A Look into Paranormalcy

My friend CJ ran across a contest on YouTube a couple of days ago hosted by horror movie website, FEARnet. The contest is designed to promote the upcoming horror film, The Messengers. The contest asks anyone crazy enough to want to win (a free screening of the movie for 100 of our friends) to put together a short film that "illustrates that children are messengers trying to warn us of paranormal threats."

So check out our entry.

A Look at Paranormalcy

on YouTube.

Pass it along and if we win you just might be lucky enough to be included in our 100 list of friends.

I star as Bob the Entity. Click on Bob above or follow this link to watch the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19pR0kb5Z-Q

Official contest rules here, the YouTube FEARnet contest page is located here.

Time to book

I was tagged by my friend CJ to try my thumb at this novel quiz thing (a long time ago). Seeing that I haven't posted in quite some time I thought this would be a good way to get things churning.

A book that didn't change my life: Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. Horror really doesn't change my life unless I'm the one panic-stricken. Though that happens more often then not. I'm sorry King but this book just wasn't that scary and didn't change my life. SSDD.

A book I’ve read more than once: The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino. I first read this book long ago. It has definitely influenced my life and the way I view the world. I highly recommend reading it.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island:The Bible. Seriously, if I'm stuck on an island I better have something that can help me convert the island inhabitants and save myself.

A book that made me laugh: The Life Before Us by Romain Gary. After reading the The Kite Runner (which I also highly recommend) I was searching for another book with a Middle Eastern perspective. I found this one but I almost didn't read it because the book had the worst cover art but I picked it up anyway. I was glad I did because I laughed, cried and pondered the whole way through this fantastic work.

A book that made me cry: The very first book that I ever made me cry was Sounder by William H. Armstrong. I won't be admitting anything more as of late.

A book that I wish I had written:To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A fantastic story that I try to apply to my life. Especially the character of Atticus Finch. A wonderful classic novel.

A book that I wish had never been written:Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I was forced to read this book in high school. I just never got into it. This was probably due to the fact that nearly everyone in my class wrote papers comparing it to the Survivor TV series.

book I’ve been meaning to read:The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. This was recommended to me but I haven't picked it up yet.

I’m currently reading:No novels. I'm too busy this semester with a 19hr credit load and 15hrs work schedule. Though I'm not stranded on a island, I am working on reading through the Bible in a year. What's in your library?

Yen time

While I was in Japan I often frequented 100 Yen Shops. In Japanese: hyaku en shop. They sell a wide range of products for 107 Yen per item (100 Yen plus tax). This is roughly one US dollar per item. 1.15 Yen = $1

There are thousands of 100 Yen Shops across Japan, ranging in size from multi-level "department stores" to small corners in shopping malls.

One of the largest 100 Yen shops I visited had 4 stories. It had everything you could ever want. I would compare these shops to Wal-Marts but with better merchandise and the lowest prices ever.

"Who cares", you're thinking, "Japan isn't the only country with dollar stores selling useless crap." Well it may be hard to believe but dollar stores in Japan actually sell good stuff, useful items that you can use more than once and aren't ashamed to have bought. A new shop called the 99 Yen Shop actually sells food! (For kicks check out their website)

Imagine the fun of shopping in a grocery store where everything is only a buck. Not only that but they have almost everything you could want, plus the staff is hardworking and polite. They always welcomed me by saying, "Konnichiwa giazimus." None of their products are junk, and most importantly, you get to listen to their theme song. Kyu, Kyu-Kyu, Kyu-Kyu, Kyu-Kyu-Kyu! (kyu means 9). To the theme of knick nack paddywack give a dog a bone: It was only slightly annoying after they played it constantly.

Now I can't even fathom what I would have done in Japan without their 99 yen 1 litre carton of low fat milk, or their 99 yen orinji rice sandwiches. You rock 99 Yen Shop!

4th of July and tired

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this next email. I'm really busy these days. Here's one of my favorite days in Japan. It was July 4th, the first time I have ever missed an American holiday because I was away in a far far away land.

Happy Independence Day all you Americans!

I can't believe that this is the first time in my life that I haven't celebrated a holiday. I'll miss the fireworks but how can I give up this wonderful experience in Japan? I keep forgetting that everyone is a day behind me here but by the time you get this it will be the 4th of July.

Ok well... Today. Today... hmmm where to begin.

