Farewells and Introductions
Monday was the day I left Mio and Wataru's place. Of course before I left I had to get a selfie with them! They walked me out and Mio even helped me carry my things all the way to the station! I was really sad to leave. I like them a whole lot. We actually talked about a lot, we talked about politics, history, racism, family, etc. I even got Mio to realize how awesome anime is and how detailed it was at including different aspects of Japanese culture.
**MY OPINIONS**
This is why I refuse to lump anime and American cartoons in the same category. American cartoons unfortunately lack substance. Whether it's due to the fact that our writers aren't as good or whether our country is relatively young compared to other countries, I really don't know. However, this is a new show that is hopeful in America. It's called Steven's Universe. Definitely check it out. From what I've seen it has real substance, diversity, and is relatable.
Culture is very important to me so I wish American media would incorporate it more like Japanese people do with anime. However, now that I think about it America's most popular and recognized type of culture is a culture of violence.... I'm sure we can find something positive but as a minority in the United States there isn't anything I can include without including how racism has impacted it. For many minorities in America our history and culture revolve around resilience against discrimination, racism, and violence.
***BACK TO MAIN STORY***
I hope I get to speak with Wataru and Mio again :) I think we both grew from a lot of the conversations we had. I did unfortunately get to learn that Japan doesn't really talk about it's past
history and violence against other Asian countries let alone know teach history about other countries. This is because I am a strong believer of the saying "If you don't know your past, you're doomed to repeat it." I really wanted to ask them their thoughts about World War II and whether they agreed with the anti-war clause that was basically forced upon them by the United States. I also wanted to ask them about their thoughts about the frequent use of white and hafu (particularly the half white and half Japanese) models in their advertisements. It makes it seem like Japanese culture is catering to whiteness and feels inferior to white culture at times even thought they are an almost 100% ethnically Japanese country. That makes me really sad. Japan has such a beautiful country and such a rich culture that I don't think they should feel inferior to anyone. I hope they realize that.....
Before I left I hugged Mio and I told her I had left a note for her and her husband. I wanted to let them know I had a lot of fun. I then entered the station and waited for my train. Unfortunately, before leaving I never wrote down directions to getting to my friend's house because I assumed my phone would be work because I had just got Sprint to set up my international plan... I was wrong. As soon as I left their house I hadn't realized it by my service died and when I got to the station it was not working. Thankfully I remembered the name of the station in Tokyo where she lived. I got lost... A lot. But I did manage to arrive thanks to asking people how to get to my location.
When I arrived W and A Were waiting for me at the station and did some shopping along the way. While we were walking we'd chatted a bit and we stopped by a chicken spot that A liked and I got to try some yummy chicken. Will definitely stop by there again! It was raining so W offered me an umbrella to me but I declined because I love the rain. However, it started raining a bit harder later on and I got soaked and had water in my eyes and couple barely see at times when I was walking lol. However, I made it her place.
The area around here is pretty nice. I like it a lot! It's very quaint and peaceful. Also not to far from the station.
After we dropped off our my luggage we went out to meet Nicole. However, before meeting up with her we stopped at this cut little Katei Ryori spot. Katei Ryori is basically translates to home cooking. It's kind of like soul food which us black folks consider home cooking.
This spot was called Aunto. It was popular with one of my favorite sensei when she was staying in Tokyo. The food there was delicious and definitely gave me the vibe of home. I like that the place was a hidden little gem in the corner. I think more people should check it out.
Afterwards we finally met up with Nicole and they showed me around their school, we later on went to the cat cafe and then made reservations for Nabe. Nabe is a hotspot meal that is popular in Japan. It's the bomb! You can choose your ingredients and broth! At the place called Momo Paradise it's all you can eat and drink for about $21. It was so good!! I have to go back there again.
