The Last EPIC Journey Part 7: Sayonara Onsen, Konnichiwa Temples
Wed Feb 10/10
One Last Go
We had set the alarms for 6am for anyone who wanted to bathe once more before we left. I immediately sat up to get ready and just stayed there with my eyes closed. Then I heard Marie groggily ask if anyone was going to go bathe. I said I was and stood up to get my stuff. I scared myself silly because when I stood up, I saw a person's shadow on the sliding door - it was actually my own shadow. LOL. In all fairness, I was still groggy. Shortly after Chris sat up and said she would come too. In the elevator, we both agreed that we woke up to bathe one more time, because this was our last chance to enjoy it for a long time so we wanted to make the most of it.
We went to the indoor onsens. This time I wasn't wearing my contacts and I knew my glasses would only fog. I can see well enough, I just can't read anything without my glasses. Chris directed me to where she was. We enjoyed the two baths and then the sauna. It was much better this time because I felt that the elevated benches/seats were hotter than the floor where I sat. I was able to stay in a little longer than last time. Afterwards I went into the cool bath. Chris found it too cold so she only put her legs in.
We showered and went back upstairs. The girls were awake and we got ready for buffet breakfast. It was so yummy! We ate a lot again, but not as much as the night before. We went back to the rooms and Mellers said she'd go back for a quick dip. The rest of us decided to take naps on the futons.
Marie had to work so she needed to take the 10:15am train. We told her to go ahead to the lobby, but when she got there, the lady flagged down a bus and put her on it to the station or she'd miss her train. She called us to let us know and we headed off to Nikko. It was really lucky that we enjoyed all of this the day before, as the weather was much nicer. Today's weather was quite foggy and slushy.
Nikko
Chris and I had found a place called World Tobu Square on the internet. It is an amusement park that has replicas of the wonders of the world, except we found out later, that they were miniatures. We scrapped that plan and decided to just see the temples. We visited "Toshogu, Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Nikko had been a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries before Toshogu was built in the 1600." (taken from japan-guide)
Walking Around
We took pictures of the monkeys who hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil. We copied them in the photos and the people who took our pictures took similar ones.
We climbed 200 steps to the mausoleum and it was so mystical with the mist everywhere. There was a large tree beside it where one could whisper their wishes into the hollow part of the tree. Mellers threw her arms up in the air and said GIVE ME LOVE! hahaha. I don't know what Chris asked for, but I asked to get into school and do well. I also wished for my family friends to be healthy and happy. We saw the temple of the crying dragon and the clapping of those wooden blocks had my ears ringing a bit. Chris was a bit jumpy at the temple too, but she was okay. She maybe sensed spirits there or something? Anyway, she stayed close to me the whole time we were there.
Mad Dash
We tried to keep track of time so that we could be back downtown at a decent hour. Mellers realized that there was a bus at 1:15pm and our train back was at 1:59pm. In order to catch it without rushing to the train we RAN down the temple. RAN people!
I ran with my heavyass knapsack and my bad cardio ahhaa. Mellers was running in her expensive heeled Italian boots and Chris in her new Harajuku boots and me with my Nike hightops. Mellers got there first and saw the bus. She started yelling and was hitting the side of the bus to wait for us. Chris and I caught up, we were gasping for air but were happy we made it. At the station, we ate curry pie and had a famous lemon-ginger drink.
COMAtose
We were pretty tired and we all just slept throught the whole train ride. Since we had already taken all of our scenery photos on our way there, we just slept the entire time, sprawled on our seats ahhaha. People walked by staring at us hahaha, we were so tired wed didn't care. We finally got back to the station.
Ikebukuro
Chris and I went to Ikebukuro to shop and Mellers took my knapsack to her place, so she could rest and call home. I bought a sheet of origami paper at a shop. We headed to Sunshine City mall. On the way, I won some anime-related stuff at an arcade. Chris and I shopped around and tried not to go too crazy. Because of the Alice-in-Wonderland craze, there is a lot of rabbit and clock themes, so I bought something.
Chris got some major steals! I got a new watch yea yea! I didn't spend that much as I need money for the taxi and besides, I spent a lot of money already!
When we called Mellers, Marie was with her. Marie had class early the next day and couldn't stay for dinner with us. We were going to leave in 30 minutes, but we didn't want to miss saying goodbye to her, so we rushed to Baba (Takadanobaba) station to say bye.
Okonomiyaki
I had been asking Mellers to take us to an okonomiyaki place. I love it! It's kind of like a cross between a pancake and omelette with different fillings. It turned out to be better that we didn't make it ourselves, because this guy made some amazing food! We ordered a lot of food. Two okonomiyakis, two orders of tofu (he added an extra one in for free), some kimichi dish and he also gave us a service (free) sweet potato dish that was amazingly good. We had a vegetable dish with asparagus and okra (I don't really like okra), but it was so delicious! We were so stuffed afterwards.
Haha Mellers kept saying she couldn't believe these great restaurants were so close to her and she didn't know about them. The guy was so nice to give us free stuff. We took pictures with them and he conversed with Mellers a bit. She told him we were from Canada. We went back to Mellers place to pick up the extra luggage and my knapsack. Mellers copied our photos and we stole music from her. I was already falling asleep. Sooooo tired...
See You Around Mellers!
Ah the part I hate - saying goodbye. I hugged Mellers really tightly and said goodbye. I really feel like it might be a while before I see her again, but who knows...that's what I thought the first time I said goodbye to her and we cried a bit, then I saw her numerous times after. A trip to Tokyo is never the same if Mellers isn't there. She was also able to switch her schedule so we could see her even more on the trip. She made the onsen so much more bearable as we were petrified, but ended up having such an amazing time.
Mellers is one-of-a-kind SUPERAWESOME. I'm glad Chris got to meet her and she's also met Josie. Guess she just has to meet my parents and she's met the family! Thanks Mellers for everything!! ^__^
Is it possible that we will make that trip an annual thing? ahahha. Where could we find the money and time? But when you think about it, it was such a steal. That experience only cost us $136 plus travel cost!
The Never-Ending Day
We got home and packed until we had to leave. So we got home at 1am something and left the guesthouse at 4:45am. Got the 5:45am bus and slept on there. Took a 9:00am flight and arrived in Seoul at 11:40amish, but that's another journal...so much to catch up on...slowly yet surely...these journals are so rough. I don't read them over, so sorry if they don't make sense LOL!
-Sam ^__^
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Last EPIC Journey Part 6: Kinugawa Onsen, bathing with nekkid people
The Last EPIC Journey Part 6: Kinugawa Onsen, bathing with nekkid people
Tues Feb 9/10
If you thought the other ones were long...perhaps this is not the entry for you. I must describe this with great detail, as it was an amazing experience..yes, an AMAZING experience.
Firstly, let me explain in my own words, that a Japanese onsen is a hot spring bath. In majority of onsens, the baths are separated by genders and require one to bathe nekkid with other people. The baths are very healthy - rich in minerals, etc. To experience a hot spring is to experience real deal Japanese culture. Eating a piece of sushi doesn't it cut it. hahaha...I talk like I'm an expert, but I'm far from it kekeke. A ryokan is a hotel/inn with a hot spring and traditional Japanese rooms with tatami floors. Ryokans serve traditonal Japanese food and the cost to stay overnight usually covers dinner and breakfast. An additional 150yen ($1.50) is charged for the use of onsens. Yukatas (spring kimonos) and slippers are provided in the rooms and instead of western beds, Japanese rooms are supplied with futons, pillows and blankets that are set up by the hotel staff before you sleep.
On to the novel...
Trains are better than taxis!
How could I have forgotten this? Trains are better and faster than taxis. We were running late, so I stupidly thought that taking a taxi to Takadanobaba (Mellers' station) would get us on time. WRONG! We got there 20 minutes late and called Mellers. She was already on her way to Asakusa station, so we hopped back on the trains to reach Asakusa station. I was totally prepared to tell them to go ahead to Kinugawa and we'd meet them there, but they waited for us. I'm so lucky that Mellers is so chill!
CHOO CHOO to Kinugawa Onsen
Mellers introduced us to her friend Marie, who is superawesome cool. We spent the 2h 30min train ride talking about randomness keke. Since we had missed the regular train we ended up taking the express train. In retrospect, even though it was a bit more expensive, it was a good experience for Chris to try and it was comfortable! The scenery changed to mountains and fields...and snow! We definitely weren't in Tokyo anymore. Tokyo was cooolllddd and there was a snow drought there. Mellers told us that everyone wanted snow in Tokyo, but there hadn't been much.
Taxi Scammer
We finally arrived at Kinugawa Onsen station. Ahhhh the air is so tasty and clean here. We took photos around the area and then waited for the bus. We took the bus to our Asaya Hotel where we were staying. Wahhh the hotel is beautiful! I knew this from pictures, but seeing it was even better. We left our stuff with the hotel as check-in wasn't until 2:30pm. We requested a cab back to the station as we wanted to go to Nikko to see the temples. Taxis take a while to come...seriously. Our taxi driver tried to convince Mellers and Mary that he could drive us to Nikko and wait for us as we toured around and come back. He would charge us $40/person. What a scammer....train tickets were only 300yen ($3.00) and would take 40minutes and a bus there would be 500yen...so really it only cost us $8.00 to get there. They were so funny! Marie said that just because we spoke English didn't mean we were stupid tourists kekeke.
Oyakodon, Toilets and A Nice Walk
Chris and I were pretty hungry so we all went to get food. We ordered Oyakodon which is chicken, egg, green onions in a bowl of rice. It was so tasty. Marie, Chris and I had to use the washroom, but the toilets were the squatting kind. (looks like a urinal in the ground) I just sucked it up and used it, but Chris and Marie were having none of that. Marie found a sign that said western toilet and they rushed there. hahahaha. We missed our train and wouldn't have gotten to the temples in time, so we decided to spend the rest of our day at the onsens.
We decided to walk back to Asaya Hotel. We somewhat remembered how to get back. We hit the 7/11 to get alcohol and snacks for later at night and Mellers and Marie got oden. We asked for directions and everyone kept saying ohhh 30 minutes away. We took our time and made a few pit stops visiting a small shrine/temple and Mellers made a mini snow man holding on to our vodka. It was pretty slushy too. We eventually got back to the hotel and scoffed at the whole 30 minute thing, as it only took us 20 mins to get back.
Checking In
We checked in and were escorted to our room by a traditionally dressed older woman. She pushed our cart of bags, to our horror! We weren't raised to let an older person push our stuff! She didn't let us push it...ohhh are parents would be smacking us now. We got to our room on the 12th floor...yes, we were on the very top floor! Our room was beautiful! Very traditional and relaxing. We took pictures so please check them out later. The lady literally explained EVERYTHING...by then Chris and I decided to forget asking Mellers to translate.
We rested for a bit and then got ready to go to the onsens. We put on the yukatas that were in the closet. That meant we were wearing nothing but underwear under it. Of course Chris and I changed without showing, still putting off the inevitable.
The Moment Has Come! Onsen: bathing nekkid with other nekkid people!!
Ever since I mentioned the onsen/ryokan experience to Chris we have been debating whether we should actually do this. Getting nekkid and communal bathing is a must in Japan, but this is not something we could do naturally. We seriously stressed about it, no matter how many times Mellers and Marie told us it wasn't a big deal. "Who cares? These people won't see you ever again, etc" They were so nice trying to comfort us. Last time Mellers tried to convince me to go to a public bath I almost cried in fear. I don't like looking at my body and can't imagine displaying it to everyone else.
After taking pictures in our yukatas we grabbed our small and big towels and went downstairs to the indoor onsen. We took off our slippers and drank a bit of tea. We went over to the baskets to put place our clothes in. I swear Chris and I just stood in front of our baskets staring at them for a few minutes. I was breathing in and out and laughing nervously. Ahhhhh alsdfjsdlfjasdlfjsd I couldn't get out of this one! We already paid! I couldn't chicken out. One last breath and then off went the clothes. I took my small towel with me and followed them out.
Once I saw everyone walking around so naturally, I felt a little better. No one was staring anyone down making things awkward. Of course I was still supershy and somewhat scared, but I think making this obvious, would only bring more attention towards me. We sat in front of the shower stations and we showered at our own station before going into the bath. I must say that when you shower like this, it is really relaxing and you spend time cleaning and pampering yourself. While we washed our hair, we talked casually like nothing was out of the ordinary. By the time we finished washing ourselves, I didn't care anymore. I am who I am, and I would enjoy this experience.
We stepped into the onsen and boy was it HOT! I'm really not used to this heat, but taking it step by step, was bearable. Legs went in first, then waist, then the rest of my body up to my neck. Ahhh so relaxing once the whole body was in. There was something like a hot spring fountain in the middle. We made our way to it and I put my shoulders under it...so relaxing. I can see how people just forget about the time and stay so long. The steam from the water wafted around.
We changed onsens and headed to the upper one which was even hotter, but the window was open in that room, so it was a combination of cold air with a really hot bath. It was really hot, so I stayed in there with them, but did not lean against the wall where the water was coming out like the rest of them.
After that we went into the sauna...holy moly hot. I felt like we were toasting ourselves like bread. I felt like I had grill marks in my body ahaha...suffice to say, I didn't stay there long. At some point I couldn't tell whether it was the water from my hair and face dripping down, or my sweat hehe. I left before the rest and dipped my legs in the cold bath.
We all showered again before leaving. In Japanese culture and in movies, there is a tradition of having the back scrubbed by another person/relative. Well hey, we were all used to being nude anyway and we were friends so...we were all sitting beside each other...we scrubbed each others backs in a line. No, it wasn't gross and no, it wasn't weird. This was really a life altering experience for me. I am more comfortable in my own skin now. Not to say that I'm going to go around being an exhibitionist or anything, but yeah, I'm really glad I went. It was more comfortable and superawesome fun with Mellers and Mary there, so I'm really happy they came with us. I'm sure Chris feels the same way.
After showering, there is a vanity area, where people can dry their hair and use the lotions and creams. We headed upstairs to the outdoor onsen. HOLY CRAP cold air! hahaha. We squealed and ran to the bath. I think the older ladies were laughing at us. It is so nice to have cold air combined with a hot bath. The steam was coming off the water kind like those science experiments when things are frozen. The scenery was beautiful and we couldn't help but speculate whether someone was up in the mountain spying on unsuspecting bathers. We lucked out whenever we went to bath, as it was never supercrowded. We knew there were a lot of people there, but we mostly shared the baths with a few others.
THE BEST BUFFET EVER!!
OMG...the dinner buffet blew me away. Any foodie friends I have would have gone nuts! There was so much food to choose from and yes, I took photos!! There were queen crab legs, fresh sushi, hot egg custard, DIY shabu shabu, steak, salads, a plethora of desserts and so much more..literally!
We ate for 2 hours! ahahhahah...we ate so much!! It was incredible. Soooo freakin' good!! I have decided that I need to live in a ryokan. I would probably die from eating so much everyday...ok...once a month then?
We were all pretty food drunk or in a food coma when we left. We were pretty giddy and then Marie did this funny walk and we burst into laughter. We were laughing so hard we all fell to the carpet and went hysterical. A few people passed by us wondering what the heck was going on. We couldn't even stand and were laughing there for maybe 10 minutes? It was so funny! We couldn't even speak! Mellers videotaped it...I need to get that video from her!
FUTON = HEAVEN
When we got upstairs and turned on the lights were surprised to see the futons had been prepared for us. We took photos and then we tested them. Oh my gosh...heaven...this was heaven. I had overeaten, died and gone to heaven. We wanted to steal the pillows, futons and blankets. This is a danger zone...with my sleeping disorder, I might not ever wake up!
HOT STONE spa
Mellers had booked a package for us to go to the hot stone spa for an hour. We were booked in and given a hard plastic bag with towels and spa clothes. We went in and changed. Just before entering the spa, we were required to drink two cups of water. It was hecka hot in there of course. The hot stones looked like graves lol...there were beds of hot black stones. We put our large towels on top of the stones and lied down.
It was relaxing yet soooo hot and everytime I moved, the sound of stones could be heard. I tried not to move around so much, but eventually half-way through I had to leave and drink more cool water. I passed by the girls and they were passed out hahaha. I took time outside to cool off a bit. I went back in and finished the rest of the time. Chris was out. She could barely get up and wanted to stay there longer hahaha.
We went back to the outdoor onsen again. We ran into the bath ahhaha and we played some games where we had to name tokyo train stations, celebrity couples, colours, celebs we'd like to party with, etc. Anyone who couldn't name something on time, got splashed by the three of us. The onsen at night is really nice and relaxing.
After the outdoor onsen, we went back to the indoor one. I felt all my stress disappear and was more relaxed than I had been in a long time. Chris and I were talking about how we felt so clean and fresh after this experience...that and our skin became pretty white ahahaha. Once we had all finished bathing we headed upstairs.
Our plan was to drink all night and play games. Mellers hit her futon and she was off to lala land for the rest of the night. She lives a crazybusy life like me, so she really needed the rest. Chris stayed awake for a bit, but soon followed Mellers. Marie and I stayed a wake a while longer talking and drinking and finally slept. Initially I thought I would listen to my ipod, but it was dead and I didn't need much help once I lied down on the heavenly futon.
I told you it was a novel! I really wanted to put in every detail I could remember so that I would have it chronicled for myself. So yet, another experience to add to my life. I would definitely do it again!!
-Sam ^__^
Tues Feb 9/10
If you thought the other ones were long...perhaps this is not the entry for you. I must describe this with great detail, as it was an amazing experience..yes, an AMAZING experience.
Firstly, let me explain in my own words, that a Japanese onsen is a hot spring bath. In majority of onsens, the baths are separated by genders and require one to bathe nekkid with other people. The baths are very healthy - rich in minerals, etc. To experience a hot spring is to experience real deal Japanese culture. Eating a piece of sushi doesn't it cut it. hahaha...I talk like I'm an expert, but I'm far from it kekeke. A ryokan is a hotel/inn with a hot spring and traditional Japanese rooms with tatami floors. Ryokans serve traditonal Japanese food and the cost to stay overnight usually covers dinner and breakfast. An additional 150yen ($1.50) is charged for the use of onsens. Yukatas (spring kimonos) and slippers are provided in the rooms and instead of western beds, Japanese rooms are supplied with futons, pillows and blankets that are set up by the hotel staff before you sleep.
On to the novel...
Trains are better than taxis!
How could I have forgotten this? Trains are better and faster than taxis. We were running late, so I stupidly thought that taking a taxi to Takadanobaba (Mellers' station) would get us on time. WRONG! We got there 20 minutes late and called Mellers. She was already on her way to Asakusa station, so we hopped back on the trains to reach Asakusa station. I was totally prepared to tell them to go ahead to Kinugawa and we'd meet them there, but they waited for us. I'm so lucky that Mellers is so chill!
CHOO CHOO to Kinugawa Onsen
Mellers introduced us to her friend Marie, who is superawesome cool. We spent the 2h 30min train ride talking about randomness keke. Since we had missed the regular train we ended up taking the express train. In retrospect, even though it was a bit more expensive, it was a good experience for Chris to try and it was comfortable! The scenery changed to mountains and fields...and snow! We definitely weren't in Tokyo anymore. Tokyo was cooolllddd and there was a snow drought there. Mellers told us that everyone wanted snow in Tokyo, but there hadn't been much.
