Saturday morning I met Keith and Alex at Osaka Station; Matt joined us a few minutes later. While at DisneySea last weekend, a random decision was made (within a matter of moments) to visit the beach this weekend. So we did.
I was hoping we could visit Suma - a famous beach near Kobe, in Hyogo prefecture. I looked it up online, and discovered that it 'opens' on July 1st. In Canada, beaches don't really close (do they? I've never encountered a 'closed beach'); so I was a little confused. I asked a few questions of my coworkers, and came to the conclusion that 'closed' probably just meant that the food stands and shops in the area weren't open. But, unwilling to take the chance and not get to swim, we opted to visit Wakayama - the beach I went to previously. The train ride was quite long, but the four of us passed the time quickly with deep discussions about war, world affairs, and current issues. (No, I'm not kidding. We actually did.)
When we finally got to the beach (after I missed the stop and we had to go back one), I again felt so far from the city (probably because we were) and free of all troubles. Or at least most of them. It was overcast and rainy, and a bit chilly - but that certainly didn't stop us from swimming and hanging out in the water for quite a while. We were the only people in the water without surf boards and wetsuits. Needless to say, we got a few strange looks and the occasional side glance. We took a break for a beer and chatted to a woman for a while. She wanted to know where we were from, etc. She suggested a place to get food and seemed to want to take us there, but we were heading back into the water. In the water, Alex formed a brief friendship with a surfer 'dude'... he was watching us and creeping closer to our group. Alex waved, and the guy threw up a 'hang ten'. He was older than most of the surfers and had long hair and a long thin moustache. We laughed about it, then continued our conversation - with the occasional awkward laugh when he seemed to move closer.
After our second swim, we stopped for a snack before jumping on the train back to Osaka. Getting off in Namba, we met up with Rumiko - a new coop student from UVic. I was excited to meet her - although I enjoy all of my friends and spending time with them, the majority of them are male ... I definitely wouldn't trade any of my guy friends, but it's always nice to have another girl to hang out with!
We wandered around Namba for a bit in the light rain, and had some dinner - Okonomiyaki of course, for the benefit of the new coops. Then we spent the night out - Club Pure style. Two words to describe the night: fun & ridiculous. Next post!
Showing posts with label Namba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Namba. Show all posts
Monday, June 30
Wednesday, May 14
Moms Visit - Part II
I realized I forgot a VERY important part of the Sunday-day!
When we got back to the dorm, we went to the onsen! I received tickets for the onsen several weeks ago, but didn't want to venture there by myself. So - I brought Mom! The entrance to the mens and ladies rooms are covered by red and blue curtains, respectively. Doorway curtains here are split in the middle, cover the top two thirds of the door, and have fancy writing on them. Inside the pretty curtain is a locker room and a powder room. The locker room has lockers (you didn't know that, didja?), and the powder room has a couple sinks and several counters with blow dryers. A sliding glass door lets you into the shower area. The picture below is from my dorm, but the onsen showers are the same.
This particular onsen had several pools, a sauna, and a steam room. There was a cold pool and 1 hot pool in the shower area. Outside were several more pools...walking outside was like walking into a tropical spa - it was beautiful!
The center pool was made of rock...rock steps, rock sides, rock floor. The water was warm and steaming slightly. On the left side of the pool was a vertical rock wall, with a thin stream of water falling from the top, down across the rock seat, and into the pool. Scattered about the pool were large rocks to rest on or lean against. To the left of the main pool was a horizontal stone area, with taps across the back wall. The taps let hot water flow across the rock platform - laying down on the platform was the perfect spot to rest or cool off, and the hot water ensured you didn't get too cold! Beside the entrance was another pool, with a natural chemical to soften your skin. The pool edge was slightly off the ground, and tiled. To the left of the entrance were the massage pools - two identical pools. Each one consisted of three stalls, with two sets of metal tubes between them - similar to those used as handrails on pool ladders. Leaning against the back wall of the pool awarded you a wonderful and very strong jet massage.
After a long day of being on our feet, the onsen was a perfect way to relax and hopefully prevent some of the ache in our muscles...so they would be all ready for the next 3 days of adventure!
