Hanging out with the "Youngins"

Well there have been a lot of replys about my Natto (fermented soya beans) post (which I'm sorry for not describing, I just assume everybody is familiar with it for some reason). Anyways, your replies got me thinking about trying it again, so maybe if we I have a house party with the other co-workers I'll try to experience Natto in a different way than at an izakaya (sit-down restaurant). Thanks for your feedback!

So, throughout the whole week, it was pretty uneventful. Pretty much a routine of waking up, going to work, coming home, cooking dinner and then relaxing and playing video games. My supervisor went on holidays from Wednesday to Friday and will be back this coming Monday. Also, I finally got my memory card mailed to me on Wednesday. I'm still waiting for my manga to come from Asahikawa (its taking forever :/ ).

Friday was a little more eventful than the rest of the week. I'm planning on buying a used car so that I can drive to Asahikawa and play hockey in the winter time. I got to see on Friday at noon. It was Toyota Sprinter and for 260 000 JPY it was a bargin, considering it had an automatic car starter, and winter tires included in the price. It's pretty tempting, but I think I'm gonna pick another car considering the Sprinter is a FF (Front Engine, Front wheel drive) and automatic, which isn't gonna be fun to drive for 2-3 years. I've been told its best to have a 4WD car especially in winter time when the roads are filled with snow. Anyways, I have a while to think about buying the car. It's a white licence plate car (which signifies that the engine is above 1000cc) which means Shakken (annual/bi-annual manditory inspection) is going to be a bit more expensive as is insurance. Though for the price, I think its a great buy and I'm pretty sure it would last me the rest of my stay in Kamikawa.

After work, my co-worker, Ikehata-san (whom, I should call Ikke-chan after work), invited me to go to a beer party in Kamikawa Park. When he came to pick me up at 6:30, he had changed the plans to Yakiniku in Asahikawa (basically korean bbq with Japanese food). However, we did stop by the beer party to say hi to Watanabe-san of the Rotary club, whom had called me to tell me to go to the beer party when I got home after work.

We picked up Ikke-chan's two friends, two girls Chikka-chan and Ick-B (note: thats not they're actual names, just their nicknames), and then we headed off to Asahikawa. The difference in age between me, the youngest, and the oldest, Ikke-chan, was 4 years. We drove to some Yakiniku place and basically ate until our stomachs were full. I was kind of disappointed in myself for not being able to have better conversations with them. I think it was a combination of being tired, being sorta intimidated with hanging out with a younger Japanese crowd and just not knowing enough Japanese. Maybe it was just the inexperience of hanging out with a younger Japanese crowd.

Afterwards, we headed back to Kamikawa, and on the way went Kabuto-mushi (Beatle) Hunting. I have no idea what it is, but Japanese girls are fine with Japanese beatles but not ok with moths or any other bugs. Maybe I'm prematurely drawing a stereotypical conclusion.

We stopped by a Combini (convenience store) for a couple of snacks and drinks, Ick-B and Chikka-chan's house, for their Gamecube and Playstation games. Then we returned to my house for a night of video games. We ended up playing till about 3:30 in the morning, and in between the tenants down below coming up to my apartment at 12:00am to tell us to keep the noise down. I apologized and bowed deeply to express my regret. Needless to say, throughout the rest of the night, I was a bit nervous for fear of waking up the neighbors again. I should probably go down and apologize again later.

It was a fun night anyway, I'm probably gonna try to be less timid next time. We played Mario Party 8 and Mario Kart, the latter in which I "pwned" all :P.

Not sure why, but I felt really tired today but still managed to do laundry, go grocery shopping and cook and feed myself. I'm currently watching Women's volleyball. Its Japan vs. the Netherlands and its actually pretty intense. Netherlands definately has the height, but they're not so good when it comes to digging. However, with that being said, Japan is definately the underdog. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to Volleyball, so I'll blog to you guys later!