BJJ Jiu Jitsu East Japan Tournament

Hey guys, so yeah I entered the East Japan Jiu Jitsu Tournament comprising of Half of Japan :

Found out about the tournament the last day you could enter, and when filling out the entry form quickly The actual kg of the categories weren’t there so I entered
Middle weight which is what I am in MMA.
But one week before the tournament I found out 3 things. The max wheight of middle was 2nd lower, also you have to weigh in with a GI (my light gi is about 2kg), and worst of all there’s no 24 hour period between weigh in and fight time like in MMA.
This meant that the Weight cut was crazy hard in that week and I barely could eat anything or drink anything and by the time it was the night before the tournament I could barely move as no energy but was still trying to sweat as much as I could.
Usually this type of stuff is fine for mma because you have 1
Entire day to put back on the water and energy by food (I wont go into the science of it all here and nutrition stuff).

In the morning I was a bit of a mess, was supposed to meet a friend from the gym and go there together but I forgot totally about it and went myself. Also forgot a belt for the gi!

Came into the tournament hall bymyself and was amazed at how nice a clean and big it was. I remember looking around and besides feeling like ABSOLUTE shit I was happy to be there.

Weigh in was up and I was nervous because the gym scale was pretty shit. I ended up being 100grams under and remember thinking thank god I pushed as much as I could out of both ends in the bathroom before the weigh time 😛

I went through the motions to try rehydrate and get the right energy before my first fight without falling into the many dangerous pitfalls after such a big cut.

My first fight was up and everyone in my category was still tall but not as tall as me. but bigger muscle wise.

I didn’t have too much nerves cause I felt like shit and my warm up was pretty much nothing I didn’t have the energy to squat pretty much.
Anyway I calmed my mind and told myself technique over strength anyway, and to treat it just like a training session because if your not training good enough then wat the hell were you wasting your time doing

First fight was my catagory which was Middle Weight. Me and my opponent stood up and walked to the centre of the mats, and he was quite big (but not tall).
The fight started and the first thing I tried was a rare technique called a flying arm bar (Jumping on their arm from standing to break it). I was way too tired with no strength and speed so I Just couldnt finish it in the first couple seconds! But it caught him by surprise and the game went to the ground. After a while of position controling and choke attempts by both of us, I ended up faking a reversal knowing what he would counter with, and then I countered that counter with a technique called a Triangle (choke with your legs around their neck trapping their shoulder and arm against one side).
If I was even feeling 20% better I coulda sealed the deal but in my condition it was impossible and he soon broke out.
After a while of more control positions and other fancy stuff thats too hard to explain here, I was almost taking his back (strongest possition in BJJ and a real fight), but they stopped the fight to move us (it IS competitive, not the street) because it was near the edge of the end of the matts!

We then got places in a possition that was different where I couldnt take his back, but anyway after a while I managed to pull an Arm bar (using your entire body against their one arm to break it) from a weird position. In the end I just didnt have the strength or energy in me to tap him out (they submit to a submission by tapping before anything bad happens like a break or pass out from choke). And the match time ran out.
I dont really know about the point system in BJJ competition because my main focus is MMA which is different. Therefore I was actually a bit surprised to see that even though our fight went the entire 5 mins and I managed to do pretty well considering I could barely stand or even warm up before the fight, that he won on points

After the fight I had a chat to him and found out which gym he was from and stuff. He was from one of the oldest and well known gyms in Japan which I actually wanna go train at some time so I promised to meet him there for a training sesh sometime. But mainly I found out he had been doing it for 5 years, so over 5 times longer then me :O

After the fight I tried to go through the proper motions of rehydration and energy back through food but the timing was off because it was not an MMA match so I found myself in the bathroom for the next couple hours throwing up and the same but the other end

Second fight was up and it was Open Weight (any weight allowed) and I don`t actually remember past the first hand shake everything pretty much is black in my memory so It was interesting to watch the video after the fight.
He tried to  get the fight to the ground early but I managed to `pass his guard`　which gets me in good control positions which is very bad for the opponent.
After a bit more of fighting for control, I almost managed to land 2 neck chokes on him that were VERY close but because of NO power left in the tank he powered his way out of them. The chokes I tried I had only seen a team mate do in the gym so I hadn`t even trained them myself let alone made them apart of my fight technique arsenal (one everyone builds and just practices those techniques non stop). I was very surprised seeing this when I watched the video afterwards!

