So we left off with that knock at the door, didn't we? So that was K, telling us that my grandma was back, along with a ton of our relatives!! (My relatives by blood, K and A's relatives through me!) See, my grandma's older sister was sick for a while and she went to visit her. Then, they all came to see us! (The ppl that came were Mitsuyo [grandma's sister], Tsutomu [grandma's cousin], Takako [Tsutomu's wife], Eri [their older daughter; my "cousin"], and Hiroko [their younger daughter; my other "cousin"]) Hiroko is reeeeally tall so the first thing she said to me was "Wow, you're so short!" I haven't seen her in about 4 years so yeah. She also noticed right away that A, even though she's 3 years younger than me, is taller. But I love Hiroko, she really is teh shit! She was constantly patting me on the head. And squishing my cheeks. No, not pinching, SQUISHING! I have a rather chubby face so I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, we all went into K's hotel room to hang out. My auntie Mitsuyo was so happy to see me! I haven't seen her since I was last in Japan so it was great. She kept saying, "Katie-chan!!" and grinning. I gave her the little photo album my mom and I made for her and she was elated! I felt so good. We all exchanged the customary omiyage and everyone seemed happy with what they received. When I gave a gift to Eri, she asked me (in English) if I remember her. She was the first relative to come to America, btw, which was when I was pretty young. She asked if I remembered spending time with her in Odaiba during our last trip (in Japanese) and I replied that it was about 4 years ago (in Japanese). Which triggered the ever-present "Your Japanese is so good!" (in Japanese). I love Eri too, she looks like a baby!! A reeeeeally cute, yet very professional baby! Her voice is pretty adorable too! 
After talking for a while, Mitsuyo and Eri had to go so we walked them to the lobby, where Tsutomu and their driver (did I mention they're pretty damn rich?) were waiting. We exchanged pleasantries and took some pictures. Which reminds me of another reason why I love Hiroko. She's absolutely crazy!!!!! In pictures, she always poses! But not normal ones. Her favorite is with her leg sticking out in the air! Damn hilarious! Takako is scolding her the whole time, but her laughter clearly proves she knows it's futile. (Eri and Hiroko are total opposites!) Once they left, Hiroko, K, A and I all walked to a nearby convinience store to get some drinks. Hiroko speaks phenomenal English so we talked a lot. Back in the hotel room, we showed Hiroko and Takako all our videos and pictures from Hokkaido. I was sitting on a chair but moved to the bed. As I sat there, my arms on the bed and legs on the floor, Hiroko turns around and exclaims, "SEXY!!" I do admit, I was doing the Okada Yui "KYUU~" thing a little and she caught it! I blushed and ducked behind the bed. 
After a while, we got a phone call from Mariko, a friend of Midori's we were going to be dining with that night. She was in the lobby so we all went down. In the elevator, I was standing next to Hiroko. She noticed my highlights and asked me if I dyed my hair already. I nodded and she said it was so cute! She noticed my double ear piercings and thought they were cool too. Takako thought I was too young to do all of that but Hiroko defended me, saying it was cool! I really love her! We met Mariko in the lobby and took some more pictures. Hiroko (again!) made a comment that A's and my boobs were already bigger than hers! So she advised us to do the "KYUU~ thing! I said no way!! But I want to take a picture of myself doing it and send it to her!! We asked Takako and Hiroko to come to dinner with us but they had plans already. Hiroko kept squishing my cheeks again and said in an adorable voice, "Come back soon, ok?" I told her my family is coming back next summer and she perked up. I'd never miss seeing her, not for the world. We saw them off at the station and walked with Mariko to Aqua City to our dinner destination. 
