy gave up, but he didn't. My friend says once you've spent a lot you won't stop knowing you're close. We left the Sega building and found another building that had those UFO Catcher games. I saw the Nyanko-sensei merchandise again, but this time the game was 100円 so I decided to try it. I had no idea how to win it and neither did my friend. We tried, but I think we ended up messing it up completely so I didn't end up winning it. I lost 1800円 trying, but I guess the experience was kinda worth it... I still think about that merchandise... After that we went to another building with those games. But we didn't stay too long. We decided to go back to Shibuya after that.

Back in Shibuya we walked around a bit. We stopped by a Book Off. We stayed there for a little bit. Then we went to a shop that I totally forgot was called. I found some really awesome bento boxes there. After looking around for a little while we met up with my friend's girlfriend then we went to eat Shabu Shabu for dinner! I was super excited especially after being bummed that I didn't get the Nyanko-sensei thing and that I wasted 1800円 trying. It was great having Shabu Shabu again. I made sure that I would have it one more time before I left Japan because I don't know if I'll even have the chance to have it back in the US. We went to a different place then the first time we had it together. It was all you can eat which was the best part! It was so good. I absolutely love Shabu Shabu! I also realized that Shabu Shabu's probably the most expensive meal I've ever ate. It's around $25. I totally think it's worth it, though. If I was rich I'd eat it every day lol

After dinner I said goodbye to my friends and headed to Kumarae which is where my other friends (who are also Tsuru exchange students) were. We booked the same hostel. When I got there, though, I got lost for like 15 minutes. The map the website had was completely off. I freaked out, too, because I kept calling them but no one was answering. Eventually, someone finally picked up and I was able to get to the hostel safely.
The next day we went to Sensoji temple and then Yokohama!

Senso-ji

 

  Before heading to Yokohama me and the other Tsuru exchange students decided to go to the Senso-Ji temple which is famous for it's large lanterns. When we got there it was really crowded. You had to carefully maneuver your way through people. At the gate there was a large lantern and behind that were a bunch of shops. That's also another reason why it was so crowded. The shops were lined up and the path between the shops were pretty narrow. And since this was a fairly famous temple it's no surprise that it would be crowded. I was just a little overwhelmed because I didn't expect it to be that crowded. We didn't check out all the shops, but saw some pretty nice ones. There was one shop that sold samurai swords (katanas), but of course they were insanely expensive. Pretty awesome to look at, though.  We eventually reached the end where the temple was. Before the temple was another large red lantern (pictured above). We didn't go directly into the temple, though. We took a little detour where there were more vendors. We also saw a monkey show. A monkey was doing a bunch of these tricks that were super cute and very impressive. I felt sorry for the monkey, though, because the whole time it had a rope lease one. I guess it was for the safety of the audience just in case the monkey suddenly went crazy. After watching the monkey we went into the temple. We ended up going through the wrong way, though, but we weren't the only ones so we didn't care lol Once you've seen a lot of temples it doesn't become as impressive, but still cool to look at. After we got out some of us went to buy some food. On the way out of the temple we stopped by a place that sold these really good snacks. I can't really describe it very well but it's like a fried snack. Sorry, I somehow really can't explain it... but it was delicious! When left Senso-ji we headed out to Yokohama.

Yokohama
We got off near where China Town was. It's probably random that we decided to go to China Town in Japan, but we desperately wanted to eat freshly made pork buns and apparently China Town had some really good ones. We walked through the street and checked out some interested shops. Most of the shops we looked through were kind a Indian and Hawaiian themed. We also went into a shop that sold panda-related stuff. After awhile we finally found the place that one of the exchange students went to when she came here with her host families. Honestly, I thought the price was high, but it sure was delicious! It's been so long since I had freshly made pork buns! So satisfying lol

After eating we headed out of China Town and walked to where the ocean was. It felt nice seeing the ocean again. It also was really cold lol All of us girls decided that we wanted to go to the ferris wheel so the only guy who was with us decided that he wanted to go check out the shops in China Town. The walk to the ferris wheel was really long. Also, at that point my feet were starting to hurt because we walked most of the day (and I stood up about half of the train ride to Yokohama). I don't remember how long the walk was exactly, but it was long. We got really excited when we finally made it to where the ferris wheel was. It was huge ferris wheel. Probably the biggest I've ever seen. It cost 1500円 to ride which is super expensive... but we wanted the experience so we bought tickets. The wait was a little long, but not too bad. When we finally got on the ferris wheel we got excited. The view from there was awesome. I thought it would be disappointing because it was dark, but it was actually really cool. The lights from buildings and other rides that were there were nice. It took 15minutes for the whole thing to go around. Definitely worth the experience. After the ferris wheel we made the long trek back to China Town.

