Final Farewell

In the morning I woke up and went to the breakfast room in the hotel. I ate a quick breakfast with Mrs. Ueno and my host mom. This morning was very short with them, surprisingly short. There is not much to say because it happened so quick :( We headed towards the terminal and I was not completely sure when I was leaving. I had it in my mind that I would be able to talk with them for a while more. The gate was very close and my host mom just said hurry! you will miss the plane! I was shocked because it was like "woah I have to go right now" I only had time to give my host mom and Mrs. Ueno a hug goodbye. I waved as I walked through security. It happened that fast. I boarded on to my plane and I was on my way home. The plane out of Hokkaido was around an hour. I met up with some friends that I knew from YFU on the way to Japan. It was nice to see them and talk about our trips. We took a bus to Tokyo Narita Airport and all the kids going to east side United States were on the plane with me. We were heading to Chicago airport. I got to call my family in Chicago. Everything was happening so fast. With another hour flight home to Detroit I met up with my family at the Airport. It was good to be home. It was hard to Imagine that earlier that day I was still in Japan talking with my host mom. This trip was a life changing experience for me. Something I will never forget.

Soccer party

Today would be the last day I would be in Asahikawa because My host mom and I would be driving down to Chitose Airport to stay at the hotel. Today summer vacation started for the kids so I had a party with the the soccer team as a goodbye party and my birthday party because it was also my birthday. My host mom rented out a place and around noon I went there to meet up with everyone. We all had rice balls and cake to eat. It was a really great time. I took pictures and we ate Jelly Bellies. I brought them from home because It is a fun activity especially because there are flavors that are not in Japan. Most people do not like black licorice in Japan so it was fun to dare the kids on the team to eat one. There faces was priceless. As soon as they tried it they searched for it in the jar and went to tell another kid that it tasted good. I played rock paper scissors with a teammate and I won so I got to watch them eat it. The funny part is that if I did lose I would not be really affected by the black licorice taste. One of the coolest gifts that I received was from the soccer team today. It was a soccer ball signed by all of the kids on the team. It also had the school name printed on to it like all of there soccer balls. It was super nice of my host mom to put on this party for me. The party came to a close and It was a kind of rush to get home grab my suitcases and leave. I said bye to everyone and gave out my email address. I came into a really nice surprise when I got home. It was the Yamaguchi family with the four kids! I was really surprised since yesterday was supposed to be my final goodbye with them. I got all of my stuff in the car and I only got to talk with the Yamaguchi's for just a while. But just seeing them before I had to leave was a great by itself. I waved as my host mom and I drove off towards Chitose. We talked in the car ride and we stopped for snacks on the way there. It was a several hour drive. At the hotel connected to the Airport I got to see Mrs. Ueno again. It was very nice to see her. We talked in the hotel lobby for a while. I had to wake up early in the morning in my flight so I went to my room for sleep.

last day with the Yamaguchi family

All of the last days came down to just goodbye days for people I knew. This one happened to be the day I said bye to the Yamaguchi family. I did some more shopping again in the morning. This was the day I bought most of my candy to bring back home. My host mom said that she would have a lunch break around noon so she said we would go to mos burger. At mos burger I ordered three different kinds. Teriyaki, ebi(shrimp, and the original mos burger. They were all delicious. Right next door was a Mister Donuts so we went in there as well. I got a free Pon de lion(mister donuts mascot lion)squishy toy. My host mom had to go back to work and Mrs. Yamaguchi picked me up. She took me for a little last minute shopping. It was fun talking with her in the car. Tonight for dinner we would go for yakiniku again. I was very excited. We picked up the kids from school and we met Mr. Yamaguchi at the restaurant. It was traditional style so we sat on the floor around a table. It was a good time with them. We went back to their house for fireworks. A while back when I went to Toys R Us with Mrs. Yamaguchi, we bought fireworks. We did not get a chance to use them so we decided it would be a good time now. I showed the kids some of the things Yuichi showed me with fireworks. Mr. Yamaguchi made a bonfire and after all the fireworks were done we sat there for a while. When It died down a little we went inside to talk and take some pictures before I had to go. I played othello with Mrs. Yamaguchi and after a while all the kids fell asleep. Mrs. Yamaguchi was going to take me home. I said bye to everyone else. On the way home Mrs. Yamaguchi said she was going to take the long way home so we could talk more. We talked and Mrs. Yamaguchi had tears, it was very hard to say goodbye. When we got close to the house we decided to take another loop around before going back home to talk more. When we arrived at my host moms house, my host mom came out and they talked a little. The time came and I gave my final goodbye as Mrs. Yamaguchi drove off. It was past midnight and my host mom was actually sleeping when I got home so we both went to bed.

last day with the kubo family

When it hit Monday I really felt my stay was coming to a close. I would be leaving Asahikawa Thursday. I only had a few days left to see everyone again. My host mom would be going with me to Chitose airport the upcoming Thursday and would stay at the hotel with me. In the morning I went shopping for things to bring back home that I have been looking at since the start of my stay. I biked to many stores and even to the downtown area for things. I had soccer again for today and tomorrow being my last day. Soccer was fun and I talked with kids on the team more than usual knowing that this was of the last that I would see them. After soccer I would be having dinner with the Kubo family and my host mom would go with me. We went to Kaiten sushi. It was very exciting but very sad to know it was my last day with them. The Kubo family gave me a summer robe as a present and it was very nice. The sushi was great. My host mom kept on telling me to eat more because it was my last time eating kaiten. It was sad to say bye to the Kubo's. I waved as they drove away. My host mom and I went into the super market and I picked out some last day snacks to eat. We went home and talked for a while. The next day would be my last with the Yamaguchi family.

Boys Be Ambitious

When I woke up Monday morning, I hurried and got ready to go to the train station. I would be meeting Kentaro there since his hotel was close by the station. Today was the day that Kentaro and I planned to go to Sapporo. We were going by train and it was scheduled to leave at 8:00am. My host mother was driving me to the train station and we pulled in with the car around 7:55am. When I saw Kentaro, he was already coming towards us with his suitcase in hand. My host mother and I ran towards him because it was late. Kentaro gave his suitcase to my host mother and Kentaro and I bolted for the train. Kentaro had his ticket ready but I did not. I was digging in my pockets to find the right ticket so I could put it in one of those gates that have bars and open up when the ticket is inserted. There was a security guard there. Our train was right in front of the gate so the securtiy man just told me to go around and not worry about it. He was like panting though because he did not want me to miss it. Kentaro and I ran and got on the train just as the door closed behind us. If we were a couple second later then that we would have missed it. It was really funny how such a close call that was. We were tired on the way there so we slept most of the time. We arrived in Sapporo and we went around shopping centers to look at stuff. Kentaro had a book of all of the famous things in Sapporo. We went to the park that was in the middle of the city. It was very hot that day so it was hard to stay in one spot. We decided to go to a viewing hill that had several famous things about Sapporo just outside of the major city area. We took a bus toward the hill. The hill view was beautiful. You could see the whole city from the tip. At the top was a statue of William S. Clark. It is famous there in Japan and is known for the quote "Boys be ambitious" (There is writing on the statue and it starts with those words). There is also a restaurant with famous gengiskhan lamb meat. We ate there and took our signature picture with the same stance of the Clark statue. It was great fun. We returned back to the city and walked around site seeing some more. There was a famous dojo that we got to look at. We did not get to go inside though. For dinner both of us decided to return to asahikawa for dinner. My host mother was going to take us to sushi but we went a bit late and all the restaurants were closed. So there was a Ramen shop that was open late and we decided to eat there. The bowls they served were huge! (and very delicious) I got my self a coolish ice cream and then we took Kentaro to his hotel for the night. He would be leaving tomorrow morning back home. :(

