Interview with SHIORI NAKAI

Interview Sheet:


1. What is your name: Shiori Nakai


2. What is your Nationality: Japanese





3. How old are you: 18


4. Are you single: Yes





5. What is your Major/Faculty: Literature


6. What year are you: Freshman





7. Are you in any clubs: Yes


8. Which ones: WAWA





9. What is your position in the club? What do you do?


Member, Practice Japanese, Play card games, watch movies, tutor students, have parties





9a. What is interesting about your club?


Meeting people and having conversations.


10. Do you have a job: Yes


10a. What do you do?


I work at an IZAKAYA as a waitress.





11. What are your hobbies?


I’m still looking for something that I really like to do.


12. What music/movies/TV shows do you like?


As for music I like Japanese Pop Music and my favorite singer is Mr. Children. Shaw Shank Redemption is my favorite movie. I don’t really like to watch TV, therefore I don‘t really have any shows that I watch religiously.





13. What do you like about Japan? Why?


I like the seasons, and culture. The kimonos and food. In the spring the flowers are beautiful. Summer is not really a time that I like, because it is hot. Fall is colder, and winter is all about the snow.


14. Do you like to travel:


Yes! I love to travel!


14a. Where have you been, outside of Japan:


Unfortunately, I have never been outside of Japan.





15. Where have you traveled in Japan?


I have been to: Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukouka, and Okinawa.


15a. Please, explain what you saw/experienced in these places:


In Hokkaido, I loved the food. Ghengis Khan Ramen and Crab were delicious. Tokyo was just wonderful, I loved everything; especially the shopping. In Nagoya I enjoyed the castle. Kyoto was all good. I like going to temples and thus Kyoto was great. Nara’s Temples were cool. Osaka was very big, and had a huge aquarium that was very pretty. Kobe is all about the shopping. Hiroshima is cool especially in Miyajima Island with the shrines all about. Fukouka’s amusement park was fun. Okinawa’s beaches are great, actually everything about Okinawa is awesome!





16. Are there any places that you would recommend a traveler to visit?


I would suggest Kyoto and Okinawa, because I love them.


17. What do you wish to do in the future?


I wish to be a wonderful mother.





18. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?


I will still be living in Japan, probably in Okayama Prefecture in Ehime.





19. What are a few things about yourself, and your country, that you would like the world to know about, that can help describe your character and understand who you are, or where your from?


I’m a positive person, and I like to have conversations. I am still learning English though, so please speak slowly. People tell me I have a very cute smile. Thanks for the interview!

Please click on the Title or HERE for more photos.

From TOKYO to OKAYAMA

OCT 1, 2009










Waking up at about 0800 HRS was a bit of a problem. I needed to check out of the hotel by 1000 HRS and didn’t want to really go any where far. Thus, I just farted around the SHINAGAWA area looking at things. If I forgot to mention this in the previous post, I was rained on for the majority of the time in TOKYO. It was an on and off rain with showers in between. It was also VERY annoying, and made it hard to take photos.

I decided to leave the camera behind for the short outing. After being out for about 45 minutes, I returned and went to pack and double check everything. Then, I went down stairs and checked out of the hotel. I planned on meeting up with my tutor in OKAYAMA at about 1430 HRS, so I had to plan things out well. The SHINKANSEN ride was about 3.5 hours, and I didn’t want to arrive too early or too late. Therefore, I went and had my second JAPANESE breakfast.

