I’ve really been slacking on this diary thing, which is a shame because a lot of exciting/stressful/Japanese things have happened since the last full entry, which was on the 7th!!!!
I’ll try my best to tell you what’s up. Today, I went on a Nagoya tour of sorts. First, I went to Kojouji at Yagoto. It’s a shrine (which I went to with Cheryl when she was in town) but today, they were having a ‘street fair,’ which wasn’t much of a fair. In fact, I think I was the only one there under fifty. D: It was probably partially because it was a Wednesday morning, when most people are working/going to school. I thought it was pretty boring because all it consisted of was old people shopping for market food (vegetables, fish, dried fruit, etc.) and pretty boring flea-market quality clothes. On the way out though, I saw something I thought I wanted (which I ended up liking more and more throughout the day). Later I realized it would make a great gift for a friend, but when I went back to get it (around four) everything was gone and there was no indication that there had been a ‘fair’ at all. Anyway, when I bought it, I talked to the lady working there in Japanese and she lowered the price for me (I didn’t even ask). :D
After Yagoto, it was off to Motoyama to find Jouanji, another temple. This one was really surprising and very Japanese. I’ve walked by it before on the way to Kakuozan, but I didn’t pay much attention because the front gate isn’t very interesting, but in true Japanese style, beyond it was an elaborate shrine. Inside, there are tons of paths (and everything is surrounded by bamboo forest) and the place looks a little dilapidated, but if you go inside the shrine itself, there are individual round paintings on the ceiling and a giant bell on a giant pillow, as well as the elaborate alter. It was really amazing and very nice to be there since no one was there and you felt secluded in the forest.
I explored quite a bit and found a huge Buddha. Nearby, there were two cats, which acted really strangely. One was very friendly and followed me around until I walked out of the Buddha area. The other was hissing at the friendly one, but also followed me around. One time, it rubbed up against me, but when I pet it, it hissed again. They were really weird...
After that experience, it was off to Nagoya Dome to exchange okaasan’s orchid. After only two days, the flower had fallen off the plant and okaasan wanted me to go see if I could have something done about it. I felt pretty stupid (and a bit rude) going in and asking the cashier for an exchange, but she was really nice and even wrapped the second plant like a gift.
At the mall at Nagoya Dome, I went into the pet shop. Sorry, but OMG! Japanese pet shops are amazing, especially their fish department. They have tons of plants (unlike America) and everything is appealing. Did I mention they have tons of types of goldfish to choose from? The more amazing fish-related things were the tank of about a dozen and a half angelfish (whose fins spanned about the longer length of a dollar bill) and marimo (spherical algae growths). As for non-fish pets, the more amazing things were a kangaroo (yes, they had a baby kangaroo), a sheep, those newts with frilly gills, chinchillas, gigantic bunnies, and crickets that make weird noises (as compared to our crickets). I really wanted a marimo, but unless I can sneak it into a bottle disguised as soda or something, customs will stop me in my tracks.
After that experience, it was off to Kuramamichi to see Nunoike Cathedral. I saw pictures of it online, and I really wanted to see gothic architecture... in Japan!!! The church was huge (I had to stand across the street to get a full picture of it). Afterward, I visited the shrine (across the street) and headed off to my next destination, which was...
Italy. Yup, I decided to go to Italy today. It’s actually not that far once you get to Nagoya port. The only problem is; Italy was closed today. Yeah, so, in addition to all the maritime and aquatic attractions at Nagoya Port, there is an “Italian” village complete with gondolas, canals, the David, and what looks like theaters and restaurants. No one was allowed to enter the main area because it was ‘abunai’ (dangerous) and I think that’s because they were doing repairs. According to Okaasan, it’s not the season for it to be open. I don’t see why not though.
After that minor disappointment, I went over to the aquarium side of the port to check out what I could without paying entrance fees. There was a store selling nothing but ebi sendai (crackers made with shrimp; delicious!!!) and one selling tons of marimo (the algae balls). It was torture. Then, there was a capsule room (a room full of ‘gumball’ machines) where the most interesting figures were on display rather than in the machines.
After this, I decided to go back to Yagoto to get another of what I bought that morning (and failed, as stated earlier) and then to Osu (to check out kimono components again). Unfortunately, being a week night, Osu closed early and I didn’t really get to look at kimono much. I did, however, visit some of my regular stores, where I ended up buying things I had seen (and wanted) near the beginning of my semester that had been marked down considerably. I ended up shopping so long that I had to call okaasan (who told me to take my time) to let her know I would be late for dinner.
As for yesterday:
I spent most of the day going through papers and trying to cram everything into my suitcase. Okaasan thought I should go places since the weather was nice (clear but scorching), but I didn’t really feel like spending another day (and money) alone in the city, not to mention I had a burning desire to do away with all those papers I didn’t need any more. I was pretty sure I would have to buy another suitcase (ridiculous in my opinion) but okaasan suggested getting a packing box from a store or something since it would work just as well if I was only filling it with clothes (I think the papers can go in too) and I don’t need/want another piece of luggage when I get back to the States.
She also saved the dolls, pretty much. I just figured I would carry them through the airports, but that requires lots of bubble wrap and a bag, which I didn’t think of. Okaasan was a bit on the frustrated side since I hadn’t thought of this, but she helped me a lot. The bag she gave me is big enough to hold the two dolls, but not big enough to put them in (the opening is smaller than the volume) so I had to do some crazy maneuvering (and a bit of ripping the bag’s zipper seam) to get them in. I hope they’re alright; I had to tip the boxes a bit, which doesn’t seem good to me. Regardless, the dolls aren’t moving. They’re in glass boxes surrounded by bubble wrap, tissues (all those packages I got from people advertising outside the subway stations), and thin foam paper, then their paper boxes, and finally the carrying bag. I’m just hoping they’ve made it this far. D: By the way; according to okaasan, the post offices in Japan do not sell bubble wrap. I really couldn’t believe her when she said that.
