One by one
(All Japan University Judo Team Competition Oct 25-26, 2014 in Amagasaki) 
October 28, 2014


 This past weekend, I had the chance to go to Amagasaki, near Osaka, with the Tokai team to watch the All Japan University Team Competition. It really was an incredible weekend and I am so grateful to have been able to experience such an adventure.

So after having packed everything I thought I needed, Friday evening at around 9:15 I walked over to the judo club, where the buses were parked. My friend Kōtaro was waiting anxiously for me, and had even saved a seat for me! I walked in, with most of the faces of the Tokai team looking at me with surprise, and sat down in my seat. No foreigner ever goes on the bus with the team. This is where being half Japanese and speaking Japanese gives me the greatest perk! Soon, the bus filled up, and we were on our way!

(Fubuki, Taisei, Kōtaro, and myself on the bus.)
Kōtaro introduced me to the teammate I was sitting next to. I also talked a little bit with those around me, showing them how I DJ off my phone, my mixes and my music. We would pass out, then the bus would stop so we could go to the washroom and buy some snacks! I didn't get too much sleep which showed its cost the next day. You see, we rode the bus during the night, which means when we arrived, we bought breakfast and headed to the tournament site. And Tokai was the first university in line! We changed into our formal clothes, and then sat down to chat. 

 Soon, other universities showed up as well, and two hours later, we were all jammed against the gate. There were a few announcements to tell us to enter slowly, and I didn't quite understand until the time to enter came. Everyone rushed to the doors. It was crazy. I wasn't expecting it, and nor did I understand why... until I got inside the venue. Limited space. Every university wants to get the best spot as possible to watched their teammates fight! Tokai is a fairly big university and so is its judo club. Therefore, we take up a lot of space! Saving seats is crucial to allow everyone to sit together. 

(We've been waiting for a little too long I guess. Look how many people are in the back...)
While waiting for the tournament, I must have slept for at least 20 minutes. Once it started, I got to see Tokai's women team win against their first opponent. For the men, I would say there were over 50 universities competing. Every match, 7 fighters would fight each other, therefore it took a while before the Tokai men's team fought. Their first opposing team was Tenri University, which is a fairly well known university in the world of judo. But Tokai defeated them 5 wins to 1 loss and 1 tie! During that time, the whole team cheered on each player! "Kengo ikeyo" they would shout when Kengo Takaichi, 2nd in Japan in the -66kg category, was fighting. It was crazy to feel part of this team. Saturday was just the preliminaries, therefore they only fought once. We left the tournament, and Kōtaro and I were off to Osaka. Oh, did I mention that I was like two feet away from Anai Takamasa, who graduated from Tenri University? That was pretty cool!

(How they keep track of the fights. People are behind these and are flipping the board with the new information.)
Before we made it passed the gates into the station, I realized my bag was leaking. Great... Haha. Kōtaro had drank from my apple juice bottle and I forget to tighten the lid before putting it in my bag. Luckily, nothing important got wet, but my one bag and sweater now carried the smell of apple juice. But that didn't stop us one bit.

In Osaka, Kōtaro took me to see the Osaka castle! It was such a beautiful scenery. Peaceful, calm, and massive. See for yourselves.

(Osaka castle)
After that, we headed back to the train station to go to Namba, the shopping district in Osaka. There, we walked in the streets filled with shops, and restaurants. We met up with Kōtaro's girlfriend, who was about to eat with her parents in a restaurant. This was the first time for both Kōtaro and I to meet her parents, and I think he was... a little nervous haha.

We then found a small little shop where we ate tonkatsu and some miso soup! After that, purchased some Takoyaki balls from a small outdoor vendor. Everyone's recommendation was to get Takoyaki. Apparently it is Osaka's specialty food! It was very good, no surprise there, and we enjoyed it in Starbucks, with a few other snacks. I also got to taste my first green tea frappachino haha!

(Osaka's famous Takoyaki balls.)
After having rested a little, we headed to an electronics store, where we both charged our phones a little (mine was at 7%...), and purchased a cheap phone battery! I also found a hair straightener that is VERY cheap compared to those in Canada. 