I also almost broke his ankle and knee ( he would have tapped and submitted ending the fight if it got close anyway), with a Leg lock 2ce aswell.
All in all, im happy that in that situation where it was all down to wat was deep inside me, that I was able to draw such strength and keep fighting even though I dont even know how much of my concious was there.
He ended up winning by points too even though like the first fight I attempted more submissions and felt like It looked like I was calling more of the shots in the fight.

I dont remember getting down from the matts either actually the first thing I remember is being in a chair with everyone around me and a doctor asking me stuff.
All in all I was an idiot for making so many mistakes leading up to the fights, but even though I lost 2ce. I feel like I did better then If i just won against slightly weaker opponents then me and I was at 100

After my recovery I ACTUALLY got offered a job (as apposed to just being checked out) after a small interview with the head manager of Abercrombie and Fitch as a topless Model/Model with my hours of choosing.
Im going to check it out on Saturday and see if I like the company or If its gonna work with my training before I tell everyone Im quitting working at my shitty English teaching company and starting there.

It was a bit sad that every other of my teammates was either Champion or medal placer, but I learnt so much about the art of Jiu Jitsu, and many other things from my losses today and am glad I went to the tournament! I also learnt about how I should change the way I train if I really want to get further down the road towards the top of the world mountain.

Martial Arts are always a journey of progression and self development spiritually, mentally, and physically. So it is a way of life.
I am always happy to be on this journey and do not mind loosing along the way as you learn and grow the most from loosing. The best in the world have all lost and learnt from it, and some have even lost amazing amounts early on.

Also in parting, I got to eat some bad food for first time in a LONG time (from my hard ass nutrition plan too) – MACCAS!

All in all I look forward to training for the All Japan Tournament in October 🙂
Seeyas soon and thank ya for reading!

D

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

First off, I`m pretty safe at the moment thank god. Alot of those who know me have heard from me parts of what its been like / whats happened, but what none of you DO know is that I told it in a way that would make sure no one worried about me. What follows isn`t a horror story or anything, but here we go:

March 11/2011 ~3pm –
I was just about to go to work and was standing casually in an open air elevated from the ground train station, packed with people which is as usual for Japan. To one side of the open stationed platform, was an open bus court surrounded in buildings.  The weather was nice with a sunny blue sky and life was going on like it usually does.
I felt a slight shudder under my feet, I thought was just imagining things as Ive never been in an earthquake before. I then realized everyone was silent, making no noise. I looked at their faces and they all seemed to look like they were waiting for something. There were a few more small shudders and everyone just stood there doing nothing for about 30 seconds.
About 5 seconds after that there was a bigger shudder, and then there was no doubt what it was.
By now everyone around me was looking around at everyone else, but as yet they were just waiting and not panicking. The Japanese feel small earthquakes a lot in their lives so they were veterans.

This calmed me but I was still on edge when all of a sudden the entire world seemed to start trembling, and that’s where the awful sound of things that aren’t meant to tremble from the earths movement, start moving. I could hear things like bolts holding metal in place rattling loudly or buckling, but before I could focus on listening to anything the world suddenly Jerked ridiculously hard to the left. I remember looking at an elderly lady at the time this happened, and how amazed I was to see her and many others thrown off their feet. One person screamed loudly and started running towards the exit on the platform. That was the time when things turned from feeling like I wasn`t really there and just looking at things through a TV in a dark room, to real.

