About a month ago, my grandmother and I started to plan a visit with my uncle's family. Up until now they had been too busy, but they apparently had one day they could see me, which was the 30th of August. After exchanging a few emails in every directions, we settled for a meeting time & place, and soon came the day.

I made my way to Tokyo, Ueno Station, probably one of my first times there. Once I got there, I surprised them all by coming from the opposite direction they were expecting me from. It had been a while since I had seen my uncle (3 years ago) but even then, it wasn't too hard to recognize him. My aunt and grandmother as well as my uncle's family were all there. I smiled to them, and we said hello, then went to ride another train together.

My uncle Shoji spoke to me a lot that day. He does work a lot in English, so he could speak it fairly well. I guess to make me feel comfortable he spoke with me mostly in English which made it actually harder to understand because I was switching from Japanese to English with everyone and didn't know if I should answer in English or Japanese to him. But it was nice of him, and we had a few good conversations.

My grandmother and aunt are just awesome, as always. They just spoke to me about anything, and I told them little things here and there to make them smile. I always enjoy their company.

Noriko, my uncle's wife, was nice and polite, and the whole time asked me many questions. She tried as much as possible to keep me involved in the conversation and when she spoke, she spoke purposely clearly and slightly slowly so that I would understand.

My two cousins were still a little shy I think. I had met my cousin Mayu three years ago when I came to visit my sister, but Hayato had not been free at that time, so today was my first time meeting him. I didn't speak to them much, but at the end I tried talking to Hayato about his ping-pong practices (he's part of a ping-pong club! How cool!). But I think they were not too sure how to react to me, since they don't know how much Japanese I can speak, and truly don't know me haha.
By train, we headed toward the Tokyo Sky Tree, and it was my first time getting this close to the Tower. There were many clouds, so we decided not to go up, since we wouldn't be able to see much.


Noriko had reserved a spot at a restaurant near the Sky Tree... which means expensive. It was a nice place. We had a great view of the city, and they started pointing out different parts of the city which we could see. The Sky Tree was right next to us, 634 meters tall.

Our meal was served in the traditional Japanese way. They served everyone small dishes, and before serving us the next one, they made sure they took our plates away. My grandmother told me that even my father hasn't eaten in such a manner. After, it became more and more rare, making it even more expensive.

Food --->
During the meal, my aunt and grandmother discussed with me when I should take my surgery, cause I will definitely have to take one, and most likely in Japan. Noriko would ask me questions, and Shoji would tell me things about Japan. Over all, it was nice, and I don't believe many people my age have had this kind of experience. 



Once the dinner was over, we headed to Asakusa, a place famous for the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple, as well as many souvenir shops. It was my first time there, and I must say it was quite a nice place to visit. We all walked along the middle of the VERY crowed street with our umbrellas out. Before entering the temple, Mayu showed me how to properly wash my hands (meant to represent washing one's soul before entering the temple.) Made a few good wishes that day.




On the way back, we stopped at a small café to get something to drink. After chatting a little bit, it was time to leave. We headed back to the Ueno station where my aunt and I split from the rest of the group. 

As we said our goodbyes, something caught me off guard. My grand mother for the first time came to give me a hug. Just one arm, but she had never done that before. I was very VERY happy, and I couldn't stop smiling for a while. I won't be seeing her for a while now, but I was glad she came all this way to come see us.

I headed back with my aunt on the train. She got off before me, made sure I knew where to go, and I said my goodbyes.

Since I've been in Japan, I haven't had many chances to see my family, but I must say it felt good.

Since I will no longer be taking courses starting from September, in normal circumstances, I would not be allowed to stay at the Kaikan. I would have to find my own apartment or place to live. But for me, the Kaikan is VERY cheap and is a perfect place to live. It's close to the judo club, has many good features such as a good kitchen and Internet. Simply moving out for two to three months would be very unfortunate. But lucky for me, since I'm pursuing judo here, I asked Mrs. Mitsumoto (the judo club's secretary) if she could try contacting the school for me and ask if I'd be allowed to stay here. Apparently, that worked, 'cause I was told last week I needed to change rooms since someone else would be entering my old room with my roommate. I might get to spend the remainder of my time in my new room alone... !!!!

After one year in the same room (304), I am now staying in room 303. When my sister lived in the LKan (3 years ago), her room number was 303. Coincidence?

On Wednesday morning, after our weight training practice, I weighed myself.

Body weight: 67.8 kg
Body fat (%): 8.9 %

This is the lowest I have been in weight in almost two years, including back when I was in Canada.

Work hard. Play hard. Fail. Succeed.

Being abroad for a long time, most people gain a fair amount of weight, as did I. In January, I was at 73.6 kg I believe, meaning I have lost about 6 kilograms. How did I do it? Let's just say I wanted it.

As my mom always reminds me, when you decide to do something, you'll do it. You'll do it because you can. The only thing that's stopping you is you.

