Weekend Update

Two days, two classes, two guys, two crazy field trips. My concept of taking it easy was destroyed by the amount of traveling that occurred this weekend. Friday, I was so tired that as soon as I got home I was immediately sucked into my futon. My travels hadn't even begun yet, and I was down and out for three hours. Mid terms destroyed my health and energy levels. School is a very hazardous institution where if one is not careful it can make you insane. Mixing school and real life is just deadly. There just isn't enough time in the day (or energy) for me to accomplish the things that I want to do. Everything in between just seems like a distraction. That said; as much of a distraction these field trips were, I am very glad that I chose to attend. To be completely linear and boring, I'll start off with Tenrikyo on Saturday.

As I roll out of bed at 11:30 I realize staying up until 4AM wasn't necessarily a good idea. I could not help it though, the nap was to blame. Well, that, reading, writing, and listening to music were also to blame. I was rested enough however to make the journey to the apparent creation site of ALL HUMANITY. Yes, that is what Tenrikyo is all about: a pillar in a shrine where humanity originated. The expression used for visitors of this site is: "Welcome Home," everybody's home that is. Ultimately this town was taken over by the believers to become what it is today. Most workers and followers of this faith walk around wearing Tenrikyo shirts. This gives off a slightly cultish image and feeling. This is one religion that has been compared to Mormonism, and involves a minute ammount of faith healing. Personally I would say that it beats the hell out of Mormonism though. There are only three prayers that pay homage to Oyasan, and it stays out of personal/marital relations (a very good idea). The shrine is pretty boss, and despite it's ancient look it is only about 160 years old (as is the religion). The most recent additions were added in the early 80's. No pictures were allowed inside though, and humanity's focal point was heavily guarded. All of the prayer rooms were huge though, at least a couple thousand tatami mats per section.

We spent a few hours within the shrine (a truly massive complex) taking the tour, then headed home. At our arrival in Hirakata-shi station, Johnny, Yuri, and I decided to go to dinner. We wanted tabehodai (all you can eat) and we found it for relatively cheap. The name of the place was Asian Days, and for about $15 we were able to eat three plates of meat and three plates of vegetables. It was the best meal I have had in a while, and I cant wait to go back.

Sunday we set out pretty early, 9:09AM in fact. My professor was dead set on making it to the convention in time to wait in the massive lines. 'Waiting in line is a big part of the experience,' we were told, and that it was. The crowd was so massive that we had to make a six person wide line and march to our designated spot of waiting. All the while, rain was attacking us. Much to my and everyone's dismay it was also a NO PHOTOS event. It rained the whole day through, making this Osaka experience a very wet and undocumented one.

To sum the convention up in a few words, it was very homo-erotic. Dojinshi are apparently widely consumed by women. Therefore a very large ratio of women:men, and another large ratio of gay:straight comics. I did my best to visually avoid being accosted by anything explicitly gay. A very difficult task in such a large place. For this being a very homo-erotic event, the women were the ones eating up the merchandise. This seemed very similar to the stereotype of men liking lesbian activities. With this in mind I'd assume that any single, self assured (straight) man, wouldn't have too much difficulty finding a dinner date. So, in other words dojinshi festival = good dating scene for you straight men out there.
I did find some stuff of value though. An excellent Doraemon spin off comic, really nice artwork, and all the free fliers I could get my hands on. Johnny and I spent about 3.5 hours wandering the three rooms then left out of sheer hunger and fatigue. Lunch was calling us, and it was Kaiten Zushi. Getting to the Sushi place was another adventure all together though.

After circling Umeda station a few times, we found the place. I was so tired and hungry when we got there that I almost burned my finger on the hot water dispenser. Almost, because the nice man sitting next to me at the bar grabbed my hand at a critical moment and said "Very hot." I was very thankful for this, as well as embarrassed. I felt like such a tourist, but wasn't. It was the people of Osaka who treated us like tourists. In Umeda, while Johnny and I were looking at a map, we were approached by a very eager station attendant. In our weekend state we played along, but in the sushi restaurant we did not. As soon as we walked in we were greeted in English, to our slight agitation. I was very thrown off by this, hence my absent minded hot water mishap. The next time I was treated like a tourist though, I busted out the Japanese. It was a good experience though, I gained some valuable foreign insight.


With my belly full of 10 plates worth of sushi, Johnny and I returned home as quickly as possible. Once home, I passed out on my futon much like Friday. Every thing else is a blur from then on. I am still sick. Still freaking sick, and I am waiting for the right moment to see a doctor. In the meantime I am resting as much as possible. School is good right now, and I have no major points of stress other than that. I am sick but happy.