This week has been pretty great. I still havent packed anything at all, but things are starting to come together in some other areas of life. The work week was a bit normal. All week I was looking forward to Saturday night. We had a work party scheduled at a Yakiniku restaurant in Osaka. Watson landed in Kyoto on Wednesday and said he would get to my place after work and come to the party with us. I dont know if it was that we had Ben there or what. But at this party everyone seemed much happier and ready to have a fun night. I assumed it would end after dinner and then Ben and I would go get a drink together but it ended up lasting way longer than that. Dinner was all-you-can-eat-meat and all-you-can-drink for 2 hours… I remember after my first work party, I wrote about how I was a bit shy about drinking at work parties. Trust me now when I say that I have left any such reservations behind… Saturday night was a true testament to that. The whole office had been looking forward to the party. Of course we mentioned the food part to be more professional around the office, but at closing time on Saturday it was made clear we were all looking forward to that first after work beer more than any bit of grilled meat. After clocking out I went to meet up with Ben and change my clothes back at my apartment while everyone else caught the train to Osaka. They all ended up walking around town for a bit since they arrived so much earlier than our reservation time. Ben and I arrived only a few minutes after everyone else was seated so it was perfect timing. We all ordered drinks and then food, and got right to it. I made sure to take full advantage of both “all-you-can-” options, and tried to keep everyone else motivated to do the same. When our 2 hours were up, everyone was stuffed full and in a great mood. 
Ben seemed to have fit right in as well, and everyone was happy to have him there. As we were gathering our things to leave the restaurant, someone decided we would then go to Karaoke…. Karaoke was madness. We got there around 1030 and were originally planning to leave in time to catch the last train home at 11:40. After a few songs, we decided we would stay longer, and then go partying until the first train at 530am the next morning… We went from karaoke, to an English Pub, then went to the anniversary party at Cinquecento (a bar I frequent) for a few minutes. We went to a few other places, but everyone who wanted to go “clubbing” earlier in the night seemed to have not understood the true meaning of their words and said they thought the first places we visited were too loud. So I tried to make everyone happy, but I failed pretty miserably with my choices of venue. A couple of coworkers just said to go ahead and do whatever I wanted, and not worry so much about entertaining everyone… so I relaxed some and stopped worrying about being the tour guide. Eventually we started to get hungry so we went to an Izakaya around 5am to get some food. We ate for an hour or so, then headed to catch the train home. Ben and I finally made it home and into our beds around 8 or so. For some reason, we woke up at 12 and couldnt go back to sleep. We watched the Maryland Basketball game then decided to head to Nara Park for the afternoon. It was a pretty nice day, so we didnt have to wear any really heavy clothes… A decision we would later regret a little bit. Nara park was nice as always. We just walked around to the temples, and played with the deer. I know I take it for granted now, but it is always a lot of fun seeing new people’s reactions to the deer. Watson was just as funny as everyone else. I am really glad he came. Now I have someone else who knows how weird it is to have thousands of “wild” deer following you around, trying to get a snack, like they are a pack of stray dogs. He was determined to become the victim of a true deer swarm, and he did put forth a solid effort, but the park was so busy because of the Spring festival that the deer were not as available as they usually are. The biggest swarm we managed to attract was only 7 deer. It was ok, but I think we could have done better on a different day with less people. 
The festival was called Omizutori. It is a 2 week long festival held to welcome the Spring season. Every night for 2 weeks, the buddhist monks at Nigatsudo temple light massive torches at the ends of 20 foot long bamboo poles and take them to the temple balcony to wave around and show off to the crowd. It is one of the longest running festivals in Japan. They have celebrated it every spring for over 700 years. Many people say that spring does not truly begin until the festival is complete. 
