Going to a Japanese Birthday Party!

My slice of cake :)

Today I went to my first Japanese birthday "party!" I say party but it was more of a small gathering c:

It's interesting to see the differences between American birthdays and Japanese ones. I'd say it's a bigger deal in America, like "this day is all about me me me!" For example, I know Americans who will start telling everyone around them that their birthday is in two days, tomorrow, etc., while Japanese people will not say anything and the only way you find out is through their friends or looking at social media.

Today was a normal school day, so after getting out of school at around 5:30, I biked home, grabbed my present, and rushed to my friend's house.

The birthday gal and our other friend had already arrived, and we ushered the birthday gal into a separate room while we blew up balloons and prepared our presents. I made a scrapbook with pictures and captions about our memories together. My other friend prepared a HUGE box of snacks. Finally the preparations were perfect!

We placed party crackers in our hand and called out the b-day gal. Surprise!!!

Getting to enjoy a scrumptious birthday dinner really made me think about how much I love Japan. We ate teriyaki chicken pizza (SO GOOD), fried chicken, and a bunch of vegetable based dishes to balance out how much cake we were going to eat.

And that cake.

Ooh my goodness. Japanese cake is a gift from heaven. American cake is far too sweet; frosting tastes like a$$. However, Japanese cake manages to be the perfect amount of sweetness.

My friend loves T-Swift, so the cake has her face on it :O

Laughter rang through the apartment the whole time. Nothing can beat being with close friends and eating good food!

After dinner, we started taking Polaroid pictures with my camera. I'm so glad I brought it! The birthday girl got 6 pictures, while my other friend and I kept 4. Needless to say, I'll always love those pics.