Japan - Days 22-24

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days - I've been kinda forgetful/busy with other things, as you shall soon see
So, on Friday at 10am my tutor picked me up from outside the combini in his car, from which we drove down to Dayztown, where there is a mobile phone store. Now, here's the thing - I was intending to get the same brand of phone as Jen (whose is white) and Molly (whose is black), but in red, so then I'd know what was going on. Thing is, they were sold out and wouldn't get any in until next week, but I was desperate to get a phone then and there, so after much consideration, I got a nice black phone on contract. I filled in some paperwork and then we had 2 hours to kill before we could collect the phone, so we walked around the mall, played a game of Pokémon Battrio Zero, and then he showed me an amazing store called WonderGoo (about 15-20 minutes from Tsukuba Centre by bike, so I really need one). It reminds me of how I felt when I first went to Book Off in Harajuku - it has everything to do with my hobbies :-D I bought another pack of Magic cards (I got Demon's Horn ^^) and a few Battrio tokens (now I need to play some more ^^'). Then we returned to the phone store, but on the way, my tutor got a phone call from them. Because I'm still not legally an adult in Japan, where the age of majority is 20, the phone had to be bought in his name, making all the forms I'd filled out essentially useless. So, we went back, he signed some stuff (he had to buy a new ink stamp for it, which made me feel more guilty), and then we went back to the lab because there was a meeting and we had to wait a couple more hours for the phone. By this time, I'd well and truly missed Japanese class
Back at the lab, there was a group meeting with me, a couple of the students in my lab, the professor and the assistant professor - because he was sorting things out with my phone I think, my tutor was absent. I had to talk a little about the protein I'm going to be researching, with the others giving some input. Then, back to try and work on my gel
As the gel was running and I was working on kanji homework, my tutor came in with the phone :-D So as it stands, the phone technically belongs to him, and I have to pay him whenever the bill comes through. But still, with a little help, I got the phone set up and ready to go ^^ And to top things off, I started to get bands on my gel now :-D I'll do a few more checks someday soon and then I'll be ready to start dissections
After lab, I walked to Jen's to show her my new toy, and then I watched her rollerskating for a while, which was rather fun as I was running alongside her
That was about all for Friday. Now, Saturday. Got up early and got the bus out to Ichinoya to meet Jen (Molly bailed because she was still on her way home from a night out), and from there we took the next bus to Tsukuba Centre, and caught the Express Train to Tokyo :-D The train was a Rapid train (missing most stations) but it still took forever >< We spent the time reading a sample manga on my phone ^^' Anyway, after 45 minutes we arrived in Akihabara
Outside the station is a massive store, and as we saw Pokémon signs outside, we decided to go in :-) On the 6th floor, I asked an attendant where we had to queue, and he pointed me in the direction of a line of about 25 people. However, the line moved quickly, so I was soon at the desk ^^ After discovering I could buy Mia's game too, I got a copy of both Black AND White, which definitely made me a happy bunny. We then browsed the store for another hour or so, then came out and walked around a little. Next we came to a huge book store, aptly called the book tower. Jen spent a long time browsing the art books, and then we went up and looked at all the manga. It was a pretty cool place
Looking at the maps in the tube station, we decided to take a metro train to Harajuku so I could show Jen the big book store I saw on the homestay. As we reached the platform to get on the train, we saw a huge 6 floor store of the same chain in Akihabara, which we decided to visit afer Harajuku
After a half hour or so journey, we arrived at Harajuku station. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but eventually I worked out where we were. However, it's a lot greener than I remembered. Going down the hill, we found the condom shop I remembered, and took the turning where I thought the book store was. No such luck. After walking for 5-10 minutes and checking a map, I've concluded that it's been replaced by a clothes store -_- However, going back up the hill, we arrived at the Meiji shrine, which was just as beautiful as I remembered ^^ We both wrote an ema (Jen wouldn't show me hers - I wonder what she wrote :-O) and then walked back around the circuit to the train station again.
Back in Akihabara, we made our way to a curry restraurant we walked past earlier, as I was ravenous. I had a salmon cheese fry curry, which tasted amazing :-D From there, we went to Book Off, and spent about half an hour looking for The Count Of Monte Cristo and reminiscing about old computer games ^^' We then returned to the book tower, where Jen bought her art books, and then we were back on the train, sleepy but happy with what we'd bought ^^
Once I got back, I hastily opened Black Version and started it up. It is amazing, but I'll go into more detail at the end of the blog
So, Sunday, most of it was spent playing Pokémon, I'll admit ^^' But at about 9pm, I went to Jen's and watched her rollerblading for an hour or so, before catching the last bus to Oikoshi to avoid having to sleep on her floor ^^'
Anyways, Pokémon - currently, I have 5 badges, and my party consists of Chaobuu, Warubiru, Kokoromori, a shiny Zebraika, Yanakkii, and Desumasu (until I find something more permanent). Right now, I'm in an Electric-type cave, looking for N, I think
And that's about all from me today, I shall report again tonight when hopefully I shall have a bike ^^