This is the post that I kind of don't want to write up... The end of my trip :( 

Not much happened the week after I got back from Tokyo until Friday. Friday we all had a pizza party in Nehma's room. It was a lot of fun. The Japanese guy that was there got completely smashed though ._.; Not much to say other than there were a lot of really weird pizzas put together hahaha. Then on Saturday I went to Aeon Mall with my tutor, Ayaka. I bought a bunch of cute stuff. Some earrings, a picture frame, a kitty comb, and some stuff for my mom. We also went to purikura! It was my first time. Finally, later that night we went to watch fireworks :3

I've seen more exciting fireworks displays, but it was still really nice. I think there's an even more impressive one happening sometime this month, but sadly I'm not going to be able to go to that one :( 

The next day there was a festival in Tenmonkan, so Nehma and I went to go do some shopping and see what it was about. Since there was a festival a lot of places were doing special things. The arcade was giving coupons out too so we spent quite some time there. I even won something!

I kind of won it by accident though, I had lined the machine up right, but the screws had come loose and I was afraid I had broken the machine for a little bit. Both of the people that worked at the arcade that came to look at it laughed though, and that made me feel a bit better. Because the machine broke they gave me this one. I still count it as a win, because I should've won even if the machine hadn't broke!

After that Nehma and I went to do purikura! Then we met Borah and 규은 (I don't know how to romanize her name >_<) when we went to go get Shirokuma shaved ice. That stuff was so yummy! After that the four of us went to purikura. I enjoyed purikura, I wish I could've gone more :(

After that nothing went on until my last weekend :( On the 27th I met the girls I had conversation practice with (Momoko, Yukiko, Mai, and Erika) and we all went to karaoke. I did actually sing too! I still don't like it though, I'm just too shy ><; I sang a couple of Macross songs (Seikan Hikou, Tenshi no Enogu, and My Boyfriend is a Pilot) as well as Cutie Honey and Purachina (from Card Captor Sakura). I tried a couple of others, but I either forgot the rhythm or lyrics or something. Everyone else was so good at singing too ._. I felt so inferior, even though they kept telling me I was good... 

After that one of my friends was having his "goodbye" party. He was leaving a couple of days after me. I think they also went to karaoke, but I went home after nomihoudai since I had already been to karaoke that day :)

After that Exams were on the 30th and the 31st I went out to have my last dinner with everyone :( We went to a soba restaurant. Some of the others had a party afterwards and I went, but me and Nehma left around 10. The next morning I got up and finished packing and was go-go-go all day long. I said my goodbyes and Steve took me to the airport. Momoko, Yukiko, and Ayaka went with me to say bye. Which, just ended up being awkward because they didn't leave until I went through security and there was a  line at security, so I didn't know where to look or to keep interacting with them and yeah... Oh well hahaha.

So, after a 13hr flight and going through several airports with absolutely no time to stop because I had just enough time to get through security, I made it back to Atlanta around 7pm on August 1st. I'm happy to be home, but I really miss my friends in Kagoshima. Everyone was super sweet and nice to me, so I'm sad that I'm not there to experience things with them. It, honestly, makes me not want to check facebook at times because I get this gross feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see what all is going on without me. That's pretty weird, isn't it? Maybe one day I'll get to see everyone again though. I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone together.

Here are some of the going away presents people gave me!

 From Momoko and Yukiko

 Note board from Ayaka, Momoko, Yukiko, Mai, and Erika

 From Shiori, who was in America-Europe Culture Class

From Seokyoung

I also got a set of press on nails and a note from Nehma! I can't find the note at this moment or I'd photograph it too ~_~ I know it's here somewhere, but my room is a complete mess. 

I'm planning on making a scrapbook detailing my time in Japan! So I figure this blog will come in handy for that. 

Overall I'm handling being back in America pretty well I think! Today was the first day I've had any real down time and I'll be busy all week. I missed driving so much! But, my car is broke down :( School starts back Monday too, so I have to pack to get ready to move. I'm thinking I'm going to start using this as a Japanese study blog. So from here on you might start seeing more Japanese notes than anything else. 

Back in America now, so I'm going to do a quick Tokyo catch-up post today before going into my last couple of weeks in Kagoshima and what I'm up to now. Sorry it's taken so long for me to get these posts out. I was quite busy with packing and trying to do things during my last month in Kagoshima.

