This is the best blog post ever. Read
it all of the time!!!
Karaoke!!!
Yes, karaoke does get its own section
of this post because it is that amazing!!! I have done karaoke many
times since coming here, and I don't think I could ever get sick of
it (however, if I do it too often I will definitely not have a
voice). The English song selection is great (although no Laffy Taffy
unfortunately) and when I learn how to read hirogana and katakana
faster than 1 word every half an hour (slightly exaggerating) I will
definitely sing Japanese songs as well! I am glad that I was placed
with other people who aren't afraid to make fools of themselves so we
can just dance and sing and have a good time. Karaoke is best when
the songs are acted out dramatically, especially when the songs are
“Unbreak my Heart” and “I Want it That Way”. Others of my
favorite songs to sing include: various rap songs, anything by Queen
or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and really obnoxious songs (Hooked on a
Feeling especially!!!!!!!). Apparently I choose the worst songs to
sing, but I think that means that I have the best taste in music.
Heck yes! Karaoke in the United States is also fun, but in Japan it
is just you and your friends making fools of yourselves without
judgment from strangers (but lots of judgment from your friends if
you're me). Lots more karaoke will definitely be happening in the
near future and I can't wait. Like I said earlier, the only bad side
is that I could potentially lose my voice, but I don't need that for
anything right? Definitely not for teaching! I will attempt to pace
myself and not lose my voice, but come the winter months I will need
lots of karaoke time to keep from going insane.
Onsens!!!
Another of my favorite parts of Japan
are the onsens that are plentiful and cheap. Now what are onsens, you
might be asking yourself. Well you see, an onsen is a magical place
where all of the worries that plague you magically disappear, life
doesn't seem so crappy anymore, and your body feels instantly 100%
better than it did before. In other words, it's a hot spring! I have
been to an onsen four or five times since being here and it's still
ridiculously humid and hot outside, so just imagine how amazing it's
going to be in the winter!! My goal is to find a mountain onsen where
monkeys come and bathe (but I think that's all the way in Hokkaido).
The first time that I went to an onsen I admit, I was weirded out
because you have to be completely naked. However, the ones that I've
been to are single gender so it's not horribly awkward. But when
there are small children in an onsen who stare at the blatantly white
foreigners, it gets awkward very quickly. So let me describe the
onsen experience: first, you take off everything that you are wearing
in a locker room of sorts and then head to the showers. You have to
shower before you get in the springs in order to keep everything
clean. Then you can choose a range of pools, from freezing to burning
hot, and also saunas if that is your preference (way too hot for me)
where you can soak your worries away. It's amazing! Then you rinse
yourself off, put on your clothes, and go about your day, wishing
that you could be back in the onsen. The one problem that could
potentially arise with onsens is that some do not allow people with
tattoos to come in because of problems with the Yakuza (the mob).
Luckily I do not look like a big scary Japanese gang member so I have
not had that problem yet, but we will see what happens. Definitely
worth a visit. The best part is that it's not awkward at all now!
Yay!
Round 1!!!
And now to take you on a magical
journey to a fun place called Round 1 in Akita City (about 2 hours
from where I am). This magical land of fun and adventure and magic
(pardon the redundancy...the situation requires it) has everything
you could possibly need in life, including karaoke, slot machines,
mini golf, massage chairs, fishing, and most importantly: the flip
the table game. It was here that I found out how good I am at mini
golf (2nd place!), candlepin bowling (well...let's just
say I'm better than I am at regular bowling), and archery (not good
at all). Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, but let me take
a minute, just sit right there, and I'll tell you all about...the
flip the table game.
Or how I became the Prince of Bel Air, either
one. So anyway, this game is a video game with a screen and a giant
half table that sits on a stand in front of you. Basically what you
do is choose a character and then thump the table, trying to break as
many things as you can. Whenever you want, you can actually flip the
physical table in front of you and in the game everything starts to
break and you get to watch the destruction that you caused. The best
part is that your character looks ecstatic as slow, dramatic music
plays behind them and chaos reigns. It's the best way to relieve
tension (maybe right before or after an onsen). Anyway, we spent
three hours at this magical place while we were in Akita City, and we
could have stayed much longer. There's an option to stay until 6am so
maybe one day we will go, not get a hotel room, and just play all
night and maybe sleep in the massage chairs. Can you think of a
better plan? Didn't think so.
Parties!
As the most popular person you know , of course I have been invited to millions of parties since
being in Japan. And by that I legitimately mean at least one party
every weekend (one weekend we had 3 in a row!), thanks to our sempai
JETs who are the ones actually invited and the rest of us just tag
along. The Japanese and ALTs know how to party and they do it oh so
well. None of these parties were ragers, most of them just involved
hanging out, talking, and drinking and they were fantastic. I can't
wait until I'm settled enough to have my own parties in my tiny
apartment. Woo? We have gone to parties at hotels, people's
apartments, a cabin overlooking the sea, and bars, and they've all
been excellent.
Misc. Fun!
-Festivals!
-Bike
Ride-hahahahhahahahhahahahhahahhahahahhahahah
-Watch bad movies!!! Yes everyone, bad
movie night is officially a thing (2 down, so many more to go!)
-Watch good movies? Eh...overrated
-Eat!!
-Karaoke (it's so nice I mentioned it
twice)
-Sleep? Definitely haven't had time for
that!
-Explore!
Basically Japan is the best. That is
all.
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