Birthdays are Dangerous

So of course I couldn't manage to have a normal weekend in Japan. Me being me, and Japan being the island of insanity it is, I managed to blow a lot of money but see some amazing things. So Friday I was roped into joining the international club, which ended up being a great decision and I met some awesome new people, so next week will be interesting to see how the new club pans out. Of course they wanted to go out drinking afterwards for the new member induction, and of course I decided on nomihoodai. That nomihoodai turned into drinks at a really chill bar with Mark, the Dance, into another nomihoodai at an American-style bar, where we just sat and talked with the waitress all night while she played with my iPod and explained the wonders of Avril Lavigne.

The next day I accidentally double booked hanging out with some Japanese friends (of course, it's me), so I just made them all hang out with me. It ended up being an amazing time though, we headed to Umeda and had the #1 ramen in Osaka which definitely lived up to the name, then went to an expensive department store for window-shopping then a game center to blow some cash. I learned a lot then, and I think my friends did too. Then me and Matt, the New Zealander who came along, had to rush to campus for a hanami (flower viewing). We made it, barely. Almost all of the international students attended, so we all herded to the train and went through several lengthy rides to get to Minamimorimachi. The plans changed, and we decided to go to a festival/hanami instead, so we walked and walked until we reached what seemed like the horizon. The festival was great and very traditional Japanese, with lots of local food to eat and people to watch. I opted for balls of sweet bread, a rice cake shaped like a fish and stuffed with plum paste, and a Japanese style corn dog. After the festival we had the hanami, which had a surprising amount of viewers and cherry blossoms left, being so late in the season.

Right after the hanami, some of us had to rush to GB's to celebrate Brendan's, one of the USC kids, birthday. Some people started nomihoodai there, and we had a great time reviewing what we had already accomplished in Japan. As the night really got started, the group split into factions about what to do that night, and I ended up with the group who wanted to go clubbing. Without any time to change or even get shoes that weren't sandals, we were off to Umeda to go to Sam and Dave's. One of the guys who did nomihoodai came along, and was crazy wasted and out of control, so making sure he didn't get us arrested kept us busy on the train ride at least.

 After getting to Umeda, we decided to stop by a bar and rest first. A quick round of drinks, and a taxi home for two of our members, we headed on. The club itself was amazing, and apparently a pretty popular place for young Japanese and plenty of foreigners. The bartenders themselves were actually all Canadian, so it was a nice change of pace. When they found out it was Brendan's birthday, they decided to give us free drinks all night. It was a dangerous and crazy night, with lots of Japanese to dance with and drunken conversations to try out.

 We left when the sun came up; getting home has never felt like such an ordeal. After a 3 hour nap, Brendan and I's roommates decided that we should see downtown Osaka, so we grabbed Mark and headed for the Tsuutenkaku, one of the tallest towers in Japan. Downtown Osaka was so cool and retained that old world charm, and we even ate some traditional Osaka food, katsukushi, which is a variety of fried food on sticks and a sauce that is individual for each restaurant. We headed to the tower and made the climb up and saw the amazing view, then bought some souvenirs and headed back downtown. We went to a smartball center, which is a fun combination of pachinko and pinball, and my roommate hit it big and won some cool stuff. We finally headed home after a long weekend and met up with everyone at GB's again.

 All in all, amazing as usual. Next weekend is more clubbing and hopefully Nara, the city of temples and domesticated deer!