Ok, so I was in Tokyo July 11th-15th. July 13th, I've already discussed since it was the Macross concert :3 and that was the only thing I did on the 13th. Day one, the 11th, I left Kagoshima around 12pm and got to Tokyo around 4. My hotel was in Ikebukuro and Nehma stayed in the same hotel so when I finally found it the two of us went off to have dinner and explore Ikebukuro some. We went to this really yummy Italian restaurant and then went to explore the Metropolitan Plaza. Went to the Etude House store there! I love Etude House products, they're so cute. I bought a white eyeliner and a lip tint :3

Day two, the 12th, we went to Sunshine City and went to the Sunshine City Aquarium and the Sunshine60 Observatory. This was probably one of the best aquariums I've been to! It's really small, but it's still a really good aquarium. I liked it a lot! The observatory was awesome too. I wish it had been a clearer day :( It was kinda hazy. The elevator ride was seriously a trip. All the lights turned off and there was a celestial, glow-in-the-dark star background all over the walls and ceiling.

BABY OTTERS!

 Sunshine City Aquarium seen from above :3

After we left Sunshine City we popped down to Harajuku for a bit and just wandered around Takeshitadori.

I found this "Emerica" hat. I also bought a cat face shirt dress. I worse sandals, which was probably a bad idea, so my feet started hurting really bad and we ended up sitting on a street corner and people watching for a while. Also had some yummy shaved ice at Takeshitadori :3

That was about it for day two. Day three was Macross concert day, so see that post for more details!

Day four, we had originally planned to go to Yokohama, but my feet and ankles swelled up in a not so healthy looking way and I was afraid to walk too much. I had originally planned to just stay in bed, but the hotel room was so dark and depressing I couldn't handle it, so I ended up calling Nehma and meeting her at Ikebukuro station to go explore some more. We went to this cute cafe in Ikebukuro, Milky Way Cafe. I saw a few things about it online and thought it was adorable, so I wanted to go. It's a constellation themed restaurant and cafe!

 Capricorn themed sundae! 

At Don Quixote in Ikebukuro

After that we left Ikebukuro to go to the Pokemon Center. I couldn't leave Japan without visiting at least once. I took this nice shot of Tokyo Tower too! After we left the Pokemon Center we also caught a little bit of a free idol concert. They had no camera signs every where so I didn't get any pictures. I looked it up though and apparently it was for the debut of Kotone Mai. 

Finally, day five. My last day in Tokyo. I started at Shibuya. I wanted to find some of the stores I went to the first time I went to Tokyo, but I couldn't find them. I didn't really have a lot of time to search either since I had a few things I wanted to do and my flight was at 4. I did go to Shibuya 109 again though. After that I went to Tokyo Station because I wanted to check out the Rilakkuma Store there. I was looking for a specific plush and didn't want to go back to Kiddy Land to look for it.

I decided to go back to the Pokemon Center too. Just to look around again. I think I was hoping it wouldn't be quite as busy as it was the day before. It was still busy though ~_~ I got to see another free live though! This time it was Hachikin Girls. I took some video this time, but I don't have it uploaded any where. One of them saw me watching and waved hahaha. They were super cute. But, after that it was time for me to hop on the monorail to go to Haneda and back to Kagoshima :( And thus my Tokyo adventures ended. I had fun, it could've been more fun, and I wish I had gotten to do more. Hopefully I'll get to go back one day though.

Next post I make will be about my last few weeks in Kagoshima and how I'm handling being back in America after living in Japan for four months :) I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do with this blog once I've finished posts about Japan. I'm thinking I may start using it as a study blog or something.

I'm really not updating this as much as I should... I only have one more week left in Japan though, so I've been pretty busy, to say the least. I guess it's time for my Macross Live post now though! 8D

The concert was a lot of fun!! There were tons of people though, way more than I actually expected. The venue wasn't that great either (Makuhari Messe). I don't think it was really meant for a concert like this. The acoustics were awful, it was more like a warehouse than a concert hall. Seating was bad. The seats were all fold out chairs and all there was were ground seating. I was unfortunately on the far right side of the room at the very very very back. I wouldn't have been able to see anything had there not been a screen. 

Either way though, it was still a once in a lifetime experience :) Maybe I'll be around for the 50th or 60th Anniversary though! hahaha. Mari Iijima might not be around for those though, and I think it would've been sad without here. I must say though, she looks AMAZING her age. She posted a picture of her and May'n on Facebook and I swear you couldn't tell she was 30 years older than May'n is. Witchcraft >_>;

