This entry might not seem as 'cultural' at first, but bear with me. Our school government set up a mixer at one of the nightclubs in Roppongi [THE nightlift district], and basically everyone I talked to at school said they were going, so I figured I'd end up going as well. Perri said she was going too, and would come and get me before she left. Long part of the story short, we ended up in a group of five girls from our dorms. As we were leaving, one gets a text from one of the kids in Ontakesan, saying that they were 'pregaming' [New vobaulary term for me, as I'm sure it is for most of you, 'pregaming' means drinking before you go out for the night], and they invited us over to do so as well. Considering that Ontakesan is a great distance out of our way, we declined the invite, and three of the five of us decided to hit up SEIYU for some pregaming of our own. A few things to note:1. Public drunkeness isn't an issue here. You can drink a bottle of wine on the streeet and no one will stop you.

2. Yes, they sell alcohol pretty much EVERYWHERE. There is a beer vending machine in our lobby. You can also get alcohol at any grocery or convenience store, and I've been told you can even order it at the KFC's here. And obviously, at any number of the taverns, restaurants and bars alcohol is available. The drinking age is 20.

3. I was one of the two who weren't pregaming.

So after the girls were done with their pregaming, we hopped the train to Roppongi station, which should've been close to the club....after 45 minutes of walking, we finally find the place and get inside. By this time, it's 11 pm. Perri ends up meeting up with some friends from school, who tell her they're staying here till about midnight, then going to another place afterwards. I decided to not go [which I'm half-regretting at the moment, if we're being honest] and on my way out of the club ended up running into one of the guys from our dorm and his friend from Ontakesan, both who are leaving as well. We started hoofing it to the station, realizing that the last train was leaving soon. We actually half-walked, half-ran from Roppongi to Shibuya [which I'm still trying to figure out the distance on...] and found ourselves at the Shibuya station at 12:07 am. We all thought the last train ran at midnight, but apparently it runs at 12:30. So we're flying through the station, and I end up buying the wrong ticket [I needed one for the JR line, but ended up getting one for the Tokyo Metro]. I realized this when I put it in the machine to pass through and the little gates closed on me. At this point, the guys had both made it through, so I told them to go on without me before flitting back to the ticket window, getting my money back and exchanging my ticket.

Okay, before anyone freaks out over the fact that I was alone in the Tokyo subway station at 12:15 in the morning, let me point out that I'm fine [obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this], and that Japan is one of the safest countries out there. Yes, I do realize that crime is everywhere, however I am statistically safer here than I am in the US. So long as you don't act like a totally moronic tourist and leave yourself open, you're fine.

I made it onto the train, and let me tell you, that is the first and last time I ever take the last train home. Wall-to-wall people because they're all trying to get home, just like I am. See, the taxis here are in on this whole 'last train' thing, too, because once the last train is gone, they hike their fares ridiculously.

For those of you wondering, if you miss the last train, your options are to take a taxi, hope you can walk home from where you're at, or you can stay out bar-hopping or whatever you please till 5 am, when the trains start up again. This last option is something Tokyo teens do on a typical basis [well, those that don't work the next day]. They'll stay out in 24-hour cafes, bars, clubs, or they'll find a place to crash somewhere nearby. There's my cultural point for this entry xD.

As far as pictures go, I haven't been taking many recently because my camera is being finnicky about batteries as of late.

The plan for today is to hang out here till about 2, and then head out to Shibuya to basically wander around and see what's there, then head up to Tokyo Tower later on this evening.

Observations.1. I don't know if its the same in the states, since I don't ride escalators all that often, but in the subway stations here in Japan, if you are just standing while on the escalator, you're supposed to stand to the left. If you're walking, you walk on the right side.

2. The toilets here are amazing. The flusher on the one in my room can go left and right. To the left is the superflush, which you use when there's a lot in the bowl. The right is the average flush, for when its' not so bad...the ones at school have heated seats, and an armrest with buttons that allow you to play music to cover the sounds, to spray deoderizer, or to spray your rear xD As I write this it sounds familiar, so I apologize if I've written this before...