In the evening (after okaasan had brought me a haggandas green tea ice cream) I wanted to ride a bike (I had been thinking about it for a while and it seemed wrong to live in Japan without riding a bike). Okaasan said the bike in the garage hadn’t been ridden for years and I probably couldn’t because there wouldn’t be air in the tires. Well, there was air in the tires (though maybe a bit less than premium), but the problem was the chain. After assuring her the tires were fine, I got permission from okaasan to borrow the bike and rode around the neighborhood. There is an internet cafe and a bookstore somewhere in Nisshin, but I couldn’t find them. All I found were parks, kids, and a Miata (and a MR2). I ran into the chain problem early on; about two minutes into my ride, so I took the bike home to fix the problem (and wash the black grease/dirt off my hands afterward). Okaasan asked me if I was done with my exercise so early (haha). Afterward I rode for about an hour and a half, until dinner.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
May 10
So, as everyone knows, today was mother’s day. Happy mother’s day mom and grandma!!! I’m sorry I couldn’t catch you today, mom, I’ll try again soon.
Okaasan was out all day and when she came home, I heard her talking about what to make for dinner. I saw my chance and went downstairs to treat her and otousan to dinner. We did the Japanese automatic refusal game and then left after getting ready. We went to Ueda to an unagi restuarant, and much like America, it was truly packed. We were 12th on the waiting list, but it was well-worth it. We had a traditional Japanese meal of grilled and marinated unagi over ginger-flavor rice with miso. Okaasan showed me how to eat (since Japanese dishes usually have about one right way and a million wrong ways to eat them). We took a family picture (the waitress seemed very appologetic that she wasn’t a professional) and looked at the interesting shadowbox containing mini replicas of the food served at the restaurant. It was a bit pricey and okaasan said otousan would pay for his dinner, but I assured her it was alright.
On the way home, okaasan and otousan said they hadn’t been to that restaurant in a long time, so it was a nice expeirence. (: When we got home, I saw a lizard on the doorway. Otousan and okaasan weren’t surprised and okaasan explained that it had lived there for years (from when it was smaller) and was an omamori (protector of the house).
After everyone had settled in, I brought the orchid I had bought for okaasan to her and explained that it was my mother’s favorite flower. She really liked it (yokatta!) and even gave me a hug. I was thoroughly surprised, but okaasan was really happy and so was I. :D I admit, I did a dance when I got back to my room before studying again...
Okaasan was out all day and when she came home, I heard her talking about what to make for dinner. I saw my chance and went downstairs to treat her and otousan to dinner. We did the Japanese automatic refusal game and then left after getting ready. We went to Ueda to an unagi restuarant, and much like America, it was truly packed. We were 12th on the waiting list, but it was well-worth it. We had a traditional Japanese meal of grilled and marinated unagi over ginger-flavor rice with miso. Okaasan showed me how to eat (since Japanese dishes usually have about one right way and a million wrong ways to eat them). We took a family picture (the waitress seemed very appologetic that she wasn’t a professional) and looked at the interesting shadowbox containing mini replicas of the food served at the restaurant. It was a bit pricey and okaasan said otousan would pay for his dinner, but I assured her it was alright.
On the way home, okaasan and otousan said they hadn’t been to that restaurant in a long time, so it was a nice expeirence. (: When we got home, I saw a lizard on the doorway. Otousan and okaasan weren’t surprised and okaasan explained that it had lived there for years (from when it was smaller) and was an omamori (protector of the house).
After everyone had settled in, I brought the orchid I had bought for okaasan to her and explained that it was my mother’s favorite flower. She really liked it (yokatta!) and even gave me a hug. I was thoroughly surprised, but okaasan was really happy and so was I. :D I admit, I did a dance when I got back to my room before studying again...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May 7
Today wasn’t particularly exciting. I woke up around 8:00 D: because I had stayed up until about 12:30 watching anime... for the first time since coming to Japan. The sad thing is; it wasn’t even really interesting. Oh well...
On the train, I was kind of ticked off at this girl who was doing her makeup. She spent almost the entire ride from Akaike (when I noticed) to Shiogamaguchi doing her eye makeup. I can describe it too; she did it four freaking times!!! First, there was the mascara application (and subsequent brushing with a mustache comb), then another application (comb again), then she painted fake lashes on top (more comb), and finally, some substance that looked white (don’t forget the comb!). It didn’t even match her hair color!!! She had an extra purse too for her make-up bag (yes, a bag whose sole purpose was to carry another bag that didn’t leave much room for anything else). What?! I hand it to her for being able to do that on a moving train, but come on, no one is looking THAT close, and it didn’t seem to make her look any prettier. I really wanted to tell her (after 1.5 times) that she looked pretty and didn’t have to do that anymore, but meh.
In class, we reviewed for our tests... which are broken into four days, the last of which follows about a week’s worth of ‘no class.’ If I knew about this waste of time, I could have booked an earlier flight and not have to miss my summer class... but no!!!!
At least there was good news when I checked my bank account. All the money is there, so I’m closing it tomorrow. :D
At dinner, we had weird, semi-family time as usual. I think okaasan is crazy now, but she’s fun when she gets talking... and I know it’s okay to think so because otousan laughs out loud when he thinks so. First of all, I surprised okaasan again by coming in the kitchen without saying anything. It’s really hard to find something to say as an opening when ‘good evening’ is an out-group phrase. I wanted to help with dinner, but okaasan just told me to wait (and that it was okay if I slept until dinner was ready because she thought I was feeling ill). I had left over tendon (tenpura over rice). Okaasan said it was okay not to eat all the rice because we could put it away for later, but when she saw the rice left over after dinner, she planned to throw it away. Huh?!
Okaasan wanted to know what I would be doing for mother’s day, but based on what she said, I couldn’t tell if she was talking about herself or my biological mother. I’ve got plans...