With our bellies and bags a little heavier, we headed back to the station, picked up our other bags from the coin lockers, and were off to meet our teammates. 

Once with them, we walked in the streets to find a place called: "Internet cafe". This was also a first for me. Internet cafe isn't a hotel, but it's a place where you can sleep. You get this little cubicle, in which there are plugs to charge anything you need, there is a computer as well as a light. The only thing separating you from those next to you is a wooden plank! We paid for a shower and had access to it for 30 minutes. We also had access to a drink bar. The room's walls were covered with manga books of all kinds. This is like the Japanese place to come and be a nerd haha! After my shower, I called my friend for a bit, in Japanese, and once I found out that were going to wake up at 5:30, I hurried into bed, and fell asleep without any difficulties after that long day! 

(My cozy little cabin for the night!)
(Net Cafe: Only in Japan can you have such a place.)
(The shower room which holds pretty much all your needs.)

Sunday morning, Kōtaro woke me up, and by 6 o'clock, we were off to the station, at which we met a lot of the other Tokai teammates. Once off the train, we walked to the convenience store, grabbed breakfast and snacks, only to head back to the tournament. I helped this time to save some seats for the team. This time, Tokai fought very early. Once again, the team, including myself cheered them on! They won most of the matches and were through the next round. Having only 9 hours of sleep in the past two days, I then fell asleep for one straight hour. I was woken up by some teammates telling me to move over so that we could watch Tokai fight again. Once again they won, but you could tell their opponents were getting stronger. But nonetheless, both the men's team and the women's team were through to the semi-finals. 

Walking around the venue during the short break, I walked into one of the alumni from Tokai, whom I had met two years ago when he came to Vancouver to compete! He had known my sister and therefore we got introduced. I was very surprised that he even recognized me since I now look nothing like I did back then, but he has been following me on the social media. We chatted a little, with the little Japanese that I know. It's weird how this judo world is like a family in a way.

(Shigeyuki Uehara and me watching the tournament.)
(Bottom left corner, Tokai men. Bottom right corner, Tokai women. Semi-finals: Tokai ikeyo!)
Unfortunately, the women's team lost their next contest, placing them in third place. But the men's team made it through to the finals, their opponent being the Nihon University, another well-known university for judo. Kyles Reyes was actually fighting for that university that day. They rearranged the mats for the finals and about one hour later, it was time for the last contest of the day! 

One by one, the fighters stepped up to the edge of the fighting area, bowed, and fought their hearts out. The team cheered on harder than ever as we watched our teammates win their way to the 1st place. They won every match except for one which ended in a tie, hikiwake, something I had not seen yet. One by one they bowed off, kneeled to Agemizu sensei, one by one their training proved its strength and worth. 

("Tokai iizo!")
After the awards ceremony, everyone from the team gathered on the mats and launched Agemizu sensei as well as a few others into the air in celebration! It was quite the scene to see and it felt good, even though I didn't do anything, to be there with them.

The team gathered outside, where the students from Tokai's affiliated high school handed us beer and tea. Sato sensei made a toast and soon we had our hands in the air, cheering in thanks of the successful day. I then took the time to tell the fighters that I had come to know "otsukare sama desu.", which can be translate as: "Thank you for your good efforts." After that, it was time to get back to the bus.

On the way back, we stopped at some service center to grab supper. My stomach wasn't feeling too good, so I only purchased some "omiyage". During this time, I got to talk to some teammates to which I had not yet spoken. This whole trip, I tried talking to them, but it's quite hard and intimidating, mostly because I usually don't understand what they ask me or tell me once we start talking. But I really have to thank Kōtaro who really indirectly got others to talk to me. I don't know if he was doing this purposely, but it seemed like he would tell them something interesting about me, and then let them come ask me more about it. Or when he was with others, he would call me over to either include me or get me to talk to them. Thank you Kōtaro, it really means a lot to me.

(Kōtaro is a pretty sweet dude!)