Taxi Scammer
We finally arrived at Kinugawa Onsen station. Ahhhh the air is so tasty and clean here. We took photos around the area and then waited for the bus. We took the bus to our Asaya Hotel where we were staying. Wahhh the hotel is beautiful! I knew this from pictures, but seeing it was even better. We left our stuff with the hotel as check-in wasn't until 2:30pm. We requested a cab back to the station as we wanted to go to Nikko to see the temples. Taxis take a while to come...seriously. Our taxi driver tried to convince Mellers and Mary that he could drive us to Nikko and wait for us as we toured around and come back. He would charge us $40/person. What a scammer....train tickets were only 300yen ($3.00) and would take 40minutes and a bus there would be 500yen...so really it only cost us $8.00 to get there. They were so funny! Marie said that just because we spoke English didn't mean we were stupid tourists kekeke.
Oyakodon, Toilets and A Nice Walk
Chris and I were pretty hungry so we all went to get food. We ordered Oyakodon which is chicken, egg, green onions in a bowl of rice. It was so tasty. Marie, Chris and I had to use the washroom, but the toilets were the squatting kind. (looks like a urinal in the ground) I just sucked it up and used it, but Chris and Marie were having none of that. Marie found a sign that said western toilet and they rushed there. hahahaha. We missed our train and wouldn't have gotten to the temples in time, so we decided to spend the rest of our day at the onsens.
We decided to walk back to Asaya Hotel. We somewhat remembered how to get back. We hit the 7/11 to get alcohol and snacks for later at night and Mellers and Marie got oden. We asked for directions and everyone kept saying ohhh 30 minutes away. We took our time and made a few pit stops visiting a small shrine/temple and Mellers made a mini snow man holding on to our vodka. It was pretty slushy too. We eventually got back to the hotel and scoffed at the whole 30 minute thing, as it only took us 20 mins to get back.
Checking In
We checked in and were escorted to our room by a traditionally dressed older woman. She pushed our cart of bags, to our horror! We weren't raised to let an older person push our stuff! She didn't let us push it...ohhh are parents would be smacking us now. We got to our room on the 12th floor...yes, we were on the very top floor! Our room was beautiful! Very traditional and relaxing. We took pictures so please check them out later. The lady literally explained EVERYTHING...by then Chris and I decided to forget asking Mellers to translate.
We rested for a bit and then got ready to go to the onsens. We put on the yukatas that were in the closet. That meant we were wearing nothing but underwear under it. Of course Chris and I changed without showing, still putting off the inevitable.
The Moment Has Come! Onsen: bathing nekkid with other nekkid people!!
Ever since I mentioned the onsen/ryokan experience to Chris we have been debating whether we should actually do this. Getting nekkid and communal bathing is a must in Japan, but this is not something we could do naturally. We seriously stressed about it, no matter how many times Mellers and Marie told us it wasn't a big deal. "Who cares? These people won't see you ever again, etc" They were so nice trying to comfort us. Last time Mellers tried to convince me to go to a public bath I almost cried in fear. I don't like looking at my body and can't imagine displaying it to everyone else.
After taking pictures in our yukatas we grabbed our small and big towels and went downstairs to the indoor onsen. We took off our slippers and drank a bit of tea. We went over to the baskets to put place our clothes in. I swear Chris and I just stood in front of our baskets staring at them for a few minutes. I was breathing in and out and laughing nervously. Ahhhhh alsdfjsdlfjasdlfjsd I couldn't get out of this one! We already paid! I couldn't chicken out. One last breath and then off went the clothes. I took my small towel with me and followed them out.
Once I saw everyone walking around so naturally, I felt a little better. No one was staring anyone down making things awkward. Of course I was still supershy and somewhat scared, but I think making this obvious, would only bring more attention towards me. We sat in front of the shower stations and we showered at our own station before going into the bath. I must say that when you shower like this, it is really relaxing and you spend time cleaning and pampering yourself. While we washed our hair, we talked casually like nothing was out of the ordinary. By the time we finished washing ourselves, I didn't care anymore. I am who I am, and I would enjoy this experience.
We stepped into the onsen and boy was it HOT! I'm really not used to this heat, but taking it step by step, was bearable. Legs went in first, then waist, then the rest of my body up to my neck. Ahhh so relaxing once the whole body was in. There was something like a hot spring fountain in the middle. We made our way to it and I put my shoulders under it...so relaxing. I can see how people just forget about the time and stay so long. The steam from the water wafted around.
We changed onsens and headed to the upper one which was even hotter, but the window was open in that room, so it was a combination of cold air with a really hot bath. It was really hot, so I stayed in there with them, but did not lean against the wall where the water was coming out like the rest of them.
After that we went into the sauna...holy moly hot. I felt like we were toasting ourselves like bread. I felt like I had grill marks in my body ahaha...suffice to say, I didn't stay there long. At some point I couldn't tell whether it was the water from my hair and face dripping down, or my sweat hehe. I left before the rest and dipped my legs in the cold bath.
We all showered again before leaving. In Japanese culture and in movies, there is a tradition of having the back scrubbed by another person/relative. Well hey, we were all used to being nude anyway and we were friends so...we were all sitting beside each other...we scrubbed each others backs in a line. No, it wasn't gross and no, it wasn't weird. This was really a life altering experience for me. I am more comfortable in my own skin now. Not to say that I'm going to go around being an exhibitionist or anything, but yeah, I'm really glad I went. It was more comfortable and superawesome fun with Mellers and Mary there, so I'm really happy they came with us. I'm sure Chris feels the same way.
After showering, there is a vanity area, where people can dry their hair and use the lotions and creams. We headed upstairs to the outdoor onsen. HOLY CRAP cold air! hahaha. We squealed and ran to the bath. I think the older ladies were laughing at us. It is so nice to have cold air combined with a hot bath. The steam was coming off the water kind like those science experiments when things are frozen. The scenery was beautiful and we couldn't help but speculate whether someone was up in the mountain spying on unsuspecting bathers. We lucked out whenever we went to bath, as it was never supercrowded. We knew there were a lot of people there, but we mostly shared the baths with a few others.
THE BEST BUFFET EVER!!
OMG...the dinner buffet blew me away. Any foodie friends I have would have gone nuts! There was so much food to choose from and yes, I took photos!! There were queen crab legs, fresh sushi, hot egg custard, DIY shabu shabu, steak, salads, a plethora of desserts and so much more..literally!
We ate for 2 hours! ahahhahah...we ate so much!! It was incredible. Soooo freakin' good!! I have decided that I need to live in a ryokan. I would probably die from eating so much everyday...ok...once a month then?
We were all pretty food drunk or in a food coma when we left. We were pretty giddy and then Marie did this funny walk and we burst into laughter. We were laughing so hard we all fell to the carpet and went hysterical. A few people passed by us wondering what the heck was going on. We couldn't even stand and were laughing there for maybe 10 minutes? It was so funny! We couldn't even speak! Mellers videotaped it...I need to get that video from her!
FUTON = HEAVEN
When we got upstairs and turned on the lights were surprised to see the futons had been prepared for us. We took photos and then we tested them. Oh my gosh...heaven...this was heaven. I had overeaten, died and gone to heaven. We wanted to steal the pillows, futons and blankets. This is a danger zone...with my sleeping disorder, I might not ever wake up!
HOT STONE spa
Mellers had booked a package for us to go to the hot stone spa for an hour. We were booked in and given a hard plastic bag with towels and spa clothes. We went in and changed. Just before entering the spa, we were required to drink two cups of water. It was hecka hot in there of course. The hot stones looked like graves lol...there were beds of hot black stones. We put our large towels on top of the stones and lied down.
It was relaxing yet soooo hot and everytime I moved, the sound of stones could be heard. I tried not to move around so much, but eventually half-way through I had to leave and drink more cool water. I passed by the girls and they were passed out hahaha. I took time outside to cool off a bit. I went back in and finished the rest of the time. Chris was out. She could barely get up and wanted to stay there longer hahaha.
We went back to the outdoor onsen again. We ran into the bath ahhaha and we played some games where we had to name tokyo train stations, celebrity couples, colours, celebs we'd like to party with, etc. Anyone who couldn't name something on time, got splashed by the three of us. The onsen at night is really nice and relaxing.
After the outdoor onsen, we went back to the indoor one. I felt all my stress disappear and was more relaxed than I had been in a long time. Chris and I were talking about how we felt so clean and fresh after this experience...that and our skin became pretty white ahahaha. Once we had all finished bathing we headed upstairs.
Our plan was to drink all night and play games. Mellers hit her futon and she was off to lala land for the rest of the night. She lives a crazybusy life like me, so she really needed the rest. Chris stayed awake for a bit, but soon followed Mellers. Marie and I stayed a wake a while longer talking and drinking and finally slept. Initially I thought I would listen to my ipod, but it was dead and I didn't need much help once I lied down on the heavenly futon.
I told you it was a novel! I really wanted to put in every detail I could remember so that I would have it chronicled for myself. So yet, another experience to add to my life. I would definitely do it again!!
-Sam ^__^
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Last EPIC Journey Part 5: Ghibli Museum, Stubborn Ramen, Harajuku, Karaoke
The Last EPIC Journey Part 5: Ghibli Museum, Stubborn Ramen, Harajuku, Karaoke
Monday, February 8th
Ghibli Museum
Chris and I had booked ticket to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. I honestly think that anyone who is remotely interested, enjoys, or works in animation should go there. It is SUPERAMAZING! The Ghibli Museum is a really magical place! Hayao Miyazaki's works, inspirations and models are housed here. Miyazaki did the movies, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro and many other classics (that Disney has latched on to).
The exhibits really show the hard work and dedication put into animation and I was blown away. There was one machine that had a robot in the centre with birds flying around it going upward and it was spinning. I have no idea what kind of animation that was, but it was so beautiful I almost cried. Seriously...I was almost moved to tears. There was also a machine that had various characters in different positions and when it would spin, lights would flash on it and you'd see each piece moving - two girls skipping, totoro bouncing around, bats flying around, bunnies(?) walking around.
We really took our time looking around. We also saw a short film about an old couple that live in the mountains. They farm each day and at night 6-7 mice leave the couple's home. The grandpa follows them and watches them sumo wrestle with these big white mice and they all lose. The next day the couple is farming and doing their usual daily tasks when all of a sudden, they rush around preparing food. the mice scurry around in order to not be caught, but the couple doesn't pay attention to them. They cut fish and wrap them in dough and make other goodies. The grandma also makes these red cloths and when they have finished making everything they go into their room and say something as they semi close the door. the mice scurry down and see that a meal has been prepared for each of them and the sumo gear is laid down by their food. They eat all their food and head out to the match. The couple quietly follows them. As each round passes, the mice tackle their opponents and the couple keeps tally and gets anxious watching them. During the very last match, the white mouse eats something to gain strenghth and suddenly the grandpa throws a dumpling to his mouse. He gobbles it down and is full of energy. I won't tell you the rest, but it was so good. We were laughing and sitting forward in anticipation of each scene. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards I dragged Chris to the Straw Hat Cafe. We had to wait 20-30 minutes to get in, but I really wanted to go. I had a ginger lime cider and we shared a strawberry shortcake slice. It was so good and the cafe has a nice ambiance. We contacted Mellers and headed off to meet her for ramen.
Ganko "Stubborn" Ramen
I had read an article about a ramen shop that was covered in black tarp and had a giant bone hanging on the door. It is owned by a man who is so into the art of ramen making that somedays he puts a sign on the door that says something along the lines of "the shop is closed because the soup was not perfect today". This guy is hardcore but his ramen is supposed to be delicious.
Turns out this place is really close to where Mellers lives, so we met up with her and searched for it. We finally found it and Chris didn't even notice it. It is exactly what it was described as...barely any signage, black tarp, big bone hanging by a chain. What the heck?!?! We took photos with it and then we went in. There were five chairs and we sat down and Mellers ordered. He initially had the radio on, but while he cooked he turned it off. He didn't speak and was totally focused on making our three bowls of shoyu ramen. HOLY MOLY this guy was serious about his craft. He was so focused and worked around his tiny kitchen like he'd been doing it for centuries. We were all dragged into his mood. We stopped talking and watched him like this ramen shop was the only thing that existed at that moment. It was mindblowing. He cut the meat, worked on the soup, prepared the noodles and painstakingly prepared it to perfection. At the very end, he put green onions on the top and then poured something on top of it, which made it sizzle and then he gave us crispy fried onion and green chilli pepper mix.
Just watching him prepare it made our mouths water and anticipate the masterpiece. This guy is no joke. The ramen was SUPERAMAZING! I will definitely go back here next time I visit. Mellers was just blown away that such a superawesome place was so close to her and she didn't know about it but her foreigner "gaijin" friend Sam found it hahahahaha.
Harajuku
We shopped like crazy here. Surprise surprise! Pretty much any shop we went into we bought something. Mellers wasn't surprised. She knows how we roll ahahhaha. Chris bought shoes and boots together for $30! What the heck! I wanted them too, but they wouldn't fit my big feet :( I bought one two tops and a barrage of winter hats. We convinced her to buy stuff too. If only I had more time and more money to blow, I would have bought a lot more. We ended our sprees with crepes. I ordered something with marron in it...I thought that meant melon..but it was more like sweet potato or something?
Karaoke
We hit the karaoke place near Mellers place as we had decided to take her up on her offer of another free luggage. We karaoked for 2 hours and sang in various languages. Of course I ended up only singing in English and semi-helping with the Korean ones. I haven't mastered the languages yet and don't like singing them incorrectly.
We headed home on the last train and got ready for tomorrow's onsen trip. We would meet Mellers the next morning at her station, which was on our way to Asakusa. AHHHHHHHHHHH hot springs = bathing nude with other women we don't know!!! We don't know how we feel about it yet, but it's an experience I've been putting off.
hmmm...I wonder if I should even do an entry for that...kekeke
-Sam ^__^
Monday, February 8th
Ghibli Museum
Chris and I had booked ticket to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. I honestly think that anyone who is remotely interested, enjoys, or works in animation should go there. It is SUPERAMAZING! The Ghibli Museum is a really magical place! Hayao Miyazaki's works, inspirations and models are housed here. Miyazaki did the movies, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro and many other classics (that Disney has latched on to).
The exhibits really show the hard work and dedication put into animation and I was blown away. There was one machine that had a robot in the centre with birds flying around it going upward and it was spinning. I have no idea what kind of animation that was, but it was so beautiful I almost cried. Seriously...I was almost moved to tears. There was also a machine that had various characters in different positions and when it would spin, lights would flash on it and you'd see each piece moving - two girls skipping, totoro bouncing around, bats flying around, bunnies(?) walking around.
We really took our time looking around. We also saw a short film about an old couple that live in the mountains. They farm each day and at night 6-7 mice leave the couple's home. The grandpa follows them and watches them sumo wrestle with these big white mice and they all lose. The next day the couple is farming and doing their usual daily tasks when all of a sudden, they rush around preparing food. the mice scurry around in order to not be caught, but the couple doesn't pay attention to them. They cut fish and wrap them in dough and make other goodies. The grandma also makes these red cloths and when they have finished making everything they go into their room and say something as they semi close the door. the mice scurry down and see that a meal has been prepared for each of them and the sumo gear is laid down by their food. They eat all their food and head out to the match. The couple quietly follows them. As each round passes, the mice tackle their opponents and the couple keeps tally and gets anxious watching them. During the very last match, the white mouse eats something to gain strenghth and suddenly the grandpa throws a dumpling to his mouse. He gobbles it down and is full of energy. I won't tell you the rest, but it was so good. We were laughing and sitting forward in anticipation of each scene. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards I dragged Chris to the Straw Hat Cafe. We had to wait 20-30 minutes to get in, but I really wanted to go. I had a ginger lime cider and we shared a strawberry shortcake slice. It was so good and the cafe has a nice ambiance. We contacted Mellers and headed off to meet her for ramen.
Ganko "Stubborn" Ramen
I had read an article about a ramen shop that was covered in black tarp and had a giant bone hanging on the door. It is owned by a man who is so into the art of ramen making that somedays he puts a sign on the door that says something along the lines of "the shop is closed because the soup was not perfect today". This guy is hardcore but his ramen is supposed to be delicious.
Turns out this place is really close to where Mellers lives, so we met up with her and searched for it. We finally found it and Chris didn't even notice it. It is exactly what it was described as...barely any signage, black tarp, big bone hanging by a chain. What the heck?!?! We took photos with it and then we went in. There were five chairs and we sat down and Mellers ordered. He initially had the radio on, but while he cooked he turned it off. He didn't speak and was totally focused on making our three bowls of shoyu ramen. HOLY MOLY this guy was serious about his craft. He was so focused and worked around his tiny kitchen like he'd been doing it for centuries. We were all dragged into his mood. We stopped talking and watched him like this ramen shop was the only thing that existed at that moment. It was mindblowing. He cut the meat, worked on the soup, prepared the noodles and painstakingly prepared it to perfection. At the very end, he put green onions on the top and then poured something on top of it, which made it sizzle and then he gave us crispy fried onion and green chilli pepper mix.
Just watching him prepare it made our mouths water and anticipate the masterpiece. This guy is no joke. The ramen was SUPERAMAZING! I will definitely go back here next time I visit. Mellers was just blown away that such a superawesome place was so close to her and she didn't know about it but her foreigner "gaijin" friend Sam found it hahahahaha.
Harajuku
We shopped like crazy here. Surprise surprise! Pretty much any shop we went into we bought something. Mellers wasn't surprised. She knows how we roll ahahhaha. Chris bought shoes and boots together for $30! What the heck! I wanted them too, but they wouldn't fit my big feet :( I bought one two tops and a barrage of winter hats. We convinced her to buy stuff too. If only I had more time and more money to blow, I would have bought a lot more. We ended our sprees with crepes. I ordered something with marron in it...I thought that meant melon..but it was more like sweet potato or something?
Karaoke
We hit the karaoke place near Mellers place as we had decided to take her up on her offer of another free luggage. We karaoked for 2 hours and sang in various languages. Of course I ended up only singing in English and semi-helping with the Korean ones. I haven't mastered the languages yet and don't like singing them incorrectly.
We headed home on the last train and got ready for tomorrow's onsen trip. We would meet Mellers the next morning at her station, which was on our way to Asakusa. AHHHHHHHHHHH hot springs = bathing nude with other women we don't know!!! We don't know how we feel about it yet, but it's an experience I've been putting off.
hmmm...I wonder if I should even do an entry for that...kekeke
-Sam ^__^
The Last EPIC Journey Part 4:Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, Yokohama, Chocolate Shopping, Shibuya
The Last EPIC Journey Part 5: Ghibli Museum, Stubborn Ramen,
Monday, February 8th
Ghibli Museum
Chris and I had booked ticket to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. I honestly think that anyone who is remotely interested, enjoys, or works in animation should go there. It is SUPERAMAZING! The Ghibli Museum is a really magical place! Hayao Miyazaki's works, inspirations and models are housed here. Miyazaki did the movies, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro and many other classics (that Disney has latched on to).
The exhibits really show the hard work and dedication put into animation and I was blown away. There was one machine that had a robot in the centre with birds flying around it going upward and it was spinning. I have no idea what kind of animation that was, but it was so beautiful I almost cried. Seriously...I was almost moved to tears. There was also a machine that had various characters in different positions and when it would spin, lights would flash on it and you'd see each piece moving - two girls skipping, totoro bouncing around, bats flying around, bunnies(?) walking around.
We really took our time looking around. We also saw a short film about an old couple that live in the mountains. They farm each day and at night 6-7 mice leave the couple's home. The grandpa follows them and watches them sumo wrestle with these big white mice and they all lose. The next day the couple is farming and doing their usual daily tasks when all of a sudden, they rush around preparing food. the mice scurry around in order to not be caught, but the couple doesn't pay attention to them. They cut fish and wrap them in dough and make other goodies. The grandma also makes these red cloths and when they have finished making everything they go into their room and say something as they semi close the door. the mice scurry down and see that a meal has been prepared for each of them and the sumo gear is laid down by their food. They eat all their food and head out to the match. The couple quietly follows them. As each round passes, the mice tackle their opponents and the couple keeps tally and gets anxious watching them. During the very last match, the white mouse eats something to gain strenghth and suddenly the grandpa throws a dumpling to his mouse. He gobbles it down and is full of energy. I won't tell you the rest, but it was so good. We were laughing and sitting forward in anticipation of each scene. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards I dragged Chris to the Straw Hat Cafe. We had to wait 20-30 minutes to get in, but I really wanted to go. I had a ginger lime cider and we shared a strawberry shortcake slice. It was so good and the cafe has a nice ambiance. We contacted Mellers and headed off to meet her for ramen.
Gankou "Stubborn" Ramen
I had read an article about a ramen shop that was covered in black tarp and had a giant bone hanging on the door. It is owned by a man who is so into the art of ramen making that somedays he puts a sign on the door that says something along the lines of "the shop is closed because the soup was not good today". This guy is hardcore but his ramen is supposed to be delicious.
Turns out this place is really close to where Mellers lives, so we met up with her and searched for it. We finally found it and Chris didn't even notice it. It is exactly what it was described as...barely any signage, black tarp, big bone hanging by a chain. What the heck?!?! We took photos with it and then we went in. There were five chairs and we sat down and Mellers ordered. He initially had the radio on, but while he cooked he turned it off. He didn't speak and was totally focused on making our three bowls of shoyu ramen. HOLY MOLY this guy was serious about his craft. He was so focused and worked around his tiny kitchen like he'd been doing it for centuries. We were all dragged into his mood. We stopped talking and watched him like this ramen shop was the only thing that existed at that moment. It was mindblowing. He cut the meat, worked on the soup, prepared the noodles and painstakingly prepared it to perfection. At the very end, he put green onions on the top and then poured something on top of it, which made it sizzle and then he gave us crispy fried onion and green chilli pepper mix.
Just watching him prepare it made our mouths water and anticipate the masterpiece. This guy is no joke. The ramen was SUPERAMAZING! I will definitely go back here next time I visit. Mellers was just blown away that such a superawesome place was so close to her and she didn't know about it but her foreigner "gaijin" friend Sam found it hahahahaha.
Harajuku
We shopped like crazy here. Surprise surprise! Pretty much any shop we went into we bought something. Mellers wasn't surprised. She knows how we roll ahahhaha. Chris bought shoes and boots together for $30! What the heck! I wanted them too, but they wouldn't fit my big feet :( I bought one two tops and a barrage of winter hats. We convinced her to buy stuff too. If only I had more time and more money to blow, I would have bought a lot more. We ended our sprees with crepes. I ordered something with marron in it...I thought that meant melon..but it was more like sweet potato or something?
Karaoke
We hit the karaoke place near Mellers place as we had decided to take her up on her offer of another free luggage. We karaoked for 2 hours and sang in various languages. Of course I ended up only singing in English and semi-helping with the Korean ones. I haven't mastered the languages yet and don't like singing them incorrectly.
We headed home on the last train and got ready for tomorrow's onsen trip. We would meet Mellers the next morning at her station, which was on our way to Asakusa. AHHHHHHHHHHH hot springs = bathing nude with other women we don't know!!! We don't know how we feel about it yet, but it's an experience I've been putting off.
hmmm...I wonder if I should even do an entry for that...kekeke
-Sam ^__^
Monday, February 8th
Ghibli Museum
Chris and I had booked ticket to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. I honestly think that anyone who is remotely interested, enjoys, or works in animation should go there. It is SUPERAMAZING! The Ghibli Museum is a really magical place! Hayao Miyazaki's works, inspirations and models are housed here. Miyazaki did the movies, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro and many other classics (that Disney has latched on to).
The exhibits really show the hard work and dedication put into animation and I was blown away. There was one machine that had a robot in the centre with birds flying around it going upward and it was spinning. I have no idea what kind of animation that was, but it was so beautiful I almost cried. Seriously...I was almost moved to tears. There was also a machine that had various characters in different positions and when it would spin, lights would flash on it and you'd see each piece moving - two girls skipping, totoro bouncing around, bats flying around, bunnies(?) walking around.
We really took our time looking around. We also saw a short film about an old couple that live in the mountains. They farm each day and at night 6-7 mice leave the couple's home. The grandpa follows them and watches them sumo wrestle with these big white mice and they all lose. The next day the couple is farming and doing their usual daily tasks when all of a sudden, they rush around preparing food. the mice scurry around in order to not be caught, but the couple doesn't pay attention to them. They cut fish and wrap them in dough and make other goodies. The grandma also makes these red cloths and when they have finished making everything they go into their room and say something as they semi close the door. the mice scurry down and see that a meal has been prepared for each of them and the sumo gear is laid down by their food. They eat all their food and head out to the match. The couple quietly follows them. As each round passes, the mice tackle their opponents and the couple keeps tally and gets anxious watching them. During the very last match, the white mouse eats something to gain strenghth and suddenly the grandpa throws a dumpling to his mouse. He gobbles it down and is full of energy. I won't tell you the rest, but it was so good. We were laughing and sitting forward in anticipation of each scene. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards I dragged Chris to the Straw Hat Cafe. We had to wait 20-30 minutes to get in, but I really wanted to go. I had a ginger lime cider and we shared a strawberry shortcake slice. It was so good and the cafe has a nice ambiance. We contacted Mellers and headed off to meet her for ramen.
Gankou "Stubborn" Ramen
I had read an article about a ramen shop that was covered in black tarp and had a giant bone hanging on the door. It is owned by a man who is so into the art of ramen making that somedays he puts a sign on the door that says something along the lines of "the shop is closed because the soup was not good today". This guy is hardcore but his ramen is supposed to be delicious.
Turns out this place is really close to where Mellers lives, so we met up with her and searched for it. We finally found it and Chris didn't even notice it. It is exactly what it was described as...barely any signage, black tarp, big bone hanging by a chain. What the heck?!?! We took photos with it and then we went in. There were five chairs and we sat down and Mellers ordered. He initially had the radio on, but while he cooked he turned it off. He didn't speak and was totally focused on making our three bowls of shoyu ramen. HOLY MOLY this guy was serious about his craft. He was so focused and worked around his tiny kitchen like he'd been doing it for centuries. We were all dragged into his mood. We stopped talking and watched him like this ramen shop was the only thing that existed at that moment. It was mindblowing. He cut the meat, worked on the soup, prepared the noodles and painstakingly prepared it to perfection. At the very end, he put green onions on the top and then poured something on top of it, which made it sizzle and then he gave us crispy fried onion and green chilli pepper mix.
Just watching him prepare it made our mouths water and anticipate the masterpiece. This guy is no joke. The ramen was SUPERAMAZING! I will definitely go back here next time I visit. Mellers was just blown away that such a superawesome place was so close to her and she didn't know about it but her foreigner "gaijin" friend Sam found it hahahahaha.
Harajuku
We shopped like crazy here. Surprise surprise! Pretty much any shop we went into we bought something. Mellers wasn't surprised. She knows how we roll ahahhaha. Chris bought shoes and boots together for $30! What the heck! I wanted them too, but they wouldn't fit my big feet :( I bought one two tops and a barrage of winter hats. We convinced her to buy stuff too. If only I had more time and more money to blow, I would have bought a lot more. We ended our sprees with crepes. I ordered something with marron in it...I thought that meant melon..but it was more like sweet potato or something?
Karaoke
We hit the karaoke place near Mellers place as we had decided to take her up on her offer of another free luggage. We karaoked for 2 hours and sang in various languages. Of course I ended up only singing in English and semi-helping with the Korean ones. I haven't mastered the languages yet and don't like singing them incorrectly.
We headed home on the last train and got ready for tomorrow's onsen trip. We would meet Mellers the next morning at her station, which was on our way to Asakusa. AHHHHHHHHHHH hot springs = bathing nude with other women we don't know!!! We don't know how we feel about it yet, but it's an experience I've been putting off.
hmmm...I wonder if I should even do an entry for that...kekeke
-Sam ^__^
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Last EPIC Journey Pt 3: Edo Museum, Sensoji & Abercrombie Flagship Store
The Last EPIC Journey Pt 3: Edo Museum, Sensoji & Abercrombie Flagship Store
Sat Feb 6/10
Edo Museum
I had told Chris to let me know if there was something specific she wanted to see and she mentioned going to the Edo Museum. In planning some of the things we would be doing I noticed four of them were clustered in the east end - Edo Museum, National Museum, Akihabara and Asakusa. We are in the west end of Tokyo. Well we got Akihabara out of the way yesterday, so we decided to try to see the rest.
We arrived at the museum at close to 10am. Our initial plan was to go through on our own, but I noticed there were volunteer English guides at 10am and suggested to Chris that we get one. Sayoko was very nice and was quite impressed with our knowledge of Japan and our great interest in her culture. We learned quite a bit about Edo and took pictures mostly without flash. The kabuki theatre was quite impressive. When our tour ended, we thanked Sayoko and gave her a small thank you gift. We exchanged business cards and she welcomed us to visit her home when we came to visit again. After this museum visit, Chris regained her great interest in studying Japanese and says she hopes to come back on foreign exchange if possible.
Nabe and Tompeiyaki
By the end of the tour, we were sooooo hungry! We ended up at a restaurant and ordered the same thing as the table beside us. They were eating nabe. It came in a small pot, similar to hot pot. Our stuff was pre-cooked so we just needed it to boil before we ate. We had one of my favourite dishes as well, which is tompeiyaki (omelette like dish filled with bacon, cheese and some other fillings). It was extremely good. I managed to order us water and tea, but they only gave us one glass of each. I ordered again and they brought two more glasses of water hahaha...oh well, I tried! The food was delicious and we got some great pictures of the dishes. Yes, everyone knows I love taking pictures of food!
Sensoji Temple in Asakusa
I was excited to take Chris to one of my favourite places in Tokyo. We walked around Asakusa and shopped in a few places there. Chris took photos as we walked. We headed to Sensoji Temple where we made offerings. We wafted incense on ourselves for good health, she drank from the fountain and did her fortune. She got the best fortune YAY! I got a fortune which was supposed to be a medium luck type fortune, but it sounded more like a bad fortune...the call will not come, etc...sounds forboding...so I tied it up like everyone else who didn't get a favourable fortune in hopes that the fortune will improve. We also bought some temple fortunes.
Manju & sweet sake
I had Chris try manju which is deep fried and filled with redbeans or different fillings. She got pumpkin and I got sweet potato. I also had ume ice cream from my favourite ice cream place near the temple. I can't remember the name offhand, but I took a photo of the front of the store. They have 30 different flavours. We also drank sweet sake and had these glutinous rice balls on a stick covered in brown powder. It was so good! There was a rule, however, that if customers bought the sake they had to finish it beside the store. Makes sense...no one wants a lot of people walking around with hot sake...
Rice Crackers & other purchases
I'll confess to you know that I went kinda nuts with rice crackers. I've never really cared for buying rice crackers, but I tell you, the rice crackers here are amazing! So I bought a lot of them! I can't even guarantee they'll make it home! I bought original with nuts, chocolate with nuts, ginger, soya sauce and assorted. I also bought sweets and some other things. I bought a kendama (Japanese toy) for my cousin and a dharma doll (it's a doll that consists of a head with no eyes - the eyes are drawn in once a goal is made and accomplished).
Washi/Chiyogami Paper!!
WOOHOOO! We found a paper store beside the Ghibli store in Asakusa. Chris is a saint for waiting for me as I rummaged through the paper drawers like it was boxing day. I bought a lot of paper! I knew that if I came here and found the stores, I would buy a lot, thus I brought a poster roll. I just didn't expect to find it today, but it was fine because the nice lady that helped me rolled and wrapped them very nicely. She also cut the large sheet I bought into manageable pieces. I looooove the paper I bought!
Asakusa Tourism Office
We dropped by the Asakusa Tourism Office to inquire about the tickets to Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen. We are planning to go there Tuesday and stay overnight. The ladies were very helpful and also gave us info on the Winter Campaign for tourists. We knew about this campaign but it is difficult to figure out, as there is no print-out of what businesses are participating, etc. We gave the Laura Secord lollipops to thank them for their help and also some to the other staff members. The head of the office gave us a gift back in thanks. We got some free postcards :) They were really nice and helpful.
Ginza, More Paper and Abercrombie
We called Mellers and she asked us to meet her at her store. We used our 2 day metropass as we wouldn't be able to refund those ones anyway. As we exited Ginza station we walked by another paper place. I only bought three sheets. I wanted to buy more, but that would mean I would have to buy a whole roll of it...it would be hard to transport it. I still might, depending how much money I have. With the not so stellar exchange rate and buying the camera and film, my budget is smaller than I would have liked. Oh well!
We finally went to Abercrombie and I'm telling you right now people, that the place is CRAZY! 11 floors of shopping and only two floors with cash registers. Line ups of several floors, attractive guys greeting at the entrance/exit, topless models posing for polaroids with customers, attractive guys manning the elevators, etc. It was a madhouse! Chris and I ended up on the 7th floor and walked back down asking people where we could find Melody. It was a mission I tell you. We ended up leaving and calling her from a public phone. We walked around for a while and when we were coming back, we thought we heard her yell my name but couldn't spot her. We finally found each other. She changed, met us again and then forced us back inside. She really really wanted us to take a photo with the shirtless model. Chris and I felt awkward, but we did it anyway. You gotta see those pics hahaha. The interior wall mural is apparently the largest mural in the world (i'm not sure if they mean in a store, or in general), every floor is filled with young, attractive staff - some of whom are dancing around. The prices are expensive, but then again it's the first asian flagship store for Abercrombie.
One of the BEST salads EVER!
Mellers took us for dinner at a restaurant, but I can't remember the name. We ordered a number of things, including tompeiyaki again, glazed fried wings, rice dish similar to bi bim bap and one of the BEST salads EVER! Since it was named after the restaurant, we figured it must be SUPERAWESOME and it was. It had lettuce, crispy strips of wonton wrappers (?) and seafood filling.
UNIQLO and Kinugawa Onsen planning
After eating, we went to UNIQLO. We shopped around and they opened another section of their change rooms so we could all be beside each other. We all bought stuff. We could have shoppped more, but the store was closed. I had to give up some of the things I wanted. I hate it when I can't just recklessly spend my money hahahaa. We paid for our stuff and left. We talked to Mellers about Kinugawa onsen and she said she would come! YAY! I was going to make the reservations myself through an English site, but they required 5 days notice prior, so I asked Mellers to make the booking on the Japanese home site. Because she's superawesome, she worked out a nice plan :) We will be staying in a Japanese style room on the top floor and we also have 1 hour access to the hot stone spa. I'm excited for Tuesday!!
Are you guys getting through these?! Hahaha I know they are long! Is it really windy at home?
-Sam ^___^
Sat Feb 6/10
Edo Museum
I had told Chris to let me know if there was something specific she wanted to see and she mentioned going to the Edo Museum. In planning some of the things we would be doing I noticed four of them were clustered in the east end - Edo Museum, National Museum, Akihabara and Asakusa. We are in the west end of Tokyo. Well we got Akihabara out of the way yesterday, so we decided to try to see the rest.
We arrived at the museum at close to 10am. Our initial plan was to go through on our own, but I noticed there were volunteer English guides at 10am and suggested to Chris that we get one. Sayoko was very nice and was quite impressed with our knowledge of Japan and our great interest in her culture. We learned quite a bit about Edo and took pictures mostly without flash. The kabuki theatre was quite impressive. When our tour ended, we thanked Sayoko and gave her a small thank you gift. We exchanged business cards and she welcomed us to visit her home when we came to visit again. After this museum visit, Chris regained her great interest in studying Japanese and says she hopes to come back on foreign exchange if possible.
Nabe and Tompeiyaki
By the end of the tour, we were sooooo hungry! We ended up at a restaurant and ordered the same thing as the table beside us. They were eating nabe. It came in a small pot, similar to hot pot. Our stuff was pre-cooked so we just needed it to boil before we ate. We had one of my favourite dishes as well, which is tompeiyaki (omelette like dish filled with bacon, cheese and some other fillings). It was extremely good. I managed to order us water and tea, but they only gave us one glass of each. I ordered again and they brought two more glasses of water hahaha...oh well, I tried! The food was delicious and we got some great pictures of the dishes. Yes, everyone knows I love taking pictures of food!
Sensoji Temple in Asakusa
I was excited to take Chris to one of my favourite places in Tokyo. We walked around Asakusa and shopped in a few places there. Chris took photos as we walked. We headed to Sensoji Temple where we made offerings. We wafted incense on ourselves for good health, she drank from the fountain and did her fortune. She got the best fortune YAY! I got a fortune which was supposed to be a medium luck type fortune, but it sounded more like a bad fortune...the call will not come, etc...sounds forboding...so I tied it up like everyone else who didn't get a favourable fortune in hopes that the fortune will improve. We also bought some temple fortunes.
Manju & sweet sake
I had Chris try manju which is deep fried and filled with redbeans or different fillings. She got pumpkin and I got sweet potato. I also had ume ice cream from my favourite ice cream place near the temple. I can't remember the name offhand, but I took a photo of the front of the store. They have 30 different flavours. We also drank sweet sake and had these glutinous rice balls on a stick covered in brown powder. It was so good! There was a rule, however, that if customers bought the sake they had to finish it beside the store. Makes sense...no one wants a lot of people walking around with hot sake...
Rice Crackers & other purchases
I'll confess to you know that I went kinda nuts with rice crackers. I've never really cared for buying rice crackers, but I tell you, the rice crackers here are amazing! So I bought a lot of them! I can't even guarantee they'll make it home! I bought original with nuts, chocolate with nuts, ginger, soya sauce and assorted. I also bought sweets and some other things. I bought a kendama (Japanese toy) for my cousin and a dharma doll (it's a doll that consists of a head with no eyes - the eyes are drawn in once a goal is made and accomplished).
Washi/Chiyogami Paper!!
WOOHOOO! We found a paper store beside the Ghibli store in Asakusa. Chris is a saint for waiting for me as I rummaged through the paper drawers like it was boxing day. I bought a lot of paper! I knew that if I came here and found the stores, I would buy a lot, thus I brought a poster roll. I just didn't expect to find it today, but it was fine because the nice lady that helped me rolled and wrapped them very nicely. She also cut the large sheet I bought into manageable pieces. I looooove the paper I bought!
Asakusa Tourism Office
We dropped by the Asakusa Tourism Office to inquire about the tickets to Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen. We are planning to go there Tuesday and stay overnight. The ladies were very helpful and also gave us info on the Winter Campaign for tourists. We knew about this campaign but it is difficult to figure out, as there is no print-out of what businesses are participating, etc. We gave the Laura Secord lollipops to thank them for their help and also some to the other staff members. The head of the office gave us a gift back in thanks. We got some free postcards :) They were really nice and helpful.
Ginza, More Paper and Abercrombie
We called Mellers and she asked us to meet her at her store. We used our 2 day metropass as we wouldn't be able to refund those ones anyway. As we exited Ginza station we walked by another paper place. I only bought three sheets. I wanted to buy more, but that would mean I would have to buy a whole roll of it...it would be hard to transport it. I still might, depending how much money I have. With the not so stellar exchange rate and buying the camera and film, my budget is smaller than I would have liked. Oh well!
