The question I am most frequently asked by people about my life in Japan is “What do you miss the most about home?” My answer is almost always the same. Football games, hunting, Thanksgiving, and my friends. Although I have not been hunting at all in Japan, I have made several really great friends, I was able to have a real Thanksgiving dinner, and this past weekend I even went to a live American Football game.
With winter vacation looming just around the corner. I think everyone is a bit distracted from normal duties. I know it is true for me. My trips to Korea and Hokkaido. Have been occupying the majority of my thoughts for most of the past 2 weeks. I have also had a string of awesome weekends over the past month, and all of this is really making it difficult to keep focused at work.
The most recent weekend’s excitement involved an awesome Dance Party with DJs from Japan and other places in Asia, put on by my friend Tati, one of the most outrageous chicks I have ever met. The party was in a small place, but it was packed, and there were tons of people there. I went there thinking that I would only know the people whom I arrived with, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw so many familiar faces.
I am beginning to feel much more welcome wherever I go in Osaka. Before, I would always kind of hang near the few people I knew and meet whoever I was introduced to. Now I am able to make my way around and be more social. I finally have a legit social life over here!
The party was great though. I met a bunch of existing friends and made a handful of new friends. The music was good, and the nice bartender was very attentive and quick to help me out. We stayed until about 2 or so then went to sing some Karaoke. The Karaoke bar was packed so we didn’t actually end up singing, but we had a good time. I made it to bed around 5, which might be a record for me. I dont remember the last time I went out in Osaka and made it into bed before the sun was up. It was definitely a good thing though. I had plans to meet my friend/student Yuki, and his wife Kana at 12 to see an American Football game.
I slept through my two alarms, but my biological clock woke me up right at 11. I frantically scrambled to get my things together and make it to the train station. It took me a little less than an hour to get to the stadium so I was a tad late, but Yuki said he was a bit late too so it was OK.
The football game was the Japanese Collegiate National Championship. There was a team from Osaka and a team from Tokyo. The Osaka team had won the national championship the past three years. They had a much better team. The Osaka linemen seemed at least 10-20 pounds (5-10kg) heavier than the other team so they dominated the entire game. Even though the game was a blowout (52-10) it was nice to watch live football again. The stadium was really nice too. Koshien stadium is the most famous stadium in Japan. It is the home to the National High school baseball tournament, which is the biggest sporting event in Japan every year. It is also home to the Hanshin Tigers, Kansai’s most popular baseball team. It was a pretty nice stadium. I think it is famous for it’s history. Watching American football in a baseball stadium was a bit weird, not set up to see everything well. I wasn’t expecting much for American football in Japan, but I was pretty impressed overall. There were a good amount of people there, and everyone seemed pretty interested in the game.
After the game I headed back to Osaka and got some dinner with a friend. I was really tired after the game so I laid low Sunday night and the whole day Monday. When I woke up on Monday, I was feeling a bit sick. I had a sore throat and a bit of a headache. I picked up some food and hid inside all day.
A few nights before, Koichi and another friend had gotten into a heated argument about the best Japanese anime movie. I made jokes, but I was definitely the odd man out of the group since I had no idea what they were talking about. I decided since I had nothing to do on Monday that I would watch a movie, and I decided I would educate myself on this Anime business. I watched one film called “Spirited Away” which I have come to realize is one of the most popular films in the world of Japanese Anime. I thought it was pretty crazy and at times overwhelmingly fantastical, but overall, I thought it was a decent movie. I texted Koichi to give him my review and he challenged me to watch another one, which was his favorite. I told him I would watch it.
I cooked some dinner and was a bit curious, but mostly anxious to take advantage of my newly realized yet quickly fleeting interest in Japanese anime, so I decided I would give this other film a try. It was a bit older, but just as farfetched as the first film. I think I liked the first one better but not by much. I wouldn’t say that Japanese anime is anywhere close to my favorite genre of film, but I am glad that I got a bit of exposure. I feel like I understand the culture here a little bit more after watching these movies. That being said, I don’t think I understand the culture here at all. Everyday is still just as surprising, and interesting as ever. I am enjoying that I am getting a BIT more familiar with things though, my social life is much more fun, and I have lots of fun plans for the coming weeks.
Korea for 3 days this weekend, then snowboarding in Hokkaido for 6 days over New Years! I am very excited. I just hope I can stay warm and keep my wallet hidden from myself.
So next week I will be a day late on my post, but it should be in before Xmas! Have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading.