Young Writers Society

Hey, everyone. It's me again.

Again There's not much for me to talk about, but I think My host family will be taking me to Tokyo Disneyland next weekend.

There's something I've noticed during my stay in Japan. Even though the crime rate is so strikingly low you still hear a lot of police and ambulance sirens. Almost every other night I hear a siren wailing down the street near my house.

Do you know what the best thing about Internet cafes is? The free drinks! I talked about that with one of my friends and he told me about something that happened in another country. Some guy stayed on the Internet for 72 hours straight and died of dehydration. Now I think that's funny. He also told me about one of the rules for playing games in China. Because the Chinese are so serious about studying the kids are only allowed to play mass online RPGs for three hours everyday. Do you know what happens when they play for more then three hours? There's a code in the game that, when someone has been playing for more than three hours, their character starts to lose stats and slowly dies. Now I think that's really funny!

Sorry for the long wait guys, I wanted to post again after I went to Tokyo Disney Land so I could tell you all about it. Regrettably, I haven't gone yet.

Anyway! The other day it was my friend's birthday. His friends gave him two big presents. When he opened them they were a cooking set and two large dolls for girls. Everyone in the classroom was wetting themselves, the teacher even took a picture with the whole class.

Sometimes I forget that I'm half way around the world. One of my reminders is when I look up at the night sky. If it's dark enough in Tokyo you can see Orion.

Japanese weather is very interesting. Because of the ocean currents one part of Japan (Tokyo) never sees snow, while the other part of Japan (Hokkaido) always has snow.

Do you remember Sesame Street, the show we all watched when we were kids? It's here in Japan, too.

If you ever decide to learn Japanese you'll notice a lot of similes. For example, kami has three different meanings: paper, hair, or god. But when it's used for god it changes to gami, kinda like kawa means river but is gawa when used in Shinagawa.

Hopefully the next time I post it'll be about Disney Land.

And then there's the difference between にんぎん and にんじん...learned the hard way.

Oooh! I've been wanting now- what are some Japanese slang phrases? I know すげー (wonderful) and すてっき (cool or sexy, right?)...but that's not really enough to get by.

Tell me how Tokyo Disneyland is. I'm still decided whether or not to go there or hang out with my pen-pal's 母 for a day.

*feels smug for having learnt twenty kanji in a day*

Lucky duck. You'll have to tell us absolutely everything when you have the time.

Hey everyone!

I went to the zoo the other day. I saw pandas. There's not much to say about it. I mean, it's a zoo, there's lot's of animals.

Anyway, I'm sure you may already know this but in Japan everyone drives on the left side of the road. In cars the driver seat is on the right side.

It's a Japanese belief that if you keep a cat or dog outside your store it'll bring you good luck. I also noticed that no one nuders their pets in Japan.

OK, it's that time again.

First I want to tell you about a new means of studying that I've found. Not only is it fun but it's also cheap. I've started collecting Japanese mangas! Because this type of studying is fun for me I'm able to do if for longer periods of time. I'm given work from school to study, the most I've ever studied with it is 6 hours in a row. But, for Japanese mangas I've spent an astonishing 10 hours just reading through and translating words with my dictionary. I've found a book store in Japan that sells mangas for 250 yen each, and that's just for the new ones. If I'm able to find the book I'm looking for as a used copy then it only costs me 105 yen to buy it. If any of you decide to go to Japan and study for a year I suggest you try this method of study, but be sure to find books that have hiragana readings beside the kanji so it's much more easier to understand.

I've also seen a new Gundam game for the PS3. If you've ever played Dynasty Warriors it's exactly the same, only with gundams!


From now on I'm going to start posting tips for living in Tokyo. If any of you are planning on staying in Tokyo I suggest you take this part into consideration. It may save you money and trouble.

Buying Drinks: In Tokyo there is literally a vending machine on every street corner. While it may be tempting to buy a drink from one of them you should first think about how much you're going to spend. Drinks from vending machines range somewhere from 120 to 150 yen. If you're thirsty don't buy a drink from one of these machines. Instead, wait until you find a convenience store, chances are you may find the drink you want at a lower price.