I remember the sudden outbreak of chaos the second that one person broke rank and fled screaming from the battle, and everything started going in slow motion as copious amounts of adrenaline were forced into my veins. The earthquake was actually getting worse now and before I could follow the ranks of chaos, I heard a Giant crash of metal on concrete only about 5m or so behind me, whipping my head around to see, I see a giant metal station sign crashing to the platform. This is when I first started to move myself.
I remember thinking in my brain to move towards to exit, but being confused as to why it was so hard to move there. The ground literally felt like I was in a violent sea, and it was hard to move and keep balance.
As people were running every direction screaming, I noticed the entire giant metal roof of the station warping, and I can still hear the sickly sound of that metal warping still to this day.
Even though I almost died from that sign, hearing the deep groan of the entire old metal roof being pushed past its limits was the time where I started to fear for my life, and where I started to think about how I might not be able to see everyone I love in Australia again……….

The earthquake was getting WORSE, not better now. And my brain snapped from slow motion to charged survival mode.
I found some stairs which would eventually take me down to the exit to the open air bus space outside. Every second person was falling down the stairs and I was no exception, luckily I only fell about 5-8 steps but when I got up I got bowled over by a large man who took my legs out from under me. Quickly getting up so I didn`t get trampled, I made my way to the exit. It was probbaly only 10 seconds but that time from the stairs to the exit felt like a lifetime. I was inside the station now and the earthquake wasn`t getting better, me and everyone else didn`t like the idea of being in a tunnel like space.
After charging through the exit gates and receiving the gush fresh air of outside, I saw people pouring out from buildings for their lives, windows smashing and shattered glass on the ground, cracks in buildings were appearing, tall buildings were swaying, and people were falling over and screaming everywhere.

As I swam (truly felt like I was in a violent sea) to the middle of the clearing (As close as I could get), I started hearing a voice in Japanese over public loud speakers. I had no idea what it was saying, and It just made me feel more worried as it was probably giving advice! Fearing a giant crack in the earth like the movies, I remember thinking about a time when I was a child and I cried one night when my parents had already put me to bed.
My parents came rushing in to see what was wrong and I remember saying, “I don`t want mummy and daddy to die or go away, I love you.” All my life since then I`ve thought it was such a silly weak moment, But at that moment I remember thinking I didn`t want to die, not without even paying back everything they`d done to me every day of my life. Not to mention everyone else in my life back in Australia……

Finally, the earthquake was calming down now, everyone in the clearing started bringing out their phones to call loved ones or work or both. This is when I posted on facebook, but I couldn`t use my phone to call work or anyone else.
After about another 5 mins of the earthquake dying down and still feeling trembles and slight slow earth wave like movement, I began to walk to work because it was the closest place I knew.
Work was closed of course, and no one was there except 2 of my colleagues just leaving the area. So we then started the epic journey back to our homes by joining the entirety of Tokyo in a giant `party` of sadness, walking home to their homes. There were no trains or public transport, and traffic lights weren’t working.
Every street was completely filled to the brim with cars and scooters etc, and more destruction and chaos from the different locations of the quake could be seen….Some of the stuff was pretty bad and hit me pretty hard, but I think Ive written a lot already.
We went into a convenience store (which are every 50m-100m in japan literally), and there was no useful food / drinks there already! We then started going into every one we saw and other food places too, but every useful bit of food or drink was already gone.

Sorry to have not expressed my true feelings and the true story of above to everyone I know, but I don`t regret dumming it down and sounding fine as to not worry everyone 😀

My heart goes out to everyone effected in the Japan disaster, remember to love life!