It was an McDonald’s Egg McMuffin set, but because it was in Japan, it is JAPANESE yeah? The McMuffin came with a small coffee, and small hash browns. Decent meal, although not that filling. I looked at the clock after chilling and eating, and it was about 1000. Therefore, I made my way to the SHINAGAWA train station. After buying a ticket for the bullet train, I made my way to the platform in a very confusing station. Now, remember I sent a suitcase to my new home already, but that means that I was stuck with one more piece. As advance as TOKYO is, the place seems to love stairs. Therefore, I found a new hate of stairs, especially when I got onto the wrong side of the platform which was down a flight of stairs, and the only way to get to the other side was to go up and back down another set of stairs….
> <;
If anyone ever told you that moving luggage on the bullet train was easy, then they were lying to you. It is one of the toughest things I have ever done. Not only that , but it is a pain in the rear, and there is nowhere to put it once you arrived to your seat.
So here is a tip: If you are traveling alone or up to 3 people, then ask for a seat that is at the front or the rear of the car. The reason is that you will have more room either in front of you or behind you to stash ONE suitcase each. If you are traveling with 4 - 6 people, then it doesn’t matter, because then you can flip the whole bank of seats to face towards each other. Then you just put the luggage in the middle as a table. If there are more than 6 people, then just repeat the rules.
Well as luck may have it, I had a window seat, but it was in the middle of the train. The ticket sales lady was very adamant that I got a window seat. So, at first there was nobody else on the train, and I just left my suitcase in the first row of seats up front. But after a while, the train started to fill up and I had to cram the suitcase in front of me where my legs should have been. The ride was not so comfortable, but this was only on the last leg of the trip. I would say for about 1.25 hours.
After arriving at the OKAYAMA train station, I went out to decent weather (meaning it was not raining) and found a cab. The dorm driver was awesome, explaining everything about the city and things that I should see and where I was. It was a very cool experience, except for the fact that I was falling asleep. A short trip later, I was at the dorm and paid the cabbie. To my surprise once I got there, my tutor wasn’t there. He actually wasn’t even in the city! Apparently, he went to TOKYO that day! WHAT LUCK!
I can’t complain too much though, because he went out of his way to call another tutor to come buy and help in his stead. So, WAKE-SAN, the dorm manager, let me into my room, and gave me a welcome package, and the keys to my mailbox.




So after just putting my suitcase down, my temporary tutor, KOHEI-SAN (COA-HEY), came and asked me to bring my care package with me to the lobby. I went to the lobby to meet CHOU-SAN (Chinese exchange student from Beijing), Jon Kelbie (Scottish exchange student), James Dean & John Roberts (English Exchange students [Not from London]), YUUKO-SAN (another tutor) and ICHIMURA-SENSEI (Head of the Japanese Teachers for Foreign Students). We had many forms that we needed to fill out, and YUUKO wanted to make sure that we were on top of it.




So, after a very brief set of introductions, we started on the paperwork. It was a very confusing experience, but we were able to pull through it with the knowledge of a sample guide that was left for us. We were told to have two photo’s ready to turn in. I was alright with the idea, until I found out that the photos that I had were in sufficient for the paper work. I asked if I would be able to get some photos taken somewhere, but was told to take them at the Government Building.



Later that evening, a new set of tutors showed up. There must have been at least 22 students in total. We met three more exchange student from France: Leo, Melanie, and Jennifer. Another confusing time came, when we got a set of tutor names for all sorts of exchange students that have not arrived yet. I can’t remember everyone but the ones that I do recall are: YUUKO, NORI, NAOKI, TOMOYA, and ERI.

Pretty pathetic, that I can only remember those names from a huge amount of students, but I will say that when the JAPANESE people around these parts introduce themselves, they tend to slur. At first I thought it was just me, but then the other exchange students asked if I thought that they slurred.

Anyhow, the students wanted to go out and celebrate the arrival of us new students. Here is another TIP that I suggest: If you are going to an exchange program here in JAPAN arrive on the first day of the program. We were offered a three day window to arrive at the dorm. I arrived on the first day, only because I didn’t want to spend too much money in TOKYO. Back to the reason why to come on the first day, it is because there was the huge gathering of JAPANESE people to meet, and we all went out to dinner to celebrate. Everyday after, only certain student tutors came to meet their student. No party, no big meet and greet.

The party was a blast although we only celebrated it at a Mister Doughnut. Which if you couldn’t piece together is just a doughnut chain shop. We were lent a bunch of bikes and made our way from the dorm to the main street behind the University. I still haven’t learned all the names of the streets yet, and I am still piecing together the parts to make it to places in OKAYAMA.



It was funny to see who hasn’t rode a bike in a while, because you notice that people start to crash/fall off. I guess motorcycles in the states helped some what. But the amount of cyclist here is amazing. I hope that I will be able to at least drive once while here though. I am really starting to miss the feel of driving a vehicle. I would be fine with anything, a car, motorcycle, or truck. Maybe even a bus. Everything is smaller here, and they like to have flat/shorter noses on their vehicles. It is very interesting.



