ugh travel

whatta weekend ne (that means “…right? guys??” in japanese, more or less, for yall outta the know)

just some notable things in a couple notable days:

*hanshin tigers game! the best of american culture + the best of japan = basically the best ever. okonomiyaki and chilli dogs, finding out the ichiban kawaii Asahi girl also goes to Gaidai, the symbolic balloon shit in the 7th inning, explaining everything to the german and french people who have no idea what’s going on, all of it was the best.

*the basic rules of cricket! after a 40 minute lecture, i now know how to watch cricket and hypothetically enjoy it (ideally, on the radio while you get a tan and do more important things over the course of five days)

*translation! telling the waitress I wanted a margerita and getting a pizza (whose entire size was smaller than a single Gino’s slice).

*european-rules football! wow so many sports in one day! germans vs english! goooooooo lesser of two evils!!!

*wakayama! not all Japanese beaches are backdoor gateways to hell like oiso “beach.” shirahama beach is the tits. saltwater onsens are spicy as fuck. 5/5 would go again.

*”japanese grand canyon!” totally unlike the actual grand canyon but still pretty cool. made me want to see the cliffs of ireland more than anything

so altogether pretty good penultimate weekend.

just one more thing to imminently miss about japan

late night japanese television post-programming: videos of trains accompanied by pleasant muzak, followed by wildebeests grazing by kilimanjaro. sure beats infomercials.

the wee hours

the only time when kansai gaidai internet works! wooooooooo mandatorily late study sessions!!!!

unrelatedly, the absolute highest esteem of “Honorary Nigga [sp]” was officially bestowed upon me by perhaps the most highly respected force in the African-Japanese community. i could not be prouder.

more relatedly, i need to learn how to speak patois, then teach random japanese people how to speak patois too. bumbaclots beware.

post-sakura reality will be hellish.

KANSAI GAIDICE

places diced:

*CIE lounge

*In the alley outside the McDonalds

*In both cafeterias

*Yamadaike park

*Cafe Mono

*Arashayama

*Seminar House 3

*and many more!

UP-DICE-DATE.

*Shinsaibashi, in front of the conbini with a bunch of tokyo-habituated gaikokujin who were finally understood the joy of cee-lo as muh as we did. they outrolled us so bad we gave them the dice out of respect. RIP.

this is tangentially related to my study abroading because of puns

jai paul (get it? paul?? that’s my name) and japandroids (i’m in japan; laugh!) are two awesome artists who just came out with two awesome songs that you should listen to instead of doing more productive things with your day. or while you do productive things, like buying clothing or building soup kitchens. good soundtracks to both activities. i dunno. just listen to them.

stream dem through pitchfork:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/13363-the-house-that-heaven-built/

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/13378-jasmine/