March 7

I got up a bit before six today and made myself another tamago hottoke-ki because I was going to the fish market with Mike, Anna, Mike, (yes, two mikes), Sam (I think), and Mike’s host dad today. It occured to me the night before that “nanachan ningyou” was actually Nanachan, the giant mannequin mascot of the Meitetsu mall (she’s in the album, called Nagoya Eki). That is where we met up. Mike’s otousan took us to the market, and if I felt cheated for not being able to see the Tokyo market at four in the morning, this definitely made up for it. Apparently (according to my host mom) it’s fugu (yes, the poisonous blowfish) season. There were tanks full of them (as well as tanks full of all sorts of other things). Among the more interesting were red snapper (their eyes are so big!), flounder (both eyes on one side), sea cucumbers, lobsters, living and dying crabs, ebi, eel, tako (octopus), squid, those giant triangular shellfish, snails, a turtle, and of course; maguro (tuna!). Mike’s dad asked how much one was and it was juumanen (that’s about $1000). We saw the maguro cut and the implement looked like a giant bow saw.

We had to be really careful not to get sprayed with fish guts when the people hosed down their stalls and the fish. We weren’t wearing rubber boots like Mike’s otousan, so we had to watch where we were going too and to avoid being touched by the many carts and people carrying sea life all around us. We agreed that it was probably as much entertainment for the stall workers as it was for us to have foreigners coming through the market. Mike’s otousan is really good-natured though, so he introduced us to a lot of the people who work at the market (and their fish), always saying “I’m giving them a tour. They’re all American students at Nanzan University.” On many occasions, he told us what we were looking at and said “it’s sleeping” or “it’s dying” or poked the fish (especially the tako) to make them move.

When Mike’s otousan left us to pick up the fish he ordered, we decided to walk around the Nagoya eki area to find something to eat. The first thing we did was ride an elevator in one of the tallest buildings we could find to the forty-eighth (or maybe it was the seventy-eighth?) floor. The intercom indicated that it was a restricted floor when we pressed the button to get there, but the elevator went up anyway. The doors didn’t open at the upper floor though. At first, I felt a bit sick because the elevator is glass and you can see (and feel) yourself ascending forever. When we finally got to the top though, it was amazing. We could see forever, it seemed. After spending a while up there, the elevator began to ascend, and I felt my stomach disappear again. I have to say, it was the most fun elevator ride I’ve ever taken.

We finally did find food inside the Nagoya eki at an expensive panya. After my friends finished their breakfasts (of pan), we decided to walk to Sakae. The walk was just as fun as the destination because we found a park (in Japan? no way!) on the way and played around for a bit. There was a giant sand area (for reasons unknown) and Mike found a big stick, so he and Anna made giant drawings in the sand. There was a fountain too that was pretty cool. There was even a playground nearby where we reverted to climbing the jungle gym and playing on the sea-saw until little kids came by, at which time we left so we wouldn’t scare their parents. At one point during our trip, we were stopped by Japanese tour guides wanting to give us tours (obviously) but we told them we didn’t have time. Of course, we were at the time just standing, looking at the bay, so the guide tried to use that in conflict with our argument, but we brushed it off because the guide was the one who wanted something out of us. We had to pass about three other guides with the same request within ten seconds. When we did get to Sakae, we played video games (Mario Kart, Taiko Drummer, Silent Hill, and some punching game) and grabbed relatively cheap (and filling) ramen at Fuji Ichiban. The place was crowded though, so we had to wait outside for a bit, but it was fine because the weather was amazingly nice today (especially after rainy Friday).

After lunch, we went in search of special soap for Anna at a department store whose name suspiciously resembles “Jusco.” We had some fun smelling all the fancy soaps (that looked like giant wheels of cheese) until everyone had to leave to go to the other Mike’s house (they had been invited by his host family). I decided to go to Osu in search of a watch. I walked though (to save money on subway fare), and the short distance between Sakae and Osu became very clear. I didn’t succeed in finding a watch (or buying any of the clothes I tried on), but I did get another cell phone charm (I’ve got to stop that) and the beanpaste donut (which I regrettably couldn’t taste much ): because I was feeling cold symptoms again).

I got home a bit after 6:30, but it was okay because okaasan wasn’t finished making dinner. I helped out, but she got a bit annoyed by me washing the hashi again because she thinks it’s overkill to rinse them before putting them in the dishwasher and then wash them with soap before you use them if you didn’t run the dishwasher. She says my habits make her wonder if my family is rich and has a maid that does chores for us. I told her it was not the case and that having a maid is muri (I meant mezurashii, but now that I have looked it up, it probably works even better) in America. She told me it was the same in Japan, but that when she lived in South Africa, she had to hire many just to give people jobs.

At dinner, we had what looked like ramen, but was “nikujagai,” short for “meat and potatoes” which consisted of meat, potatoes, ramen-like noodles, onion, and carrot. I guess it’s kind of like the Japanese version of pot roast, but with soup instead of gravy. Okaasan also made chicken wings, but I couldn’t eat that much food. She offered me ice cream before I had much of a choice, but there was still a chicken wing left, and when she offered it to me, I told her I couldn’t eat more, but she made a comment about me currently eating ice cream. Gaa, what do I do?! Oh well.

I wonder if I’m a nuisance to my host mom. She wants me to help with dinner, but I don’t move as fast as her (and it’s hard to maneuver in the small kitchen) so I feel like I’m in the way, even when I’m doing what she asks. She asked me to use the internet quickly if I do today because she wants to relax, but I don’t understand why she can’t relax while I use my computer quietly in the same room. I’m trying to talk more and I’m talking about the things I do in the day, so I think I’m doing what she wants...