Ohayoo (goodmorning pronounced like the state Ohio). It was a perfect morning. The first night that I slept the entire time without waking up in the middle of the night due to jet lag or really early in the morning due to birds. I had some wonderful vanilla yogurt for breakfast and while eating it the doorbell rang. Erin was already gone and Felix was in the shower. I opened the door and it was a package delivery man. He spoke in Japanese and tried to motion that I should sign for the package but I was clueless as to where. I said I didn't speak Japanese. He said "No Japanese" in English but then spoke in Japanese again. I motioned for just a second and yelled for Felix. It's really hard to function when you can't talk. The package was for Felix's computer help business. I felt bad because even for something as simple as a package delivery I couldn't do much.

After Felix was ready we both headed for the train station. He had to go setup a wireless network and I was going to Kobe (pronounced co-bay) to go hiking for the day up in the mountains. We had to pack into the train like sardines. I really had to suck in my stomach and turn sideways so my backpack didn't stick out the door of the train. Morning rush hour indeed.

Arriving at the Nishinomiya main train station, I got off to catch another train to Oji-something station. This is where the city of Kobe is, where I first went to go to church. When I got off I walked a few blocks and again found myself in another covered street mall area. There are so many of these covered street malls and they all look the same, which is why I thought I was in a place I was before but wasn't. They all have different stores and this one seemed to focus more on fruits. I just walked by all the little shops because I wanted to begin my hike before the hot sun came out and made it too unbearable to hike. I thought I would come back later to browse the stores if I had time.

I walked out of the covered street mall and started climbing the steep graded streets of Kobe that looked like a good place where I could find the cable cars that Erin talked about. Now when I say steep graded I don't mean just steep but a tad below nearly almost practically vertical. I'm not kidding and people walk this all the time because they have apartments up there. As I was walking I noticed that the places I saw looked familiar. Soon I found myself standing next to the Kobe Union Church. The door was open so I went in to fill up my water bottle. The pastor was there and a couple of other people. They remembered me from Sunday and gave me directions to the Maya Cable Car. I thanked them and also thanked them for the water. Then I set off.


(In the picture you can see Mt. Maya in the background and a canal that runs down the center of the street.)

Before I left I snuck into the chapel and took this picture.

Their directions were great I found the Maya Cable Car station after about a 15 minute walk up steep hills and after looking at many signs with Japanese characters trying to match them to what the pastor wrote down on a little note card.

I went up to the ticket booth and bought a pass to the very top of Mt. Maya. Then I sat down and waited for the train. It was there that I felt a sudden rush of "Oh No." My nalgene water bottle! I left it at the church!!! Oh well I thought. The cable car station had vending machines with water bottles. I purchased one because the day was already getting hot and I was sweating. I sat back down again and an older Japanese man said konnishiwa and I also said konnishwa (hi). Then he started talking in Japanese and I was bewildered. He caught on after awhile that I couldn't speak Japanese and then spoke in English. I was amazed and thankful. Not too many people speak fluent English and those that can are usually younger.

He said he was 76 years old and he goes up this mountain nearly every morning to go hiking and to enjoy the fresh smelling air. He asked if I would like to join him because he wanted to know what I was going to do up there and I just said I was going to hike around and try and find interesting things. He said that he knew of a beautiful lake that is his favorite place to visit and told me I had to see it.

I was happy to meet him and while on the cable car ride up the mountain we talked about lots of things. He said he visited San Francisco when he was my age and he went to school there. He also told me about a friend he has in Florida that works in cruising. I figured out later that he meant that his friend works on a cruise ship. He wants to go visit Florida someday so he said he wanted to talk to me to make his English better. He asked what my name was and I told him and he told me his name was Ichiro. Like Ichiro Suzuki the famous Japanese baseball player on the Seattle Mariners. He was really excited to talk about baseball and said that I should watch a Japanese baseball game in Kobe. He told me that Ichiro Suzuki actually lived in Kobe, Japan.

Now the cable car ride was amazing. Immediately the ground dropped off and we were high in the air above lush green forests and the city of Kobe was masked behind the morning fog. The ride took about 15 minutes to get to the very top of Mt. Maya, the tallest mountain in the area at 690 meters. Which if I remember my conversions right from chemistry, should be approximately 2200 ft.

Now for a 76 year old man he was extremely fit. Though I've noticed that all the older Japanese people get around very well here. I've even seen really old people riding around on their bicycles like they were still young kids.

