February 6

Today was the first day I went out to do something and got tired (enough to want to go home) before I got bored or ran out of time. I slept in very late (despite my alarm waking me up at 7:10 because I forgot to change my weekday alarm and my parents calling me shortly after). I spent most of the day trying to figure out what getting to and from Tokyo would cost and corralling about five very outwardly gaijin.

I started the day with my normal egg and toast. Okaasan asked me to make it myself since it’s yasumi, and I honestly wondered why she didn’t make me make my own breakfast every day. I’ll try to find the oppertunity to ask her if it would be better for me to do so, because cooking is amazingly fast on a gas stove and I really don’t see the point in troubling her to make my breakfast. I want to experiment with her stove anyway.

Afterward, I left for school to see if the travel agency (yes, there is an international travel agency on the college campus) could help me figure out the rates for the train or bus to Tokyo. Before I left though, okaasan gave me the name of a discount ticket to ask about. As it turned out, the discount ticket was out of season, but the agency did have a book of rates which they shared with me. After I collected that information, I rode the chikatetsu nearly all the way back to my home because that was where I had agreed to meet my friend to ride to Nagoya eki (which happened to be back toward the school). Luckily though, our timing worked out amazingly.

This was nearly exactly 2:00pm. The ride to Nagoya eki was epic. First of all, we had to ride two trains, the first of which became packed with students (entirely in uniform) shortly after we got on. It seemed like the station where they got on was filled only with school students. It seemed strange, as I would think the schools would let out after two, and even if they did end at two, it would take time for the students to get to the eki. Anyway, when we finally got off of that train, we had to rush (run) to our connecting train and squeeze in with tons of other people. Everyone was going to Nagoya eki, and with good reason. That place is huge!!!!

One of my friends said it was the largest eki in the world, but I also heard that she was wrong. Nonetheless, the eki is a meeting point for busses, denshas, and chikatetsu, not to mention the shinkansen! It is also an underground and above ground mall. Quite literally, I got lost, a lot. Amy and myself were able to find the meeting point pretty easily, and we met up with two other students at the golden clock. It was a while later before two of our other friends met us, being led by none other than our Japanese instructor (the one that’s a guy). Apparently, our two friends had gotten lost and just happened to run into our instructor. Talk about a coincidence! That place is huge!!! It took quite a long time for our friend, Dan to meet us (ironic because he was the one who designated the meeting spot) since he too got lost. Eventually though, we did get somewhere.

To purchase tickets, we first went to the tourist information desk to get rates (and to figure out where to pick up tickets). We decided on the Meitetsu bus, since it seemed the cheapest. Of course, even with directions in English, we ended up getting in the line for the wrong bus (because there is a Meitetsu night bus and a Meitetsu highway bus) before getting corrected. Eventually, we did find the proper office and ordered our tickets (from a man speaking only Japanese, yes!). It was pretty cheap, considereing the circumstances, and two ways costs about the same as one way on the shinkansen (with discount). Unfortunately, I did not need the discount I had accquired from the school, but the man behind the desk used our student ID’s to give us the discount.

Afterward, we went to find the bus station so that we would be ready on Monday. Through the whole ordeal, I was a bit bothered because everyone was moving really slowly and was being pretty loud (and obviously foreigners) not to mention clueless at times. It’s alright, I suppose. I can (and want to) be the decisive one; I’ll make all my plans, and if anyone wants to do something different (or come along), that’s fine, but I’ll at least get to do what I set out for.

When everything was settled, I went to the street level to look around. Oh man, Nagoya is a big city! I’ve uploaded the pictures I took (before my batteries died and I got really tired). I went into a cute store (I can’t remember the name) but I might end up spending money there when I get back from Tokyo (if I’m not completely broke). I found a Strong Machine keychain (look her up on youtube if you’re interested) which I didn’t think existed and a fuurin with Totoro and a goldfish (which seemes too good to be true, so I figured I’d see if I still want it in a week, and/or after goingt to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo). Also; all the pachinko parlors and super-expensive designer stores are in the area around Nagoya eki. It really is an interesting big-city location, so I think I will go back at some point (besides the time to catch my bus).

When I tired of the streets, I went back to the station to look around for a bit before catching my train. I found a sweatshirt (with awesome Engrish) that I wanted, but despite being a size “ladies,” the sleeves were too short (I was very sad). The most stressful part of the day though, was trying to find the chikatetsu home. I figured I would be fine if I followed the signs that said “meitetsu line” and had pictures of what looked like chikatetsu on them (there is also the alternative JR line and so forth). As it turned out, I was following the wrong signs; I was going into the train platforms, not the subway platforms. I had bought a ticket and entered, but the attendant told me I was in the wrong place. In a feats that only happens in Japan, she spoke to me in English, refunded my ticket (which I paid for to get into the train area) and walked me through the wickets back to the lobby. This is the first time I have really appreciated the service in Japan. In America, I’m sure I would have had to pocket the loss and find my own way back to the lobby. I tried my best to follow the lady’s directions back to the “main entrance,” but I ended up buying another ticket to the train and had to get a refund again from another attendant, who finally pointed me toward the stairs to the actual subway. It was a legitimately confusing eki.

I did end up getting home fine, but since I had gotten lost, I did not get home until just before dinner. I felt a bit bad, but okaasan and otousan didn’t seem too phased. Otousan asked me about the trip and told me about his time in Los Angelas (as a Toyota engineer). “About a half century ago,” he went with his (suit-wearing) colleagues to California Disneyland and Los Vegas. He also told me that there was a closer eki where I could buy tickets next time (to save time and money) and to bring an umbrella because it might rain. We had “dry curry” for dinner. It was delicous (yup, curry too is growing on me).

P.S. I had a taste for waffles drenched in maple syrup this morning.