Ageha & Alice

Ageha This weekend I stayed over at Lauren’s, after being politely evicted from my host family’s apartment to make room for their other guests. Friday night after grilled cheese sandwiches (which absolutely merits mention—do you know how long it’s been since I had a grilled cheese sandwich?) and Hairspray, we prepared to go out clubbing [...]

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Cake Buffet

“You know what I really want to do right now?” I said to Will, as we tried to make our evening plans to “hang out” a little more specific. “I want to eat my weight in cake. This is probably not a good idea.” And it wasn’t a good idea. It was THE BEST idea.

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The Monkeys Have Their Eyes on Your FACE

If your idea of a dream vacation involves having your fingers gnawed off by sacred deer and your eyes scratched out by monkeys, then Miyajima might be the tourist destination for you! Seriously, though. This past weekend, I went with half the CIEE group to Miyajima, an island near Hiroshima (we went to Hiroshima first, [...]

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The Lock Up

Here’s the thing: if you ever visit Tokyo, you are going to a themed restaurant. I’ve decided this for you. It is essential. Also, you will love it. As soon as Nondie, Gary, Julia, Erin, and I stepped out of the elevator, into the darkness of the haunted prison-themed Lock Up, a man in prison [...]

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Cake Is Wonderful. Vegetables Are Wonderful. Vegetable Cake Is…

The story of my Saturday—like any good story of a Saturday, I’m sure—begins on a Tuesday. Lunchtime Tuesday of last week, despite having sworn to never ever have anything to do with the International Students Club again after being disappointed on one too many occasions by their disorganization and poor communication, I nevertheless found myself [...]

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Vital Dose of Cute

I had a very surreal walk to the train station this morning on my way to school. Today is a national holiday in Japan, and though Sophia doesn’t acknowledge it, all the office buildings that surround my host family’s apartment do. I’m used to the area being much quieter on the weekends, but today the [...]

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More Adventures with Taihei and Earthquake Simulation

Since Taihei is way more what I like to think of as “in the Japanese know” than I am, I sometimes have trouble remembering that he’s just a kid—and a rather quirky and forgetful one, at that. We head out the door. “Taihei, do you have a key?” He runs back to get it. We [...]

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Packing Perils

My suitcase tried to eat me alive! Really, I am getting things done. Really, I swear.

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