We stopped by Starbucks before heading back into China Town. I bought maccha latte cause I love maccha. We stayed in starbucks until we finished our drinks (it was cold outside so we wanted to warm up a bit inside). The tables we sat at were checkered patterns so me and my friend decided to play checkers! lol we used 10 and 1 yen coins. People looked at us in either amusement or confusion lol it was fun XD After starbucks we headed back into China Town and checked out some more stores. The guy who was in China Town while we were at the ferris wheel told us that he found a shop where the entrance was a panda head and you walk though it's mouth. I thought that was pretty amusing so we went to to it. It's a lot cooler when you see it in person lol After that we headed back to the train station where from there we headed back to Tsuru.

1 Month Left

I have about one month left in Japan. Time really did fly by fast. I'm really sad that my time in Japan is coming to a close. I had so much fun and had so many great experiences while studying abroad here. Of course, there were also some downs and struggles. I'm excited to see my family and friends in the US again, but I will really miss the new friends I made here. I'm really glad I chose to study abroad despite the cost. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity. Plus, I got to spend time in a country who's culture I love so much. Looking back, I'm really glad I chose the Tsuru program. Even though it was short and it's in an inaka (rural area) it was still one of the best experiences of my life. I mean, I've done so much like climb Mt. Fuji, participate in a parade, participate in a tea ceremony, go to Kyoto, etc. I will never forget this experience and in the 1 month that I have left I hope to create more. When I go back to the US I'll continue to remember the fond memories I've had here. I just hope I don't suffer through withdrawals when I'm back in the US. I hope I don't end up crying on the whole plane ride back.

(In the next post I will write about my trip to Tokyo and Yokohama this past weekend)

Ghibli Museum!!!!

A few weeks ago I went to the Ghibli Museum!!! One of the most magical days of my life! For those who don't know what the Ghibli Museum is it's a museum that showcases various things from the works of Ghibli Studio. Miyazaki Hayao is the head honcho and is famous for creating most of Ghibli's works such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, etc. Unfortunately, photos are forbidden within the museum so I don't have much pictures to show. They believe that you must experience the museum with your own eyes and senses rather than through pictures. It's more fun admiring the place rather than taking pictures anyway ^_^

The museum is small. Smaller than I had anticipated, but still filled with so many awesome stuff. The place was super packed, too! I think it's like these all the time. (TIP: if you plan on going to the museum you must buy tickets ahead of time! I advise that you reserve a day/time at least a month in advise, 2 if you really want a specific date).

The museum is split in different sections. There's a room filled with these things. I don't even know what to call them really. They're like stop-motion things. These things would move in such a high speed it looks like you're watching an animation. It's really hard to describe. If you go there you'll see what I mean. That was my favorite part of the whole museum! There was also this cute little clip that showcases Evolution. There was a Cat Bus playground area where only little kids could play in (though I was tempted). There were also these rooms filled with original art and concept art drawn by Miyazaki himself. That was also my favorite. Just looking at his amazing art and seeing how movies were formed was awesome. I wanted to take them home >.<

Each visitor is given a ticket that they use to watch a 15-minute short which are exclusively shown at the museum. You can't watch it anywhere else. When I went in they showed a clip of this egg being that came to life with the help of an evil witch in order to be her servant. The egg makes friends with a dough of bread (yeah, sounds weird, but it's a Ghibli short :P) and they run away to get away from the witch. I won't spoil you there. You'll have to go to the museum to see it! That is if you end up watching that one. They have others, too. There was also a gift shop. Man was it super crowded! It was hard just maneuvering through the place. It was super small, too. There was so many awesome stuff in there. The stuff was pretty expensive, though... but that didn't stop me from buying a few things. I just had to control myself lol

The last spot that I checked out was the roof. That's where the infamous statue of the laputa robot from Castle in the Sky was. Unfortunately, it was already dark by the time I got up there (I would have gone earlier, but I had a hard time figuring out how to get there and got side-tracked). It was also raining a little that day. But that didn't stop me and my friend from taking a picture. We tried our best to get the robot in, but because it was dark we didn't get very good lighting. It was unfortunate, but we managed somehow ^_^

That's all I can write about the museum. I would write more, but it's simply difficult to find the right words for it. I'm a huge Miyazaki fan so this place was almost like heaven for me. I'll never forget the adventure I had here and maybe in the future if I ever go to Japan again I wouldn't mind going back! Maybe I'll get a chance to watch another short ;D But yeah the Ghibli Museum is simply amazing! If you ever go to Japan and especially if you're a fan of any of the movies I recommend that you go here. It's only 1000円! (About $12-13). It's definitely worth it! Even if you haven't seen the movies I still suggest you check it out. It's a very beautiful place filled with awesome art. When you're in Japan don't miss this opportunity!