D

Job Aquired

So, I finally got a job here in Japan 😀
Been in Japan for 4 months and living for 3 now, and Ive already experienced so much such as crazy natural disasters and even fear of death by radiation. But I`m still here, GO JAPAN. Either way I haven’t written for a while so here is an update for you and a warm up for the posts to come:

Apparently its pretty hard to get a job at the moment in Japan, let alone teaching English, but I pushed hard, did well and managed to score it. Its part time with good pay which is perfect for me, and the classes range from 1-14 year old kids but most fall in the 3-7 range! Best part is the Japanese helper staff will take care of the times when all of a sudden you smell something really bad…..and don’t even want to know whats in those pants…..let alone the color….
Those of you who know me well will already know that I`m brilliant with kids, I just never really liked them cause they annoy me. Well that’s served me well because I`m not allowed to discipline them at all! :O One kid ditched a crayon at another kids face and if I did anything, FIRED.

Since I joined this Japanese company, the differences in western and Japanese culture became hyper apparent. We would just call it Anal, but its roots are from a completely different way of thinking. In Japan employees are expected to live for the company, whereas in western cultures you just work to live. This is shown by having to pay 12 dollars every 1 minute your late, or if you don’t show up one day Fired, or if you do any other little thing FIRED FIRED FIRED.
Any staff who gets pregnant gets fired so ill have to watch out there, and someones parents died and they couldn’t get 1 day off in advance for the funeral!
In saying all this if you do everything right its ok, the problem is my Western thinking where everything is so relaxed, this makes me feel like Im walking a tight rope every day and that my income isn’t stable (Especially for my unstable personality :P)

Its also unfortunate that I don`t have a job that requires me to use my Japanese, but thems the breaks! In such a short time my Japanese has boosted to a good level, but I still have a loooong way to go.

Peace out

Wajutsu Keishukai Grappling Tournament – WKGT

I entered in the under 87kg category at 81kg, and the notable fight was the finals fight which I won and became the Champion for my category.
Got alot of requests for some photos, so here are some from the day. Video and actual info text on the day come later :)!

WOW EVERYONE AN UPDATE!

(Edit – Sorry its so FK&%$ BIG)
Hell, Its about time 😛

Kudos on everyone whos still keeping in contact with me, means alot :D!
Still waiting on all the photos I left on the camera Andrew took back to Aus, But a good ol text update since 1 month ago would be good for all of your souls im sure.
Things are going pretty damn good here, getting harder to keep track of everyone and everything so atleast this post will answer some questions for alot of people!

Got back to Tokyo just before xmas as you know, to start living. To my dismay all the hostels were booked but luckily a kind friend called Hika who I met at the start of the trip in Tokyo let me stay at her appartment on the HARD ground until I could get my own place. I felt bad initially but she assured me it was well worth the entertainment because Im crazy and funny even when I try not to be? It ended up being fun and now she is a good friend who I can trust.

Xmas Eve arrived and without knowing anyone aswell as Hika being busy, I went to check out the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Gym I had selected after meticulously analyzing the pros and cons of every good gym in Tokyo.
It was amazing to see the skill level of everyone there and their training style, their strive for perfection reminded me of a boxing Japanese Anime I love and I was very exited to see If I could actually train there.

Xmas day, dont EVEN remember what I did but I do remember it being hilariously boring…missing family and friends in Adelaide is what the Gods clearly wanted so I submitted and did just that.
New Years Eve was pretty much the same, I was alone at the appartment so I went out to where I thought there would be people and to my delight there was a giant crowd the size of a packed football oval (in a pretty small town 1 hour from Tokyo aswell!?), crowded outside a giant Shrine.
The count down fever there was nothing to whats in Australia though, ya HEARIN ME!?

Most of the coming days were spent with me wasting WAY too much money on food, random walks and outings, learning Japanese from the net,  trying to sort everything out, and also sorting out registration as an Official Alien in Japan. Which I still find hilarious, and wear it as a Trophy even this day.
I also analyzed with a spreadsheet 100`s of appartments / guesthouses. Ofcourse all their details and locations / transport costs were put in. Eventually I narrowing it down to where im staying now.