We hiked the trails on Mt. Maya for a few kilometers. Then he went off of the main trail and said "follow me". We went down a long embankment and after pushing through dense jungle vines and trees we came to a clearing with a wonderful lake. It was great.

I asked if it was a natural lake or if it had a dam. He said that it was man made and that if I wanted to go see it. I said sure and so we headed off again on another unmarked trail and soon came to the dam. Then we went back to the main trail and he took me up to see a famous temple on the side of the mountain.

He said here it is, but all I could see though was thousands of marble steps.

We began climbing, step after step. Nearly halfway was a place to pray and ring a bell. Then step after step... finally we reached the top where the temple was.

The temple had many religious statues and they were all wearing red "eating aprons" as Ichiro described them as. I liked the frog and this giant impression of a two feet. Many of the statues were also places to pray and people would give offerings to them. Every single one of them were wearing these red aprons. I asked what their meaning was but Ichiro said he didn't know because he is not of this religion but said that a few days ago every statue was wearing white aprons.

After the temple, we hiked up Mt. Maya again. We came to a place that had a cable swing and rope pulley. I zoomed down it and Ichiro took a picture. Then we waited for the cable car to go down and went to an overlook area to view the city of Kobe. From the top of the mountain I could see Osaka and the airport that I flew into.

(It's passed midnight here and I'm tired so the following will be quick)

We took the cable car down. I told Ichiro I needed to get my waterbottle at the Kobe Church and he had me ride on a bus with him. We got off and he purchased an ice cream cone for me and I thanked him very much. Domo Arigoto. Then he said sayonara and wished me a wonderful stay in Japan. I thanked him for his kindness.

I walked tiredly up the steep streets to pick up my nalgene water bottle at the church and after that I finally went to the train station and rode home to Erin's apartment. There Felix had prepared a wonderful delicious soup that was so good that I will be dreaming of it tonight.

Then we went out to eat at a wonderful place that served Japanese style pancakes. These were amazing! Very delicious. They are a mixture of egg, cabbage and whatever else they put in there. Absolutely wonderful. And now I shall sleep.

Goodnight all.

Love,

Steven

Back from Japan

Konnisha wa!! Well...I'm back from Japan. I've been back for some time now but I haven't gotten over my terrible jet lag yet completely and didn't want to worry about posting. Now that I have semi-gotten under control my sense of what day and time it is I thought I would finally update the blog. Look for a post a week. I'm going to continue using the emails I sent everyone to base my posts off of. My blog posts might contain a few surprises here and there that I didnt' talk about in my emails and of course what you all want to see PICTURES!

Alrighty then on with the post...

Showers, Squid and the Sea of Steve Oh My!

Many of you wrote to me while I was in Japan asking why showering was interesting in Japan. Well... I don't know if this is true of all Japanese homes but in Erin's apartment she has an entire room devoted to just the shower and bath. This room is about 25 square feet. Now you first walk into the sink and laundry room. To the right of this room is the bath and shower. To enter the shower you have to step up about a foot and open a water tight door. Once inside you see the tub against the wall. This is a larger tub almost like a one person hot tub in the USA but not as big. The shower is actually a long hose with the shower head at the end.

This entire room has drains in the floor everywhere. The cool thing is actually on the tub itself. You turn it on like you would a television set to get hot water. Once you press the blue button (shown in this picture) a Japanese voice comes on and says something but I don't know what she says. On this dial you can set the temperature of the water, 30 to 40 degree Celsius is about right for a shower. Then you turn a knob to make the water come out of either the tub or the shower nozzle and you have a shower while standing on the floor of this large room. I always felt like I needed to lean over the tub though because I didn't want to get water all over the floor. I had to keep reminding myself that the whole room is a shower and I didn't have to do this.

Now what is most interesting about this tub contraption is when you make a bath. The tub actually sings to you as it is filling up with water. Since it is computerized the tub automatically knows when it is full of water and the Japanese lady comes on and says the "tub is done gushing" in Japanese (I had to ask what she said this time). Actually she says, "It is nearly done gushing" first so that you can prepare to come in and then a few moments later she comes on and says, "It is done gushing." According to Erin, Japanese first clean themselves by taking a shower and everyone in the family does so. Then they run the bath and each person takes a turn in the tub and they share the same water. It is a place to relax and become warm. Erin however told me that I could take a bath with soap if I wanted to. I just can't get over how amazing the tub is. It sings to you as it is filling up and automatically shuts off. So amazing. I think the best is being able to set the temperature of the water to your exact liking. Tomorrow I think I'll go for a 37 degree Celsius shower. But you know Wednesday it might be warmer outside so I think I'll have a colder shower of 32 degrees. In America you could never do this but here it is as simple as pressing a button.

