The First Day

• Mearal01's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Hirakata

Trip Start Jan 20, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 23, 2006 Next
Entry

  Hirakata, Japan
Sunday, January 22, 2006

Having gone over 60 hours with less than 4 hours of sleep, I was ready to go to bed early that first night. The seminar house rooms are very nice. They each have eight real tatami mats and fake soji screens. There are no beds, only futon. Let me say, I have had many rough nights sleeping on the ground in America. I was fairly confidant that sleeping on the floor could never be as comfortable as sleeping in a bed. I was wrong. Slipping into my futon bedding that first night was like heaven. Not only do futons save a lot of space, they are also very comfortable.

My first day in Japan will likely remain one of my fondest memories. I snapped awake early in the morning and enjoyed a nice long shower. The showers in Seminar house 2 were wonderful; much more spacious than those back at Gettysburg. I'm in seminar house 1 now, and they are not as nice. You are required to continually hit a hand petal to keep the water going. Oh well. The bathrooms here are nice in general. Going into a toilet stall feels like being locked into a solitary confinement cell, with solid walls from floor to ceiling. My only complaint is that there is also a cleaning lady in the bathroom when I need to use it...

After the shower, Aaron (who we met at Detroit Airport) and I headed over to pick up the Gettysburg girls (plus a female Erin) I came with at the neighboring seminar house. Once assembled, the six of us headed off into the urban jungle of telephone poles for our first adventure. We entered a place called the "Petite Café" for breakfast.

Corn Milk

There, a nice young man wearing makeup served us our meal. I had a hardboiled Egg, a "salad" (which is actually more like coleslaw) and toast. Japanese bread is the best! I also had the best coffee of my life. I need to be careful...

After breakfast we continued our exploration. We browsed our way through two small department stores and took note of clothing with hip American phrases on them, like "I want to be made confusedly," and "I am the weight of three apples." It makes me wonder about all the shirts with Chinese and Kanji characters on them that are popular back in the states.

Outside the store we studied the selection at a row of vending machines. Although it is impolite drink (or eat) on the street, Japan has drink vending machines on almost every block it would seem, and their selections are quite a bit more varied then westerners may be used to. You can get anything from a Coke to a hot cappuccino. Jess was kind enough to buy a drink for me: "Corn Milk." Corn milk is hot, and it is chunky. Imagine very watery cream corn in a soda can- that is Corn Milk.

Corn Milk may sound a little wild, but there are far stranger things. Next to the beer, we also noted "Pure Gold" in the vending machine. We know a girl back at Gettysburg that lived in Japan for a while. She became addicted to "Pure Gold." Her mother could not understand how this was possible, until she investigated the ingredients and found that "Pure Gold" has a healthy does of nicotine in it!

I suppose you have to be wary when purchasing drinks in Japan. Later on, Erin purchased some "-196˚C," noting that it was some form of lemon lime soda. He carried it some time, while we admired the grenade-like groves on the can. Just as he was finally opening it, we came upon a "Top World" grocery store. Just a quick note on grocery stores: they make me happy here. They are more colorful than those back home. They also have better music, none of that crappy elevator music. One feels a certain degree of Joy when gazing upon row after row of delicious foods while Big band Music blasts above you.

Ok, back to the story. Since Erin could not take the open drink in, and not wishing to hold us up any, he downed the entire can in several gulps. Soon after we entered the store, he noticed that his motor skills were a bit off. Wondering if it had something to do with his "-196˚C," we found some in the store. Upon closer analysis we found the Chinese characters for alcohol. Turns out that the beverage in question was 60 proof!

In the evening we ate a tiny, gritty little restaurant with grills on every table. There I had my first taste of Okunomiyaki, which I would describe as the Japanese version of egg fu young. The gravy is replaced by some kind of strong sea-weed sauce, and yes, mayonnaise. And here began my passionate affair with Japanese food.

Slideshow Print this entry Share Hirakata hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry