６月２７日（土）

In the morning I did some studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and in the afternoon I went to watch Masao and one of his employees, Katsuo, play badminton together. They taught be a little bit but I am 下手臭う(hetakusou, really bad at it)!

After some more study I met two old friends, Tetsuya and Erica, and we went to an izakaya (Japanese-style bar) to drink and eat. I found that Kirin makes a dark beer（キリン一番：黒生）that is actually pretty good (pictured above). It was great to see them again!

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２６日（金）

I unpacked in the morning, and in the afternoon Masao took me to Costco. Among other things we bought bagels, which he said he had never tried. That sounds crazy to an American! We ate hotdogs afterward and had conversations about how to state a hotdog in a bun versus a hotdog on its own and how to count hotdogs properly in Japanese and English. That sounds simple but it's surprisingly complicated!

For example, in Japanese, if you want one hotdog in a bun you would count it 一つ (hitotsu), but if you want one out of the bun you'd count it 一本 (ippon). 一個 (ikko) might also be an ok way to count one in a bun.

In the evening I went with Masao and one of his employees, Sayano, to a yakitori (fried chicken) place, and we ate dinner and engaged in some good-natured racist jokes, mainly in English because my brain had turned to mush. Later we ate cake, took stupid pictures, and engaged in more friendly racism. Masao turned to me on his third piece of cake and said with a sad look in his eyes "I'm becoming American." I told him soon he'd be fat like me.

Travel tips:
5. Ask questions about stupid things if you don't know. You won't end up looking dumb, and if you don't learn you might look ignorant later.
6. Try not to let stereotypes offend you. Play along and make fun of them.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２５日（木）

(picture: beer and sake vending machine, Hirakata)

In the morning I headed out from my house to find Softbank and prepay a card for my old Japanese phone that I brought back with me. The old location I used to go to had closed, so I showed up at my old friend and former housemate, Masao's, workplace on foot unannounced. He runs his own business so this wasn't too much of a problem, I hope! He kindly offered to take me to the next closest Softbank, and I met one of his employees who showed up. At Softbank, the staff couldn't get me a prepaid card without a 在留カード (zairyuu kaado, Foreign Resident Card) and as a tourist I was not issued one, so Masao allowed me to put the phone in his name. I was really glad to have him there to help me.

In the evening I was able to get my rent paid, and my organizer friend lent me a bicycle. I went back to Masao's work to give him some prickly pear candy I'd brought from Arizona. He thought it was too sweet and I don't think he liked it, but he was polite about it, anyway.

I have been really bad so far about giving my old friends and new acquaintances the gifts I brought from the USA, but it's best to do when you first see them again. From here on I will try to do better! The items I chose were souvenir pens from Hollywood, prickly pear candy from Arizona, "navajo" green tea from Arizona, prickly pear honey from Arizona, and one goofy Arizona shot glass.

Travel tips:
2. (repeat) Be considerate, and people will have your back when you need them.
3. You need a foreign resident card（在留カード）or a really awesome Japanese friend to get a prepaid phone in Japan. Apparently it's an anti-terrorism measure, according to my landloard's husband.
4. When you travel to Japan, bring kitschy gifts, preferably from your home region or famous places in your country of residence. Give them to new or old friends. Edibles are best because people don't feel obligated to wear or display them. On the other hand, magnets or small trinkets can also make good gifts. One thing to keep in mind though is that Japanese people culturally are very conscious of space and try to avoid hoarding, so giving things that can be eaten or used is usually best.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２４日（水：Arrival Day!）

My first day in Japan was stressful but turned out fine. Upon arrival I stupidly forgot to turn my data roaming off on my American phone, so assuming I had connected to the internet (I was pretty tired and not thinking clearly, obviously) I used Facebook on my phone to send messages to my friend, Etsushi, who was waiting for me in the airport. One of the first text messages I got was an alert from AT&T saying I had racked up over $100 worth of phone charges. So of course I panicked and turned my phone off.

Passing immigration took over an hour of waiting in line due to other foreign flights coming in at the same time. After I made Etsushi wait about 45 minutes I finally saw him. I was speaking English to him at first and he was sort of surprised, probably because I had always insisted on speaking Japanese two years ago. Good friend that he is he made me switch to Japanese, treated me to some great curry rice in the airport, laughed at me as I struggled to remember Japanese, and helped me get to Kyobashi on the trains. I was too late to meet another friend, Ted, who organizes with my landlord and was going to hand me the key to the share house I'm renting, but he left the key for me.

Everything did turn out fine because my father saved me by purchasing a cheap international package for my phone that negated the charges, and I talked to my landlord the next day to finalize a contract and pay the rent.

I learned that being a considerate neighbor will help you a lot. My landlady discounted me rent and internet use charge, which apparently is because I was an easy neighbor before and she's happy to have me back. Ted was also kind enough to lend me a bicycle that I can use in Hirakata, and provide me with some comfortable summer bedding. So I'm all set!

Travel tips:
1. Turn your data roaming off before you arrive in a foreign country, and keep your phone in airplane mode if you're in doubt!
2. Be considerate, and people will have your back when you need them.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)