Hopefully, one day I will have some spare time and will go around and just take pictures of the vehicles that are around here. Click on the title or HERE, for more photos!

Arrival in JAPAN

Because I'm still having difficulties with getting online, I redated this back to September because that is actually when I landed in JAPAN. Please be patient and enjoy. The first interview with photos should be up soon. Just finalizing the photos! Also, there was a Sports event and I will be posting that up soon too! More of the TOKYO Photos to come!

~ Charlee

Sept 29th and 30th, 2009

Well on September 29, 2009 I took my last steps on US soil and made my way to JAPAN. The flight was a good one and only lasted 10.5 hours, which was actually shorter than the 11 hours that was written on the ticket. Landed at approximately 16:00 HRS JPN.
It was JAPAN Airlines flight 001 (Which means I was going to JAPAN, JAL 002 is the return to USA), and was a new Boeing 777, which means that I had my own private screen and a little more leg room. I got no sleep on the plane, and watched 2.5 in flight movies. Movies watched were: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (I actually watched this 1.5 times because I couldn‘t figure out the controls for the TV and thus saw the ending twice), Summer Wars (An ANIME, and a really good one at that), and then ½ of The Proposal. I also played Tetris against another player on the plane. The food was really good, we had Beef Stroganoff for lunch and Salmon Alfredo for dinner. There was little to no turbulence, a very pleasant flight indeed. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a small camera that nobody would notice to take photos, and thus there are none. The only two cameras that I have with me are: Canon Rebel Xti and Canon 1Ds. So the photos will be nice, but everyone notices when I bust out the camera. I carried this on my back the whole time by the way. Carry on weighed a TON!


After landing in Tokyo, I made my first mistake. Here are a couple of tips, that will also be written later on in the tips section, for the broke traveler. Being a college student with not too much money to be able to work with I figured out the best way to get money in JAPAN, International Postal Money Orders (IPMO). The reason that these are the best way for the average traveler from the USA, is because you only lose about 1 - 2% in the exchange.

Here is an example: I was in the hotel and needed quick cash, thus I gave up Dollars for YEN. The rate was: 82.21 Yen for every 1.00 US Dollar(USD) (Sept. 30, 2009). With YEN in hand I made my way to the Post Office. The rate at the Post was: 89.08 Yen for every 1.00 USD (Sept. 30, 2009).

Now, back to the mistake, I landed in NARITA airport at a decent time and the post office (in the airport) was still open. I had enough money to get a bus or N’EX Train ticket to my hotel: “The SHINAGAWA Prince Hotel”. Instead of going and getting money exchanged at the airport Post Office, I went and got a Limo Bus Ticket for the hotel. Mind you, at the beginning of this post I did say that I didn’t get any sleep on the plane. The mistake was I didn’t have any money once I got to the hotel to eat or make my way around TOKYO once I was there, and I could have gotten the money at the airport easily if I just spent a few more minutes prior getting the bus ticket. Not only that, but I had to walk a good 30 minutes to get to a Post Office that would exchange money.

It was very hard to FIND! The airport one is shoved into your face. Making things worse, because I knew it would be a little distance I didn’t bring my suitcase that I wanted to have shipped to my dorm room. Which means that after getting the money exchanged, I had to walk back to the hotel and get the suitcase and then go to another Post office to have the it shipped. The worst thing was this wasting time. I left at 0800 HRS to start my day, I woke at 0600 HRS and mapped out everything, and I was still going about the process of making my way around TOKYO at 1100 HRS.

Side note: It took me an hour at the post to get everything solved JUST for the money issue. I needed to have PHOTO ID and it needed to have a home address. The cool thing was that I understood everything the gentleman was saying to me when I was filling out the forms for the money. It just took time for the guy to get the money to me.

On the other hand, the lady that I was dealing with when shipping my luggage, at another post office, I didn’t understand anything, until a college student just so happened to pop in and speak enough English to help me out. The way that they do addresses around JAPAN are a little different than back home. I wish I got the college girls name so I could do a proper appreciation notation, but let me just say: “THANKS TO THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN THAT HELP STUPID FOREIGNERS, LIKE MYSELF!”