After that, we rode the bus back, during which Kōtaro showed me his music. I think I'm going to look a little further into Japanese music. And I really want to make more music. But that means I need to be really focused, but I think I might have reached that state. But that will be for another blog post, haha, this one is long enough.
Before we left, the last practice before the tournament was Friday morning. I was soo tired and I had a test that day, so I almost didn't go. Thank God I did because I saw something incredible that morning. After doing a few uchikomis, the practice ended, but this time, we all formed a circle, wrapped our arms around each other and waited for one of the seniors to start. To start what? Apparently this is a tradition within the club. The senior shouted out something and then everyone started bouncing their torsos up and down. It lasted for maybe 5 seconds until the senior shouted out again after which we all replied with a "SHAA-!". After that, the fighters left the mats while the rest of us grouped up to perform yet another surprise. They started this cheer, which basically consisted of them shouting "TOKAI!" and then clapping at a certain rhythm. We repeated that 4 times, and gave one last shout, and that was it. But it was directed to the fighters, it was a message that the club was behind them and that they were all proud to be part of this group. I am proud to be part of that group. Thank God I went that morning.


Now this weekend just really opened my eyes as to how fortunate I am to be here. I have some strong teammates to train with, and possible some good friends to be made. Even though I'm injured right now, once I get back on the mats, I don't really see any reason to complain anymore. I only see more reasons to want to train harder.
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Wonder #1: Culture (A brief observation)
October 22, 2014

 Of course, I can't go and talk about the hard parts of my life in Japan without talking about its wonders. So here is the first wonder I have encountered for the past two months here in Japan.

1. The culture (The people)
 - When I first came to Japan, one of my goals was to embrace the Japanese culture. But that's a very vague statement, especially when you don't understand what it implies. What is the Japanese culture, and why is it good or bad? As a foreigner, one never stops learning about Japan's culture, but I have noticed a few things. 

   First of all, there is almost always a central mentality. What I mean by that is that no matter where you are, there are a number of unsaid "rules" embedded within the moment, the situation, the place, and the people. For example, it is expected to remain silent in order not to disturb others. There's always a need to belong to a group, and I feel like Japan allows anyone to be part of it, which makes their lifestyle less lonely perhaps? 
   My father had always told me that in Japan, the nail that sticks out gets hit. Now this can be interpreted in many ways, and can be thought of as good or bad. But I came to realize that it's not that Japanese people are against differences. They just have so many people that if they allowed everyone to do as they wished, things would be impossible. Therefore, most people are taught to respect these un-said behaviours, which allows for a smoother ride. 
   Now that being said, when differences are allowed, the Japanese seem to have no hesitation. One can best see this when observing the clothing worn by the average person. Women here always seem to dress really well and men's hair is a work of art haha. 

   The routines here are incredibly well respected. Every time you enter a store, you hear someone say: "irasshaimase!" Which basically means "welcome to our store". They mechanically ask the same questions, perform the same task over and over again without ever complaining or letting their inner feeling show. Also, workers use a more polite language when speaking to customers. 

Lastly, since the Japanese language often leads to uncertainties or to inconclusive conversations, Japanese often confirm the same information more than twice. You see, the Japanese do not like to be decisive and to make decisions. Why? I don't think anyone could ever really tell, but I do know that, ever since I've been here in Japan, I've had to make more decisions than ever. But this also means that I have to face the consequences as well. Maybe they are as afraid of making mistakes as I am when choosing what to do or say. But anyways, it all works well within their lives. Since everyone is busy, reminders are often needed.

  Now this is a very small portion of what this culture entails, but I didn't feel like writing a novel so... :P 
   
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My difficulties in Japan
October 18, 2014

After being in Japan for 6 weeks, there are a few things that I personally find difficult here. Not every one of these stood out at first, but after a while, they add up and become quite the issue when not taken care of.

1. Reading Japanese:
 - The hardest thing is not being able to read just about anything. Not only can I not understand my own homework, my class schedule, or the restaurant's menu, not being able to read adds to the overall stress! When writing my homework, if there is a word or character I don't understand, it can stop me from understanding the whole sentence. It makes life very difficult.

2. Language:
 - Some might wonder why this was not the first difficulty. Well, if you can read, you can get by without talking much. But these go together. Not being able to understand instructions, whether it being in class, on the train, from our teacher or from a friend, can be quite frustrating. It's also easy to misunderstand someone, and then do something completely different. Basically, my whole life depends on how much I can really understand. And when asking questions, or simply talking, it can be quite difficult to express yourself in a way that the listener can understand. 