Scamming the Ticket Machines: (This will only work if you have a train pass) If you are planning to go somewhere far away from the stations your pass lets you go this tip will help you save money. When you are traveling by train get off at the last station your train pass lets you go for free. At that station, buy a ticket for the place you're planning to go. On you're way back home your trip, purchase the cheapest ticket you can. When you get back to your home station use your pass to get through the ticket gate. This trick is especially helpful if you're planning on going somewhere far away. But be careful, if you use your train pass at a fare exchange this trick won't work, because once you use a fare exchange booth your pass' data is coded into the system and will be recognized when you use it again. In this case you may end up paying more than you originally intended.

Hey everyone, it's me again.

In Japan right now it's spring vacation. Spring vacation usually lasts about a month. Since I have nothing to do at my host family's house I go to the library everyday. At the library you can use a computer for an hour for free! But you can't do stuff like playing games, doing e-mails, chat rooms, etc. But, they let you read online comics! I guess since the library has mangas they can't really argue if you read one on the computer.

I've been reading the Naruto manga series in Japanese. The Creator of Naruto has made 35 books so far, he's supposed to be finishing it soon. I've only read up to the beginning of the Chunin exams but I do know that later in the story everyone is in their 20's or 30's.

Tips for living in Japan

Soft drinks and walking don't mix: Despite the fact that there are lot's of trains in Tokyo you have to do a lot of walking. If you're thirsty and want to buy a drink don't buy something like Pepsi or Mountain Dew, after a while you'll start to feel sick. Try to find something like coffee or juice.

Finding an empty seat on the train: The trains in Tokyo are usually very packed. Everyone who uses them are in a hurry so they always get on the car closest to the platform entrance. Incidentally, the cars at the very front and back of the trains aren't as crowded so you have a better chance of finding a seat.

Always be early: No matter where you live in the world it's always a good idea to leave for school or work early. Try to leave an hour earlier than you usually do when going somewhere. This way you can afford to miss a train or two, and you have an even better chance of finding an open seat on the train. If you arrive at your destination early then you have time to look over your Japanese studying and get some practice before school starts.

Hey everyone! All is going well here in Japan. I'm trying to try different foods as often as I can. Just the other day I tried udon, it's a type of noodle that's kinda like ramen only with much bigger noodles. It was pretty good and it didn't cost me too much money, win win.

Do you all remember when I told you about the Gundam game where you sit in a pod and it's like you're inside the gundam itself? Well, I tried it and it wasn't half bad, except for the fact that it cost me 300 yen for the IC card and 500 yen just to play, but you get to play two rounds every time. The controls are like they would be in a real mobile suit, the two joysticks and all. It takes a little while to get used to the controls, if you move one joystick your Gundam strafes, in order to turn your gundam you have to move both sticks in the exact same direction. Sometimes the gundam doesn't move how you want it and only experienced pilots can make it turn on a dime, everyone else just gets a laser sword up the ass while they're trying to figure out the controls. But all in all it's an awsome game, but I can only play it once per week due to expenses. Also, the Gundam game that uses cards that I told you all about, Gundam 0079, they upgraded the system so now it has new stuff, new cards, and it's now called Gundam 0083.


I don't have any tips for living in Japan this week but I will give you all some vocabulary that may be useful if you decide to live in Japan. Even though the local language may be different, odds are you'll get your point across.

Help! (English)
Tasukete! (Japanese)

Stop, thief!
Mate, dorobo!

Run!
Nigero!

Is there a doctor/pilot/lawyer in the building?
Kono biru no naka ni isha/pairotto/bengoshi wa imasuka?

Hello, I have been seriously wounded.
Konnichiwa, watashi wa okega wo shite imasu.

I am bleeding profusely.
Watashi wa obitadashiku chi ga dete imasu.

May I use your belt as a tourniquet?
Anata no beruto wo karite shiketsutai ni shitemo iidesuka?

May I borrow a towel to wipe up the blood?
Taoru wo karite chi wo fuite mo iidesuka?

Would you please take me to a clean hospital?
Kirei na byoin ni tsurete itte kudasai masuka?

Is this safe to eat?
Kore wo tabetemo daijobu desuka?

Why is the water brown/green/black?
Kono mizu wa doshite chairoin desuka/midori iro nandesuka/kuroin desuka?

What kind of meat is this?
Kore wa nanno niku desuka?