Now on with today (Monday, July 3). Today I experienced life completely on my own in a foreign country. Erin had to go to work and Felix had to meet a client of his. In the morning Felix showed me how to get to and from the train station so that I was comfortable making that trip. He also showed me how to go to a supermarket and a 99 yen store. At the 99 yen store I bought a couple of sandwiches and those rice sandwiches (onijiri) that were really good for lunch. After that, Felix gave me a map, a cell phone (in case I did get lost) and he waved goodbye.

Then it was just me, a blonde headed, backpack wielding, sandal footed, no Japanese speaking, man meandering about. It was amazing! Now I truly know what it feels like to be alone and how hard everyday tasks are if you can't understand a language. It really has made me appreciate life so much more.

Now completely on my own, I headed for the train station because it seemed so easy when I went with Erin and Felix. However by myself it took a little more concentration of the map and trying to find where I was by matching the Japanese Kanji and Katakana characters. This really wasn't too difficult and I got off of the first train at Nishinomiya, the main station. Here written nicely in English but not every station was this kind.

I wanted to familiarize myself with the area around Nishinomiya station since it is a main station that I came to and it leads to almost every other station I would need.

I went out about on the streets making sure that I remembered each right and left turn I made so that I could go back. I tried to find a shop of some kind but mostly this area was residential. They did have a KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) that I walked by. I looked at the pictures on the menu and I really don't think that they serve that kind of stuff in Kentucky. After walking around there for awhile I went back to the train station and took the Omeda Express train.

Now they have many types of trains. Express trains go fast and skip a lot of in between stations and just go to major ones. Then they have local trains that stop at each station and some other trains that I haven't been on and probably won't ever go on because I might end up in Tokyo if I'm not careful and I don't want to do that.

Ok so I thought that Omeda was the place that I went to yesterday where I purchased a bunch of T-shirts at a covered street mall area but it turns out it was in the complete opposite direction. However, for me, Omeda looked just like this other place because it too had a covered street mall area just off of the train station. I wandered about this area trying to find the UniQlo store that I found all those 500 yen shirts at but I couldn't find it.

As I was walking down the covered street, I looked down a side street and saw some flashing lit up signs. This seemed like an interesting street to go check out so I headed off that way. As I was walking, I began to notice that these signs had Japanese woman on them in scantily clad clothing and seductive poses. I thought that hmm this is very strange maybe an advertisement of some sort. Then about in the middle of this street I came to a building that on the side was writing in English "Sexy Live Show." Oh my! I have found the dark side of Japan. Really though it wasn't that bad but I quickly made my way back to the covered street mall.

Here I found a shoe store that was selling these really interesting wooden sandals. I bought two pairs of these as gifts for other people because they look so cool. A block of sanded down wood molded to a shape for your foot. Very very cool. Erin said she loves them too.

After that, I headed back to the train station because it was nearly lunch time and I wanted to eat my sandwiches. Once back at the Omeda station I couldn't find the Express train back to Nishonimiya. I waited and waited at the place that I was sure that I got off of but no train ever said Express Nishonimiya. Now I started to get a little concerned because I thought I had become disoriented especially after going through that "Sexy street." I finally followed my gut instinct and just took a local train in the direction that I was sure that I came from because I didn't want to get on an Express train and then be really far away if I was wrong.

I made the right choice. However because I took the local train it meant that I had to stop at all the local stations in between Omeda and Nishonimiya. I got off at one of these in between stations and decided that I would find a park to eat my sandwiches at. This became an adventure because I didn't know where a park was located at and I didn't know how to ask directions to a park. Heck I can only say Konnisha wa (Hello), domo arigato (thank you), ohayo (good morning), sumi masen (excuse me), hai (yes), and iee (no) but you never so no in Japanese because it just isn't polite. If someone asks you if you like something and you really don't like it, you say things like "maybe next time" or "I'm not sure" but you never say no. Anyway that was a long way to say that I couldn't ask directions to a park.

