Final Japan :*

Japan day 13 May 9th

We went to Kobe first thing in the morning after Haruhi came to get us. We took the rail to the station and caught the local rail into town. We walked by the port and saw an amusement park with several youngsters. We went to take pictures of the tower, aerofoil and buildings then preceeded to walk through China town to the station and back to the Shinkansen to head to oosaka.
In Osaka we took the wrong train and retook it back to Namba which took an hour. We walked Namba and ate curry omlets inside. the man wanted a picture with haruhi and preceeded to do so. Haruhi took a few pictures with local dining celebrities before we walked down a shopping street and harbour area. Afterwards we were tired and headed home. We went to shop in Nagoya station and bought much clothes from Uniqlo.
We then ate at a noodle places and I ordered the 3 set meal where one came with sauce and noodles/nato the other was curry noodles and the final was soba style noodles and this came with good wasabi and onions with a egg desert for 10 bux. Then we went to bic camera where I got a new extendable stylus and Andrea got a softcase as well as stickers for her DS We then tried to contact Jason but he had forgotten his cellphone but in the meantime we took pictures of nighttime nagoyua and went to the drug store to get more goods like wax and deoderant so we went home after failing to contact jay and watched shaolin soccer in japanese while putting on andrea’s ds things and prepared for the final day in Japan.

Japan day 14 May 10th

In the morning I dropped off Andrea at the station and called jay to get directions.
after that I headed back to sleep till noon and then we headed out to nagoya station to look around a little more.
We then ate at the curry restaurant we first ate at except now they had new ticket machines with lcd touch screens. I had beef curry with 3 pieces of beef.
we went to the same shop like ikea but in nagoya station as well as tokyo hands again. we then we through the underground food market place to look at expensive mangos, grapes and watermelon. strawberries cost depending on their color.
fish was really cheap and we would decide to come back later to buy discount sashimi.
i went to the book store to get my phoenix wright art book and look around at manga/game books before heading back down.
we tried to figure out how to take the express train then gave up to go buy the sashimi and go home to eat and watch tv.

Japan day 15 May 11th

the next morning we packed, met up with Jason and then took the pikachu express train to the airport.
we sat around the airport watching the companies mascots dance and sing. we decided to head in after looking around and ordering green tea frappachinos and looking outside at solar pannels and airplanes taking off and landing.
inside we bought food and prepared for our flight to Narita. In narita art got internet and we sat around as people piled up and people prepared to take pictures of a celebrity or politician.
on the plane back to vancouver we watched jumpers and a miyazaki documentary while playing bomberman.

Other stuff

The best thing about Japanese tv is the studio audience which are sometimes made up of celebrities. You get to see their reactions and opinion to things that range from serious to comedy.
There are shows that examine good spots for vacations but it adds some much needed comedy and suprises. There are also other programs that covers epidemics and cultural events.
The comedic shows are the best as they always come up with new funny ideas to hurt or pull of something amazing like drift park a RC car.
You’ll always see familiar faces across networks and thats also what makes it fun.

what suprises me the most is the lack of garbage on Japanese streets despite the difficulty of finding a trash can. Most are located inside eateries or by vending machines.
there was a escalator accident in Sakuradori line which was 1 min from where we stayed where the escalator jammed causing 11 to be hospitalized.

Coffee is really black and bitter here.

more more japan

Japan day 10 may 6th

-woke up at 6:30 and jay’s parents were leaving
-then we got together and headed to shinkensen
-traveled to Tokyo saw mount Fuji
-then to Ueno looking for american market, but went to zoo instead
-saw animals and bought sakura flavored ice cream and andrea bought fox cap
-then went to akihabara checked revoltech museum then went cosplay shopping
-street completely open to pedestrian, looked around back streets
-saw sailor man, haruhi man, and sakura man
-saw anime cars, bike, and andrea bought her doll costume and wore it
-i bought takoyaki and then we headed back to Nagoya and dollar store and called jay and tried to set up router to all share internet but didn’t work.

