The new decade of my life is in full swing now. I can finally drink in my home country. Even though I had a head start abroad. xD Still. It's been a hectic week. What with moving into a townhouse with  dresdencomplex and all. But we're getting there! I have all the kitchen supplies organized, and we just got the internet and cable installed. Next Monday we're getting a washer and dryer and a 32" TV. And then all I have to do is wait for my new bed to come in. It's been busy, it's been crazy, and it's been very exciting!

Yes! I'm finally back home safe and sound. To tell you the truth, I was feeling kind of sad about both leaving and coming back home... But the bright side is finally getting to meet all the new Bozeman furs that have arrived over the last year. Since Mushi and DresdenComplex are planning regular meets, I'm pretty excited to see everybody. ^..^

Sadly though, after going through hell and back trying to get home, my camera wound up either lost or stolen at the Incheon South Korea airport. Thankfully I saved the receipt and serial number so I can try to track it.

Still great to be back though!

I'm a little shocked, to tell you the truth. I had no idea that a year could go by so quickly. I guess I was wrong...

Well, it was fun while it lasted. With over 10,000 photos taken in the past 11 months, I have a lot to sift through. But I'll miss all the sounds, the smells, the tastes. I hope I can make it back here one of these days. After I graduate, maybe. And if I do, I'd rather go to a place that's colder, like Nagano, or the far northern island of Hokkaido.

While I am sad that it's all coming to a close so quickly, I feel it's time I got back together with my friends and family in Bozeman. I can't wait to get reacquainted with the Bozeman furries, since there seems to be a few newcomers during my time away.

Last night I went to a screening of Mamoru Hosoda's new film, Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki, or "The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki." I've been anticipating this movie for quite a while, being that I'm a huge fan of Hosoda's work like Summer Wars and the Girl Who Leaped Through Time . That, and the furry in me just couldn't resist. xD

The story is about a 19-year-old college girl who falls in love with a man who has the ability to shapeshift into a wolf. Then they have two children who inherited their father's ability. The rest of the story centers around how the older sister, Yuki, and her younger brother, Ame, make it through society. That's as much as I can say without giving too much away. Overall, I thought it was pretty good. Though my number one favorite Hosoda film will be always be Summer Wars. A vast majority of furries on this site will probably love it because of the wolves alone. xD But overall I thought it was a pretty touching flick. Nothing preachy or pretentious, just an emotionally-charged family movie about coming of age in wolf form. For now it's only foreign releases are France and Taiwan, but given the critical reception it should be heading Stateside in a few months.

Here is a link to the trailer if anybody's interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshnTu_AI4s

I saw this trailer at one of the big media stores downtown. Basically a survival game centering around animals in a post-human wasteland. And it's coming out in two days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejBt-CWCv4E

My opinion? Total buy! It's definitely got that uniquely Japanese experimental form to it. A good slice of the culture to take back with me.

Here I am, sitting around half past midnight, thinking about all I've been through over the last nine months... To think, nine months in Japan have gone by so fast already.

I don't really feel homesick. Yet, I still miss people from home. I miss all my friends, my family, my dog...Cheap Mexican food.

Though, to tell you the truth, I think I will be having a much harder time adjusting to life back home than here. There are so many things that I'll miss that I can't count them on my fingers and toes combined. If anything, the biggest problems I've had weren't really the country itself, but life in the dorm with the other exchange students. After a while, living in close quarters with such a mixed group of personalities can wear down a person like myself...

It's quite a shock, that in just two short months I'll be on the other side of the Pacific. But I still have some things to look forward to. I'll be sharing a townhouse with  DresdenComplex and I'll be helping her out with her dog, or dogs when she gets her second one. Two dogs are hard enough with one person... She and I are like a brother and sister... I'll be looking forward to seeing her again, along with all the other Montana furs I've made contact with here on FA during my time in Japan.

When I do think about coming home, I'll be bringing so many things back with me that it might soften that blow of reverse culture shock. Two months left... Two months that I don't want to waste.

Taken from  bandaid406 If only because I'm also bored and haven't put up a journal since my March trip to Tokyo and Kyoto. xD

Survey About Yourself

About You
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Red
Height: 6'
Favorite Color: Dark Green
Screen Name: TannerTokage
Favorite Band: P-Model (and lead singer Susumu Hirasawa)
Favorite Movie: District 9, Rango
Favorite Show: Cartoons and anime from the 80s and 90s.
Your Car: 2002 Ford Ranger
Your Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Your Present Town: Kumamoto, Japan (returning to Bozeman in August)
Your Crushes First Name: N/A
Your Grade: Junior, Montana state university
Your Style: Patrol hat, blue jeans, t-shirt