Monday - Monday morning, Mom woke up at about 5:30, and I was up around 7. We had another delightful fruit and pastry breakfast, and walked to the train. We met my boss and his wife at Kintetsu Nara Station. They took us around Nara park and to a couple popular temples and shrines.
Nara Park is famous for the deer - there are over 1000 of them in the park. Deer are considered sacred, and are well respected by park visitors. If you're brave, you can buy a packet of rice cookies to feed them - but they can get pretty aggressive if they know you have food! After a couple hours of sightseeing, Takemori-San & his wife took us for a very fancy Japanese-style lunch, which was delicious! Next we visited a shrine and a flower garden...'Wisteria' was in bloom, and it was gorgeous!
Takemori-San invited us to have tea at his house, afterwards. The house was quaint and the entrance was surrounded by pretty flowers. The inside of the house was quite small, but beautifully decorated with quilted items! Yoko (Takemori-San's wife) taught herself to quilt and has made some incredible things. She made us tea and coffee and we all chatted - she also gave me & Mom little gifts. I got some delicious green tea, and Mom got a small decorative set. It happened that the day was 'Boys Day', a day to celebrate and bless your sons. The set that Yoko gave Mom was one that a mother would typically set up on the holiday to bless her sons.
We went from Nara straight to Namba to meet my coworkers for a Japanese-style dinner. That was quite the adventure! Everyone was very polite to Mom, and Hisazumi-San brought us both very pretty hankerchiefs. (Sidenote: Bonus to Mom visiting...I get lots of presents, too!) Yamaguchi-San ordered drinks non-stop for Mom, and by the end of the meal she had 5 in front of her. I had to laugh, because usually it's me they do that to! Traditional Japanese dinners come in several small courses, and it was a lot of food...but it was delicious! I was trying to see it from Mom's perspective, since I'm used to being in similar dinner situations. I realized that there is the occasional question or slightly difficult conversation, but for the most part, they talk in Japanese and I (we) watch and try to listen. After dinner, we headed home and watched part of 'Notting Hill'...but Mom was falling asleep, I was tired, and my computer was slow, so we didn't finish it.
It was a very busy day, but full of exercise and good food!
When we got back to the dorm, we went to the onsen! I received tickets for the onsen several weeks ago, but didn't want to venture there by myself. So - I brought Mom! The entrance to the mens and ladies rooms are covered by red and blue curtains, respectively. Doorway curtains here are split in the middle, cover the top two thirds of the door, and have fancy writing on them. Inside the pretty curtain is a locker room and a powder room. The locker room has lockers (you didn't know that, didja?), and the powder room has a couple sinks and several counters with blow dryers. A sliding glass door lets you into the shower area. The picture below is from my dorm, but the onsen showers are the same.
This particular onsen had several pools, a sauna, and a steam room. There was a cold pool and 1 hot pool in the shower area. Outside were several more pools...walking outside was like walking into a tropical spa - it was beautiful!
The center pool was made of rock...rock steps, rock sides, rock floor. The water was warm and steaming slightly. On the left side of the pool was a vertical rock wall, with a thin stream of water falling from the top, down across the rock seat, and into the pool. Scattered about the pool were large rocks to rest on or lean against. To the left of the main pool was a horizontal stone area, with taps across the back wall. The taps let hot water flow across the rock platform - laying down on the platform was the perfect spot to rest or cool off, and the hot water ensured you didn't get too cold! Beside the entrance was another pool, with a natural chemical to soften your skin. The pool edge was slightly off the ground, and tiled. To the left of the entrance were the massage pools - two identical pools. Each one consisted of three stalls, with two sets of metal tubes between them - similar to those used as handrails on pool ladders. Leaning against the back wall of the pool awarded you a wonderful and very strong jet massage.
After a long day of being on our feet, the onsen was a perfect way to relax and hopefully prevent some of the ache in our muscles...so they would be all ready for the next 3 days of adventure!
Monday - Monday morning, Mom woke up at about 5:30, and I was up around 7. We had another delightful fruit and pastry breakfast, and walked to the train. We met my boss and his wife at Kintetsu Nara Station. They took us around Nara park and to a couple popular temples and shrines.
