Rilakkuma condoms and Friday night in Sakae

OMG GUYS, today is my one month anniversary of being in Japan!!!!! Damn hard to believe it's been a month already.

This morning I had a marathon Skype session! For over two hours I talked to my friends from back home, my mom, and my sister! It was sooo awesome. I missed talking to them all so much!

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their homework to skype me! Love you guys :)

Yuko left me mikan, cereal, lemon tea, and one of the monaka omiyage from Keiichiro for breakfast. Omg the corn flake cereal I had was soooooo good! I couldn't stop eating it. And I had three servings... Whoops! :X

After that, I used the last of my raisin bread (nooooo T_T ) to make two sandwiches for lunch. Yuko came home when I was finishing up and I told her I was heading out and reminded her again I wouldn't be home for dinner. Then I hopped on my bike and rode to Don Quixote!! Yayyy!

It was a really nice bike ride. A little chilly, but nice scenery. :)

( I really like the name of this restaurant, Joyfull. I wonder if it was an intentional play on words)

(Bike path so you don't have to ride on the highway :) Blacksburg needs one of these)

(It was so pretty on it!)

(The Ichinomiya mountains remind me of Blacksburg ^^)

(Pachinko!! I'm going and playing one day)

Then I got to Don Quixote! 

Rafa had told me it's kind of loud and bright and overwhelming in there and he was exactly right! But I got used to it.

It was so interesting to look around in there!

(Bam first thing I saw? A Rilakkuma phone case like I've been wanting!! But it was $20. Nope.)

(I took this for you Bridget. My favorite part is the "sup?")

(I think this was supposed to say "college" lol)

(Ahh the fake uniforms! Why are Japanese uniforms so cute?)

(This is wrong in so, so, so many ways...)

(I really want to try these. I think I'll get them next time!)

(Omg I want to buy like 10 of these toilet paper things and bring them back to America. Sooo cuteeee)

And now for the best part of the store and the whole reason I came here in the first place:

(RILAKKUMA CONDOMSSSS!!!!!!!!!! The top says "Rilakkuma meets honey" lol)

Hmmm, I wonder if they taste like honey?

Okay, I'll stop now haha.

(Another condom I liked. It says "Feel The Force" hahaha)

Aaand the boxers! 

(Aren't these presh? I really wanted to get some pairs for my guy friends haha)

(Crotch spelling fail lol. But hey, now I know the kanji for crotch, yes!)

(These say "king" on the crotch haha)

I bought some candies and slippers at Don Quixote. The slippers were only 50 yen and I can use them at home because the floors are so cold and I can't wear my shoes. 

After I made my purchases, I went outside and asked this lady who worked over by the bikes where Daiso was, because I remembered seeing it on the way home from Obaachan's. She told me to keep going straight. I tried to remember how to ask how long it would take and then I finally remembered. And I added on "by bicycle" and she told me about 10 minutes! So I left for Daiso!

(Daiso!!)

To my dismay it was the same as the other Daiso's I've been to. I'd thought it was bigger, but it turned out to be smaller than the one in Sakae.

So I bought some chocolate chip melon pan (the 2 for 105 yen) and then left.

(Engrish bag. Look at how "searching" is spelled)

On the way home, I stopped in a park beside the highway and sat and ate my sandwiches.

(Sheep building on the side of the highway)

The park:

(So pretty and peaceful!)

(Entrance to the park)

(I really liked this Indian thing. Pretty sure that wouldn't have been allowed in America because it would be seen as discrimination or whatever)

So since it was only 3, and I didn't have to meet the guys in Sakae until 5, I headed home to quickly drop off my purchases. When I opened the door and Yuko said "okaeri" (welcome home), expecting Miyabi, I answered "tadaima" and she was like "Keito?!?" Lol.

As I dropped my stuff off, Miyabi came home and then I left for real.

I ended oh getting to Sakae 40 minutes early, so I went up to Book Off to look around. I found some interesting manga but they were for people my age, so again the kanji had no furigana. :(

Btw, random fact - in Sakae Station, there was an ad for the new Chris Pine movie playing and I almost died. I kind of wanted to run up and hug the tv screen, but ya know there were like Japanese people around and stuff...

Then it was time to head back over to the subway exit at Sunshine Sakae, where I was meeting Rafa, Esteban, and Dillon, who they also ended up inviting. When I got there, I saw Dillon down by where the  rainbow Grand Canyon is. As I was walking down, Esteban showed up. We all talked while we waited for Rafa. 

When Rafa finally showed up, we went to go try to find Ippudo, the ramen restaurant Rafa wanted to eat at.

We asked a police officer first. He hadn't heard of it, but Raffa pulled up the address on his phone and the police officer was able to point out the general area to us on a map.

When we got to that general area and didn't see it after walking around for a bit, we asked for help at a Circle K (a convenience store like Lawson's). They pointed us where to go. But we still didn't see it, so we asked at another Circle K haha. And the girl there gave the best directions yet!

It turned out we hadn't walked far enough, but it was only a little bit farther down the street.

(Cool street)

(YES!! The KFC man! I've been wanting to see one if these! I remember reading this article in America about how Japanese people are obsessed with KFC and eat it on New Year's and one year in some city a bunch of people took the colonel statue and threw it in a river as part of some dance or ritual or something and so now all the colonel statues are nailed down haha)

(Dillon, Esteban, and Rafa with the colonel)

(Me with the colonel. This picture creeps me out because it looks like he's stroking my cheek...)

(Cool building)

So when we got to Ippudon, they sat us at a table where these two men were already sitting. It was really warm in there like I'd expected. 

We all ordered. I got the Shiromasu ramen, which was the Ippudon special. It had really thin noodles. Esteban and Dillon got beers as well even though they're only 20 haha. Japan rocks. I just had water because I don't like beer.

