Chocolate.

In Japan, chocolate is plentiful. And delicious, I might add. Seriously... if I get fat here it will because of the chocolate. Not the rice, noodles and all other carbs (which are also plentiful, but also easier to get sick of. Chocolate on the other hand, is not). Today a bunch of us went to the 7-11 gas station across from campus and bought 100 yen ($1) packs of little chocolates. Cheap, delicious, and never ending. What more can a girl want?!

Today started out later than normal (thankfully!) with lunch with my speaking partner, Chika. It was the first time I met her and she is SO nice! We sat with her friend (Mariko, I think her name was?) and her speaking partner too. They are both so adorable and have great fashion! All of the fashion here in Japan is just so cool, especially the shoes. Mom if you're reading this, you'd love it.

After lunch, we had a couple more meetings where we met the faculty and learned about safety in Japan. Did you know that it's considered rude to drink in public in Japan? Not just alcohol, but anything! It's very looked down upon and apparently natives give you the evil eye when you're drinking in public.

After that, we bombed around outside the other gate out of campus looking at little shops, restaurants, and grocery stores. We came back, ate dinner, and cleaned up before heading out again. We were thinking about going out for a little sake, but decided to save that for the weekend and hit up a shopping mall instead. So we trekked 40 minutes to the shopping mall which was located by the Hirakata-shi train station.

The mall was kind of cool to see but was smaller than we thought and not really worth the 40 minute walk. So we meandered around the area and found a STARBUCKS! I've been craving a good cup of coffee, but just my luck of course it would be nighttime when we'd find a Starbucks. So instead of coffee I settled for a mango cream frappucino. I took one sip of the delicious goodness and was happily surprised to find that this drink was actually healthier than the American frappucinos. First of all, it didn't have any cream (that I could taste) and was a lot lighter and less sugary than a frappucino at home. This tasted more like a smoothie. But anyway, it was super delicious and a good pit stop... but then we were worried about drinking in public so we inhaled our beverages and ran (well, walked back to the seminar houses because it was 40 minutes back) and here I am.

Another highlight on the walk back was when we were walking past one of the many karaoke bars here in Japan. I almost burst out laughing because some Japanese man was singing loudly and out of key, "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. Definitely one of the best moments tonight!

Today we've definitely walked the most. But maybe that's a good thing. Because then I can eat all the Japanese chocolate that I want and not feel as bad! :)