Nara Park is famous for the deer - there are over 1000 of them in the park. Deer are considered sacred, and are well respected by park visitors. If you're brave, you can buy a packet of rice cookies to feed them - but they can get pretty aggressive if they know you have food! After a couple hours of sightseeing, Takemori-San & his wife took us for a very fancy Japanese-style lunch, which was delicious! Next we visited a shrine and a flower garden...'Wisteria' was in bloom, and it was gorgeous!
Takemori-San invited us to have tea at his house, afterwards. The house was quaint and the entrance was surrounded by pretty flowers. The inside of the house was quite small, but beautifully decorated with quilted items! Yoko (Takemori-San's wife) taught herself to quilt and has made some incredible things. She made us tea and coffee and we all chatted - she also gave me & Mom little gifts. I got some delicious green tea, and Mom got a small decorative set. It happened that the day was 'Boys Day', a day to celebrate and bless your sons. The set that Yoko gave Mom was one that a mother would typically set up on the holiday to bless her sons.
We went from Nara straight to Namba to meet my coworkers for a Japanese-style dinner. That was quite the adventure! Everyone was very polite to Mom, and Hisazumi-San brought us both very pretty hankerchiefs. (Sidenote: Bonus to Mom visiting...I get lots of presents, too!) Yamaguchi-San ordered drinks non-stop for Mom, and by the end of the meal she had 5 in front of her. I had to laugh, because usually it's me they do that to! Traditional Japanese dinners come in several small courses, and it was a lot of food...but it was delicious! I was trying to see it from Mom's perspective, since I'm used to being in similar dinner situations. I realized that there is the occasional question or slightly difficult conversation, but for the most part, they talk in Japanese and I (we) watch and try to listen. After dinner, we headed home and watched part of 'Notting Hill'...but Mom was falling asleep, I was tired, and my computer was slow, so we didn't finish it.
It was a very busy day, but full of exercise and good food!
Monday, May 12
Moms Visit - Part I
Okay - so I'm finally posting the Mommy Visit! I'm sorry it took so long to get up...to be honest, I had a sort of blue weekend. It's hard to be lonely, and then when you're not lonely for 5 days, being lonely afterwards sucks that much more!
It was great to have Mom come and visit me. We had a lot of fun - I had someone to talk to, laugh with, show stuff to, hang out with, and someone beside me. She was very encouraging about my adventures here, and a lot of what she said made sense and helped me sort through the difficulties I'm having. It was really hard to let her go at the airport, but we counted - and in (now) 97 days, I will be back in Canada! :)
Here's a brief summary of her trip and our adventures...
Friday - Met her at the airport. Her flight was slightly late (4:15 instead of 3:45), so when people finally started coming out from behind the mysterious 'Arrivals' door, I was psyched! I wasn't going to cry when I saw her, but (you guessed it), I did. But just for a minute. And I got the best hug in the entire world. We headed home (long trip, heavy bags), and made some eggs for dinner. She was pretty tired (it's a long long airplane ride), and we went to bed around 10...to be all ready for Saturday!
Saturday - Mom woke up really bright and early, and I woke up bright and early. We had some yummy pastries and fruit for breakfast, and set off to visit Expo '70 Park & the Japanese Garden. It was a hot day. And by hot, I mean 30 degrees at 24% humidity - in APRIL. This summer might kill me. Anyways - we picked up some lunch at the supermarket (once I found it - I don't get lost often, but I'll admit I was a little turned around). We watched a kids dance show and had a snack, the continued on our way. At the park, we walked around and took in the flowers and the foliage (both in the park and the garden), stopping for traditional Japanese tea.
After stopping at Namba for a crepe (yummy) and some photobooth photos (fun!), We got off a station early on the way home (at Yamamoto), and got Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba for dinner. THAT was an adventure.
'Why?' you ask? Well. The stand is inhabited by 6 or 7 (good looking) Japanese guys - early 20 somethings. I don't speak Japanese. After staring at the menu (they're all watching the strange white women out of the corner of their eyes), I realized I couldn't read anything on it. So, I picked the second best method. I pointed. Then they asked me a question in Japanese, to which I responded that I didn't understand. They pointed, and I nodded. Mission accomplished. We did waste some ginger when they showed us a handful to ask if we wanted it (we didn't). Being eager tourists, we leaned in to watch the front-most good-looking guy make our dinner. The other good-looking guys thought that was pretty funny. All-in-all, it was a slightly embarassing, giggle-causing, fun dinner stop.