-i hung around and watched videos on Andrea’s pc

Japan day 11 may 7th

-our day off woke up at 12pm and then relaxed until 3pm
-went to nagoya station to buy tickets then split up with art
-then me and andrea went to osu kannon to check out haruhi costume
-fits and everything but problem with transaction
-went to look for atm then to parco to look at stuff and gundam exhibition again
-bought fc model as well as spinner for car
-then went back to osu kannon and bought costume, I bought t-shirt
-wore costume all the way back to nagoya station and ran into jason
-then all stores closed therefore went to oasis 21 for pictures nagoya tower and had dinner at nearby restaurant
-italian restaurant all u can drink for 180 yen i had steak yuni had pie and we shared pizza
-then we headed back home after and prepared for hiroshima

Japan day 12 may 8th

-went to Hiroshima, andrea forgot rail pass and met up with us after we went to island off hiroshima
-took rail car 30 mins to ferry then called jay to check but no response
-then went by ferry to island and saw deer being fed and gate over water and shrine temple and took pictures
-bought souvenir and momiji cakes seeing how they were made and giant rice paddle
-very warm and very pretty atmosphere with many tourist
-then came back at 1:30 to meet w/ andrea and then off my street car to Hiroshima bomb area and lots of students were there
-after taking pics we went to museum to see history and many videos and articles from explosion
-then after buying a coin and seeing the rest we went to the peace museum to see building and small videos about eye witness of bomb
-then headed to Hiroshima castle which was rebuilt after wwII

-walked towards station saw foreign teachers teaching kids through window
-after we walked looking for food to the station where we found cheap tasty ramen and gyoza and karrage which we made our own spicy sauce
-then shopping for yuni’s shorts for haruhi costume, then we bought green tea mcflurry from mcdonalds after exloring station area for shorts
-we then DS’ed then JR’ed back while playing DS bomberman, contra and mario most the time.
-then got home cleaned a little and prepare for Kobe and OOsaka tommorow.

More Japan

Japan day 5 May 1st

In the morning we met up with Jay’s parents for Denny’s then went back to our rooms to get ready to go to the big wedding. We went by subway and we also ran into Jay’s parents at the exit and then looked around for a shuttle bus and after a while Jermey found the shuttle bus. They were parked in a different area then noted, imagine if they had not found us in time! On the shuttle bus we made our way to wedding place Arc en Ciel (Rainbow) and waited in the lobby with Reiko’s friends and family. After the ceremony ended inside of the church we all went outside towards the dining hall and watched as on the latterway Jason made his second confession of love to her. Then came the appetizers and california rolls which according to Jason would be the first time they have ever served them in Nagoya. Then the formal dinner began with introductions and describing the guest one by one. This was one expensive dinner which came with lobster, soup, steak, and then later came Jay in traditional Japanese clothing to all the guests surprise. We then played a quiz game, and then had dessert outside with Jay and Reiko then back inside to put up horoscopes which were given to us against the dark room and then watch credits and take our gift pack home. Afterwards we shoke hands and headed back on shuttle bus then took a taxi home for 500 yen.

Japan day 6 May 2nd

-went to Arthur’s to plan day
-went to Taiko side of Nagoya staiton underground mall
-went to eat at mcdonalds and visited toy store and car model store, inside of mall and bic camera outside while Vince and them shopped for clothes
-then went to eat at Okonomiyaki place, we ordered 3 different kinds and split it
-then proceeded to visit Tokyo Hands and went to see toys, mini planetarium, clocks, books, cds, car stuff
-then went to Osu again and revisited anime places, buying saber, and filling point card to get a cup
-then visited electronic stores and other anime/model store, saw ae86 driving by then headed back home to 99 cent store then ate
-yuni visited and played some cc: ff7 and I can finally youtube with stolen internet!