Before that we went and got waffles because the Nabe place was crowded so we had to wait around a bit and I was craving something sweet. I got a vanilla and cinnamon waffle it was delicious!! I think it's funny how Japanese doesn't really think of waffles as a breakfast item but solely dessert lol. I guess they can't wrap their heads around the fact that us Americans can eat sweets things all any part of the day lol
**MY OPINIONS**
This is why I refuse to lump anime and American cartoons in the same category. American cartoons unfortunately lack substance. Whether it's due to the fact that our writers aren't as good or whether our country is relatively young compared to other countries, I really don't know. However, this is a new show that is hopeful in America. It's called Steven's Universe. Definitely check it out. From what I've seen it has real substance, diversity, and is relatable.
Culture is very important to me so I wish American media would incorporate it more like Japanese people do with anime. However, now that I think about it America's most popular and recognized type of culture is a culture of violence.... I'm sure we can find something positive but as a minority in the United States there isn't anything I can include without including how racism has impacted it. For many minorities in America our history and culture revolve around resilience against discrimination, racism, and violence.
***BACK TO MAIN STORY***
I hope I get to speak with Wataru and Mio again :) I think we both grew from a lot of the conversations we had. I did unfortunately get to learn that Japan doesn't really talk about it's past
history and violence against other Asian countries let alone know teach history about other countries. This is because I am a strong believer of the saying "If you don't know your past, you're doomed to repeat it." I really wanted to ask them their thoughts about World War II and whether they agreed with the anti-war clause that was basically forced upon them by the United States. I also wanted to ask them about their thoughts about the frequent use of white and hafu (particularly the half white and half Japanese) models in their advertisements. It makes it seem like Japanese culture is catering to whiteness and feels inferior to white culture at times even thought they are an almost 100% ethnically Japanese country. That makes me really sad. Japan has such a beautiful country and such a rich culture that I don't think they should feel inferior to anyone. I hope they realize that.....
Before I left I hugged Mio and I told her I had left a note for her and her husband. I wanted to let them know I had a lot of fun. I then entered the station and waited for my train. Unfortunately, before leaving I never wrote down directions to getting to my friend's house because I assumed my phone would be work because I had just got Sprint to set up my international plan... I was wrong. As soon as I left their house I hadn't realized it by my service died and when I got to the station it was not working. Thankfully I remembered the name of the station in Tokyo where she lived. I got lost... A lot. But I did manage to arrive thanks to asking people how to get to my location.
When I arrived W and A Were waiting for me at the station and did some shopping along the way. While we were walking we'd chatted a bit and we stopped by a chicken spot that A liked and I got to try some yummy chicken. Will definitely stop by there again! It was raining so W offered me an umbrella to me but I declined because I love the rain. However, it started raining a bit harder later on and I got soaked and had water in my eyes and couple barely see at times when I was walking lol. However, I made it her place.
The area around here is pretty nice. I like it a lot! It's very quaint and peaceful. Also not to far from the station.
After we dropped off our my luggage we went out to meet Nicole. However, before meeting up with her we stopped at this cut little Katei Ryori spot. Katei Ryori is basically translates to home cooking. It's kind of like soul food which us black folks consider home cooking.
This spot was called Aunto. It was popular with one of my favorite sensei when she was staying in Tokyo. The food there was delicious and definitely gave me the vibe of home. I like that the place was a hidden little gem in the corner. I think more people should check it out.
Afterwards we finally met up with Nicole and they showed me around their school, we later on went to the cat cafe and then made reservations for Nabe. Nabe is a hotspot meal that is popular in Japan. It's the bomb! You can choose your ingredients and broth! At the place called Momo Paradise it's all you can eat and drink for about $21. It was so good!! I have to go back there again.
Before that we went and got waffles because the Nabe place was crowded so we had to wait around a bit and I was craving something sweet. I got a vanilla and cinnamon waffle it was delicious!! I think it's funny how Japanese doesn't really think of waffles as a breakfast item but solely dessert lol. I guess they can't wrap their heads around the fact that us Americans can eat sweets things all any part of the day lol
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