K and A had said they wanted either monjayaki (Gaki's favorite food!!!!!!!!!!!) or okonomiyaki. I can't really explain them so if you'd like to know what they are, look it up. So that's what we had. It was a pretty small place but we all squeezed in a booth. Mariko took care of the ordering and I just had to explain to A and K what was in each thing. At this particular restaurant, the waiters/waitresses cook your food for you. I don't know if all okonomiyaki places are like that but this one was. It was kinda busy there so the food was sitting on the hot plate for a long time. Mariko got a little annoyed and flipped it herself. (She had to apologize to the waiter after for doing his job) By this time, Hisayo came. (She was held up a little by work) We ate two (well, three but I didn't eat one because I was full) kinds of okonomiyaki. One with pork, squid and scallops and one with some other stuff that I can't remember. We also had yakisoba (stir-fried noodles with a buncha stuff in it) and this omelette thing with meat in it. I don't like eggs so I just ate the meat, which was delicious! We were so full after!! I asked Hisayo if she and Mariko wanted to come to our hotel room and see our caricature thing. She said they didn't really have any time. I must have looked sad because a few minutes later, she said they could come for just a little bit. 
But once we got outside, we just had to stop and take pictures of the fake New York scene. It really was beautiful. I felt kinda bad because both A and I are quite messy so our room was obviously not ready for guests. But they seemed ok with it. They LOVED the caricature! We showed them the LOVE-chan bunnies we got and they were quite impressed that I actually won mine! When it was time to go, we all hugged and I promised to come back next year. Hisayo said her parents would be waiting in Hokkaido. Once they were gone, A and I flopped onto her bed (it was closest to the TV) and watched some shows. A decided to pack since we would be leaving but I was too tired and went to sleep. 
This day is another great example of why I love Japan and want to move there. I have a great family waiting for me there and they spoil me like no one else! :D 
Next update: Shopping spree at HMV!!!, going home.... :(

Yeah, I know. I missed a day. But I went shopping and was very tired! Before we start, I'd like to brag...just a tiny, tiny bit. Guess who got the August issue of Mac Fan with a certain pair of hotties on the cover!? YAY!
Anyway, here goes the update. So I woke up at 5 or so. Cuz it was freezing in our room! The couch had no blankets so I was laying there in my PJs only, which are a T-shirt and basketball shorts. I couldn't sleep anymore so I read a bit. Then A got up so we talked and turned on the TV. There were a lot of different news channels and a couple lil kid cartoon shows. Once K got up, I decided to take a shower. It was Japanese style so you wash outside of a tub. I made the dumb mistake of choosing to use the lil spout thing instead of the shower head. I was freezing from being wet without a constant flow of hot water on me and I had a hard time rinsing the shampoo and conditioner from my hair. I just kept dumping buckets of water over my head. And getting water in my eyes. I finally just gave up and got out. Helpful tip #1: I recommend using shower heads when available. Much easier. 
So then we ate our convinience store breakfast while watching weird kids shows. Finally, we got ready and went up to Midori and grandma's room. They would be leaving for Tokyo, while we stayed another day. Being the nice family that we are, K, A and I walked them to the train station, where we did some shopping of our own. I was sad because it was the last time we'd see Midori. She was gonna be in Osaka for Takarazuka. (She's a HUGE, crazy fan) I really miss her! I missed her as soon as she left. I was telling her that the H!P Summer Concerts start the day after we left in Osaka. She said she would have taken me if we were still in Japan. DAMMIT! So close again! :(
Sapporo Station is really the greatest thing ever. A had seen a store called Honey Club that she wanted to check out so we went there. I was suprised to see that all their sizes weren't the normal tiny Japanese girls sizes. I found a shirt I liked and bought it. It is a cream-colored, short-sleeved, hooded T with a zipper all the way down and black stars all over. I'll post a pic. Since I was done, I stood outside waiting. For like an hour! That's one thing about K and A, they shop VEEEEEEERY thoroughly. Meanwhile, I ppl-watched. There were these 3 school boys that looked pretty hot. I was like mmmm, hello there! 