It is a guesthouse 20 mins walk from Shibuya (One of the main Cities in Tokyo and one of the cleanest and upmarket). So location is good and it comes to only ~60AU (Secured a good deal by pulling some strings and other various means including luck 🙂 ) per week including all rates and bills etc!
Down side is the place is pretty rough around the edges, and is 2 rooms with each room containing 2 bunk beds. Though theres only 6 of us at the moment, they are all Japanese who dont speak english so on the odd occasion I can practise some Jap. 2 of the guys are really cool and helpfull and we often chill together.

Nows where it starts getting interesting, I went to RJW Gym (Main gym of
Wajyutsu Keisyukai) and got to meet Yushin Okami for the first time (Famous in the world for his UFC fights, and in Japan for his Japan MMA fights too). Yushin is an awsome guy and nice aswell (doesnt speak english though :P), and hopefully will win his next UFC fight which will make him the Middlewheight Number 1 champ of the world!!
He is amazingly skilled and Im actually very very very lucky I get to train at this gym, through luck and me being Dylan though, I managed to get there! I also met the Pancreas MMA King (Pancreas is not as world famous as UFC but is still crazy) aswell who is also at this gym. Hes not one to mess with either!

Training there most days of the week, I realise that there isnt much technique learning but more sparring and just training. Which is ok but I was used to the very technique focused classes back in Adelaide.
I enjoy every minuite of it though, although sometimes I do wanna spend more time watching anime / learning Japanese / going crazy in Japan / reading manga (Japanese comics – If you didnt already know this you probably dont know me or I dont want to know you :P).
As for reading manga I recently bought a couple Mangas volumes and trying to read them (Its pretty hard and takes a long time to translate but its good learning and fun because its Manga).

The next biggest thing which I was also very very very lucky to be a part of, was being invited to do a open matt grappling session at the gym where Okamis Ring Corner man teaches (second man/fight advisor). I think he also helps Okami with his grappling (BJJ – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), He is said to be a very good trainer and also speaks alot of English.
I had actually slightly injured my arm the night before this session, but was able to train for half the time that night. I eventually listened to my body and sat out with some ice on it watching, as to not ruin my training for the rest of the week. The skill was mental, and just watching was good enough (although I was dying to get in there and have more of a go).
Even so I was approached at the end by the Sensei (teacher) and he said If I wanted to I could also come and train in the BJJ technique classes at that gym aswell.

Most people dont know, but alot of black belts in most martial arts dont really hold any weight if any at all. And can be acquired just by showing up or learning a few set movement patterns etc and not actually being GOOD or being able to use anything in a real situation. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belts are different however. Compards to say Karate which a Black belt can be gotten by a teenager in a coupls of years, the average BJJ black belt is generally around 8-10 years at around 4 times a week training. To aquire the higher belts, you actually have to prove yourself in real situations against some of the best in the world who can only hand you the belts.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belts are ordered White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, and then the higher highrachy of the blacks. Purples easily have enough skill to teach entire academies at a very advanced level.

I was AMAZED to find 3 black belts were at this gym and the rest of the majority were purple with a few browns.

I need to have a seriuos think about the money because at the moment it would be another 40 dollars a week to train there aswell, but doing so would enable me to do 3 days there doing BJJ with a GI,
and 3 days at RJW doing standup (striking, clinch, take downs) aswell as a bit of grappling No Gi (Gi is the kind of martial art Uniform you would all know). Doing both is a must if I really want to reach a high level.
In the end, for this opportunity 40 dollars a week seems like nothing, and it seems ashame to be held back by something silly such as a money problem when the guys I train with mention I could probbaly eventually go pro if I really wanted too. Theres no way for me to pick up a full time job to support everything either because I train full time hours already.
I am still looking for a part timer, but most are when I train which makes it a bit difficult, although im sure it will work out (even with a part time job with as much hours as I can I can`t support myself living here as Tokyo is so expensive and the pay is so low!).

Onto otherthings though, between training friends, a small circle of friends through Hika who`s appartment I stayed at, and the couple of guys I met at my sharehouse, I atleast have a few friends now which makes things a bit easier.  The language barrier is still proving very annoying but I am slowly getting there. I also still very much miss everyone back in Adelaide still! ;D
And having a motorbike, god Id kill to have one again!

