Third from the right is Date Masamune. Didn't even have to think about it.

Odawara castle, or rather, part of it.

That's the skyway station we took the ropway from. AND THE GIANT TIDAL CLOUD OF DEATH and CAMERA SPECKS!

From the top of Odawara Castle.

Also the top of Odawara castle.

Sulfur mines! Woo!

Hakone.

Lake Ashi. THERE IS SOMETHING ON MY LENS!

Temple steps, and some skeeeetchy looking nihonjin.

Enter.

Lol, I know, this can't be real, right?

The stairs...oh god the stairs.

^ ^

Hayama/Yokohama

So it's been a few days now since we arrived here. So awesome.

1. Hayama (and I guess most parts of Japan) is a jungle. Was not expecting. When leaving the house, and sometimes even while inside it, the first thing you hear is the jungle. A completely deafening roar of insects/birds/animals. Cicadas are especially prominent. There are huge bugs (both flying and crawling) as well as huge spiders (Waah).

2. Walking down the street is a different experience. They are very narrow, always. Cars, as a result, are very small - this I was expecting. However, none of the roads are straight, and everything is hilly. There are pathways and hidden shortcuts everywhere, and plants just kind of pour out from everywhere.

3. You can get milk. You can get cheese. You can get fruit (albeit expensive). It's all good. This one is for you, mom, since you insisted this would be impossible. It's very possible to eat cheaply. Food costs more or less the same, it's not too bad. We went to a bar in Hayama, which was incredibly fun, though we had some trouble (did not realize there was a button we had to press to call the waitress).

A few more pics...

My first view of Japan from the ground during the daylight!

A few of the members of Squad Epic. Epic. Perhaps.

Ano...perhaps not...

Retreat from flash storm. Yay rain. And lightning.

More walking. Random, but pretty.

More Pictures

This cat just watched us from on top of a roof. Never moved an inch.

Yeeeeeahhhh....did I mention Japan was like a jungle?

Random shortcut/pathway thingy through the trees. These are everywhere.

If you did not see the one's below, check them out too!

OooOooVeerrLoAd SYSTEM SHOCK, REBOOT

This is my house! Sort of. This is where we are living.

Blurry picture of Kyle looking into a stream.

My...eto... special friends.

Outside! Top of the stairs.

Top of the stairs! Turning Left!
Good grief it has been a long day. The trip to Japan started with the hotel in Portalnd. Kyle and I stayed with Krista, and had decided that we were going to stay up all night so we could sleep on the plane. So we watched Cloverfield, stayed up too late, and decided to sleep anyway. After a solid (not really) two or three hours of sleep, we left for the airport (my suitcases each weighed a metric ton), and after some exciting shenanigans in the lobby, we managed to get everything toegether. Compltetely exhausted, I decided. Hey. I'm getting coffee. So I did, and it was gross, and 'The Coffee People' are apparently really bad at making good drinks. Anyway. Jittery and still tired, we boared flight one. After a short delay at SFO and some miso soup we finally got onboard with flight 2. It was rather uncomfortable chair that didn't lean back far enough, but it wasn't really a big deal. In flight food was meh. Movies were meh. Tried to sleep. Meh.

At long last they announced that we would be flying over Japan soon, so, I'm sure you can all imagine, I went into happy-panic mode and Krista and I pressed our heads against the window for a good twenty minutes watching the clouds and the boats. Finally, land. Glorious, green sprawling land. Japan is absolutely gorgeous from above. Everything was green. So epic. After carrying way too much luggage through customs (we got more crap from the Canadians than we did here, it was real fast), we met some students from Kanto Gakuin in the Narita Airport lobby. Begin epic language fail!

Today I met Yuumi, Megumi, Kazuhiko and Katsuaki(Su). I did meet a few others as well, but only just as a group, and did not get to find out their names. After waiting for some students from other universities to arrive we started a loooong bus ride to Hayama. We stopped once (I got some udon and made a fool of myself trying to order it up front (of course, you use a computer, this is Japan after all.) I spent most of the bus ride talking to Kazuhiko (or trying, my Japanese is so bad), and I think we will get along well. He is an English major and will probably come to Linfield to study next year. Eventually, we got to the Hayama seminar house (pictures incoming), where we will be staying. It's pretty sweet. Our rooms are definitely small, but they are very nice, and the building itself is HUGE. I've been trying to use as much Japanese as possible, and also have been trying to ask words. So far the biggest confusion was asking what the Japanese word for coin was. Kyle and I were trying to explain that we wanted to know the general word for metal coins, but kept getting specific answers, like oh that's 五百円です(500 yen) see, it says right there on it. Got the word eventually. Already forgot it. Crap.

I sleep now. Been awake for too many days. Blarg. More epic fail tomorrow.

Oh. Did I mention that walking around here is like swimming? It's very, VERY humid. In a non stick way, so I don't mind.

Epic SIGH

SO...yeah...

It's a blog. I know, lame, right? Well, I thought about it and this was the best way to maximize efficiency and minimize actual work and still be able to let those who wish to know how things are going in Japan. The title of the blog is something I extracted from a vial of pure epic.

WELL, since I made the thing I may as well give it one solid post, despite not being in Japan yet. I just watched season four of Lost in one day, and on one hand, all I have to say is. WHY. On the other hand, I did love it, so that's good, I guess. I have a feeling that Faraday and the other rafters are going to pick a certain someone up in the water. At least I hope - no, rather THEY had better hope that that's what's going to happen, or HEADS WILL ROLL. In other news, I'm sticking to the Atlantis theory, despite whatever important people may have said (AHEM, LUDWIG, I SHALL BE VICTORIOUS). After all, they also rejected the time travel/time distortion thing, and that was obviously part of it after all.

I also, of course, finished TTGL. I'm in shock and awe. I may also be experiencing some grief that it's over. First I denied it was over, and watched the parallel works (Oh GOD, MY EYES, WHY!). I think I've made it to depression now. I know that whatever I watch it won't be as epic so I've been watching high school dramas, True Tears and Pure Rogue, both of which ended up being pretty good and also helping me a bit with Japanese. I'm not sure I'll ever make it to acceptance, but considering there is a TTGL movie coming out in theaters in Japan in, oh, like a week, that sounds as good a time as any. Right? RIGHT?

Well, here's to three more days of lounging and feeling lonely, right? Cry. Where is everyone? I SO LONELY!