As it turned out, going to bed at 10 became a habit (as did bright & early), but it had been a full and very hot day, so once we got home, we were pretty tired.
Sunday - Sunday was (fortunately) a little cooler than Saturday, but still incredibly warm! We visited Osaka Jo (Osaka Castle) and Osaka Ko (Osaka Bay). The Bay area was quite a bit cooler due to the breeze coming off the water. After a Giant Wheel ride, some lunch, and a crepe for dessert, we headed home again after a (very) full day. (Note - We figured we walked for at least 6 hours every day.)
Above - Osaka Castle's Beverage Service...
Above - On the Giant Wheel! (Taking pictures of one's self never turns out well. And that one is pretttyy terrible. Mom looks great, though! Now how does that happen. Me too!!)
Since this post is getting long and I'm getting tired, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest! This was the first half of the trip...although, I was trying not to think in terms of time, because then I realized it would end, and that just sucked. Thinking that it would end brought up a whole bunch of negative thoughts and sadness and lonliness, so I just pretended that she could stay forever. I wish she could have!
Mom - feel free to comment if I missed anything!! :)
It was great to have Mom come and visit me. We had a lot of fun - I had someone to talk to, laugh with, show stuff to, hang out with, and someone beside me. She was very encouraging about my adventures here, and a lot of what she said made sense and helped me sort through the difficulties I'm having. It was really hard to let her go at the airport, but we counted - and in (now) 97 days, I will be back in Canada! :)
Here's a brief summary of her trip and our adventures...
Friday - Met her at the airport. Her flight was slightly late (4:15 instead of 3:45), so when people finally started coming out from behind the mysterious 'Arrivals' door, I was psyched! I wasn't going to cry when I saw her, but (you guessed it), I did. But just for a minute. And I got the best hug in the entire world. We headed home (long trip, heavy bags), and made some eggs for dinner. She was pretty tired (it's a long long airplane ride), and we went to bed around 10...to be all ready for Saturday!
Saturday - Mom woke up really bright and early, and I woke up bright and early. We had some yummy pastries and fruit for breakfast, and set off to visit Expo '70 Park & the Japanese Garden. It was a hot day. And by hot, I mean 30 degrees at 24% humidity - in APRIL. This summer might kill me. Anyways - we picked up some lunch at the supermarket (once I found it - I don't get lost often, but I'll admit I was a little turned around). We watched a kids dance show and had a snack, the continued on our way. At the park, we walked around and took in the flowers and the foliage (both in the park and the garden), stopping for traditional Japanese tea.
After stopping at Namba for a crepe (yummy) and some photobooth photos (fun!), We got off a station early on the way home (at Yamamoto), and got Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba for dinner. THAT was an adventure.
'Why?' you ask? Well. The stand is inhabited by 6 or 7 (good looking) Japanese guys - early 20 somethings. I don't speak Japanese. After staring at the menu (they're all watching the strange white women out of the corner of their eyes), I realized I couldn't read anything on it. So, I picked the second best method. I pointed. Then they asked me a question in Japanese, to which I responded that I didn't understand. They pointed, and I nodded. Mission accomplished. We did waste some ginger when they showed us a handful to ask if we wanted it (we didn't). Being eager tourists, we leaned in to watch the front-most good-looking guy make our dinner. The other good-looking guys thought that was pretty funny. All-in-all, it was a slightly embarassing, giggle-causing, fun dinner stop.
As it turned out, going to bed at 10 became a habit (as did bright & early), but it had been a full and very hot day, so once we got home, we were pretty tired.
Sunday - Sunday was (fortunately) a little cooler than Saturday, but still incredibly warm! We visited Osaka Jo (Osaka Castle) and Osaka Ko (Osaka Bay). The Bay area was quite a bit cooler due to the breeze coming off the water. After a Giant Wheel ride, some lunch, and a crepe for dessert, we headed home again after a (very) full day. (Note - We figured we walked for at least 6 hours every day.)
Above - Osaka Castle's Beverage Service...
Above - On the Giant Wheel! (Taking pictures of one's self never turns out well. And that one is pretttyy terrible. Mom looks great, though! Now how does that happen. Me too!!)