I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you.
Gomennasai, anata no kibun wo gaisuru tsumori wa arimasen deshita.

Please do not injure me.
Watashi wo itai me ni awasenaide kudasai.

Do not make me angry.
Okoraseruna yo.

I do not wish to hurt you.
Anata wo itai me ni awasetaku arimasen.

Is it bleeding much?
Chi wa takusan dete imasuka?

Please forgive me, and accept this money/camera/watch as a gift.
Kono okane/kamera/tokei wo owabi no shirushi toshite uketotte watashi wo yurushite kudasai.

Where is the nearest embassy/airport/hospital/police station?
Ichiban chikai taishikan/kuko/byoin/koban wa dokodesuka?

Yes, I have my papers.
Hai, shorui wo motteimasu.

Where are your papers?
Anata no shorui wa dokodesuka?

I'm not going to tell you.
Anata niwa oshiemasen.

Do you know a place where I can hide?
Dokoka watashi ga kakure rareru tokoro wo shitte imasuka?

How fast can this car go?
Kono kuruma wa doregurai hayaku hashiremasuka?

How quickly can you leave?
Doregurai hayaku deraremasuka?

How far is it to the border?
Kokkyo made doregurai desuka?

You will never make me talk.
Zettai watashi wo shaberaseru koto wa dekinai.

In case you were wondering, no, I haven't been in any situations where I had to use any of these phrases. Hopefully, neither will you.
(All translations come from "The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Survival Handbook: TRAVEL." I borrowed it from my friend.)

Hey, it's me again! So, I have some small facts to share with you all, nothing big this week.

Many Japanese people own a dog, but Japanese people are used to only seeing small dogs. My friend told me that people are surprised when they see anything bigger than a miniature poodle.

Here's something interesting to know. Some celebrities in Canada and the US never do commercials there, instead they do commercials in Japan! I'm not joking, Cameron Diaz (I hope that's how her name is spelt.) does commercials for a phone company called Softbank. And you know that guy from M.I.B. who played "K"? (I can't remember his name.) I've seen his face on vending machines to advertise coffee products. Pretty cool, huh?

Also, if you ever go to Tokyo you may see, from time to time, an old person with a hunched back. In fact, just the other day while I was walking over to the library I saw an old man whose back was hunched over in a full 90 degree angle. When he walked he was staring straight at the ground! Now, I'm not the kind of person who would prejudice against people and their mistakes and what not, but whenever I see someone like this I can't help but think to myself, "ya know, a trip to the chiropractor's office once in a while will do wonders." Which raises the question, are there any chiropractors in Japan?

Tips for living in Japan

Arcades are a once a week thing: In Canada and the US an arcade game usually costs 25 cents to play. In Japan the cheapest arcade game costs 100 yen to play. In case you probably didn't know, 100 yen is roughly one dollar American or Canadian. On top of that, all the good games cost anywhere from 200 to 500 yen and requires an IC card to play. So, if You're planing to play at a Japanese arcade, or game center as they call it, limit your visits to once every week or you'll end up like I did less than 2 months into this program, 150000 yen turning into 0 yen.

OK, what should I talk about this time?

Well, first I guess I should talk about the holiday I didn't full understand. It's called "Hana-mi," which means cherry blossom viewing. It's when friends and family get together to eat and drink under the newly budding "sakura" trees. The part about it that I didn't fully understand at the time was that it was an actual holiday. I found out that there was no kendo that day AFTER I used my money for train fare getting there. I didn't do much that day, but I made up for it today by taking some good pictures of the sakura trees to send to my family back in Canada.

I'm at a bit of a crossroad here. See, a while ago I saw a DS game called Digimon Stories. Now, I've always been somewhat of a Digimon fan and since this game probably isn't Americanized (Canadianized) and probably never will be I thought it'd be a good idea to pick it up before I leave Japan. But, lo and behold, today I saw Final Fantasy 3 for the DS! I'm not sure if it's been released in America and Canada yet as I'm led to believe that Japan is using FF3 as a bargaining chip so the US doesn't nuke 'em again. Now, I may buy them both before I leave, but I'm not sure which one I should get first. The Digimon game comes with satisfaction of buying a good game from a good anime series, but FF3 comes with the satisfaction you get from rubbing it in your friends' faces and saying, "Ha ha! I've got Final Fantasy 3 and you don't!" Plus it also comes with bragging rites for owning the Japanese version. Which one do you guys think I should get?

