So I've been back at home for over a month, back in college taking classes and waiting for Jasmin to return in ONLY TWO DAYS! Though I'm once again on the other side of the planet from Japan, I feel like I left part of myself there, waiting to be reunited either through the friends I made or when I return next year for the Jet Program (more on that in a later post). I've been studying Japanese nearly every day, and have finished reviewing my Nanzan University (where I studied in Japan) textbook completely in addition to writing my host parents a nice, long letter. Over this semester at school, I plan to write and finish documenting many of my adventures in Japan.
The biggest highlight of my trip was when my girlfriend, Jasmin, came to visit for a week and a half, between Wednesday the 29th of October and Sunday the 9th of November. Part 1 will cover the first album I put on Facebook, from Wednesday through Friday.
On Wednesday night, after much anticipation and planning, my host parents drove me to the Nagoya airport to meet Jasmin as she flew in. Nanzan was closed for university holidays starting Thursday and extending until Tuesday, so this was really the ideal time for her to come and travel together. As I waited for Jasmin outside the baggage claim, my host parents sat down the hall to allow us our own greeting before the introductions. I had my camera ready, and snapped the first shot at 6:29 pm of Jasmin rolling her suitcase toward me.
After proper introductions with my host parents, where Jasmin used up the Japanese she knew and my host parents used up their English, we started off by exploring the airport itself. This is a good transition into actual Japan because one floor is split between one side of the hall being Eastern and the other side Western, mostly to distinguish restaurants. We considered eating at one of these great places, but ultimately decided to stick to our plan of going to an all-you-can-eat spaghetti and cake/dessert restaurant in Sakae near where we booked our hotel. First, however, we decided to take the bags we needed for that night and for going to Tokyo, and drop them off at the hotel where we would spend one night. We went to eat and my host parents insisted on covering the bill, so we promised to treat them as well before Jasmin left to go home. The food was good and the cake was amazing, but that was to be the only time I went to eat at the all-you-can-eat spaghetti and cake restaurant.
My host parents made sure that we had everything we needed and that we knew exactly where we were, and dropped us off at the hotel for the night. The room had kind of a musty smell and it wasn't the most comfortable, but it was cheap and good for the price. I owe so much to my host mom for helping me plan this all out and making all of the necessary reservations for hotels, transportation, etc. I really couldn't have done all this without her.
We woke up on Jasmin's first full day in Japan and headed to a convenient store to get some snacks for later. On our way to brunch we began our exploration of Sakae, taking backstreets that I had never been on before and enjoying the area. I was carrying our bags for Tokyo as well, which were pretty heavy, so we'd have to stop every once in a while for me to catch my breath. Finally, we found a nice gyuudon (beef over rice) place and recharged. After that, we headed to where all the action takes place - Oasis 21, a shopping area that has a huge glass ceiling covered in water, where you can look down to the shops below and see chairs in the shape of fish, or look out to the skyscrapers and TV tower nearby.
This was around where we would be picked up this evening to go to Tokyo by overnight bus, so I took Jasmin to confirm exactly where the terminal was. First on our list of the coolest parts of Oasis was the Shonen Jump store (it exists), followed closely by the Pokemon center (where we found a Pikachu walking around) and the NHK Shop (which includes all sorts of Miyazaki goodies, especially Totoro). I was still carrying the bags at this point and finally decided to find a locker, but they were all full. v_v So I hauled everything over to get some ice cream, and shopped around a bit before having sushi at a nearby rotary sushi bar.
Well, I had been to Sakae many times by this point, so I wanted to try something new. I'd seen a ferris wheel from the top of Oasis, and what better time to find it and try it out than now? Unfortunately it was around $5 per person, but the ride was long and there were lots of pretty sights that made it well worth it. Then we went to a huuuge bookstore I had once been to, and after shocking Jasmin with the sheer amount of manga, we hung around the area until our bus left for Tokyo at 11 pm. This time there was only one floor to the bus, and though it wasn't too comfortable at least we got some sleep.
We arrived at Tokyo Station at 5:30 am, before the sun had even risen. Exhausted as we were, there was a big day ahead of us. But first, we'd learned our lesson about carrying around big bags, so we immediately found a locker and then searched for a bathroom. Meanwhile, my friends Van and Joel were on their way to Tokyo Station as well by means of a separate bus, so we met up with them in the basement of the station. This area doubled as an underground mall but as it was so early nearly everything was closed. Eventually we found a place to have breakfast, and then went outside to kill time on the streets. Still, places were closed, and a little while later Jasmin and I got on a train to go to our hotel at Kamata Station. We had general directions, but the area was kind of large so we had to ask a convenient store clerk for help. Finally, we were on our way to the hotel (we saw a Filipino supermarket on the way, which was cool), and though it was too early to check in, we were at least allowed to drop off our stuff.
We had plans to meet a friend from my school UMBC, Jessica, for lunch, but as it was still early we spent a little bit of time walking and shopping around the hotel area, then went to Shinjuku and walked around there. Jessica came to Shinjuku and we all ate at an underground Japanese restaurant and talked about our experiences so far. What's most regrettable for me thinking back to this is that we didn't even get a picture of us together.
After lunch, we said our goodbyes and Jasmin and I went to check into our hotel at 4:00. It had been an eventful day, so we brought our stuff up and just passed out for a couple hours. Around dinner time we got up and went to Tamachi Station to meet Jasmin's cousin and her boyfriend. We had been talking about eating at a popular ninja-themed restaurant, but were unable to obtain reservations so we switched it to fugu (blowfish) instead. Now don't get me wrong - this second choice wasn't a compromise, it was an incredible feast. Fugu is very expensive as it is, but this particular meal involved around eight courses, one after another, going from appetizers to desserts. The highlight was both the fugu and the part where we boiled and fried meat and vegetables right in front of us to perfection, either in a boiling bowl of water or on a grill-like surface. After this very filling meal, we walked and talked it off outside for a while, and then everyone went back to Kamata where we played in the arcade and took pictures at purikura (the photo booths in Japan, where you can add cool effects and words on a screen after taking the pictures).
Well there we go, day 1 of Tokyo down, but we still have Saturday and Sunday to cover. Stay tuned!
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