One month deep: I'm hungry...

Konbanwa everyone!

Well, I've now officially been in Japan for one month. I can't believe how fast time is flying by, but I am definitely feeling the absence of my loved ones (and of American food). Let's get started!

This week I did a bunch of really pretty things--Thursday night we went to the Harvest Moon Festival at Shimogamo Temple, and then Saturday and Sunday I went to different places in Kyoto. 

Shimogama Temple, Kyoto

Thursday at Shimogamo Temple, a quick 30ish minute ride away, was the Moon Festival! It was really quite pretty--the moon was big and orange, the priestesses were all out, crowds of families were praying...it was nice. Saw a bunch of foreigners and fellow gaijin, said a prayer or two, saw a Rastafarian Japanese guy...yeah, that about concludes that. We went out exploring throughout that section of Kyoto, but since it was a Thursday night and everything in Japan closes early as the dickens (a point to be made later), there wasn't much to do. We found an indoor shopping mall about 20 minutes from the station we originally arrived at, found a Baskin Robins, and feasted on that, saying thank you to the Gods of ice cream for still being open. How I missed thee, chocolate ice cream and cookie dough. Mmm.

Heian Temple, Kyoto

Heian Gardens, Kyoto

Saturday we went to Kyoto and saw the famous Heian Temple. It had a sprawling courtyard and very pretty shrines, but the main feature is the gorgeous Japanese style gardens. They were so well-maintained, green, and peaceful. (On a side note, I didn't mind the $6.00 admission fee, but for a bigger family this would be hard to justify spending a lot on.) There were fish that seemed to respond to clapping (and would come up from out of the water to see what was going on), turtles swimming around, but...no birds? I see surprisingly few birds here in Japan, aside from the little ones that hop around and from the big ugly crows. I'm living in a suburb, so you'd still expect to see more birds than not. And no squirrels yet. Only a few ducks, and a little heron-like-bird. I'm just saying, it's kinda weird.

After this temple, we rode the bus back over to the main street in Kyoto, near the geisha district, and went shopping. For various reasons I wasn't really feeling so good, so after eating and meandering around the streets for an hour or so, I headed home early. I did some much-needed cleaning and laundry, always a good way to release stress.

Heian Gardens, Kyoto

Heian Gardens, Kyoto

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto

Sunday I went to Kyoto with Mari for a girls day. After a long trek up a never-ending souvenir-shop-lined mountain road, we visited Kiyomiza Temple, probably the most famous temple in Kyoto. It really was extremely pretty, and I'm sure it's even more beautiful in the fall with the changing leaves, and in the spring with the cherry blossoms. I liked this one enough that I might even go back to see it when the leaves change. We'll see. Anyway, located immediately behind this temple is Jisho Shrine, a famous love shrine. This had a lot of really cute love-related charms available, and was crazy crowded. I put in my investments for a happy love life, said a prayer or two at the "wish for anything" shrine, and we made our way back down the mountain.

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto--view from the top

"Wish for anything" Shrine

This rabbit is a messenger of the Gods, at the Jisho Shrine.

We shopped around Kyoto for places to eat, and eventually decided to have me try some omurice, which is essentially just an omelet stuffed with rice and various other things (depending on what flavor you get). I got the "Italian" version, which had cheese, mozarella sauce, ham, mushrooms, and onions. It was pretty good, definitely unbelievably filling--good considering it was only $6.00, and it counted as my lunch and dinner. Mine was an "ss" size (extra small), and it was STILL enormous...buyers beware. We did some shopping at the local malls, found some body lotion for me (finally!), and called it an early night.

Today was another national holiday, so I've spent today studying my Japanese, applying for the State Department internship for this coming summer (fingers crossed for me!), and mostly just being a bum. Sometimes you just need a nice, calm lazy day. Especially when financial aid is taking forever to give you your loan and money is wearing thin...(>_<) .

 

My omurice, an "Italian" style one.

Random thoughts: Things close early in Japan--usually stores start closing up around 7, sometimes 8. This includes ATMs, stores, everything except conbinis, bars, and restaurants. Oh yeah, did you catch that? ATMs...with hours. Most ATMs, especially the post office ones (the only ones that accept my Visa+ card for whatever dumb reason), have specific hours, and aren't even open on national holidays or on Sundays. Instead of just having the machine be outside, available for use at whatever time, the majority of banks have their ATMs closed off inside little rooms. Truly, this seems to defeat the whole purpose of a convenient ATM to me, but...whatever. Therefore, in a country where cards are generally not accepted well, anywhere, you better make sure you always have cash out hidden somewhere in your house at all times. Or else.

