Japan in Thirty Days

Friends, food, and shopping

31 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by Jillian in Jillian/ジュリエン

Phew! I have five days worth of material to write about! … Are you with me?

On Sunday morning, after writing my previous blog post, I checked out of my hotel in Shizuoka, and went for Chinese food at Shizuoka Station with Mai-chan. I had some super delicious Mongolian beef and fried rice. At least that’s what I would have called it in America… the name was in kanji though, and I think it just translated to beef steak and fried rice… Then we went to Mai’s Grandpa’s place, where I would be staying for the next few days. It’s not the house they live in, but one that I think they used to live in, but now is just used as a sometimes office or something… Mai joked it was her Grandfather’s “palace”. But, because it hasn’t been lived in in a long time, Mai had to figure out how to get the hot water to work, and she insisted on doing some cleaning despite my assurance that all I needed was somewhere to sleep and a toilet! Mai’s Grandpa is super funny too! When I introduced myself to him again (I met him once on my first trip to Japan), he told me to call him “Ojii-chan”. How cute! (Ojiisan is the word for “Grandfather”, but “chan” is the title usually used for young girls or nicknames.)

After settling in, I had a few hours to kill. I wanted to look around Shizuoka, and Mai was busy working, so I texted my friend Daisuke. He happened to be in town for a hair cut anyway, so I met him at the station. We walked around and chatted for a few hours, and I bought socks and shoes which are the style in japan right now Super cute!

The most fun part about it was that Daisuke doesn’t speak any English, so I really have to try my best at Japanese, but I am somehow not embarrassed… For some reason I get a little awkward trying to speak Japanese around poeple who can also speak English. Silly, I know. Camera phone photo!

After at while, it was time for me to head to Shimizu for my dinner with Nori-chan and her friends, which I mentioned in my last blog post. (I met her at the English Box school.) So I caught the local JR train from Shizuoka Station to Shimizu, three stops away. The train was crowded, and so I had to stand the whole time. Nori-chan picked me up in Shimizu, and she had her super cute daughter with her, Ayano-chan! Ayano is 1 year old, and so cute and chubby! At first she showed no interest in me, which is funny because I was making faces at her, she she was just giving me a stone cold stare, and I started to wonder if she just thought I was a weirdo!

Nori-chan first stopped by a sweet shop which is apparently famous in the Shimizu area. They had super cute cakes, and we bought two fruit desserts which came in a little mug with Relakkuma on it. Relakkuma is the mascot for a company called San-X, and the name is the combination of “relax” and “kuma”, which means “bear” in Japanese. Nori also bought three sakura puddings, which is a cheery blossom pudding which comes in a cute cherry blossom tea cup. I got to keep mine! I forgot to take the photo until after I started eating it, but I’m sure you get the idea… it was very cute!

Next we stopped by a grocery store, with the intent of using its parking lot. Nori-chan’s friend’s apartment, where we were having dinner, was nearby. But, Nori-chan wanted to buy something from the store since we were parking there, so I suggested some juice or tea. We got both. It was a chilly night, and we walked over to her friend Nanako’s apartment. Nanako-chan has her own apartment, but her friend Kazuhito-kun was there, and was cooking a homemade dinner! But instead of Kazuhito, people call him Osapi, which is a nickname that sounds similar to his last name. Osapi made delicious Japanese food! I don’t know the names of what we ate, so I will just do my best to describe it. Dinner started with thin sliced beef, seasoned and peppered, cucumbers with a thin meat wrapped around them and cherry tomatoes, and tamagoyaki, which is a special Japanese rolled omelet. Osapi asked me if I liked nattou (Japanese fermented soy beans) to which I said no, and made a face, and then showed everyone the picture of my reaction the first, and I thought last, time I ate nattou. But Osapi said that even people who don’t like nattou like his tamagoyaki, so I tried it. And while I think Osapi did the best you can do, given natou, there’s just no way to make something like nattou taste good. We had so much fun just learning about each other, and about silly American phrases. Kanako-chan even had a planetarium that Osapi gave her, and it was really beautiful. Osapi said it has over 10,000 stars on it! And Ayano was super cute the whole time. She was very curious and friendly. And she kept trying to pull the cover off of Kanako’s speaker, and Osapi was encouraging her to be destructive much to Kanako’s chagrin, which was really funny!