3. Culture comprehension:
 - This one also relates to the first two, and it's the meaning of the words and how I interpret them. You see, when you hear something in your native language, your brain interprets it one way. But that same word in another language will be interpreted differently. Due to this, of all the things I'm told to do, hand in, or fill out, I forget a lot of it. Why? Most of the time it's my own fault but many times, I can see that I didn't fully understand what was expected of me. Because of this, it is also hard to understand the intentions of people here, so it's hard to know who means well, and who doesn't. 

4. Shopping:
 - This one is probably the reason why I miss Canada: in Japan, I don't always find the equivalent of what I'm used to. And when I do, it's three times smaller. The other day, I wanted to buy cucumbers, but I found out, after passing by that section 4 times, that they only have very tiny ones. This is the same way for pretty much everything: note pads, pencils, food, everything is in smaller size or quantity. And they don't seem to have deodorant sticks... This makes everything more time-consuming, and can be quite limiting at times.

5. Space:
- Last but not least, the lack of space is hard to get used to. It's not really something you notice at first, but after being in many places, you get this feeling that you're always constrained. You have to be much more concerned about other people, about where you place your belongings, and even how you place yourself in a room. If not, you could unknowingly cause grief to the people around you.

So this was just a quick overview of the top 5 difficulties I encounter everyday here in Japan. There are many more, but I haven't clearly defined them yet and they are perhaps only related to me, but that's another story!
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Inside and out
October 12, 2014

 So since I have this leg injury, I cannot do much of the judo practice. But that doesn't stop me from doing some weight training during that time. At least when we are allowed to...

You see, in Japan, well Tokai at least, one of the seniors, on behalf of all those injured, has to go ask for the head sensei's (teacher) permission to let us do weight training. At first, I didn't understand, but I was explained that for the Japanese, weight-training doesn't have the same importance as it does for us in Canada. For them, watching others fight and learning from that can be just as beneficial if not more.

When we are allowed to go downstairs, I join the group, put on a shirt, and head to the small weights area underneath the club. Usually it's not too packed so I can walk around, grabbing what I need, and do my own thing. Since I don't have anyone else looking after me, I try to remember some of the exercises Barb (my trainer) had me doing back in Canada. I usually end up doing the same thing, due to the limited amount of benches, weights and machines. There is another gym on campus where we train sometimes during the morning trainings, but to go there from the club would take too much time. Besides, I still want to be part of the group. So I usually do small exercises here and there.

Today, I managed to do some pulling uchikomis with the ropes that I brought from Canada. It caught the attention of a few of those around me. See in Japan, they have many judokas that are willing to do uchikomi and who are just as serious about winning and training. Therefore, they don't need ropes. But in Canada, especially in Manitoba, it's a much more lonely path. One has to find different ways to compensate for the lack of training partners.

Now with this in mind, I think I found one of the reasons why Japan does so well in this sport. Of course, it runs through the school system and they have huge amounts of sponsorships, but I don't believe that's the only reason. See, being part of the club, I get to stand, practice and fight with world & Olympic champions. I get to see how they are as people. And guess what? They are people! I couldn't believe it. I had watched many of them on YouTube and on the Internet during tournaments and interviews and so on, and every time, they seem soo serious. They seem like they are just going to kill you, and train like a beast, and eat, breathe, sleep judo. Of course they train hard, but they also laugh, joke around, talk to many of the club members and they smile. Sometimes they are lazy too.

But that's one thing I didn't have in Canada: I didn't have fun during practice. See these guys live together, they do pretty much everything together, so they know each other very well and they enjoy being together. Back in Manitoba, I have very few partners, even fewer who are seriously motivated, and only my sister really understands my lifestyle since she had a very similar one. It is very hard to stay motivated in those circumstances, no matter how much you like judo. Enjoying what you do can greatly improve your performance, and the support of others only helps you push yourself even more.

Two days ago, I had the chance to see the elite team perform a circuit training. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Everyone was pushing themselves to the max, of course, everyone was screaming, but really what hit me the most is that they did it as one, cheering each other on. You could feel the pride of Tokai within them and their will to win. I'm glad I got to see it.