Halloween Party!

Last Friday we had a Halloween Party! And it was fun! Now, it's probably not a party you are thinking of (or is it?). There was no dancing, drinking, or some other stuff  you see at parties. Instead, it was more like a little get together thing where we spent most of the time playing games and chatting with each other at the tables we sat at. I'll explain more in detail...

The party was held at the school cafeteria (probably why there was no alcohol, though, some people did pre-game before). All the female exchange students had bought kigurumis (animal onesies) and wore those as our costumes. They are the best thing ever, btw =3 I still wear mine around my apartment XD One of the guy students dressed up as a nanpa man (lol) and another dressed as a ninja. The one other guy didn't dress at all. The tutors also dressed up! There was a basketball ref, a vampire, a witch (I think? haha), one of the guys dressed as mario, oh and a couple of the tutors also had kigurumis! There was a tiger, kappa, stitch (my tutor was stitch x3), and chip! (from chip and dale). So adorable x3 Actually, we weren't the only ones wearing kigurumis. Some of the Japanese students who came also had kigurumis! (Quite popular lol). There was a Halloween Stitch (just a black-colored stitch with some halloween features), pikachu, a Japanese mascot that I totally forgot the name of. Half the people who were there were wearing kigurumis XD lol but of course there were other interesting costumes as well! Some people painted their faces. There was a zombie santa XD hahaha

When the party started we all had to sit down on the tables which were split up to have 6 people at each table. We exchange students had to split up so we could talk with the others more. I ended up at a table with 3 people I already knew lol but it was nice talking to the Japanese students who sat at our table =D I love meeting people! They were super nice ^_^ 4/6 of us had kigurumis XD lol

After chatting with the people at our table the first event started. The first thing we did was play a marshmallow game. Basically, how it works is there are marshmallows that are tied so that they are hung. You split into teams according to our tables. The object of the game is to eat the marshmallows without using your hands. I didn't volunteer to participate because the marshmallows were tied a bit too high for me so I wouldn't be able to reach them XD Actually, I  helped tie the marshmallows and I even tied it way above my reach. I even tried jumping and I couldn't reach them lol oh the sad life of being short XD but it's ok. I took pictures which was fun :)

After the marshmallow game we sat back at our respective tables and continued to chat while the next game was set up. So, the next game I'm not really sure what it's called, but it's basically where two people wrap toilet paper around one person. The objective of the game is to be the first ones to completely cover your partner in toilet paper. Naturally, I volunteered back I'm small hahaha One of my friends said we were cheating because I was the one being wrapped XD she's way taller than me hahaha but the referees didn't say anything. I don't think we ended up winning anyways. Actually, I don't think I ever found out who one lol Being the one getting wrapped was easy. I just stood very still while my partners wrapped me. It seemed they had trouble at first because the toilet paper we used were bought at the 100円 shop (~$1) so they pretty flimsy and weak, but they managed to make it work! They also had to wrap my head so I couldn't see throughout most of it. There was a little opening that I was able to see through and all I could see were people watching. I don't think they noticed that I could see them lol After it was done everyone who was wrapped ended up getting bombarded by photos lol I guess it was pretty amusing haha

The last game we played was pinata! This was actually the first time for most of the Japanese students. This is also the first time they've heard of it! I was surprised. They were surprised when I told them it's quite a popular game in America. It looked like they  had a lot of fun watching since most of the people who participated were exchange students and the tutors lol The pinata was made by two exchange students, btw. They did a really good job! Maybe a little too well lol After everyone who volunteered hit it candy still didn't fall out lol so one of the ones who made it just ripped it open and let all the candy fall. Most of the Japanese students didn't capture the idea that you're supposed to run and grab as much candy as you could lol They actually took a little while to get to where all the candy was and in the end there was still candy left over on the ground XD So, naturally, I grabbed as much of the leftover as I could lol They looked like they still had fun, though! Wait to they actually see kids play it and how crazy they get when the candy falls hahahaha

Before we ended the party the exchange students and tutors had a surprise for the other students. Thriller Dance! I didn't participate because I suck at dancing :P Instead, I played as DJ (ok so I just pushed the play button on the ipod) and photographer. The idea of doing the dance only came a couple of days before the party and I'm sure they didn't practice all at once. But it was still fun to watch! Especially when more than half the people dancing were wearing kigurumis lol