Purple

This post is called "Purple" because I believe I probably saw the most purple I ever have at one time in my life. I will get to that in a little bit, lol. So, Sunday morning, my host mom picked up Kentaro from his hotel. He came over and we prepared to go to the zoo. We would not stay long though because we made plans to fit in as much sightseeing as we could. Kentaro borrowed my host mom's bike and we headed off to Asahiyama Zoo. The bike ride was fun and we both took pictures. I wasn't the only one taking a lot of pictures, because this was the first time Kentaro has been in Hokkaido too. At the zoo, we visited the polar bears first. The lines were super long compared to the first time I went. This was due to a holiday weekend. The line did not matter though because I could talk with Kentaro. After seeing the polar bears, we visited the seals and penguins. It was extremely hot that day so it was nice to go inside the air-conditioned zoo buildings.

We had to hurry back home because we had to catch a train. It was to Furano to visit the lavender farms. I was super excited, it was what I wanted to see the most in Hokkaido. This time of year, the middle of July, is when the lavenders bloom. So a special train is running at this time because so many people visit. The train ride was about an hour to the farm. Outside of the windows we saw the mountain ranges with clouds resting right over the top of them and going down the sides looking like an avalanche. It was one of the coolest views ever. At the farm, we could see a ton of purple lavenders and red flowers along the side of a huge hill. When we reached the entrance, I purchased some lavender-flavored Calpis to drink. They had a ton of lavender flavored things. I am sorry I don't have pictures right now, but I will get them up as soon as possible. We were amazed at the amount of lavenders there were. Multiple acres of just pure lavender flowers. We then headed up the left hill and there was a huge patch of red flowers. We ran to the top and saw even more lavenders going all the way up to the mountains in the distance. It was one of the best views I have ever seen!

We stopped at another shop and I tried lavender jelly, lol. We visited the souvenir shop and then went to the flower rows. There were rows and rows of different colored flowers. White, red, purple, orange, yellow, and more. The whole section of the hill was covered in it. We headed back to the entrance for ice cream, thinking we saw everything. We happened to take a look at a map and then noticed we had only seen the left side! There was still a middle and a right side, lol. We almost missed the biggest patch of lavender flowers. So back we went. I was in awe of how many flowers there were. It was just, well, awesome. We got our lavender ice cream and took a seat on a bench in front of the field of lavender flowers. Kentaro and I relaxed for a while and enjoyed the beautiful view. We went to another souvenir shop and looked around some more. When we looked at the time, we knew we had to run to the train station because we took every minute possible to look at the flowers. That was a lot of purple! The pictures I took don't even show all of them. There were just too many to fit in one picture.

We went back to Asahikawa City and looked around for a place to eat. I wanted to try some food from the fast food restaurants before leaving Japan, so this seemed like a good opportunity and Kentaro was up for it too. I had seen and heard of MOS Burger (pronounced mosu baagaa. MOS is an acronym for "Mountain Ocean Sun", and it is a fast-food restaurant chain that originated in Japan. I was told that it is probably the second largest fast-food franchise in Japan after McDonald's.) Well, my brother told me that I had to try eating at McDonald's when I went to Japan, because it was so different there, so it was hard for me to choose. I decided that I wanted to try the teriyaki burgers at both MOS Burger and McDonald's. So I got one from each place. (I liked MOS Burger the best. McDonald's was OK, but MOS Burger was better.) Afterwards, we went to a curry rice restaurant and ordered a small plate. Then we went to Mister Donuts and got a donut. So it was a multiple restaurant meal, haha. At Mister Donut, Kentaro used some of his points he saved up and bought me a mascot ramen bowl. Each donut was around 3 points and the bowl was 150 points. So it was very nice of him to buy me a bowl.

It was getting late so we took the bus back home to Mrs. Mikami's house. We talked and I had some melonpan. We were joking around and I was laying on the floor. I pretended to fall asleep and then my host mom said "Adam, Wake up!" I looked up and she had her fist over my head so I bumped into it. She was laughing hysterically at the classic joke. HAHA.

The next day Kentaro and I were going to take the train to Sapporo city. We had to wake up early so to bed we went. (That sounded like Yoda.)

KENTARO!!!!!!!!

I had a long-time friend come visit me in Japan this past weekend! Although Kentaro lives in Japan, he had to come by plane from Honshu (the main Island in Japan) in order to get here to visit me. Kentaro stayed in Asahikawa for the weekend and then we went to Sapporo together on Monday. This was such an amazing weekend, but first there is a connection to Kentaro and the fact that I am in Japan that I need to explain.

My friendship with Kentaro Matsumoto is special. I first met Kentaro when I was in the 3rd grade. How does that work out? Well, in 3rd grade, Kentaro's family came to America because of Mr. Matsumoto's job. He lived a couple of streets down from me and we became great friends. Throughout our friendship, I was introduced to the Japanese culture by visiting his house and spending time with the Matsumoto family. My brother and I were invited to Japanese outings with them and it was very interesting to both of us. Sadly, in 7th grade, Mr. Matsumoto's job was completed here and Kentaro and his family moved back to Japan. Our friendship never faded, though. Last summer, for their vacation, the Matsumoto family came to visit us for a while. So, I guess I would say that my interest in Japan began with Kentaro and the Matsumoto family and that is part of the reason I chose Japanese as a language I wanted to learn. So, when I found out that I received the scholarship to go to Japan, the first thing I thought of was that maybe, this time, I could visit Kentaro, but when I learned that I would be on a different island, my hopes of that were gone. In any case, I contacted him by email that I was in Hokkaido (the northern most Island of Japan) he was excited to learn that I was there, but it was very far away. That was a big problem. Kentaro got around that dilemma by using his frequent flyer miles XD.