Japanese people don't wash their dishes in hot water very often. It was a totally new concept we introduced a lot of our RAs to, that hot water actually helps break up the grease and gunk. Maybe this is done to save money in houses, or maybe they just want their hot water to be used only for their baths. Whatever it is, who knew.

Japanese fashion...it's...different. Almost every girl wears heels and dresses fancy daily, regardless of how far they're walking (or biking). Wedges, platforms, kitten heels, stiletto heels--you name it, I've seen them wearing it.  They throw stuff together and (usually) make it work for them somehow. If they aren't dressed fancy in a girlish way, they're dressed like they just stepped out of an 80s American flick--all neon colors, ski caps with bad "Engrish" written on them, and leg warmers. There's the "gangsters", who wear the "NY 4 LIFE" ski caps and baggy pants (that's a thing here for girls, who would have imagined). Lots of outfits that catch you off guard. Guys can be equally strange, fitting into any of these categories, and with their underwear hanging out sometimes, too! Tragic that out of all the trends going on in the US, that's one of the ones who made it over here.

School uniforms are pretty cute. If they offered uniforms that looked like these ones here, maybe I wouldn't have had (as) much of a problem with the concept in the US. I'm just sayin'.

People get home way too late. I'm not sure if I've talked about this yet, but you can be on the train at 8pm any day of the week (weekends included), and students are on their way home, and men and women are on their way back from work. Considering that most people have at least an hour commute home (minimum), the fact that they're getting off from clubs or work this late is insane--this, combined with their strict rules and kind of standoffish way of showing emotions (or, ya know, not showing them), it's no surprise they have such crazy high suicide rates. Their school systems might be a lot more effective than ours, but I think there's still a lot they could learn from the rest of the world about the importance of family and relaxation...

For those of who love one-stop shopping as much as I do, watch out when you come to Japan. Sure, you can easily pick up a lot of your "little things" at the conbini, or do all your grocery/cleaning supplies shopping at the suupa, but don't expect to be able to find your medicines, or a wide range of makeups/beauty products, as it's limited to next to nothing at the grocery stores. I suppose this would be like just having Publix's and 7-Eleven's and cancelling out the Target's and Walmart's and Sam's Clubs and all the other glorious things we have, but I wish they had at least ONE place for one-stop-shopping. I'm mostly upset about having to hunt around for pain medicine, as I've been tearing through my bottle of Ibuprofen this week, and haven't been able to find anything more than cough drops (at the conbini) and ice packs (at the suupa). No Benadryl, no body lotion (that's found at the kusuri and beauty, a kind of Walgreens store), no headache relievers. And, when I had my cold the second week of being here, all of the cold medicine I could find have caffeine in them so that people can use it before going to work. Clearly not what you want to relieve your coughing and congestion before bed.

And on that, I think I'll call it a wrap. Nothing too crazy or poetic to say this week, I'm too flat-out exhausted still. I hope everyone is doing well, and knows I miss them and I love them.

Dreaming of potato soup and baskets of chicken wings,

Katie

Old fashioned Coke bottles.

As long as there is one, I can survive.

Moon festival charm.

Stitch gummies. So cute.

Stuff at some international foods store

Whitening cream. Wut.

Grape jelly juice--literally like sucking jelly through a straw.

Das a lotta alcohol.

Do you know how short you'd have to be to fit this?

My half of the room.

A purse in Kyoto. I lol'd.

PETA-like activists in Kyoto.

Lulz.

One of my RA's dinner. Augh.

McDonalds medium size drink. Wut.

Sally and I saying hey from Japan!(:

Week three: things are...different.

Konnichiwa everyone,

Well, I'm rapidly approaching my first full month of being in Japan. Time has flown by, and I get the creeping sensation that I'm going to have to toss some things from my Japan bucket list. So much to do, and yet so little time...

Last weekend was our first three day weekend! Woo! On Friday we went out to karaoke, Saturday we went to Nara, Sunday we went to a festival in Kishiwada called Danjiri Matsuri, and on Monday we had ourselves a calm typhoon day.

Karaoke!