Now I'm not saying that getting injured was a good thing, but it has allowed me to experience things I never would have otherwise. Heck, I even made a really good friend because of it. Although I hate being looked down upon by the coaches and senseis, I think I can really benefit from this.

As my father would say: "With every crisis comes opportunity."


(The elite team performing a circuit training.)


(A short clip of their circuit. I love the energy. Sorry for the bad quality.)
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I walk with a limp, like an old school pimp...
October 1, 2014

 Life was getting pretty hard here in Japan. Training was pushing my body while the books pushed my mind to its limits. It seemed like it would only continue that way until...

   ... September 30th, Tuesday morning, during the morning practice, God decided to give me my second biggest injury: a torn ligament in the knee.

How did it happen? I was practicing with a heavy weight fighter on the ground for about 12 seconds when he decided to pull on my leg while I was pulling it out. The result was a HUGE pop and me limping off the mat to apply some ice.

It was a harsh day. I knew that something was wrong even though I didn't feel too much pain, so I decided to stick with the limping until I knew what was going on. My sister recommended that I go with someone to see Miyazaki, the doctor who takes care of the judo club members.

I had applied ice right away, and a second time only 20 minutes later. I also used my small towel as a brace around my leg. I walked into class late and everyone watched me limp over to my spot. I had to wait all day and it was very difficult to pay attention to the lesson. I kept wondering what was going to happen.

Finally, I contacted one of my friends at the judo club, Kotaro Sasaki, who was kind enough to take me to see the doctor after practice. Obviously I didn't do the practice, I slept instead.

Kotaro himself has an injury to the knee therefore he needed to go anyway. We biked to the clinic, parked our bikes, and I limped inside. We took off our shoes, as it is usual when entering a building in Japan, which sent small jolts of pain up my leg. We signed in, we waited, and finally it was my turn.

The doctor asked me to sit down, and played with my leg only for a few moments before making his diagnostic. Clearly, I had injured the outer ligament of my right knee. He didn't think it was too bad, although his next statement took the wind out of me:

- You can't do judo for one month.

Obviously he said it in Japanese, but nonetheless, it caught me off guard. I asked what I should do to help it heal but besides ice, and rest, he said maybe squats and forward exercises to help it stabilize. He said I didn't need a brace, but I insisted on getting at least a tensor bandage to give it some more support. He remembered my sister who had also been there three years ago and so he was kind enough to let me go for free, even  though I didn't have my insurance card with me.

As we walked out, one of the judo girls was working at the clinic and she happened to know my sister. After exchanging Facebook accounts, laughing at my ice bucket challenge (which she had seen before and just found hilarious), Kotaro and I were off to supper.

He was kind enough to take me to an all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurant. Kotaro has been studying English quite seriously and therefore his English is much superior than most of the other Japanese I meet. We had some interesting discussions over the delicious supper. After that, I limped back to my dorm, studied for my test the next day, and fell asleep.

(Kotaro Sasaki enjoying his meal!)


(BOOM! Yakiniku! Japanese grilled meat.)

It wasn't util the next day that I realized the impact of my injury. I had to limp to get to my desk. Every single little walk takes twice as much time. To get to school, I can no longer bike up the hill, instead I have to stop and the bottom, get off, and starting limping again. In the cafeteria, a lot of eyes fall on me due to this new walking style of mine. Going up the stairs has become my biggest fear of the day, as well as my hardest task. Everyone at school looks at me as I walk through the halls and into class.

I had to go tell Agemizu sensei, the head coach at Tokai that I wouldn't be able to practice for a while. He didn't seem too happy... Every time I bump into a judo club member, I can't help but think he must see me as a coward.

Only time will tell the outcome of this. But this sure was a wakeup call.
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Ultra Music Festival - JAPAN Edition
October 1, 2014

 Back in March, I received an email informing me that tickets were now available for Ultra Japan. At first, I simply skipped over it since I wasn't in a position to pay myself a flight to Japan just to see this concert. But after a few moments, I quickly rushed back to check the dates to realize that I was going to be in Japan at that time! I was filled with joy.

