Then we drove 20 more minutes or so for lunch at a curry place. The building looked like a
log cabin and they were playing J-Lo and rap songs inside, LOL. Was good but nothing
spectacular. After that, we ended up going to a Bizenyaki (pottery that's famous in Okayama
prefecture) shop and making our own pottery! We each made 2 things. I made a plate and a
small vase. Kazue made a pretty cool plate shaped like a leaf. Unfortunately, we won't see
our creations again for another 3 months, 'cause they've got to dry and fire them or whatever they do.
We didn't get back 'til almost 6, and my party was scheduled to start at 7, so I felt a
little rushed. But Sivlia came straight to my apartment with me and helped me cook and set
up. Most people were late, anyway. I think 17 people came in all. Was so fun! The 3 crazy
Japanese guys that I know from other parties came and were hysterical as always. They
discovered (well, more like searched for and took, LOL) the eyeliner in my
bathroom and decided to start drawing on people's faces. Well, they drew on themselves
willingly and announced that the new punishment for losing a round of the games we were
playing was to be drawn on. It was SO fuckin' funny. I'm gonna laugh every time I
picture everyone and their face drawings! I escaped with only a fake mole on my cheek.
So, the party was a success, and it's definitely a day I'll never forget!
Friday, November 21
Not too much to report, except that Sunday will be my 1-year anniversary in Japan! Woo-hoo!
I'll type a longer entry within the next week reflecting on my first year. Sunday happens to
be a national holiday, and that means another day off from work! To celebrate, I'm going
orange-picking (on some little island, I think) with some co-workers and will have a big party
at night! Cleaned my apartment today, so it looks very nice. :-)
Other than that, I've been studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which
I'm taking in Takamatsu on December 7. I've taken 3 practice tests thus far, and I'm pretty sure
I passed them all. The kanji and reading sections have been no problem, 'cause that's what I
always practice the most at home. My confidence on the listening portions is not great, but my
scores are fine. The grammar is what's killing me. Well, not killing me, 'cause I'm still passing,
but it's definitely what I suck the most at.
Friday, November 14
Ok, so now I have to tell about my trip to Kyoto last Sunday and Monday. I went with most
of my co-workers. We got to Kyoto around 11AM, left our luggage at the Granvia Hotel, then
took a local train to Arashiyama - I'm not really sure if that's considered part of Kyoto
city or a suburb, but it means "Storm Mountain." It didn't storm that day, but it was cloudy
and drizzled lightly off and on. After getting to Arashiyama and eating lunch at a place called
"Pension Mind Games," we took a 20-minute ride through the mountains on the "Romantic Train."
This was a fairy-tale looking train that had a see-through ceiling and mostly open-air sides.
It was a fun ride, although we spent more time taking pictures of ourselves on board than
looking at the scenery outside, LOL.
After that train ride and a short bus ride, we got on a small boat which had 3 guys paddling
it. It was at least a 2-hour ride down the river through the mountains back to the train
station. Most of the water was calm, but there were periods of whitewater and little dips.
The trees were still not at their peak fall colors but the surroundings were still nice. At
one point, another boat attached itself to ours and sold us drinks and snacks - cool. I'm
so glad we took the ride, 'cause I would not have known to do it on my own.
Let's see, once we got off the boat, we walked around the touristy streets of Arashiyama for a
little bit, then went back to downtown Kyoto and had dinner at a 5-star hotel restaurant that
turned out to be way too expensive. Was fun while it lasted, though. Got back to the Granvia
a little before 10 and stayed up 'til 1:30 chatting.
Monday there was a long company meeting, but the time before and after it was mostly spent shopping.
I can't remember the name of it, but we ate at a wonderful little cafe in the basement of Kyoto
Station. Their coconut chai, mozzarella caesar salad and honey toast were oishii!! We took the
Nozomi early that evening back home.
Tuesday, November 11
I've been so busy lately! But good busy - I've gotten to travel to many places in
the last couple weeks, and my dad was here for 10 days again!
Dad arrived on October 29. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a bad cold, and picking him up
at Kansai Airport was made worse by the fact that every train I/we took, except for the shinkansen,
was delayed for 15-35 minutes due to at least one accident (I think). We had to change trains at
least 3 times between the airport and Shin-Osaka; normally we'd only have to take one train.
Dad got to experience rush hour at its finest and termed those trains the "Sardine Express" due
to the number of people that were crammed onto one train.
The next day, we went to Osaka Castle; unlike the last time I tried to go, it was beautiful
weather. After that, we walked around the Dotombori entertainment area and ate at that crab
restaurant that you usually see in guidebooks. 'Twas good. I convinced Dad to take some purikura
(those little stamp-sized pictures) with me. Went to Kurashiki at night.
On Friday, Halloween, we went to Okayama to go to Koraku-en Garden (and Starbucks!). Came back
to Kurashiki, went to the mall, then met several co-workers at night for a Halloween dinner.
I had to work Sat-Monday, so we didn't do much exciting. Went out to dinner with Danielle one
night and with my Japanese teacher another night. Then on Tuesday, we went to Nagasaki. Was a
lot more expensive to get there than I thought, but the Kamome train from Fukuoka to Nagasaki
was damn nice! Bright colored lights as you entered, wooden floors, huge black leather seats.
Since it was gorgeous, summer-like weather, I made the wise decision to put off the A-bomb
museum 'til the next day and do our outdoor activities now instead. We went to Glover Gardens,
a European-like area and gardens on a hill; from here there were fantastic views over the city.
There was also a church, the largest Christian church in Japan, if I remember right, but we
didn't go in 'cause we didn't feel like paying to see something we've seen many times in the US
and EUrope.
From there, we went to Chinatown, which was a joke. It covered an area of several blocks, but
most shops were closed and there were only a handful of people walking around. Nothing like the
Chinatowns in Yokohama and Kobe. We wandered around for an hour trying to locate our ryokan
(Japanese-style inn) 'cause the map in the Lonely Planet book seemed to be a little off. Finally,
I asked a woman about my age for directions, and she ended up walking there with us. She was
surprised at the amount of Japanese I understood and we had a nice little conversation while
we walked. Once we found it,the ryokan (Fukumoto Ryokan) was nice and I would stay there again.
The next day it rained most of the day. We went to the Peace Park, A-bomb museum, and Spectacles
Bridge (which was under construction and a mess). The museum was nice (if you can call an
atomic bomb museum "nice") but my dad and I agreed the one in Hiroshima is a little better, with
more videos and models and stuff. Left back for Kurashiki around 3:00 and got back about 7:30.
Let's see, Thursday morning (Nov. 6), we went to the mall for Starbucks, then went to Okayama
for my skating lesson. Hadn't skated in 3 weeks and my legs were really sore afterwards! But I
had a good lesson and my dad was surprised to see my coach out on the ice with me demonstrating
things, since my previous coach in the US mostly sat at the boards. At night, one of my co-workers
took us to a Korean restaurant and Dad got to experience yakiniku for the first time.
Friday, I rode all the way to Kansai airport with Dad and then all the way back. It was hard to
see him off again, and our good-byes were more hasty than I would've liked them to be 'cause we
were both on the verge of choking up again. My apartment felt so empty when I got home. Hopefully,
Alison will come visit me in spring.
Pictures from Dad's visit are here.
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