We finally went to Abercrombie and I'm telling you right now people, that the place is CRAZY! 11 floors of shopping and only two floors with cash registers. Line ups of several floors, attractive guys greeting at the entrance/exit, topless models posing for polaroids with customers, attractive guys manning the elevators, etc. It was a madhouse! Chris and I ended up on the 7th floor and walked back down asking people where we could find Melody. It was a mission I tell you. We ended up leaving and calling her from a public phone. We walked around for a while and when we were coming back, we thought we heard her yell my name but couldn't spot her. We finally found each other. She changed, met us again and then forced us back inside. She really really wanted us to take a photo with the shirtless model. Chris and I felt awkward, but we did it anyway. You gotta see those pics hahaha. The interior wall mural is apparently the largest mural in the world (i'm not sure if they mean in a store, or in general), every floor is filled with young, attractive staff - some of whom are dancing around. The prices are expensive, but then again it's the first asian flagship store for Abercrombie.
One of the BEST salads EVER!
Mellers took us for dinner at a restaurant, but I can't remember the name. We ordered a number of things, including tompeiyaki again, glazed fried wings, rice dish similar to bi bim bap and one of the BEST salads EVER! Since it was named after the restaurant, we figured it must be SUPERAWESOME and it was. It had lettuce, crispy strips of wonton wrappers (?) and seafood filling.
UNIQLO and Kinugawa Onsen planning
After eating, we went to UNIQLO. We shopped around and they opened another section of their change rooms so we could all be beside each other. We all bought stuff. We could have shoppped more, but the store was closed. I had to give up some of the things I wanted. I hate it when I can't just recklessly spend my money hahahaa. We paid for our stuff and left. We talked to Mellers about Kinugawa onsen and she said she would come! YAY! I was going to make the reservations myself through an English site, but they required 5 days notice prior, so I asked Mellers to make the booking on the Japanese home site. Because she's superawesome, she worked out a nice plan :) We will be staying in a Japanese style room on the top floor and we also have 1 hour access to the hot stone spa. I'm excited for Tuesday!!
Are you guys getting through these?! Hahaha I know they are long! Is it really windy at home?
-Sam ^___^
The Last EPIC Journey Pt 2: Arcades, Anime and Cameras OH MY!
The Last EPIC Journey Part 2: Arcades, Anime and Cameras OH MY!
Fri Feb 5/10
Akihabara: Electric City & Anime/Hobby Store Craziness
As I mentioned before we woke up late. It's only fair since we slept at 8am! We got ready and made our way to Akihabara which is known for electronic stores and anime/hobby shops. The two things I was really looking for were Animate (a 7 FLOOR anime/manga store!) and a fuji instax mini camera (mini-polaroid camera). Akihabara is quite an experience and even though I have been to Tokyo three times before this, I have never made it there.
Animate
Holy anime/manga craziness. When we found the Animate shop it was crazy!! 7 floors of craziness! I only bought three things: an art book and two mangas. Chris tried out the 200 yen machines to get some stuff for her friends. At the store, there was a cashier at every floor so you had to pay on each level. I guess it's a blessing in disguise that I'm not AS CRAZY as I used to be, otherwise I would have dropped some serious cash...and paper is heavy...my luggage would have been so heavy!
Softmap
We went to Softmap's flagship store which sells a buttload of electronics. I finally found my Fuji Mini Instax. I have been so obsessed with this camera recently. I love min-polaroids!! I bought the camera and 100 film. We've already started using it and it's so awesome :)
It Was Going to Happen Sooner or Later...
I stumbled across another arcade..actually a few...and yes, I was tempted to try my luck and so I did...I won a number of stuffed animal things and also some bento (lunch boxes). Chris are kind of strange in that we like winning things more than keeping the prizes. I guess we're just supercompetitive and enjoy winning...
Akihabara Yummies
We grabbed some fruity dessert crepes as we walked around. I had cheesecake and mixed fruits and Chris had strawberry chocolate. We also ordered some star shaped potato fritters. They were really good. Chris was annoyed by the crazy cosplay girls who were advertising various things. We were also given free tissue with an advertisement. We walked around for a bit longer and considered eating in the area. In the end we decided to check out Ikebukuro.
Too Late to Ikebukuro
We got to Ikebukuro but the department stores had closed. We managed to shop in the station though. Chris consdiered buying some stuff at LUSH, as some of their products might differ from home, but then decided not to. We bought some clothes from UNIQLO which was preparing to close. We sped shopped. Though we would like to shop here too, I don't know if we'll have time with all the things will be doing.
Dinnnerrrr
Wanting to explore our dinner options in our neighbourhood, we returned to Koenji. After browsing some of the places, we ended up at a cheap but decent restaurant. Chris was pretty exhausted and increasingly affected by jet lag. I ordered breaded shrimp & tonkatsu (breaded pork), while Chris had tonkatsu and curry on rice. There was a very large thermos of tea which we practically finished.
More Snacks
Considering we are in the land of packaged snacks, you can't blame me for wanting to try almost everything. I initially bought things I already love here like Crunky (chocolate with crispy rice), like Crispy Crunch and is made by LOTTE which is a Korean company. We also got those superawesome chocolate biscuits - I'll have to get the name again, since I don't have it in front of me at the moment.
We headed back at home at fell asleep pretty quickly!
I am quite behind writing these journals because we get home really late are on dead tired and in the mornings we wake up and leave right away.
I hope you are all doing well. By the way, it's hella windy cold here. Thank goodness we brought long sleeved shirts, mittens and hats with us! When you see pictures, you can see our hair blowing in the wind...kinda sorta but not really (b/c Chris wears my hat all the time and my hair isn't long enough to whip in the wind keke), but you can tell.
Oh and a few of the stores situated near our guest house are a little mcshady with animated pictures of well-endowed female characters. We aren't terribly bothered by it, but I suppose other people might be. I would still recommend this place to people as it is so cheap and it is clean. We pay 3500 yen a night for the room. We don't have a curfew either.
Good night everyone!
-Sam ^___^
Fri Feb 5/10
Akihabara: Electric City & Anime/Hobby Store Craziness
As I mentioned before we woke up late. It's only fair since we slept at 8am! We got ready and made our way to Akihabara which is known for electronic stores and anime/hobby shops. The two things I was really looking for were Animate (a 7 FLOOR anime/manga store!) and a fuji instax mini camera (mini-polaroid camera). Akihabara is quite an experience and even though I have been to Tokyo three times before this, I have never made it there.
Animate
Holy anime/manga craziness. When we found the Animate shop it was crazy!! 7 floors of craziness! I only bought three things: an art book and two mangas. Chris tried out the 200 yen machines to get some stuff for her friends. At the store, there was a cashier at every floor so you had to pay on each level. I guess it's a blessing in disguise that I'm not AS CRAZY as I used to be, otherwise I would have dropped some serious cash...and paper is heavy...my luggage would have been so heavy!
Softmap
We went to Softmap's flagship store which sells a buttload of electronics. I finally found my Fuji Mini Instax. I have been so obsessed with this camera recently. I love min-polaroids!! I bought the camera and 100 film. We've already started using it and it's so awesome :)
It Was Going to Happen Sooner or Later...
I stumbled across another arcade..actually a few...and yes, I was tempted to try my luck and so I did...I won a number of stuffed animal things and also some bento (lunch boxes). Chris are kind of strange in that we like winning things more than keeping the prizes. I guess we're just supercompetitive and enjoy winning...
Akihabara Yummies
We grabbed some fruity dessert crepes as we walked around. I had cheesecake and mixed fruits and Chris had strawberry chocolate. We also ordered some star shaped potato fritters. They were really good. Chris was annoyed by the crazy cosplay girls who were advertising various things. We were also given free tissue with an advertisement. We walked around for a bit longer and considered eating in the area. In the end we decided to check out Ikebukuro.
Too Late to Ikebukuro
We got to Ikebukuro but the department stores had closed. We managed to shop in the station though. Chris consdiered buying some stuff at LUSH, as some of their products might differ from home, but then decided not to. We bought some clothes from UNIQLO which was preparing to close. We sped shopped. Though we would like to shop here too, I don't know if we'll have time with all the things will be doing.
Dinnnerrrr
Wanting to explore our dinner options in our neighbourhood, we returned to Koenji. After browsing some of the places, we ended up at a cheap but decent restaurant. Chris was pretty exhausted and increasingly affected by jet lag. I ordered breaded shrimp & tonkatsu (breaded pork), while Chris had tonkatsu and curry on rice. There was a very large thermos of tea which we practically finished.
More Snacks
Considering we are in the land of packaged snacks, you can't blame me for wanting to try almost everything. I initially bought things I already love here like Crunky (chocolate with crispy rice), like Crispy Crunch and is made by LOTTE which is a Korean company. We also got those superawesome chocolate biscuits - I'll have to get the name again, since I don't have it in front of me at the moment.
We headed back at home at fell asleep pretty quickly!
I am quite behind writing these journals because we get home really late are on dead tired and in the mornings we wake up and leave right away.
I hope you are all doing well. By the way, it's hella windy cold here. Thank goodness we brought long sleeved shirts, mittens and hats with us! When you see pictures, you can see our hair blowing in the wind...kinda sorta but not really (b/c Chris wears my hat all the time and my hair isn't long enough to whip in the wind keke), but you can tell.
Oh and a few of the stores situated near our guest house are a little mcshady with animated pictures of well-endowed female characters. We aren't terribly bothered by it, but I suppose other people might be. I would still recommend this place to people as it is so cheap and it is clean. We pay 3500 yen a night for the room. We don't have a curfew either.
Good night everyone!
-Sam ^___^
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Last EPIC Journey Part 1: Jet Lag is for Newbs & Hitting the Clubs
The Last EPIC Journey Part 1: Jet Lag is for Newbs & Hitting the Clubs
Wed Thurs 3/10 - Thurs Feb 4/10
Air Canada Rating
Since we are flying with three different carriers, I decided to a rating of my own on them. The lady who checked us in was extremely nice. She helped us out a lot and poor dad had to trash three of his lighters and matches. We had thought that the rule about no lighters was only for carry-on and not check in. In addition, because he was transferring at Tokyo, we thought it was best for me to take his Johnny Walker's since he had purchased it on duty free and would most likely have to trash that too. The flight was smooth, the staff was extremely friendly and the food was not totally riddled with mushrooms. So I would probably give them a 3.5 out of 5. Watched The Invention of Lying and part of Love Happens on the plane. I basically narco-ed my way through the flight and ate and watched movies. Chris was worse than me and she was always using me for her pillow, so my ribs were a bit sore haha.
Journey to Koenji
We arrived in Tokyo and parted ways with Dad. We were instructed to go to separate customs officers even though we are related and we were fingerprinted and photographed. We picked up our luggage and headed to the exit where they were doing security checks. I was expecting them to open my luggage and rummage, but they didn't.
Its the Thought That Counts
We purchased a combo ticket - round-trip to the airport and a 2-day Metro line pass. We bought additional ones as well because we will be using public transit a lot. Then we waited for our limobus. Three guys who came from Toronto as well let us go ahead of them and one tried to help me, but I forgot to tell him that my luggage handle was broken. Poor guy thought he broke it! He apologized profusely but I told him it was fine. The limobus guy did the same thing. I need a luggage exchange soon.
Koenji
MISSIONS i tell you! Walking up and down the damn stairs with big-ass luggage filled with gifts is no walk in the park! We had to take a short train ride to our stop and it was quite the adventure. Suffice to say, we are cabbing it to shinjuku station and getting the limobus from there going back. When we finally arrived at Koenji station I called Toshi and Ryusaku picked us up. He carried my luggage up one flight and then suggested we stay on that floor ahahahah. Our room is reasonably sized, but the bed is big and takes up most of the space. Also music plays late at night but we're used to living beside a fire station so we don't care. Our room was icy cold, but we figured out how to use the heater!
Mellers calls
Mellers called Ryusaku to find out what happened to us. We got there much later than anticipated due to the craziness at Shinjuku station. I forgot to mention, that people thought we were weird for just wearing our hoodies and no jackets too. We talked briefly and she said we'd go clubbing that night hahahaah..jet lag is for newbs! We would call her at 9pm to find out where to meet.
Exploring Koenji - Shopping at the Daiso (100 yen shop)
Hit the daiso and bought a variety of origami paper. We also looked around at the shops. We're in a pretty cool place :) We also went to 7 eleven, since we forgot our shampoo and toothpaste kekeke. Got some snacks and drinks too.
Dinner
We got to Shinjuku station and looked around a bit. Finally reunited with Mellers at around 11pmish. We went to a Japanese restaurant where we had to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. There was a metal block at each locker and you take the metal slab with you and it locks. We ate gyoza, tompeiyaki, different types of yakitori and had alcoholic beverages..cassis with oolong and cassis with orange juice. Chris experienced a high tech toilet!
Clubbin at Lex
Mellers took us clubbing at Lex with her Abercrombie co-workers and models. All the girls were drooling over them. We also saw Akanashi Jin from KAT-TUN (j-pop band) and he was hanging out with this girl who was all over him. We had a fun time. Everyone was really into the music. It was hella crowded in there though and so hot. We had to take several breaks outside. We were crazy dancing, so much so, that I almost fell at one point haahaa. One of Mellers friends joined us and he almost fell too. Her friends are really nice and some talked to us. There were a lot of foreigner jerks who tried to dance with us, but none of us were having it. Chris, Mellers and I had fun doing some of the dances we knew.
I couldn't find my flat shoes so I ended up using heels and it killed me. My toes felt broken! I was basically hobbled out after clubbing. We left with Masayo and Kenichi and I treated for ramen. Then Masayo came with us to inquire about the passes we had bought. They aren't worth using so we will try to refund them when we get back to the airport.
We were so dead tired when we got back home at around 7amish. We got ready for bed and passed out. We woke up late the next day ahahhaa..I won't say what time but it was late! I'll tell you about it tomorrow and it will be a heckuvalot shorter than this one!!
Hugs to those who finished this email. Sorry if it doesn't make sense hahaah
Until the next one,
Sam ^___^
Wed Thurs 3/10 - Thurs Feb 4/10
Air Canada Rating
Since we are flying with three different carriers, I decided to a rating of my own on them. The lady who checked us in was extremely nice. She helped us out a lot and poor dad had to trash three of his lighters and matches. We had thought that the rule about no lighters was only for carry-on and not check in. In addition, because he was transferring at Tokyo, we thought it was best for me to take his Johnny Walker's since he had purchased it on duty free and would most likely have to trash that too. The flight was smooth, the staff was extremely friendly and the food was not totally riddled with mushrooms. So I would probably give them a 3.5 out of 5. Watched The Invention of Lying and part of Love Happens on the plane. I basically narco-ed my way through the flight and ate and watched movies. Chris was worse than me and she was always using me for her pillow, so my ribs were a bit sore haha.
Journey to Koenji
We arrived in Tokyo and parted ways with Dad. We were instructed to go to separate customs officers even though we are related and we were fingerprinted and photographed. We picked up our luggage and headed to the exit where they were doing security checks. I was expecting them to open my luggage and rummage, but they didn't.
Its the Thought That Counts
We purchased a combo ticket - round-trip to the airport and a 2-day Metro line pass. We bought additional ones as well because we will be using public transit a lot. Then we waited for our limobus. Three guys who came from Toronto as well let us go ahead of them and one tried to help me, but I forgot to tell him that my luggage handle was broken. Poor guy thought he broke it! He apologized profusely but I told him it was fine. The limobus guy did the same thing. I need a luggage exchange soon.
Koenji
MISSIONS i tell you! Walking up and down the damn stairs with big-ass luggage filled with gifts is no walk in the park! We had to take a short train ride to our stop and it was quite the adventure. Suffice to say, we are cabbing it to shinjuku station and getting the limobus from there going back. When we finally arrived at Koenji station I called Toshi and Ryusaku picked us up. He carried my luggage up one flight and then suggested we stay on that floor ahahahah. Our room is reasonably sized, but the bed is big and takes up most of the space. Also music plays late at night but we're used to living beside a fire station so we don't care. Our room was icy cold, but we figured out how to use the heater!
Mellers calls
Mellers called Ryusaku to find out what happened to us. We got there much later than anticipated due to the craziness at Shinjuku station. I forgot to mention, that people thought we were weird for just wearing our hoodies and no jackets too. We talked briefly and she said we'd go clubbing that night hahahaah..jet lag is for newbs! We would call her at 9pm to find out where to meet.
Exploring Koenji - Shopping at the Daiso (100 yen shop)
Hit the daiso and bought a variety of origami paper. We also looked around at the shops. We're in a pretty cool place :) We also went to 7 eleven, since we forgot our shampoo and toothpaste kekeke. Got some snacks and drinks too.
Dinner
We got to Shinjuku station and looked around a bit. Finally reunited with Mellers at around 11pmish. We went to a Japanese restaurant where we had to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. There was a metal block at each locker and you take the metal slab with you and it locks. We ate gyoza, tompeiyaki, different types of yakitori and had alcoholic beverages..cassis with oolong and cassis with orange juice. Chris experienced a high tech toilet!
Clubbin at Lex
Mellers took us clubbing at Lex with her Abercrombie co-workers and models. All the girls were drooling over them. We also saw Akanashi Jin from KAT-TUN (j-pop band) and he was hanging out with this girl who was all over him. We had a fun time. Everyone was really into the music. It was hella crowded in there though and so hot. We had to take several breaks outside. We were crazy dancing, so much so, that I almost fell at one point haahaa. One of Mellers friends joined us and he almost fell too. Her friends are really nice and some talked to us. There were a lot of foreigner jerks who tried to dance with us, but none of us were having it. Chris, Mellers and I had fun doing some of the dances we knew.
I couldn't find my flat shoes so I ended up using heels and it killed me. My toes felt broken! I was basically hobbled out after clubbing. We left with Masayo and Kenichi and I treated for ramen. Then Masayo came with us to inquire about the passes we had bought. They aren't worth using so we will try to refund them when we get back to the airport.
We were so dead tired when we got back home at around 7amish. We got ready for bed and passed out. We woke up late the next day ahahhaa..I won't say what time but it was late! I'll tell you about it tomorrow and it will be a heckuvalot shorter than this one!!
Hugs to those who finished this email. Sorry if it doesn't make sense hahaah
Until the next one,
Sam ^___^
Monday, January 4, 2010
And so the travelling begins...yet again
It is less than a month before I am off to Asia again. This time, it is for relaxation before 8 years worth of school and a birthday/christmas/graduation for two years gift to my sister Chris, who I call My-chan. We will be in Japan (mainly Tokyo) from Feb 3rd - 11th, Korea (mainly Seoul) from Feb 11th - 18th and last but not least Philippines from Feb 18 - Mar 5th! I am SUPEREXCITED!!
Normally, as you have probably noticed from previous entries, I just pack the day/night of or just before I leave. It's because I am absent-minded and just know that if I pack early, I'll forget something or will keep packing and unpacking, etc. For some reason, I feel a little bit of finality in this trip - like it's going to be the last big one for a while. Most likely I'm feeling this way, as school is a giant thing looming over my head. I'm going back for something I'm interested in, so I'm happy about that but it will be for soooo long. It'll be worth it in the end I'm sure, but it's a huge thing for me to give up travelling so often. Travelling is my S-A-N-I-T-Y.
