Two ninja clans are at war (Iga and Kouga), while the chosen leaders of each clan are in love (Oboro -Iga and Kouga Gennosuke -Kouga).  Five of the best ninjas from each clan are chosen to fight to death till there is one ruling clan.  Who will survive?... This movie is a combo of fighting scenes from Crouching Tiger with a slight Romeo and Juliet twist.  Made in 2005 based on the novel by Kenya Hirata & Futaro Yamada.

A romantic fantasy film starring Kyoko Fukada as the angel (tenshi) who restores love into various characters lives.  She doesn't talk, but she shows people the way to love and for some reason she is drawn to drink gin limes.  The movie takes place in Tokyo and has several different story lines: A conbini store clerk, Kato, desperately wants a gf but always makes the wrong moves; a single father, Yoshikawa, loves nothing else in the world but his daughter who needs a new mother; two sister's who battle their differences in one another; and a junior high school girl, Mizuho, is bullied by the "popular" girls and makes an attempt on her life.  Then an angel floats down into their lives and changes everything.  Made in 2005, based off books by Erika Sakurazawa.

these last couple weeks have been going by in a blur.  last week i had to give goodbye speeches in front of the whole school... in english and japanese.  at my base school i said the english part fine, and then for some reason when i started on the japanese... i just started to cry.  i finished, but i was sooo sad to say goodbye to the students and to this school, i took myself by surprise and i think my students were surprised that i was crying too.  at my visit school, i didn't cry, maybe because i got it all out the first time.  but after my speech a usually a students comes up to say thank you, and this time one of my favorite students came up and told me he loved me and gave me a hug... it was soo cute!

everytime i have to say goodbye to something tears just fill my eyes.  i think this is the first time that i have really had to say goodbye, not knowing when i would see these ppl and places again.  in high school and college it was different, because i just knew we would meet again... but now it seems different, although i will come back to japan i just dont know where all these people will be and how much things will change.  it almost makes me not want to leave... i wish i could have both... friends, family and places from home with my friends, family, places from japan.  ok maybe im being greedy, but if it were a perfect world i would have both!

ima, aini yuki masu is a Japanese romantic tragedy.  The title in English loosely translates to "now, go to meet".  The movie moves back and forth through the present, past and imagination.  A young couple fall in love in high school, but neither of them knows it until after college.  It's a story of finding and learning about their love for each other.  One day, the boy tries to meet the girl, but he thinks she is with another man, so he leaves, but she runs after him.  As she goes after him, she gets into a car accident and is left in a coma.  While in the coma, she sees into the future what their lives will be like together.  She learns that they have a son, and later an illness that will take her away from them.  So she leaves things behind (a journal, an illustrated children's book for her son about her leaving his life) to let herself know what will happen when she wakes up from the coma.  This movie reminds me of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" because it makes you think and have to piece the timeline back together to understand what's happening.  Made in 2004, from the novel by Ichikawa Osamu, later drama series and comic book.

A True Love Story... about a computer geek (screen name: densha otoko = train man) and an attractive girl (screen name: hermes) fall in love.  One day riding the train home, a drunken man causes a scene with Hermes and the computer geek comes to her rescue.  From then on he takes on the name Train Man, in a chat room online, where he communicates to a group of individuals who help him through his dating mishaps.  In appreciation for the computer geek's assistance, the attractive lady sends him a gift; a Hermes cup set (hence her nickname).  You can imagine how the storyline might playout.  It's a combination of "You've Got Mail" meets "She's All That".  Very cute, heart warming and modern (includes scenes in the famous electric city, Akihabara).  Made in 2005, directed by Masanori Murakami, started in a drama, manga series and later made into film.

A Japanese comedy about a boys synchronized swimming team.  The swimming team at an all boys school seems to be going down the hole, until a young and attractive female teacher comes to their rescue.  A whole ban of boys come to the fronts of the swim tryouts, only to realize she was not intending to coach swimming, but synchronized swimming.  With only 5 quirky boys left up to the challenge, she ends up going on maternity leave, before she can train them.  They are left to do all the work themselves without all the other boys at their school making fun of their girly club.  This film shows many scrawny japanese boys in speedos.  A little bit of japanese high school romance.  And a great show at the end.  Made in 2001, written and directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, won "Best Newcomer" and "Best Music Score" in the Japanese Academy Awards.

BEARD PAPA'S chocolate souffles (foundant au chocolat) and they are also famous for their cream puffs.  The chain original started in Japan, but now is international.  Everytime I have the chance when I'm in Sendai, I buy a chocolate souffle.  Filled with gooey-goodness, it is THE BEST chocolate dessert I've ever had!!  And guess what?? A Beard Papa's just opened up in SF near Yerba Beuna Gardens on Mission and 3rd.  You can check the location here. And read an article about it in the SFChronicle.  I highly recommend this dessert shop, okay my mouth is watering just talking bout it.

i think if i didn't look japanese and my foreigness was spotted a mile away, i would've had a hard time adjusting to life in japan.  dude even though i'm a foreigner in japan, i can spot the other foreigners a mile away.  and when i say foreign i basically mean any other non-asian ethnicity.  i can't help but look at a foreigner when i see one, because i think to myself, "ooo, i bet they speak english, what program are they in?" and there's this instant foreign connection.  however, they don't notice that i'm foreign and i just look like every other japanese person staring and gawking at their foreigness.

so i'm on the train with my ALT friends and some look "foreign".  everyone on the train stares at us, and i just want to yell at them, to mind their own business.  okay for most foreigners being in japan, they get the "star status".  i mean seriously the amount of people that would be looking at a movie star in america, is the same as the japanese people looking at foreigners.  some foreigners love the attention and some get annoyed of it.  lately i've been sympathizing with my friends and admire them for constantly being watched... because i don't think i could handle it.

another thing is that since i look japanese, the japanese people will come to talk to me about my foreign-looking friends.  sometimes their comments are casual, just about where they are from, what they are doing... BUT, sometimes they are rude and make fun of the way they look or say something that shows how japan views their country (mainly being japan is better)... and when that happens, i just ignore them and tell them i don't understand.  there are some people that are very close-minded and have no knowledge about the outside world, but continue to talk as if they do.

anyhow, it's nice to blend in once and a while, until i open my mouth, then that's a different story.

okay, before i said that mullets were popular among the younger generation.... and now.... introducing.... the HALF MULLET.  yes, that's right... half.  it starts out as a mullet, short on top, longer in the back.  and then they just buzz cut one side.  from above the ear to about 1/3 around their head.  very "in" right now.

I went shopping with my friend Jenny in Sendai on Sunday.  We were walking along, speaking English as normal, and then this dude in front of us turns around (who's speaking English... no I'm hearing things, it was Japanese) he thinks to himself.  We continue talking as if we didn't see him look at us.  Then he glances again (they look Japanese, but they're speaking English) he realizes.  Finally, we are like what's up with this dude who keeps looking at us.  He looks back again, this time with a confused and almost terrified expression (OMG! they're speaking English!!!!!)  He finally gets it.