おは異様ございます！
I have given the site another update. Now you can switch between light and dark mode. Along with light mode, I made modifications on the home page, so now my name and not only my nick-names are showing 😂. I also put my book reviews, old essays, and travel logs (still working on), so be sure to check those out too.
I hope everyone was able to have a great Father's Day yesterday! Summer 2026 is in high gear, and we are getting fed with peak each day, so we should all take a moment and enjoy it because we have it pretty good right now aside from that Brady Tkachuk trade.
I could not care for both teams, but Florida's forward lineup is insane with the addition of Brady. 8 out of 9 are Olympians, which is insane. I wonder what the Senators are going to cook up with all the new picks, but it does not matter because the Leafs are getting McKenna 🥲.
I am not going to lie, this week I was probably the most homesick and had the most fomo. What a week of sports! UFC Freedom 250, Canes winning the cup, and the World Cup!
If I am being real, I did not even watch Game 6. I thought the series was going to 7, Vegas winning it, and Marner winning Conn-Smythe. Staal and the Canes deserve it, they had such a dominant run, and in a way it was the best case scenario for Toronto. Had the series gone the opposite way, Toronto would have lost their minds. The media still pursuing the same narrative of elimination game Marner going ghost, and while it is true he did not produce in Game 5 and 6, just let him be. He was just and still a kid from the city trying to do right and bring a cup back home. He already had all the pressure and high standards put on by himself, he did not need the media to amplify it. The fact he drew smiley faces on his gloves to remind him hockey is supposed to be fun speaks volumes to the toxicity of the Toronto media. As a leafs fan, you understand why he and others left. I am just hoping we do not do the same to McKenna. It already looks like we are done with Matthews.
Next, Freedom 250 was something different and special. Arguably the best special UFC event besides 300. I watched from start to finish, and that was probably one of the greatest cards I have seen in a while. All fights absolute peak UFC except Lewis vs. Hokit and Pereira vs. Gane. All my takes and predictions were absolutely wrong, and I lost quite a bit of money, but I did not even care. Lewis's lack of effort and quit disappoints me so much. I knew Hokit was going to win, but Lewis could have put up a much better fight than he did. Hopefully he can return to his legendary knock-outs in his next fights, but most likely he will be demoted to fight night status. Pereira will be back, but Herb Dean failed him on those illegal back of the head-shots. I will never give up on Chama! He will be a triple-division champ! Topuria vs. Gaethje was Rocky IV in real life. Hearing the crowd change their chants from Topuria to Gaethje got me teary-eyed. From watching him get knocked out cold at the last second by Holloway to making Topuria quit on the stool is a crazy arc. If I am Gaethje I would retire. There is no reason not to, but he's a fighter, so I would not be surprised if he continues to fight. Unsure whether-or-not there will be a rematch, but I do not know who he will fight next. Paddy vs. BSD just raises their stocks up respectively, but Arman, Oliveria, and Holloway still up there. Then again we can not count out Mac. If he manages to beat the Blessed Express on 329 then who knows what will happen? This year is so peak, I still can not believe McGregor is back. Hopefully he does not pull out of the fight like last time and then again this could be just be a one and done thing. McGregor's ego and spirit never fully recovered after the Khabib fight. The 10 year-old child in me wants McGregor to win, but the 19 year-old child knows Holloway is going to chin the Mac.
Japan is killing it at the World Cup. Potential top 3 finish or maybe even the cup. However, I must point out that I am casual futbol fan, so my takes mean nothing here or name any players on Japan, but watching the World Cup is a universal experience. I said that to my suite mates and now that I think of about, it is essentially doing the same as people only watching the Super Bowl for commercials and the half-time show. The Europeans in my building are all over the games. The common room is so loud and noisy at 5 AM. Normally I would complain, but I am unable to sleep anyway, so I do not mind. Aside from that, I love how the rest of the world is getting to see and enjoy the good parts of the States. However, this world cup does not hit the same as watching the 2022 World Cup during high school. Messi scoring a hatty at 38 is insane, hopefully Ronaldo can recover from his slump. This Nike ad should be hanged in the Louvre.
Moving into the actual log, my community college courses have started and one big thing happened. My oldest brother Ian graduated with his Masters. The bar just got set higher, and I can not say anything to him. He got that senpai authority now 😂. Congrats to him! I have no clue how I managed to do 16 units at community college during the summer when I was 17. I am only taking 6 and both are taking up majority of my time. The content of the courses is simple, but the volume of monkey work is insane. I used up one of my days in Tokyo just to complete assignments. Thankfully, the weather was brutal, so I did not miss out on much. I just have to put up with these courses for 4-5 more weeks, and all of my graduation requirements will be knocked out. Once I get back to UCSD, I only have my major courses to do, and I can take courses I want to take in cognitive science. These courses end the same time as my Kyoto ones, so best believe in August, I am going to have the time of my life traveling.
I need to figure out dates and schedules because there's a lot of places I want to visit; China (Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai), Okinawa (Naha, maybe Ishigaki), Busan (taking the ferry from Osaka), Taiwan (again, I love the island), and Singapore. I am unsure if I can fit all of them in August, so I probably might have to extend into September. Still have not booked my return flight home, and Mama Lee suggested I just fly directly to San Diego. I do not think that is going to happen, but who knows? Like I said in last week's log, there is still a lot of Japan that I have yet to see. The concept and my perception of time is so off. I want to maximize and want to take my time explore new areas still. The things I want to see in Japan are Kanazawa, Okayama, Kagoshima, and Miyazaki. These could be day, weekend, or even week trips. I am conflicted with jumping the gun and going on these adventures because once I see these places and cross them off the list, do I have a reason to come back to Japan? I know I will be back, but I am unsure when. My trip to Taiwan with a day layover in Naha got cancelled already because of hockey. I planned for July 3-6, but apparently I have a Nagoya series, then the Kansai tournament the next weekend. After that, there are no games scheduled for the rest of July, so I figured I will travel then. I am going to pull a Brandon Aiyuk and pull out from the team because after all I am an exchange student, and I need to stop pretending like I am a full-time employee of the company. Once I get back to the ACHA, things will be way different. I am not going be the "Mitch Marner" of Japan anymore. Hopefully UCSD is even able to field a team. We did not even raise $1K for Triton Giving Day, absolutely embarrassing.
The constant rain this weekend messed up my Tokyo trip I had planned, but I was still able to go out and explore some new places on my own. I went to the train museum in Omiya, which was awesome. I got some weird looks from parents because the museum is catered more towards little kids, and I'm by myself having the time of my life. One con of the experience was not being able to ride the miniature trains because I did not enter the raffle. Here's a photo:
I went to the Seiko Museum in Ginza, which was also insane. Seeing how the history and how they engineered those movements is insane. Thankfully there was not a gift store, and I am not in the tax bracket to buy a Grand Seiko in Ginza, otherwise I probably would have impulsively bought another watch. Here are some photos:
Even though I did not do that much relative to what I usually do in my trips to Tokyo, I found it very relaxing and enjoyable. It was great getting to spend more time with my aunt and my grandparents because after all that was one of the main purposes as to why I chose to study abroad in Japan. They missed out on watching me grow up a lot, so I want to make sure I am in their lives more now. My grandpa loved his birthday/Father's Day gift, and I am really happy about that. This trip re-energized me, making me more productive, and ready to take on this last stretch of the semester. With that being said, I am going to end the log here. As always, stay safe and Godspeed!
See you next week! じゃね！