飲んで、笑って、夢を見て♪

The CLOSING of our joshi-kai♪

I had blueberry cake with vanilla ice cream and a cup of cafe au cherry :-) 

This place is called  "R[a:r]cafe" 

I like here... I like this relaxing space and laid-back time in the middle of the night.

...after drinking :-)

As we always do, we enjoyed shashimi and sake♪ chatting about... a lot of stuff! like my trip, work...

And her trip plan too♪  She will be traveling somewhere in the world and I'll be somewhere in America in the near future.  We talked about our reunion in America♪  Sounds fun, doen't it? :-)

Good friend, bright future, nice coffee,,, I had a really good time.

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にほんブログ村

Fremont 写真

This is the entrance of Fremont.  I took a bus from downtown to this stop Fremont Ave. and N 34th St.

Near the bus stop. 

This is the shop I wanted to go in Fremont.

"FRANK & DUNYA"

I knew about this shop from my travel guide book.  This is a shop which introduces works of local artists and local designers.  I bought candles, keychains, T-shirt... and some goods as souvenirs.

It was a very interesting place.  I found a lot of pretty products there.  Besides, the clerk was a very nice and friendly woman.  She told me some other interesting places to visit in Fremont because I told her I was from Japan and it was my first visit there.  It was really nice to talk to her, she was very kind!

Local people were sitting and relaxing outside the shop.

I like this picture :-)

Every shady sidewalk, every corner were picturesque.

It was a beautiful day.  I enjoyed walking around in this neighborhood.

I also visited a famous chocolate factory "Theo" which the woman at FRANK & DUNYA told me about.

Because I don't have a picture of the chocolate factory, I attach URL instead.

http://www.theochocolate.com/

I tried some... well, plenty of chocolate samples there :-) and bought some too.  Their chocolate was bitter and rich♪  Yummy ;-)

I wish I would have been there with somebody so I could have lunch or something there.  I saw many nice restaurants and cafes in Fremont.  I want to enjoy a relaxing time with wine and good food,,, chatting with girls... like "joshi-kai in Seattle"   haha!  It sounds nice, doesn't it? ;-)

I think you can easily find information about Fremont in a book or on the internet.  If you have a chance to visit Seattle, try visiting outside downtown and maybe Fremont too♪

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にほんブログ村

すっかり「シアトル＝ロック」

I've been having busy days at work since I came back to Japan.  Finally, I'm updating my blog :-)

I'm going to write about my first Seattle experience.  I guess this is just a certain part of Seattle but... what I found about Seattle is like this...

☆More guys have long hair there!

☆More people, especially young people smoke there!

☆In some areas, most of the people got tattoo or had their face pierced!

So... my image of Settle is, "ROCK"  :-)  I saw more rockes than any other cities I've been to. lol

Well, I really understand because I grew up listening to American rock music, especially 90's.

I enjoyed many types of music but the most of it was often called "alternative rock" back then, like Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden... I don't know if you have ever heard of these names,,, but I love them :-) and they are all from Seattle.  Seattle is known as the city grange/alternative rock is from.  Oh, speaking of grange, Nirvana is very famous band from Seattle, though I was not that into. lol

And world famous Jimi Hendrix was form Seattle, too♪

So... the atmosphere in Seattle was like "90's rockers everywhere♪"  haha!  It was good to me.  I enjoyed it :-)  Say I was a teenager, I would choose this city for my college plan straight away!

I stayed at a hotel near the airport so I had to take a bus or a train to downtown area.  Public transportation was very convenient, clean, safe... and cheep!  I took a train called Sound Transit Light Rail which takes me to downtown in about 40 minutes.

Because I had only a half day free time in Seattle, I already decided where to go and see.  I went to downtown by train, walked around a little bit and went to another are called Fremont by a local bus.  As other tourists do, I checked a travel guide book and knew about Fremont area.  It was an interesting, arty and a little quirky nighborhood with nice cafes, restaurants, shops and unique local people.  I went there to find something good for souvenirs of Seattle :-)
I'll post some pictures next time♪

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にほんブログ村

日本の味に到着！

I'm back in Japan!  This is a picture of yakiudon. lol

Have you been to the domestic flight gate at Narita airport?  There is a small store of snacks, gifts... and Japanese fast food.  Every time I arrive at Japan and get here for my connection to Hiroshima, I can smell JAPAN! lol  They have udon, soba, karaage... with "tachigui style"♪  Actually, I've never eaten here before because sometimes I didn't have a good appetite or sometimes I didn't have enough time to eat before flight.  But I was already hungry when I got here because United Airlines' light meal before landing was so... small! lol  and I had plenty of time for quick tachigui :-)  so I tried its yakiudon♪  Mmm... it was good♪

I was gonna have soba but it's too hot to eat soba in hot soup now.  I was in northern part of the US where weather is beautiful in summer.  I almost forgot about Japanese summer! lol  It's still so hot and muggy!

By the way, have you ever heard of ANA's "wake up service"?  I didn't know that.  When I was eating yakiudon here,lol it was announced. 

They say it's a service for passengers waiting for their flight here.  Some people might fall asleep.  If you ask ANA staff for the sticker that tells them which flight you are taking and put it on yourself so they can see it, ANA staff will notify you when your boading time has come so you won't miss your flight... 

What a sweet country...

I just remembered I was struggling with drowsiness everyday in the US.  I tried not to fall asleep when I was on a bus or train and at the airport too because I didn't want to be so careless outside of Japan!  Japan is a safe country,,, sometimes I think we should be more careful and more responsible for ourselves though.

Anyway, I'm back♪  I'll be home in a few more hours :-)  Big laundry time is waiting for me! haha!

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にほんブログ村

ご搭乗時刻 bye bye America

I'm leaving America very soon... this is the time I don't like about a trip.

Oh, my story about Seattle,, I'll post it after coming back to Japan because it's almost my boarding time now.

I'm feeling a little bit sad about the end of my trip in the US, but I really feel happy because my stay was fruitful and successful!  People I met here were all nice and I had very good experiences every day.

Well, I'll be back soon again, I know that ;-)

Bye bye, America... see you in a while♪

眠たいばかりで、また明日

My schduled has been so messed up since I started a trip! lol  It's because of a jet lag... The older I get, the more I feel it... lol   So I haven't taken a good sleep at night for several days and I often get very sleepy in the day time... especially around 2:00pm.  Well,,, this is the trip♪  I tried not to care about it, but I was crazy sleepy today,,, and tonight too! lol

I slept only a few hours and woke up at 6:00 this morning.  Then I cought a first bus at 7:45... cought another and another to visit a campus at 9:30.

Actually, I like  taking local public transportaions.  I used a lot of quarters today. lol  I got 2 roles of them yesterday, so it was not a big problem though.

So... I'm very very sleepy now.  But I'm definitely sartisfied with my day.

It's still 10:30pm here, but I'm going to bed soon... I can't keep my eye open any more! lol

Oh, maybe this is very... "not me" but I haven't drunk beer since I got here.  That's true! lol  The last beer was a can of ASAHI on ANA.

Because this is the last night of my trip in US , I couldn't help having one!  My tired body was complaining .lol

I went to a restaurant at this hotel and had dinner... by myself, of course! haha!  Does it sound lonely?

Well, it might seem lonely if you see a woman having dinner alone.  But it was not that bad... I enjoyed dinner and my relaxing time... and CORONA beer too♪ I'm totally happy♪

So,,, I'm extra sleepy now.  I'm goint to write the details about staying Seattle tomorrow♪

空港が好きです

O'hare airport in Chicago is big and cool!  And it's full of people♪

Because I see various people, even just watching passengers is fun♪

I was going to wait for my next flight for almost 3 hours, so I thought I would be bored...  But it was fun to walk around in the terminal, have a big bagle sandwich lol and watch people.

Boarding time is in a few minutes.  Another 4 hour flight will take me to Seattle♪  I'm excited :-)

I'm arriving at Seattle around 11pm then go straight to a hotel.  So I won't do anything special tonight.  But I will have an early morning and see around.  It's gonna be another long day :-)

初フレーズ、初アメリカサブウェイ

@ Rochester airport

I'm flying to Chicago → Seattle.

"You're all set"

This is the phrase I've often heard since I got here.  For example, when I checked out a hotel or at an airport ticketing counter...  This phrase means "everything's done"

I  think it's easy to guess the right meaning at each situations but this phrase was copletely new to me.  I've never used it before.  It seems very practical and useful♪

I left hotel at 12:00am then... I'm waiting for my flight at the airport again. I have 2 hours before boading time.  I ate subway sandwich... I know we have subway sandwich in Japan too, but I tried something a little different from Japanese ones.

What I ate was turkey breast sandwich with "American cheese" and "honey mustard sauce" plus, "toasted♪

I guess we have none of these in Japan.  Turkey with melting cheese was very good!

I'm enjoying lunch time watching airplanes outside :-)

やっぱり落ち着けるのはホテルなもんで...

I just finished pressing my shirt... watching my favorite Sponge Bob Squarepants. lol  My hotel room is small and classic old style... but I kinda like this hotel.  I'm staying at Country Inn from yesterday.  It is a  relaxing place and worth the price, I think :-)  When I came into the hotel, I could smell apple & cinnamon, which made me feel "ahh... this is America♪"  haha!

