I tend to head towards the shopping districts, called Shimotori and Kamitori. They are covered roads basically, and stretch for a couple miles. My favorite destination in all of Japan is in these shopping districts... Tower Records. It`s where I spend the bulk of my time. There is also a department store across the plaza from Tower, which has an odds and ends store that sells root beer. Nobody in Japan knows what root beer is, and this is the only place I can find it. It took me six months to stumble on it, and now I go there often.

 

Shiho`s house: You can get the scoop on Shiho`s family from my "friends" page. Technically they are in Kumamoto City, but I decided to devote a space for them anyway, for lack of other topics. At this house I get to cheat on my curfew, because all the rest of the family takes me out late whenever I am with them. Last time we went bowling, and the mom and dad destroyed me, while Shiho and Masaki (her bro) laughed at my... awesomeness.... I don`t have much time to spend weekends with this family, but when I do, it`s a lot of fun, and the thing I look forward to most in Japan.

 

Fukuoka: Fukuoka is one of the most major cities in Japan, and it is very cool. I try to make a monthly trip there now that I understand the trains. The downside is, it costs $30 round trip. With food and everything else, it is a major expense. I usually meet some exchange student friends there. It has a major bookstore, with a lot of English books, so I go there when I need to stock up. Also there are lots of multistoried sports stores, which are any athlete`s dream. Fukuoka supposedly has a lot of restaurants too, although the last few times I went, it seemed very difficult to find a good restaurant. My friends and I walked around for an hour just trying to find a place to eat.