Hello Everyone!

Sooo.... Since last time I wrote I went to a sumo wrestling tournament, a sake tasting event, got a japanese cell phone, bought my ticket to Kyoto for the school, went to Karaoke, planned out my trip to mt. fuji... there might be more that i'm forgetting.

Sumo Wrestling
I went with my friends Christina and Kristen, we got up around 8am, which was supposed to be 7am so we could leave by 8am and be there around 8:30am, but thanks to my sleepiness we left about ten minutes late and didn't get the realllly cheap tickets. They sell about 2hundred tickets for $21 but we essentially got the same seats from $36. Out seats happened to be next to a broadcaster I think because once people realized who it was they started taking pictures of him. He looked like he could have been an ex-sumo wrestler, so I guess it would have been the equivalent to Charles Barkley doing the sports center stuff about Basketball. Any way, the matches were good, some of them the crowd would get really into, like if they stayed in the ring for a long time. I wish I would have though to ask what phrase I can yell in japanese to route someone one or something like that... but oh well. I'm putting my favorite video on here but there are a bunch I just posted on Facebook! Everything was crystal clear from where ever you sat, due to the lighting I guess.While I was there I got a Sumo-Sized bento (lunch) box... which it wasn't too bad but what we really wanted was a hot dog and some ice cream that we heard was there but couldn't find... we eventually did find it and we were really dumb because its location was just around the corner on the second floor. See we looked around the first floor. Oh well, the mustard was spicy, from what Kris said so that's okay. The matches went on all day but we got there around 2 or 3 and it ended around 6 or 7. The interesting things about Sumo: They throw salt into the ring to purify the air, they sike each other out by almost starting and then going back to their sides about 3 times, and they wash their hands and face and drink water all as part of a ritual to cleanse themselves. This is a religious event to them. This tournament that I saw wasn't the last one, I went on a Wednesday night and it fully ended by Sunday.
Posted from sumo: fav. video, me eating bento, standing outside the place, and some of the pictures that were hanging from the ceiling (what they did was take a picture of the Sumo Wrestler that wins the entire tournament and then cover it in oil so I looks like a painting, but goes a lot faster.) Oh and the free vending machine in the basement of Softbank, we went there so Kris could get her phone that day.

Sake Tasting/Fashion Show/Concert

This was a great event. So I get there right before the speaches start, luckily I was saved a seat (I ran into some people on the way there, and since I was alone I decided I would walk in there with them but they wanted to get food first) Which btw was a fully non-english speaking little restaurant and I did well and I was very happy! Anyways, So this guy who wrote all these books on Sake makes a small 30 min. speech about how Sake is made, what makes it different than wine, or beer, or anything else, which comes down to the fact it was made with rice and nothing else, purely a rice wine. It was interesting. And I got to try 7 different kinds of Sake, and twice cause they accidentally gave me two things of coupons but I wasn't going to give up that mistake haha.. They were really small portions so it wasn't bad. Sake for me isn't really great, there was one that I liked more than the rest but still... Concert... yeah started off with an Ambient band, horrible horrible noises. Just screachings and weird noises and a girl up front singing tones. Then a really good Shimasen (i think thats what it was called, banjo looking guitar thing thats really big over here) player came on and it was wonderful. I saw the Fashion show next, which had weird music you needed to get used to, but it was really cool to see their outfits and I even got a picture with one of the male models. More music, it was an interesting place and everyone that I knew from school was there so it was great.

Japanese Keitai
I feel sooo much better that I can contact my friends here! Okay so the cell phone is a mute pink, almost a yellow tint to it, VERY thin, and really cool. The Camera is as good if not better than my actual camera. Money wise, I bought the phone for about 40, plan for 33, and a charger for about 10, which is as cheap as it goes here. It is a prepaid phone so the plan is 33 each month that i'm here. But the plan includes unlimited texting and email and about 30 minutes of talking time, which doesn't seem like a lot but when you can email someone you don't really need to talk. I bought my phone from this store called Don Quiote, lol... huge store filled with everything you may want pretty much! haha... first floor was tons of clothing, accessories and luggage, second floor was groceries + any household items you might need like cleaning supplies which sounds like a grocery store from back home like Giant, but here they do specialty stores i guess is the best way to put it. Like if its a drug store, its medication and cleaning supplies and make up and what not. If its food, its just food, they never commingle. 3rd floor was electronics and there were some vaccums i think and there was a 4th and 5th floor but i didn't even have time to explore those. craziness!

Kyoto
basically I'm all paid up and everything is good to go for that trip! It was 400 but worth it, theres so much to do down there you could spend a year there to get it all done. Wonderful. Thats going down in middle to late march.

Karaoke
It wasn't everything I hoped it would be, and when I say that I mean, it didn't give me that, i really love Karaoke feel. Cause I know how big it is over here and that so many people do it but its expensive and while singing songs are fun its not the same. Maybe it was just that I didn't have my normal group of friends with me like Nick, Sarah, Jonny B, and Amanda and Anthony, and Ryan... maybe you guys make the difference!! MISS YOU!!

Mt. Fuji
I think I have figured most of this out now. I'm going to Shirto Falls which is right near a really old shrine and then going to the north side of the mountain to get some good pictures and right next to there, Lake Kawaguchiko, is an Amusement park!! And its open right now so that's awesome. It has like 5 roller coasters and an amazing haunted house which has real people in there who are allowed to physically grab you! haa.. I hope i'm okay! But i'm going to try to make it through. I think i'm going to go when the weather is a little nicer

Other than that today i'm going to a fireworks museam and then to a concert, potentially Glam Rock, lol. So i expect to see some crazy outfits. Its all local Japanese bands so ... till next time!

Oyasumanasai, to all those going to sleep!
Missy