Xander In Japan: Halloween

First off I just want to say thanks to my grandparents for my Halloween card! It meant a lot - love you guys!

So, despite all of the costume / cosplay stores (Cosplay is when you dress up as a videogame, anime, or manga [Japanese comic books] character) that can be found in Japan, it was pretty hard to find any kind of costume / prop for Halloween. Not only are those stores usually found in big cities like Tokyo or Osaka, but since the Japanese don't dress up for Halloween (unless specifically to imitate American culture), they don't sell costume makeup or props. They did have *some* costumes at some Hot Topic / Spencer-ish kind of stores, but of course, they were all too small for me.

Deciding what to wear was kinda hard. I wanted to be something that the Japanese would recognize and find funny, but it couldn't be too common like a vampire or anything. Also, it had to be age-appropriate since I'd be going to the elementary school that day to teach the kids about Halloween. So...what does a 6'4" broad-shouldered otokonoko (young man) dress up as for Halloween? Any guesses? :P

Anyways, now on to the Halloween pictures / captions:

My tutor and I during our return from Costco. We went so I could pick up some groceries, get some candy for the Halloween party, and so I could introduce him (Koki) to real quality American-style pizza. He loved it, so we bought a frozen one to bring back to share with everyone else (who also loved it). Costco pizza is pretty good pizza even on American standards, so I'm glad they could try good American pizza. I also bought a big bag of Hershey's Kisses (caramel, dark chocolate, and regular) to give out to the kids / other Japanese. They have Hershey's Kisses, but they're kind of mezurashii (rare) and they're only the regular kind.

Soooo here's the main part of my costume. Green shirt...spikes...6'4"...is famous across Japan...he musta been...GOJIRA!!! (GODZILLA!)

Thanks to my dad's suggestion, I was that famous Japanese dinosaur / lizard / monster thing. I cut up the cardboard from the Costco pizza box and wrapped them up in aluminum foil to make the fins. I bought an LL (a.k.a. XL) long-sleeve green shirt from one of the local stores. Then I got some green eyeshadow for green makeup. I wore black jeans and black shoes...unfortunately, I don't know where to buy green pants, and I seriously doubt they'd have them in my size. The costume came out okay, about half the people recognized what I was, while the other half had to ask. I think because the spikes didn't really stick out (and instead just flopped to one side) it was harder to tell what I was, especially when you only see me from the front or from the side.

So since the spikes don't really stick up, you can't really see them :( I tried to turn to the side in most of my pictures to get the fins in, but usually to no avail. Anyways, it was still fun to dress up. There was a mini-party in the cafeteria, where ate a bunch of candy and played some games.

Toby in a eerily good-fitting school girl uniform (and a Japanese skirt-chaser behind him).

John was the star of Halloween that day. He was Goku from Dragonball Z fame. Even if you've never seen or heard of it, you probably have seen his character. He's probably the most famous anime character in the world, with the vast majority of American kids also being able to easily recognize him. Only he and I dressed up for the shougakkou (elementary school) and during the day when we went to the shokudou (dining hall). We got a lot of stares, some pictures taken with cellphones, and a lot of "sugoi!" (amazing!).

Here's John doing the Kamehameha Wave attack :P

Picture for comparison. He not only bleached his hair, but his eyebrows too.

Getting repelled from a mako (a shrine girl). Although it looks like she's flipping me off, that's actually a mamori (protection charm).

The old random guy that shows up every now and then...I have a pretty funny story about how I met him I'll have to post later, if I didn't already. Anyways, he was there to.

Life's tough on The Street.

I don't think I could have thought of a better costume for that lovable guy.

She was supposed to be Captain Jack Sparrow, but with the clock in hand, and a giant green sea-beast about to eat her, she reminded me more of Captain Hook :P

So a pirate, a dead fencer, and Neo walk into a bar...(stop me if you've heard this one before)

Oof! Yarareta! (I got it!)

The old man hitting on Toby

That actually hurt...

As my friend Glenn would say: "Voluptuous Xannnndarrrr!!"

A clash between giants! Who will win?

Despite having enough power to destroy entire planets, Goku was defeated >:D

No luck with women for him either ^_<

Godzilla is actually The One...at least, I'm sure his acting is better than Reeves'...

Would this be the little girl who warms Godzilla's cold, battle-scarred heart?
...Nope. She'd just end up as a snack between lunch and dinner.

Can't wait for the new Indy movie next year!! Bruce, got any hookups to a sneak peak? ^_<

Japanese women are dangerous...I'm sure Doug could vouch.

Who can spot the Santa Cruz denizen?

An all-girls shot...oh, wait, is that...yeah, it's an all-girls shot :)

Fuuusioonn....HAAAAHHHH! /geek

I wonder if he's ticklish...

Brianna eating some of Kim (the Santa Cruz citizen)'s "magic flakes". Todd, a UC Santa Cruz third year, and I both agree, "magic flakes" are THE Santa Cruz meal.

Hiro's face is priceless.

Funny, that's the same reaction I get even when I'm not in costume...

I roooovveee youuu...yes I rearrryy rearry doooo...

Playing "Chubby Monkey", the game where you say "chubby monkey" and put another marshmallow into your mouth until you can't say chubby monkey anymore. It went over really well.