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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

DAY 1, 27 SEPTEMBER 2006
1st DAY AT KOMAKI
1st DAY IN JAPAN

After a 2 hour flight to Bangkok and a 2 hour wait, we transitted from there n took another 5-hour flight on Thai Airways to land in Nagoya, Japan at ard 7am Japanese time. We arrived at Nagoya to visit S.J's penpal. My stupid luggage spoilt the moment we reached Nagoya Meitetsu train station from Nagoya airport. It happened all because of the lack of escalators and elevators in all japanese train stations. The retractable handle of my luggage broke because I lost my balance while going down the numerous flights of stairs, and landed my torso on the poor luggage. I bruised myself in the process too. :( Shigeo, S.J's fren, went to fetch us at the station, from which we took a bus to his place, Komaki. We went to a noodle restaurant near his place where we had Japanese-style Pasta for lunch. He bought us ard to a couple of Game Arcades, known as Game Centre in Japanese. In the evening, he prepared a welcome dinner for S.J n me, a simple, yet hearty meal, with traditional japanese miso soup, japanese rice chicken n don katsu.

DAY 2, 28 SEPT 2006
2nd DAY AT KOMAKI

Shigeo's spouse drove us a 1-hour journey to Nagoya. Komaki and Nagoya belong to the prefecture known as Aichi. We ordered Kishimen for lunch at a nearby restaurant, which the dish consisted of ramen, rice, miso soup n don katsu. Next, we strolled down a long street known as Osu Ryou Mon Do Ri. After that, Shigeo brought S.J to his destination Mandarake as promised, while followed along. Mandarake is a 9-storey building selling nothing but anime/manga-related merchandise. While entering, S.J noticed that another company, Toranoana was juz across the road too. Thus, after a 2 hour look ard in Mandarake, we went across the road to Toranoana. Time flies, cos' we realized it's oredi 5pm when we walked out of Toranoana. S.J was deeply apologetic for letting Shigeo n his spouse wait in the car for so long. Well, in Japan... the sky turns pitch dark after 6pm, so dinner time was pretty near. Before dinner, we drove to Shigeo parent's house for a visit, and letting us have an insight of what an traditional japanese house looks n feels like. After that, we went for dinner. S.J requested to have a taste of Monjayaki, n Shigeo agreed to his request. Monjayaki literally means "cook wad u like". It's a very D.I.Y dish. You order the ingredients, pour them into the hot pan, and cook to ur satisfaction. Very interesting, as you eat it while you cook it. :) After which, we went to this second-hand bookstore via a 45-min journey to a neighbouring prefecture known as Gifu.

DAY 3, 29 SEPT 2006
3rd DAY AT KOMAKI

We had a late night as we drank japanese sake and chit-chatted till the wee hours. Woke up juz in time for lunch. We had Macdonalds, whereby I tried the Ebi-O-Fillet Burger. Interestin point to note was that when I ordered Iced Lemon Tea, they gave me Early Grey Tea, n 2 packets of gum syrup and liquid lemon for me to pour into the tea. Japanese do not have aunties/uncles working in Mac to clear tables, customers D.I.Y responsibly, n they even sort leftovers according to plastics, straws, ice cubes, liquid, serviets etc. Very environmentally friendly! Next, we went for a mini-hike up Mountain Komaki, where a history museum stood on top of the mountain offering a nice, scenic n picturesque view of the town from atop. We took a faster shortcut on the way down. Then, we visited a Pachinko place. It was said that the game which plays an important and necessary role in japanese culture, has its origins from Nagoya. Dinner was sushi on conveyor belts. Nothing special, the sushis were badly made as the rice did not stick onto the topping. A note to mention was that I finally tried sea urchin. It tasted okie, but the crab’s brain juz was yewk!

DAY 4, 30 SEPT 2006
4th DAY AT KOMAKI

Another late morning, due to the viewing of a 6-part anime, which was rented on the previous day, till 2am in the morning. Wakey wakey at 12 noon. Lunch was fast food again. This time it was KFC. There were more variances in jpn KFC in comparison to jpn Mac. I ordered double burgers, a special marinated fried chicken, n a custard mousse for dessert. Once again, they serve milk n tea differently when I asked for a milk tea. Sports time after lunch. Not quite, really. Rather, I had my virgin attempt at Batting. I finally sweated amidst the air-con climate in Japan. I gave it my all, but the results were disappointing. Many missed swings. Managed to grasp a few techniques, but inexperience proved to be my downfall. Haha. Later, I bought a ice-cream from a vending machine. To my surprise, the ice-cream was inside a popcicle, and u had to squeeze or suck the ice-cream out. Next, we went to wad seems to be a community centre where we paid for tickets to a show in an omni-theatre. It turned out to be an educational children’s show, which was boring n a waste of time. Shigeo acceded to my request of visiting a Shinto Shrine, n so he drove us to one. Surprise! Surprise! The shrine worshipped PENISES. Yes, u’r not hearing it wrong, P-E-N-I-S. Lolz! It was an eye-opener! Another long drive to a famous dining place, where we had Char-Siew Ramen with Gyozas for dinner. Another virgin attempt awaited after dinner. It was S.J’s long-anticipated’s, my long-dreaded’s…… Rotten Buro, a.k.a open-air public bath. Omg, once I entered the men’s changing room, I saw many p*nises, many butts, many many naked bodies. (**)||| It only took a split second for me to drown all my worries and indulge in this seemingly new adventure. My venture was rewarded with a relaxin hot spring soak, sauna, n electric therapy spring bath.

the ball bounced @ 10/25/2006 07:22:00 PM