Don`t want to bore everyone with the details, but cooking here isnt that bad and after sussing out the cheapest place and things I can buy I can get actually half be filled with meals now! By eating RICE RICE RICE RICE bit of pasta RICE RICE! I also am adicted to Japanese Mayonaise and put it on almost everything.
I Find it very hard to get enough protein here, or fruit and veg which is also expensive. Might have to get hold of some multivite suppliments to subsidize my less then perfect diet (which is ultra important I know Mum :P).

And in the last one month I only went out to Party once, Roppongi was the place of the night and it was ok. I have also not drank alcohol since THE DEATH NIGHT when I was first in tokyo (which is good for training anyway).

And so we have reached the end of the one month update, Now I know my ABC`s, next time wont you sing with me!
Wasnt that entertaining, but atleast you all know a slice of whats been going on so STOP COMPLAINING 😀
Catchas next month I suppose 😛 Photos from the holiday will be up soon, Yahoooo (as mario would say)!

D

LAST DAY Day 33 – Fukuoka / Tokyo

LAST DAY Day 33 – Fukuoka / Tokyo

I realise that after all this time with you regular readers, my not continuing my blog is like discontinuing a show at the best part, or not realising the last harry potter book 😛 Owell get used to it! Or protest and Ill try do one every week for youz.

Today was filled with probably the second most fail of the trip so far (besides the happenings of that fatefull night and its reprocussions).
Woke up at the right time, 2 mins before both alarms were schedualed to go off! Beleiving this to be a sign of goodluck (LOL)  I happily had a quick shower and we went downstairs to get into the taxi to the international airport.

The taxi driver was a cool old man and we all talked the entire way. We got to the airport and as I was focused on helping the old man get all our luggage out etc I didnt realise my phone had fallen out of my track pants pockets in the cab! (I was wearing track pants because all the walking in jeans with my BUFF legs was shaving all my leg hair off and giving me rashes all over my legs).
We also realised the guy had closed the door and driven off with one of andrews bags aswell, we tried chasing the cab but car > person! We quickly told another cab driver our bag and phone was in the cab driving off and he went after it!
The time was getting pretty thin now till checkin and missing our flights etc, and we soon realised we werent getting our stuff back.

We then called the Hostel and asked them to ring the cab company they usually call cause our stuff was in a cab, but time was basically gone and I just realised all my flight details were on my phone. (You needed the numbers to check in). I also needed the phone to receive a call to actually get to my friend in tokyos appartment because I had no idea where it was and Id also promised to them 2 days before I wouldnt loose my phone (FAIL)!
I ran with all my heavy luggage to the shuttle bus to the domestic airport after quickly forming a game plan with andrew and saying our goodbyes.

I ended up getting through with skill and luck without paying anything and made it in time for the flight as it was raining and the flight was slightly delayed!
Got to tokyo and monorailed and then trained to Shibuya and dying carrying the luggage for so long (SHOULDA GOT A ROLL ONE!) tried to look for maccas so I could use the free WiFi to A – talk to the friend in Tokyo, and B – look for a net cafe i could chill at untill 11:30 that night when I was meeting them after they finished work.

Found a maccas and in Japan its impossible to understand how little space and packed they are even though alot are 3 stories! Thats just with me without any bags at all, with my giant awkward backpacks and me sweating like a gangsta I managed to get my laptop in a corner after buying something. Found out the wireless was for mobiles and PSPs only?!
So had all my luggage and could basically just walk around the city for a good 40 mins but my good senses eventually found the manga cafe im already registered too and thats how im writing about this 😀  (No body I asked in Japanese knew of a net cafe in Shinjuku or a Mamboo which is the one im registered too).
Ive sent a facebook message to Hika-san and Hope she will reply, Otherwise its the night at a manga cafe reclining chair 😀
I dont mind too much when things go wrong cause its a challenge and fun to keep high spirits through it, So no one worry a bit because Im also a genious and resourceful 😛 Aswell im a Rayner in charge! (tribute to probably 30% of the people who read this, my Family <3)

TBC!