Ok so I just walked in a straight line and hoped that I would run into something... anything that resembled a park. I walked and I walked. I walked some more. Japanese people walked by and smiled and bowed their heads at me. I continued to walk by apartments and stores and canals. No parks. Finally I saw an area of trees ahead of me. I thought large trees must equal a large area of some sort maybe even a park so I went over to it. It turns out this was some kind of school yard. They had a large area to play soccer on but it wasn't grass but dirt. They did have a bench so I sat there and ate my sandwiches.

Then I headed back to Erin's apartment. Felix called and said that he was back there and I needed a little nap because I woke up at 3am (due to jet lag) and couldn't sleep for about an hour and the birds woke me up early after I went to sleep again at about 5am. I'm a light sleeper. Once I got to the apartment though I wasn't tired so Felix and I went to the post office because he had to pay bills. Then we went to the market and bought some dinner for tonight. He got some fish that looked like a zebra and this weird looking package with some sort of yellowish white thing in it that I had no idea what it was.

Back at the apartment I started writing this email and he prepared the fish and this yellowish white thing that turned out to be a vegetable but I still didn't know what it was. Then Erin came home and we had this small dinner. It was very good and the yellowish white thing turned out to be very delicious. Erin said it might be translated to English as a pickled radish. I love it soo much. Mmm very good and very tasty.

After this dinner I began typing away at this email and then decided that I would take a nap finally. I had Erin show me how to run a bath first. This is how I knew that it sings to you and was very relaxing. Then I took a long nap until about 8pm.

At eight, we decided to go to a sushi restaurant. Now this was quite an experience. The sushi goes around on a moving track and you pick off little colored plates of what sushi you want. The colored plates determine the price that you pay. A gold colored plate is the most expensive and yellow was the least amount. The prices arranged from 600 yen plates to 100 yen plates. Felix and Erin picked out many dishes for me to sample and they were all good. The raw tuna was really good. It melts in your mouth. I also had raw squid. Yes raw rubbery slimy squid. Ha! It wasn't too bad. Just like rubber. Quite an experience. I had to give it a go.

Sunday in Kobe

The next morning was Sunday and I awoke to pouring rain. Maybe pouring isn't the correct term however because it dumped. We went out in the rain with umbrellas to go to a church service. Erin and Felix go to an amazing church here called Kobe Union Church. The service is in English so I could understand. The pastor is actually from Hawaii. I met a French guy at church. He was extremely excited parler to me and he is from Nice, France.

The town of Kobe, where the church is located, is very mountainous. It reminded me of Alaska with all the green and mountains.

After church Erin and I went to a supermarket to just give me the experience of what they are like.

Erin recommended that I try an onijiri. It is a seaweed wrapped rice sandwich. The sandwiches come in different things like fish, fruit, meats and vegetable. Very good. I also had some Japanese chocolate called Meiji. American chocolate just does not compare at all This had a much more heavier taste of chocolate and just a hint of maybe cherry but not really a cherry flavor. It was amazing. Then Felix met us in a church driven vehicle to take us closer to a train station.

In Japan they drive on the opposite side of the road and thus the driver is on the right. It takes some getting used to especially when crossing the street because you have to look the other way first before crossing.

The trains are very fast and interesting because they go everywhere.

We stopped at an outdoor street mall. However Erin tells me that it's not really a mall but just a street which happens to have a huge collection of stores. I found an amazing store called UniQlo. They had a sale on T-shirts for 500 yen which amounts to around 5 dollars US. I bought a lot because they were very cool and I found one that Eric will love but I won't describe it because it will be a surprise for your birthday. Mom I got you a beautiful Yakuta and I also bought one too. Though the male versions aren't as vibrant as the females.

Then we went to a China town and I bought a Jackie Chan style shirt. I also had some Taiwanese ice-cream. Absolutely amazing. The man mixed the ice-cream with a large spoon and it was like taffy because it stretched out as he lifted it up.

I don't even know where to began to describe its flavor. All I can say is that it was delicious and a welcome cool treat.

Though the heat isn't too bad here. Erin tells me that since it's been raining it hasn't been extremely hot yet. The humidity is not bad either. I little humid and wet feeling most of the day. I would compare it to Seattle with maybe a little more humidity and instead of misty rain, it pours here.

Oh oh OH!!!! Coming home we went to a supermarket to pick up some food for tonight and they had watermelon pop-cicles. Shaped like a watermelon slice and with a unique flavor. The black seeds of the watermelon were actually little pieces of chocolate. I wish I could send the flavor to you all.