Trying to care for my face, I have often gone to various super markets to look for facial products. By doing so, I noticed a slight trend in the products most of the stores hold.

Let's start by saying there is a lot of choices. For example, within the same brand, we have a moisturizer, facial cleanser, acne care cream, nano million scrub (don't ask me what that is), and white clear foam (still no idea). Each of them have a slightly different purpose. There's something for almost all your needs. Now that being said, all of these come from the same brand. This is where I believe the Japanese system fails. Only the big companies' products are sold in all the stores. Now having studied business, this create a monopoly, allowing no chance for competitors (companies) to enter and possibly provide a better product. The big companies offer soo many products, and are so well known that most consumers don't even think twice about their products. The products are most likely very good, but still I find it slightly disturbing.

This isn't just limited to facial products. The judo guys all have Under Armour sports clothes. I thought it was just because they wanted to look cool and had lots of money, but when I went to get myself a few shirts, I noticed that half the store offered just that same brand.

This probably has a link with the people and culture. Since most students receive money from their parents or work a part time job, they can afford these expensive products. In Canada, I always felt that image was important, but not every piece of clothing I owned had to be from an expensive brand. But here in Japan, image is considered of utmost importance, so they tend to buy expensive clothes. Which leads to smaller companies to fade out.

When I was at the camp, I heard a funny expression: "Mitami janakute, nakami." It's meaning is :"It's not the outside that matters, but the inside." Now trying to compare that mentality with how Japanese value their own image, I still don't quite understand.

When my sister was here, she stayed at the girls' international dorm, which is quite similar to mine in terms of space, washrooms, living with a roommate and people from all around the world. Obviously, just as Kaikan has its supervisors in case anything happens and to perform small chores, LKan also has its arsenal of staff. One of them, is called Hayashi (family name), and she was there when my sister stayed at the LKan.

Now ever since I've come to Japan, I have visited her many times, and she has always greeted me with a smile and snacks. She usually asks how I'm doing, tells me to sit in the lobby, and brings me something to eat that she purchased ahead of time. She even calls the Kaikan sometimes to see if I'm there and asks me to come over. She also contacted me by text once. Last time I went, we spoke for about an hour about her past and her husband, my sister, and me. It's quite interesting. I don't exactly understand 100% of what she tells me, but I can say that I understand most of it.

Now I went to see her again today. We have come to the point where she gives me her working schedule, so I know when to go. I don't always go see her, but when I do have the time, like today, I go over there, say hi and study in the LKan's lobby. She'll come and bring me something to eat, or give me money to buy something at the vending machine. She's always nice to me which is something I enjoy very much. Sometimes, I bring her a little present too.

Small note, but important nonetheless, without my sister living in the LKan and keeping a good relationship with Mrs. Hayashi, this could never happen. I wouldn't know her, so I have to say thank you to my sister for that.


Remember this sis?

We started the day with the weird morning stretching, a little early, and then off to breakfast.



After breakfast, we had to finish packing and get everything completely cleaned from our room before practice. Luckily, I had packed most of my stuff the night before. I finished up my stuff, packing everything so that I could just place my gi in my luggage and go.



At last, here came the last practice. Now by this time, everyone was tired, and you could feel it.

After the first fifteen minutes, I felt something weird with my shoulder, so I decided not to do much that last practice. I didn't want to get a stupid last-minute injury. Which is what Fubuki ended up doing. He pulled his right middle toe during the last 30 minutes of the practice, and will most likely not be able to practice for two-three days.

After practice, we took pictures with our same year students. I normally stand with the 2nd year students, but I talk mostly with those from the 3rd year, so I was told to go in with them for the picture!

We then took the next hour to pick up the mats and clean the gym.



Lunch time, then onto the bus.

As I walked up the hill near my residence in the unbearable heat, pulling my suitcase, I recalled where I was last week, and how far I had come. This week has taught me a lot. A lot about the members of the club. It has shown me how they think. I was able to participate in the training camp with the Tokai University Judo Team this summer. One more goal completed.

Sweat, blood, and fire is what I left back there. But what I brought back cannot be put into words.

Early wake up, morning streching, then breakfast.


Two hours later, practice. Fought lots this time, and soon time for lunch.


After lunch, we had plenty of time to sleep. I slept for two hours. Then time for practice. This time we did ground work again, and then another circuit training. Still with Fubuki, I pushed myself as hard as I could. By the end of it, I was tired, but satisfied. Yet, after bowing, I noticed Fubuki invite his friend for a running training. I asked if I could join, and it ended up just being the two of us. We ran up the hill just like we had the second day of the camp. Twice. It really killed me, right after practice, and I can't believe I did that. After that, we did five more dashes up the hill, and headed in to eat supper. Once we had finished, I headed off to the shower, and then soon came the time for reading.