It made me really happy to have a delicious dinner with three people I had just met, who were so friendly They welcomed me into their home, cooked delicious dinner, and we had hours of good conversation. I cannot think of a better way to spend the evening! And Kanako-chan even gave me a gift bag from a Japanese fashion magazine as a present! I have been using it for the last several days

Here is a photo of us!

The next day, Monday, I had plans to go see Yuko-chan in Gotemba. Yuko-chan is a GSE member who will be going to Northern California this April and May, so hopefully I will see her when she is in Eureka! Anyway, I left Shizuoka station at 09:53, and I knew I had to transfer trains in Numazu at 10:48, 14 stops away, to go to Gotemba. I was supposed to arrive at 11:23. So, I am sitting on the train to Numazu, listening to my music, not really paying attention. And then I notice that everyone is getting off of the train at a station called “Fuji”, and I think to myself, “oh, Fuji must be really popular!”. After a while a few people board the train, and then the trains starts going back from where I came from towards Shizuoka!! I very surprised, and somewhat concerned, and of course I get off at the next stop. It’s a little stop in the middle of a rural town. I explain to the station attendant that I want to go to Numazu, and he’s like “oh, you need to change trains at Fuji!”… Apparently there was an announcement on board which I had missed since I was just listening to music and not really paying attention, confident in my directions from Google. So, I had to wait about half an hour for the next train. I make the change at Fuji, which was a result of schedule changes due electricity shortages from the earthquake, and go to Numazu. There, I have to wait for another 20 minutes for a train to Gotemba. I ended up meeting Yuko and Josh at 1 o’clock instead of 11:23! I felt really bad!! But even Yuko said she looked online and they never mentioned changing trains at Fuji…

Getting to Gotemba so late, I was really hungry! I think Yuko and Josh were too, from waiting for me for so long! We went to a ramen shop (my favorite!), where you pay at a kind of vending machine, and then you go into the restaurant and hand them your tickets and sit down. Yuko and Josh were so much fun! Josh is from Canada, and is a personal trainer, so he likes working out and kick boxing, but he also likes Japanese sweets. I think he and Darus would really get along! Yuko works at a translator at prisons for foreign prisoners, and while her work is very serious, she has some funny stories!, which Josh likes to tell for her

Next we went to the famous Gotemba outlets, where I bought an exercise skirts sans shorts (I’ve been looking online for a while. Who needs built-in shorts if you are already wearing leggings?). We also had Cold Stone ice cream, and they sang for us. Josh and I both noticed the tune is the Flintstones theme song. I bought a pair of white capris and a ¥500 (~$5.00) skirt from Uniqlo. And afterwards we went for karaoke! No trip to Japan is complete without karaoke… here we are! While it was abig room, and only three of us, it was so much fun! We totally rocked it I made Josh sing Hungry Eyes and Bon Jovi. I also sang Devil Side, since I already knew it from my karaoke music video with Teela.

After karaoke, we went to Yuko and Josh’s favorite tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant and had delicious dinner. You even grind your own sesame seeds to make the sauce! We went to another little diner place to have desert. By this time it was about 9:30 at night, so we went to the station, but I just missed the second-to-last train, and the last one wasn’t for another hour… We decided to spend the time walking around… This is how I learned about special Japanese bars where men pay just to have conversation and be entertained by pretty women (nothing sexual. Well, maybe). Anyway, we kept noticing women in cocktail dresses waving to leaving customers, or walking with them into a bar. Very strange. I guess there are also bars where women pay to talk to the men, but I didn’t see those ones. I finally caught my train, transfered at Numazu, and changed trains at Fuji again without a hitch. Got back to Shizuoka at midnight, then straight to bed.