Day 32 – Fukuoka

Day 32 – Fukuoka

Today was Andrew and I`s last day together before he heads back to Adelaide and I continue my solo adventure, so obviously we wanted to hit it up with a bang! We went outside and straight to the laundromat cause there AWSOME and got food while I dried my clothes there (rained on them the night before and they needed to be dry for the plane trip to Tokyo which Ill get to later).

We then headed to a few cool places around the city that a Japanese friend called Makiko who we met in Adelaide suggested. 
It was going to be dark soon by the time we got to a special park thats famous in Fukuoka for being Lit up with lights in different shapes and forms (one was a big Space Battleship Yamato from the movie we watched here).
As Makiko hasnt been to Tokyo like me and Andrew, it wasnt as `insane` as we thought it might have been.

But it was cool to chill inside and watch them turn on while reminiscing about the trip and having a good D&M Drew and Dylan style. Which included discussing possible first avenues for my entry into the 3d scene with my inevitable career in that field.

This is all incredibly detailed for no reason other then this blog is coming to an end, but I might choose to later maybe once a week write a short post depending on how many people protest to me stopping 🙂

That night I bumped into a nice lady called Fiona who actually has a room in a nice area of Tokyo I could rent for a reasonable amount, and also possibly work as her assistant doing IT related things aswell as website work. (she is a University lecturer doing research on Japanese culture –  Geisha`s and Music).
To be honest I am a control freek and pretty picky, but believe I have become alot wiser and patient. Therefore I am still going to Suss out all my options before jumping on something and regretting it later.

Ill find out more information and research all my options while I stay at a nice persons appartment called Hika-san who I met a couple times when in Tokyo at the start of the trip. Sleeping the floor in their room ofcourse for a few nights, but It`ll still be awsome and im very gratefull as the hostels were all booked up as its Christmas time. (And then atleast I wont be 100% alone on christmas day, which I wouldn`t care about but it would seem a bit sad).

Found the cheapest and fastest way to get to Tokyo was to fly domestically so the night before this night, I booked and paid for a flight. 18,860 yen (about $230AU), the bullet train would take me 2ce as long because of the other trains involved aswell as cost a tiny bit more overall.

I then packed my bags a special way as only 15 kg total was allowed and all my bags were well over 30kg total! They didnt specify how much extra per kg either!
I detached the mini backpack from the main travellers backpack and made the travellers backpack as light as I could, ended up being 13.5kg, planned to wear as much clothes as I could the next day including my heavy boots and even a belt with trackpants 😛 Then I shoved everything heavy I could into my 2 remaining backpacks and also had to throw a way a few useless things into the bin.
I also planned to put a few heavy things in my pockets etc, and hope they didnt ask to wheigh my 2 carry on bags.

Day 31 – Fukuoka

Day 31 – Fukuoka

Today we went to a famous place called Robot Square which is basically a Japan Robot Museum, and its near the Fukuoka tower.
There were many many wikid robots, from battle machines to old folks homes entertainment therapeutic robots. One of my favs was a baby white fur seal which looked pretty realistic, and when it blinked its face moved very realistic aswell. It was called Paro, and when you said its name it made cute noises and reacted to you. You could also stroke and pat it and it reacted in a super cute way, touching its wiskers or nose made it react in a way that showed Paro didnt like it :D!

They did a robot display with a little robot with a mans face and a kimono who did a traditional dance with a spear and it was pretty good.
Other weird robots include a Hello Kitty robot you could have conversations in Japanese with, a disk thing that scoots over the floor auto vacuming and when its finished it finds its way back to the dock charger to charge.
Also the famous dog robot which does pretty realistic reactions to being patted and can dance to music it projects, which ALSO responds to voice. Aswell as a little sphere robot that u shine light at and it rolls towards where u shine the light.

