Polysics is a punk rock band from Tokyo. They took a US tour this fall and one of the spots they visited was Cambridge Massachusetts.
Check out Polysic's myspace for international tour dates and song samples!
Did some karaoke with Yuriko and her dad today, hahahaha. He sang some enka.
I sang the following:
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (put it on "secret reservation" for rickrolling the karaoke place)
Oceanlane - Walk Along
the Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
t.Rex - 20th Century Boy
Orange Range - Ikenai Taiyou
the pillows - Hybrid Rainbow
the pillows - Scarecrow
the pillows - NAKED SHUFFLE
the Predators - Lizard Man
Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki
Monty Python SPAMALOT - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
... lol
There was a festival in Mitaka tonight, so they closed the street down. Yuriko and I went to the Shiseido make up store and she got me some press powder and some peach flavored lip balm.
I have pictures but I'm too lazy to post them because my computer is being slow.
MATSURI PUPPIES IN MITAKA!!!
Last night, I went to some little bar in Musashi-Koganei with my host mom and a few of her friends. For a while, we were the only people in the place. There was a matsuri (festival/parade) in the area the same night, and my host mother wanted to show me a matsuri because I wouldn't be able to see the massive one in Aomori later this August.
The streets were crowded. The parade was huge, with tons of dancing and shamisen and taiko and flutes and kids running around in yukata holding bags of kingyo they caught from the games. So cool! I wish my camera's battery hadn't have died during it. It made me want to take up playing taiko. I think I'm going to do it.
When the parade was over, we headed back to the bar where it was pretty much filled up. There was a karaoke machine, so we could sing in front of people we didn't even know. A drunk salaryman serenaded me with an enka song (lol I don't think he knew I was not Japanese) but he had a good voice and kept blowing kisses at my host mom and her friends. Later, I sang Ladybird Girl by the pillows. :)
Today I'm going to see Yuriko. We're gonna do karaoke and eat yaki-nikku.
Finished up finals.
Last night was the farewell party for everyone in the class. Maybe it will be the last time I will see most of these people, I don't know, but I hope it isn't the last time.
My previous host dad showed up (the ones with the adorable kitten that wanted to kill me) and my current host family. My host sister Izumi was going on a class trip, so I won't get to see her right before I leave. She left me a very cute note which I read during breakfast yesterday morning and I started tearing up. I LOVE YOU IZUMI!!!!!! We went to an Italian restaurant the other night and the owner of the restaurant was talking to me, I told him the pizza was good (it was!). He looked like a bald, Japanese Mario. I also told him my last name and he was like "I know Italian!" and they sang happy birthday to someone in Italian (so funny, in Japan).
After the party I met this cool guy that liked the pillows and went to his apartment and we listened to music for a few hours. He was really nice.
I need curry.
Went to Chiba Prefecture today by car with my host family to visit my host dad's parents. While most people think that all of Japan is city-like Tokyo, Chiba is only two hours away from Tokyo and it's basically nowheresville, with farms and stuff. His parents have a nice yard, a garden, chickens, and a huge house.
We basically ate the whole time, then everyone took a nap (typical of even my grandparent's house when I visit hahahaha). Izumi played the violin and we watched some sumo and went for a walk.
Here's Izumi playing violin!
Guys, I just got back from a 100 yen store, where I heard the pillows play on the radio.
I spazzed of course.
It was the third eye.
This was the first time I've heard the pillows on the radio, anywhere. I'm so happy and I almost cried.
Here's the video for it:
Went to Shibuya after presentations today (I haven't been here in over a month). This time, we explored the classier, less love-hotel infested regions of the trendy district in Tokyo. I also went with Jad, Steve, Natsue, Ani, and Anthony, which I lost as soon as I was distracted by Hachiko's doggy statue, two guys giving out Free Hugs, and the Tokyo Jazz Museum's performance on the street corner providing a cool soundtrack to my wandering.
We walked around the 109 Shibuya shopping mall (which is massive) and I found some cool things, but most stuff was wallet-murdering expensive there. I found some upa-rupa keychains (yknow, the axotol) and a realistic strawberry necklace for 300 yen. The 109 Shibuya is famous for providing Japan's consumer economy with Engrish t-shirts that would make your English teacher commit seppuku and the essential Hello Kitty rhinestone covered tricycle (every Japanese person owns one, and if you don't, you're poor and uncool).
Then Anthony decided it was a good idea to go to Tower Records and to point out a pillows live DVD on the shelf (which btw, they're playing a concert tonight 2 hours away by train and I'm missing it!) so I got it. YEAH, and Moon Gold and Kool Spice because I'm old school.
Meanwhile, I threw some gel in my hair and grew an ugly, messy afro during the course of the day.
Oh and I met a cool fellow foreigner in Mitaka yesterday that lives in the apartment next door. His name is Kermit and he told me that Mitaka had 3000 foreigners living in it. I had no idea!