With that said, I will eagerly anticipate my trip and fully live by the notion: "GO BIG OR GO HOME"...translation: exactly what it says...I'm not going to not do something because I don't want to spend so much money, etc...I'm going to enjoy this trip!! (like I always do)...but more so because it will be the last EPIC adventure for a bit!
I always like to try something new...so a few things I'm thinking of (and also keeping in mind that my sister's budget is smaller)are: visiting Yokohama, *gulp* trying out a ryokan - i need a lot of courage for that one... I'm still thinking of other things. It would also be nice to cross something off my 26 List, so I'll see what I can do
Normally, as you have probably noticed from previous entries, I just pack the day/night of or just before I leave. It's because I am absent-minded and just know that if I pack early, I'll forget something or will keep packing and unpacking, etc. For some reason, I feel a little bit of finality in this trip - like it's going to be the last big one for a while. Most likely I'm feeling this way, as school is a giant thing looming over my head. I'm going back for something I'm interested in, so I'm happy about that but it will be for soooo long. It'll be worth it in the end I'm sure, but it's a huge thing for me to give up travelling so often. Travelling is my S-A-N-I-T-Y.
With that said, I will eagerly anticipate my trip and fully live by the notion: "GO BIG OR GO HOME"...translation: exactly what it says...I'm not going to not do something because I don't want to spend so much money, etc...I'm going to enjoy this trip!! (like I always do)...but more so because it will be the last EPIC adventure for a bit!
I always like to try something new...so a few things I'm thinking of (and also keeping in mind that my sister's budget is smaller)are: visiting Yokohama, *gulp* trying out a ryokan - i need a lot of courage for that one... I'm still thinking of other things. It would also be nice to cross something off my 26 List, so I'll see what I can do
Monday, August 17, 2009
Installment 18: Harajuku & Italian
Installment 18: Harajuku & Italian
Morning Sickness
No, I'm not preggers. I woke up feeling the sickest I've been thus far. I had a headache and a sore throat with a stuffy nose. I know my body when it's like this. I felt kind of disoriented too. It was our last full day in Tokyo, so I forced myself out. Jos and I left the house at around 230ish. Jos wanted to go for shabu shabu again, but by the time we got there, the restaurant was closing until dinnertime. We decided to go straight to Harajuku and eat there. We took the omotesando exit and was surprised to see that the JE store had no line-up. They stopped Jos from taking a picture of the store, but let her take a picture of the billboard. I spent way too much money...again...
Some Italian?
Jos and I were pretty hungry at this point and decided on a pasta restaurant. We both ordered the same thing which was pasta with shrimps and sadly, (I didn't see it in the picutre) mushrooms. Jos ate miund, but I could still taste a bit of it in the sauce. I sucked it up and ate it anyway. The salad was good. We made our own milk tea with tea, liquid sugar and milk. The dessert was good. I ate a chocolate cake with ice cream. Jos had a cream caramel.
Waiting for Mellers
After we ate we walked around a bit and found a lot of thrifty and second hand stores. We found a nice hat shop and shopped a bit. I called Mellers and we arranged to meet at GAP. While we waited for her, we saw four girls on the corner dressed in Halloween gear. Mellers arrived and we headed off to the main shopping in Harajuku.
Harajuku Shopping
Mellers and I warned Jos that it would be impossible to not buy anything in Harajuku. I was actually good and Jos pretty good too. We shopped around pretty fast, because the stores were closing at 8pm. We took more sticker pictures and then we made our way out. Then Jos reminded me that I didn't get my haircut.
HOST CLUB?!?!?
Mellers filled out my form to cut my hair. Then I convinced Jos to get a haircut too. The both of us convinced Mellers to cut her hair as well. So we all got haircuts. Jos and I gave full freedom to our stylists, short of shaving our heads. Jos' stylist asked her if she'd been to a host club. We all laughed but then seriously started considering doing that. Mellers had never been to one and what better way to end our trip? Jos and Mellers finished their hair before I did and they continued to talk about the host club. We paid for our haircuts and then our stylists escorted us out.
Dinner at La Boheme
I believe that is the name of the restaurant. Feel free to correct me Mellers. We went to the restaurant that Mellers works at and ate like crazy. We had avocado, wasabi, crab salad...calamari, chirisso (i don't know how to spell that), margherita pizza and one plate of pasta each. Because I wasn't feeling too great I couldn't finish my food. We had a great time and it's clear the staff loves Mellers, b/c everyone made it a point of saying hello and talking to us. Dinner was great!
As for the host club...well...what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo MUAHAHHAHAHAHA
I fell asleep in the taxi on the way home. Jos and Mellers could tell I was pretty sick. They helped me along. Went to sleep with my jacket on.
We are leaivng in 15mins for the airport. I had a great time as always here. Lots of great memories. Now...on to Canada and frigid weather. Tomorrow it will hit 0 degrees?!?!? See you all soon. I'll finish the Philippines installments when I get back.
-Sam
Morning Sickness
No, I'm not preggers. I woke up feeling the sickest I've been thus far. I had a headache and a sore throat with a stuffy nose. I know my body when it's like this. I felt kind of disoriented too. It was our last full day in Tokyo, so I forced myself out. Jos and I left the house at around 230ish. Jos wanted to go for shabu shabu again, but by the time we got there, the restaurant was closing until dinnertime. We decided to go straight to Harajuku and eat there. We took the omotesando exit and was surprised to see that the JE store had no line-up. They stopped Jos from taking a picture of the store, but let her take a picture of the billboard. I spent way too much money...again...
Some Italian?
Jos and I were pretty hungry at this point and decided on a pasta restaurant. We both ordered the same thing which was pasta with shrimps and sadly, (I didn't see it in the picutre) mushrooms. Jos ate miund, but I could still taste a bit of it in the sauce. I sucked it up and ate it anyway. The salad was good. We made our own milk tea with tea, liquid sugar and milk. The dessert was good. I ate a chocolate cake with ice cream. Jos had a cream caramel.
Waiting for Mellers
After we ate we walked around a bit and found a lot of thrifty and second hand stores. We found a nice hat shop and shopped a bit. I called Mellers and we arranged to meet at GAP. While we waited for her, we saw four girls on the corner dressed in Halloween gear. Mellers arrived and we headed off to the main shopping in Harajuku.
Harajuku Shopping
Mellers and I warned Jos that it would be impossible to not buy anything in Harajuku. I was actually good and Jos pretty good too. We shopped around pretty fast, because the stores were closing at 8pm. We took more sticker pictures and then we made our way out. Then Jos reminded me that I didn't get my haircut.
HOST CLUB?!?!?
Mellers filled out my form to cut my hair. Then I convinced Jos to get a haircut too. The both of us convinced Mellers to cut her hair as well. So we all got haircuts. Jos and I gave full freedom to our stylists, short of shaving our heads. Jos' stylist asked her if she'd been to a host club. We all laughed but then seriously started considering doing that. Mellers had never been to one and what better way to end our trip? Jos and Mellers finished their hair before I did and they continued to talk about the host club. We paid for our haircuts and then our stylists escorted us out.
Dinner at La Boheme
I believe that is the name of the restaurant. Feel free to correct me Mellers. We went to the restaurant that Mellers works at and ate like crazy. We had avocado, wasabi, crab salad...calamari, chirisso (i don't know how to spell that), margherita pizza and one plate of pasta each. Because I wasn't feeling too great I couldn't finish my food. We had a great time and it's clear the staff loves Mellers, b/c everyone made it a point of saying hello and talking to us. Dinner was great!
As for the host club...well...what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo MUAHAHHAHAHAHA
I fell asleep in the taxi on the way home. Jos and Mellers could tell I was pretty sick. They helped me along. Went to sleep with my jacket on.
We are leaivng in 15mins for the airport. I had a great time as always here. Lots of great memories. Now...on to Canada and frigid weather. Tomorrow it will hit 0 degrees?!?!? See you all soon. I'll finish the Philippines installments when I get back.
-Sam
Installment 17: Sensoji Temple (Asakusa) and Halloween Party
Installment 17: Sensoji Temple (Asakusa) and Halloween Party
Sensoji Temple
Craig came by in the morning to get ready for the Halloween dress up. He had decided on Mickey Mouse's sorcerer's apprentice. Mellers was a flight attendant. Jos and I didn't have to dress up until the party. Mellers invited us to the candy exchange at SILS, but we declined, since we wanted to spend more time at the temple.
We went there and finally found zaru soba! Jos has been looking for it everywhere. Zaru soba is cold soba noodles with a soya dipping sauce and shrimp tempura. Jos was amazed at the shopping district that led to the temple. We found Chris a dress and found some other nice things. We made it to the temple and Josie and I did all the rituals. We lit the incense, poured the water, did our fortunes and made offerings. Then we bought charms.
We went back through the shopping district. I took her to the funky ice cream shop, but it was under renovations. I was really disappointed. Instead I took her for manju (fried biscuit looking thing with various fillings). We had green tea, pumpkin and sweet potato with sesame. She really enjoyed that.
We shopped more and then headed back. We got home just in time and we dressed up. Although Mellers had a witch costume for me, I ended up being an angel. Jos was Josie and the Pussycats. We met Mellers friends at Hub in Shibuya. She had a lot of ppl from her program there. Jimmy Mackey was there too. He is a former JE performer and still a celebrity in many fangirls eyes. We moved from Hub to the club where the party was being held, and stopped by Don Quixote again. Some fangirls recognized Jimmy and were squealing. He's not hard to miss..he's supertall and was dressed as a kindergarten student. Some of her other friends were dressed as 80's girls, drag queens, etc.
We went with Mellers to pick up Craig and then we lined up for the club. As we were going in, I looked up the stairs and saw Matsuda Shota!! He is an actor and is widely known as Soujiro in Hana Yori Dango (the Japanese live action version). Apparently, he bumped into Mellers and apologized. Mellers told Jos it was F4 and for some unknown reason, Jos thought it was Vanness from the Taiwanese F4. ahahahha She said the only F4 she thinks of is the Taiwanese guys.
The club was rammed. There were so many people there. Jos and I danced with Mellers and her friends for a bit. Then we moved around the club. We sat upstairs for a while and enjoyed other music and then finally found ourselves on the balcony dancing. Craig came by for a bit and then as we were dancing we saw Mellers dancing on stage with a whole lot of other people. She made eye contact with us so we were dancing from a distance too.
As the night ended, Jos and I checked out our stuff from coat check and waited for Mellers and Craig. Some dude tried to talk to me, but I just shook my head. We left the club and ran into Eugene, George and their other friend, who I had met last time I visited. We were hungry and really tired. We went to the station, ppl were staring at us and then we went to Yoshinoya. (Kind of like Matsuya.) Then we went home. Another tiring, yet fun day was done.
-Sam
Sensoji Temple
Craig came by in the morning to get ready for the Halloween dress up. He had decided on Mickey Mouse's sorcerer's apprentice. Mellers was a flight attendant. Jos and I didn't have to dress up until the party. Mellers invited us to the candy exchange at SILS, but we declined, since we wanted to spend more time at the temple.
We went there and finally found zaru soba! Jos has been looking for it everywhere. Zaru soba is cold soba noodles with a soya dipping sauce and shrimp tempura. Jos was amazed at the shopping district that led to the temple. We found Chris a dress and found some other nice things. We made it to the temple and Josie and I did all the rituals. We lit the incense, poured the water, did our fortunes and made offerings. Then we bought charms.
We went back through the shopping district. I took her to the funky ice cream shop, but it was under renovations. I was really disappointed. Instead I took her for manju (fried biscuit looking thing with various fillings). We had green tea, pumpkin and sweet potato with sesame. She really enjoyed that.
We shopped more and then headed back. We got home just in time and we dressed up. Although Mellers had a witch costume for me, I ended up being an angel. Jos was Josie and the Pussycats. We met Mellers friends at Hub in Shibuya. She had a lot of ppl from her program there. Jimmy Mackey was there too. He is a former JE performer and still a celebrity in many fangirls eyes. We moved from Hub to the club where the party was being held, and stopped by Don Quixote again. Some fangirls recognized Jimmy and were squealing. He's not hard to miss..he's supertall and was dressed as a kindergarten student. Some of her other friends were dressed as 80's girls, drag queens, etc.
We went with Mellers to pick up Craig and then we lined up for the club. As we were going in, I looked up the stairs and saw Matsuda Shota!! He is an actor and is widely known as Soujiro in Hana Yori Dango (the Japanese live action version). Apparently, he bumped into Mellers and apologized. Mellers told Jos it was F4 and for some unknown reason, Jos thought it was Vanness from the Taiwanese F4. ahahahha She said the only F4 she thinks of is the Taiwanese guys.
The club was rammed. There were so many people there. Jos and I danced with Mellers and her friends for a bit. Then we moved around the club. We sat upstairs for a while and enjoyed other music and then finally found ourselves on the balcony dancing. Craig came by for a bit and then as we were dancing we saw Mellers dancing on stage with a whole lot of other people. She made eye contact with us so we were dancing from a distance too.
As the night ended, Jos and I checked out our stuff from coat check and waited for Mellers and Craig. Some dude tried to talk to me, but I just shook my head. We left the club and ran into Eugene, George and their other friend, who I had met last time I visited. We were hungry and really tired. We went to the station, ppl were staring at us and then we went to Yoshinoya. (Kind of like Matsuya.) Then we went home. Another tiring, yet fun day was done.
-Sam
Installment 16: Kodansha & Tonkatsu
Installment 16: Kodansha & Tonkatsu
Odakyu, Keio and Seibu
Because Jos and I didn't have to be at Kodansha until 2pm, we decided to eat first and then stick around the vicinity. Our mission was to also find costumes for the Halloween party and find out about the limo bus to the airport. We ate at a small restaurant in baba (Takadanobaba) and then we headed off to Shinjuku to look for airport bus information.
After a while and asking for directions, we finally found it. We bought our tickets in advance and went into the department stores: Odakyu and Keio. We bought Shu Uemura face products and body spray. We also went to Seibu department store. There was food everywhere. OMG the onigiri (rice ball) was massive and they had different types of sushi, croquettes (deep fried potato with meat and various types of fillings)...basically food heaven. Jos and I basically bought a little of various items and the food was so tasty! Jos said this was such a good merienda, we should do it the next day too.
Jos also bought oranges on our way to Kodansha for my throat. Did I tell you I am sick?...yet again. After the typhoon, I've been under the weather, but trying to fight it.
Kodansha
Jos and I arrived at Kodansha early, just to be on the safe side. I took us to the wrong entrance, but the security man helped us find the right one. The receptionist already knew I was coming and said that Ms. Kubo would come down to meet us. She gave us guest badges and we waited in the seating area. I was really excited and Jos could tell. Ms. Kubo arrived and she gave me the company profile and a manga (japanese comic) catalogue. She gave us her business card and Josie gave her card and then I remembered that the darn typhoon wet my remaining business cards. I gave my somewhat damp card to her and apologized profusely for it's condition. (I apologized a lot about my card..I had to give my card...if Josie gave hers, how bad would it be if I didn't..seeing as how I was the one who was there for the appointment)
Ms. Kubo told us that Ms. Tomoko Suga would be coming down to meet us as well. Ms. Kubo is above 50 years of age and very friendly and kind. Ms. Suga looks pretty young and has a British accent. The latter was really business-like and well, I'll tell you more about it later. As we went up the elevator, they informed us that we would be visiting the editing department and we had a meeting with...THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF SHONEN WEEKLY MAGAZINE! Holy jebus....I was shocked! Editor-in-Chief....I inwardly panicked. I didn't have a lot of good questions to ask, but thank goodness Josie did. Ms. Suga told us that it the Editor-in-Chief, Hiroaki Morita, doesn't usually have meetings like this and asked what I wanted to know specifically. She translated all of our questions to him T___T She was a bit intimidating, but overall they were all nice to us. He showed us drafts and explained what editors do, as well as the history of Shonen Weekly Magazine. I'll tell you more about that meeting in person.
After the meeting was done, Ms. Suga went back to work and Ms. Kubo continued our tour. She showed us the library and the vault downstairs that has everything they have published. Ms. Kubo was extremely nice. We wanted to take her out for coffee, but she told us their cafeteria could only pay by card, so she treated us. I would really like to send them a thank you email.
Arcade Addict
We called Mellers afterwards to find out about dinner plans. She told us to come back home for 7pm. So Jos and I thought we might have time to buy costumes. We went to Ikebukuro, intending to avoid Sunshine City b/c we wanted to shop there with Mellers. We found ourselves there anyway. I found an arcade....and you know what that means right? For those of you who don't know, I am a self proclaimed claw game (ufo catcher) addict. I can't stay away from them...it's worse than a gambling addiction. So Jos went to look for costumes and I played the claw games. Jos had said she wanted a pillow...well I won two soft pink ones with cute bunnies on it. I also won...A DIGITAL CAMERA!! Well it's not one of those highly expensive ones, but a digi camera nonetheless. Jos was shocked when she came back! I only spent like $12.00 to get all three...then I spent $18 more trying to get other cute stuff, I'm such an addict. Jos had to get me away from there. Jos had bought our costumes...a halo and wings for me and a cat headband, bowtie, tail and leopard nose for herself.
Tonkatsu
We got home with all of our purvchases and called Mellers. She was still at the U.S. military base, so she told us to call Eugene for dinner and she would meet us later. We called up Eugene and went with him to buy his friend a gift. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed. We went to Shibuya, so Eugene asked us what we wanted to eat. We said anything. He took us to a tonkatsu (fried, breaded pork) specialty restaurant. On our way there, we saw so many hosts! Holy jebus! Male hosts basically work at a club and fulfill the needs and desires of women ahahhaha. They tell you you're pretty and they romance their costumers. They were easy to spot in their ironed suits and the complex hairstyles. They must spend hours on their hair! Jos and I couldn't help laughing and she managed to take a picture.
We found the restaurant and ate some superyummy food. Wow. Tonkatsu was amazing and the potato/tuna salad was really good. The dessert was like a tofu pudding and it was sweet. Our dinner was delicious. After that, we met up with Mellers at Don Quixote (sp?) a store that sells everything including halloween costumes. I wanted to buy an evil kitty costume, but it was apparently for men, not women?!?! We also met Mellers friend Craig. He was dragging a big luggage with him, which contained all the purchases from the base.
Craig and their other friend went to eat. I told Mellers about my winnings at the arcade and then we saw another one. She told Craig to meet us at the arcade. I went crazy yet again... This time I won a cute little bunny and...AN MP3 player! MUAHAHAHHAHA. We also took some hilarious sticker pictures of Mellers, Eugene, Josie and me. They are seriously classic!
Craig came back and we went to baba for karaoke. Craig was tired, so he went home. We went to karaoke with Eugene, Mellers and their friend George. He's part American so we kept cracking jokes...he started it! While we were waiting for our Karaoke room, the luggage started to leak! The drinks had busted open and two were spraying. George and Eugene ended up spraying each other and I got out of the way. Our karaoke room was on the 7th floor. There are a lot of karaoke rooms at that place! We ordered a party platter and drinks. We also brought in some alcohol too, but we hid it under the table. Karaoke was fun. We sang in different languages. We got home past 3 a.m.
-Sam
p.s. I took Jos to Matsuya a day or two ago. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but it's kind of a cross of fast food and home cooking and supercheap! I like the food there.
Odakyu, Keio and Seibu
Because Jos and I didn't have to be at Kodansha until 2pm, we decided to eat first and then stick around the vicinity. Our mission was to also find costumes for the Halloween party and find out about the limo bus to the airport. We ate at a small restaurant in baba (Takadanobaba) and then we headed off to Shinjuku to look for airport bus information.