Mint candies on a bed side table♪  

I was going to post more pictures of... outside!  But I pay attention to other stuff or often think about something else, then I forget about pictures. lol

My friend makes time for me and take me around here.  I visited one college yesterday.  I've been thiking like... "maybe I should reconsider my plan." since then.  In addition, my friend advised me a lot and it made me realize things I didn't notice.  So... I'm thinking about changing my plan a little bit now.  I'm still planning to enter an American college, it doesn't change.  But I need to think more and deeply about my priority and how I really want to spend my college time.  I'm lucky because I notice that before starting :-)

This is a big decision.  I'm gonna spend all I've got! lol  I don't need to rush... I'm still young! lol

I'm going to visit one more college from now, then fly to Seattle in the afternoon.  Even if the celleges don't match me, I'm always excited and learnig something each day during this trip!

モールでお土産とお買い物

I went to a shopping mall to find something for girls at work.  

I bought these goods at "Bath & Body Works"

Shower gel, lition,,, stuff like that.  Good gift for girls, huh :-)  

I also enjoyed shopping for myself♪  I just walked around and bought some clothes, bag, shoes... lol, yeah, I had a good time there♪  The best purchase for today was a pair of shoe♪  I found very nice NINE WEST shoes which are just like ones I was looking for.  They look nice, they are comfortable... the best point is that buying NINE WEST in the States is much cheeper than buying in Japan! ha!  I'm lucky to meet nice design today♪

By the way, I found people, I mean sales clerks are very friendly here.  I've been to other malls in America before and I don't shop at very expensive high-end brand shops.  But I've never felt like this before.  Clarks talks to me friendly and cheerfully, they help me when I want them to, how they talk to me is casual but very comfortable.  ...It's hard to explain with words, but the first one "friendly and cheerfull" is different from Japanese style.  People I talked to since I came here are all nice.  Taxi driver, women at the front desk, sales people... is it because of Rochester? lol  I wonder but this is the first time for me to feel that way so much.  hmm... interesting.  I feel I also learned from them because I work in sales too.  I don't know if Japanese customers in Japan will like the casual "friendly and cheerfull" style, though! lol

I was relaxing a little after coming back to my room. It's time to wine and dine♪... or maybe relaxing dinner in my room watching TV in a big bed :-) 

よく寝た～☆

 

"Good morning!" from America♪　:-)

I arrived here yeasterday and it's 6am here in Rochester NY.

Yesterday, I took a shower and relax as soon as I arrived at my hotel room, ate big delicous pizza and buffalo wings... ahhh yummy♪... and slept well :-)

I don't have any plans to visit campuses today because schools are close on holiday, Labor Day.  So I want to see around today.  Unfortunately, it seems rainy today but I hope to enjoy touristy sightseeing stuff. lol

Getting up at 6 is kind of too early for a relaxing touristy day, I guess it's because of jet lag.  This hotel has indoor pool and whirl pool♪  I brought my bathing suits, of course!  haha~♪

I'm going to hop in and start a day!   

乗り継ぎ時間つぶし in DC

Sorry, this picture is too dark. lol

I'm in Washington DC now.  This is the first time to be here♪

I'm here only for a transit and leaving in an hour for my final desutination, Rochester NY :-)  There are some schools I'm interested in there, though not many people have been to Rochester, I guess.

Anyway, I had a very nice flight from Narita.  I booked my flights on the website of United Airlines, so most of my flights during this trip are UA.  But only Narita-Washington was ANA flight.  I was very lucky♪  ANA upgraded my ticket because of overbooking.  I could sit in the better wider seat♪

When I go abroad, I usually fly by foreign airlines instead of Japanese ones because I want to try many airlines, not only Japanese.  But ANA was pretty good :-)   Airplane meal was nice, I enjoyed ondemand movies and music... it was a comfortable 12 hour flight.

Oh, one thing... the temperature on the airplane was a bit too high for me though.

I get thirsty easily on the any airplanes anyway, I prefer cooler aircondition with a blanket. lol

広島～成田 ふわふわ雲を眺めながら

I'm at the departure gate now.

While I flew to Narita this morning, I was looking outsid the window and thought...

"I'm just a little tiny part of this beautiful planet♪"

I'm leaving for Washington DC in a few minutes.

Yes, I'm very excited!  haha~♪

I'm sure it's gonna be a good vacation trip and I'll have a great time!! 

台風はどうなってる？

Typhoon is coming!
They say JR trains will stop running after 8pm around Hiroshima. Some lines already did in Chugoku are.
... But my work doesn't let us go home yet. The store is still open... and some people are still shopping.
I guess I will need to take a crowded bus after work tonight. What I have been thinking is,,, I wish I could leave here and prepare for my trip! lol
I'm having a short break now. 2 more hours to work... looking forward to my vacation♪