Back to this weekend. On Saturday morning, I watched Keroro Gunso at 10:00 (something I look forward to here in Japan when I get the chance) and then my host mom and I went to Furano to take her parents to their therapy. Afterwards, in the mid afternoon, we went to Asahikawa train station to pick up Kentaro!!!! I was super excited to see my friend. Kentaro, my host mom, and I all got along great with good laughs. My host mom had to go pick up her parents from therapy and take them back home. So, during that time, Kentaro and I talked, went to the supermarket to look around, and shared things that happened since we saw each last year. When my host mom, Mrs. Mikami, came home from taking her parents back to Furano, we thought it would be nice if we would all go get something to eat together. We went out for kaiten sushi! Kentaro's and my favorite, LOL. We went and had a few plates and then my host mom did not like how sushi was not coming out fast enough. She said she wanted fresh. So we went to a different one, lol. I know she really did that for us, so that it would be just right! It was so much fun being with Kentaro. When I found out I was going to Hokkaido, I thought I would not be able to see him, but since he was able to come to me, I was very, very happy. We went back home and talked for a while and then headed downtown to the hotel where Kentaro was staying. He was staying in a capsule hotel, which both of us have never seen before. It was not as tightly spaced as I thought, but was still only enough room for just one person and that's all! I was actually surprised there was a TV in there. He put his bags in and then we went around the city for a while. We thought about what to do for Sunday, and our plans were to visit the zoo and the Furano lavender farms. (The lavender farms are what I wanted to see the most in Hokkaido.)

More High School and Spending Time With the Kubo Family

Two of the nights that I spent at the Kubo house, Yuichi, Tasuku, and I went outside to a nearby parking lot to set off some small fireworks. Fireworks are huge in Japan. Kids buy them not just for holidays, but as an any day entertainment. The first night of fireworks were just nezumi hanabi, which are mouse fireworks. This particular type of fireworks had this name because the firework scurried around on the ground like a mouse. The next day after class, the whole family and I went to a kaiten sushi restaurant again! It was really good. I had lots of fun with Yuichi and his family. I am going to miss Japanese food when I get home. Many people told me that I will want a break from Japanese food, but I am still hungry for more! I want to make sure I try everything that represents the culture. After our sushi dinner we stopped at a super market to buy ice cream and bread. I was happily surprised that some of the bread I liked was purchased. I just thought it to be a coincidence. It wasn't until later that I realized that Mrs. Kubo must have contacted Ms. Mikami (my host mom) about what I like to eat, because all of my breakfasts contained my favorite bread, pudding, and so on. It made me smile...XD. It is really nice that they did that for me.

A while ago, my host mom asked me if I like cereal. I said yes. It is hard to communicate sometimes though, because when my host mom asks me if I like something, it pretty much means she will buy it for me. I always stress that I want to try new foods, but my host mom wants to ensure that I am happy, so she wants to buy stuff I like. It is very nice of her, but sometimes confusing. While I am here, I really want to eat Japanese food, because, well, it is just that I can eat American food when I get back home to the States...XD.

So back to the Kubo house. Wednesday morning, cereal was on the table. My favorite sports drink was in the refrigerator. Melonpan was in full supply. The chocolate filled cone bread was there too, and of course, the pudding I like...XD. Food was not the only thing that was probably put out for me I noticed. There was something that made me laugh really hard. When I arrived the first day at the Kubo house, I noticed something right away in my room. My futon cover was Keroro Gunso, LOL. The house had three cats and two dogs. The dogs barked around 6 in the morning so it was a good alarm clock. I woke up at 6 ever day for school...XD. All of the cats wanted to sleep on my Keroro sheets so I had to guard the threshold. Mrs. Kubo told me to just close the doors so the cats would not get in.

Day two of fireworks was really cool. I keep on getting off track, lol. When we were at the supermarket, Tasuku bought 2 bags full of fireworks. We enjoyed each of the fireworks one by one. I almost got my hair caught on fire, but let's keep that on the down-low. :D (Proof is in a picture Yuichi took of me, LOL.) The picture is quite funny because you can actually see what appears to be a spark on my head and me just about to rub it, lol. When I showed the picture to Yuichi, we laughed at how close that was...XD. We both had our close moments during the week, lol. On the last day while riding our bikes back to Ms. Mikami's house, Yuichi was talking to me and there was a series of like 4 poles inches apart from each other. He was looking at me and his left handlebar barely touched the poles. I noticed it as he was passing it, but I could not say anything because it happened so fast. Half way going by he noticed it and his reaction was priceless...XD. We laughed at that as well. If he was any closer he would have hit it...XD. We also stopped for soft cream on the way home. Of course, I eat a lot of soft cream because Hokkaido is known as "Milk Land". Being famous for milk, it is also famous for soft cream. The best soft cream. So I eat as much of it as I can while I am here :D.

At Kousen, I made a lot more friends. During an English session, all of the kids had to walk up in front of the class and introduce themselves to me in both Japanese and English so I could learn, too. All of the kids said nice things. Of course, I had to go up in front of the class many times. It was fun.

Since I am in Japan to learn about culture too, I will describe some of the things I observed. During class, the kids pay full attention. Well most of them. I will get to that in the next part. The teachers move from class to class and the kids stay in the room unless it is like gym or computers of course. So during the 5 minute break, all of the kids whip out their cell phones, and DSs, LOL. It was funny to watch many kids all play Pokemon with each other. My host mom made fun of me because I liked Pokemon because she said it was for kids. I told her in America that many high school students still buy the game. I knew it would be the same in Japan, and I was right :P So of course I had to pull mine out and trade Wi-Fi numbers so that we could play over the internet when I am back in the U.S.

Back to classes. This is a brief explanation of how it went. English was me following along with the class. Japanese was me observing. Chemistry I did not understand. Math I knew from the school year I just finished. Physics I knew from the school year as well. Art was fun, especially clay day. We had to make a "monster". I just put it in my head that Keroro was a monster, so I made Keroro. It turned out well, let's just say so, so. I got to take it home with me. Some of the monsters that kids made were really good ideas. In Gym we played baseball. I was 2nd batter and I got a few hits :D In HTML class, it was the day that kids learned the basics, so I finished my website in a few minutes...XD I actually did extra and made 5 pages instead of one! XD In Computer Programing, I never had done it before, but it was also an easy day for everyone. For me it was easy because all of the code were in English letters. I could type fast, so I actually finished very quickly and the kids were amazed, but I actually had no idea what I was doing...XD. At the end of the week the class presented me with two boards with signatures of every classmate and a short message. One of the kids in the classes drew the card pictures and it looks very nice. I will definitely picture frame it when I get home. I wish I could go to Kousen more, but I ran out of weeks. :(

I wish I would have gone earlier so I could have fit in more days, but everything so far has been perfect, so I actually don't regret anything. I met some of Yuichi's friends and a couple days we rode bikes home with some of them. One of the days Yuichi pulled out his guitar and bass (he had 2 of each). Of course he is super busy with school so he does not have much time to play. He was like me, he knew how to play a song or two, but that was about it. So he showed me a song he knew and I showed him a simple one I knew. He was very happy when he saw that I had some interests like him. He liked similar Manga, he liked HTML, some of the same bands that my dad and I listen to (Dad, I will learn to play a song by The Who just for you XD). So I showed him a site with guitar songs that people could use that did not know how to read music. He immediately pulled up a Red Hot Chili Peppers song and started learning how to play it. He knew Led Zepplin, so I showed him Stairway To Heaven XD. It was cool. Overall, the whole week was very fun. I got Yuichi's email and we are going to keep in touch that way. He said it would be good for practice too. He said he would type in English and he told me to type in Japanese. I am looking forward to it.

