Hopefully this will be the last of these for a while

Captains log,

This weekend was a little different, namely in that I did nothing on friday. Everyone was studying for midterms, so I just kinda hung out at home, studied a little and did some hw. Nothing big.

Saturday, however, was quite eventful. Woke up at 6:00am because I was going to Kyoto! Met up with Drew in Juso and within minutes the jokes started rolling. These would continue all day. Finally get to Kyoto around 8:15 and Drew and I start wandering because Rika and Jukka would not be joining us for an hour.

We all finally meet up and set off on sightseeing. We journey to Yakasa Shrine, where we saw a wedding in progress, and move to some temple/shrine thingy that we didn't know what it was to see a funeral in progress. We walk through a massive graveyard, and wander around the gardens and what not before heading towards Yakasa pagoda. On the way we see a bunch of Geishas and stop by a Daibutsu (big-ass statue of Buddha). After finding the pagoda, we grab lunch in a non-touristy area (tourist areas were ridiculously expensive). It was cool because we ate at a Chinese restaurant, where the waiter could barely speak Japanese.

After lunch, Rika and Jukka part ways with Drew and I. They wanted to see this Geisha dance show and see an old brothel, but this would have cost around $40, whereas sightseeing would be less than $10, so Drew and I set off. We end up walking the wrong ways a few times, but finally get to our destination: Nanzen-ji. The gate (sanmon) was more worthwhile to look at than the temple, because it was one of the largest free standing wooden structures in the world. Drew and I leave from there to find this mile long walk translated roughly as the Philosopher's walk. So we walked about 5 miles to walk a mile.

A good ways into the walk, we realize the error of our ways and decide to come back during sakura season, when the walk would actually be pretty and worthwhile.

All of the souvenirs were expensive, I'll find cheaper versions elsewhere, though I think I'll get my kimono made there. It wasn't that expensive, I just need someone who's fluent in Japanese to be with me when I get one.

So finally we meet up again, and we head towards downtown Kyoto to get dinner. We got conveyor-belt sushi, which wasn't bad, aside from when my beer got spilled. Afterwards we went down to a Konvini to grab some booze and hangout by the river.

At the river, some fire dancers entertained us, then we wander around, consider messing with couples, Rika and I have a heart-to-heart, and all of us pretty much make asses of ourselves. Mostly to the other tourists.

Apparently, Rika and I fell asleep by the river. This is where my memory stops working. Drew wakes us up and we head to the station to go home. On the way, Drew's half-dragging me, half-trying to get me to shut the hell up, cause I was apparently yelling at people. He evetually gets us to the station where I fall asleep on the train. When we get to Juso, Drew and I, in our respective states, forget that I have to take a different way, but instead I get on his train and go to Nishinomiya. Which I can still get home from, provided I catch the last train. We eventually arrive and here's where my memory starts working again. I say bye to Drew and head down to my platform... just in time to see the last train leave. So I go upstairs and don't see a soul. Particularly Drew. My phone also died around noon that day. Despite the drunkenness, I remember thinking very clearly "welp, I'm boned." And set off to wander the streets.

My shoes had been killing me all day, so I took them off. I start trying to follow the tracks, and only later do I realize I was going the wrong direction. For some reason I did not think to go to a konvini until I couldn't find one. The reason for this is because konvinis sell these handy battery packs that you can cordlessly charge your phone with for emergencies such as this.

...Instead I try waving down cars so I can ask for directions to either a konvini or to the next station I need to head towards. I'm fairly certain at one point I walked out into the road trying to get a car to stop, and that may or may not have been why the police showed up shortly afterwards.

The police get out, give me what was probably the Japanese equivalent of "boy, where 'cho goddamn shoes?"

When you're in a foreign country, and faced with the police, you learn to speak the language real quickly.

I explain that they were hurting my feet, and what my situation was. I ask for the location of a konvini or the way to Takarazuka, and they drive me to their koban (police outpost thingy). They talk to me, get some information, who I am, what I'm doing in Japan, why I'm wandering the streets of Nishinomiya in the dead of night with no shoes on, you know, the typical things. So they ask if I have the money for a cab, I say yes, but I don't want to pay it, and I attempt to explain that if I can get to a konvini (I could see one from their window), I can call one of my friends and everything will be ok. But they didn't listen, it also may have had something to do with my lack of Japanese skills, but they drive me two (train) stations down and drop me off at a taxi, who takes me home, where I pay the $30 fare, and proceed to die on the inside.

Monday I felt terrible. Still coming off the hangover, tired, got my ass kicked by my Japanese grammar midterm, and emotionally conflicted (girl nonsense I won't discuss here - this ain't livejournal). Thank god for TENNIS. Yea, I suck, but my circle is awesome, and I felt waaaaaaay better afterwards. One of the leaders, Kazu, shows me how to get home, and after doing so, I pass right out.

Tomorrow's my kanji midterm. I will slay it. I also start teaching/help teaching English tomorrow! Friday's my listening midterm, which could go either way. After my midterms are over, and I promise I'll finally write my damn postcards. I'm sorry about the delay on those.

What'll be even harder is finding souvenirs for some of you.