I’m quite embarrassed that I didn’t know enough of the language to make my way around the post office, and even more so that I had to ask for someone to help me in English. I will remember to do that the next time that I go to another country, and just learn how to say, do you speak English? Just Kidding….

On with the story! I had enough time to spend two nights in TOKYO before I had to make my way down to OKAYAMA (The University that I am going to). My main goal in TOKYO was to go to AKIHABARA, which is pathetic because I have been to TOKYO 3-4 times prior, and have never been there. The reason to hit up AKIHABARA is to get a DENKI JISHOU, or Electronic Kanji Dictionary. I found it at the famous LABI for about $250. It is the CANON WordTank V320 Black, and it is very handy.



AKIHABARA definitely had its own feel to it. It was very different. Maids all over the place, and people looking at all sorts of anime related goods. It was a blast looking at all the MANGA/ANIME/figurines/other eccentric items. I found a air soft gun store that had guns that were VERY realistic looking. Too bad the owners would not let me take photos from the inside, but I did get a sneaky photo on my way out. Now being that I didn’t have any internet (yeah I know; I’m in TOKYO with no net…. Weird) I decided to go to a net café in AKIHABARA. I asked a maid that was sitting at a little table with a TON of maps where I could go and get connected.





After she explained to me where to go and also drew it on a map, I decided to ask her about what she was doing. It so happened that she was getting paid to dress like a maid and sit at this little tiny desk in front of an electronics shop and guide people around! What an odd job! When I said desk, I really should have said a 3x3 fold up table and a clear binder with maps in it. I couldn’t comprehend it! She would work from around 1600 hours to 2100 hours. Because I figured it would have been rude to ask what the pay is, I asked if it was good, and it was. So I was happy for her, and then made my way happily to my net café.




Now, one thing that I hate about walking around in TOKYO is the fact that things start to blend together. I figured out where I was trying to get to, but couldn’t find the shop. It is ridiculous because the shop was bright yellow with a camel on it, but I thought that it was a book/MANGA shop. The reason being is that there were only books/MANGA on the floor level of the 5 tiered shop. So after walking around in circles for 30 minutes, and not getting the slightest bit of help from ANYONE, I walked in and to my surprise and anger, that was where I was suppose to be.

I asked for an hour of internet service, and it cost me 700 Yen. But here is the coolest part. You can read all the MANGA/books/magazines you want, and it is all you can drink (non-alcohol). It was AWESOME! Now, because I didn’t really want to spend too much time at this café place, I went to the room immediately and checked my email. I sent out a reply to all the emails that I received and then a mass email to everyone that was listed to let them know that I was alive and kicking. Just doing those two items cost me the hour, and I was back out on the streets.



From AKIHABARA, I made my way via the DENSHA to SHINJUKU and walked my way down to SHIBUYA through YOYOGI and HARAJUKU. Now I remember there being a lot more crazy looking things the last time I went through the area, but I need to remind peoples that I was there on a Wednesday, and it was also doing this crazy down pour and then sprinkle type weather. That is the reason I think that there were barely any bands, kids in weird costumes, and just out of place/unique things to look at. I will have to make my way back down here to see if I can see all those aforementioned items.

Getting lost in HARAJUKU was a pain. I was getting pulled left and right. For some reason people knew that I was a foreigner and would pull me into their shops. It could have been because I had a rain coat on and was carrying around the Canon 1Ds, but people were trying to sell me things left and right and I just wanted to get moving on. After a while, I ended up following this Caucasian man with a green umbrella that said Chrysler on it. Before I go on, let me just say that because a white guy/girl is walking down the streets in JAPAN it doesn’t mean that they are from the USA. Actually, I personally found that most foreigners that were Caucasian here were from EUROPE.