After that, we headed outside to go to the H!P store!!!! Found the location the night before and found it to be about 10 blocks away from the hotel. It's located in the Norbesa Building, btw. Hard to miss with the ferris wheel on the roof. On the way, we took pics of the famous government building, TV tower, and fountain in Odori park. When we finally got there, I was like :DDDDDDDDDDDDD So damn happy! K took a picture of me with the sign. I went in and was in heaven! Namida no Iro by C-ute was playing and there were pics everywhere. I grabbed an order form and went crazy! It was pretty easy but some things I didn't understand. Oh well. I got my pics from the nice lady and picked my freebies. When I was leaving, I thought about how weird it was that I saw girls buying stuff too. I mean, duh, I know girls like them too but I always expected mobs of dudes. In fact, there was only one guy and 4 girls, including myself. Anyway, it was fun. I spent 6500 yen, or $65! Next to it, there was a gachapon room and I bought a cute ducky keychain and another thing. K wanted to go on the ferris wheel so we did. It was really fun! The wheel itself goes reeeeeally slow and you jump in and out while it's moving. You can see the whole city and it's pretty awesome. 
After all that, we walked to a nearby shopping arcade (covered mall thing) and ate lunch at this tiny place. I had yakisoba and iced coffee. So proud that I placed all of our order in Japanese. It was yummy! Then we walked around and bought some souveniers for ppl. I was so happy that it was covered because even in Hokkaido, summer is pretty warm. But I was so happy after buying H!P stuff that I could care less about everything else. 
We walked the 10 blocks back to the hotel and collapsed on the beds. We were sooo tired and our feet hurt like hell. I checked my email and A was playing Garage Band. We tried to sing Jingisu Khan but instead, made up our own radio show. I kept looking at all my pics and smiling like an idiot. K took a short nap and then we headed back to the station to get dinner. 
One of the coolest things about Japanese department stores is the basement. It's like a food court. Tons of different types of cuisine (mostly Japanese or Japanese-style) and loud, friendly ppl. I bought a Chinese food bento and pumpkin korokke (croquette). Next stop was 7/11 for drinks and tomorrow's breakfast. Back in the room, we turned on the tube to some random show and chowed down. I was a bit disappointed with my sticky rice because it had some weird stuff in it. I traded with K and ate some of her yakiniku bento and some of my korokke. I got full really fast so I just watched TV. The show was about these two middle school boys who wanted to become a comedy duo. They got to meet a bunch of famous duos and get tips from them. I got to see one of my celeb crushes. That guy who hosts Midtown TV with Yaguchi Mari. Forgot his name (!) but he's yummy. 
We initially were gonna go do karaoke because there was a place right across the street but were waaaay too tired. Oh well, next time. I got to sleep in the bed tonight so I was super happy! I read a little and then passed out from sheer exhaustion. 
Next update features: plane back to Tokyo, shopping (again and again and again....), Joyopolis

Today was our last day at Friendly Farm. Yeah, that's really the name!
We all slept in. Got up at 7. Most of the family was still asleep. A woke up a little after me. We were soooo bored! But we hadn't taken showers the night before so I asked Obachan (who was already awake) if we could use the shower. She said of course, and then cooed over my Japanese. Everyone was doing that! I hate to brag, but I was a bit proud of myself too. :P
Breakfast was salmon, cucumbers and tomatoes with dressing, miso soup with fried tofu, rice with assorted goodies in it (bamboo shoots, mushrooms etc) and some lavendar tea we bought yesterday. Everything was delicious, as usual. It was really late though. Like 9:00~ We went upstairs and packed to leave. I was sooo sad! But we tried our best to help because they had already done so much for us! We took the sheets off of the futon and folded them back up. We tried to straighten up anything we may have messed with. 