They next day, Tuesday, I slept in a little bit, until 9:30. Considering I’m usually up at 6:00 (maybe jet lag?), this was sleeping in for me! I had the day free to myself, as Mai was working, and I wasn’t going to Hamamatsu until later that evening. I had use of Mai’s Grandma’s bicycle though, so I did some laundry, showered, got dressed, and experienced the freedom of Japan by bicycle. It really was nice! Many people ride bicycles in Japan, and you can ride on the sidewalk, and without a helmet. I decided to go to Apita, a shopping center with a bit of everything. My main goal was to buy tampons though (sorry if that’s TMI). But it was funny, because even though I looked around the drug store, and I thought I found the tampons, I wasn’t sure. So instead I asked the ~50 year old clerk, and while I was right, it was still a little embarrassing, since Japanese people are quite modest! I looked around a little, and bought more socks (maybe I’m addicted), and then had lunch consisting of delicious rice bread! The bakery at Apita really does make the most delicious bread ever. I think I should buy a lot and sneak it back to America with me! I also said a brief hello to Mai’s friend Shingo, who I met last time I was here. But he works at a clothing shop and was busy, so I only stayed for a minute. I rode around Shizuoka some more, and though the wind was cold if you were standing in it, it was really refreshing on a bike after getting a little warm, and my legs being a bit tired! I really enjoyed the bicycle, and maybe I will ride it again.

That evening I caught the Shinkansen to Hamamatsu. Yoshimi-chan met me at the gate, in complete disbelief that I was back in Japan! We went for udon, since I love Japanese noodles! Then I settled in at her apartment, we talked about my schedule, and then had girly talk just like we used to . I swear, our first conversation was about waxing! I know, TMI, but this blog also for me to remember my trip, as well as for my friends.

On Wednesday (yesterday) I had plans to meet Misa-chan again and hang out, so I met her at Shizuoka Station at 10am. We decided to go look around the Japanese book store, since I know Brienne wants me to bring her a Japanese fashion magazine! Misa-chan and I had so much fun looking at all of the different crazy magazines, and especially the one’s with cute guys Around lunch time we went for Soba (again with the noodles!), and then we met up with her friend Ayumi-chan. Ayumi-chan is good at English, and was really friendly! I think she tried hard to practice her English, and we had many good conversations! We went shopping, and to Uniqlo because I wanted more capris. We also went to the ¥100 shop and bought snacks which we ate near a pretty fountain in the center of the city at 4:00 Misa-chan promised to go to karaoke with her ex-boyfreind. We met him at the station, and he was really nice and good looking. I think maybe he wants to date her again, before she leaves for America in July! So Misa-chan went to karaoke, and Ayumi and I went our separate ways. But not before purikura (Japanese photo booth)!

I went back to Shizuoka, and at 7:00 I had dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant with Yoshimi and her sister Miwa, and their parents, and Miwa’s baby Momo-chan! The dinner came is courses, with wonton soup, sweet and sour pork, creme sauce and veggies, spring rolls, deep fried crab, fried rice, and probably more which I can’t recall! Yoshimi’s parents had even reserved a private room for us to dine in. I don’t want to know how much it cost, but I thanked them a lot! We also took loads of pictures, but none with my camera, so they will have to wait… sorry!

This morning I went to Shizuoka agaian, and I decided to buy a book to read on the trains and what not. At the bookstore, there was a somewhat limited selection of books in English, though there was certainly plenty to choose from. I ended up choosing a book called Norwegian Wood by a Japanese author Haruki Murakami. As it turns out, he is a quite famous Japanese author, and the book was even made into a movie. I haven’t started it yet, but hopefully I will enjoy it! At lunch time I met with Misa-chan again, and her friend Nami-chan. We went for spaghetti with meat sauce for lunch, and ice cream for desert. Cold Stone again, and yes, they sang! Nami-chan was really sweet, Misa has such nice friends! I regret not taking any purikura though! Maybe next time?

Back in Hamamatsu I went to a cafe with Yoshimi’s sister Miwa, and 6 month old Momo-chan of course! I sang songs to Momo-chan, and she really liked watching me! I would move side to side, and her eyes would follow me. Miwa even turned her facing the wall, and Momo-chan twisted around to look at me! Next Yoshimi and Miwa’s mom picked me up, and Yoshimi and I went grocery shopping. Yoshimi has a cold , and so we had dinner, and now she is in bed. I have spent the last several hours writing this blog! I feels good to finally catch up though, but my shoulders are sore from sitting and typing, and I’m tired, so now I will take a shower and go to bed. I apologize for any typos, I’m posting without proof-reading. Good night!