Kousen High School

Monday morning I went to the Kubo's house. I will be staying with them for the week and attend Kousen High School with Yuichi, Mrs. Kubo's son, who is 17 years old. There was not a lot of time for getting acquainted that morning because we needed to get to school. Yuichi and I got on our bikes right away and headed for Kousen so that we would not be late. It takes 40 min. to get to the school by bike. It is difficult though due to 4 bridges and a huge hill right at the end before ｒｅａｃｈｉｎｇ the school. My legs got very tired after the bike ride. XD It was arranged for me to be in a class with kids the same age as me. My home room teacher is Mr. Yasuda, who is the English teacher as well. So it is nice, because If I have any problems I can always talk to him in English. Classes go until 4:40 and soccer goes until 7:00 pm. So for the week at Kousen, I will be able to nothing besides school. I get home around 9:00 due to the long bike ride and after a little bit of time talking with some friends ｂｅｆｏｒｅ leaving for home. Each day the schedule is different for classes. Monday I had Japanese, English, math, physics, and chemistry for 2 hours. That particular Monday, the school had 2 hours off at the end of the day due to a competition the past weekend. In the Japanese cｌａｓｓ we listened to a tape while reading a book. I got to help out in English class with Mr. Yasuda. In Chemistry we took plastic bottles and made soap with them. I got to take mine home with me, LOL. I was ｔｏｌｄ to wait one month before opening it. Even though it was a long day, when I got home, I watched Nacho Libre with Yuichi and his little brother before going to bed.

Tuesday I had Math, English, chemistry, history, and computers. Math was two hours and computers was 3! I have been making many friends and having a great time :)
At soccer it was much different than Tohei High School, since it was more of just a club and not a school team sport. Kousen being a 5-year senior high school/college (Asahikawa National College of Technology) specializes in computers, robots, and so on. Most of the kids there are very talented. I was lucky to be allowed as a guest student there. It is very difficult to get into this school, and once enrolled, the students must maintain their academic levels in order to continue there. Mainly the students graduate with an associate of engineering degree, but some go into medicine. It was an odd sight for me to be going to school with students that were twenty years old. I guess it was funny to me because there was such a big age difference between the students there.

Again I don't have much time, so I ｗｉｌｌ detail more and add pictures in time. I am very sorry. The computer lab closes in 3 min. XD I gotta go, LOL!

Sapporo

On Saturday, I went to the school festival at Tohei High School. Some kids from the soccer team were there, so they guided me around the school. I got to see a school play, watch the band play, eat some food, get a massage, and view decorated rooms. One of the rooms was filled with paper animals to represent Asahiyama Zoo. It was very clever and well done. The students went all out on their decorations, so it was very exciting to see. They even had a room that was set up to give massages. I went into the room for a massage, and it was one of the soccer members that massaged me! They had pop bottle caps on the ground to massage the feet, but it hurt more than massaged, LOL. Overall, the festival was very enjoyable.

Sunday morning my host mom and I headed to Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido. We first went to a city nearby Sapporo called Otaru. Otaru is famous for glass and sound boxes. Another special thing ａｂｏｕｔ Otaru is their ice cream. I went to the ice cream shop with the supreme soft-cream special which contained lavender, milk, melon, strawberry, and coffee flavored ice cream. It was so delicious.

Once in Sapporo, we went to some shopping centers - they were all around. Sapporo was huge. It was much bigger than Asahikawa city. I had a great time with my host mom. She was looking for a summer bag as a purse to carry around. So I kept on joking with her and pointed to small shopping bags and said "Look!!! Summer bag!!!!" LOL, she laughed. We went to a Toys R Us in Sapporo to see if there were more Keroro things. We also stopped at a pet store just to look around. I went right to the parakeets because I miss my birds at home so much. One of the birds tried to bite my nose and my host mom laughed at me. The malls there were all really cool with grass and trees indoor. Everything was kept up very well. Who would think that shopping could be so much fun!

After leaving the city, we stopped at the home of a friend of my host mom's. We were invited there for dinner. We had curry rice ａｎｄ it was very delicious. I can't help but comment on how good the food is...can you tell I like the food? HAHA. It was a very enjoyable weekend.

The next morning I needed to wake up very early. I was going to the Kubo family's house for a week. I am short on time right now, so I will detail my post more later and add pictures. I am very sorry.

Spending time with the Yamaguchi family

I am sorry I have not posted for a few days. I was away from my house, so I could not post. I was invited to spend some time with the Yamaguchi family again.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Yamaguchi picked me up in the morning to go shopping. This time all of her kids were at school, so Mrs. Yamaguchi took me to Toys R Us to look for some Keroro Gunso items. (I LOVE Keroro Gunso) I was really happy because there were Mario and Keroro things all around. I bought a lot of Keroro things and Mrs. Yamaguchi was supprised because she knew I liked Keroro, but not that much, LOL. So after leaving the store with a big bag, we went to the supermarket to get some lunch items. Afterwards, we went to pick up her daughters, Yume and Towa, from their bus stop. They go to a Catholic kindergarten and they are twins. They are super cute and try to talk to me, but I don't understand. Their bus was pink and all the students wore light blue hats. Yume had gotten a bloody nose at school I think, so she had a wad of tissue in one of her nostrils, lol. We went to Jusco afterwards, which was a 3 story super market and department store. We went to look for Keroro toys from the little capsule vending machines. (I guess they are called "Gachya Gachya") We found another spot with Keroro toys, and Mrs. Yamaguchi bought me one as a present. It was very nice. We went to their house for lunch and afterwards I was dropped off back home.

Later, my host mom said that she invited Kyoko (a friend's daughter she introduced me to) to go out to dinner with us. (My host mom was nice to try to find someone my age to spend some time with.) The previous day, Kyoko and I went to Asahikawa city to look around and explore. I had my very first purikura, lol. A picture taking machine that also enables you to doodle on the pictures you take. These personalized snapshots are about the size of a postage stamp and are printed out in sheets. There was a room with like 20 of them. It was fun. At dinner I had ordered tempura, which is one of my favorite foods from Japan. Of course, sushi tops it though.

The next morning, Mrs. Yamaguchi picked me up again to go to church. After church, we went to a car wash and we both washed the car together. Afterwards we visited both of her sons' elementary school. Koushiro is in 1st grade and Yotaro is in 3rd grade. I felt bad for Koushiro because he was the only 1st grader in his class, but it was very cute when he studied with the teacher. Yotaro had 4 kids in his class and one was a 4th grader. I enjoyed watching them in class because I was actually learning too. We picked up the girls and then went back and picked up the boys when their school ended. The six of us went to a supermarket called CO OP to get food. Right before the entrance we saw the new mascot bear of CO OP just walk out of the truck. I guess this was the first time they have done that. I was the first person to take a picture with it, lol. It was funny to see the bear dancing around the store while we were shopping.

Back at home, Yoshiro had some Keroro Gunso episodes on tape that he recorded because he loved Keroro, too. Both boys actually had Keroro underpants and Koushrio ran around in them. I would be staying the night at the Yamaguchi house. The day before, Mrs. Yamaguchi had invited me. I had my own room and a real bed so it was comfy to be able to be in a bed again lol. I drew pictures with the kids before diner and played New Super Mario Bros. with Yotaro on both of our DS's. (I am sorry you missed out on a Mario Bros. match with me, Chris Carder XD). While I was playing, the other 3 kids took my camera and started taking pictures with it. Koushiro took pictures of my DS, and Towa and Yume took pictures of each other. It was funny to look back at them and see what they did in there pictures. At dinner we had Sukiyaki, which was awesome. Everyone took a raw egg and cracked it into thier bowl. Then Mrs. Yamaguchi had a stove-type thing in the middle of the table. In a pot, meat, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles were being cooked. everyone took what they wanted one by one from the community pot and dipped it in the egg to eat it. It was very interesting and good. Since it got a little messy, newspapers were set around the table. Right by Koushiro's seat was a picture of a man and an animation with a golf club in swinging motion. It was hilarious when he was drawing pictures all over him and drawing poop pictures on him. The best part was when he drew a poop with the "swish movement" lines right were the golf swing was. I almost was on the floor laughing. We all made funny faces in the pot because our faces appeared distorted from the concave and convex areas of the pot. Mr. Yamaguchi came home from work, but he went out with his friend from work right away. I got to meet him and say hi, but that was about it. It was late and I went to bed.

In the morning, we had bread that we chose from the previous day. Of course, I chose melon pan and a chocolate filled roll. I never liked bread so much in my life. At the supermarket, there must have been at least 10 different kinds of bread I wanted to eat including the curry filled one (I misspelled it last time because I am so used to Japanese Katakana being "karee" LOL. XD)

Mrs. Yamaguchi and I then went to church. After mass, we went to a discussion about the New Testament with the priest there. He studied in America so he could speak English quite well. We met some of Mrs. Yamaguchi's friends, and we went to lunch afterwards. I had rice and pork with curry. (Well, I feel the need to say it... mm mm.)

After being out most of the day, we picked up the kids and went to the house. We played games just like before and watched Star Wars episode 3 in Japanese. It had English subtitles so I could understand at least. :D It was a an enjoyable afternoon.

Later in the day, we went to a restaurant called 5 Star to eat. We met with Mr. Yamaguchi there. It was a viking style restaurant, but a little different than the other one I went to with my host mom. This one had a grill in the middle of the table. (I'm still a bit confused as to why it is called viking style, but the best way to describe it is the Japanese version of all-you-can-eat.) The dinner was very similar to the sukiyaki, because we all chose meat to grill and and ate what we wanted. Yakitori, sushi, tempura, and melon soft serve ice cream was what I chose to eat. It was one of the best meals I have had. So many of my favorites were available to me. By the time we got home it was late, so I talked with the parents for only a little bit before going to bed.

Saturday morning we had biscuits and jelly for breakfast. I had milk tea to drink, which is one of my favorite drinks here in Japan. We talked a little and later I showed Yotaro an infinite life trick in Mario Bros. XD. Afterwards, it was time for me to go home. (Perfect timing - I have been wanting to watch Keroro Gunso on TV because it is on Saturdays at 10:00 - I would make it home just in time :D)

I thanked the Yamaguchi family for everything. I had a unforgettable time with them. They want me to stay at there house again sometime before I leave. I hope to do so, too.

Asahidake

The tallest mountain in Hokkaido is Asahidake. That is where I went Sunday. It was a long car drive there, but enjoyable with being able to study 1st grade to 3rd grade kanji, like Mori Sensei said :D. The mountain was huge and a chairlift was needed to go up around half the height. My ojiisan (grandpa) went, too. When we reached the part to walk though, he stayed in the rest area and just enjoyed the view, while my host mom and I began to climb. The path had lots of rocks, so I had to be careful where I stepped. The view was gorgeous. Mountains, valleys, rivers, and city all were in sight. My host mom kept on asking me why I was enjoying it so much; I guess she is used to seeing mountains everyday XD. She got tired and told me to continue by myself. I had to go to the bath at the base of the part where it started getting steep fast. My host mom did not want grandpa waiting. I did not get to see the top of the mountain because we ran out of time, but it was still a nice view. If I ever went back, I would definitely climb to the top.

On the way back, we stopped for some lavender ice cream again in Furano, while driving grandpa back to his home :) . Grandpa would stay for the week at his house and return maybe over the weekend or next week. We stopped by the home of my ojiisan's sister, which was very close, and they had melons and cherries. I was given a melon and we picked cherries. It was fun. The melons were very delicious. I have been wanting to try a lot of fruit now, because some are so different in size and flavor from the fruit in America.

By the time we got close to home it was late at night. We went out to get some sushi anyways, and like always it was super delicious.

A day full of activities

One of the delicious strawberries

Me and Mac (I am not fat lol, that is just the wind blowing XD )

Me and the mushroom block

Asahikawa city from a higher view

Saturday was a ton of fun. The day was full of things I did with my host mom. First, in the morning, one of my host mom's students came over with his mom. This was like a conference because my host mom is a special one on one teacher. So while my host mom talked with Ryota's (student) mom, my host mom asked me to take him to a park nearby for an hour. Ryota was in 4th grade, so it was hard talking to him because he did not understand that I could not speak Japanese very well. We had a fun time and I gave him some candy I brought from America.

My grandpa had therapy at 7:00pm, so my host mom told me that we would drive around and go site-seeing for a while. We drove to a city called Pippu, which is famous for strawberries. We went to go strawberry picking again!!!!! My host mom had stopped some residents of Pippu to ask which strawberry farm had the best selection because there were farms everywhere so it was hard to choose which one to go to. They told us that Makino had the best. So we went to Makino Farm and it had strawberries galore. What made this farm special was that it had different types of strawberries. My favorite was the Kentaro kind. :D (Funny, because Kentaro is also the name of my friend from Japan that lived in America when we were younger.) The man in care of the strawberries came up to me and started talking to me in perfect English. I was surprised and he told me that he was a retired college professor and studied English in America for six years. He told me to call him Mac. We talked about differences between America and Japan and how Japanese fruit have so much more flavor than the ones in America XD. The strawberries were delicious. I probably ate more than I did last time. After strawberries, we went to a town right nearby that was not famous for strawberries, but for mushrooms. (No, I did not see Mario there, hahah.) We went to a mushroom house and my host mom asked if I was allowed to look around. The keeper was glad to and we went into the dark and cold chambers in the back. There was aisles of mushrooms. I got to hold the blocks they had that the mushrooms grew out of. It was cool, but hillarious, I mean I was holding a block with mushrooms popping out of it. HAHAHA. After getting away from strawberry and mushroom land, we next traveled to what seemed to be watermelon land. Of course, we did not buy one because they were like 50 to 75 dollar watermelons! They were huge and looked delicious though.