Ryoushin went today to the airport for a ‘test run,’ since okaasan has to drive now and she’s never been. It took two hours!!!! With time running out, I don’t know how I’m going to treat my host parents (as thanks), especially since they haven’t told me what they want to do.
Okaasan bought brownies for dessert. :D They’re different from American ones, but still delicious. While we ate, we watched a show about the Japanese ‘problem’ of falling marriage and birth rates. They showed awkward dates where the guy didn’t know what to do. It was just funny and otousan laughed a lot about the things okaasan was saying.
On the train, I was kind of ticked off at this girl who was doing her makeup. She spent almost the entire ride from Akaike (when I noticed) to Shiogamaguchi doing her eye makeup. I can describe it too; she did it four freaking times!!! First, there was the mascara application (and subsequent brushing with a mustache comb), then another application (comb again), then she painted fake lashes on top (more comb), and finally, some substance that looked white (don’t forget the comb!). It didn’t even match her hair color!!! She had an extra purse too for her make-up bag (yes, a bag whose sole purpose was to carry another bag that didn’t leave much room for anything else). What?! I hand it to her for being able to do that on a moving train, but come on, no one is looking THAT close, and it didn’t seem to make her look any prettier. I really wanted to tell her (after 1.5 times) that she looked pretty and didn’t have to do that anymore, but meh.
In class, we reviewed for our tests... which are broken into four days, the last of which follows about a week’s worth of ‘no class.’ If I knew about this waste of time, I could have booked an earlier flight and not have to miss my summer class... but no!!!!
At least there was good news when I checked my bank account. All the money is there, so I’m closing it tomorrow. :D
At dinner, we had weird, semi-family time as usual. I think okaasan is crazy now, but she’s fun when she gets talking... and I know it’s okay to think so because otousan laughs out loud when he thinks so. First of all, I surprised okaasan again by coming in the kitchen without saying anything. It’s really hard to find something to say as an opening when ‘good evening’ is an out-group phrase. I wanted to help with dinner, but okaasan just told me to wait (and that it was okay if I slept until dinner was ready because she thought I was feeling ill). I had left over tendon (tenpura over rice). Okaasan said it was okay not to eat all the rice because we could put it away for later, but when she saw the rice left over after dinner, she planned to throw it away. Huh?!
Okaasan wanted to know what I would be doing for mother’s day, but based on what she said, I couldn’t tell if she was talking about herself or my biological mother. I’ve got plans...
Ryoushin went today to the airport for a ‘test run,’ since okaasan has to drive now and she’s never been. It took two hours!!!! With time running out, I don’t know how I’m going to treat my host parents (as thanks), especially since they haven’t told me what they want to do.
Okaasan bought brownies for dessert. :D They’re different from American ones, but still delicious. While we ate, we watched a show about the Japanese ‘problem’ of falling marriage and birth rates. They showed awkward dates where the guy didn’t know what to do. It was just funny and otousan laughed a lot about the things okaasan was saying.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
May 6
So, today it was pretty much rainy. I called JiWei to see if he had bought the tickets for today’s baseball game. We get online at different times, so we hadn’t been in direct contact until then. We agreed to talk again around 11:00, when JiWei would try to buy the tickets. Shortly after, I got up and went to breakfast. Okaasan made me a normal breakfast (I hope pancakes are coming soon) and otousan was surprised to see me up so early because today is a national holiday, but I still had to go to class.
At school, I went to CJS to ask about the letter concerning my stimulus check that I had received in the mail. Even though it was after 9:00 when I went, the door was locked with a “closed” sign on it and Japanese students were waiting outside trying to look inconspicuous by looking at posters on the walls. The closed sign also had the hours of operation on it (which begins at 9:00) so I made the move that none of the Japanese people would and knocked on the door. Shortly after, a member of the CJS staff came and opened it. I think if I wasn’t there, the students would have waited all day rather than knocking.
According to CJS, I’ve already received my check, but when I went to the ATM to make sure, I found it locked. Seriously, ATM’s are 24-hour in the US, why can’t Japan be the same? On top of that, the hours of operation for the ATM were from 9:00am, regardless of whether it’s the weekend (when they charge a service fee) or not, so that was fuben (inconvenient) too.
Today’s class, as it turned out, was the listening lab final exam, though I did not remember it being so. Additionally, finals do not officially begin until the 12th, so I was a bit angered and felt unprepared. Before the test, Hanashiro Sensei went over the information about the swine flu, which consisted mostly of “if you’ve visited these countries over Golden Week, you should go home [and get an unconditional 0 on this exam].” Most of the class started faking coughs to get him to let us go home, but he said (in English for the first time I’ve heard) “Be serious.”
On the topic of swine flu, David and Matt got calls from CJS while we were riding the world’s tallest ferris wheel in Osaka, but I didn’t. In class, the instructors checked with the “three students who couldn’t be contacted,” to make sure they hadn’t been to Mexico or something, but I wasn’t in that group. I felt a bit forgotten. ):
The test wasn’t bad, but I probably could have done a bit better if I had listened to the CD’s from our textbook one more time before going in. Anyway, afterward was practice for the oral exam and then, talking to JiWei!!! Since the tickets were for a game that was so soon, the cheapest tickets (which should have been 1500en) were 3800en. Naho might have tickets for the14th that were the cheaper price, so we opted out and went to lunch instead. JiWei was going to take me to a restaurant he and his friends go to often, but since it’s Wednesday, it was closed. Instead, we went to Mountain (マウンテン) which was known for its weird food. It was really cool!!! The building is partially wood and maybe looks like the kind of restaurant you find on a ski slope. All of the dishes sounded ridiculous, but we decided to be adventurous, so I ordered green tea spaghetti and JiWei ordered black fried rice. While we were waiting though, JiWei kept changing his mind about what he wanted to order, since the lime-green Melon spaghetti, banana spaghetti, and strawberry spaghetti kept catching his eye. When our food did come, it was amazing!!! The thought of sweet spaghetti sounds bad, but my green tea smothered spaghetti with ice cream, a peach, and a cherry on top was delicious!!! It was like eating hot ice cream... which was half-true. JiWei’s fried rice was pretty great too (though I only had a bite). It seemed to be black because of squid ink (the squid was on the side) and had pasta, eggplant, and hot pepper in it too. I ate too much and had to ask JiWei to eat some of my spaghetti, but now we both want to try other things on the menu, so I hope we can go back some time!