Since this post is getting long and I'm getting tired, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest! This was the first half of the trip...although, I was trying not to think in terms of time, because then I realized it would end, and that just sucked. Thinking that it would end brought up a whole bunch of negative thoughts and sadness and lonliness, so I just pretended that she could stay forever. I wish she could have!
Mom - feel free to comment if I missed anything!! :)
Tuesday, April 22
Mmmm Pizza!
Saturday morning, I met several coop students for another 'Going Away' party. Some students are gone, but there were a few who couldn't make it to the first dinner - and why not have another? We met at Namba for lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant - certified by an Italian organization to have authentic Italian pizza. It - was - amazing. I rarely eat cheese here (and I thought cheese was expensive in Canada! More later...), so the cheese on the pizza was like heaven - and the pizza overall was like heaven x 10. It was very well priced, too - I will definitely be going back there!
After pizza, we split up to do some errands and shopping. Keith and I went on a mission to get his phone charged, and find shoes. I discovered, once and for all, that I will not find shoes that fit me, here. The Japanese 'LL' size is the equivalent of 24.5 centimeters. My feet fit a 25.5. I did find one small rack of shoes labelled 'Model Size' that were 25, $250, and not attractive. I have officially given up on finding shoes.
We all met up again for dinner - Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba, and then went for some Perfect Parfait dessert...so yummy. I headed home after that. Keith, Thomas, and I planned to go to Kyoto the next day...
After pizza, we split up to do some errands and shopping. Keith and I went on a mission to get his phone charged, and find shoes. I discovered, once and for all, that I will not find shoes that fit me, here. The Japanese 'LL' size is the equivalent of 24.5 centimeters. My feet fit a 25.5. I did find one small rack of shoes labelled 'Model Size' that were 25, $250, and not attractive. I have officially given up on finding shoes.
We all met up again for dinner - Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba, and then went for some Perfect Parfait dessert...so yummy. I headed home after that. Keith, Thomas, and I planned to go to Kyoto the next day...
Monday, March 17
Sunny Saturday
Saturday was a beautiful day with clear skies and warm sunshine...I woke up early and laid in bed for a few minutes, enjoying the fact that I didn't have to get up if I didn't want to. But I did anyways. After some breakfast and a quick ride to the grocery stores, I threw my gym bag together and went to the gym. There is a market at the end of the street that my gym is on, and I finally decided to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised! They had most of what I purchase at the grocery store, but cheaper! I have a new Saturday morning grocery shopping desination.
After a great morning at the gym, and a healthy lunch, I took my current reading and went to the park across the street from my dorm. I found a spot in the sunshine, read a bit, and took a nap (unintentionally!). Once the sun started to go down, I headed back inside. I was surprised at how warm the day was, though. In a tanktop and jeans, I wasn't cold at all!
I ended up going out for the evening with some other coops in Namba, which was a great night of fun! Saturday proved to be an awesome day.
Sunday was equally awesome and productive. I went to the gym again and attended a yoga class! It was very relaxing but Yoga is more difficult and requires more effort than I expected!
I get a week off at the end of my term, and I would like to travel; but not by myself! I found out this morning that a good friend from the Elk Valley may come visit me for the last week - and we can travel together! Something else to look forward to, in the fall!
After a great morning at the gym, and a healthy lunch, I took my current reading and went to the park across the street from my dorm. I found a spot in the sunshine, read a bit, and took a nap (unintentionally!). Once the sun started to go down, I headed back inside. I was surprised at how warm the day was, though. In a tanktop and jeans, I wasn't cold at all!
I ended up going out for the evening with some other coops in Namba, which was a great night of fun! Saturday proved to be an awesome day.
Sunday was equally awesome and productive. I went to the gym again and attended a yoga class! It was very relaxing but Yoga is more difficult and requires more effort than I expected!
I get a week off at the end of my term, and I would like to travel; but not by myself! I found out this morning that a good friend from the Elk Valley may come visit me for the last week - and we can travel together! Something else to look forward to, in the fall!
Wednesday, March 12
Saturday Adventures!
I apologize for taking so long to blog my weekend adventures, but here they are!
Saturday morning I was going to get up early to meet Keith, Thomas, and Rosabel when their train arrived from Tokyo. They didn't call though, so I slept in a bit and then went and got groceries. I have mastered the art of riding a Japanese bicycle (pretty shaky) and it takes about 10-15 minutes to bike to the grocery store, and I enjoy the ride.
