Long time no write!

Wow, so it seems I got lost on the way to blogger... I haven't even written about the international festival yet, and that happened on the 3rd of November! This is just going to be a quick re-cap so I don't forget about everything.

Cultural Day / International Festival

From Nov. 3rd to the 5th Kansai Gaidai had it's Cultural Day / International Festival. All the clubs and sports set up tents and it was like a carnival where you could buy food or play games, and it's to raise money for each club. Some clubs also held "performances", like if it was a hip-hop dance club, or a rock group club, or something. Everyone in Japan joins a club in school, it seems like, and every school, even high schools and elementary schools, do this cultural day thing. I see it all the time in Japanese drama's and anime, and so it was awesome to actually participate in one.

Me and my "club", the Soran Bushi dance group, performed twice, once at the opening ceremony and once during the actual festival. When i get back home I will put up some pictures and possible even some video's! The first performance went perfectly, everyone was clapping and cheering, but the second one, a few things went wrong, like the music started early, and someone forgot their outfit, and the wrappings on our outfits started to come off, but all in all it was a good performance.

During the festival, the band Raico came to play. They are a new band, but one of their songs is being used as the opening theme song for some show, so they are getting more popular. Mika and I missed the actual performance, but we saw them as they were packing up, and went up and talked to them and got our pictures taken. We didn't really know who they were, but apparently they are getting kinda famous? They invited us to see their show on November 30th in Shinsaibashi in Osaka. We checked out their website later on, and we saw that on their official blog, they wrote about meeting international students at Kansai Gaidai, and posted the big group picture of us. It was kick ass.

Seeing Raico Live

We went to the show, and I thought it was going to be a one-man live (which is where only one band plays at the club) but actually there were quite a few bands on before them. They were all pretty good, and I liked the music, but I was waiting for Raico. Their show was awesome and so much fun! Every single Japanese band, no matter how cutesy j-pop or hardcore thug they are, ALL have hand motions and dances to their songs. Everyone in the audience knew all the hand motions, and we joined in. It was hilarious!

Also, during the performance, when the band was talking to the audience, they gave us a shout out! They pointed us out and said thanks for coming, and EVERYONE in the club turned and looked at us (because obviously we were the only foreigner's there). It was awesome. I wish I could see them again before I leave.

Shinsaibashi

The show was in Shinsaibashi in Osaka which is like the Harajuku of Tokyo. All the young kids with awesome clothes just hanging around, and awesome stores with kick ass stuff. I found SO MANY second hand stores for gothic lolita type clothing! I found a store that carried Vivienne Westwood, Moi Meme Moitie, and awesome things like 6 inch mary jane platform boots! It was my sixteen-year-old self's dream come true! Even though it was second hand, everything was still insanely expensive, so I didn't get anything. Also, I'm getting a bit too old to wear that kind of stuff. *sigh* I wish I could have come to Japan 5 years ago. I would have looked so cool.

We also found the Baby the Stars Shine Bright store, which is the opposite of goth-y stuff. It's the same style of clothing, but everything is PINK and CUTE, and also, insanely expensive. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING.

I also found a store with all those indie visual kei / j-rock bands that I used to love and who have since broken up. I actually found Due Le'Quartz CDs! And Shelly Trip Realize! I know no one knows who they are, but that's the point. They were SO INDIE they only ever played at small livehouses and clubs, and that was like 3 or 4 years ago, and I found a store that ACTUALLY carries their CD's! I wanted to buy everything, but then I thought: I don't actually like these bands anymore. I'd be buying the Cd's just for the sake of having them. It would be because of nostalgia, and not because I actually want the music. Plus, the CD's are insanely expensive too. So I don't know. I'm going to think about it, and decide if I'm going to buy anything before I leave.



Okay, that's about all I can write about without my hands falling off. Next on the list is my trip to Okinawa (The Hawaii of Japan!), going to Nara with my host parents and seeing the biggest Buddha statue in the world (and being attacked by deer!), and visiting my friend Azusa's hometown (and getting to eat at a traditional Japanese teahouse!)