Changing Impressions of Japan

The main thing I've noticed about my view of Japan now is how at home I feel here, despite how alien everything was when I first came here. I finally got to see my robot, I've come to depend on vending machines and think of my bicycle as if it were my car.

Some of the Japanese friends I've made here will stick with me for life and I think it'll be quite a while before I go back to saying 'ok' instead of 'daijobes'.

I've been to a lot of places in Japan since I've come here but I think that the things I will remember most are the people that I've met here and the friends that I've made

Eriko, Tatsuya and Haruna's dance troupe at Gaidaisai

my friend, Daisuke, scaring innocent animals

I became quite intimately aquatinted with the Osaka club scene, from gaijin dens, to various hidden gems. It's amazing how much the night life can vary from country to country and Osaka has a very active hip hop scene.

The DJs having a spin-off at Azure

Big Spenders really will buy the $500 champagne

Japan is a difficulty country to fully integrate into, but I'm still starting to find myself familiar with even the kanji I haven't learnt yet and trying to guess what things mean. If anything, when I go home, everything in LA will seem too simple, and I'll be bored with being able to read everything so easily.

My speaking partner, Maimu, being 'ninja'

Life in Japan is never simple, but always interesting. I feel like 4 months has only scratched the surface, but what I've uncovered, I've loved.