Advertisement
Published: October 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Taco Crepe!
Not a bad idea, if I do say so myself Now, for my money, I enjoyed Osaka bit more than Kyoto. In Osaka we saw a lot of different shiny things and places to shop, so it probably appealed to my ADD-ness.
Our first stop was Shinsaibashi and Dotonbouri, two areas which are basically a giant shopping mall that spans several blocks. There, the wonders of the orient proceeded to never cease through such wonderous things as amazing street-side takoyaki (little battered fried balls of octopus, which Osaka is famous for, and rightly so), taco crepes, and at least two stores devoted solely to leggings.
I also got the pleasure of purchasing a practical and inexpensive item of clothing from Uniqlo - a unique find in a large Japanese city like Osaka. I had heard a lot about this store from friends, but the only one around me is in Kofu, which is a while away. Anyway, I like this place because its basically the Japanese Old Navy, which means it's affordable clothing that doesn't give you a headache to look at.
The next day, we finally made it to a baseball game! Originally, we had wanted to see the Hanshin Tigers and the Chunichi dragons play, but
they are the number one and two teams, so the game sold out before I could buy tickets. Instead, we found there was a game in Osaka between the Buffaloes and the Lions. However, to avoid not being able to go because tickets sold out, I attempted to buy tickets early. I was unable to this because you could pretty much only buy tickets at the stadium, so I was a little worried that we might not be able to go.
Turns out, after stressing out quite a bit over this, that the Buffaloes and the Lions are two of the worst teams in Japanese baseball. There was definitely one guy with a .000 batting average. These guys make the Lake Elsinore Storm look like a team of world class ball-players (not to dis the Storm, they're a fine club). None the less, at a Japanese baseball game the beers are tall and cheap, the food is cheap and good, so a fun-tastic time was had by all. We even made some new friends with the kids sitting in front of us.
We also made it to an interesting little neighborhood in Osaka.... America Town! This place actually
America Mura
I guess this is kind of Americany... has very little to do with America. There was little/no American paraphernalia in the stores we looked at, but there was an abundance of strange clothing, which I guess is American? Take a look at some of the shirts and see what you think...
After Osaka we rode the Shinkansen one more time and found our way back to the tiny town I call Tsumaranai (boring; as in Tsuru is Tsumaranai). I had a great time traveling around, but I am quite glad to be home.
Unfortunately, I came home to classes. Had I thought this out a little bit better, I would have planned such that I would have a day between traveling and school, so that I could get a little rest. After all ALL MY CLASSES ARE IN JAPANESE. How hard could they be? Exactly as hard as you think they could be. I'm taking three literature classes. I think they should count for DOUBLE credit at UCSD because THEY'RE ALL IN FREAKING JAPANESE.
You'd think living in Japan and speaking Japanese all the time, I wouldn't have THAT much of a problem, and so did I. Boy was I sorely mistaken when I
Enjoy the Life!
Let's Drink Pleasant Liquor! walked into that first lecture. Wish me luck!
That should have everyone caught up. This week was very busy scoping out clubs and circles and finding classes. In Japan, they call something a club, but its more like a team, and a circle is more like a club. Right now I want to enter the tennis circle, a band circle, and possibly kyudo (japanese archery). Kyudo is a team though, and the team captain said I'd probably have to practice for about five weeks before I can actually shoot at targets, so we'll see how that works out.
(I wrote this about three, four days ago, and have since gone back to kyudo practice. Apparently the girls were buzzing about me during a practice that I missed. Apparently they love my name, and think that it is exotic. Also it looks like I might be able to shoot at targets a little sooner than previously anticipated, so I am enjoying it.)
Also, next friday, I am going to go back to the High School in Kofu where the fencing tournament was to teach. I'm hoping to be able to do this about once or twice a week.
The Kyocera Dome
Where we saw the baseball game I am excited to be involved with fencing again! I think I'll have a hard time taking it for granted once I get back to the states...
By the way, thanks to everyone who reads these. I really enjoy keeping so many people up on what's going on and I really appreciate that people take time to read my random ramblings. I'm now halfway through the program, and I'm worried that I won't have enough time to do things with the people I'm going to meet now that school has started. I guess I'll just have to come back another time.....
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 9; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0495s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Joe
non-member comment
Just to let you know that we ARE reading it: What's wrong with the picture? I'll bite. No shoes. And: cool, Japanese archery. You'll have to show me what you learned when you get back.