nagoya update 1
6-29-04
well im here in nagoya. things are immediatly different here than in tokyo,
mainly because im staying with a family. i left way too early for the shinkansen
this morning, i took a taxi and a train to get to the station. all was going
very smooth until i got to nagoya station, i waited and waited for tomoko to
pick me up. i didnt see anyone, as the sun began to set, i decided i would go
call someone. so i tried using my calling on my cell phone, didnt work for some
reason, then i tried calling on a payphone but i was 10 yen short (just then
i remembered leaved 10 yen in the green house. so i bought something and used
the change on the phone, but the calling card still didnt work. so i just stood
in the station dumb founded, until m cell phone rang, it was tomoko she was
just inside the station. she got there early and stood right in front of the
shinkansen exit so i would pass here and the way out but my train got there
earlier than she expected so i was already there outside. long story short,
we standing just meters away and waiting for each other for about 1 hour. oh
and not all train stations have elevator and escalators so i got to haul one
huge bag, and medium one, my comp bag, and my purse through something like 6
- 8 platforms. but im not upset about it really it all part of the experience.
after that we went to tomoko's parents izakaya (resturant bar) and all of their
customers were waiting for me, in fact many had come that night just to meet
me! it was fun but most of them dont speak much english and tomoko was speaking
mostly japanese. everyone had something to say to me and a lot of them were
singing karaoke, tomokos parents didnt waste a minute putting piles of food
in front of me, which was all very very good. also tomokos parents dont really
speak english. so this night was like a whirlwing of japanese, a drastic switch
from my english friendly tokyo. oh and tomorrow tomoko's dad is going to take
me somewhere and he doesnt speak any english, so it will no doubt be interesting...
oh and no ac in my room, and its hot and humid. right now i have the fan on
super-hi, i hope its ok to let it run all night. man its humid...
[ my bare room i left behind, i was actually really sad to leave tokyo ]
[ the shinkansen station, that's my shinkansen coming in ]
[ shinkansen workers, in the typical over the top uniforms ]
[ rice paddies seen thru the shinkansen window ]
[ nagoya station ]
[ my room at tomoko's house. its about the size of a large walk in closet in america. i have a futon to sleep on. by the way american futons are completely different than real futons. real ones are basically a cushion on the floor that can be rolled up easy ]
[ another view, this is my futon ]
[ this is outside the store that tomoko's parents took me to ]
[ this too is outside the store that tomoko's parents took me to ]
[ after that we went to a fish market ]
[ after that, we drove along the beach side. its hard to see but theres a bridge on the far left of this picture, that bridge leads to the brand new airport being built on the water. thats right, on the water, theyre making an island ]
[ this is the internet cafe near tomoko's house ]
[ a view from life plaza, the building were i go to for nihongo class ]
[ this is osukannon, a temple in downtown nagoya. there are a lot of stores near by ]