Left the farm at 11:30. Ojichan wanted to take us to play "park golf". It's kinda hard to explain but it's like gigantic mini golf. The club and ball are big, but the course is like mini golf. It was really really fun! We didn't play a full game but maybe 7 holes? I got par on one! A wasn't doing too well so she said she didn't like it! Sore loser.....:D Yeah, I was just happy I was doing well. After that, we drove for a while and into the town of Otaru. It was lunchtime so we went to a famous sushi restaurant. K, A, and I agreed to try and not choose anything too expensive. Believe me, they already spent tons of money on us. So A and I shared tekka maki (tuna rolls) and kappa maki (cucumber rolls). We both got 6 of each, which was MORE than enough. I couldn't even finish them! So A ate some for me. I felt really guilty, though. Hisayo and Midori kept watching me eat, which was veeeery uncomfortable. But everything was very yummy! Coming from a girl who doesn't really love sushi.
After that, we split off and walked around Otaru. My mom's business partner is from Otaru but I didn't know much about the area. Midori and Hisayo took us to this huge, famous glass shop. They had tons of these adorable glasses, plates, etc. It was my mom's birthday the day before (July 13) so I bought her this really cute blue and clear frosted glass cup. It has this little window on it that if you look through, there is a bunny and a snowman silhouette. I'll post a pic later. The store itself was super big! There were like 4 different wings/floors. We went to the outlet shop later but the designs weren't as nice. By then, we were all tired and ready to go. So we headed back to the van to find everyone already there. Ojichan and Obachan bought T-shirts for A and I. I really love them! It's like have more grandparents!
They drove us to Otaru station where we would be taking the train to Sapporo. When we all unloaded and were ready to go, I nearly cried. We all hugged and they made me promise to come back. I intend to next summer. Midori and Hisayo bought us tickets and we all got on the train. Hisayo was going to Chitose to fly back to Tokyo for work, while the rest of us were going to Sapporo. The ride was about 40 minutes. A and I talked and laughed like crazy! I think all the locals were staring at us and our large amount of luggage. At our stop, we said goodbye to Hisayo, though we'd see her again when we were back in Tokyo. 
Sapporo Station is huge!!! There are like 3 malls attached to it and tons of shops. We headed straight to our hotel, the Keio Plaza Sapporo. Damn, that place was nice!!! The room was super modern but very comfy at the same time! WHOOOOO for japanese style shower/bath. Wanted to take a soak but ran out of time! A and I were fooling around and discovered we could fit side by side in it! But there was noooo way we were gonna bathe together. Sorry, we aren't Mikitty and Ayaya! LOL Midori came down and we all took a walk to Starbucks at the station, which was about 2-3 blocks away. There was a cool makeup/health/beauty store across the aisle. We went in after finished our drinks. I never wear makeup so I just looked but A bought a bunch as well as some long black socks. 
Picked up grandma at the hotel and went to dinner at an Izakaya. Don't know what it means but it was good. We got our own little tatami room and a phone to call in our order. There was a large group of girls partying next to us. They were loud as hell. It was annoying but at the same time, sounded like fun! We ordered a ton of food! Such as corn, hiyakko (cold tofu with bonito flakes on top), tofu "steak", crab fried rice, Hokkaido potatoes with butter and squid guts (no, I didn't eat them!), asparagus wrapped in bacon, mincemeat wrapped in cheese (tasted like gyoza!) and other stuff I forgot. But it was really really really good! Not as good as Obachan's home cooking but satisfactory. 
Next, the 5 of us stopped at the 7/11 across the street from out hotel and bought some bread and drinks for breakfast. I bought jam bread (mmm, strawberry!) and soymilk. We also bought some candy and snacks for the room. We were hella tired again so we went to sleep almost immediatly. I slept on the couch because there were only two beds. A and I were alternating so I would sleep on the bed the following night. 
Next update features: First trip to H!P store!!!, lots of walking, department store dinner, karaoke? :o

We all had to get up at 6:00 AM because we wanted to be on the road by 7:30. (Furano, where the lavendar are, was at least 2 hours away.) A and I ended up getting up at 4. We just talked and hung out until it was time for everyone to get up. After getting dressed, both of us went downstairs to hang out with Midori and Hisayo. Obachan was already awake and cooking. Ojichan just got up too and told me to come with him somewhere. He led me to he and Obachan's bedroom and showed me that the three cats, Meme-chan, Tama-chan and another, sleep with them. Meme-chan was laying on the bed, half-asleep. I smiled a little but remembered how she climbed on my lap yesterday and dug her claws into my legs. (Forgot to mention that!) Ojichan said that he wanted us to take a walk together. So A, K, grandma and I got ready. Ojichan was waiting outside with Bao-chan, the family dog. We walked along the side of the road to the convinience store about a block away. He told us to pick something to drink for breakfast. I picked apple juice and A picked iced milk tea. Grandma went back to the house while we all walked up this big hill. It led to a housing area called Sweden Hills (the houses were Swedish-style, I think?) and we got to see the whole town of Futomi. Sapporo was visible in the distance. We took a lot of pics. Hisayo drove up in her mom's adorable pink car and drove A, K and I back to the house for breakfast.
Breakfast was miso soup with tofu and green onions, salad (lettuce and tomatoes from the garden) and onigiri (rice balls) with different types of fish and assorted goodies inside. Mr. Tamaki from yesterday came because he wanted to see the lavendar with us. We all finished up and piled in the car. It was quite full. Ojichan, Obachan, Hisayo, Midori, grandma, Mr. Tamaki, K, A and I. 
On the way, about an hour into the trip, we stopped at Sandantaki Park, a famous waterfall. It was really pretty and we took a lot of pics there too. In fact, the theme of our trip was take pics of everything! We finally arrived in Furano at about 10:45. Ojichan decided we would go to Farm Tomita, a HUGE farm with fields of flowers, especially lavendar. They also grow melon, which we didn't have time to try. It was a long walk up to the flower fields, not to mention how freakin crowded it was! I was like 8O It actually smelled like lavendar all around. The other flowers they had included poppies and a bunch of other stuff. Midori and Hisayo bought us lavendar soft cream (soft serve). I had just lavendar while K had it swirled with vanilla and A had it swirled with melon. It was really good. I don't know how to describe the flavor but it was delish. We stopped at a couple of gift shops and I bought a postcard and some other stuff. They were selling some lavendars and I wish I could have bought some for my dad. He loves lavendar. Many of the flowers in our garden are purple. 
By the time we left Farm Tomita, it was only like noon and I was exhausted. And sweaty. And it started to rain. But that part felt kinda good. We piled back into our "tour bus" in search of a restaurant for lunch. They wanted to take us for ramen so we found a place. Not enough tables for 9 so we sat 5 and 4. I sat with Ojichan, Midori, K and A. I had miso ramen. I thought it was pretty good. I found out later that Obachan thought it was pretty awful! I was shocked but her food is awesome so I guess she knows what she's doing. We walked a little bit and took some more pictures. Then we were all tired so we headed home.
One of the coolest things though is that I saw a TON of signs for Takikawa, Mikitty's hometown!!! I got so excited when I saw them, but sad when we passed them. So damn close!!!!!!! 
On the way home, we passed a summer festival where we pulled over and watched. There was a band playing and ppl were rocking out! It looked pretty sweet. We also stopped at a grocery store where we bought groceries for dinner, which was yakiniku!!! YUM! More Mikitty! In the fridge case where the Korean beef was, there was a boombox playing some kind of Genghis Khan song!! It was hilarious. I'm assuming that's was the original that Berryz Koubou remade. I started cracking up and A was dancing stupidly. We totally made a scene in a supermarket in Japan. Now I can check that off my list of weird things I've done. Bought another Furu Furu Fanta. It was Charmy-licious. Hisayo bought some savory donut holes to share. They were huge and salty. But I found it to be okay. 