Two cousins enjoying the watermelon pops

I did sooo much today that I missed talking about like eating at Mos Burger and about taking a shower. They were all good and interesting. I'll have more tales to tell everyone once I get back.

Flying to the land of the rising sun

I can't hardly believe it....I'm in Japan!

(The following is a glorified version of my emails with pictures and more descriptions. If you aren't receiving my emails from Japan and would like to then please leave a comment with your address and I'll add you to my ever growing list)

My cousin Erin took this picture on her phone. We're on a bus from Osaka, Japan to her apartment in Nishinomiya, Japan! This is after my long loooooong flight and after worshipping being on the ground!

(left to right) Felix, Steven and Erin

My flights were great. There is nothing like flying. Everytime I go I get one of those warm fuzzy feelings the first time we take off. Here's a picture of my United Airlines plane that I took from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles at 6am in the morning.

I landed in Los Angeles at 6:48am due to a time change. Nearly an hour flight. Then I had a seven hour layover until my flight to Japan. Seven hours is a long time. I thought about going to the beach but the Los Angeles airport was such a zoo and I worried that I wouldn't be able to find my way back if I took a bus to the beach. I decided instead to take a free shuttle ride to the hotel Marriott and to just rest in their nice air conditioned lobby.

Once I arrived at the Marriott I walked around the building and somehow found a way to their swimming pool and outdoor commons area. This was perfect! They had lounge chairs that folded down flat and I just slept their most of the day in preparation for my 15 hour time change difference in Japan.

I took the free shuttle back to the zoo I mean airport with three hours to get my boarding pass and go past security. Luckily I needed every second because when I arrived I saw this.

Now multiply this by a quadrupleton and that's how many people were in front of me. This picture is towards the end once I could actually see the electronic signs for Japan Airlines that reassured me I hadn't stood in that line in haste for some other company.
Standing in line to receive my boarding pass took nearly two hours.

Then going through security took another 45 minutes. Finally I arrived at my gate to see the giant Japanese Airline plane that I would be sitting on for over 12 hours. Oh yeah double decker baby!

The flight was interesting. On the back of the seats was an LCD screen that you could play games on and view cameras from outside the plane and also see your flight progress including outside air temperature.

I had a window seat. There were three seats on the edges and 5 in the middle of the plane.

We flew up the coast of the western US

around the Aleutian Islands of Alaska,

then over the ocean, and down the coast of Japan until we landed in Osaka, Japan.

They fed me very well on the plane. Three main course meals and the bread was amazing! It was sweet and different from US bread because the texture was more chewy. All the bread in Japan is more chewy and wow I love it sooo much.



I sat next to an older Korean guy that was very talkative. However, I couldn't understand a thing that he said but somehow we both managed by gesturing a lot. I taught him how to play solitaire on the little LCD screen on the back of the airline seats. They had a remote control that also functioned as a game controller. Somehow by pointing and by playing a game on my screen he figured out that red goes on black and visa versa and that king, queen, etc comes next. The game made this more easier to learn because obviously it wouldn't allow you to put a card where it didn't belong. Then he showed me how to eat and what to do with all the sauces and things that you pour on the noodles and salads.

I slept periodically on the flight but I wanted to make sure that I didn't sleep through passing over the International Date Line. Once I passed over it I did a little cheer and took a picture.

I was the only person to give a little wOOt and I think everyone else must either travel over it a lot or were sleeping so they didn't care. I however thought it was fun to pass into the future like that. In so doing though, I effectively lost a day of my life. In some sense I lost two days of my life because flying all day from 6am to 2pm on Friday and then after crossing the line it became Saturday at about 2pm. So about 12 hours of my life are gone. I'll never experience those until I regain those hours coming back the opposite way.

My first view of Japan.

I landed in Japan at about 6pm and then Erin and Felix met me there after I went through customs and foreign passport inspection. The flight was long. 12 hours with little leg room.

Then we took a long bus ride to Nishinomiya station. I dropped off all my luggage at her lovely apartment and then we went to a little Japanese restaurant around the corner. I had some ginger-pork and a little croquette which is actually French. Also miso soup and a salad. Then I fell asleep. I don't have jet lag too bad because I slept during my 7 hour layover in Los Angeles.

The sun sets in the land of the rising sun.