They had this really good iced tea on the table too. 

(My ramen)

(Such a big bowl!)

Esteban had ordered a soft boiled egg with his ramen and I was jealous, so I asked the guy if I could have one too haha. So he brought me an egg and forgot to write it on the receipt, but I paid for it anyway.

(With egg)

(Such thin noodles!)

So the guys at our table talked to us a bit. One was 40 and the other looked a bit older. 

Then we ate. Later, they were wrestling with each other and the older looking one gave the other a purple nurple haha. The guy who got it was moaning and clutching his nipple for a good minute haha. Rafa told me that's pretty common to do to someone over here lol.

Then Esteban was being friendly and asked the 40 year old guy, who was the more talkative one, what his job was.

The guy kept saying he did something involving lady's pinkies. The guys and I were befuddled. The guy kept trying to figure out how to explain it, when finally he said he was a ふうゆく. We didn't know what that was, so Esteban used his phone to look it up and saw it meant "jiggilo" hahaha.

We weren't sure if the guy was messing with us or not because he seemed so serious!

Anyway, the guys ordered a whole bunch of stuff but I was full after my one bowl of ramen! After we paid, we headed to Mister Donut, because we've all been wanting to go there and all had just enough room for dessert.

(Giant crab on the building)

(Ahh such cute donuts! I wanted those strawberry marshmallow ones up above. But Esteban got the plain chocolate of those and let me try a piece and it was really gooey because it was made using rice flour (mochi stuff)!)

(They had my favorite donut! The cream filled one! I used to eat these all th time in America, so figured I'd be okay and not get sick. Boy was I wrong)

After Misdo, we saw an arcade that we decided to check out. First we went down to the bottom floor to look at the Pachinko machines. I sat down at one and this lady came over to help me and I asked her how much it cost. It was $10!! Hell no. So we left. On the way out, I found a pachinko ball on the ground. Yay!! I wanted one!

Then we went upstairs to the rest if the arcade. It was full of salarymen! A lot of the younger ones had girlfriends waiting for them, but many were single, especially the older ones. There was one big, middle aged salary man completely dominanting DDR still in his suit and everything. He was playing using both the mats. It said it was the final level and he ended up with an AA score!

There were a bunch if other guys who were really really good at the games. They seriously had no lives if this was their Friday night. But I guess they didn't have wives to go home to or anything.

While we were looking around, we found a purikura area! I really wanted to do it and Esteban did too haha. So Rafa and Dillon grudgingly agreed. The dude said they could go in even though it was obviously girl territory and the only other people in there were school girls haha.

(How to be kawaii, guys)

So yeah, my first purikura ever was with all guys lol! So not what I had expected. But it was really fun! Esteban and I decorated them when we were done shooting. Then they printed. We couldn't figure out how to fill in the part of our email addresses after the @ symbol, so we only got printouts. :(

(Haha we messed up on out nickname and accidentally put "kawaiizz". I put the "we are happy girls" sticker on the left picture above because it put lipstick on the guys so they looked really girly haha. That one was my favorite, I wished I could have gotten that one on the computer.)

So when I got home I put in the ID on the bottom of the card (it took me so long to figure out because I had to google translate the website), but it only let me have two pictures for free! I had to pay 350/month to get the others. Ugh, so not worth it. Although, maybe it would be if I did purikura again and a lot of times. Idk. But I didn't get the rest.

The free ones:

(Esteban, Rafa, me, Dillon)

(The boys decided they wanted to do individuals. They were nice and let me go first. But it turned out we only had one picture left, so only I got an individual!)

After purikura, Dillon decided to play a shooting game. It had really good graphics and was a kind of rpg. It looked pretty sweet.

I laughed at all the Engrish on the walls.

(You will get a big chance in spite of being pleasure together)

(You spend a pleasant time. It is early that time passes if happy)

Then, while Esteban watched Dillon play, Rafa and I walked around the arcade. We found this cool pod thing, where you sit inside it with the door closed and there's a huge tv screen stretching 180 degrees around you, like your totally immersed. The seat of the chair you sit in even vibrates along with the game! So Rafa wanted to play it.

I stood in there and watched him play the first game. It looked pretty cool and he said he liked it a lot.

(In the pod)

Esteban and Dillon came over while we were in there. I let Esteban go in and see it when Rafa started the second game.

When Rafa was done playing, we headed out.

(Cute tv with Rilakkuma outside the entrance)

Then we all walked back to the station. Esteban and Dillon left to head home, but Rafa and I weren't ready to head back yet. So we walked around Sakae a bit more around areas neither of us have explored yet. I found out he's liked Home Made 家族 for forever. YES I finally found another HMK lover!!! Hopefully I can convince him to come to the concert with me, haha!

When we started to near the residential/office building area where it gets boring, we turned back. I was starting to feel really sick, so I said I was just going to head home. So we walked to the station and took the subway back.

I got off at Kanayama, died in the bathroom for 30 minutes, and then caught the JR (which was late because the one before it was delayed 5 minutes. Seriously, what is up with my luck lately?). 

When the train came in, tons of girls with "Avril Lavigne Tour" bags poured out. Omg, I love Avril Lavigne! I've listened to her since I was 10 years old!! I asked one girl where the tour was and she said in Nihon Daishu, wherever that is. But ahhh Avril Lavigne was in Nagoya too, tonight! 

When I got home at 10, I could hear Yuko, Ken, and Miyabi in their room taking, so I knew they'd just gone to sleep. I got the purikura pix, showered, wrote this, and then went to sleep. :)

Ps check out Google tomorrow guys:

(Whoo, Olympics!)