After visiting those three places, we drove up a huge hill with a road on it, so I could see the entire city from the top. It was awesome. I put my hand over my eyes and looked afar. Starting from the left I looked across the city. When I looked at the right side, something caught my eye. It was my rival. AHHAAH! I laughed because that one skiing hill I went to a while ago was standing tall in the background. It reminded me of how I could see it from anywhere and it seemed close, but was actually very far away. After we had taken grandpa to his therapy, we took the bus to the downtown area of Asahikawa. We went to a restaurant there and it was Izakaya style (this is a common Japanese bar and restaurant). It was delicious, like all the food I have tried :P. There were 4 people next to us that seemed to be in their 20's. At the end of my meal one of them started talking to me. It was hard for me to understand. My host mom came over and he talked to her. He talked to her for a very long time. While they were talking the other guy told me that he loved me and he will give his life up for me while holding his beer up and shouting. LOL. So I said bye, but the guy that was talking with my host mom walked over to the exit with us. He said he wanted to learn English from me. My host mom assumed he meant for money, so she asked him how much, lol. He said he was poor, but then he asked what food I liked. My host mom replied with Meiji chocolate. So I had an offer to teach English for boxes full of Meiji chocolate and maybe dinner or lunch sometimes. His name was Hirama, and he was very nice. I haven't decided what I will do yet, but he told me to call him Monday if I am ok with it. At the time, I was super confused, it was not until later that my host mom cleared this up.

After dinner we ran to an Anman (steamed cake) shop, it was a little store that was just outside. The dessert was something like a little bread loaf or bun filled with Japanese azuki sweet beans. There were porcupine shaped ones also, filled with sweet potato. Those were very cute, lol. My host mom bought 2 of each so we each could have the azuki and sweet potato. They were soooooo good! I did not want to eat the porcupine one because it looked so perfect, but I couldn't resist. It was delicious, lol. We made it to the 11:00 bus just in time and headed for home. My host mom and I talked for a while and I thanked her for the awesome day.

Viking Style?

The last couple of days I did not get a chance to make a post. Friday was the most eventful because I went to a Catholic church and out to lunch with a family that knew my host mom. The family name is Yamaguchi. It is a family of six. There are 2 sons and 2 daughters all under the age of ten I assumed. I was picked up around 9:45 and we arrived at the church at 10:00. It was a short mass, but very similar to Catholic churches in America. Of course there was one big difference, they spoke Japanese...XD. They also do not wear outside shoes in the church, just like any home in Japan. So I was given a pair of slippers to wear. It was funny because it was a one size for everyone type, but my entire heel was off the shoe, lol. Mrs. Yamaguchi held up the songs to me, so I decided I would give it a try. I was surprised because I could actually sing and read the Japanese without falling behind. There were actually some Kanji characters, but thankfully I knew them all.

After church we went to a big store complex and got some yakisoba (fried noodles) and other food from a restaurant to take home. While waiting for the food, there was a book store right next door, so we all went and looked inside. One of the Yamaguchi boys liked Keroro Gunso like I do so it was fun because I got to see a lot of Keroro stuff.

Soon lunch was ready and we went to the Yamaguchi house to eat. Their house was very, very nice. It was modern style, so the table had chairs with it. We talked a lot and ate. Mrs. Yamaguchi pulled out the Asahikawa map to show me where their family lived in comparison to where my host mom did. It was quite close. It might take me 20 min. on my bike to get there. All of a sudden, her son put a Keroro watch on the table. I was like woaaah. It was exactly what I was looking for. Both of her sons had the watch and one did not want it, so he gave it to me. I was extremely happy. I took the Keroro watch strap and switched it with my current watch strap. So I had the same watch I bought, but with a Keroro strap, lol. I had a great time at the Yamaguchi's.

A few minutes after I arrived home, the doorbell rang, and I received a package. It was a present from the Czaplickis for my b-day, early so I can use it in Japan! ahahha. It was a bike computer (I think that is what it is called). It tells me how fast I am going on my bike and how long I ride it. A magnet is placed on the wheel and a reader reads how fast it takes for the magnet to go a full rotation. This then tells me how fast I am going. I always wanted something like this :P. So I tested it out and got faster than 21 mph, but I will work on getting faster, lol. I still don't get how Michael Johnson can run faster than me when I use my bike and he just runs. LOL. So now when I ride my bike I always look at my total average speed, so I am always tempted to ride faster, lol. If I had one for running, I would probably run too hard and hurt myself, lol. Thank you very much for the gift!!!!!

So then for dinner when my mom got home, my grandpa wanted to go to the same restaurant two days in a row for some reason. The restaurant was like kaiten, but no conveyor belt. You just go and choose plates from a counter and each one had a different price. My host mom told me this was called viking style. LOL. I asked why, and she told me that it was because the vikings could get whatever they wanted, lol. I laughed and still was a bit confused...XD.

Mister Donut

Today my host mom was in a rush to go to work, so she gave me an equivalent of 10 dollars to go to the super market and buy lunch for me and my grandpa. I explored parts of the city that I haven't before, and I saw a few more supermarkets - that made me happy. A supermarket called Daiichi had cheaper candy. Yes! However, I also went to the usual supermarket I go to because it had a bigger selection of lunches. I got an obento for me and my grandpa that had rice, teriyaki chicken, potato salad, and egg. It was very good.

After lunch, I rode back to Daiichi to candy hunt. I looked around there, but I saw another supermarket called Big House. So I looked there, and I found juice was cheaper. I bought a Calpis water to try and a Mow strawberry ice cream to try. I needed strawberry ice cream after that soft serve I had the other day. I didn't notice until I got home that I purchased a drink and an ice cream brand that had a similarity in their names. Of course, just about anyone (American) looks at the name Calpis and notices it sounds like something else (self-explanatory), but the ice cream Mow sounded like Moo in Japanese, which sounds like mow as in mowing your lawn. That is the sound that a cow makes in Japan. I laughed because both of these items had a connection to cows. ahah. After a good laugh with myself, I enjoyed my snack. This was day 4 of "Japanese supermarket food testing". So far, I have liked everything.

