July 30th

Posting a day late. I feel asleep early last night after eating to much. Originally we were going to all go to the Japan sea today but it ended up raining so we took the day off. Instead we jammed everyone in the car and went shopping.

For some reason the Japanese girls love guys that look like girls? I don't get it, but every musician and movie actor has long hair and perfect skin. So we found a shop with a section dedicated to the fans...literally you can buy fans with their faces on them. Cassy had to pose.

Cassy holding a hedgehog! We both miss Poke :(

So many stuffed animals here...

For the longest time Japanese food courts amazed me. You could get curry, noodles, rice, tako yaki, ramen, and anything else really. Since I was little I had a thing for Japanese fast food. So here's Heidi and Aina having some ramen for lunch. Cost? less than 3 dollars for a big bowl. Time? took less than 2 minutes. Taste? really freaking good.

Wendy enjoying her bowl too. She looks good with those braces off!!!!

One thing I have noticed though is the introduction of McDonald's in the mainstream fast food line. When I was younger, like 5-10yrs old there were no McDonald's in the area. About 5 years ago they built one about 5 minutes from where I live. However now you can find one anywhere. Cassy noticed it first, but all the kids in the food court were eating Micky D while the parents were eating noodles or curry. Apparently child obesity is becoming a problem in Japan (not as great as America) and its beginning to be really present in the culture. For one, just from my first hand experience at the food court, it was really interesting to watch the shift in diet for the younger kids. I sort of felt bad because the Japanese have such great food but to those little kids McDonald's is all they want.

We were both sick of shopping after about 2 hours. Had to take a little nap. My aunt was making fun of us because Japanese people would never just sit in the middle of the floor at a shopping center and act so leisure and nap. Lol. Americans...

I found this sweet poster for a clothing store. Read what it says at the bottom.

On our way home we stopped by a grocery store and I found 2 liter bottles of beer. Lol, 14 bucks a pop though. Still I thought they were pretty sweet.

I didn't take any pictures of dinner but lets just say I ate for like an hour and passed out right after. It was only about 9 but I was so tired. In Japan there are no time zones or daylight savings time. So depending on the season, lets say summer, the sun rises at 5am and sets at about 7:30pm. So by 8pm its completely dark out and everyone just gets together and chats and by 10pm were all ready to sleep. Its kinda nice but I honestly miss the sun setting at 9 at night.

Hey Moto and Mimi! Thanks for taking care of Moose, mae and bella! I hope your not having parties at our house every night! lol. ちゃんと運動してるか！僕かいったすぐまたジム行くで！

July 29th

Today we went to a Museum about the Biwako Lake and the Shiga area (the area where were staying). They had a really nice aquarium that had a bunch of fresh water lake fish. The first pic is of us in a bubble and my dad got the shot from within a tunnel from the other side.

My moms friend came to visit so her and her son came with us too. This was a really nice Japanese style fish pond with multiple color catfish. Apparently some of these fish can get up to 80 yrs old and are super expensive. Cassy touched one and almost died.

So every construction worker in Japan looks likes this man. Cassy calls them the "Inter-galactic" because of the Beastie Boys music video. So there was a statue guy and Cassy just had to kiss him.

After the museum, we got dropped off at a "Play House". Basically its a building with pool tables, darts, karaoke, food, drinks, manga, and Internet cafe. Cassy needed to finish up some online homework for school so we spent an hour or so here. It was actually pretty sweet. We got this little tiny room with a computer and TV and we got to get unlimited soda and slushies. An hour cost us 6 bucks though. Anyways, here's a pic of Cassy enjoying herself.

We took the train back home to my Aunts so we had some time to kill while waiting for a train.




It was Wendy's birthday today, so for her birthday dinner we all went to the famous conveyor belt sushi restaurant. My grandpa who really never gets out much came out and really enjoyed himself.

Wendy, Abby and Heidi stuffed. Our table ended up eating 50 plates of sushi. lol.

Hello!!!!!!! (^_~)

One of my favorite shots of the day. (my grandma and grandpa)

After eating way to much sushi, we had to keep it Japanese style and go get more stuff to eat. We went to a Japanese cake bakery and bought a birthday cake for Wendy. This culture loves food and little packages so you can see in the picture all the packaged gift boxes full of goodies.

Wendy with her birthday cake . Sweet 16 for her! Kinda scary to know that she will be driving when we get back to Michigan.

I figured the last picture would be fitting since we all had a long day. My dad is passed out with a helmet on his head to cover his eyes and the girls put a balloon bunny or whatever it is next to him.