Rosa went to meet up with her cousin, so I met Keith and Thomas at Bentencho station. We subway'd to Osakako (Osaka Bay Area). After some lunch at the Tempozan marketplace & a dessert crepe, we wandered around the mall in search of balloon creatures! There were balloon displays everywhere, and we had a great time posing with them. After we were ballooned out, we took a ride on the Giant Wheel (a Ferris Wheel) - it was once the largest Ferris Wheel in the world, but has since been demoted. The view was beautiful - out into Osaka and around and across the bay.
We walked along the pier around to Kaiyukan - Osaka's aquarium. The setup was really neat...it was just a big spiral that you walked around that kept getting deeper and deeper into the ground. We saw some awesome aquatic animals and the famous whale shark. I think i was most fascinated by the large Manta Rays...they were incredible!
After Kaiyukan we went to Namba. We ran into Matt & Terry (other coops) and we all wandered until JP met us for some Osaka famous Okonomiyaki & Takoyaki. After dinner, we chatted and wandered some more. I left around 11pm - I didn't want to miss the last train, and was feeling like a quiet night. It was a lot of fun, though - to get to hang out with the other students, again!
PS - Picture links soon...
Saturday morning I was going to get up early to meet Keith, Thomas, and Rosabel when their train arrived from Tokyo. They didn't call though, so I slept in a bit and then went and got groceries. I have mastered the art of riding a Japanese bicycle (pretty shaky) and it takes about 10-15 minutes to bike to the grocery store, and I enjoy the ride.
Rosa went to meet up with her cousin, so I met Keith and Thomas at Bentencho station. We subway'd to Osakako (Osaka Bay Area). After some lunch at the Tempozan marketplace & a dessert crepe, we wandered around the mall in search of balloon creatures! There were balloon displays everywhere, and we had a great time posing with them. After we were ballooned out, we took a ride on the Giant Wheel (a Ferris Wheel) - it was once the largest Ferris Wheel in the world, but has since been demoted. The view was beautiful - out into Osaka and around and across the bay.
We walked along the pier around to Kaiyukan - Osaka's aquarium. The setup was really neat...it was just a big spiral that you walked around that kept getting deeper and deeper into the ground. We saw some awesome aquatic animals and the famous whale shark. I think i was most fascinated by the large Manta Rays...they were incredible!
After Kaiyukan we went to Namba. We ran into Matt & Terry (other coops) and we all wandered until JP met us for some Osaka famous Okonomiyaki & Takoyaki. After dinner, we chatted and wandered some more. I left around 11pm - I didn't want to miss the last train, and was feeling like a quiet night. It was a lot of fun, though - to get to hang out with the other students, again!
PS - Picture links soon...
Saturday, February 2
February 2nd
I am currently enjoying something that must have been made by angels – it’s an amazing chocolate ice cream popsicle…no, it’s not really ‘Japanese’, but it’s so good!