Just to explain a little bit about Ultra, Ultra has been my dream place to be ever since I started DJing. I always wanted to perform there one day, even though that's quite unlikely, and I also wanted to attend a few of these big electronic dance music festivals. Ultra is one of the biggest of them all and I had watched too many videos of my favorite DJs performing at this concert around the world. Canada doesn't host this concert, therefore I was never able to go until now!

I definitely would have gone alone had I had to, but I decided to contact a friend in Japan who I thought would be game to join me: Anzu (My sister's roommate during her stay in Japan). Anzu also came to Winnipeg last summer to stay at our house for a week! After a few messages, our tickets were bought and I received my electronic code for my ticket by email.

From then on, nothing really happened until two days before the event, when Anzu contacted me to decide when we would leave and how we would get there.

The day of, I left my dorm at 6:00 A.M. and arrived at Ebina where Anzu was waiting for me. Last time we had tried to meet up, we had spent at least 1 hour trying to find each other, but this time we had developed a better plan haha. As we were both tired, we rode the rest of the train ride sleeping, with Anzu's alarm set for a certain time. Yet, I woke up at that time, but Anzu didn't. I didn't want to wake her up until I was sure we would miss our stop, which we almost did. Oh Anzu... haha! Two trains later, we were riding the Yurikamome, which is basically a slow train that rides around the city of Tokyo, usually used for tourism, to pass by the highlights of the city. During my last visit to Japan, my dad had taken me on this particular train, and many of the places flew back into my memory as we rode by them. We passed by many famous places, including the Tokyo Tower and the Sky Tree, two of the tallest structures on the planet. As we neared our destination, Anzu and I spotted the park and the stage's setup I so eagerly wanted to see. We walked off the train, and the exit of the station was literally meters away from the entrance to the park. Until that moment I had been worried we had come too early, but to our surprise, there were at least 30 people waiting in line already. Anzu then asked me: I wonder at what time they came? haha, we shall never know.

We quickly grabbed breakfast at the nearest convenience store, and waited in line for about 20 minutes before we were allowed to enter the park... only to walk up to a new line. After about another 20 minutes, we were redirected three times to a new line and finally, using Anzu's phone to scan our tickets, we entered the Ultra park... only to end up in another line to buy sunglasses. This line took much longer. About 40 minutes later, we were on our way into the main part of the park. A DJ was already playing by that time. We walked around the different shops that were set up, picked up some Pocari Sweat (a famous Japanese sport drink), took a few pictures, won a VIP pass for the Pioneer Terrace, and headed to the front of the main stage.


(Ultra Japan's main stage.)

At this point, everything I had imagined became true. The stage, the lights, the sound, the people. I could recognize most of the songs that were played due to my DJing and I was immediately caught in the moment. After the first DJ had finished, we decided to visit the second location, which was a small room called the Radio Station. I got the chance to see my first woman DJ live. I decided to stay for the next DJ and boy was I ever happy I did. This DJ was seriously good! He had the crowd jumping the whole time, including myself! DJ Komori was his name if you're interested. Anzu and I stayed for his whole set! We even ended up being in the pictures he posted on his website the next day!
(DJ Komori rocking the room!)

After that, it was time for a break. Jumping around can be quite tiring. We grabbed some ramens, and sat down in the shade to admire the venue's setup while we ate and chatted. After that, I had another first time experience to eat some Kakigori (basically a snow cone: chopped up ice with syrup), and we were then back off to the main stage. But luckily, we had won passes to the Pioneer Terrace, which basically meant we were allowed to go for 30 minutes on a special terrace which let us watch the main stage from a higher point of view. It was relaxing and we were given each a glass of Red Bull.


(Anzu and I at the top of the Pioneer Terrace.) 

After that, we headed to the last location for the DJs, which was called the Worldwide Area. This one was a big room, underground, with heavy lights and huge LED screens. Anzu and I enjoyed our time there as the DJs built up the atmosphere.


(Worldwide Arena.)

We left the room hazed and tired which is why we decided to take a rest. We found a place under the shade of some palm trees and slept there for 30 minutes. I should have then taken the time to go to the washroom, but we headed straight for the main stage since I didn't want to miss Fedde le Grand who was due to play at that time.


