Hotel Monterey Sendai

... soon, for my schools and all) since I didn't even know I would be having this big-time meeting, but I didn't have a choice. So I stood up there with the other ALT, went through a basic self-introduction (pretty standard and official Japanese protocol), trying to throw in a creative thing or two in there while simultaneously trying not to have a heart attack.

In the end it all was fine, as the Japanese people do seem to honestly appreciate effort at the ...

... so much better live. Shou told us that we called him by the wrong name during “High Collar Naru Rondo”, and then we remembered that he wanted to be “Masamune”. ^^ The encore was the best. They played older songs like “Cradle to [Alpha]” and “Tsubasa”, and there was a lot of fun headbanging and furi. I was a bit overenthusiastic during “G3” because I ran into the chairs in front of me. It was ...

I've arrived in Sendai. Last night I stayed up really late packing and cleaning, and I continued to do it in the morning. Lots of people visited when it was close to move-out time either to say goodbye or to do business. I sent off two bags via takyubin to Tokyo. It was good thing I had help since it was pouring like crazy. Mrs. K's omiyage were based on wordplay (could Michael X be rubbing off on her ...

... Mika explained in Japanese, and I added that all the ALTs love Date (the dude did inspire Darth Vader). I noticed that the artist was wearing VAMPS wristbands, and we had a little fangirl moment. There were other things that I considered buying, like something from one of the goth accessories vendors. One of them showed us the guillotine clock, which was cool in a creepy way. There was also an artist who drew J-rockers as ...

Since Mika, Amy, and Dolly could not make it to Layer's Eden last week, we decided to meet up at Sendai Cosplay Fire Vol. 35. Dolly also brought her friend Rachel, who was visiting from France. I was glad the event was indoors because it was so hot and humid. Still, I kind of wished we picked an anime series that had a summer uniform. Again, I was vastly outnumbered by the vampire characters (but that’s okay since I’m the most ...

Yesterday was my last lesson with my favorite class. They sang a song for me at the end of the lesson. I was trying hard not to cry in front of all the parents, who were visiting. I'm gonna be such an emotional wreck in the next couple of weeks.

In the evening, our music group had its farewell party. I ate way too much food. It didn’t help that we played this game where everyone passed ...

... occasions to wear it.

Seeing the Rookies –Sotsugyo- tonight put me in a much better mood. It never fails. The movie wasn’t as good as the drama, but it wrapped things up nicely (except I would’ve liked to see Aniya and Toko-chan officially get together). Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJZM1QE CWQ . I cried as I figured I would. It was like watching my own students graduate. In ...

... playing a beauitful keyboard solo. Ju-ken joined him on bass, and that led to “Sweet Dreams,” one of my favorites of the night. This song was the kind that would cause people to whip out their lighters/penlights/cell phones in America. (You get that, guys? Sell some penlights at your next concert.) The “windows” of the VAMPS castle showed a starry sky and a crescent moon, which added to the otherworldly feel of the song. The guys ...

... into waves for the wind and submerging the pier. Suffice to say, the dock was closed and empty. Overall the 4 hour hike around Miyato was quite nice, as long you take enough cover from the winds behind trees and hills. There's even some random villages around and lots of fishing related structures. But note that the sightseeing sighs are imperative; taking other paths not noted by signs likely leads you to someone's driveway or worse, random empty rice fields ...

... indoors and another one outdoors. Then there were some very small pools-almost like washtubs on the side. We entered the indoor pool first. There was a slight odor-as these are natural volcanic hot springs. There was a step all the way around the inside of the pool which we sat on for a few minutes in the very hot water. Then we went to the outdoor pool. You could see a small waterfall and lake there from the pool with large ...