After a while and asking for directions, we finally found it. We bought our tickets in advance and went into the department stores: Odakyu and Keio. We bought Shu Uemura face products and body spray. We also went to Seibu department store. There was food everywhere. OMG the onigiri (rice ball) was massive and they had different types of sushi, croquettes (deep fried potato with meat and various types of fillings)...basically food heaven. Jos and I basically bought a little of various items and the food was so tasty! Jos said this was such a good merienda, we should do it the next day too.
Jos also bought oranges on our way to Kodansha for my throat. Did I tell you I am sick?...yet again. After the typhoon, I've been under the weather, but trying to fight it.
Kodansha
Jos and I arrived at Kodansha early, just to be on the safe side. I took us to the wrong entrance, but the security man helped us find the right one. The receptionist already knew I was coming and said that Ms. Kubo would come down to meet us. She gave us guest badges and we waited in the seating area. I was really excited and Jos could tell. Ms. Kubo arrived and she gave me the company profile and a manga (japanese comic) catalogue. She gave us her business card and Josie gave her card and then I remembered that the darn typhoon wet my remaining business cards. I gave my somewhat damp card to her and apologized profusely for it's condition. (I apologized a lot about my card..I had to give my card...if Josie gave hers, how bad would it be if I didn't..seeing as how I was the one who was there for the appointment)
Ms. Kubo told us that Ms. Tomoko Suga would be coming down to meet us as well. Ms. Kubo is above 50 years of age and very friendly and kind. Ms. Suga looks pretty young and has a British accent. The latter was really business-like and well, I'll tell you more about it later. As we went up the elevator, they informed us that we would be visiting the editing department and we had a meeting with...THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF SHONEN WEEKLY MAGAZINE! Holy jebus....I was shocked! Editor-in-Chief....I inwardly panicked. I didn't have a lot of good questions to ask, but thank goodness Josie did. Ms. Suga told us that it the Editor-in-Chief, Hiroaki Morita, doesn't usually have meetings like this and asked what I wanted to know specifically. She translated all of our questions to him T___T She was a bit intimidating, but overall they were all nice to us. He showed us drafts and explained what editors do, as well as the history of Shonen Weekly Magazine. I'll tell you more about that meeting in person.
After the meeting was done, Ms. Suga went back to work and Ms. Kubo continued our tour. She showed us the library and the vault downstairs that has everything they have published. Ms. Kubo was extremely nice. We wanted to take her out for coffee, but she told us their cafeteria could only pay by card, so she treated us. I would really like to send them a thank you email.
Arcade Addict
We called Mellers afterwards to find out about dinner plans. She told us to come back home for 7pm. So Jos and I thought we might have time to buy costumes. We went to Ikebukuro, intending to avoid Sunshine City b/c we wanted to shop there with Mellers. We found ourselves there anyway. I found an arcade....and you know what that means right? For those of you who don't know, I am a self proclaimed claw game (ufo catcher) addict. I can't stay away from them...it's worse than a gambling addiction. So Jos went to look for costumes and I played the claw games. Jos had said she wanted a pillow...well I won two soft pink ones with cute bunnies on it. I also won...A DIGITAL CAMERA!! Well it's not one of those highly expensive ones, but a digi camera nonetheless. Jos was shocked when she came back! I only spent like $12.00 to get all three...then I spent $18 more trying to get other cute stuff, I'm such an addict. Jos had to get me away from there. Jos had bought our costumes...a halo and wings for me and a cat headband, bowtie, tail and leopard nose for herself.
Tonkatsu
We got home with all of our purvchases and called Mellers. She was still at the U.S. military base, so she told us to call Eugene for dinner and she would meet us later. We called up Eugene and went with him to buy his friend a gift. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed. We went to Shibuya, so Eugene asked us what we wanted to eat. We said anything. He took us to a tonkatsu (fried, breaded pork) specialty restaurant. On our way there, we saw so many hosts! Holy jebus! Male hosts basically work at a club and fulfill the needs and desires of women ahahhaha. They tell you you're pretty and they romance their costumers. They were easy to spot in their ironed suits and the complex hairstyles. They must spend hours on their hair! Jos and I couldn't help laughing and she managed to take a picture.
We found the restaurant and ate some superyummy food. Wow. Tonkatsu was amazing and the potato/tuna salad was really good. The dessert was like a tofu pudding and it was sweet. Our dinner was delicious. After that, we met up with Mellers at Don Quixote (sp?) a store that sells everything including halloween costumes. I wanted to buy an evil kitty costume, but it was apparently for men, not women?!?! We also met Mellers friend Craig. He was dragging a big luggage with him, which contained all the purchases from the base.
Craig and their other friend went to eat. I told Mellers about my winnings at the arcade and then we saw another one. She told Craig to meet us at the arcade. I went crazy yet again... This time I won a cute little bunny and...AN MP3 player! MUAHAHAHHAHA. We also took some hilarious sticker pictures of Mellers, Eugene, Josie and me. They are seriously classic!
Craig came back and we went to baba for karaoke. Craig was tired, so he went home. We went to karaoke with Eugene, Mellers and their friend George. He's part American so we kept cracking jokes...he started it! While we were waiting for our Karaoke room, the luggage started to leak! The drinks had busted open and two were spraying. George and Eugene ended up spraying each other and I got out of the way. Our karaoke room was on the 7th floor. There are a lot of karaoke rooms at that place! We ordered a party platter and drinks. We also brought in some alcohol too, but we hid it under the table. Karaoke was fun. We sang in different languages. We got home past 3 a.m.
-Sam
p.s. I took Jos to Matsuya a day or two ago. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but it's kind of a cross of fast food and home cooking and supercheap! I like the food there.
Installment 15: No Yokohama, Shibuya 109
Installment 15: No Yokohama, Shibuya 109
Shhhhhopppping
Jos and I were supposed to meet Mayumi to go to Yokohama. Mellers said she needed to sleep b/c she was really tired. Jos and I went to Shibuya to meet Mayumi. Because we had evening plans and we met a bit later, we decided to just go shopping instead. We met outside of the station and then headed to Shibuya 109 building. Jos saw
At first, Jos tried to be good and not spend any money, but there were a lot of floors of fashionable clothing. She eventually broke haahhaha. Are you surprised? I mean, overall, she was pretty good. I spent whatever...cuz I'm on vacation and I don't care muaahhahahaha. Halfway through we decided to go for coffee/tea. We went outside the mall, but the only coffee shop we saw was full, so we went to the top floor and ordered drinks and dessert.
Mayumi checked her cell to see how long it would take me to get to Kodansha publishing the next day from Takadanobaba. Did I mention that my friend, Ko, got me an appointment for a tour of Kodansha publishing in Tokyo? Anyway, we sat and relaxed up there for a while and Jos said she didn't want to shop anymore. She was trying to save her money and luggage space. In the end, we visited every floor.
After that Mayumi took us to a dessert food court...omg..the food looked amazing...so much to eat! Jos got something that looked like marzipan and then Mayumi bought two boxes of sweets for me to take home to the family. Thank you Mayumi! You are so kind! I promise next time, we will visit Yokohama! I look forward to it!!
Shabu Shabu
We took a few pictures and then parted at the station. We went home and Mellers was waiting for us. We went for shabu shabu with Mellers, Eugene and Airi (I hope I spelt that right). Mellers had to work so she sped through her meal and we ordered harusame (vermicelli noodles) a bazillion times, we thought the waittress hated us. The shabu shabu (hot pot - when you cook your food in the soup) is all-you-can-eat, by the way. After Mellers left, we continued to eat and talk. Eugene told us hilarious stories.
When we finished eating we took a picture and headed off to a bar called Hub. Eugene ran into some Waseda students and we each had a drink. We called it a relatively early night, meaning before 2 a.m. At Mellers place, Jos and I checked email and called home.
Shhhhhopppping
Jos and I were supposed to meet Mayumi to go to Yokohama. Mellers said she needed to sleep b/c she was really tired. Jos and I went to Shibuya to meet Mayumi. Because we had evening plans and we met a bit later, we decided to just go shopping instead. We met outside of the station and then headed to Shibuya 109 building. Jos saw
At first, Jos tried to be good and not spend any money, but there were a lot of floors of fashionable clothing. She eventually broke haahhaha. Are you surprised? I mean, overall, she was pretty good. I spent whatever...cuz I'm on vacation and I don't care muaahhahahaha. Halfway through we decided to go for coffee/tea. We went outside the mall, but the only coffee shop we saw was full, so we went to the top floor and ordered drinks and dessert.
Mayumi checked her cell to see how long it would take me to get to Kodansha publishing the next day from Takadanobaba. Did I mention that my friend, Ko, got me an appointment for a tour of Kodansha publishing in Tokyo? Anyway, we sat and relaxed up there for a while and Jos said she didn't want to shop anymore. She was trying to save her money and luggage space. In the end, we visited every floor.
After that Mayumi took us to a dessert food court...omg..the food looked amazing...so much to eat! Jos got something that looked like marzipan and then Mayumi bought two boxes of sweets for me to take home to the family. Thank you Mayumi! You are so kind! I promise next time, we will visit Yokohama! I look forward to it!!
Shabu Shabu
We took a few pictures and then parted at the station. We went home and Mellers was waiting for us. We went for shabu shabu with Mellers, Eugene and Airi (I hope I spelt that right). Mellers had to work so she sped through her meal and we ordered harusame (vermicelli noodles) a bazillion times, we thought the waittress hated us. The shabu shabu (hot pot - when you cook your food in the soup) is all-you-can-eat, by the way. After Mellers left, we continued to eat and talk. Eugene told us hilarious stories.
When we finished eating we took a picture and headed off to a bar called Hub. Eugene ran into some Waseda students and we each had a drink. We called it a relatively early night, meaning before 2 a.m. At Mellers place, Jos and I checked email and called home.
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm...
Dear Avid Readers,
I fear that there will be yet another delay in the Philippines installments, much to my dismay. Firstly, b/c we were so busy in the Philippines (so there is much to write), I could not faithfully send the installments to you. Secondly, we are now in Japan and would rather much stay as close to the current events than speak of the past. Fear not, I have kept notes of all the happenings in the Philippines, so I will try my best to recount what happened. I will most likely send you adventures of Japan more than the Philippines for the time being, so don't worry if the Installment email numbers are out of whack....no, you aren't missing any.
Please expect to read Installment 15 very soon and possibly 9...yada yada yada
So without further ado (is that even right?!)....the next installment...
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Bye Bye Philippines
In the morning we got ready to leave and finished off the last minute packing. I took some pictures of Franco hiding in my luggage ahahhahaa. We went downstairs for brekkie, which ended up being more like lunch. Our family feeds us well. We had rice, adobo, fish and lechon kawali. I decided to leave some of my clothes in the Philippines with Tita Bello. Why? Because I wanted more room in my luggage and my pants are too big now? Could I have lost weight while travelling? Well...if only it were in a more obvious place like my face...ah well. I still think I look the same...hopefully the PK staff will recognize me when I come back. Just kidding.
We said our goodbyes and took pictures with our family. Then Roly drove us to the airport. We were assisted by staff at the airport and lucky for us, there was no line. Score! Jos was talking with some staff too and one dude was particularly interested in us. He was asking me if I speak Tagalog and I just said no and then moved on. No, he is not a potential...he was actually creepy...kind of lurking around and staring at us. He even checked Jos' carry on and said it was heavy...sure enough 4kgs too heavy! She had to re-pack some of her stuff and also she had to take her boots of later on for screening and the lady thought her socks were her shoes...b/c of the design...
Mr. Creepy was on our side too once we had checked in...we had tea and coffee. We tried to make some phone calls, but we really couldn't understand the payphones. We were able to make one phone call and then we gave up. Flight went well. I was sandwiched by Jos and a tall dude who helped us with our luggage. Jos hasn't been feeling too great on the planes, but she's starting to feel better.
We got to Singapore airport and briefly checked our email. Everyone gets a free 15mins. So we rushed it. A few of you were concerned about what happened...don't worry..we're fine, just busy. Made some phone calls and shopped a bit. Jos bought ANOTHER Tokidoki bag..
Arrived in Tokyo to rain. The customs line was ridiculously long and tiring. They will start the fingerprinting/photo procedure starting in November. We got our luggage and took the Skyliner to Nippori. We were doing ok, a bit awkward with Jos' luggage, but ok nonetheless. That was until we switched to the Yamanote sen line...huuhuu...
When you're dragging two luggages each plus your carry-on and purse..it is really difficult to get everything in before the door closes. We were doing pretty well for the first two luggages and then the door started to close and my back was pushing between the closing doors with one leg on the platform and the other in the train...with Jos dragging me in and actually hitting someone in the face... T______T It was so funny, yet really embarassing at the same time. I apologized and Jos couldn't stop laughing her butt off.
Actually, a woman asked us if we were okay in Japanese. I assured her we were fine. We dreaded repeating this on our way out of Takadanobaba stn. Luckily a young woman offered to help us take our luggage out. She was really nice and actually left the train with her belongings inside...that's supernice in my books. Anyway, got to the station and it was raining really hard. No taxis would take us with all that luggage, so we walked in the cold, frigid rain. A 10min walk took 25mins. We were soaked when we got to Mellers. She felt bad for not being able to meet us, but it was ok. I took a shower and Jos took one too. We ordered Bulgogi Pizza from Pizza Hut delivery.
Made a quick trip to the convenience store and also saw the old, supermarket owner that I talked to in April. He remembered me too and was all ready to have another good conversation. We talked a bit and in my broken Japanese explained Jos was my sister and we visited other places too.
We went back and ate some food. We relaxed for a while and then got ready for clubbing. Yes, clubbing on the very first day we got to Tokyo. What a long day huh? Jos did a nice makeup job on me...b/c I really don't know anything about makeup and off we went. We waited at the pizza place near Gaspanic Cafe and surprised both Nare and Yu-chan. I was really happy to see them again! They both had different hairstyles too!
Gaspanic was crowded as ever. The music varied and Jos waited for her music to play. We danced to pretty much everything. Sadly I only saw a few hotties ahaha, but they didn't stick around long. :( The rest were yuck. And there was an extremely drunk dude who eventually got kicked out. Mellers did her long awaited Soulja Boy dance... We also took a break to the convenience store and saw the actor who played the rival high jumper in the Hana Kimi j-dorama. One of the guys there was wearing a netted shirt with a jockey with a faucet/tap stategically placed and money tucked in the jockey too.
Jos was pretty jetlagged and I even blinked a couple of times on the train ride home. We stayed till the club played the last song, I believe at 4 a.m. Went back to get our stuff and walked to the station. Can you believe we saw the drunk dude who got kicked out in a store corner embracing an asian woman (who seemed ok with it)?!!
Got home, took showers and went to sleep.
Ok...I need sleep. Update you again later.
Bye Bye
Sam
p.s. found out this morning that we actually walked through a typhoon...yup...just our luck!!
Dear Avid Readers,
I fear that there will be yet another delay in the Philippines installments, much to my dismay. Firstly, b/c we were so busy in the Philippines (so there is much to write), I could not faithfully send the installments to you. Secondly, we are now in Japan and would rather much stay as close to the current events than speak of the past. Fear not, I have kept notes of all the happenings in the Philippines, so I will try my best to recount what happened. I will most likely send you adventures of Japan more than the Philippines for the time being, so don't worry if the Installment email numbers are out of whack....no, you aren't missing any.
Please expect to read Installment 15 very soon and possibly 9...yada yada yada
So without further ado (is that even right?!)....the next installment...
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Bye Bye Philippines
In the morning we got ready to leave and finished off the last minute packing. I took some pictures of Franco hiding in my luggage ahahhahaa. We went downstairs for brekkie, which ended up being more like lunch. Our family feeds us well. We had rice, adobo, fish and lechon kawali. I decided to leave some of my clothes in the Philippines with Tita Bello. Why? Because I wanted more room in my luggage and my pants are too big now? Could I have lost weight while travelling? Well...if only it were in a more obvious place like my face...ah well. I still think I look the same...hopefully the PK staff will recognize me when I come back. Just kidding.
We said our goodbyes and took pictures with our family. Then Roly drove us to the airport. We were assisted by staff at the airport and lucky for us, there was no line. Score! Jos was talking with some staff too and one dude was particularly interested in us. He was asking me if I speak Tagalog and I just said no and then moved on. No, he is not a potential...he was actually creepy...kind of lurking around and staring at us. He even checked Jos' carry on and said it was heavy...sure enough 4kgs too heavy! She had to re-pack some of her stuff and also she had to take her boots of later on for screening and the lady thought her socks were her shoes...b/c of the design...
Mr. Creepy was on our side too once we had checked in...we had tea and coffee. We tried to make some phone calls, but we really couldn't understand the payphones. We were able to make one phone call and then we gave up. Flight went well. I was sandwiched by Jos and a tall dude who helped us with our luggage. Jos hasn't been feeling too great on the planes, but she's starting to feel better.
We got to Singapore airport and briefly checked our email. Everyone gets a free 15mins. So we rushed it. A few of you were concerned about what happened...don't worry..we're fine, just busy. Made some phone calls and shopped a bit. Jos bought ANOTHER Tokidoki bag..
Arrived in Tokyo to rain. The customs line was ridiculously long and tiring. They will start the fingerprinting/photo procedure starting in November. We got our luggage and took the Skyliner to Nippori. We were doing ok, a bit awkward with Jos' luggage, but ok nonetheless. That was until we switched to the Yamanote sen line...huuhuu...
When you're dragging two luggages each plus your carry-on and purse..it is really difficult to get everything in before the door closes. We were doing pretty well for the first two luggages and then the door started to close and my back was pushing between the closing doors with one leg on the platform and the other in the train...with Jos dragging me in and actually hitting someone in the face... T______T It was so funny, yet really embarassing at the same time. I apologized and Jos couldn't stop laughing her butt off.
Actually, a woman asked us if we were okay in Japanese. I assured her we were fine. We dreaded repeating this on our way out of Takadanobaba stn. Luckily a young woman offered to help us take our luggage out. She was really nice and actually left the train with her belongings inside...that's supernice in my books. Anyway, got to the station and it was raining really hard. No taxis would take us with all that luggage, so we walked in the cold, frigid rain. A 10min walk took 25mins. We were soaked when we got to Mellers. She felt bad for not being able to meet us, but it was ok. I took a shower and Jos took one too. We ordered Bulgogi Pizza from Pizza Hut delivery.
Made a quick trip to the convenience store and also saw the old, supermarket owner that I talked to in April. He remembered me too and was all ready to have another good conversation. We talked a bit and in my broken Japanese explained Jos was my sister and we visited other places too.
We went back and ate some food. We relaxed for a while and then got ready for clubbing. Yes, clubbing on the very first day we got to Tokyo. What a long day huh? Jos did a nice makeup job on me...b/c I really don't know anything about makeup and off we went. We waited at the pizza place near Gaspanic Cafe and surprised both Nare and Yu-chan. I was really happy to see them again! They both had different hairstyles too!
Gaspanic was crowded as ever. The music varied and Jos waited for her music to play. We danced to pretty much everything. Sadly I only saw a few hotties ahaha, but they didn't stick around long. :( The rest were yuck. And there was an extremely drunk dude who eventually got kicked out. Mellers did her long awaited Soulja Boy dance... We also took a break to the convenience store and saw the actor who played the rival high jumper in the Hana Kimi j-dorama. One of the guys there was wearing a netted shirt with a jockey with a faucet/tap stategically placed and money tucked in the jockey too.
