March & good beginnings

Well, as promised, I am going to be updating my blog a bit more frequently now that I have finished the rehearsal process. The past 2 weeks or so have been filled with rehearsals - mostly in the afternoons and evenings for both Sesame Street (SES) and Magical Starlight Parade (MSP). Did I mention I was Prince Charming? :)

Rehearsals aside, any spare time that I've had has been spent, cooking, shopping for things, eating, and or course socializing. Beginnings of contracts are always a bit on the busy side, because not only are people in the midst of rehearsing, but they are forging relationships with all of the people they will be working with for the duration of the contract. I admit, although I have found a good group of people that I tend to gravitate toward, I am still being a social butterfly at the moment. There are so many people here and I find almost everyday that I'm running into someone new! Most of the Gaijin are here now. There may be a couple more coming here in the next week or so, but rehearsals have pretty much commenced (or in some cases, including mine, completed) by now. About the only cast left from last year that is still performing and will be until the end of March is the Monsters cast.

The coffee shop that I stopped at for a few minutes on Tuesday

A typical street in town at night (this one near Shinsaibashi)

So our unadvertised or "soft" opening was on Sunday of this week and our official "grand opening" was on Monday. That day was with press and all. Then lucky me, I got my days off right after that! So Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off and then I work the other 5 days of the week. Monday I had my final dress rehearsal for MSP and so that was later in the evening when I got home. I met some friends at the local USJ hangout - Urizun Bar - and had a couple of drinks there then went home and slept in!! Tuesday was a romp around town with friends, exploring more of the Shinsaibashi area. I actually headed out on my own, got off at the station before Shinsai and walked the rest of the way down, taking my time to stop at shops on the way and look at stuff, or to pop in to a coffee shop or tea shop and survey/taste the goods there. I stopped at this one coffee shop on the way and ordered a latte and a little sandwich. I just looked at the menu and picked something that I thought looked good. After eating it, I'm pretty sure I had ordered a spam sandwich that was grilled and seasoned - and I admit, it was tasty! I'm not sure if I've ever had spam - if I did, it was a long time ago and the reason I haven't had it since is because of the stigma/lore surrounding it, but alas, if that was indeed what I had (I'm 90% sure), it was good! I made my way to a Mexican restaurant to meet people for a late lunch and then after that we roamed a bit more and bar crawled a bit to end up at a place called Cinquecento (informally known as Martini Bar) where this guy that my friend Charity is kind of seeing works. We spent a bit of time there and then called it a night - we parted ways and then Charity and I stopped at a nearby grocery store to grab a couple of things before the train ride home. After getting home, one of our Nihonjin co-workers Maachan called us and told us he was at Kaigandori House in one of our friend's apartment. So we went up there for a bit and I ended up playing video games until fairly late - I felt like I was hanging out with Carson Kerr :)

Restaurant in Shinsaibashi area (I liked the facade and the sign)

Today was another explore day. The weather was a bit nicer than yesterday and I rode my bike along with my friend, Angelo, into town and we grabbed coffee mid-morning and sort of explored the area. He had a haircut at 1, so he did that and I just kinda hung around. We drove all around a neighborhood called "Minamihodie" and through Shinsaibashi again (can you tell this is a popular destination?) and then we decided over a late lunch at a waterfront cafe that we were going to go to the movies and see The King's Speech with Colin Firth. Movie theaters in Osaka - very nice. A ticket is expensive (around $20 USD) and the English movies that they have range from being brand new (if it's supposed to be super popular/ a blockbuster) to being about a year old or so. Popcorn and drinks are a little cheaper, but the expensive ticket cancels it out. Anywho, I loved the film! We rode our bikes home at dusk and then I came up to do some much needed laundry and I cooked a delicious and healthy dinner - omelette with greens and garlic, topped with salmon and a stir fry of tomatoes and bell peppers!

Building near my house

That dome in the background is part of the covered market near my house with the best grocery store that is somewhat convenient to us

My latte today - sun and moon! Angelo's was Snoopy

Cool apartment building in Minamihodie

Closer shot of the apartment building

Tomorrow is a big day back at work. I have a park publicity photo shoot for the Sesame show and then I do 4 shows and then I have the opening of the Magical Starlight parade. That will be my longest day for a good while. Alrighty, it's time for bed! More to come soon - I've got topics brewing such as Japanese fashion, boys vs. girls, and public transportation. I'm sure they will develop more as time goes on, but does anyone have a preference, or other suggestions about things you would want to know about Japan?

What are your stereotypes about Japan? I'd love to explore that! Leave some comments!


P.S. Bruno Mars is all over the airwaves here. Nearly overtime I go to a store or bar or something, I hear him being played. That's not an exaggeration.

Tata!