life in japan so far

Due to not wanting to spend precious money on new, nice running shoes (and due to a muscle strain I suffered about a month ago) I've taken up Pilates. I am amazed how much of a workout a person can get without moving from the same three-square-foot space. Seriously, 30 minutes every other day and my abs haven't looked this good in years. The one problem I'm having with this is that, based on my thigh development in Taiwan, I assumed the same may happen here in Japan, so I bought jeans with stretchy waists. Now I may need belts. Whoops!

I went shopping the other day and I am continuing to enjoy Japan's love of random English on t-shirts. Like, I adore it. My new goal is to collect several nonsense-English shirts that I can wear both here and in the US. Currently I have this gem, which is super-patriotic but also super-nonsensical.

Day after day, I witness a parade of nonsense English on my students' clothes. My kids' t-shirts will proclaim "Carolina State" in collegiate font, and beneath it some random words that look like they were haphazardly copy-pasted off a random English website. My shopping tote is covered in letters of the alphabet, that, while strung together in long lines, do not form any actual words. I've seen kids with backpacks proclaiming "New York" and t-shirts that say "Sweet Girl is Love!" or some variant of this. I have not, so far, actually seen a child wearing a shirt with profanity on it, but believe me, I am waiting for the day. Mostly because I haven't yet made up my mind if, in that situation, I should tell a teacher what the child's shirt says, or let it go to avoid an awkward incident.

My quest for cute tea cups that I can use to serve tea to guests has bore fruit: these adorable cups were discovered in a shop in Fashion Cruise, the nearest mammoth of a mall that has an overwhelming number of "cute things" stores. Japan has many shops that sell the same kinds of things, but all of these items have unique designs. So, even if there are two stores next to each other that sell teacups, kitchenware, bath supplies, and office supplies, all the items in the stores will be unique to each other, allowing the businesses to co-exist. Store A sells pens with cat figurines at the top, while Store B sells pencils with star charms hanging off them. Store A has flowered teacups and mugs, while Store B has flowered teacups and mugs but in different shapes and designs.

Tea in heart shapes. Because why not.

The cup collection is growing.

The first anime series I was exposed to was Rurouni Kenshin (Wandering Swordsman Kenshin). It tells the story of Kenshin Himura, an one-time assassin who has made a vow to never kill again, and fights to uphold his ideals and protect his friends in the Meji Era of Japan. I think that's part of what drew me into anime, the oft-used theme of friendship, community, and becoming a strong person for the sake of protecting your friends and family. Anime characters often have defining moments when they remember all the people depending on them, and it gives them the strength to push through whatever hardship they're experiencing. In practice, Japan can sometimes make this idea of doing one's duty for the sake of the group exhausting and suffocating (with office workers literally working themselves to death and students killing themselves when they fail high school or college entrance exams). The ideal, though, is admirable, and in many ways very empowering, because it's one thing to be strong for yourself, but caring about others can make you vulnerable, so it takes strength and courage to let others depend on you.

Speaking of Rurouni Kenshin, the sequel to the live-action Rurouni Kenshin movie is coming out in August and I am so stoked about this I can't even put it into words. Remember how RK was my first anime series? Remember how it was part of the beginning of my love and admiration for Japan, and now that I've achieved my dream of coming to Japan, I'm going to see the second Rurouni Kenshin movie premier IN JAPAN?

Words. I don't even have them.

I intend to marathon the entire Kyoto Arc (what this movie is based on) before seeing the movie. Obsessed? you better believe it!

The song in the background is "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK and it hasn't been released yet and I'm watching iTunes very closely.

When I finally see this movie in theaters, I realize I'll understand almost none of the dialogue since my Japanese comprehension is still coming along... slowly. Since I know the whole series, though, I doubt it'll be hard to figure out what's going on and why. Also, I'll be watching the Rurouni Kenshin movie. Will I care about details like a language barrier? The answer is no. I should probably bring hard candy to the theater to keep myself quiet during the movie because otherwise I will squeal every time a familiar character appears on screen.

It's getting muggy during the days but the nights are still cool, which I appreciate. I fling open the curtains at night and let the night air in, along with the sounds of passing cars and frogs. Fields are full of rice, corn, eggplants, tomatoes, and cabbage. Hydrangea bushes are everywhere in a variety of colors. We are in tsuyu, the rainy season, and it has been either cloudy or rainy almost every day. I like it better than sweating to death in the heat.

Stay tuned, the journey continues.