Jos was pretty jetlagged and I even blinked a couple of times on the train ride home. We stayed till the club played the last song, I believe at 4 a.m. Went back to get our stuff and walked to the station. Can you believe we saw the drunk dude who got kicked out in a store corner embracing an asian woman (who seemed ok with it)?!!
Got home, took showers and went to sleep.
Ok...I need sleep. Update you again later.
Bye Bye
Sam
p.s. found out this morning that we actually walked through a typhoon...yup...just our luck!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Installment 12: All Good Things Must Come To an End...
Installment 12: All Good Things Must Come To an End...
Today is my last full day in Tokyo with Mellers! T___T Tomorrow I leave for the 6:08pm flight to Chicago and then Chicago to Toronto, to arrive around 10:55pm.
SLEPT IN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Mellers was supposed to attend classes in the morning, but for some reason, none of her three alarms went off. >)____(< So she missed two classes...oops. We ate lunch at Matsuya. By the way, for any of you who will visit Tokyo one day, Matsuya and Yoshinoda have good food at cheap prices...ranging from around 300 yen to 700 yen, if I recall. Also if you have eaten instant noodles (ramen), you have not really eaten ramen. Oh my gosh ramen here is so delicious. The noodles are amazing and it's much more substance than what the packaged bowls/cups have led us to believe. My ramen last night was delicious! Noodles, broth, meat, green onions, I believe there were some snow pea leaves in there too. It was really great. So big bowl of ramen, rice, gyoza for around 600yen. I'd say that's really cheap, wouldn't you? Most of the sets will come with miso soup, plus a big bowl of food, so you won't go hungry. Even the pre-made bentos in places like 7/11 are really good. That's where I got my cold soba/udon for aroun 400 yen and it was really good.
So the best things I ate here (in no particular order):
-zaru soba (cold soba noodles and shrimp tempura)
-ramen (noodle soup)
-onigiri (chicken & mayonaise riceball and salmon riceball)
-sushi... sooo good
-omurice (rice wrapped in an omelet) with curry
-yakiniku (bbq meat)
-takoyaki (octopus balls)
-oden (soup with various items)
-tons of other stuff that I don't even know the name of.. it was in the pictures...
DETERMINED TO SHOP
I bought some black converse sneakers! yay! and I got my calendar! Woohoo! Determination pays off. I found the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku (with Mellers directions and help from other people) and was able to grab that calendar. Finally. Now I don't have to pay 4000 yen in shipping!
SHINJUKU SCORE!!!
Yes, I must admit to you that I saw some arcades in Shinjuku. I did go in and spend money, because I am soooo competitive. That bear rikamaru (sp?) bear really doesn't want to come to Canada. I spent like 1000+ trying, but alas, I have resigned. I did however, just spend 100 yen and won something on the first shot of that ufo game. A MINI MP3 PLAYER!! OH yeah SCORE! I also won a bunch of little cute toys in this game where I use a claw to pull this string and it empties all the goodies out. They are actually really cute and weird at the same time.
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAYYYY!
It started to rain, so that kind of put a damper on things. I was supposed to go to the Meiji Shrine, but I guess I'll leave that to next year, unless I superrush it tomorrow morning... we'll see... I also wasn't able to go back to Harajuku really quickly to get Mellers the skirt and do some last minute stuff, but that's ok. There's always October!
I am proud to say I found/bought everything on my list! SCORE! And of course, more... Thank heavens I made a budget for this trip! Thank goodness I saved! Thank you Parkdale for giving me extra hours.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYU CELEBRATION
I totally forgot to bring Mayu's gift again. I'm such a dummy. We met her at Shinjuku and we ate at Asian Kitchen. It has a really nice atmosphere and we ate soooo much! It was crazy and the Happy Birthday dessert was crazy big and good. Pics of that will come laterrrrr... We talked a lot and had so much fun. They were correcting my Japanese and verifying stuff for me. We took a lot of pictures too. Mellers and I were also gonna go to the public bath, but we were too late. I guess next time...
This was such an awesome trip.
*correction: In the previous installment, I said kendamas were wooden TOES, I meant TOYS!
originally written: Apr 11, 2007
Today is my last full day in Tokyo with Mellers! T___T Tomorrow I leave for the 6:08pm flight to Chicago and then Chicago to Toronto, to arrive around 10:55pm.
SLEPT IN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Mellers was supposed to attend classes in the morning, but for some reason, none of her three alarms went off. >)____(< So she missed two classes...oops. We ate lunch at Matsuya. By the way, for any of you who will visit Tokyo one day, Matsuya and Yoshinoda have good food at cheap prices...ranging from around 300 yen to 700 yen, if I recall. Also if you have eaten instant noodles (ramen), you have not really eaten ramen. Oh my gosh ramen here is so delicious. The noodles are amazing and it's much more substance than what the packaged bowls/cups have led us to believe. My ramen last night was delicious! Noodles, broth, meat, green onions, I believe there were some snow pea leaves in there too. It was really great. So big bowl of ramen, rice, gyoza for around 600yen. I'd say that's really cheap, wouldn't you? Most of the sets will come with miso soup, plus a big bowl of food, so you won't go hungry. Even the pre-made bentos in places like 7/11 are really good. That's where I got my cold soba/udon for aroun 400 yen and it was really good.
So the best things I ate here (in no particular order):
-zaru soba (cold soba noodles and shrimp tempura)
-ramen (noodle soup)
-onigiri (chicken & mayonaise riceball and salmon riceball)
-sushi... sooo good
-omurice (rice wrapped in an omelet) with curry
-yakiniku (bbq meat)
-takoyaki (octopus balls)
-oden (soup with various items)
-tons of other stuff that I don't even know the name of.. it was in the pictures...
DETERMINED TO SHOP
I bought some black converse sneakers! yay! and I got my calendar! Woohoo! Determination pays off. I found the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku (with Mellers directions and help from other people) and was able to grab that calendar. Finally. Now I don't have to pay 4000 yen in shipping!
SHINJUKU SCORE!!!
Yes, I must admit to you that I saw some arcades in Shinjuku. I did go in and spend money, because I am soooo competitive. That bear rikamaru (sp?) bear really doesn't want to come to Canada. I spent like 1000+ trying, but alas, I have resigned. I did however, just spend 100 yen and won something on the first shot of that ufo game. A MINI MP3 PLAYER!! OH yeah SCORE! I also won a bunch of little cute toys in this game where I use a claw to pull this string and it empties all the goodies out. They are actually really cute and weird at the same time.
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAYYYY!
It started to rain, so that kind of put a damper on things. I was supposed to go to the Meiji Shrine, but I guess I'll leave that to next year, unless I superrush it tomorrow morning... we'll see... I also wasn't able to go back to Harajuku really quickly to get Mellers the skirt and do some last minute stuff, but that's ok. There's always October!
I am proud to say I found/bought everything on my list! SCORE! And of course, more... Thank heavens I made a budget for this trip! Thank goodness I saved! Thank you Parkdale for giving me extra hours.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYU CELEBRATION
I totally forgot to bring Mayu's gift again. I'm such a dummy. We met her at Shinjuku and we ate at Asian Kitchen. It has a really nice atmosphere and we ate soooo much! It was crazy and the Happy Birthday dessert was crazy big and good. Pics of that will come laterrrrr... We talked a lot and had so much fun. They were correcting my Japanese and verifying stuff for me. We took a lot of pictures too. Mellers and I were also gonna go to the public bath, but we were too late. I guess next time...
This was such an awesome trip.
*correction: In the previous installment, I said kendamas were wooden TOES, I meant TOYS!
originally written: Apr 11, 2007
Installment 11: Temples, Shrines & Canada!
Installment 11: Temples, Shrines & Canada!
I went to Sensoji Temple solo today, because Mellers had class. I took the train to Ueno station and then transferred onto the Ginza line to Asakusa. It's really nice that I can adventure around. Mellers always tells me to call her if I have trouble, but so far no.
I couldn't really tell how much tickets would cost, so I just asked someone to help me. hahaha. Word to those who travel here and don't know how much the train ticket will cost to where you are going...ask someone who is buying a ticket/has bought one or of course someone who works there. People are very accomodating.
So I got to the temple area and it took me a while to get to the main temple, because of all my detours. No, not the detours you think (getting lost) more like seeing interesting things and steering off my path.
KENDAMAAAAAA!
Woohoo I was able to find kendamas. They are hand-made wooden toes, that require skill to play with. I will upload a pic...ahahaha so many to upload. So I bought two OFFICIAL kendamas. Yes, official, there are actual professional competitions. There's even someone who has the Guiness record for it. Ko showed me the official site when I was in Toronto and mannn some people even breakdance while playing kendama!
ICE-CREAMMMMMMMMMMM
I found an ice-cream place with 30 different flavours. There were all sorts of different flavours like Japanese apricot, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, sesame, etc. I chose sakura (cherry blossom flavour) soooo goood! I want moooooorrreee!
SANDALS
I was on a mission to find bigger sandals to wear with my yukata (summer kimono), since the ones I bought last year were a little too small. Finally found it, when I went for a detour. Most places only had smaller sizes, but I find my size at this small shop and got an 80 yen discount too.
SENSOJI TEMPLE
The temple was just as beautiful as I remembered and even nicer during the day. I did all the stuff like drinking the water and wafting the incense, etc. I also bought charms for good luck and health, as well as making your dreams come true. I took video which I'll upload. I also did the fortune...this is what I got...
No. 96 THE BEST FORTUNE
Relying upon a person in higher rank for help to succeed in one's life is just like a cock tries to fly following a phoenix and perches on a higher twig.
Poling a boat across the stream is a simile of your getting along well with others in this world.
You will rise in the world and will be wealthy.
*Your wish will come true, so you should be modest for everything. *The sick person will get well. *The lost article will be found. *The person you are waiting for will come. *Building a new house and removal are both good *It is good to make a travel. *Both marriage and employment are good.
YUKATAS & CANADA?!
I wanted to get another yukata, so I went by a store and ended up getting Kimono coasters instead. The ladies were really friendly and when the oldest one heard I was from Canada, she said in Japanese that she loves the maple leaf. hahhaa So I gave each of them the Canadian badges I had brought. She was so happy, she gave me a handkerchief as a gift. They were so cute too. They saw I had a lot of bags and gave me a bigger one and told me to put them "ishoni" (together). I had that happen at three different stores...ahahah am I shopping too much?
CUTE STORE OWNER
Hahaha I bet you're thinking I was checking some hot guy out right? No... when I went to the local grocery store, there was an old man who owns it. Last time I went there I was looking for something, so this time he remembered me. He said, "oh Canada" ahahah. I stayed there for a bit and we talked. It was really cute because his English is limited and my Japanese was limited, but somehow we were able to have a good conversation! We talked about food and the money conversions and what I was doing here, etc. ahahah who would have thought. I am quite happy to say that so far on this trip, I have never had the experience of NOT being able to communicate what I'm trying to say. Through Japanese, Korean, English and hand movements, it's all been good.
Wahh this is super long. Sorrryyyyy! Just to let you know that while I was at the temple I asked that all my family and friends stay healthy and happy.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 10, 2007
I went to Sensoji Temple solo today, because Mellers had class. I took the train to Ueno station and then transferred onto the Ginza line to Asakusa. It's really nice that I can adventure around. Mellers always tells me to call her if I have trouble, but so far no.
I couldn't really tell how much tickets would cost, so I just asked someone to help me. hahaha. Word to those who travel here and don't know how much the train ticket will cost to where you are going...ask someone who is buying a ticket/has bought one or of course someone who works there. People are very accomodating.
So I got to the temple area and it took me a while to get to the main temple, because of all my detours. No, not the detours you think (getting lost) more like seeing interesting things and steering off my path.
KENDAMAAAAAA!
Woohoo I was able to find kendamas. They are hand-made wooden toes, that require skill to play with. I will upload a pic...ahahaha so many to upload. So I bought two OFFICIAL kendamas. Yes, official, there are actual professional competitions. There's even someone who has the Guiness record for it. Ko showed me the official site when I was in Toronto and mannn some people even breakdance while playing kendama!
ICE-CREAMMMMMMMMMMM
I found an ice-cream place with 30 different flavours. There were all sorts of different flavours like Japanese apricot, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, sesame, etc. I chose sakura (cherry blossom flavour) soooo goood! I want moooooorrreee!
SANDALS
I was on a mission to find bigger sandals to wear with my yukata (summer kimono), since the ones I bought last year were a little too small. Finally found it, when I went for a detour. Most places only had smaller sizes, but I find my size at this small shop and got an 80 yen discount too.
SENSOJI TEMPLE
The temple was just as beautiful as I remembered and even nicer during the day. I did all the stuff like drinking the water and wafting the incense, etc. I also bought charms for good luck and health, as well as making your dreams come true. I took video which I'll upload. I also did the fortune...this is what I got...
No. 96 THE BEST FORTUNE
Relying upon a person in higher rank for help to succeed in one's life is just like a cock tries to fly following a phoenix and perches on a higher twig.
Poling a boat across the stream is a simile of your getting along well with others in this world.
You will rise in the world and will be wealthy.
*Your wish will come true, so you should be modest for everything. *The sick person will get well. *The lost article will be found. *The person you are waiting for will come. *Building a new house and removal are both good *It is good to make a travel. *Both marriage and employment are good.
YUKATAS & CANADA?!
I wanted to get another yukata, so I went by a store and ended up getting Kimono coasters instead. The ladies were really friendly and when the oldest one heard I was from Canada, she said in Japanese that she loves the maple leaf. hahhaa So I gave each of them the Canadian badges I had brought. She was so happy, she gave me a handkerchief as a gift. They were so cute too. They saw I had a lot of bags and gave me a bigger one and told me to put them "ishoni" (together). I had that happen at three different stores...ahahah am I shopping too much?
CUTE STORE OWNER
Hahaha I bet you're thinking I was checking some hot guy out right? No... when I went to the local grocery store, there was an old man who owns it. Last time I went there I was looking for something, so this time he remembered me. He said, "oh Canada" ahahah. I stayed there for a bit and we talked. It was really cute because his English is limited and my Japanese was limited, but somehow we were able to have a good conversation! We talked about food and the money conversions and what I was doing here, etc. ahahah who would have thought. I am quite happy to say that so far on this trip, I have never had the experience of NOT being able to communicate what I'm trying to say. Through Japanese, Korean, English and hand movements, it's all been good.
Wahh this is super long. Sorrryyyyy! Just to let you know that while I was at the temple I asked that all my family and friends stay healthy and happy.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 10, 2007
Installment 10: Shibuyaaaaaaa!
Installment 10: Shibuyaaaaaaa!
HELLO...IT'S SAM
I was finally able to talk to Mom after over a week. Mannnn I keep missing her and finally I reached them by collect call. Talked to Dad for a bit too which was nice. Yay income tax, I don't owe the government money. That's always a plus
SHIBUYAAAAAAAAAAAA
I went to Shibuya by myself as Mellers had class. It was quite exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There were soooo many people there! There seemed to be three popular ways of crossing, so I decided to start on the left. Left is always better than right (at least in my head) I stumbled upon an arcade. Hahahah you know how I love challenges, right?
I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!!!
So, naturally, I got sucked into that darn crane game/ufo game. I really wanted to win that big bear...1000 yen later...no success. Darn you, Bear! I almost got you twice....you were caught up and on your way to me and then you fell!! T___________T I decided to try a different one and on the first shot, I won a yellow elephant. It's soooo cuute. I'll upload a pic later on today.
109 BUILDING
I went up and down the streets until I got to the 109 Building which is infamous for women's fashion. The stuff there was beautiful. Let me just say that if I didn't find some good sales, there's no way I could afford to buy all the things I wanted there. There were a lot of tanned girls there, some had raccoon eyes too. All the staff at each store were very nice though. I had to really try not to just by things because they were so nice and I felt bad that I couldn't spend ahhaha. There was the beautiful, beautiful belt...seriously gorgeous. I wanted it, but it was 7100yen. Sorry, but I will never pay that much for a belt. The employee there even put it on me and I was thisclose to just buying it for the heck of it, but I restrained myself.
It was nice to hear them trying to speak English to me when they knew I couldn't speak Japanese fluently. Most just thought I could understand and had whole conversations with me... AM I THAT CONVINCING?!?!? ahahahah If you're wondering what's fashionable now, it's the nurselike dresses with vertical thin blue stripes. They were everywhere.
OMERICE & DESSERT
After doing some shopping, I decided to eat. I ordered Omerice (which is exactly what it sounds like..rice in an omelet). I ignored the cute mushrooms that were cascaded on it, and enjoyed it. I also ordered a dessert which was called Millefleur or something to that extent. I will upload a picture of it. It was really really pretty and consisted of: raspberrries, pastry, custard, jam and pistachios. I couldn't finish the whole thing because...I have no idea why, but I didn't think I should finish all of it.
BACK TO THE SHOPPING
So, I continued to shop and each stores' employees kept saying something, but I can't remember the exact words. Mellers said it is probably "irashaimasen" (sp?) which means welcome. The loudest, believe it or not, were the lingerie staff ahahah. Finally decided to go home with all my bags, but was delayed a little by the rain. Mellers was already home and napping. I decided to do the same. We woke up around 10pm and ate.
FANGIRLING...revisited
I've forgotten to mention that "Hoshi wo Mezashite" PV is currently #1 in the charts. Not sure which chart though, but they keep showing it on the screens. I hear the song a lot whether I'm eating or shopping too. I had a dream about meeting Kei-kun and Tego. I also took some pics of Pi's drink ad and Operation Love mural that was at the Shibuya subway station.
Seems like I have a lot of pics to upload, huh?
Ok...off for adventuring again. Still deciding whether to go to the Meiji Shrine or Senso-ji Temple...Senso-Ji is farther away. Should I be lazy?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 9, 2007
HELLO...IT'S SAM
I was finally able to talk to Mom after over a week. Mannnn I keep missing her and finally I reached them by collect call. Talked to Dad for a bit too which was nice. Yay income tax, I don't owe the government money. That's always a plus
SHIBUYAAAAAAAAAAAA
I went to Shibuya by myself as Mellers had class. It was quite exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There were soooo many people there! There seemed to be three popular ways of crossing, so I decided to start on the left. Left is always better than right (at least in my head) I stumbled upon an arcade. Hahahah you know how I love challenges, right?
I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!!!
So, naturally, I got sucked into that darn crane game/ufo game. I really wanted to win that big bear...1000 yen later...no success. Darn you, Bear! I almost got you twice....you were caught up and on your way to me and then you fell!! T___________T I decided to try a different one and on the first shot, I won a yellow elephant. It's soooo cuute. I'll upload a pic later on today.
109 BUILDING
I went up and down the streets until I got to the 109 Building which is infamous for women's fashion. The stuff there was beautiful. Let me just say that if I didn't find some good sales, there's no way I could afford to buy all the things I wanted there. There were a lot of tanned girls there, some had raccoon eyes too. All the staff at each store were very nice though. I had to really try not to just by things because they were so nice and I felt bad that I couldn't spend ahhaha. There was the beautiful, beautiful belt...seriously gorgeous. I wanted it, but it was 7100yen. Sorry, but I will never pay that much for a belt. The employee there even put it on me and I was thisclose to just buying it for the heck of it, but I restrained myself.
