Sat. Sept. 27 – Penelope... Penny

Ah, the long-awaited Koriyama Welcome Party. About 50-60 JETs headed to the big city to party it up at a local beer garden. The drinks were flowing, as it was nomihodai again. And it was nice to see a lot of people who live pretty far from me.

We all split up, with some people going to Round One (aka Chucky Cheese, but cooler). I wanted to go clubbing, so Sophea took us out. We ended up at some club where we thought the dance floor would be all about hip hop. Well, we got in… but it was actually a hip hop showcase. Japanese b-boys and b-girls owned the dance floor and stage, but that meant like the remaining 85 per cent of people in the club were simply spectators. We hung out a lot with one of the DJs who also worked the front door, and ended up staying until 4 a.m. to catch his last set.

Towards the end of the night, we did a late-night kombini (convenience store) run. There was a little stairwell that led to an underground walkway; it looked pretty comfortable, so I decided to drink my coffee and chill there. I totally looked like a hobo (what a running trend), and obviously John (Hot Legs) walks by with his camera. Sugoi. (Excellent).

Hmm... also had some hilarious late-night conversation when we got back to Sophea's.