Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

 OK, so once again, the great voyage of discovery breaks new waves each day! I have found the most awesome arcade i've ever seen, and me and the other Craig stomped all over everything in the Dragon Ball Z aisle, even using Tien and Napa. If you ever watched it, you know the gravity of the situation and the magnitude of our skills .

There were also booths that were like MMOs and you needed a "game passport" to play, in addition to about 4-500yen. I mean they looked absolutely awesome, but way more effort than a poor ryougakusei such as myself has to expend.

I also found a Texas store in Nishinomiya Gardens: Funny. That was the name of the shop. But they surprisingly did have alot of Texan things; boots, belt buckles, and turquoise jewelry were among their wares. However, I do need to go back when i speak better Japanese to tell the owner that they're doing everything right.

Except the shop title.

 I say i need to better my Japanese skills because, for some reason, I ended up being to only guy able to go to the gathering due to unforeseen circumstances, and then I went into an okonomiyaki shop by myself.

Bad idea. I dont speak well enough to understand what the waiters are saying, and for some reason it was more complex than point at the menu, pay at the counter. I totally had the nearest three tables judging the hell out of me. I could see the gavel dropping. It was bad, but the okonomiyaki was delicious, and one of the waiters spoke more than 10 words of English. Everybody won. Sort of.

And then I went with Other Craig to grab a beer and chew the fat (in english). We had an epic exploration quest of campus and everything near by, and covered all topics possible to be covered while ranging the suburban wilds of Japan until we finally fought our way into the dorm commons area.

There, I saw the first, and only sporting event to make me jump out of my seat: Sumo. This is the single greatest sporting event I have ever witnessed. It was brutal, fast, almost scientific in its beauty.

Most Americans just think sumo is just fat people in jockstraps throwing each other around and jiggling out of the ring, but it is so much more. Within the confines of that dirt ring lies the essence of hand to hand combat. Those men train so hard for those 30 seconds in the ring. Years of separation from the world to live in the dojo, plying their craft, just for those BRUTAL, bone-breaking seconds.

It is something that everyone should see and appreciate, and anyone who played offensive or defensive line in football will go bananas for this. I fully intend to see more sumo, even if only on TV, because those 30 seconds have captured my interest not just for now, but probably for the rest of my time watching sports.

 Next, I went to the world's only Instant Ramen Museum. It was a fantastic adventure. I learned more about Cup Noodle than I knew was possible, and took a virtual reality tour through the process of creating instant Cup Noodle!

 After the Ramen Museum, we all went to the biggest mall I've ever seen: The Hap 5 (?) in Osaka. This is a mall with an amusement park. I heard ferris wheel and i was so in. This place had the ferris wheel i'd been slavering over since i rode into this country. I saw it on the bus to the hotel on day one, and i FINALLY rode it.

Fantastic. I was 8 stories up just to get in line for this. Then i rode my scarlet steel chariot into the sky. I could see everything, from the thousands on the ground to the mountains rising into the mist on the horizon. I even got to see Osaka castle- the golden wings on the roof almost trying to carry it into the heavens.

This place is amazing. My life is changing just by roaming the streets. School hasn't even started yet.

 This dream is my reality. This new world has become my own. This is my life.