We were given a tour of the farm in the back when we got home. HOLY CRAP!! It was huge back there!!!! He grows tons of stuff. He has 2 huge greenhouses filled with tomatoes. One had regular and cherry tomatoes while the other has Russian tomatoes. The Russian ones are not for eating raw. Ojichan is trying to get a contract with a fast food company to make ketchup. There was also asparagus, corn, eggplant, kabocha (pumpkin), watermelon, strawberries, lettuce, cabbage and a bunch of other stuff I've probably forgotten. I learned of a few new things too. Hauscup (what it's called in Japanese) is like a misshapen blueberry. It was cute and tasted pretty good. Another thing was Kokua. I'm not sure what it was but Ojichan says it's like a kiwi but not. He makes shochu (Japanese vodka) with it. We also picked some flowers (Tiger lillies and irises). Ojichan also rents plots of land out to other ppl.
Dinner was eaten outside in front of the house. Mr. Tamaki left but this other friend of Hisayo's came to eat with us. We had Korean beef, chicken, kabocha, shishito (a Japanese pepper), nanban (another Japanese pepper), green pepper, sausage, potato, corn and much more. It was all so delicious. I ate a lot of stuff I normally wouldn't eat. I learned that on the property is also the house that Ojichan grew up in. The woman that lives there now (forgot her name) came over with her two sons, Morisuke (11) and Uki (9). She was really nice and her boys were sooo cute! She brought some special frozen Hokkaido salmon and Ojichan put some "habanero" sauce on it. It was really good! 
After eating, we played with fireworks! It was so cool! Everyone was shocked that it was both mine and A's first time. I explained that it's a bit more dangerous in America. We played around with little sparklers while Hisayo's friend set off some big ones. The boys taught us how to write with the sparklers on the asphalt. I tried to write my name in Japanese twice but failed. So I settled for English. 
K, A, Ojichan, Midori, Mori-kun, Uki-kun and I all drove up to an even higher hill and looked at the beautiful view of lights. Sapporo was nearly as lit up as Tokyo! We took some pics and then headed back. A and I were too tired to take showers and we just went to bed, where I discovered I had been bit by several mosquitos!!!!
End Day 3.

  Well, I woke up at 2:30 AM!!! My jet lag was driving me crazy so I had to get up. I spent my time pacing around the room because it was too hot to just sit. Occasionally, though, I stopped and sat on the huge, marble window sill to look at the view. It was really pretty, all the lights. I kinda watched the sun rise, although I couldn't see the sun! So really, I just watched it get light outside. I decided to take a shower at 5. Then my family woke up at around 6:30. A came to our room and we watched some TV. 
Next, we all went down to the breakfast buffet. It was Western and Japanese so there was a lot of good food. I ate a few of these really cute hash brown/tater tots, some melon (honeydew), ochazuke (rice porridge) with tsukemono (pickles) and umeboshi (pickled plum) and some really really good apple juice. A really loved the scrambled eggs, which to me looked pretty gross. It kinda looked like slimy, yellow barf. Excuse my description but I'm really not an egg person. LOL 
We all returned to our hotel rooms to pack because we were leaving for...wait for it....HOKKAIDO!!!! I filled my carry-on backpack with a bit of clothes and unnecessary stuff to leave with the bell captain, because we'd be returning. I made sure all my clothes and omiyage (presents for other ppl) fit in my suitcase and we took the shuttle to Haneda Airport. 
We met my "cousin" Midori at the airport. I put cousin in quotes because she is somehow related to me, but I'm not exactly sure how. So cousin is just easier. I hadn't see her in about a year so I kinda forgot what she looked like. When she came over, my first thought was "Damn, she has NO boobs!" Bad, I know, but I was shocked. I never remembered her being so flat. Anyway, we had like an hour so she took us to a little cafe to have drinks and talk. I had an iced Maccha au lait. It was wonderful! But then my grandma and Midori started badgering me about speaking Japanese. I'm known for my shyness so I was like wtf? If I don't want to talk, I'm not gonna. 
We went through security, which is a breeze in Japan. Then A bought a Furu Furu Fanta from the vending machine at our gate. I tried to look in it to see what color the jelly was but couldn't really tell. I'm just guessing that it's clear, ftr. Midori gave us our tickets, which had our names and ages on them. My first name was spelled wrong, Katiey instead of Katie. But I later found out that was my grandma's bad, because Midori asked for our info from her. A and K's last name was spelled wrong and their ages were wrong too. But we really wanted to see Midori's ticket because no one knows how old she is. We think she's 41, though. Me and A sat together on the plane, slept most of the time. 