Have You Ever
Sat on your rooftop? Yep
Kissed someone in the rain? Nope
Danced in a public place? Can't remember when...
Smiled for no reason? Hell yeah!
Laughed so hard you cried? Not really. xd
Peed your pants after age 8? Nope.
Written a song? No way!
Sang to someone for no reason? Nope
Performed on a stage? Yes
Talked to someone you don't know? Yes
Gone out of your way to befriend someone? No
Made out in a theatre? No
Gone roller skating since 8th grade? Yep!
Been in love? Yeah, a couple of times through my life

Who was the last person to
Say HI to you? My roommate
Tell you, I love you? Mother on skype
Kiss you? I dunno
Hug you? Mom, before she flew home on my first week in Japan.
Tell you BYE? Roommate after class.
Write you a note? Dunno, I get many.
Take your photo? Myself
Call your cell phone? Somebody from the photography club.
Buy you something? Dunno
Go with you to the movies? Last time I went to the movies with anyone was with my sister last year.
Sing to you? Dunno
Write a poem about you? I can't remember.
Text message you? SoftBank
Touch you?

What's the last
Time you laughed? This morning, when my Kanji teacher said "shit."
Time you cried? Couple days ago. Had a mental breakdown from class stress.
Movie you watched? All Dogs Go to Heaven
Joke you told? Dunno
Song you've sang? Can't remember that either.
Time you've looked at the clock? Just now.
Drink you've had? Some Japanese Vitamin D drink
Number you've dialed? Sister
Book you've read? No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Food you've eaten? Scrambled eggs
Flavor of gum chewed? Spearmint
Shoes you've worn? Slippers
Store you've been in? HI ヒロセ
Thing you've said? ただいま。

Can You
Write with both hands? Lefty only.
Whistle? Yep, and with my fingers too.
Blow a bubble? Yep
Roll your tounge in a circle? Huh?
Cross your eyes? Hell yeah! I can even cross one eye at a time. I can even make them dance. I still have yet to master the derp.
Touch your tounge to your nose? Nope...
Dance? Kinda.
Gleek? Never seen an episode of Glee in my life. My mom and sister are all over it though.
Stay up a whole night without sleep? From time to time. Most recently I stayed up all Sunday night when I had a 9am class because I figured "screw it, I'll crash after."
Speak a different language? Japanese. Semi-fluent.
Impersonate someone? Kinda?
Prank call people? Not really
Make a card pyramid? I think so.
Cook anything? What'll it be?

Finish The Line
If I were a ... millionaire, I'd buy a small house in Montana, an apartment in Japan, and a place in Australia.
I wish ... I had some friends and family to show around Japan.
So many people don't know that ... Hmm... Lemme think about that.
I am ... Gonna ride down to the shopping arcade to buy an external hard drive.
My heart is ... dancing to trance music, waving glowsticks around.

Hey everybody! I originally planned to spend several days in Fukuoka. But then I decided to just take the train back to Kumamoto where I had a place to actually wash my laundry. xD

Well, I am officially back from my trip! I took hundreds if not thousands of pictures, and I still need to sift through all the best ones. But I'll be sure to have them up as soon as I can!

For now, I need to take a shower, and maybe a nap. And I gotta take care of the dirty clothes rotting in my backpack at some point...

In about two days, anyway. xD I'll still be around until February 29th, and then I'm hopping on a plane to Haneda airport. ^..^ I'll spend about eight days backpacking around the Kanto area visiting places like Yokohama, Hakone and the Tokyo Metropolitan area. I really wanted to get some shots of Mt. Fuji from Hakone, but it looks like the weather's gonna be really depressing during the time I'm there. Horrible luck... x..X Maybe I'll have a chance to return to Tokyo in the summer...

After Tokyo, I'll be taking the shinkansen down to Kyoto where I'll be spending another 8 days exploring the Kansai area. I'll be going to the ancient capital of Nara prefecture along with Osaka. Most of my time will be spent in Kyoto probably, since there are so many temples and shrines that nobody can really see them all in even a week. xD

After Kansai, I'll continue to ride the train back to Kumamoto. I'll be taking a couple days to stop by Kobe, Hiroshima and spend some time in the Kita-Kyuushuu area. I'm so excited! If I don't have a chance to talk to you all before I leave on March 1st, my internet access will be very limited until about March 20th. So until then, later!

Hey everybody. I thought I'd give FA a shot... Again. lol

Either way, I was considering maybe using this as more of a photo log. For uploading pics I've taken during my time here in Japan. I do hope I can continue uploading my drawings though!

I've been here for about four months now, and I will continue to remain here until July or August of this year.

I hope I can reestablish this account and possibly bring it back from the dead. I really need to branch out from my DeviantArt account. It's been kind of tough, given how attached I am to that site. I've already been a member of that site for nearly six years.

Anyways, I'll try to be more active. I haven't had much time to draw, but I'll definitely be uploading photos when I can. Take care everybody!