May 3rd 5:54pm; 8:54am

So yesterday we went to Shibuya. We we went on a little walk and I put 5000 yen on a pass card. We then rode a train for a while and the train went from a few people to a whole bunch of people. Finally we got there.

=Sorry if this is sounding lame compared to my other writings, I'm awake at the right times but my mind needs time to get used to the time change=

At Shibuya, we escaped into a huge crowd and had to hold hands so I didn't get lost. We walked around and went to a store called Tokyu Hands and there I found some awesome toys I think Jonah and Andrew would like, but I'll wait til later to see if I want to get them the toys or find something better.

There were arcade shops all over. All the games were fighting games though. They had Street Fighter IV, the arcade game in HD. All we have in America is the first Soul Calibur game running Dreamcast graphics.

Along with the fighting games were the claw games that cost 100 yen. I looked around for some stuff I would like and found a Monster Hunter stuffed cat machine. I was all like "Nooo flippin' waaaaay..." Aparantly Monster Hunter is cool enough to have their own stuffed toy machines in Japan but not cool enough to release Monster Hunter 2 for Playstation 2 in America.

We also went to a music store called HMV and looked around. They had a ton of songs, I found Offspring, Fallout Boy, and a ton of Western albums. We went up to the 2nd floor and I saw the manga. Scanning the shelves I found the one I wanted, "Claymore 1". I already own it in English but having it in Japanese is so much better.

This is the first time I had to test my Japanese too. I asked Corey what to say (and mentally compared it to mine). "Mahn-Stah Huhn-Tah are-e-mas kah?" (not sure if I should type it how it sounds or type how it is in romaji). He was a little confused and went and searched google. After some searching and a phone call he held up two fingers in an X. I said "O, hai. Arigatou Gozaimasu." Did a little head bow and went to pay for my Claymore book.

There I paid with my VISA card (and I need to email or call my bank to see how much they charge to convert currency) and was talking with Corey when he said "She [the clerk] is waiting for you." I looked over and she was politely waiting for me to hand me my bag. I thank you and we walked away. Corey said it was because it is impolite to interrupt people talking. Thats way better than most people in America who just want you to pay and get out.

We then walked towards the 1st floor when Corey asked if I wanted to go up. What could it hurt? I thought and we went upstairs. There I saw some Green Day magazines and decyphered them to say Green Day was coming back after 5 years (or something like that). There was also a semi-big crowd pushing around some stage.

Aparently some Japanese pop idols were doing a promo. After a bit of waiting (and the security guards eyeing us for not hanging out in the crowd) the 3 Japanese girls jump on stage and started singing. They did two songs with a full routine. This is when I noticed the crowd was only guys and about half were mirroring the routine. I couldn't help but laugh when they would raise one arm and wave a finger before pulling back in a fist, their lips mouthing the lyrics.

It was pretty funny and I wouldn't have gotten a free concert if it wasn't for Corey asking if I wanted to see more. Yukiko and the kids came up and we left to explore more.

We ate at some curry shop and then headed back home. I learned about express trains versus local trains and Japanese customer service when asking about the bathrooms and that Japanese people won't crowd Gaijin if they have a choice.

Finally we got home to rest. After some computer problems and fixes we went to a electronic store where I found Persona for PSP at 4600ish yen. Too much for me, I'll find better prices later. We also explored and found USB 1 GB Flash drives for 3500 yen but they also came with software and games, so you get a storage device and software. I also learned that Japan makes prices based on demand. We found a PSP for 6000 yen! (thats ~$60).

Afterwards we went to a book store where we asked for "Mahn-stah hahn-tah hone." (spelt Monster Hunter Hon). The clerk was like. "Gamu ka?" And Corey said. "Iie, hon, hon." After a bit of searching they found my Monster Hunter Manga that I can read but not understand!

So Today I bought 3 books for 1000 yen. Waaaay cheaper than in America. The Monster Hunter manga was 250 a piece where it would have been $8 in the USA.

Afterwards I went home and thought about how odd their house design was. They have locks on a gate you can lean over and unlock, two locks on the front door, a lock on the living room door (when there is another sliding door that cannot be locked), a lock on the toilet door but no lock on the washroom door.

I took my little sitdown shower and then the hottub soak and Mark and Marika kept knocking on the door and opening it then giggling. After they went away, I tried to open the door but it was locked! I didn't wanna break anything so I didn't pull too hard but after looking at the door up and down, I found there to be a tiny lock at the bottom. I unlocked it and looked back at the door and it wasn't available on the outside. I must have pushed it or something by accident.

So all I gotta do now is Email my bank and asked about currency conversion fees.