[Edited:] I've been having these weird dreams. The disembodied voice of a card-shaped being speaks to me in my sleep. It keeps saying, "Yu-Gi-Oh... Yu-Gi-Oh..." Ok, that was just a joke. In order to fight my boredom when I'm at home I play my Yu-Gi-Oh! game for my DS. I've been playing it for a whole month straight. I guess I should have lost interest in playing the game because of how often I play it, but instead the game has rekindled my love for the trading card game that I once had 5 years ago. I want to start collecting real cards and playing real duels against my friends again but I have to wait 3 more months before I can go home. But, I wanted my dad to buy me some starter decks for when I got home. Here's what I proposed: my dad buys me 3 different Yu-Gi-Oh! starter decks and I buy him a shiny new Godzilla action figure straight from Japan. He laughed. Anyway, if any Yu-Gi-Oh! players read my journal often then I have a question for you. Most of the strong and easy to use cards are from the older booster packs. I've been out of the loop for so long that I've stopped paying attention to all the new packs that come out. How hard is it to find one of the older series booster packs? Will I have to go to conventions or look on Ebay for them?

No tips this week. But, common sense is always a good thing to use no matter where you are.

Before I start my journal this week I want to tell you all about a project I'm working on in YWS. I know I said I wouldn't' be able to post any stories or stuff during my stay in Japan due to the lack of access to computers, but that was before I found out about these buildings called libraries. These places are amazing, they're full of books and mangas, everyone is always quiet so it's the perfect place to read and study. They also have computers there that you can use for free! If only we had such places back in Canada.... What, we do? No that's not true. The buildings we call libraries are just places where the homeless people shave and go BM.

ANYWAY! My project is one that I started a few days ago. It's called Q & A with Dynamo!!! and is located in the randomness forum. It's where you people send me questions via PM and I post them with my answers. Be sure to read the rules first because no one but me is allowed to post in that forum subject. Now that you've read about this you now have to send me one question or no one will publish your work in the future. See, it's kinda like a chain letter where you have to send it to someone else you know or your wish won't come true, except this time it's not a complete scam. Huh? What's that? What do you get in return for sending me a question...? Huh, well... I haven't thought of that yet. OK, hows this? If you DO send me a question, in the future somebody won't not publish your work.


OK, on to the journal!

So, the other day I bought Final Fantasy 3 in Japanese for the DS. It..... is..... AWSOME!!! I haven't played the original version of the game but I'd have to say this is one of the best pieces of work Square Soft... Square Enix... has ever come out with. What the hell do they call themselves these days? The game has a job system where you can change the classes of your characters. Right now my party consists of a thief, black mage, white mage and red mage. I made the main character be a thief so later he can turn into a ninja!

I was listening to the radio the other day and I have to ask, are broken records the in thing nowadays? I swear when I was listening to this one song at first I thought the radio was broken. In one part of the song the guy kept singing just like- like- like- just- just like- just like- like this- this- this- just- just like this. And in another part of the song everything started getting slloowweerr jjjuuusssttt lllliiiikkkkeeee ttttthhhhhiiiiisssss. Songs like these remind me why I never listen to rap music.

In Japan there are lots of cars, as you might have already guessed. But how do they find enough space to park them all? Well Japanese parking lots don't just cover the normal 2 dimensions, they cover 3 dimensions! Does that make any sense? I'm not talking about underground or overground parking lot buildings, I'm talking about parking lots that actually LIFT your car out of the way. It's like a big crane built into a small building that holds your car in suspension with a bunch of other cars. When you want your car back it lowers it down to ground level so you can get in and drive away. Pretty cool, huh?

In Japan you'll also notice that cellphones are very durable. A Japanese cellphone can be dropped a hundred times and can keep on ticking. During gym class one of my friends played basketball with his cellphone! It hit the ground pretty hard, but it didn't even have a scratch on it after-wards! Now that is amazing.

OK, before I start I want to tell you all that me and DQ want to revive The Kingdom of Evandor usergroup, but in order to do that we need more active members. So, if you're interested then PM one of the group's mods and ask to join. After that send them your character info and want for them to do the rest. Although if you want a more imitiate response I suggest you PM DQ himself. The other two mods haven't logged in to YWS in a few months.