Today was circus day! Takemori-San mentioned (on Thursday), at lunch to Moriya-San (the girl in the trio I usually eat lunch with) that I was going to the circus and asked if she wanted to go. She did, so I let her know what station to meet me at, etc. She’s kind of shy and speaks minimal English, so I was a bit worried about how we’d do spending time together. One of the coops came, too – Kelvin. He was a bit late, so Moriya and I hung out and talked a bit. Between my Japanese and her English, we made it work. Kelvin speaks decent Japanese, so he kind of translated for the rest of the day. The circus was so much fun! It wasn’t too big and extravagant of an affair, but I thought it was fascinating and a lot of fun. It was an acrobatic circus – there’s some pictures below. There were people balancing all over a bike, twirling plates, trapeze artists, balancing acts! There was a girl who flipped a bunch of dishes up onto her head – that was pretty cool. There was also an ultra-efficient use of a bike…there were so many people on it! There was a funny clown, who was very good. There were some crazy guys in hamster wheels. It was a small circus tent, but the lights and colors definitely added atmosphere. The costumes were beautiful – my favorite was one that the girls wore, with long veils off the back of their heads. They were flowy and gorgeous. Most of the participants were pretty young – some of the girls who did amazing things on the trapeze were only 13! I had some popcorn and tried a Japanese thing – a ball of mushed rice rolled in brown-sugar-like stuff. It was pretty good. After the circus, we went to Namba – a major shopping destination in Osaka. There’s infinite stores and places to eat. Each street and branch is like a smaller version of the pictures you see of Las Vegas. There’s signs and flashing lights everywhere…people stand outside the stores and yell and talk to you and try to get you to come in. They’re not market-like stores, though…they’re mostly miniature mall-like shops – except very thin (like 10 or 15 feet wide). I should have taken a picture – I will next time. There’s a picture below of me in front of one of the famous places, halfway across a bridge in the area. We walked around, Kelvin got a haircut (which was decidedly Asian, but he’s Asian, so it fit – it looked good. I pictured it on Mark or Matt or someone and had to laugh. )
Then I had an exquisite Osaka dining experience. We went to one of the many restaurants for Okonomiyaki. Osaka is famous for it’s Okonomiyaki. It’s kind of like an omelette except with noodles and cabbage and meat or seafood and other assorted vegetables. It was delicious. Osaka is also famous for another food that I will have to try – I forget what it’s called. After dinner, Kelvin went to Den Den Town, which is a very well-known electronics place – it’s several floors. I’d like to go, but I was getting tired and still had to pick up groceries. I had another wonderful grocery shopping experience – I tried a new store and loved it! There was way more selection than anywhere else I’ve been! I came home, had that wonderful ice cream bar, and here I am! That’s it for tonight…more tomorrow!!
Today was circus day! Takemori-San mentioned (on Thursday), at lunch to Moriya-San (the girl in the trio I usually eat lunch with) that I was going to the circus and asked if she wanted to go. She did, so I let her know what station to meet me at, etc. She’s kind of shy and speaks minimal English, so I was a bit worried about how we’d do spending time together. One of the coops came, too – Kelvin. He was a bit late, so Moriya and I hung out and talked a bit. Between my Japanese and her English, we made it work. Kelvin speaks decent Japanese, so he kind of translated for the rest of the day. The circus was so much fun! It wasn’t too big and extravagant of an affair, but I thought it was fascinating and a lot of fun. It was an acrobatic circus – there’s some pictures below. There were people balancing all over a bike, twirling plates, trapeze artists, balancing acts! There was a girl who flipped a bunch of dishes up onto her head – that was pretty cool. There was also an ultra-efficient use of a bike…there were so many people on it! There was a funny clown, who was very good. There were some crazy guys in hamster wheels. It was a small circus tent, but the lights and colors definitely added atmosphere. The costumes were beautiful – my favorite was one that the girls wore, with long veils off the back of their heads. They were flowy and gorgeous. Most of the participants were pretty young – some of the girls who did amazing things on the trapeze were only 13! I had some popcorn and tried a Japanese thing – a ball of mushed rice rolled in brown-sugar-like stuff. It was pretty good. After the circus, we went to Namba – a major shopping destination in Osaka. There’s infinite stores and places to eat. Each street and branch is like a smaller version of the pictures you see of Las Vegas. There’s signs and flashing lights everywhere…people stand outside the stores and yell and talk to you and try to get you to come in. They’re not market-like stores, though…they’re mostly miniature mall-like shops – except very thin (like 10 or 15 feet wide). I should have taken a picture – I will next time. There’s a picture below of me in front of one of the famous places, halfway across a bridge in the area. We walked around, Kelvin got a haircut (which was decidedly Asian, but he’s Asian, so it fit – it looked good. I pictured it on Mark or Matt or someone and had to laugh. )
Then I had an exquisite Osaka dining experience. We went to one of the many restaurants for Okonomiyaki. Osaka is famous for it’s Okonomiyaki. It’s kind of like an omelette except with noodles and cabbage and meat or seafood and other assorted vegetables. It was delicious. Osaka is also famous for another food that I will have to try – I forget what it’s called. After dinner, Kelvin went to Den Den Town, which is a very well-known electronics place – it’s several floors. I’d like to go, but I was getting tired and still had to pick up groceries. I had another wonderful grocery shopping experience – I tried a new store and loved it! There was way more selection than anywhere else I’ve been! I came home, had that wonderful ice cream bar, and here I am! That’s it for tonight…more tomorrow!!
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