Karaoke was a pretty darn good deal at a local bar--2,000 yen (roughly $20) for 3 hours of karaoke and nomihoudai, or all you can drink. Japanese drinks do seem a lot less potent than drinks in the US, and not just the liquor, some places even the sodas taste watered down (a little ridiculous considering there aren't any refills). I just kept pointing at the vodka section of the menu and the Kahlua Milk and saw what showed up. Most things were decent, considering I was spending $20 for probably around 10 drinks. The nomihoudai's don't have straight shots though, just mixed drinks...understandable, because I'm sure some of these men could clear through a bottle pretty quickly. Overall great time with some really good friends.

Outside of Todaiji Temple

This weekend I also saw several transvestites, or fukusō tōsaku-sha, walking around. I saw one at karaoke, and another at the train station. Fukuso are apparently fairly common in Japan, and has almost become commonplace in bigger, more "eccentric" cities like Tokyo and Osaka. So far, they haven't been as flamboyant as your average US transvestite or cross-dresser, but it is something that catches you off guard in the sea of white-shirt-black-pants.

Saturday we went to Nara and visited Todaiji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is by far the most beautiful temple I have been to yet, just something beyond words. We stepped inside the Great Buddha Hall, faced with this massive Buddha, known as Daibutsu (great Buddha). It is the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world, and pictures from my camera simply don't do it justice. And we, as a group from mixed backgrounds, both ethnic and religious, were completely taken aback and lost for words. Regardless of religious affiliation, and apart from several of the temples and shrines I've visited while I've been here, this has truly been the most spiritual place I've been, maybe in my entire life. When you stop and look up at Buddha, this overwhelming combination of peace and insignificance comes over you...but somehow gives you a sense of your significance to the cycle of the world. Truly, it was incredible.

Before the entrance to the Great Buddha Hall

Daibutsu. Absolutely beautiful.

Deer at Nara!

After making our rounds around the temple, we headed out to the grounds, which are covered in deer. Sika deer are regarded as messengers of the Gods in Shintoism, and therefore roam freely around Nara. They are SO CUTE. Lord, I miss petting animals, so anything at this point is a healthy outlet. Anyway! They're everywhere, and you can pay to feed them. When I fed them, there was a little jerk one which was biting the others (and me) to try to get the bread, so I withstood the biting (my arms, my stomach, my shorts, my shirt...) so I could feed the nicer one. Heh heh heh. Karma works daily, little deer...

After Todaiji Temple, we walked around Nara and visited several of their other famous shrines and temples. All of it was beautiful, and my next favorite was the Nigatsu-do Temple, because of how pretty the view was from the top. So refreshing after a hot day walking around.

Nigatsu-do Temple

Nigatsu-do Temple, one of the great temples of Nara

Danjiri Matsuri, Kishiwada

Disgusting Japanese toilet. Found this online but this is it. /evil

Sunday we went to a festival at Kishiwada (about an hour and a half outside of Hirakata) called Danjiri Matsuri, where they create floats and run a track through the town as fast as they can. Unfortunately, it was raining, so they weren't able to go as fast as they normally do, but it was still pretty awesome. I have a video on Facebook which I'll try to link to if I remember. My day had a damper on it not because of the rain, but because of the UNBELIEVABLE STRUGGLE TO FIND A NORMAL TOILET, sweet LORD. No porto-potties, McDonalds had theirs blocked off/shut down, all the conbini's had theirs for Employees Only, and the one train station had crowded, smelly, disgusting squatter toilets. In this country, which produces the incredible Toto toilets--bidets for the front and the back, heated seats, water sounds--you get the option of either a Toto toilet...or a hole in the ground. It simply blows my mind to have these kinds of extremes, and I've noticed a lot of Japanese people that will wait in line for the "Western Toilet", even if the squatter "toilet" is available. Why in the world they stick to these kinds of toilets I have no IDEA, and it isn't because they're old facilities--even in the new ones they build, like at my university, they put an equal amount of normal toilets and holes. I just don't understand. I was finally able, after 4 hours of having to pee (standing in the rain), to find a bathroom (at this point I was willing to squat if I could just find it, but luckily it was one that I could sit on even, huzzah!) at a hotel that allowed me to use theirs on the first floor. Thank God.