It was nice to hear them trying to speak English to me when they knew I couldn't speak Japanese fluently. Most just thought I could understand and had whole conversations with me... AM I THAT CONVINCING?!?!? ahahahah If you're wondering what's fashionable now, it's the nurselike dresses with vertical thin blue stripes. They were everywhere.
OMERICE & DESSERT
After doing some shopping, I decided to eat. I ordered Omerice (which is exactly what it sounds like..rice in an omelet). I ignored the cute mushrooms that were cascaded on it, and enjoyed it. I also ordered a dessert which was called Millefleur or something to that extent. I will upload a picture of it. It was really really pretty and consisted of: raspberrries, pastry, custard, jam and pistachios. I couldn't finish the whole thing because...I have no idea why, but I didn't think I should finish all of it.
BACK TO THE SHOPPING
So, I continued to shop and each stores' employees kept saying something, but I can't remember the exact words. Mellers said it is probably "irashaimasen" (sp?) which means welcome. The loudest, believe it or not, were the lingerie staff ahahah. Finally decided to go home with all my bags, but was delayed a little by the rain. Mellers was already home and napping. I decided to do the same. We woke up around 10pm and ate.
FANGIRLING...revisited
I've forgotten to mention that "Hoshi wo Mezashite" PV is currently #1 in the charts. Not sure which chart though, but they keep showing it on the screens. I hear the song a lot whether I'm eating or shopping too. I had a dream about meeting Kei-kun and Tego. I also took some pics of Pi's drink ad and Operation Love mural that was at the Shibuya subway station.
Seems like I have a lot of pics to upload, huh?
Ok...off for adventuring again. Still deciding whether to go to the Meiji Shrine or Senso-ji Temple...Senso-Ji is farther away. Should I be lazy?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 9, 2007
Installment 9: A Day of Rest...
Installment 9: A Day of Rest...
ahahah we decided to slow down a bit today. hahaha mainly because we got home so early in the morning and I woke up at like 3am and Mellers was still off in lala land ahahhaha. So I went left around 4:30pm to look around again. I saw Eugene eating at one of the shops so I joined him.
SQUIRTED AGAIN?!?!?
Remember last year when I went to Korea, I got sprayed by the thing in the toilet? It wasn't a toilet this time! I asked Eugene to order mashed potatoes for me and there was a sauce/dressing that went with it. Well it looked kind of like the jam packets but doubled..so I was trying to unpeel the lid...no success. Then I saw that there were directions..so I bent it in half..but the wrong way!! ooopsss....Out comes dressing squirting full speed...right onto Eugene's jacket!!! ooopsalini...very minor stains on my jacket...mostly on his. I felt sooooo bad! I kept apologizing and offering to pay his cleaning bill. He said he would just laundry it...oops T_____T
HARAJUKU
Went back to Harajuku, but the Takashite exit this time to shop around. Is it too much info to say that I would fit into a lot of the pretty clothes (shirts mainly) but my chest is too big?!?!? ahahahhaha....It's such a shame! Oh well I guess in a way I'm saving money right? Called Mellers after getting some stuff. I saw these two people dressed in Gothic Lolita style and the best part was they were men kekekeke. Good for them for pulling off that fashion. They looked like dolls.
I refused to totally superfangirl and buy all the unofficial pics...also because some of them weren't that great quality. They even had prize packs and all sorts of stuff, but I refrained. ahahha. I don't want to break my budget!!
BULGOGI PIZZA?!?!
Mellers woke up at 7pm ahahahha. When I got home we decided to order pizza. She ordered it online and it was Bulgogi flavour. Bulgogi is Korean style marinated beef and it comes with vegetables. Well, I must say it was very interesting. The crust looked different too and when I started to eat it, I realized it was filled with hot dogs. So it looks like hot dog pastries..kind of hard to explain, but I took a picture. The chicken was good too and it came with two cans of tea.
We just relaxed, listened to music and talked. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we can talk like this. She watched some of Prison Break and I went to sleep. Mellers didn't even end up sleeping. Crazy girl!
Short installment this time. You're not disappointed are you?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
ahahah we decided to slow down a bit today. hahaha mainly because we got home so early in the morning and I woke up at like 3am and Mellers was still off in lala land ahahhaha. So I went left around 4:30pm to look around again. I saw Eugene eating at one of the shops so I joined him.
SQUIRTED AGAIN?!?!?
Remember last year when I went to Korea, I got sprayed by the thing in the toilet? It wasn't a toilet this time! I asked Eugene to order mashed potatoes for me and there was a sauce/dressing that went with it. Well it looked kind of like the jam packets but doubled..so I was trying to unpeel the lid...no success. Then I saw that there were directions..so I bent it in half..but the wrong way!! ooopsss....Out comes dressing squirting full speed...right onto Eugene's jacket!!! ooopsalini...very minor stains on my jacket...mostly on his. I felt sooooo bad! I kept apologizing and offering to pay his cleaning bill. He said he would just laundry it...oops T_____T
HARAJUKU
Went back to Harajuku, but the Takashite exit this time to shop around. Is it too much info to say that I would fit into a lot of the pretty clothes (shirts mainly) but my chest is too big?!?!? ahahahhaha....It's such a shame! Oh well I guess in a way I'm saving money right? Called Mellers after getting some stuff. I saw these two people dressed in Gothic Lolita style and the best part was they were men kekekeke. Good for them for pulling off that fashion. They looked like dolls.
I refused to totally superfangirl and buy all the unofficial pics...also because some of them weren't that great quality. They even had prize packs and all sorts of stuff, but I refrained. ahahha. I don't want to break my budget!!
BULGOGI PIZZA?!?!
Mellers woke up at 7pm ahahahha. When I got home we decided to order pizza. She ordered it online and it was Bulgogi flavour. Bulgogi is Korean style marinated beef and it comes with vegetables. Well, I must say it was very interesting. The crust looked different too and when I started to eat it, I realized it was filled with hot dogs. So it looks like hot dog pastries..kind of hard to explain, but I took a picture. The chicken was good too and it came with two cans of tea.
We just relaxed, listened to music and talked. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we can talk like this. She watched some of Prison Break and I went to sleep. Mellers didn't even end up sleeping. Crazy girl!
Short installment this time. You're not disappointed are you?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Installment 8: In Da Club...again! & 1 year anniversary!
Installment 8: In Da Club...again! & 1 year anniversary!
Before I am labelled a spendthrift, just know that I saved a lot for this trip! Budget, budget, budget! Oh, and extra hours help out A LOT! ^_____^
DREADED BOOKSTORE
I must say that paper will be the end of me....Japanese notebooks, stationary, origami paper, magazines... I'm carrying the Japanese forest home with me. Wish me luck!
Mellers had a late morning..we both did...but she slept later than me! So, in the morning, I went to a bookstore to find Chris her cherished magazines (kekeke I treasure them too!) and was able to find them! SCORE! But, as I have learned on this trip, small things add to large amounts...13 magazines later... *keels over* I must say that I did find an ultranice magazine that Chris will drool over ahahahahaa, it was so good that I had to buy three of them! I also bought a magazine for Josie.
YAKINIKU
Went for Yakiniku, which is basically bbq near Yoyogi station. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more of Mellers and Eugene's friends. All who know me really well, know how much I loooooove fire....so you can probably imagine me squealing when the fire went insane and I was backed up into my chair as far as I could go ahahhaha. The food was really good though. Fun times ^_________^
ROPPONGI
Eugene, Jeff, Mellers and I went to Roppongi to meet up with Rika and Yu-chan. We were supposed to watch the Sakura (cherry blossoms) during the night, but it was raining a bit so we couldn't. The artists are really innovative here and so I admired a lot of it. Not to mention that Roppongi is richieville. So expensive!
We met up with Yu-chan (who we clubbed with the day I arrived) and Rika (who I met last year at Gaspanic club). It was so nice to see them. We went to a bar to drink...the prices were basically like you would expect hahaha. OH! and the gingerale REALLY TASTES LIKE GINGER! ahhaha
GASPANIC 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
We all went to Gaspanic. Eugene and Jeff went to the bar and we hit the dancefloor. Soon after Mayu-chan came! I was really happy to see her. Last year when we came, we became friends with Mayu-chan, Rika and Taka. So this was going to be our 1 year anniversary. We were having a lot of fun...minus the creepy dude who was admiring me *gag*. Taka showed up and he ordered a big wine cooler. He opened the bottle and told me to drink. So...chugged half of it and shared the rest ahahha no way I could finish the whole thing!
Later on we met some jerks. Seriously, they were really raunchy and rude! We wanted to sit down and these three guys were like "HEY, come sit with us!" in English. They were American, but they wouldn't say why they were in Japan...not that I really cared. Anyway one guy said, "come sit on my lap" and I said NO. So then he sat on my lap *gaaaaagggggg* and his other bald friend looks over at me and says "I WANNA ------ KISS YOU". Hellllll NO! Mellers said I had a boyfriend and he's says, "Well he's not here. I won't tell.." EL GROSSO! They were totally after Mellers and I was getting pissed off! The lap dude tried to kiss Mayu-chan and Mellers too, but we got out of there. I saw them later making out with some asian girl, who eventually got upset and left. BOOOO to jerks!
Anyway, back to the fun stuff. We took some breaks in between and Mellers got me some oden! It was interesting and tasted good. We went to the Gaspanic cafe and seemed everyone wanted some of the oden too ahahha. I was able to catch up with Mayu-chan and all the girls were talking. We relaxed for a while before going back. When the club was going to close, I made sure to get a souvenir and we took some pics. Then we went for food. I was so hungry and tired. Another great day to add to the memory books. ^_______^ We got home at around 7amish and I slept around 8amish hahha.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Before I am labelled a spendthrift, just know that I saved a lot for this trip! Budget, budget, budget! Oh, and extra hours help out A LOT! ^_____^
DREADED BOOKSTORE
I must say that paper will be the end of me....Japanese notebooks, stationary, origami paper, magazines... I'm carrying the Japanese forest home with me. Wish me luck!
Mellers had a late morning..we both did...but she slept later than me! So, in the morning, I went to a bookstore to find Chris her cherished magazines (kekeke I treasure them too!) and was able to find them! SCORE! But, as I have learned on this trip, small things add to large amounts...13 magazines later... *keels over* I must say that I did find an ultranice magazine that Chris will drool over ahahahahaa, it was so good that I had to buy three of them! I also bought a magazine for Josie.
YAKINIKU
Went for Yakiniku, which is basically bbq near Yoyogi station. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more of Mellers and Eugene's friends. All who know me really well, know how much I loooooove fire....so you can probably imagine me squealing when the fire went insane and I was backed up into my chair as far as I could go ahahhaha. The food was really good though. Fun times ^_________^
ROPPONGI
Eugene, Jeff, Mellers and I went to Roppongi to meet up with Rika and Yu-chan. We were supposed to watch the Sakura (cherry blossoms) during the night, but it was raining a bit so we couldn't. The artists are really innovative here and so I admired a lot of it. Not to mention that Roppongi is richieville. So expensive!
We met up with Yu-chan (who we clubbed with the day I arrived) and Rika (who I met last year at Gaspanic club). It was so nice to see them. We went to a bar to drink...the prices were basically like you would expect hahaha. OH! and the gingerale REALLY TASTES LIKE GINGER! ahhaha
GASPANIC 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
We all went to Gaspanic. Eugene and Jeff went to the bar and we hit the dancefloor. Soon after Mayu-chan came! I was really happy to see her. Last year when we came, we became friends with Mayu-chan, Rika and Taka. So this was going to be our 1 year anniversary. We were having a lot of fun...minus the creepy dude who was admiring me *gag*. Taka showed up and he ordered a big wine cooler. He opened the bottle and told me to drink. So...chugged half of it and shared the rest ahahha no way I could finish the whole thing!
Later on we met some jerks. Seriously, they were really raunchy and rude! We wanted to sit down and these three guys were like "HEY, come sit with us!" in English. They were American, but they wouldn't say why they were in Japan...not that I really cared. Anyway one guy said, "come sit on my lap" and I said NO. So then he sat on my lap *gaaaaagggggg* and his other bald friend looks over at me and says "I WANNA ------ KISS YOU". Hellllll NO! Mellers said I had a boyfriend and he's says, "Well he's not here. I won't tell.." EL GROSSO! They were totally after Mellers and I was getting pissed off! The lap dude tried to kiss Mayu-chan and Mellers too, but we got out of there. I saw them later making out with some asian girl, who eventually got upset and left. BOOOO to jerks!
Anyway, back to the fun stuff. We took some breaks in between and Mellers got me some oden! It was interesting and tasted good. We went to the Gaspanic cafe and seemed everyone wanted some of the oden too ahahha. I was able to catch up with Mayu-chan and all the girls were talking. We relaxed for a while before going back. When the club was going to close, I made sure to get a souvenir and we took some pics. Then we went for food. I was so hungry and tired. Another great day to add to the memory books. ^_______^ We got home at around 7amish and I slept around 8amish hahha.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Installment 7: A trip to the Police Station, Beer-da Beer-da Beer-da...
Installment 7: A trip to the Police Station, Beer-da Beer-da Beer-da...
TO THE POLICE KOBAN (box)
I really needed to find an international ATM. I asked a few people...didn't really understand much of what they said except directions-wise. Finally, someone just pointed me to the direction of the police box "koban". When I asked the policeman about the bank, I was told...Shinsei Ginko (bank) NO. So, ok...no Shinsei bank..crap I'm screwed. The officer pointed. Mi-zu-ho (name of another bank)...try... I thanked him and was on my way there when I walked by the SunRoute Hotel. *sounds of music* I see green and the word ATM and VISA! Scooooore! So I got money finallly!
A THOUSAND MILES...
Ok so I didn't exactly walk 1,000 miles... I basically explored even more of this neighbourhood and went crazyyyyy. I made another mistake of seeing yet another stationary shop...the stuff was so cuuuute I couldn't say no. I bought some snacks and a shirt...
Went to a music store and got the Toshinki "Five In The Black" cd and "Japan Concert Tour vol. 2" and then walked around more. I went down a side street and discovered a store called "Book Off". I went inside and JACKPOT! I I came back with loads of cds for only 200yen each ( 2.00usd). Insane!! I spent around 50 something dollars on over 10 cds...that's an awesome deal. (I really should slow down on the spending though, ne?) Got some soba noodles and headed back.
BEER-DA BEER-DA....
10 minutes after I got home, Mellers arrived and asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. Sure, why not? So we went out to a yummy restaurant and I met their new friend, Yu-chan who is in their program. After that, Mellers and I wanted to go for karaoke and the guys were going to meet up with their Ski Club for drinks. Karaoke was megafull so we just went to meet the guys. When we went up to meet them, the place was packed! Tons of uni students crammed into these spaces with low-rise tables and lots of food and beer. I totally admit to not wanting to stay. I told Mellers I could meet her at home, but she wouldn't hear of it. "NO WAY" she said. "You're going to experience uni life here!" (Did I mention her and Eugene are very convincing?..and that they are trying to convince me to quit my job and attend the SILS program at Waseda too?!??!) So I decided to stay with her and join the party.
It was so funny! People would stand up and make some kind of speech or confession (i'm not sure which) and then they would chug whatever they were holding...(whether it be a glass, bottle, jug or pitcher!) One guy skipped the drinks all together and was just stuffing edamame into his mouth (boiled soya beans). There were some students who were mixed too, so I ended up communicating in English, Japanese and Korean. ahahhaa...It was quite interesting. People were surprised I came from Canada. The girls I talked to were really nice. Mellers was speaking 5 different languages, I think. (She can speak 9 altogether! *bows in admiration*) They would also do toasts where'd we'd all stand and say "BANZAI" three times and then drink. It was quite an experience!
THIS SONG IS DEDICATED TO...
After the Ski Club drinkfest we headed off to karaoke. Eugene, Mellers and I sang a lot. Mellers and I stayed until 3am! ahhaha. So tired..but I took videos of us and they are hilarious! (I can't promise that I'll share them though..I don't need to be blackmailed!) They sang in Chinese, Japanese, English and Mellers also sang in Korean. I sang in English...a few Korean and Japanese with Mellers...(mind you I was singing only parts I knew or what I could read in hiragana) and a Lea Salonga song.
It was definitely yet another another day to remember! Holy moly are these installments getting longer? GOMENASAIIII *bows in apology*
-Sam
originally written: Apr 7, 2007
TO THE POLICE KOBAN (box)
I really needed to find an international ATM. I asked a few people...didn't really understand much of what they said except directions-wise. Finally, someone just pointed me to the direction of the police box "koban". When I asked the policeman about the bank, I was told...Shinsei Ginko (bank) NO. So, ok...no Shinsei bank..crap I'm screwed. The officer pointed. Mi-zu-ho (name of another bank)...try... I thanked him and was on my way there when I walked by the SunRoute Hotel. *sounds of music* I see green and the word ATM and VISA! Scooooore! So I got money finallly!
A THOUSAND MILES...
Ok so I didn't exactly walk 1,000 miles... I basically explored even more of this neighbourhood and went crazyyyyy. I made another mistake of seeing yet another stationary shop...the stuff was so cuuuute I couldn't say no. I bought some snacks and a shirt...
Went to a music store and got the Toshinki "Five In The Black" cd and "Japan Concert Tour vol. 2" and then walked around more. I went down a side street and discovered a store called "Book Off". I went inside and JACKPOT! I I came back with loads of cds for only 200yen each ( 2.00usd). Insane!! I spent around 50 something dollars on over 10 cds...that's an awesome deal. (I really should slow down on the spending though, ne?) Got some soba noodles and headed back.
BEER-DA BEER-DA....
10 minutes after I got home, Mellers arrived and asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. Sure, why not? So we went out to a yummy restaurant and I met their new friend, Yu-chan who is in their program. After that, Mellers and I wanted to go for karaoke and the guys were going to meet up with their Ski Club for drinks. Karaoke was megafull so we just went to meet the guys. When we went up to meet them, the place was packed! Tons of uni students crammed into these spaces with low-rise tables and lots of food and beer. I totally admit to not wanting to stay. I told Mellers I could meet her at home, but she wouldn't hear of it. "NO WAY" she said. "You're going to experience uni life here!" (Did I mention her and Eugene are very convincing?..and that they are trying to convince me to quit my job and attend the SILS program at Waseda too?!??!) So I decided to stay with her and join the party.
It was so funny! People would stand up and make some kind of speech or confession (i'm not sure which) and then they would chug whatever they were holding...(whether it be a glass, bottle, jug or pitcher!) One guy skipped the drinks all together and was just stuffing edamame into his mouth (boiled soya beans). There were some students who were mixed too, so I ended up communicating in English, Japanese and Korean. ahahhaa...It was quite interesting. People were surprised I came from Canada. The girls I talked to were really nice. Mellers was speaking 5 different languages, I think. (She can speak 9 altogether! *bows in admiration*) They would also do toasts where'd we'd all stand and say "BANZAI" three times and then drink. It was quite an experience!
THIS SONG IS DEDICATED TO...
After the Ski Club drinkfest we headed off to karaoke. Eugene, Mellers and I sang a lot. Mellers and I stayed until 3am! ahhaha. So tired..but I took videos of us and they are hilarious! (I can't promise that I'll share them though..I don't need to be blackmailed!) They sang in Chinese, Japanese, English and Mellers also sang in Korean. I sang in English...a few Korean and Japanese with Mellers...(mind you I was singing only parts I knew or what I could read in hiragana) and a Lea Salonga song.
It was definitely yet another another day to remember! Holy moly are these installments getting longer? GOMENASAIIII *bows in apology*
-Sam
originally written: Apr 7, 2007
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