Soccer was short, but fun. We had a scrimmage and I talked more with the team. I am going to try and talk to the vice-principal and see if I could still be able to go to school. After soccer, I went for a run, but I experienced something that felt like a bruised right hip bone, but right when I was the farthest from my house, it swelled up and I could barely walk. So I took a little break, and I started to walk towards home. When I got to what seemed about only 2 miles left to my house, I started to jog a little. I ended up ok, but I got home a little late.

I had dinner with my host mom and grandpa. After dinner, my host mom asked me not to be sleepy. I was confused because I did not get it. I understood that after a day of running, soccer, and biking everyday, I was pretty much extremely tired around 9:00. Since I got home late, it was getting close to around that time. Afterwards, I found out she asked me not to be sleepy because she wanted to take me to Mister Donut, a donut shop. Mister Donut is a popular donut shop around Japan, and I even knew about it in America. I wanted to visit it really bad, and now I had the chance. My brother had told me that if I ever go, I should try a particular donut. So when we got there, I took my brothers advice and I picked the curry filled one. My host mom picked an assortment of donuts and jelly snacks to take home. I later found out that they were for me and my grandpa. All the donuts were very good, especially the curry filled one. Thanks for the advice brother. :)

After Mister Donut, we stopped at a book store and my mom picked up some flash cards on a ring. When we got home, she told me to right down any English word I wanted to know in Japanese on one side, and later she would put Japanese on the other. We would do this throughout the rest of the stay. This was a good idea. I was happy because there were many words I wanted to know. Afterwards, I went to bed with a filled, happy stomach.

Soccer Scrimmage and BBQ

One of my host mom's friends is catholic, so before I went to the soccer scrimmage, I visited the catholic church. I stayed for only part of the mass because my host mom had to leave. One of the interesting things I noticed was the parking lot. Since parking lots are not as big as the ones in America, cars were parked in the aisle ways all the way up to the door. Not one more car could even pull into the parking lot at all. I just wondered how they would fashionably get out.

At 11:00, I headed to the school and there were two kids from the team there to ride with me to the opposing team's school. The school was pretty far away so it was a little lengthy bike ride, but not too bad. Most of all I enjoyed talking with them. At the other school, the field was gravel also and the school building almost looked identical except for the color. My school, Tohei High School, is green. We would play 4 games against the other team and each game was about 30 minutes long. Unfortunately, my team did not score any goals, and the other team scored a lot. I was happy anyway because I got to play in the last game. I talked with other kids that were not playing during the first 3. Since these games were short, there were no subs, that is why there were 4, so different line-ups could be used. I played ok, but the other team was definitely better, so my team did not have many passes put together. I still had a good time. Before I played, I asked some of the kids on the team to take some pictures and they said ok while giggling. I glanced at them a couple of times when I was playing and they were laughing, so I expected some funny pictures. Then one of the kids took the camera and took some good shots of the game. I was pleased. I looked at the pictures and it was hilarious. Most of them were just funny faces.

When I got home, 2 families came over for a BBQ. The food was great and I talked with them for a long time. One of the families wanted me to try to go to an onsen (natural spring). I said I would be thrilled, and they were happy.

Hokkaido Folk Arts and Crafts Village

Saturday I had soccer practice at 1:00pm, so there was some time to do something beforehand. So after breakfast my host mom took me to a museum. It was called the "Hokkaido Folk Arts and Crafts Village". Inside there were actually three museums. The first one I went to was the Yukara Ori Folk Craft Museum. In this museum there were woven cloths that resembled nature. They were very cool, but if you wanted to buy one they were very expensive. The second museum was my favorite. It was the Snow Crystals Museum. This museum was all white marble and glass with snowflake emblems all over it. There was a room with large glass viewing windows so that you could look at the tremendous walls of ice on the other side. Of course the room was very cold XD. The last museum was the International Dyeing and Weaving Art Museum. There was clothing from all around the world. We did not get to stay in the museums very long because we were short on time. I wish I could have stayed longer.

I went to soccer practice and talked with the kids on team. It was really fun. Some tried teaching me Kanji, and some liked asking me if knew famous actors and singers that they new of. The practice went to about 4:45. For the scrimmage that would be tomorrow, one of the kids told me to meet him at the school at 11:10 and we would ride our bikes to the other school to play. After soccer, my host mom came home from Furano after picking up her father. We went out to dinner at a very delicious restaurant that served fried sea food. I got a combination plate with all the different kinds they served there...mmmmm. Afterwards, I got a strawberry soft-served ice cream cone. Japanese soft-serve ice cream is awesome! The strawberry ice cream was the best strawberry ice cream I have ever had.

Kaiten sushi

So today I decided I would do a longer run. North and south of my house are two rivers. Those rivers are pretty much exactly 5 kilometers apart from each other. So I decide to run from one river to the other and back to make 10 kilometers. My legs were getting sore and I had annoying blisters on the bottom of my feet from soccer. I finished and rode my bike around town looking for the library. I could not find it, so I went inside a few local convenient stores to look around. It started to rain so I went home and watched some TV for a couple minutes before going to soccer again.

At the beginning of soccer, the coach was not there so we chose teams by counting one and two in a circle. We played a game. The coach came and he told us to continue playing. So the whole practice was a huge scrimmage and it was fun. Although my legs were cramping really badly, I tried to walk it off. I talked with the kids on the team a lot. It was fun. After practice, my host mom told me it was her pay day and we were going out for sushi for dinner. I was super excited. When we got to the restaurant I got double excited because 1) I love sushi, and 2) It was Kaiten Sushi. Kaiten sushi is where you sit around a conveyor belt that goes in a circle with plates of endless sushi on them. Each plate costs a certain amount of money. So you just grab the plate you wanted. There was also something that looked like a hot water faucet at every seat. It was for green tea. It was like a pop machine where you press a button with your cup and it dispenses the beverage. I had a great time. Every piece of sushi I tried, I liked. After sushi, my host mom stopped at her favorite dessert store. It was called Chateraise. We have gone there before and it was delicious. My host mom loves it because everything in the store uses no preservatives. They sold jelly desserts and some things in sauces that I did not know, but was still delicious, lol. My host mom told me to choose two jellies. She chose two also. Last time I had strawberry, so this time I chose grape and peach. Afterwards we went to the movie theater just to see what was playing there, and at what times. We looked to see what was there for Saturday so we could maybe go see one. When we got home we had another dessert; I did not know what it was, but it was still good XD. Afterwards I went to bed.