One of my other complaints was how they organized the concert itself. Seeings as it is a "Crossover" live, I think I was hoping for a lot more collaborating between artists and duets and such. (Ok, I was really hoping for a Minmay and Ranka duet of 'My Boyfriend is a Pilot'). It was very sectioned off. The start of the concert would have led you to believe exactly what I was hoping for too. It stated off with May'n singing Sheryl's version of 'Aimo' and then they brought out the voice actress of Mao Nome (from Macross Zero) to sing it with her. Mao is Sheryl's grandmother, so it was the first Nome collaboration 8D After that May'n came on, she sang 'Gira Gira Summer,' 'Universal Bunny,' 'Kindan no Elixar,' 'Diamond Creavasse," and 'Iteza Gogo 9ji Don't be Late.' She sang one other song, I can't remember which one it was I want to say it was either "Maboroshi no Hikari" or "Tenshin ni nachatta"....After her Chie Kajiura came on. Macross 7 is the one series I don't know a lot about so I can't tell you what songs she sang ._. It was really hard to hear her though! The background music drowned out her voice and the sound system wasn't that great :( Or maybe that was just because of where I was sitting? Still though, in a decent venue this wouldn't have been a problem! -_- Anyways, after that there was a brief intermission with Max Jenius and Klan talking with various other characters coming and going throughout the little clip (this is what the intermission was throughout the entire concert). Following that  it was Mari's turn! She was so beautiful! She came out singing 'My Boyfriend is a Pilot' and then sang '0g Love,' 'Shao Pai Lon,' 'Sunset Beach,' 'Tenshi no Enogu,' and 'Do you Remember Love.' It was super sweet too, because she had her son there playing the guitar with her! She introduced him saying "this is my baby, please treat him well" I think it's cute that she still calls him a baby even though he's an adult hahaha. It was super cute though :D I'm a little sad she didn't sing "Silver Moon, Red Moon" (one of my favorites), but I'm glad she sang Sunset Beach and Tenshi no Enogu! 

Following Mari was Nakajima Megumi! Her stage was super fun. She looks really good now that she's cut her hair short~ I enjoyed being able to sing "Open Ranka!" and "Kirah~" when she sang "Niji-iro no kuma kuma" and "Seikan Hikou." She also sang 'Ao no Ether,' 'Hoshi Kira,' and 'Houkago no Overflow' :D

After her it was the guy from Macross 7, I only know him by the character name Basara... He was so much more popular than I even imagined he would be though!! I was shocked! Every one was super excited for his stage.. well except for me. His was fun though, just because he's more 'rock' than 'pop' and actually plays the guitar. I like watching people who enjoy themselves while they're performing. That's part of why I fell in love with May'n, she just looks so happy and excited when she's on stage n_n

After that it was "the end" Just kidding though! They ended up bringing out the actual voice actors for the two characters who had been doing the intermissions and they had a little talk and then the 1st encore started. IT LITERALLY MADE MY LIFE! First, Yoko Kanno came out on stage and started playing various Macross songs on the piano. And then... and then... oh gosh I'm tearing  up about it still ;w; the stage went all dark and "Voices" from Macross Plus started playing and then the stage lit up and there stood Akino Arai singing!!! I never ever expected to see her! Her voice is so lovely :3 I found this picture on her twitter! Childhood dream #1 complete, I can now say I've heard Akino Arai live

But, that wasn't all. After Akino Arai left, Yoko Kanno started playing the piano some more. And then she started playing Triangular, the opening to Macross Frontier, and then. MAAYA SAKAMOTO! Everyone in the room gasped. It was such a fantastic surprise! 

The second encore was duets between characters from the same series, so Macross 7's Basara and Chie Kajiura came on and sang Fire Bomber songs and following them was May'n and Nakajima Megumi to sing Lion and Shooting Star. Once May'n and Nakajima Megumi were done singing they brought Basara and Chie back on stage and sang a couple of songs together and after that they brought Mari back on stage. That was when they started the last song. They all sang the ending theme for the original Macross series, "Runner" ;_; And then it was over... So sad... I heard there were no plans for them to release the concert on DVD, but I really hope they do! 

God though, that reminds me, the biggest annoyance of the night. They tried to shove all of us out one freaking exit. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be fired. It was only after they realized what a bad idea that was that they decided to open the other two exits. 

I had a lot of fun. If I could go back and change one thing though, I would've gotten there much earlier than what I did. Before the concert was almost like a mini Macross convention. They were selling the merchandise (I bought a tshirt, sheryl fan, and some keychains to give my friends), and they were doing Macross karaoke, and they had macross themed food and drinks, and all the Macross cosplayers. Yeah, I don't tend to enjoy identifying with a "fandom" just because I find there a lot of time there's unnecessary drama involved and it gets messy, but this was the first time I kinda felt "I'm glad to be a part of this." :3

That's about all for the concert. 