We didn’t know what to do with the afternoon, so we went to JiWei’s dorm and looked for thing on the internet, but all we came up with was the 2000en aquarium, which is a bit expensive, we thought. Instead, we just watched movie trailers and youtube videos. We did, however, figure out that we were in the same biochem and biotech classes for next Fall, so that was a plus!!!
At school, I went to CJS to ask about the letter concerning my stimulus check that I had received in the mail. Even though it was after 9:00 when I went, the door was locked with a “closed” sign on it and Japanese students were waiting outside trying to look inconspicuous by looking at posters on the walls. The closed sign also had the hours of operation on it (which begins at 9:00) so I made the move that none of the Japanese people would and knocked on the door. Shortly after, a member of the CJS staff came and opened it. I think if I wasn’t there, the students would have waited all day rather than knocking.
According to CJS, I’ve already received my check, but when I went to the ATM to make sure, I found it locked. Seriously, ATM’s are 24-hour in the US, why can’t Japan be the same? On top of that, the hours of operation for the ATM were from 9:00am, regardless of whether it’s the weekend (when they charge a service fee) or not, so that was fuben (inconvenient) too.
Today’s class, as it turned out, was the listening lab final exam, though I did not remember it being so. Additionally, finals do not officially begin until the 12th, so I was a bit angered and felt unprepared. Before the test, Hanashiro Sensei went over the information about the swine flu, which consisted mostly of “if you’ve visited these countries over Golden Week, you should go home [and get an unconditional 0 on this exam].” Most of the class started faking coughs to get him to let us go home, but he said (in English for the first time I’ve heard) “Be serious.”
On the topic of swine flu, David and Matt got calls from CJS while we were riding the world’s tallest ferris wheel in Osaka, but I didn’t. In class, the instructors checked with the “three students who couldn’t be contacted,” to make sure they hadn’t been to Mexico or something, but I wasn’t in that group. I felt a bit forgotten. ):
The test wasn’t bad, but I probably could have done a bit better if I had listened to the CD’s from our textbook one more time before going in. Anyway, afterward was practice for the oral exam and then, talking to JiWei!!! Since the tickets were for a game that was so soon, the cheapest tickets (which should have been 1500en) were 3800en. Naho might have tickets for the14th that were the cheaper price, so we opted out and went to lunch instead. JiWei was going to take me to a restaurant he and his friends go to often, but since it’s Wednesday, it was closed. Instead, we went to Mountain (マウンテン) which was known for its weird food. It was really cool!!! The building is partially wood and maybe looks like the kind of restaurant you find on a ski slope. All of the dishes sounded ridiculous, but we decided to be adventurous, so I ordered green tea spaghetti and JiWei ordered black fried rice. While we were waiting though, JiWei kept changing his mind about what he wanted to order, since the lime-green Melon spaghetti, banana spaghetti, and strawberry spaghetti kept catching his eye. When our food did come, it was amazing!!! The thought of sweet spaghetti sounds bad, but my green tea smothered spaghetti with ice cream, a peach, and a cherry on top was delicious!!! It was like eating hot ice cream... which was half-true. JiWei’s fried rice was pretty great too (though I only had a bite). It seemed to be black because of squid ink (the squid was on the side) and had pasta, eggplant, and hot pepper in it too. I ate too much and had to ask JiWei to eat some of my spaghetti, but now we both want to try other things on the menu, so I hope we can go back some time!
We didn’t know what to do with the afternoon, so we went to JiWei’s dorm and looked for thing on the internet, but all we came up with was the 2000en aquarium, which is a bit expensive, we thought. Instead, we just watched movie trailers and youtube videos. We did, however, figure out that we were in the same biochem and biotech classes for next Fall, so that was a plus!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
May 4
Today was up and down. I started around 10:00, an hour after my normal alarm. At breakfast, okaasan brought the soy sauce packets I had left on the counter from my sushi to me and asked about them. She was wondering why I had left them there when she didn’t need them and why I hadn’t used them. I finally got my chance to tell her that I thought soy sauce was too strong and overcame the flavor of the food it is used on. Her reply was that my thinking was wrong (pretty much a literal translation) and that it makes the flavor better, as well as being good for your health. She said it’s fine if I don’t eat it if I don’t like it, but that it’s just like vinegar, miso, or salt in its ability to enhance flavor. In the end, the sauce was thrown away. I just can’t win...
She also pressured me to leave the house because it’s golden week. I still don’t know what my friends are up to now that I’m back in town, so I don’t really have anywhere to go. I told her I had homework to finish first and that I would probably go out after I had finished it. Okaasan herself left shortly after this. I figured I could spend the day cleaning my room, doing laundry, and other things to become orderly, but I figured it would be bad if okaasan came home and I hadn’t left, so after doing only about 10% of the cleaning work I wanted to (and making some sad-looking onigiri), I wrote a short note to let okaasan know and walked to Nisshin eki.
I had to wait for a long time for my train (it’s the weekend) so I called Mike to see when he was going to have yakiniku, because it would be ironic if I had a boring day by myself forced on me by my host mother when I could have a fun day with my friends. As it turns out, it won’t be for another week probably, so I went shopping instead.
First, I went to Hara, where I had previously found a thrift shop that sells kimonos as well as all sorts of other things. It is quite a walk from the eki, and despite having been there only once, I was able to find it again with no problem. I even got a new picture of the dealership that sells corvettes on the way. While I was shopping, I heard Hirabari on the intercom, which made me think the shop was closer to the Hirabari station than Hara. That being the case, I walked out of the store when I was finished and was going to ask directions to the Hirabari eki at the nearby convenience store, but once I got there, I saw the eki right there. The thrift shop is pretty much right outside the eki.