Soccer

Yesterday when my host mom and I went shopping, we picked up some grapes. This morning for breakfast I had some. I took one and I ate it and then my host mom told me I ate it wrong. I guess with their grapes you do not eat the skin, just the inside (similar to Concord grapes). So I sucked out the insides and it was very refreshing. The grapes were delicious. They had more flavor and were smaller than the ones in the U.S. After breakfast I went for a run. When I got back, I took a shower and straightened up my room. I then had rice balls, more grapes, and melon pan for lunch. I explored the city a little before I had to go to soccer. Soccer started around 4:00. I got there and I introduced myself to the team. We started practice immediately after that. I did not have soccer shoes, so I had to borrow another kid's extra pair. The coach said he was surprised at the size of my feet. He told the team and they were all surprised too. Only a couple kids had feet around the same size and one kid had an an extra pair for me. So we started practice and I was doing very badly because I haven't played in a while. In between drills I got to talk with some kids and as practice went along, more talked to me. Some were trying to play games like saying their name was something it was not to trick me. Towards the end of practice we started a scrimmage. A little into the scrimmage my calf muscles were starting to pull; most likely because I ran, rode my bike, and now played soccer. I played until I reached the point were I felt I was about to get a charlie horse or something, lol. So I went to the bench and talked with the coach and the 3 soccer managers. My coach's English was okay and the three managers' English was actually rather good. They tried talking in English to me, and I tried talking Japanese back. I gave my coach beef jerky that I brought from home and he shared it with the managers. The managers' names were Ami, Shiori, and Natsuki. When practice ended I had a bag of Nestle assorted chocolates that I gave to the team. I also had some pins and pencils from Troy, Michigan that I gave them. The candy went very fast and they were happy XD. I took a picture with them and then everyone left. I would be going to practice the next day and maybe play in a scrimmage against another team Sunday.

Exploring the City

The picture above is the supermarket I went to called CO OP

The picture above is melon pan, which is a bread snack
that was really delicious. The one I had was flavored with chocolate chips. The picture below is of me eating the melon pan.
These pictures were taken for George from the California orientation.
I wish I could give you some George :D. Oh, and you are right,
they are delicious. XD

Below is a picture of part of the city. This part did not have many
tall buildings, but when we drove farther into the city there were more.

My lunch I bought, mmmm.

Tuesday the 19th was an exploration day for me. Like everyday, I awoke to have a delicious breakfast with my host mom. My host mom went to work and I went running. When I got back, I got on my bike and I went to the supermarket. The word "supermarket" is not an overstatement. It was a 2-floor store with lots of stuff. The second floor had a section that was a 100 yen section, just like dollar stores in the U.S. I looked around at everything in the store to see what things I liked. I found many things that I would have liked as souvenirs. Well, I decided to take a picture of everything I had an interest in so as not to forget something when I make my purchases towards the end of my stay. LOL.

It got around lunch time and and I went down to the first floor, which was the grocery section, and I got myself a little tray of food. There was a very large selection of pre-packaged meals that it was hard for me to choose. I went home on my bike and I ate... mmm, mmm. Afterwards, I went and explored the city more. I did not know what time it was, but I guessed it was around 3-ish. So, I went to the elementary school to see my host mom after school let out. As I went in, many kids were leaving so many of them pointed at me and said "Gaijin", which means foreigner!!! When I got into the school, I said hi to the vice-principal (the same one that I went to Bikkuri Donkey with) and asked where my host mom was. I laughed when she was called down on the PA system. XD. My host mom rushed in and I just told her I came to say hi, LOL. So she told me that she will be home in 2 hours. I had to leave then. As I was going back home, an elementary student called my name, so I crossed the street towards him. He asked me something extremely fast in Japanese and I could not understand him. It sounded like he was asking me where I was going, but I could not understand the last part. I told him I did not understand and all he did was repeat himself at the same speed. After his second try, he said bye and went home. Other kids waved to me as I was going by.

I practiced some Kanji and then my host mom got home. We left to go shopping. Since I never know the time once I leave the house, and I want to track my running times, I thought it would be a good idea if I got a watch that had a timer on it. I also wanted one with Japanese on it so it would be a nice souvenir for myself, too. So we went to the sports shop first, and the helper at the store brought us to the watches. My host mom did not understand exactly what I was looking for, but all I wanted was an inexpensive watch. She told the guy all of these things and he took us to a section where watches were like 100 dollars. I laughed. My host mom looked at the most expensive watch that measured your heart beat and had a 300 lap time memory. AHAHA. So we went to two other shops that were like a 1-minute walking distance away. They carried only expensive ones. So when I assumed we were going to the grocery store for the salad dressing she wanted, we stopped at this designer accessory shop that had expensive brands like Gucci and more. She went to the counter and asked for a sports watch. So the store clerk brought us to these like $300 dollar gold watches and I was laughing in my head pretty hard. My host mom said, "Wow, expensive" and we left. We ended up going to Jusco, a supermarket, and I got a $10 dollar watch. We got home late and I went to bed.

Attempt to the mountains. (I did not know what I was thinking.)

On Monday, after my host mom went to work, I happened to look outside and stared at the scenic mountains in the distance. I decided that I would ride out that way on my bike and then maybe... run up a mountain. The idea was crazy, but I wanted to do it. So I took a piece of paper and drew myself a map so I would not get lost on the way back. I left around noon because I spent a lot of time in the morning trying to get pictures to upload . It looked like the mountains were close, but as I pedaled and pedaled, I did not get any closer. It took me a while to realize that those mountains could be possibly 20 miles or more away. Of course, I could never know the exact amount unless I actually went there or looked it up. XD I decided on a different plan. I remembered that when I looked outside from my house, I also could see what seemed like a hill in the distance. It appeared closer than the mountains, actually much closer, so I now decided to head towards it. It looked like I would reach it in only around 5 to 10 minutes. So I pedaled and pedaled. It still appeared the same distance away. I was determined though and after a long, long time of riding , I finally got there. I found out it was actually a very big skiing hill. It only appeared a small hill from my house. So I started to run up and then I hit grass that was taller than my waist. I heard some snakes rattling and there was white foam on the ground and I was out of there . HAHAHA. So I may have ran for 5 minutes and then I realized that I would be super tired because I still had to ride back home! I did not even know what time it was. I arrived back home around 3:30, so that means I rode my bike for around 2-2.5 hours . I wish I knew how many kilometers the hill was away from my home here, but I still do not know. All I know is that it was a lot of miles.

My host mom arrived exactly at the same time I did back home. We talked, watched TV, and ate dinner. I gave her some beef jerkey that I brought from the states for her to try. I was really tired after a long day of biking, so I intended to go to bed early. It was an adventurous day for me, but I wish I would have been able to go to the mountains. Maybe I will find some way another time. My host mom said that the mountains by Furano (where my host grandparents live) had bears there and people die, so needless to say I got scared a bit when I thought about my plan to go to the mountains. But my host mom said that it was safe by the ones in Asahikawa. I was relieved at first, but then I thought that these mountains were so far away that they are actually about the same distance away as the mountain range in Furano. So I am not really sure if bears could lurk there or not. I hope not. I will probably ask again to make sure.

The pictures are of when I was biking along. There were rice fields as far as the eye could see with mountains all around. I saw horses on the side of the road and I could only get as close as about 5 feet away from them because of the barbed wire. I thought of Babcia and Ciocia when I saw them. This is the hill I went to. This picture was probably taken several miles from where it was located. This picture is me standing maybe in the middle to bottom of the hill.