Monday (well, actually we got sweeps of it Sunday too, hence the rain all the day before) was Typhoon Man-yi struck the mainland on Sunday (closer to Tokyo and the east coast of Japan), with gusts of more than 100 miles per hour, and apparently doubled the region’s annual rainfall. This is the second typhoon since I've been here, and as a Floridian I never take these things too seriously unless it's at least a category 2 or 3. However, as we learned in 2005, often it isn't the wind that puts down the hurt, it's the rain. Japan seems to do a good job breaking up the storms with their mountains, but it does leave them with a lot of rain, which it seems they don't handle so well. There's a river near where I live, and normally it's calm, flowing but fairly low and not very fast. On Monday morning when I headed out to the post office, it was rushing, a full-on white-water-rapids kind of flow, and a lot more filled. There was flooding in Kyoto, but nothing incredibly serious, and there were three deaths caused from the storm. We had plans to go out, but since the trains closed until mid-afternoon due to flooding on some tracks and cities, we called it a typhoon day and just relaxed. There was also a minor earthquake while I was sleeping my first week, at 3am, which I completely slept through. No shaking other than that so far.

My random observations of the week:

Japan works on a lot of "honor systems", something so different from the US that I think it deserves a little talking point. At the train stations, you buy your ticket, put it through the machine, and continue through. Now, at most train stations there aren't gates blocking the entrance/exit (they're the same machines)--possibly done just to save time when there's big crowds--and they just have a guard at the end in a booth watching when people go through. So you're supposed to hold on to your ticket when the machine spits it back out and insert it in the machine again when you get off the train, and this is a good system for a few reasons. First because there's times where you get off before where you bought your ticket for (something we've done twice now), and with that you can go up to a machine or to the ticket watchers and get refunded the money you didn't spend. Second, you don't have to spend your time spinning through those super-germy nasty metal rotating gates like at most US public transportation places. This can also be bad though, because if you lose your ticket then you have to either go through and hope they don't notice, or walk up to them and apologize for losing your ticket (and hope they trust that you actually bought one in the first place). As a foreigner, you kind of have to assume they won't believe you, will wave you through, but will talk smack about you later. So that's something to keep in mind when you use the transportation here.

Also on the subject of transportation, they have parking attendants at almost every parking lot. I thought maybe it was just because it was a big business by my school that had it, but even the 100 Yen store (Dollar Store) had a parking attendant, so I asked my Japanese friends about it. Apparently most businesses hire one to avoid any problems with parking, and I guess this could contribute to the lack of dented and scratched cars they have here (because it definitely isn't due to their "safe driving", pft).

I think that about wraps up that time. I'll take pictures of my dorm and school eventually, and do a post on that perhaps, but time will tell. Other than that, classes are good, nothing too crazy. We have another holiday this Monday but I'm not sure what exactly we're doing this weekend since Tokyo was all booked up. I just finished booking my trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima the weekend of October 11th (another three day weekend), and now I have to get onto booking for Tokyo.

I'm so incredibly blessed with my life and all the people in it, and for everyone I know who is struggling with something right now, know I'm praying for you, not just on a daily basis but at every shrine and temple I visit. You are always in my heart and in my mind.

Until next time, ja mada!

<3

Feeding the deers. Vicious little things.

Drums.

Hilarious grandma abuse.

At Todaiji Temple.

Ramen!

Delicious, Heaven-sent butter chips. Mmm.

Japanese Poop Humor

Weeks one and two: Learning Curves

This blog will definitely be a challenge to keep up if the rest of my semester is anything like my first two crazy weeks in Japan.

Week one: after the initial weekend (and my first blog post), we had almost nonstop school-related events and things to accomplish. This included residency cards for immigration, opening bank accounts (such a tedious, anal process), trying to figure out a phone situation (accomplished two weeks later), registering for classes, and tons of orientation talks, covering everything from health and safety to adjusting to life in Japan. I've made some good friends in the first week, and I'm excited for the semester ahead of us.