I was kinda shocked at the weather when we got to Hokkaido. It was fairly hot but quite cloudy. We met Ojichan (Midori's friend's dad, the guy we were staying with. I called him Ojichan because I had absolutely NO idea what his name was. I found out later. Turns out they had rented a 10-passenger van so we all could fit. It reminded me of a tour bus, which is what I ended up calling it for the remainder of the trip. I talked with him a bit before we got in the car. Just small talk, like how many times I've been to Japan and whatnot. It was an hour ride to their house from New Chitose Airport. On the way, it started to rain, which bothered me. I'm really not a rain person. We drove through Sapporo, which was huge! Then we started driving through the countryside. Lots of rice paddies and wheat fields. It was very green and I felt very at peace. But when we got to their house, I was floored. 

It was ENORMOUS!!!!

We were greeted by Obachan (the mom) and Hisayo (Midori's friend). They welcomed us in and I nearly passed out from the coolness! Their home was awesome! It was very spacious and had lots of wood. There was a huge table for dining with a well underneath to put your feet in. They had two kitchens and one room with a family alter. It was pretty fancy, like the one at my Buddhist church. Also downstairs was a laundry room thingy and a Japanese-style bath/shower room next to it. Upstairs was our room. It was huge too! Obachan is an avid karaoke singer so there were tons of tapes. The toilet room was tiny, with a pink toilet! Hisayo's bedroom was upstairs too, but her parents' was downstairs. We walked around a lot before we were called down for tea and sweets. We drank mugi cha (cold buckwheat tea) and ate some cute arare (rice crackers). 
All of a sudden, the door bell rang and more ppl came in. It turned out to be the Miyajis, Ojichan's friend and neighbor with his daughter. And yay, they spoke English!!! Mr. Miyaji worked in South Africa, England and America and his daugher studied in South Africa. They joined us for watching Ojichan make soba!!! Yeah, I forgot to mention that we were on a farm and Ojichan makes soba and tofu, as well as loads of other things! He took a long rolling stick and rolled in thinner and thinner. Then, he took a different sized stick and rolled it even thinner. I was quite impressed. He covered it in some type of flour so it wouldn't stick and proceeded to fold it into eigths. Then the tools came out. 
Ojichan brought a cleaver-like knife and a wooden thing from the other room. He showed us that the wood was to measure the width of the noodles and the cleaver was to, duh, cut them. It was amazing at how quick he was! He said that he's been doing it so long that the process is memorized in his mind and body. Then he started asking us to do it too! I kept shaking my head, no I can't do it. So K volunteered. She couldn't understand a word he said but gestures were enough. Next was my grandma. She did the worst job at it. Everyone called her noodles, "fettucine". He reassured her that "fat noodles taste good too!" :D A went next. She was really nervous! But she did a good job. I went last. He told me to push the knife forward when I cut and push it just a little to the left for the next noodle. I did as I was told and he kept saying "SUGOI!" He said I did the best job! I was sooo happy! 
We all sat down and talked for a while until dinner was ready. It was a feast, I tell you! I ate the homemade soba, which was absolutely delicious, kabocha (pumpkin), satoimo (sweet potato) and potato leaf tenpura, tofu with shoyu (soy sauce) and katsuobushi, salmon, maguro (tuna) and ika (squid) sashimi and some pickled cabbage. It was all sooo good! It was my first time trying raw fish and it was pretty good! I know, what kind of Japanese person am I!? Another guy came, Mr. Tamaki. He is another neighbor and good friend. He is a dancer and did some hilarious traditional dances for us. He wore a mask all the time and made us wear the extra and dance with him! It was so fun but embarassing too! 