I decided I would check out Shiogamaguchi too (since I ride past that stop all the time but never get off there). My luck with Shiogamaguchi wasn’t so great. It didn’t seem like there was anything to see and I didn’t feel like walking as far as I had from Hara with the chance of finding nothing, so when I came to another entrance to the same station, I rode the train to Yagoto, where I knew there was a Jusco.
At Jusco, I checked out the stationary (I am going to buy a bit more before I return) first. With that exhausted, I looked around the clothing floor just to kill some more time. I went to the section that had the scarf I liked at the beginning of my stay here and to my surprise, it had been marked down significantly (since it’s no longer winter). I had to get it at that point. :D Afterward, I checked out a few jackets and dresses at the other clothing sections. Everything is fairly cheap, but I can’t bring myself to buy acrylic or polyester anymore with the quick demise of clothing made from those fabrics.
My train put me at home just before dinner and when I returned, I thought I heard Otousan talking to his granddaughter. It turned out he was talking about her or on the phone to her. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself though because last time she was around, she didn’t like me being around. Either way, it all ended with me going to the kitchen with okaasan for dinner.
We had sukiyaki and okaasan tried to get me to eat a lot because, having seen how much sushi I ate the night before, she thought I could eat a lot. She also thinks I’m not adventurous (as compared to boys) because I don’t want to eat raw eggs, but I told her I had eaten them before, which didn’t seem to reduce her opinion of me as “reserved.”
At dinner, otousan said he and okaasan would practice (“rehearsal”) going to the airport before my flight because okaasan had never driven there (and otousan can’t drive any more). There was some confusion about where I would be leaving from (Nagoya airport or Chubu airport) but I think we’re good now, having consulted NWA.com.
We had the okashi I had brought back from Nara as dessert. Otousan asked me where they came from and I told him, as well as explained that I wasn’t sure if it was Nara-esque or not. He seemed a bit amused. When I was washing the dishes later, okaasan showed me that there was pancake mix in the house. I’m excited to make them tomorrow. :D I will definitely have to make brownies for ryoushin now.
After dinner, I watched the news with okaasan where they were interviewing a Japanese astronaut at the international space station. It was really interesting to see him in the station and the earth from the window.
She also pressured me to leave the house because it’s golden week. I still don’t know what my friends are up to now that I’m back in town, so I don’t really have anywhere to go. I told her I had homework to finish first and that I would probably go out after I had finished it. Okaasan herself left shortly after this. I figured I could spend the day cleaning my room, doing laundry, and other things to become orderly, but I figured it would be bad if okaasan came home and I hadn’t left, so after doing only about 10% of the cleaning work I wanted to (and making some sad-looking onigiri), I wrote a short note to let okaasan know and walked to Nisshin eki.
I had to wait for a long time for my train (it’s the weekend) so I called Mike to see when he was going to have yakiniku, because it would be ironic if I had a boring day by myself forced on me by my host mother when I could have a fun day with my friends. As it turns out, it won’t be for another week probably, so I went shopping instead.
First, I went to Hara, where I had previously found a thrift shop that sells kimonos as well as all sorts of other things. It is quite a walk from the eki, and despite having been there only once, I was able to find it again with no problem. I even got a new picture of the dealership that sells corvettes on the way. While I was shopping, I heard Hirabari on the intercom, which made me think the shop was closer to the Hirabari station than Hara. That being the case, I walked out of the store when I was finished and was going to ask directions to the Hirabari eki at the nearby convenience store, but once I got there, I saw the eki right there. The thrift shop is pretty much right outside the eki.
I decided I would check out Shiogamaguchi too (since I ride past that stop all the time but never get off there). My luck with Shiogamaguchi wasn’t so great. It didn’t seem like there was anything to see and I didn’t feel like walking as far as I had from Hara with the chance of finding nothing, so when I came to another entrance to the same station, I rode the train to Yagoto, where I knew there was a Jusco.
At Jusco, I checked out the stationary (I am going to buy a bit more before I return) first. With that exhausted, I looked around the clothing floor just to kill some more time. I went to the section that had the scarf I liked at the beginning of my stay here and to my surprise, it had been marked down significantly (since it’s no longer winter). I had to get it at that point. :D Afterward, I checked out a few jackets and dresses at the other clothing sections. Everything is fairly cheap, but I can’t bring myself to buy acrylic or polyester anymore with the quick demise of clothing made from those fabrics.
My train put me at home just before dinner and when I returned, I thought I heard Otousan talking to his granddaughter. It turned out he was talking about her or on the phone to her. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself though because last time she was around, she didn’t like me being around. Either way, it all ended with me going to the kitchen with okaasan for dinner.
We had sukiyaki and okaasan tried to get me to eat a lot because, having seen how much sushi I ate the night before, she thought I could eat a lot. She also thinks I’m not adventurous (as compared to boys) because I don’t want to eat raw eggs, but I told her I had eaten them before, which didn’t seem to reduce her opinion of me as “reserved.”
At dinner, otousan said he and okaasan would practice (“rehearsal”) going to the airport before my flight because okaasan had never driven there (and otousan can’t drive any more). There was some confusion about where I would be leaving from (Nagoya airport or Chubu airport) but I think we’re good now, having consulted NWA.com.
We had the okashi I had brought back from Nara as dessert. Otousan asked me where they came from and I told him, as well as explained that I wasn’t sure if it was Nara-esque or not. He seemed a bit amused. When I was washing the dishes later, okaasan showed me that there was pancake mix in the house. I’m excited to make them tomorrow. :D I will definitely have to make brownies for ryoushin now.