Kyu-gushu (garlic beef skewers) and yaki-onigiri (fried rice ball)

My first week was filled with exploring Hirakata and trying to get a solid grounding of the place I'll call home for the next four months. Osaka is known for having a massive gathering of food cultures, from Italian and Indian to classic Osaka staples such as takoyaki (fried pancake squid balls), okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes with whatever meat you chose) and yakiniku (grilled meat skewers). The first thing I'll say is that the Japanese truly love their mayonnaise. Seriously. You can get mayo on your chicken, pork, fish, or even just on your rice. Surprisingly, it isn't as disgusting as it may sound, because their mayo is a little different from America's, a little less tangy and thick, more creamy and...plain, perhaps? Whatever. Everything tastes different here--the milk is sweeter (maybe less pasteurization, smaller containers, quicker expiration dates?), the eggs kind of have a more cheesy taste, and the juice...well, tastes like the fruit it has a picture of. McDonald's (yes, I've eaten it here...frequently...don't judge me) burgers and nuggets taste like meat, and the fries have less salt. Everything has less salt, actually (and that's coming from someone who doesn't have a very salt-heavy diet).

Kanpai!

As you walk down the streets of Japan, they are dotted with red lanterns, like guiding lights on the horizon. These are the infamous lights of Japan's izakaya's (bars). Most of them are intimate spaces, to say the least, seating six to ten people max. Most of Japan's bars are open until 3am, and have fairly reasonably (if not watered down) priced drinks. We've managed to find a few places, and I've bought several legal drinks now (woohoo 20!), although no one, and I mean no one has been ID'd anywhere we've gone. They are much more lax on their alcohol laws than they are on their cigarette laws apparently--there are designated smoking areas, but drinking alcohol in public is legal (it is weird walking down the street past people standing around drinking). Also, on the topic of beverages, free refills aren't a thing here in Japan. Of course, like America, alcoholic beverages and some fancy drinks aren't refillable, but soda? Nope, soda has to be repurchased, even at fast food places like McDonald's. Can you believe that? SODA! I've added to my rather short list of things that irritate me here.

Conveyer belt sushi! ...I ordered fries.

We've tried (well, I have tried some, or let others try for me and let me know how bad/good it is) a lot of food since we've been here.  We've gone to the conveyer belt sushi, skewer restaurants, takoyaki stands, buffets, and festivals. Food is crazy expensive though...actually, nix that, everything is expensive here. If it were American sized and cost what it did, it'd be normal, but it isn't--they are tiny, costly portions. A carton of milk (NOT a gallon) is $1.80, an 8-slice pack of cheese (any kind) is, at the cheapest I've been able to find, $1.75. The list goes on and on. Packs of sandwich ham, 4-slices, $2.50. Box of cereal (store brand, not "value size"), $3.80. I know, I know, you have to "live like a local" to be able to live cheaply in a foreign country because the local diet is the cheapest, but even the frozen rice items are still expensive. Just so you guys know I'm not exaggerating, this is the Cost of Living comparison between Osaka and Orlando: Consumer prices in Orlando are 27.54% lower than Osaka overall, groceries prices in Orlando are 13.2% lower than Osaka, and local purchasing power in Orlando is 4.21% higher than in Osaka.

Looks like chemicals, tastes like heaven.
Melon soda!

Truly, this is what kills you about Japan. Just the sheer cost of everything. Taking the bus from my dorm (or from my school for that matter) to the main train station costs $2.80, per way, which quickly adds up...
...hence why we've been walking everywhere we possibly can to avoid the little fees that add up. It is a mile and a half walk from my off-campus housing (which, on a side note, is really nice--clean, comfortable, modern--SO much nicer than any Florida college dorms, I'll say that) to my school, Kansai Gaidai. From there, it's another mile and a half to Hirakata Station, the main station you have to leave from if you want to go places. As an out-of-shape Floridian who never has to deal with walking places, or even going up hills, much less mountains, this walk can be rough in this muggy/rainy/hot/chilly weather. Typhoon season has been screwing with the usual temperatures apparently, because after its been pouring in the afternoon, it often gets chilly in the late afternoons and evenings, dropping down to the low 70s. I might die on these walks when it gets cold, we'll have to see how I manage to hold up...

On the densha (train) on the way to Kyoto

Before I forget to mention it, the train stations, buses, and even the subways are clean, not smelly, and you aren't afraid of getting mugged the second you step on to them. It's so completely different, and it makes public transportation actually not that intimidating of a concept. A lot of the train and subway stations have English on the boards, which makes traveling (with a map) not that difficult. They're all so quiet, even when my Japanese friend says a group of people are being loud (loud "Osaka people"), they have nothing on how loud a typical American subway is on a Friday night. I had to whisper on the first train we took to Osaka because you could have heard a pin drop. If these are the loud Osaka people, I can't imagine how silent the Tokyoites are.