After playing around, we made mochi! They had a machine that you put the rice in and it mashes it all up. I was thrilled because I haven't had mochi since new years. It was so cool-looking and tasted really great! When it was done, Ojichan grabbed it with his bare hands and plopped onto a cookie sheet covered in potato flour. Obachan brought out a plate with little anko (bean paste) balls on it. We were to take the mochi and wrap it around the anko. To make daifuku. Ojichan taught us how to do it, making the mochi just a little flat and sort of folding it around the anko. Give it a little twist to seal and done. It was fun, but the mochi was still hot so a little painful. We got to eat the ones we made. They were awesomeness! The anko was made by Obachan so Ojichan went to the fridge and brought out the one he made. We all tried a little. It was much sweeter. I said, "Cho amai~" and everyone laughed! 
We talked a little more and laughed a little more, due to all the alcohol being consumed by those of legal age. A and I got tired, though. So we both took showers and got ready to sleep. Hisayo helped us assemble our futons in our room. It was a big, wide room that my grandma, A, K and I all slept in. The futon closet had maybe 12 futon in it because they allow anyone who needs a place to stay sleep there. I'm not sure if they charge. It was cool, first time I've ever done anything like that. 
We went to sleep at about 11:30. And that ends Day 2.
Whoa, this shit is long! Sorry I write so much useless info!

Ah, I'm finally getting around to doing it! I went with my grandma, aunt (We'll call her K) and cousin (We'll call her A), btw. We went to various places in Tokyo and Hokkaido.
So the plane ride was long and boring. But I got a freak-out....by my grandma!!! She was sitting in business class (because of her health) and the rest of us were in economy plus. She told some attendant to find me so they made an annoucement looking for me. A was all, "I think they just called your name!" I was like, "WTF?" K got up and told another attendant who got the message to my grandma and she came over to see us. I was sooo freaked out! I was thinking, "I haven't even gotten up at all! How can I be in trouble!?" 
Anyway, we arrived in Japan at around 2:30 on friday the 11th. We took a shuttle bus to our hotel in Odaiba. It took like an hour and it was freakin hot!!! Our hotel was super nice, though! I was pleasantly suprised. Lucky cuz I went with my rich aunt who likes nice things! :D After settling, we (K, A, and me; grandma was tired) walked over to Aqua City, a big mall-thing. On the way, we stopped at a vending machine and I found.....Furu Furu Fanta!!! AKA the weird can drink that Ishikawa Rika promotes! cool_kickin_dude (from JPHIP), if you read this, I'm sorry I couldn't bring any back. So, the drink really is just orange Fanta (they have grape too :P) with some jelly-stuff in it. It tastes like partially melted Jello. It was pretty good, I must say. We went in the mall and walked around for a while. A went into a store and started trying all this clothes on. I was bored and stood outside. We shopped around for a little while longer and then went back to the hotel to get my grandma for dinner. 
We ended up eating at this restaurant called Tonkatsu Wako. Luckily, they had an English menu so I wouldn't have to read every single dish to K and A (I can [mostly] read, write and speak Japanese; they can't) I had the (Natsuyaki) Miyabi set. :D It was really good! I got tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet), ebi fry (fried shrimp), fried kabocha (pumpkin), rice, chawan mushi (savory egg custard with random stuff), miso soup with tiny clams and orange juice. CHO OISHII~ 
My grandma wasn't too up to shopping so we walked her back to the hotel and continued shopping. I got my first Gachapon of the trip! Gachapon (or something?) are those capsule toys you get from those machines. I got a Rody (some horse character) light-up keychain. A got a black and red Hello Kitty bow keychain-thing. It was waaaay cuter than mine! Damn her! JK!!! 
We three left the mall at about 9 because everything was closing. Went outside and enjoyed the view. You can see Rainbow Bridge and it looks a little like NY. Of course, the fake Statue of Liberty helps! Got back to the hotel at about 9;30. My grandma (who I shared a room with) was already asleep. So I followed in suit.
Well, that was my first day in Japan!!! I think I'll update by day so they should be 8 entries. I'll add pics later too!