Before I continue, I forgot to write about one hot topic last entry. The toilets. I haven't seen a squat-style toilet yet and I pray that I won't (have to use one). Now, the fancy ones like this one will ... uh ... automatically adjust to your ... needs, yea. So if you have to take a #2, it will fill up with more water when you sit on it. This freaked me out the first time as I put my foot on the seat (don't ask, and no, I wasn't going to the washroom) and the toilet started to make noise. Also, it has a 'ass spray' mode where if you press a button, water squirts from somewhere and cleans your ass. Wow... service. Now, I'm not into the whole bum-spray thing so I didn't try it but it looks like to be a handy option. There was also a remote on the wall by the door that had some more options but I can't remember them now. I remember seeing that you shouldn't get the remote wet or else you might get electrocuted from the ass first or the toilet may go haywire. It may use the ass-shower but at a pressure of a firehose then eat the curtains and propel itself into outer space or something. Lets just say I didn't touch any buttons. Back to the story.

While I was getting my shower stuff ready, I heard the cleaning maids entering other rooms. So cleaning time must be 11.30, huh? OK. I get nekkid and leave my towel on my bed (I have NO idea, I guess I thought the hotel towels would do). While I was showering, I hear my doorbell ring and someone say "Ohayo gozaimasu!" a couple times at my door then the door opens. I think nothing and let her do her job. I finish my shower and reach for the towel and unfold it. It wouldn't be big enough to wrap around a 1year old.... I dry myself and listen for any activity in my room. I see some hand towels and try to fucking piece together the towels so that it would cover me and cover me equally. Of course the towels aren't the same size and it looks goddamn retarded. I wait a few minutes and I stil don't hear much. After a while, I say 'fuck it' and just go out with a hand towel and the 'big' towel wrapped around me somehow. No maid, no sheets changed, nothing. Guess she will come back later. I will never forget my towel again.

I head out and head to the nearby Virgin records buiding where the giant Nova guide told me there was a free internet cafe. I go to the top floor and there it was. I head to the counter and try to explain that I would like to use a computer. The girl behind says something and what I caught was (after a couple times) that I had to buy something first to use a computer. OK. I pick out a cookie. She looks blankly at me. "No?". She points to a drink. Oh, so you had to buy a drink to use a computer. OK. I get some Coke type drink and walk towards the computer with my head hung in shame. Oh, wow. All these computers here are Macs. No wonder its a free place. OK. Since Matt had a mac laptop, I sort of knew how to navigate one. I try to install MSN for it but it wouldn't save it to the HDD. Frustration land.... I quickly check my email and my frequently visited sites and chug my drink and leave. �@�@�@

I wander the streets and I stumble across another cafe. This one was much easier. Less hassles and it had WinXP and MSN already on it. I do a bit more garbage and head back to the counter to pay. I wait in line and this big, greasy guy throws a small tray at the cashier and yells "Doyu imi da?!" ("What do you mean?!"). I don't know wtf's going on so I just go to the next cashier, pay and get the hell out. By this time, I am starving like a mofo. I walk around for a while to find an appropriate eating establishment (by appropriate, I mean a low amount of people so I won't be embarrassed too much and a picture-based menu so I can point and not speak). So I finally find one after going here and there and, man oh man, what service. So many "irrashaimase"'s by going in and after ordering a curry, it took no less than a minute and a half before I was served. I eat my wonderful meal and pay 450yen (approx $5CDN) and leave. After stepping out, I head back towards the direction where I think I came from. Hmm, ok. This isn't the way, so I'll just turn here and head back going this way. Uhh...ok. Now I'm on a back/side street. Well, shit. After repeating what I just did a half dozen more times, I gave up and tried to find a taxi. Since I was nowhere near a downtown-type area, doing this was hard to do.

I finally find one parked on a side of a street and try to enter. He doesn't open his door. WTF? Oh, ok. The old bastard is eating his lunch. I wait for 5 minutes before another cab comes along and I decide to take that one. He also tells me to take that cab. What do you think I'm doing you slow eating, pile of trash?? I step in and tell the grandma "Sun Hotel onegaishimasu". She has a confused look on her face and starts to look up "Sun Hotel" on her state-of-the-art taxi GPS guiding satellite laser cannon system. She stumbles across "Sun Route hotel" and I dig out my hotel keychain and, yes, it is Sun Route. So I forgot a word. We are off.

She starts trying to have a conversation with me and I quickly pull out my line which is my second nature now "Chotto nihongo wakatamasyo". She acknowlodges. She then asks me where I'm from. In Japanese. "Canada". "Ahhhh...Canada des ka...". "Hai". Not much goes on, I concentrate on where the hell I am and how I got so lost. About 15-20 mins later, we reach my hotel by coming in the opposite way that I usually go. How in holy ramen did I get way over there? I pay her 1150yen...pretty cheap. She tells the hotel lobby guy her whole story. I was called a gaijin. On my second day here. Well fuck. Now my trip is complete. I might as well pack up and head back home.

I go to my room, change and head to my friend Kate's apartment, whom I met on the bullet train from the airport. Apparently, a bunch of them are going out and I was too. I head to the station to buy a train pass and after 4 minutes of watching other people do it, I do it. No prob. I board the train, take another train to Mizonokuchi station and get off. Now, I have her address, but no clue on how to get there. I grab the nearest taxi and show him what I've written down. He has no clue. I say out the address. OK. But the last part (her apartment building name), we are fucking stumped. "Adagio"? How the hell do you say that to someone who can't speak English when you don't know how to pronounce it yourself? After using his GPS and calling it in, we are off, albeit some anger. We arrive some time later and, man, what a place. She told me the apartments were fairly new, and they sure look that way. I find her apartment number and knock on the door. I am expecting the others to already be there waiting for me. She opens and she's in her PJs. OK. So nobody has made it yet. She gives me a quick tour of the place and it is nice. Real nice for a Japanese apartment. New, shiny, clean. Man, if I was only so lucky.

After talking for a while, we decide to head out and tour the area. Its dark already and we find ourselves back at the train station. We decide to try to find an internet cafe so what do we do? Head down the not-so-lit way. Obviously, this was going nowhere so we turn back and ask a couple of older white guys. Mistake #2. Do these guys even touch computers? We're now back at the station and we go to the nearest Nova building and ask one of the staff. I don't say a word during the entire conversation and, of course, one of the teachers says "your friend should know" I ain't Jap, goddamnit. Bla, bla, bla, we eventually find an internet cafe (not the one the teacher told us about), do the inet thing, jet and now we're back at her place. Nobody's waiting by the door. So much for going out.

So she's expecting her new roommates to come tonight so we just stick put. After more talking and watching sweet, sweet TV, the roomies arrive at around 10PM. One is from Chicago (I forgot her name! I'm bad) and the other is from England (Jen, she's Chinese). More bla, bla, bla and it's getting late. They invite me to crash on their couch and I can't refuse, even though I have a 12PM check-out time. I use Jen's iPod for an alarm clock (not the greatest alarm clocks, either...) and watch more TV before sleeping.