July 28th

KONICHIWA everyone. The first couple photos are of the bath house we went to last night to celebrate. I really cant explain how amazing these bath houses are, so I wont go into detail : )

Group shot of everyone and their drinks raised to Cassy and I!!!!!

p.s. I have the best hair

Today we didnt do anything which was kinda nice. By the way, thanks to everyone who congratulated us. We really appreciate all the support and excitement. Anyways, in this picture im trying on a sweet outfit lol. Just check out those straps! We went to the biggest mall in the area and Im not kidding, the thing is 3 stories high and each level as big as the meridian mall.

These panda's are edible. Cassy poked every single one to see which one she wanted. I think it was the top right panda. The one staring at you...

My love!




Her Love!

Enjoy the video! One of the stores had the most ridiculous sound track ever. It was like every current rap song in America all mixed together with 7 second intervals. I hope you can hear it in the back ground.

Anyways, were currently cooking up some dinner. Time to EAT!!!!

bye bye.

July 27th continued...

Here are some pictures and a video I forgot to post. Hope you like it!

July 27th

Today was an awesome day. That pretty much sums it up. The good stuff is down below, but before you get ahead of yourself, I'll explain whats going on. Today we all went up to Biwako Valley which is about a ten minute drive from where were staying. We took a huge gondola up to the top of the mountain which has the highest point around this area. Here's a good pic of me and Cassy right before we got on the gondola.

This is Aina my cousin and Cassy trying to relax on the gondola.

Once we got on top of the mountain we free roamed all over. It dropped about 20-25 degrees or so on top of the mountain which felt amazing. going from 95 degrees to 75 feels fantastic. Here's Cassy claiming her spot on the mountain.

We then took an hour walk down some trails, sorry but for some reason i only took pictures of Cassy and I. I forgot to get some shots of everyone else. Anyways, here both Cassy and I before the hike down.

Cassy and I found a good spot on the trail over looking Shiga. You can see lake Biwa below, too. Little did Cassy know what was about to happen.

WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!

(^-^) After being nervous for weeks and trying to figure out what I would say, I decided to just wing it and found a beautiful spot to ask her. Thank God she said yes!

True love.

My beautiful bride to be.

And finally we had to catch up with my family to let them know. Cassy couldn't help but scream when gathering with the girls.

Well I hope everyone reading this enjoyed our fun day (^-^)/

Its been an amazing trip so far and I cant stop thanking God for giving me the best family and fiance I could ever ask for.

July 26th

For the first time since we came we got to have a day with nothing to do... after a quick breakfest and doing some online hwk, Cassy and I went down to Katata which is two towns down with some shopping malls and good food.

Heres a pic of us leaving for the afternoon!------>

On our way to the train station we saw this really funny poster warning old ladies for purse-snatchers. lol.

Once we got to Katata we grabbed some lunch at this family restaurant called Osho. In Japan you don't have to leave tip so it was kinda nice. The place is pretty much fast food but extremely Asian.

Cassy had to get here steamed dumplings or she would have strangled me...

Cassy standing in front of a purikura picture machine poster. I think she fit in pretty well between them.

We went into a department store and found this amazing beach tent. Its 60 bucks so we might go back and buy it. You have to admit, we could totally rock it out up in grand haven or something. Don't be jealous.

We found some cell phones that have a solar panel on the front so if your phone dies on you, you can charge it with the sun! So simple yet brilliant I must say.

It was so hot today again, Im sure it was pushing 100 degrees in the sun. My toe shoes felt like they were melting on the sidewalk. Don't believe the playmakers salesman when they tell you that your feet will stay cool on hot surfaces...

July 25th, 2010

I figured I should start blogging about this trip just for kicks for anyone who wants to check it out. To fill you in first, we started the trip on July 19th leaving Okemos at around 5:30am. Heres Cassy at the Detroit airport. We went from Detroit to Chicago to Tokyo then to Osaka. By the time we stepped into my grandparents home, it took almost 28 hours since we left Okemos. And since we have a tradition to go out to our favorite restaurant when we get to Japan, we had to have dinner/breakfast (hour difference) at Fuji Ramen.

I think when we ate it was roughly 7am Michigan time after 28 hours of none stop travel. After that beer I had I pretty much felt like I was hallucinating.

The next few days consisted of a bunch of things. Im just gonna post a bunch of pictures and give a short summary.

Relaxing on massage chairs at an electronics store.

Kiomizudera. One of the most famous temples in Kyoto.

Another shot of the temple from a different view looking down on Kyoto.

In front of the Himeji Castle near Osaka. One of the last original standing castles in Japan. Close to 400 years old.

The last shot is of Cassy over looking the sunrise at Lake Biwa. Jetlag was pretty bad the first couple days.