Kashiwa..

Woke up early. Couldn't sleep in.. damn jet lag.
Head hurts.
Asked the front clerk where some good breakfast was, he pointed us to the corner building across the street.
Took a look at the menu out front .. couldn't read it .. too expensive.
Walked down the street a ways, found a case with fake plastic food in it; some of it looked good -- logged it away in back of head -- in case we wanted to come back.
Looked around a bit more; didn't find anything else - went back to plastic food place.

Walked inside, waiter showed us out the door and pointed at a menu in english.. half of it was rubbed off and illegible. Obviously no one has rewritten it since they couldn't speak english.
Went back in, he sat us down. Asked us if we wanted coffee, we said no. He walked off, and never came back. After looking around at the disgusting floor, and trying to see through the grey haze of cigarettes, we decided that this place was bad news.
We up and left.

We saw a Denny's when we first got off the train, so we walked all the over to the train station and located the familiar site.
Went in.. we were greeted warmly by a cute girl. Clean, bright, warm.. picture menu.. what else could you ask for?
We ordered the classic Denny's favorite (Udon with a bowl of rice).
Kyle took one bite, and had to go to the bathroom... looks like his stomach has gotten the better of him.
Went back to hotel. Relaxed.
10.. check out time.
Handed over our keys and walked off to the metro.
Went through the turnstile, Kyle got on a train going the opposite direction. Wished him luck and told him not to get lost.
Took train to Kashiwa. Tried to find the hotel. Wandered around for a minute: found it quickly. Asked for Jason (my friend from the Santa Cruz Bujinkan dojo where I train), the clerk thumbed through a pile of passport photocopies - found him, noted that he was in another building, and then they walked me over. They informed that I couldn't check in because it was too early. However, they would hold my baggage (thank god) until then. I begin to sort out my things, wondering how in the world I am going to find him, and then lo and behold, he strolls up.
We exchange pleasantries, I note that I am very glad that he was still in the hotel. We get some food, and go up to his room to hang out.

A little later, his wife Michelle walks into the room. She wants to get ready after a shower, so we go outside. He occupies me a tour of Kashiwa,(bigger than I imagined. We go by all the various shops and malls, and he tells me about some of his various experiences while staying there.
1 o'clock, and it's already time to head out to the dojo.
Before departing, I ask Jason about where to buy tabi and the likes. He mentions a couple places, but informs me that the hip place to go is a little shop in Atago about half a mile from the Honbu. Being that I am in the market for such things, we leave an hour early.
The train ride takes about 25 minutes from Kashiwa, and goes by quickly with the good conversation.
We step off the train and head down the street over to the Atago Tabi Headquarters. It's a small, nondescript place, but it has tabi and socks of all styles and sizes, catering to the prolific amount of gaijin Bujinkan members that routinely visit the area. I stock up on a few things, and we journey on over back near the train station, down a large alleyway of bikes, and over over to the Honbu.
As we arrive at the small building nestled parallel to the railroad tracks, a man emerges from a vehicle parked nearby, and unlocks the front door.

Inside, I am blanketed with paintings, photos, and all manners of framed artwork dedicated to Hatsumi Sensei. Obviously almost all of this likenesses have been donated and given as gifts to Hatsumi over the years, and it is very neat to see all of the different things on the walls. Aside from all that, straight ahead, all along the forward facing wall, is an amazing host of candles, charms, and various small shrines. Needless to say, the energy is palpable in the room, and you can tell how much history the place has.
Training there is no different. Most of everything that goes on there is beyond me, yet just by being in the aura of the place, I feel more at ease.
Jason and I are training partners. He does his best to humor my inexperience, and we we go all with the class; Nagato Sensei demonstrates a technique, and then we repeat what we see. It's a lot different from in Santa Cruz, where we have time to ask and even break down the movements of the same techniques. Here, you just do it. And it forces your body to feel the movement and the balance.
In the middle of class, Sensei takes an interest in me.He asks where I am from, how long I am staying here, etc. Somehow he finds out that I play Shamisen, and asks me where I play. Coincidentally, he is wearing a t-shirt that says "Misawa, Japan" on it, so I point to him (what a small world...). He is a bit surprised, and goes on to tell me that there are people on the airbase who train Bujinkan and urges me to meet with them. He even asks how long I have been training Bujinkan, and goes as far as to say "you are good". I can't help but feel quite the contrary, nonetheless, it is encouraging.
Throughout the class, Nagato Sensei comes to help me with techniques and asks me about my Shamisen playing.
Too soon, everyone lines up, we bow out, and class is over.
Jason and I wait outside until Sensei departs, and then we too make our way home.

We meet up with Jason's wife and their friend Amanda, who I meet for the first time. We grab some dinner and go out for drinks after, at a bar called "Hub".. kind of a weird name if you ask me.


Anyway, that's pretty much it. Yeah.