Kansai Thank-God-It's-Halfway-Over Party!!

Unfortunately, the 14th is rather not good for me because I have calligraphy lessons that night. However, I could probably skip my club meeting on the 15th and be done with school by about 2:30 and down to the city station probably by 3. But I only know how to get to Sanjo station, really. And Kuzuha. And I can't drive, so I have to rely on the buses and trains, which stop running by midnight. Or possibly earlier.

In other words, weekdays are just not good days for me to be out at night, but if there are any other students with free weekends, I could get down with that.

Raikana - you live in the same city as me! I could actually give you directions to get places that are on the Keihan line, if you ever need help, feel free to send me a NaNoMail. Or we could have a mini-write-in sometime.

Do you know about Hyperdia?

No, I do not, however I am very happy about the Book Off that just opened today next to KFC in the station. In fact, I was so happy that I bought two copies of Bokujou Monogatari for Girls and Angelique for the GBA. However, I would be happy to get together to write. I can find my way to the Sanko in Makino (if that's still considered part of Hirakata) and I'm getting pretty good around the city station. I can find both starbucks, the Kintesu, Vivre, McDonald's, Take 2, and both the central and east gates of the station. I'm not a very exploring soul. <.<

Oh!! It's open? I wonder if it's closed for the night now, I should head over. XD I live about 10 minutes from there. I was unhappy to see the Tsutaya move to a place where I wouldn't pass it every day (and a place with no bike parking) but I suspect the new Book-Off is going to eat my soul.

I'm an explorer-type, I've only been here since August but I could probably give a half-hour lecture on the things you find around Hirakata! For example, we just gained a third Starbucks, located by the bus stop area behind the station. :D There is also another Book-Off within walking distance of Hirakata Station, but I imagine I won't go as often now that the new one is there.

If you need to go somewhere by train, Hyperdia(.com) is a great site with an English version. You just type in the station you're leaving from (no spaces - hirakatashi, hirakatakoen, makino, gotenyama, etc) and the place you want to go, choose either an arrival or departure time, and it tells you the fastest/cheapest/shortest routes. Really really useful, I gotta say. I go in and out of Osaka and Kyoto a lot, so Hyperdia is indispensible to me. ^^

I think today was the grand opening. I went down to mail a package and on my way to the post office, someone handed me a Book Off flier and when I came back from the post office, there were people in front of it waving flags around and calling to people on the street. I went to look at the comics, but all the ones that looked interesting were all novels, which I can't read...yet.

Are you a student, too? Or does everyone who come to Japan come in August? Also, I'm always looking for guides around strange places, since I'm way too scared of getting lost. Which will not be a good combination when my father comes to visit.

Also, if you are free tomorrow (sunday) I wouldn't mind taking another trip downtown, though it would have to be a cheap one because I'm down to my last 3000 yen until monday. I'd bring some of my DVDs, too, but I find that it's really hard to hear them in public places. Actually, I find that it's hard to hear much of anything in public places. And this should probably have been moved to e-mail a while ago, but I'm too lazy for that.

I can't read the novels either. T_T I'm learning Japanese, but veeeeeeery slowly. I'm not a student, but an assistant teacher (seems like a lot of this year's Japan NaNo participants are!) at a local high school. August was just when my contract happened to start. :)

I'd be happy to help you out finding anything, admittedly there's not much to see in Hirakata (I think the Park is our biggest tourist spot, unless you happen to visit during Tanabata in July) but Osaka and Kyoto are easily accessed from here, and for super cheap. It's so convenient living near a train station. <3 I just wish we had a movie theatre that's easy to get to.

I am free tomorrow until 6:30 (I just started taking martial arts classes~), so if you want to write awhile or just walk around town, I'm up for it! We can meet up at Starbucks or something. I have to save money right now too, don't get paid for another week, so a cheap excursion is definitely best.

E-mail from now on, then, I guess. :P I shall check my NaNo mail in the morning! (Afternoon? Well, whenever I wake up.)

Any evening from Monday to Saturday, and any time during Sunday would work for me. The daytimes during weekdays are not good for me. But if the other people prefer to meet during a daytime, I'd say we should go ahead with it.

I get out of class at about 4 in the afternoon on any given day, but I can't stay out past the time the buses stop running, but I am free all day on the weekends. Other than that, as long as there's soft drinks, I'd be fine with a drinking party.

Hmm.... How about if we meet somewhere in Hirakata? Raikana, would that work for you?

If Hirakata proper doesn't work for everybody, then we could meet somewhere near the Keihan line.

Hirakata would obviously work for me since it's really close to here, but I could also probably navigate short distances away from other Keihan stations, too, without much trouble. I don't mind the traveling so much as I do the trying-to-figure-out-how-much-time-I-need-to-get-home afterwards.