After dinner, I watched the news with okaasan where they were interviewing a Japanese astronaut at the international space station. It was really interesting to see him in the station and the earth from the window.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
May 3
Today was Suzuka Circuit. Unfortunately, before we could go there, we got off to a late-ish start and got very lost. Going on the scale of our map, we thought we could walk to a train station to make our commute to Suzuka shorter (and cheaper) but we ended up wasting a few hours in a run-down area of Osaka instead. On the up side, we got to see an interesting shrine, but, on the down side, our time at Suzuka was severely shortened. Along the way, I met a Chinese man who wanted to give me his phone number (a customer who overheard me asking the Lawson’s clerk for directions) and walked by a dog which probably would have bitten me if not chained to a building.
We did end up riding a JR train to the Kintetsu station (instead of walking there) and the kintetsu employee wasn’t too helpful. It wasn’t his fault, but there were not express tickets left for going to Suzuka. David and I were really confused at this time and we ended up going to the clerk three times including the one at which we bought our tickets. When we asked about our train line changes, he wasn’t like the other clerks, who either wrote everything down for us or made sure we actually understood before we left. He gave us an answer and then went about his business. I had to ask two or three times to get all of the information (like IT: they give you the literal answer, not the implicit answers to your questions) but once we were on the first train, we were fine.
The trip to Suzuka took about 2.5 hours and when we got there, we had to wait another half-hour for the bus to come (it was very far from the eki to the circuit, as it turned out). When we did get there though, (and had paid almost 400en for the bus) we had to pay an entrance fee to get into the park (after which you have to pay for all the attractions). We felt a bit jipped, but we paid the money and did some racing. As it turned out, Suzuka was pretty fun, for the things we were interested in.
First of all, we rode 20cc carts. It was pretty much like RushHour (though the track is wider and outdoors). We had to show our licenses, give our blood types, and sit through a briefing (luckily Japan has four flags instead of RH’s 10). We had to suit up quite a bit and I was kicking myself for not bringing my headsock to Japan because I had to pay for a paper one at the track. In addition to that, there was the helmet, gloves, shoes, and if you didn’t wear long sleeves or pants, you had to wear issued sleeves too. On the track, I ran into the barrier (and couldn’t correct) once and had to wait for someone to pull me out (there’s no reverse!!!). Otherwise, I was fine and despite nearly spinning out many times (and still being captain slow), I didn’t get passed by anyone.
Our next stop was the parking lot in front of Suzuka Circuit itself, which was the location of the super cars. It was a bit disappointing (after being to so many auto-x’s where the cars number over 100) but the few cars we did see were pretty cool. There were a few older lotus models, a cobra, a porsche, and a couple of others.
The next attraction, which was heavily considered before being decided on, was driving karts on the actual Suzuka Circuit. Unfortunately, the karts were really slow compared to the first ones we rode (and the ride was really bumpy), but it was worth the price we paid (and the long line we waited in). It seemed so slow though that I pulled out my camera and took a bunch of shots instead of focusing on my driving. I ran over the rumble strips just to make the ride interesting.
After that, it was off to the gift shops, as the majority of the un-visited area was kiddy rides. There was a roller coaster, but it didn’t seem very special. I found an awesome shirt in one of the gift shops, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay the 14700en price for it. D:
Afterward, we rode the expensive bus back (which stopped running at 6:10, despite the circuit’s later closing hour) and tried to buy our tickets home. The station master wasn’t very accommodating. David was out of discount tickets, so I was going to use mine to pay for both of our tickets (I had two discounts). First the station master told me I couldn’t do that, so I was going to use only one. Then, (after marking my discount as one-way) he decided to tell me I couldn’t use it because I wasn’t going to Kyoto or somewhere else. Gee, you couldn’t tell me at the very beginning, when I told you I wanted to go to Nagoya? That was okay though too because the tickets were pretty cheap and we got back to Nagoya before 8:00. At yagoto, David and I went to Valor to buy discount bentou (delicous!!!) and I went home to enjoy the sushi and onigiri I bought there.
At home (around 10:00), I gave the omiyage I had bought in Nara to okaasan and ate my dinner (the only thing besides two small onigiri I had eaten all day). After my meal, I went up the stairs (where a piece of mail was waiting for me) to my room. I figured my mail was another troublesome government concern, but when I opened it, I found it was for my stimulus check!!! I showed it to okaasan and she didn’t seem too surprised, but she told me to use it to buy some good Japanese items, since that was what it was for. I’ll probably not end up spending it with all the money that should come in this month, but I can call it reimbursement. (:
We did end up riding a JR train to the Kintetsu station (instead of walking there) and the kintetsu employee wasn’t too helpful. It wasn’t his fault, but there were not express tickets left for going to Suzuka. David and I were really confused at this time and we ended up going to the clerk three times including the one at which we bought our tickets. When we asked about our train line changes, he wasn’t like the other clerks, who either wrote everything down for us or made sure we actually understood before we left. He gave us an answer and then went about his business. I had to ask two or three times to get all of the information (like IT: they give you the literal answer, not the implicit answers to your questions) but once we were on the first train, we were fine.
The trip to Suzuka took about 2.5 hours and when we got there, we had to wait another half-hour for the bus to come (it was very far from the eki to the circuit, as it turned out). When we did get there though, (and had paid almost 400en for the bus) we had to pay an entrance fee to get into the park (after which you have to pay for all the attractions). We felt a bit jipped, but we paid the money and did some racing. As it turned out, Suzuka was pretty fun, for the things we were interested in.
First of all, we rode 20cc carts. It was pretty much like RushHour (though the track is wider and outdoors). We had to show our licenses, give our blood types, and sit through a briefing (luckily Japan has four flags instead of RH’s 10). We had to suit up quite a bit and I was kicking myself for not bringing my headsock to Japan because I had to pay for a paper one at the track. In addition to that, there was the helmet, gloves, shoes, and if you didn’t wear long sleeves or pants, you had to wear issued sleeves too. On the track, I ran into the barrier (and couldn’t correct) once and had to wait for someone to pull me out (there’s no reverse!!!). Otherwise, I was fine and despite nearly spinning out many times (and still being captain slow), I didn’t get passed by anyone.