Kyoto's famous Yasaka shrine

Statue outside of a restaurant in Kyoto

Walking around Osaka!

There's so much shopping to do everywhere you go. On the first official weekend (August 31st), a few friends and I went to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. We saw one shrine before it started raining and we headed off to one of Kyoto's famous shopping areas for shelter. They have these massive covered shopping strips, just one line of shops that goes beyond where the eye can see, from baby clothes to restaurants and cafes to 100 yen stores and more. Randomly as you walk along, you'll stumble by shrines, some generating lines of people waiting for them (depending on what it's meant for). This weekend I'm going back to Kyoto to see more of the shrines and temples and do the more scenic route, so I'll have more on that later.

So much porn stuff...

On an odd note, man there's a lot of porn here. It's hard not being able to read the majority of their signs as you walk around stores, because before you know it, you've stumbled into yet another porn section. These really are everywhere. Manga/book stores, movie stores, conbini's, you name it, it seems like everywhere has one sex-related area. Men stand around at these spots shamelessly looking at the vibrators/dildos/pornographic material, and it is weird having to walk past them, nonchalant.

Pachinko in downtown Osaka

Pachinko's are casinos that aren't really casinos here in Japan, rumored to be typically run by the yakuza, Japan's largest and most notorious gang. Gambling is illegal here, but this is a loophole in that rule (something various companies have been trying to work around in the US). Users trade money in for tokens, play with them, and then when they win they receive coins back. From what I've been able to make out, you take this to a side area (outside the pachinko) for money directly or for a prize, which you then take to a pawn shop to sell. Anyway, Osaka is littered with pachinko's, and when they're open they're bumping with people. Just an odd little side quandary.

Also, for one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, free WiFi in Japan is all but impossible to come across. This sucks (another on my list of things that have annoyed me), because coming from somewhere where you can have whatever amount of devices on the WiFi around places to a complete inability to use any of your devices at all? Rough. I recommend figuring out a phone or WiFi situation ahead of time if possible unless you plan on living like a caveman for the duration of your stay in Japan. Just this week I signed a contract for a mobile hotspot device called WiMaxx through AU. For unlimited data and unlimited devices, it includes a $100 contract break fee (one year contracts ONLY in Japan for anything more than an expensive "daily" plan for short-term visitors), a $30 down payment for the 1st month+the device, and it's roughly $38 a month, but there was a special deal going on where they threw in a free tablet worth about what the contract break fee is (an Android tablet which looks a lot like my Nexus 7).

Friends in Osaka :)

Fruit on a stick! Local festival.

(September 7th) A big group of friends and I went into the heart of Osaka. It was a whirlwind of delicious food (okonomiyaki), shopping, and crazy sights. The signage is crazy, there's so much food, so many lights, so many people, and so much to do. We went to the Pokemon Center in Osaka Station, which is like a city in and of itself--it's ENORMOUS, truly. Then we headed out for the outdoor shopping areas of Namba, Shinsaibashi, and Dotonbori (three massive shopping strips which back up to each other). I'm excited to go back and see more of what Osaka has to offer.

Now for the school related stuff (gez, this will be brief)...after the opening ceremony Monday, September 2nd, we officially began classes. I'm registered for four classes at 14 credit hours--the Dynamics of Modern Japan, Pacific Rivalry, Japan and Globalization, and Japanese 2G. My professors seem nice, and my classes seem to have a lot of really cool field trips, which I'm pumped for. There are 378 students studying at Kansai Gaidai this semester representing 34 countries and regions, from the US to Latvia to Kenya, and I'm excited to be able to meet not just other Japanese students but also the students from around the world, and even the other students from across the nation.

I'll leave it at that for now, and leave y'all with a bunch of pictures instead of my blabbing. Until next time!

<3

Okonomiyaki: batter grilled on a hot plate with diced cabbage, whatever meat/seafood you choose (we got one with pork, one with shrimp, and one with both), eggs, and whatever else. The one in the middle was a cheese/pasta one, and I think two of them had other pasta in it. Then it's topped with a special sauce and mayonnaise. Pretty tasty.

Taiyaki--Waffle outside, cream inside. Mm.

Awesome signage in Osaka

So many lights. Namba, Osaka

Glinco sign, Osaka!

Pizza place in downtown Hirakata, fairly decent
Gotta love bad English shirts.

Ninja Buffet, Kyoto

Gaming out with the Taiko Drums.