As famous as some people say this festival is, it is really shocking to me that more than a few of my students didn’t know about it. Now that I have been to the festival myself, I would say it is very well known. After walking through the crowded park all afternoon, we had to head to the temple where the festival would be held an hour before the torches would be lit in order to find a good place to watch. The main viewing area was already closed when we got there so we found a spot to stand just outside of the fenced off area. As we were waiting and chatting with one another, an old Japanese lady sitting next to us stood up and started talking to us. Her English was not the best, but she was very nice and she loved to talk. She told us some things about the history of the festival and loads of other interesting things. Before long she had her phone out showing us pictures of her family and all the trips she had taken. She had travelled more than almost anyone I had ever met. The Grand Canyon, Myanmar, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, and loads of other really cool places. We talked for a while and it turned out she actually lived very close to me. She offered to drive us home later on after the festival since the trains would be so overly crowded. We were not really sure if that was exactly what she was saying at first, but when the festival had finished, she led us around to walk up on the balcony, took us to get some free hot tea, then led us to her car a few blocks away, and began to clear the back seat for us to sit. Ben seemed a bit more surprised than me. Apparently he got a completely different idea out of what she said earlier about a ride. She did give us a ride though, and she gave me her contact information as she dropped us off and I gave her mine. She invited me to a festival the following weekend in Osaka, and told me to contact her if I was going and she would be happy to show me around. When she dropped us of at our station we said good night and thank you. She was one of the nicest people I have ever met. So far Ben’s visit seemed to be bringing really good luck to us. Both nights had been awesome so far. Before heading home, Ben and I went to get some food at the local izakaya to try some of the more unique foods Japan has to offer. We got some raw horse and raw chicken for him to try. Ben is pretty open minded about food so he enjoyed them both. The night before my coworkers got some pig intestine at the yakiniku restaurant and I gave him some as a joke. He loved it though. Intestine is still one food here I do not enjoy. After dinner we went home and passed out. The next morning we were going to head to Osaka to meet some friends and watch the annual Osaka Sumo tournament. Monday morning we woke up and headed to Osaka around 1130. We met everyone in front of the stadium around 1230, and before heading in we went over to the convenience store to stock up on food and beer to enjoy while we watched the event. We all bought tickets separately but we got really lucky and all of our seats were right next to each other, and after an hour or two we started to realize just how fortunate we were that this was a BYOB event. The wrestling started at 830 am with the more novice wrestlers, and the more advanced groups wrestling later on. Around 4 the top ranked wrestlers began their matches. There were 2 yokozunas (the name awarded to the highest ranking wrestlers). The matches got much more exciting, and our group got a lot louder. We started making small bets on each match, and thus had a reason to cheer against each other. I am sure we were a bit obnoxious but we were having fun. The arena started to fill up a little more, and other people were cheering too, but I am always a bit self concious when my group gets loud in Japan since we stick out even more than usual, and not for an especially good reason. 
There was a small group in front of us who was very happy with our cheering though. Before one of the last few matches of the day, a foreign couple a few rows in front of us who had been quiet for most of the day, started to yell for the wrestler who was being announced “KOTOSHOGIKU!”. A few of us had 100 yen bets riding on this guy so we decided to join in with them and shout for Kotoshogiku as well. As soon as we did, the group of old people sitting next to the foreign couple turned around to express their thanks for our support. They seemed so excited that our group of foreigners was so enthusiastically supporting their favorite wrestler. The fact that the were so happy converted the rest of our crew, and several others in our section into Kotoshogiku fans. One of my friends did have his 100yen on the other wrestler in the match so he decided to yell the other wrestlers name every time we yelled for Kotoshogiku. This only made everyone else cheer louder. Before the match even began there was a huge yelling match (really just my friend Will chanting for one wrestler while everyone else in our section yelled for KOTOSHOGIKU!!) in our section and we had become the loudest section in the stadium by far. I am sure we drew the attention of many other people around the stadium. No one else really seemed to cheer all that much, other than a few people around the stadium randomly shouting for their favorite wrestler as he was introduced. Our section on the other hand, had joined together in a legitimate chant for Kotoshogiku. We made it the loudest match of the day as far as fan noise is concerned. It may not have been the most entertaining match of the day as far as sumo