Our next stop was the parking lot in front of Suzuka Circuit itself, which was the location of the super cars. It was a bit disappointing (after being to so many auto-x’s where the cars number over 100) but the few cars we did see were pretty cool. There were a few older lotus models, a cobra, a porsche, and a couple of others.
The next attraction, which was heavily considered before being decided on, was driving karts on the actual Suzuka Circuit. Unfortunately, the karts were really slow compared to the first ones we rode (and the ride was really bumpy), but it was worth the price we paid (and the long line we waited in). It seemed so slow though that I pulled out my camera and took a bunch of shots instead of focusing on my driving. I ran over the rumble strips just to make the ride interesting.
After that, it was off to the gift shops, as the majority of the un-visited area was kiddy rides. There was a roller coaster, but it didn’t seem very special. I found an awesome shirt in one of the gift shops, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay the 14700en price for it. D:
Afterward, we rode the expensive bus back (which stopped running at 6:10, despite the circuit’s later closing hour) and tried to buy our tickets home. The station master wasn’t very accommodating. David was out of discount tickets, so I was going to use mine to pay for both of our tickets (I had two discounts). First the station master told me I couldn’t do that, so I was going to use only one. Then, (after marking my discount as one-way) he decided to tell me I couldn’t use it because I wasn’t going to Kyoto or somewhere else. Gee, you couldn’t tell me at the very beginning, when I told you I wanted to go to Nagoya? That was okay though too because the tickets were pretty cheap and we got back to Nagoya before 8:00. At yagoto, David and I went to Valor to buy discount bentou (delicous!!!) and I went home to enjoy the sushi and onigiri I bought there.
At home (around 10:00), I gave the omiyage I had bought in Nara to okaasan and ate my dinner (the only thing besides two small onigiri I had eaten all day). After my meal, I went up the stairs (where a piece of mail was waiting for me) to my room. I figured my mail was another troublesome government concern, but when I opened it, I found it was for my stimulus check!!! I showed it to okaasan and she didn’t seem too surprised, but she told me to use it to buy some good Japanese items, since that was what it was for. I’ll probably not end up spending it with all the money that should come in this month, but I can call it reimbursement. (:
Saturday, May 2, 2009
May 2
Today, Matt left early in the morning (he had been called away to compete in a boxing match by his trainer) so it was just David and me. We went to DenDen again in the morning because there was something I wanted to buy that I had seen yesterday but wasn’t sure about at the time. We ended up going in a bunch of otaku stores that we had passed the first time around. We also saw some girls dressed up as maids and handing out pamphlets for thier maid café’s. I decided I wanted a picture with one of them (none of them were skantily clad), but when I asked, the girl said I couldn’t have a picture because you had to go to the café (and pay) to do that. We decided we would take a picture of her from afar, but when she figured out what was going on, she went around the corner. That was okay though and we got pictures of other people. We also passed by a parking lot where a bunch of riced up cars were covered in vinyl anime decals (which we took pictures of). I didn’t think otaku drove fast cars. O:
After this, we headed back to ShinSekai to get to Festival Gate (where the roller coaster is) but when we got there, we heard no noise and saw no cars. The coaster wasn’t running that day either!!! None of the shops around were open either, so we decided my guide book was probably out of date and the rollercoaster was no longer in operation.
We spent the rest of the afternoon looking for takosen (tako yaki in a giant ebi cracker) and playing taiko at the arcade. I ended up getting the takosen all over my hands, much like the time I ate a crepé at Versailles. It wasn’t quite enough, so we stopped by a cafeteria-like restaurant and had rice and crokets before heading back to the hostel to drop our belongings. There, we tried to decide on something to do for the evening and somehow, while talking, we both passed out for about three hours.
When we woke up, we decided to go back to Ebisu-bashi, but this time by foot. It only took about a half-hour to get there even with getting a bit lost. This time, we saw a garage full of (about five) lambos and we were going to take pictures, but in the time it took to get our cameras out, the parking lot attendant waved us away. Zannen... We did go into a restaurant on the river though to have ika okonomiyaki. It was one of the best I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, we were running out of time because of our curfue, so we booked it to the crepé stand for a final treat and then to the subway to get home fast. We got on the wrong direction train though, so with our reverse-change, we got back to the hostel just in time.
After this, we headed back to ShinSekai to get to Festival Gate (where the roller coaster is) but when we got there, we heard no noise and saw no cars. The coaster wasn’t running that day either!!! None of the shops around were open either, so we decided my guide book was probably out of date and the rollercoaster was no longer in operation.
We spent the rest of the afternoon looking for takosen (tako yaki in a giant ebi cracker) and playing taiko at the arcade. I ended up getting the takosen all over my hands, much like the time I ate a crepé at Versailles. It wasn’t quite enough, so we stopped by a cafeteria-like restaurant and had rice and crokets before heading back to the hostel to drop our belongings. There, we tried to decide on something to do for the evening and somehow, while talking, we both passed out for about three hours.
When we woke up, we decided to go back to Ebisu-bashi, but this time by foot. It only took about a half-hour to get there even with getting a bit lost. This time, we saw a garage full of (about five) lambos and we were going to take pictures, but in the time it took to get our cameras out, the parking lot attendant waved us away. Zannen... We did go into a restaurant on the river though to have ika okonomiyaki. It was one of the best I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, we were running out of time because of our curfue, so we booked it to the crepé stand for a final treat and then to the subway to get home fast. We got on the wrong direction train though, so with our reverse-change, we got back to the hostel just in time.