Over here in Japan it's been raining stupid crazy almost non-stop. You know that old saying, "April showers bring May flowers?" In Japan it's more like, "April showers bring May tsunamis." The most time we've had without rain since the beginning of April would have to be 1 1/2 days. This one time I was walking home from school. It was raining so hard it felt like small rocks were being chucked at me from above. When I got of the train at my home station that rain had COMPLETELY stopped. But when I was only a few blocks away from my house.... IT STARTED RAINING AGAIN! It's gotten to the point where if you leave your house for the day and check the sky for clouds, if the sky has ANY clouds it means it's going to rain. In fact, it's raining right now, right as I'm typing this post!

Who here loves Final Fantasy? Who here loved Final Fantasy Tactics for the PS? You might be interested in knowing that Square Enix is doing a remake of that very game! Although I'm not entirely sure. All I know is one day I walked up to a cash regester in a convenience store and there was an advertisement for a video game with amazing graphics that said, in big bold letters, Final Fantasy Tactics. From the screenshots I saw it looks like the battle system hasn't changed much graphic-wise, but the dialog scenes were PS2 worthy!

Well, there's nothing much for me to say this week. I'm back to going to school after the holidays and I'm planning on seeing the new Spiderman movie with one of my friends. Next week is what the Japanese call "Golden week." Basically it's the Japanese equivalant for March break, except it's at the end of April.

By the way, don't forget to PM me some questions for my Q & A thing.

Just discovered this thread and I'm impressed. How long have you been there and how long until you head back to Canada?

I came to Japan in mid October and I'll be going back home near the end of June.

Sorry about the one day delay for this entry. The library is closed on Mondays and so was WYS's office this week so I couldn't post anything. I did spend 7 hours at the Internet cafe yesterday but that was my day off so it doesn't count.

Before I start I want to introduce you all to a new member, Achitaka. He's the American on the scholarship program that I mentioned a while ago. Be sure to say hi to the newest member of our cult. If you have any questions about the Japanese language itself I suggest you go to him instead of me, he studies a lot more than me, and I'm lazy, so there.

Lot's of stuff has happened to me during this month. Not so much of it made me feel happy. Long story short, I hate Murphy's Law. All throughout April it seemed like the weather was determined by whether or not I brought an umbrella. Three days in a row I forgot to bring an umbrella to school and everyday I was soaked from head to toe by the time I got home, and the one day that I finally remember to bring an umbrella it doesn't rain, at all, ever, not a single drop, urge to destroy planet rising. But on the bright side, since the weather is determined on the principal of Murphy's Law and is based souly around me, I can control the weather! If I want to make it sunny, all I have to do is bring an umbrella to school everyday. Alternatively, if I'm pissed off and I want to make others suffer for it, I don't bring an umbrella to school and it'll summon rain to make everyone as depressed as I am! Of course, I'm not the kind of guy who would do that to other people... yet.

Remember when I talked about the Final Fantasy Tactics remake? As it turns out I was right! Look at that, I'm right about something for once. It's the exact same game as the old version except with better graphics and stuff and it'll be coming out for the PSP. Also there's a special deal going on in Japan for PSPs right now. You can buy a GOLD PSP along with the new game Monster Hunter 2 Portable. If it wasn't for the regional code I would have been on that product like blood on a knife! ...Wait, that doesn't sound right.

Here's a tip for those of you who may be dinning in Tokyo in the near future. It's about ordering hot food. I don't mean hot as in spicy, I mean hot as in temperature. If you order hot food, regardless of whether it's Japanese or American food, if you're not careful about eating it you're going to end up with a burned tongue for the rest of the day. I mean it is boiling hot, like something that was just cooked in the middle of a volcano! Anything you may order in America or Canada that is hot, take that temperature and multiply it by 2 and that's how hot the same kind of food in Japan will be. They really don't skimp on the meaning of hot.

Wow, I used the word hot 8 times in the same paragraph.

That's all I can think about telling you all now. I may end up kicking myself in the head when I remember something I wanted to say later. Just a little reminder, Kingdom of Evandor registrations are still going and I need more people to pitch in and send me some more questions for my Q & A thread.