Many other robots were there and at the end me and andrew bought tiny remote control hovercrafts that we are playing with as I speak. The bottoms are not inflated when the power on the remote is 0, but when u pump up the fan speed it auto inflates and then it starts hooning around like a real hovercraft drifting on most surfaces!

Japan, Gotta love it!
Catcha next time ma Fans,

D

Day 30 – Shimonoseki / Fukuoka

Day 30 – Shimonoseki / Fukuoka

Andrew went to some Day after wedding lunch ceremony, So I took the oportunity to decide wat the hell I was going to do / where I was gonna live once the initial 1 month with andrew was up. Which is in a couple of days only!
After somehow finding 50 or so appartments (which in australia I found impossible to search for). Checked all the address`s, rooms private or not, and prices.
Then I checked out about 15 of the best places to train MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) In Tokyo were (Some of the best places in Japan, and the world). MMA is very important to me as I started training it in Australia so one goal of my Japan trip was to train and experience MMA here in Japan where its much bigger and there are some really high end places to train at.

Because of this I cross checked training locations and apartment locations taking into account only using walking or riding push bike as using public transport would be way too expensive, and it was all in Japanese so im quite proud of figuring this all out, but mostly proud I made a decisive positive decision about what Im gonna do and where I will live.
I ended up narrowing It down to a fight to the death between a shared bedroom with 6 beds but for something rediculously cheap like 70 aus a week all bills inc internet included, but not as nice place. And also a very nice place with faster net, PRIVATE nice room, and in a bit better location, but for 207 dollars a week all inclusive.

After my endevours with the share bedroom hostels here, and also andrew, I think living for more then 1 month in a non private room would kill me, and this trip is a once in a lifetime thing why should I not make the most of it and make it BLOODY AWSOME instead of Great.

When we got to Fukuoka after a 1.5 hour bus trip, we went out to check out the place. We found a SUPER cheap sushi place where you stand up and the chef makes the sushi infront of you. 75 Yen every piece of sushi (less then 1 dollar), and they tasted amazing. I got  sashimi prawn (raw),  sashimi squid,  sashimi salmon,  sashimi tuna, couple of others. 10 total 😀 but was still hungry.
After that we checked out a big shopping centre type place called Canal City. After a few jokes I cracked about shooting out the C in the neon sign, we walked around the bottom amidst some amazing christmas light and fountain decorations.

We then head up to the cinema and finally got to watch a movie in Japan. It was called Space Battleship Yamato. To be honest I felt like I understood most of what was going on most of the time which was pretty impressive, but I only got a couple words each sentence and constantly concentrating on every word they are speedily saying gets hard. Therefore most of it was just by guessing and watching and the odd word here and there for topic, there would be heaps of meaning I missed and there were a few of the WTF moments you get with anything Japanese 😛
All in all the 3d in the movie was awsome and the movie was pretty damn cool.

 

Day 29 – Shimonoseki

Day 29 – Shimonoseki

Andrew went to a traditional Shinto Japanese wedding from wake up till sleep time which he planned to go to since before the trip as his friend was the groom. This left me in the hotel and the world as my oyster.
Walked around the city for a tranquil scope of everything and grabbed a bite to eat and watched the world go buy on a sidewalk near the shore.
Then had another relax at the top floor spa place.
That evening I sorted out a few things using ma trusty laptop, and also hit up some 3d modelling cause its awsome.

That night because the hotel room we had had only one double bed, I had to put up with andrews sleeping habbits again.
You will wake up constantly during the night to either him talking about some shit, coughing like hes about to die, putting his leg on you, knee stabbing your back, or trying to spoon you. The last of which I snap and shove him violently back to his side shouting a profanity in my semi conscious state.
The worst part is that he snores like a hog constantly and its like trying to sleep with a clock ticking in the room but worse. You just focus in on the sound and cant do anything about it 😛