Friday, May 1, 2009
May 1
Today, we got up and out of the hostle around nine, I think, but for Japan, that’s early. Nothing seemed to be open until ten and eleven, which seemed to be the normal opening hours. We got lost trying to find DenDen Town (Osaka’s version of Akihabara) because we thought the map we were given depicted a larger area. We got a lot of practice in asking directions that way though. Eventually, we made it to DenDen (which is like Akihabara both for its electronics and its otaku stores) but we were still early, so we stopped in a shop to eat udon. We were one of two groups of customers, but the other group (a Japanese couple) for some reason gave us cookies. I couldn’t understand their Japanese, unfortunately.
Afterward, we walked the streets where we went in stores selling all sorts of otaku things, advertising TV’s using Advent Children, 700en 4-gig SD cards, and so on. It was really interesting. I got bumped on the street a lot (it seems to be the way of Osakans; get where you’re going, no nonsense) and Matt said a lot of guys were looking at me, so I was glad I had him and David walking with me. I’m guessing it’s not very common for girls (especially gaijin, which are less prevalent in Osaka than Nagoya) to be on the Akihabara-esque street. Afterward, we went to festival gate to check out the roller coaster, but it was closed, we thought, because of it only running on the weekend and holidays. We spent a bit more time in Shinsekai, where we played a fighting game in an arcade for 50en which went on forever, but was fun.
We made a quick stop at the hostle to drop our belonings and then headed off to Tempozan (on the bay) where we rode the world’s largest ferris wheel. Osaka was really pretty at night. We went into the nearby mall (which resembles Crabtree, or any other American mall) where most of the stores were closing, though it was a Friday night and only 8:00pm. Matt and David did manage to get okonomiyaki and afterward, we walked around the secondary food court, which was really cool because it resembled a Meiji period street. The lighting came from red lanterns and the restaurant fronts looked like wooden buildings lining streets.
Once we ran out of things to see there (and spent a bit of money on t-shirts at the most tourist-esqe business there), we headed to Ebisu-bashi, which looked interesting from the photographs in my guidebook. It was said to be the nightlife central of Osaka, and it really was. In addition to many shops, bars, restaurants, and food stands, there were the more risqué attractions of Japan. We saw lots of callboys (more so than callgirls) on the streets with blonde (yes, they bleach their hair) maines (and spike it too) and shiny black suits that probably cost lots of money. They were chasing girls (and guys) down the streets when they weren’t standing together looking pretty (by someone else’s standard). We saw a lot of expensive cars too. I wasn’t quick enough to catch a shot of the lambo. There were, of course, love hotels too.
We weren’t there for any of that though, but it was intersting to see Japan’s nightlife from the streets. The buildings too were often covered in neon and the river that runs through the district was pretty. We went in a pet shop (I’ve never been to one in Japan) where the prices for cats and dogs were around $1000. I had takoyaki too (at which point I got to talk a bit in Japanese with the seller) which gave us time to look around a more interesting instersection in the area while I ate (in Japan, you don’t walk and eat, you eat in one place). We ended it all with delicous crepes and got back to the hostle.
There, we watched Japanese TV (I found a drama with the guy from Densha Otoko in it) which was pretty interesting. David and I watched a kids show too which was pretty funny just because of the normal things kids do (that makes sense to kids but seems funny to adults). We decided to turn it off and go to sleep when hard gay was the only thing on TV. D:
Afterward, we walked the streets where we went in stores selling all sorts of otaku things, advertising TV’s using Advent Children, 700en 4-gig SD cards, and so on. It was really interesting. I got bumped on the street a lot (it seems to be the way of Osakans; get where you’re going, no nonsense) and Matt said a lot of guys were looking at me, so I was glad I had him and David walking with me. I’m guessing it’s not very common for girls (especially gaijin, which are less prevalent in Osaka than Nagoya) to be on the Akihabara-esque street. Afterward, we went to festival gate to check out the roller coaster, but it was closed, we thought, because of it only running on the weekend and holidays. We spent a bit more time in Shinsekai, where we played a fighting game in an arcade for 50en which went on forever, but was fun.
We made a quick stop at the hostle to drop our belonings and then headed off to Tempozan (on the bay) where we rode the world’s largest ferris wheel. Osaka was really pretty at night. We went into the nearby mall (which resembles Crabtree, or any other American mall) where most of the stores were closing, though it was a Friday night and only 8:00pm. Matt and David did manage to get okonomiyaki and afterward, we walked around the secondary food court, which was really cool because it resembled a Meiji period street. The lighting came from red lanterns and the restaurant fronts looked like wooden buildings lining streets.
Once we ran out of things to see there (and spent a bit of money on t-shirts at the most tourist-esqe business there), we headed to Ebisu-bashi, which looked interesting from the photographs in my guidebook. It was said to be the nightlife central of Osaka, and it really was. In addition to many shops, bars, restaurants, and food stands, there were the more risqué attractions of Japan. We saw lots of callboys (more so than callgirls) on the streets with blonde (yes, they bleach their hair) maines (and spike it too) and shiny black suits that probably cost lots of money. They were chasing girls (and guys) down the streets when they weren’t standing together looking pretty (by someone else’s standard). We saw a lot of expensive cars too. I wasn’t quick enough to catch a shot of the lambo. There were, of course, love hotels too.
We weren’t there for any of that though, but it was intersting to see Japan’s nightlife from the streets. The buildings too were often covered in neon and the river that runs through the district was pretty. We went in a pet shop (I’ve never been to one in Japan) where the prices for cats and dogs were around $1000. I had takoyaki too (at which point I got to talk a bit in Japanese with the seller) which gave us time to look around a more interesting instersection in the area while I ate (in Japan, you don’t walk and eat, you eat in one place). We ended it all with delicous crepes and got back to the hostle.
There, we watched Japanese TV (I found a drama with the guy from Densha Otoko in it) which was pretty interesting. David and I watched a kids show too which was pretty funny just because of the normal things kids do (that makes sense to kids but seems funny to adults). We decided to turn it off and go to sleep when hard gay was the only thing on TV. D:
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