"that's what she said" - a weekend with the boys

Finally time to post:
Last weekend felt like an Ole reunion - Pants, Kevin, Carlson, Danny and I hit up Osaka, Kobe and Nara for a fabulous weekend. I'd forgotten how good it feels to see old friends and how my stomach hurts from laughing so hard and how much we Oles LOVE the karaoke. it was really too good.

The boys: Danny, Carlson and Kevin

Pants and me, probably singing a song we had forgotten we already sand. and kevin.

Friday we met up in Osaka and (after a long and not-so-happy search for our hostel) went out for dinner and some highlights of japan - purikura and karaoke. After last weekend's escapades i knew to head straight to 'Joy Sounds' for the free time Nomihodai special from 11 to 5:30. and let me just say, it did not disappoint.
around 4am, we started to drag.

Saturday we finally managed to drag our bums out of bed and head to Kobe to wander around China town and hit up Harborland (complete with Pants' favorite mechanical animals and a beer on the pier). Then we made it back to Osaka for dinner and by complete chance discovered the best restaurant ever - a little yakiniku place with a good all-you-can-eat deal, cheap beer, a guy who spoke the most excellent english ever, and even cute mugs (which Pants didn't have to steal but the nice man gave to us). Too perfect. We finished up the night with a conbini run and a round of Phase 10, which somehow none of the boys knew how to play. How is that even possible?


the gang with a panda statue. Pants is obsessed.

Carlson and Kevin.

Me, Danny and a pig with a tray of niku-man

Carlson and Kevin try their hands at Taiko

The boys ride the mechanical animals. Pants, of course, rode the panda

So cute it hurts. really.

back in Osaka, by the Hello Kitty Store. Cheez-u

Then Sunday we hit up Nara on a whim, at least partially so Pants could legitimately buy a pen with Hello Kitty sitting on the lap of a giant Daibutsu (buddha), but fun nonetheless. Especially when Carlson made it through the hole that is supposed to be the size of the buddha's nostril, and the entire crowd cheered. We managed to drag ourselves around for a few hours before grabbing okonomiyaki lunch and heading our separate ways.

the Nara Buddha - the largest indoor brass Buddha in the world.

Carlson makes it through the nostril-sized hole, with a little help

In the end i will remember the weekend something like this - lots of laughs, the impossibility of remembering what songs we sang at karaoke, more laughing, being extremely tired, drinking beer, laughing some more, seeing little kids "so cute it hurts" and feeling comfortably and happy the whole time.