(Main stage during Fedde le Grand's set.)

It was crazy, as expected, but the sun was still bright so the impact wasn't as strong as it would have been in the dark. After about thirty minutes, I realized that it was going to be impossible to get back to our spot if we tried leaving, due to the amount of people that were around us, so I had the BRILLIANT idea of going to the washroom alone, since Anzu said she was fine for the next five hours... After about 10 minutes of trying to get out, I finally made it to the washrooms where I had to wait in line. This was a first for me. Usually, women have to wait, but the men's washroom clears fast. Well, not in Japan. I headed straight back afterwards, and had great difficulty making my way back to my original spot. That's when I realized the stupidity of my decision. There were WAY too many people to be able to find Anzu. Even with my photographic memory, it would be impossible to find the exact spot I had been in. I started shouting her name while I tried looking over people's heads, but Anzu is very short and so I knew I would never find her. I finally had the opportunity to climb onto one of the gates that were installed in front of the stage and kept screaming her name. I had given up, when out of nowhere Anzu came to me, forcing her way through the crowd. Relieved, we faced the stage, ready to dance.

But as I had mentioned, for some reason, they had installed gates all over the place, so some people were standing on them or sitting on them, which obstructed our view of the stage. This was not going to be a pleasant evening if this continued. Fortunately, with a little bit of shifting and the crowd moving, we were able to make it to a gate ourselves, where we could lean on and Anzu could step on to see over everyone's head.

I didn't want to be right at the front of the stage, and we had a very good spot, so we stayed there for the rest of the night. After Fedde le Grand, Afrojack came on, and I knew most of his songs! It was great, and by the end of his set, it was already getting dark.  Next up was Alesso, who has produced many great hits as well, including "If I lose myself". By this time, it was dark out, Anzu and I were both dead, but the music just kept me going! I couldn't believe I was actually living this. I was at Ultra! The set was amazing and I could sing, jump and dance to most of the songs. There was a slightly longer break between Alesso and the last DJs of the night, Axwell and Ingrosso, to allow them to install a bigger stage (Like it wasn't big enough already). Now their set just took things to another level. Sure, they had the benefit of being last, in the complete darkness and being on a bigger stage, but their choice of music was perfect. I REALLY wish I could make music like that. Anzu and I danced and jumped until we could no more and then we still kept going. During most of the set, the crowd screamed out the lyrics and the melodies to the songs, and I had to join in. During the last two songs, I ended up singing with a complete stranger, who was as into the moment as I was! GOOD TIMES...
(Perfection...)


(By the end of the night, it was just CRAZY!)

The festival ended at 9 P.M. and after a few hundred pictures and videos, loads of music, a crazy amount of light, fireworks, flames and 9 DJs, it was time to head back. It took about 25 minutes just to get out of the park. Anzu and I decided to go see the rainbow bridge, which happened to not have rainbow lights that night haha, and to eat at McDonalds in the calm air.


(The swag is real.)

It was already 11:00 by the time we headed back. In the train, we discovered that I had many sun burns, including my nose which was clearly visible due to the fact that I had been wearing sunglasses all day... -___- (NOT COOL!) Anzu, on the other side, had no marks whatsoever (NOT FAIR!) haha.


(Thank you Anzu for coming along!)

It was very hard to stay awake in the train and, since I had to stand in this packed train, I almost fell a few times, literally falling asleep. I was relieved when I reached my station, one hour and 40 minutes later. I biked up the hill, with my eyes dropping, and made it to the gate at 12:55, only to discover the gates were closed. Shit...

I walked to the restaurant across and they told me I would have to sleep out that night. I said too bad for that, I wasn't going to pay for a hotel. I decided to jump the fence. I made it across, and as I was walking through the campus, I realize that I could have easily just biked around the campus since my residence is outside the gates... Too late. I was soon jumping over the second fence, entering the back door of the Kokusaikaikan (my dorm), saying goodnight to all the guys still awake in the lobby (what the...) and off to bed.

What a great day. A dream come true. Ultra can now be checked off my bucket list.


(Don't you worry, don't you worry child. See heaven's got a plan for you...)

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