First Real Day in Japan

So, I had a great first day in Japan. I woke up at 6 and walked around my hotel and the main train station for a couple of hours, grabbed some toast and a latte in one of the train station cofee shops, and went back to the hotel where I met up with one of the guys who will be training with me this week. We decided not to wake anyone and go exploring. With our very limited Japanese and a map, we took the Subway to Sakae - the high end shopping district, and then walked to Nagoya Castle. Today was really beautiful - sunny, 80 degrees, but 95% humidity - so, I was sweating like a whore in church! But, with a nice breeze, it wasn't too bad. We bought tickets and went into the main grounds, where they had all sorts of food vendors (chicken on a stick, corn on a stick, octopus on a stick, green tea ice cream, other things I couldn't identify). There were a couple of street performers and a magician as well. So, the castle was about 6 stories. We took the stairs to the top. I had to purchase a commemorative hanky to manage the sweat issue. With no air conditioning and hundreds of people around, we were roasting! But, it was a nice castle, with a couple of deer grazing in the area that used to be the moat.

After the castle, we decided to continue exploring (it was only noon), so we took the subway over to Osu - a really great place to people watch and eat and walk around. There were hundreds of little shops lining a covered walkway. We ate at this italian restaurant (Cesari) which had a lunch buffet ($9) with pizza, pasta, salad, and foccacia bread. It was great. And, I got to speak German with our waiter, and we met a Chinese couple who sat next to us. We walked around this shopping area for a couple of hours, then ran into the Buddhist Temple (in the pic below). On our way back to the hotel we checked out a mega-electronics store.

So, this week will be pretty intense (10-7 or 12-9 workdays through Saturday). Then, I will head to Okazaki and probably stay in a hotel there for another week before I move into my apartment.

I love what I have seen of Japan so far. I could spend endless hours in the convenience stores - not your typical 7-eleven. They have full meals (like salad with tuna and egg, or noodles with fish and veggies). So, I'm definitely not worried about the food thing - it's everywhere and not too expensive. Also, people have been so friendly - giving directions and trying to explain things in English - without me even asking - I'm sure my constantly confused state helps.

Well, I'm going to go eat dinner with a couple of guys from my group. It's nice to have instant friends to go wandering around with. Everyone in the group seems really cool and up for anything. I miss everyone - and you should definitely try to come visit!!!

**Note: As I add pictures, the front page may become full, so be sure to browse the archive for this month (link on lower left-hand margin) to see all of the pictures I've taken so far.**