Oh yeah, outfit! I really liked it, I think I looked super cute. It's a pity though, my feet ended up swelling unusually large :0 I was really worried for a while. All of the walking I did in Tokyo the days before and all the standing in lines after I got to the concert and then the jam-packed trains full of everyone trying to get back to the city before the trains stopped running. The concert was over 5 hours long. It was supposed to have started around 4, I got there around 3ish I think, and I didn't get back to the hotel until after 11. Didn't help that I got lost going back to the hotel room (accidentally went out the wrong station exit...). I ended up taking my shoes off when I finally figured out where I was and how to get back and just walking back to the hotel in my socks >>; 

Ok, now that I've got this entry done I'll try to do catch up posts quickly. I may be writing some of those after I get back home to Atlanta though. I have to finish packing and mailing my things off, there's a few parties this weekend, I want to go see the new Studio Ghibli movie, I want to ride the Amu Plaza ferris wheel, and I need to finish spending the last of my tosho cards. On top of a test and a 2000ji report that's due Tuesday. So much to do and so little time ~_~ 

I'm back from Tokyo now! I had, both, a lot of fun and not a lot of fun... I have really mixed feelings. Nehma came with me, and while I really like Nehma, I think I like traveling alone best. I like to really schedule out my days and that doesn't work when you're having to work with how another person runs. I also spent waaay too much on food. Like nearly 1/3 of my budget went to food. On one hand, I was eating, which is good because I'd usually just skip meals, but on the other that was way too much money. It doesn't help that, if I'm going to be in Tokyo with someone, I really want it to be Andrea :( It'd be more fun if I had my bff with me... I also started getting those "I want to go home feelings" and I didn't mean Kagoshima home. I'm ready to go home-home. And then I found out today that my parents sold the house so while I get to go home to a house I have to unpack to repack and I don't think they have any idea where they're going to move to. I know we have to be out of the house by Aug. 28th. And all they have to live in at the moment is an RV (which I still think was a stupid purchase, but not my money). Now I'm just all depressed and blah. I have almost two weeks left until I go home too, so now it's time for me to start getting ready to pack. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get all the books I've acquired/will acquire back home without breaking the bank. 

I'm working on a full Tokyo post, so it should be up in the next couple of days or so. I just thought I'd pop in to let everyone know I made it back. I'll probably start with a post about the Macross Live (which was awesome). I have a lot to say about it and a lot of fangirling to do hahaha :D 

Me with Totoro @ Sunshine City, Ikebukuro :)

OK! Big catch-up post while I pack for Tokyo. Where should I begin though... I believe last time I made a real post was before the last time we were supposed to go hiking. Well, it rained that day, so that didn't happen. Instead we went to Kirishima Jingu, Takachiho Farm, Kurozu vinegar "factory," and Sakurajima! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures :( I wish I had though. We went to the observatory on Sakurajima and by that time the weather had cleared. You could see the entire city! Kirishima Jingu was also very beautiful, despite the rain. At the Kurozu place we tried some of the vinegar... I don't see how anyone could drink that stuff ~_~ 

Two weeks after that was the Eibungakkai. The first of several presentations I've had to/have to do. It seemed to go ok, I guess... Everyone said it was ok, I'm not so sure though >_> Other than that though, not much has been going on. I had my America-Europe Culture course presentation on Tuesday. Before that me and my group were meeting up frequently to get that finished. I've found that, apparently, what people here think of as an appropriate presentation is not at all what we'd be expected to do in America. Standing in a corner, reading off of a sheet of paper, looking down the entire time? Yeah... I was quite shocked by the unprofessionalism, but it worked in my favor since I'm bad at giving presentations, especially in Japanese!

Oh yeah! Sunday me and my tutor, Ayaka went to the Hirakawa Zoo here in Kagoshima. It was much better than the one in Sapporo.

 He was my favorite *_* Look at those eyes... I've never been to a zoo with a panther before... Such a gorgeous kitty!

Recently we were also given our book and transportation cards! It's about time, tbh.

Because of these I've been doing a lot of shopping hahaha. Buying a ton of books. I gotta make sure I spend all 50,000yen by the time I leave.

I bought this stuff from Kinokuniya last Saturday! Today I went to another bookstore in Tenmonkan, Maruzen. It was a much better book store, so I'll probably spend the rest of my book cards there hahaha. I haven't taken pictures of the stuff I bought there yet :) I also recently made a big order on amazon.co.jp. I found all of Harry Potter in Japanese for about $25usd! I don't know how I'm going to get them home, but I'll figure it out somehow hahaha. 

That's about all that's been going on... I'll have more to post when I get back from Tokyo on Monday :D