Japan day7 may 3rd

-woke up early and prepared to meet up with Jay and their family for Shinkansen
-first ride to Kyoto in Shinkansen played ds on the way
-look around mall at station including bic camera after eating at soba/sashimi and rice
-then bus tour to mountain with big big sign walked around golden castle and bought green tea ice cream
-then bus to old area with temples and cliff where i visited before
-bought bokuto and tiny statue of building
-met back on bus and headed back
-went to bic camera and watched jermey buy r33 and r32 and yuni buy stuff
-met up and headed back to treat jay and family to dinner in JR towers having spaghetti
-then headed to bic camera in Nagoya to buy toys before heading home

Japan day 8 may 4th

-cleaned up apartment and moved to Arthurs after he dropped Vince at train station
-then went to explore around station after trading in rail pass
-found takoyaki place and then walked some more to find daiso market place
-art got ____ to help his bad back and with yuni bought clothing
-walk back to station and then headed home after some looking around taiko underground mall
-afterwards to dollar store to eat and invited yuni to work on internet so we can all share
-saw tv show about jobs and how much people make in Japan and played phoenix wright and copied photos
-settled into new room and await trip to Tokyo tommorow at 8am

Japan day 9 may 5th

-woke up early at 7 am to make station by 8 am
-proceeded to shinkansen to tokyo for 2nd time
-played tetris and contra w/ Art till arrival
-headed to Akihabara first, just opening some floors closed, checked out many anime places
-saw girls dressed up in maid outfits and cute outfits
-lots of game stores and electronic stores
-bought fc and fd police car as well as lightsaber gashapon
-then went to Shinjuku to find Square Enix store
-saw sephiroth under glass, accessories, toys and cloud w/ bike
-andrea bought almost 100 dollars worth of keychains and stuffies
-saw GTR before arrival at store long walk there
-afterwards we ate at ticket food place, fast and cheap i had japanese curry
-then finish walk back and trained to Harujuku
-stood outside park waiting for events, man singing U2, nazi girls, other girls, and free hugs and giant carp dress up
-Yuni got picture with carp, art with nazi girls
-then proceeded down busy street and waited as yuni looked at goth loli clothing, packed, started raining
-afterwards down more streets very crowded and took pictures of condom store, then visited toy store and art bought stickers and andrea bought soles
-in drug store i also bought drink, headed back up took train back to tokyo station and walked around looking for food before stopping in tempura place having unagi tempura while art had sashimi and andrea had tempura special
-then headed to convinent store to buy drinks and rested before heading up to platform and rode home at 8pm
slept for 1 hour on and off then 10pm walk home and set up internet but yuni can not connect
-put batteries in fc and charged camera/ds and shower and prepare to sleep and note from jay’s parents leaving tommorow

Japan Week 1

Japan day 0-1 April 26-27

 

The three of us spent 10 hours in JAL to reach Narita Airport near Tokyo and another 2-3 hours to fly to Nagoya. I spent most of my time playing phoenix wright and watching initial D on the initial flight. The shorter flight to Nagoya only took roughly an hour to two hours but spent much of its time delayed and taxi’ing on the runway. At Nagoya International Airport we were picked up by Jay and Reiko and endured a relatively relaxed30 minute train ride to Nagoya station where we then transfered to the Sakuradori line where we would live less than a few minutes from the station. After being lost and helped on our way by a friendly citizen who promptly ran into the nearest supermarket to give us directions I preceded to give Jay his letters which had built up to a massive pile since he left Vancouver as well as his palm pilot. We ate at Denny’s and I had baked seafood spaghetti while the others ordered much larger unknown dishes before we all headed back to our individual apartments to shower/bathe and sleep. The night time was warmer than Vancouver, which was a nice feeling, but my exhaustion had made everything seem rather ordinary.

 

Bonus: Milkyway – When we were there this new band “Milkyway” released their first single and on morning everyday they would appear on the kids channel and perform. Their song is kinda catchy and they don’t look half bad!

 

First Single: Milkyway – アナタボシ (Anataboshi) : link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExT1Z1PK8ks

 

Japan day 2 April 28

 

