Hotel Jal City Sendai

... wet, heavy heat.

We finally made it onto the Shinkansen and had a super easy ride the rest of the way up to Miyagi. Its most likely my favorite mode of travel now (if I have the money). After arrival we were driven to an official building, had a quick "hello, welcome, yadayada official stuff" and then we were back in a car heading for our respective areas. There was one other new ALT with me going to Tome, and we rode with our supervisor, a retired english ...

... 8220;Hana”.

I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would during “Waterfall”, the last song. However, I had this strange feeling in my chest. It was like my heart was going to burst out but not because it was pounding hard. I still don’t quite get it, but I think it was a good feeling. That song definitely moves me whenever I hear it.

Right after the concert, Monica had to rush to catch her train. I lost ...

... Forus. Bad idea. I came out with a pair of Sixh pants (Sixh being a label created by a couple of visual kei artists who worked under h.Naoto), a shirt from Peace Now with a sailor collar, and Ayabie’s “Aitakute” single. To be fair, the pants are wicked cool and the Peace Now shirt was 70%, which made it closer to $30 instead of $90. Good deal if you ask me, and it’s cute.
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan maverickranger

... too many of mine.

The fireworks went on, and they were great. The customary thanking of sponsors every 10 minutes was a little annoying. Right as they set off the last batch, it started to pour. I made the wet journey with Miyuki and Michael W back to Michael’s car. I was glad then that I didn’t wear a yukata and came from cosplay because my pants were soaked. We met up with everyone at Coco’s. This was ...

... into a Lolita dress, but I have this thing where if I try something on, I’m more inclined to buy it. And I didn’t have enough money. I did swing by h.NAOTO anyway and talked to the nice pink-haired girl that sold me the skirt last time. I am really going to miss all the cool salespeople when I go home. Eventually I reached my target destination: Little Hearts. I took a few seconds to lament the fact that Sakito, the guitarist of ...

... to be there until 8 PM. However, seeing the contest itself was inspiration. The participants ranged from kindergarteners to elderly people. There was even a special ed boy. Everybody did so well. My favorite was the group of high school girls that did a Gundam skit. They were very expressive and had good pronunciation. They even did voices and gestures. At the after party, I got to talk to some ...

... The sets were cheaper, and I didn't have to worry about matching all the pieces. However, I wasn’t fond of most flower patterns because they’re so typical. There was this gorgeous black and gold one with rabbits and sakura, but that itself cost twice as much as the set. Anna came across one with a fireworks pattern that was 800 yen. The quality wasn’t good, but it’s not like I’ll have ...

... kid who is soaking up his time in the spotlight. “Hideaway” made a very sudden ending; I guess I’m used to slower songs closing a set. Somebody liked creating feedback a little too much; my ears were ringing through the break. -_-;;

Instead of yelling out “Encore”, the audience started chanting VAMPS’ name. I didn’t recognize it at first since the Japanese pronunciation is a bit odd. VAMPS and its two ...

... in your path that you'll trip over, but the rest of your body wants to bolt for the light at all costs; it took everything I had to keep at a normal pace, putting up a bravado for no one but me. So the tunnel was eerie and probably an omen. The path continues after the tunnel into a more normal path strewn with blooming trees and grass. And then that leads to a totally empty fishing dock in a natural harbor. It's not a commonly used fishing dock it appears ...

... their hands twice (to wake up Buddah) then bow, then pray, then bow again. Usually they throw a small coin into the box in front of the shrine. There is also a large bell at the Buddhist shrine one rings, or a drum to hit! Shinto shrines have open gates-two crossbars on top 2 bars on the sides. One does not enter into Shinto shrines. http://www.religioustolerance.org/shint o.htm Buddhist shrines have a different type of gate and ...