But, being desperate I went and asked if he spoke English. LUCK! He was Robert from Australia. Robert lived in JAPAN for the better part of 2 decades and was well learned in the streets of TOKYO. He actually runs a importing company and has a few shops set up in the TOKYO Metropolitan area. He was happy to help me along and actually walked me around HARAJUKU to SHIBUYA. Along the way he showed me good places to eat/drink and where to meet people. I didn’t really tell him that I was going to be in TOKYO for just a day, but I did mention that I was going to school in OKAYAMA. After arriving in SHIBUYA, we talked some more about what to avoid and where to go. After that he had to make his way to his shop, and we separated.


SHIBUYA was just as I remembered it. It felt unchanged, and for that reason, I didn’t really feel anything special while being there. So, after I looked around in the department stores (SHIBUYA 109) for a little while to see what the new style was like out here, before I made my way back to the hotel. Prior to getting to the hotel I do have to say that I did spot something that struck my fancy.





For those of you who don’t know, my family owns/runs a restaurant in Pleasanton, California USA. Here is a plug for it: it is called Lux Thai Cuisine, and more info can be found at www.luxthaicuisine.com.

Back to the item that struck my fancy, it was a Thai restaurant in the middle of TOKYO and only about a ten minute walk from my hotel. After being told that I would not really be able to eat THAI food in JAPAN, I wanted to have that last THAI meal before going without. It was decent, but not as good as home, when is it ever, eh? More Photos HERE!

I'm Sorry!

So, it has been quite the while since my last post. I have to apologize and explain a few of things that are about the happen/change here.

First, I would like to start with the reason for the lack of updates. I am finally in Japan. I know that it has been a little over a month since my last post, but I had to do all my packing, quitting my job, and finalizing paper work. It has been a very long month, and even now I am still crazy busy trying to settle in.

The students here have been most welcoming, I think even more so than my school Cal State East Bay (Formerly known as Hayward). They have been trying there hardest to get me the information to make my stay, and I quote, “a wonderful time in JAPAN”. I still don’t have internet in my dorm room yet, and there is nobody that I can just steal some wireless from. The internet is a little slower here than it is in the USA.

Everything else is looking good though. I have a Japanese cell phone, a bicycle, and gathering more and more Japanese toys and such. Everyday has been an enlightening experience, and I hope that I will be able to share it more with the rest of you.

Secondly, I am changing this site and there will be little cosplayers on it from now on. I said “little” and not “none“, because I don’t know about being able to attend cosplay events whilst here in JAPAN. Even though it sounds silly, the events are hard to find and typically far away. There is one happening in Tokyo not so long from now, but being that I am about an hour away from Hiroshima, that may just be too costly and far from me. I will still see if I can make it out there though.

Saying that I won’t be doing that many photos of Cosplayers, I want to let people know that I will be posting my trips and information about Japan on here from now on. Thus, if I am able to make it to a cosplay/anime event then there will be a post of it. I hope to be able to make the next COMIKE. The problem is money. Maybe I can start up a donation center for people to help me make it to places that I can report on? I don’t know, I really hate asking for handouts.

The third item are the new things that I am going to post. Being that I want to improve my Japanese and Photography I will be starting a few new things. Let’s start with the simple and work our way up. I want to start taking pictures of everything that I’m about to eat. This would be from simple things like toast to complex things like FUGU (Blowfish). I hope that is something that would interest people.

Another thing that I want is to start getting feed back from the readers. Therefore, I decided to interview people here in Japan, both Japanese and Foreign. I would like to know the questions that you might have to ask students/workers here. Being kind of a little more outgoing than your average person, if you want me to find a specific place/job and go to see if I can interview the people; then I will try. There are no promises, but I will give it my all. I have a bunch of students lined up to be interviewed already. They range from Japan (Obviously) to Scotland.

Lastly, one of the hardest things that I have ever done is coming to Japan for this one year. Not only emotionally, but physically and mentally as well. There are so many things that you need to know and do to get over here. I had so many questions and little places to find the answers. So, I will be posting to process to make it over here and the tips that I would suggest people to do so that they can have an easier time. Now, this will be mainly for the people that apply for the Exchange Program OKAYAMA (EPOK). I think that the tips will help the people that would like to travel JAPAN too. Please let me know if you have any questions about this too, I will try to help as best to my abilities.

Thanks to all that actually look at my blog, and hopefully you will continue to check out my blog from time to time, and know that I am still here.

Most Sincerely,

Charlee