I realized I had no water so I boiled some water with the machine provided by the apartment. I woke up fairly early considering I did not sleep for almost 2 days, so at 6:30 am I watched T.V. and with Arthur and Vince bought onigiri at convienent store and we ate in my apartment room at 8:00 am. We went to Nagoya station and visited areas around the JR Towers which promptly and I mean promptly opened all at the same time of 10:00 am sharp. A tiny aquaruium in mall was an interesting sight because of the different variety of fishes and the presence of small sharks.
After walking around outside to explore we turned around and went into that tall spiral like building which had food which required a long time to get seats. We then went around outside a little more before eating at a omlet place where we had ketchup rice in egg with hamburger, which was suprisingly delicious. Then we left for Sakae station which had the outdoor alien spaceship like mall called Oasis 21. In that area we saw the Nagoya T.V. Tower and decided instead to visit the highest level of Oasis 21 which had an open water area, with a spectacular view. This would be my first time spending in Japan on items that weren’t food. I proceeded to then buy toy cars from Tomica Shop in which I spent $50.00 mostly as gifts for others. Afterwards, we went to Yabacho Station to see the Parco Mall which was a mall with much clothing items, but mostly aimed towards women. Arthur and I ran off and saw the Gundam museum, and went downstairs to buy tea, before going to Tower Records music store. Finally we headed back home to prepare to go to supermarket and ate at Art’s apartment before returning to my apartment and watching the segment on the black Enka singer, which I had learned about before my trip.

 

Bonus: Jero, the black Enka singer. This guy had a Japanese grandmother who had made him sing Enka songs when he was younger. Unsure what he was singing he soon grew fond of the music and would sing it at karaoke. Japan caught notice of him and turned him into a star.

 

link: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3695

 

Japan day 3 April 29

 

I also woke up early on this day and decided to watch some tv, I ate the Ungai (eel) I got last night from the supermarket and the rice before leaving to Arthur’s apartment. Jason and Andrea were waiting for us at Nagoya station, and we went to register our passport at the hotel office by Nagoya station.
After the ordeal we went back to tower mall and ate Curry, while Jason took Andrea back to her apartment. After eating we then shopping in the Meitetsu building and I bought a car book about how Japanese people modify their cars. Then we finally met up with Jay and Andrea at Bic Camera by the two JR Towers and went to the videogame section to buy a PS3 controller and then toys section to buy some RC cars and models. I ended up spending 110$ worth of toys and 70 bux worth of videogame stuff, and then afterwards we saw Jay off in front of Bic Camera. Finally we went to eat at Dennys shared meal (omlet, ice cream, spaghetti) with Andrea and headed home to rest before visiting the supermarket.
We finished off at Arthur’s eating sashimi fish and rice, noodles and to plan tommorow events.

Bonus: Golden Week

 

Japan day 4 April 30

 

Today I woke up early to wake up Andrea. Arthur called us on the radio and we learned Art’s neighbors were Jay’s parents. Food I bought the day before sucked, the yougurt was bitter and so was the coffee. Then we got ready to head to Arthur’s and take the subway to Nagoya castle. We arrived and walked to entrance and bought a 500 yen ticket after going to the wrong entrance by mistake. We bought souvenirs in fear it would be difficult to later on and then headed towards Nagoya Castle and then explored outside and took a few pictures before entering. We exited to eat lunch which included green tea Ice cream and Takoyaki. We then watched students chat and eat and learned more about Andrea while Vince searched for her lost camera bag. We learned we could climb higher into the castle so then went back inside to see the museum and climb to the top. From the top we saw a panoramic view of Nagoya city. I was planning to get a coin but there were too many people to buy gifts. Afterwards, we headed outwards and took pics of garden. Then we went back down to the station to head to Osu Kannon Temple. We took a few pictures of temple then went to eat at a noodle place. I tried the famous Kishimen noodles, which is Nagoya’s most well known noodles and it was a great meal that came with various side dishes and a great classic noodle house environment. Then everyone stayed around in the Kimono shop to buy Kimono’s while i went to explore Osu Kannon. I saw toy stores, electronic stores and gashapon areas. Then we met up again to go to the electronic store to watch the girls buy canera cases. After that we then went out to explore the rest of Osu until it got dark. Andrea and I found a big toy store and anime stores. I ended up buying Ichigo mashimaro toys. In that same store there were a lot of cosplay stuff. When it was late we met up again to have dinner by station at Osu. We ordered again by tickets like at the curry restaurant and I had chicken cutlet and rice with coleslaw on the side. At last we headed back home to rest, shower and relax. I was trying French bread chips and having tea while watching initial D. At the end of the day I was preparing my tripod, and money for Jay’s wedding along with suit.

 

Bonus: Kishimen noodles are a must if you visit Nagoya. It is similiar to udon noodles, and comes with a variety of toppings.