competition, but it was definitely my favorite. And then Kotoshogiku ended up man handling his opponent and pushing him out of the ring very quickly, so the whole section erupted again. The group of old people in front of us (whom I later heard was Kotoshogiku’s family) turned around and thanked us over and over, then started giving out pins with Kotoshogiku’s face and name on them. We were all so excited to have these pins (at least I was). The family was so appreciative of our support, and they thanked us again and again as they left the stands to meet their champion in the locker room. There were a few more matches after Kotoshogiku. One of the yokozunas actually picked up his opponent and threw him out of the ring. That was really cool to see. Sumo is a really exciting sport, and the Japanese custom (maybe custom is not the most correct word) of drinking beer everywhere made it even better. I had a blast seeing all the matches and hanging out with my friends all afternoon, but the best part of the day by a long shot was getting this pin. I am so pumped to have a real vested interest in a sumo wrestler now. I will always cheer for Kotoshogiku now. Sumo ended around 630. It was pouring down rain outside but we all decided to walk across town to get some food together. We ended up getting some Okonomiyaki, which is kind of like a cabbage pancake, but a lot better than it sounds. While Ben was in town I was really trying to get him to experience as much Japanese food as possible, and Okonomiyaki is a very famous Osaka food, so I felt it was a must. And as usual we proceeded to eat entirely to much, which to me is never a bad thing. After dinner we went to a video game bar. Ben has always enjoyed video games, and this place is one of the coolest bars I have ever been to so it was another thing I had to show off while he was here. Also the bar is owned by a guy from around Owings Mills, Maryland so that was just another reason to go while Ben was here. We ended up playing the newest super smash brothers game for about two hours. Then we realized it was getting late and our last train home would be leaving soon, so we had to head out rather quickly. When we got home a little after midnight, I hopped in the shower, and by the time I got out Ben was passed out cold. We were both pretty beat, and we had plans to wake up early on Tuesday and go to Kyoto. I had some time off on Tuesday. I didn’t have to go in until 5 so we had most of the day free, and I insisted that we go check out Kyoto. No one should ever come on a vacation to Japan and not see Kyoto and Ben only had 2 days left before he headed to Taiwan. We woke up around 730 and got on the train around 9. Koichi and Will had the day off too so we made plans to meet them there a little later in the day. First Ben and I went to Fushimi Inari shrine (the one with tens of thousands of orange torii gates) then we headed into Gion, and got some pictures with a few Maiko. Later on we met up with Will and Koichi and headed to Kiyumizu temple, then got some Ramen for lunch. After lunch, I had to head out so I wouldn’t be late for work. Ben stayed with Koichi and Will and they all went to the Golden Temple then to some other places around the city. I was pretty beat when I got to work. I had to slug a coffee just to wake myself up from the nap I took on the train ride back. Luckily, I had 4 classes in a row, so everything went pretty fast. After work, I met up with Ben and we took a Taxi to the 100yen sushi restaurant close to my house, another thing I think everyone who visits Japan should experience. Wednesday, Ben headed into Osaka as I headed to work. He met up with some people he met at his Hostel in Tokyo. I met him after work and we headed to my favorite ramen shop with Elizabeth for some dinner. The guys at the Ramen shop gave me a USB drive with some Japanese music on it a few weeks ago, so I returned that to them. They knew I would be leaving soon and they said that since Elizabeth and I were their first foreign customers, they got me a gift. They gave me a chefs coat. Just like the ones they wear. I was so pumped. Those guys are awesome. Ben said it was one of the best meals he had had in Japan too, which we were all happy to hear. I plan to visit them next week for a final meal, but I will really miss those noodles when I leave. 
This morning I headed to work, as Ben was packing up his stuff. I went to the bank to close my account, the cell phone store to cancel my contract, and to city hall to tell them I would be leaving. It all seems a bit too real now. I have to be out of my apartment by 11am on Monday. I am moving into a hotel for next week, then I fly out to Hawaii on Saturday at 1340. Not much time left. It was great to have Ben here though. It really helped keep my mind off of all the other things that have been stressing me out. Now I have my apartment back to myself, but I am a bit more ready to take on these last few days here. I will probably procrastinate with packing until the last minute but I am confident everything will work out. I will have my suitcases with me until I mail them home from Seattle so I am not worried about what to pack. I can figure out what I will really need later on. It is just a matter of getting it all into the bags I have. Wish me luck. As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Sorry for being so late on this but I didn’t want to half ass this one. It was a good weekend. Also, sorry about the lack of pictures. My phone’s memory is full so most photos are on Ben’s phone. I will upload them when I get them.