Hey! It's been a while. What, about five months, huh? Well, lots of stuff has happened in that time, but at the moment, that's no matter since, you know, I didn't even write about my last month in Japan (sans the kokuhaku), and some of the best parts of my trip happened in that time. So, without further ado:
July in Japan Part I: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Nadia's birthday was June 20th, so she had a big karaoke 飲み放題 (nomihoudai - all-you-can-drink) party. I remember it being pretty fun wailing with the birthday girl and friends, but at the same time, there were about 25 people or so in that karaoke room which caused the following to happen: (1) the room became quickly void of any sitting room, (2) people were shouting and shouting for people to order more drinks although the person next to the phone to the desk (me) was telling them that he had already ordered, (3) people had a hard time getting to sing, and (4) total chaos. The lesson learned that night was never to have such a huge gathering in a karaoke booth. Please keep that in mind during your travels.
On the plus side, Nadia had a wonderful time, and that's what really mattered. And hey! Jonas even sang for once! If you recall, when Jonas came to karaoke with the class, he didn't have fun because there were no songs in the books that he knew. They happened to find some international songs this time around, one of which was about Moscow and is apparently very famous EVERYWHERE in Europe (and I think the Japanese all knew it, too), so he join in the festivities. In fact, at the end of the night he kept saying how much of a great time he had, mostly because the place was in complete disarray and there was alcohol. So, I guess, in retrospect, if you enjoy point (4), have at it.
I would recommend, rather, hooking up with your old counselor and having her take you to a bizarre restaurant in Shinjuku, though, as my best friend from USHSD 2004, Andrew Pierce, and our counselor Azusa did just that and had a wonderful time.
The premise of the restaurant was to try to catch your own fish and have the chefs cook it for you, which is already strange, but get this: it wasn't in some little pond or anything, it was in a moat around a giant wooden ship placed smack dab in the middle of the place. Atop the ship was a large table for the workers to sell giant pieces of high-quality tuna to the patrons that were rich enough to afford a table on the ship. Needless to say, though I would have loved to get my own slab of tuna meat to stick in my mini-fridge freezer, but at the time my money was running a little short. Drat! Should've curbed my Gundam playing for the sake of the tuna...
The premise of the restaurant was to try to catch your own fish and have the chefs cook it for you, which is already strange, but get this: it wasn't in some little pond or anything, it was in a moat around a giant wooden ship placed smack dab in the middle of the place. Atop the ship was a large table for the workers to sell giant pieces of high-quality tuna to the patrons that were rich enough to afford a table on the ship. Needless to say, though I would have loved to get my own slab of tuna meat to stick in my mini-fridge freezer, but at the time my money was running a little short. Drat! Should've curbed my Gundam playing for the sake of the tuna...
To burn a little of my frustration, I decided to go fishing, but let me tell you: it was REALLY HARD. Basically, I had to resort to trying to lead the hook (complete with bait) into the mouths of the fish, but it was to no avail. I tried for about two hours, I think, and never caught a thing. Got two nibbles, Andrew and I decided that the fish that were still alive probably had been seeing their buddies getting eaten the rest of the day and were smart enough to avoid even my masterful line. So, instead of eating an fish that I myself caught, we all enjoyed some selections from the menu, including some really cheesy takoyaki, yakisoba, and some other things of which I forget the names to. This was probably one of the best meals I had in Japan, though. Everything was EXCELLENT, so if you need a recommendation, let me know, 'cause I have a membership card to the place and can hook you up with the location.
*EDIT* So I wasn't the only one trying to catch fish, of course. No one was really having any luck, but then Andrew spotted these Korean guys on the ship trying to catch the motherload fish. The fish was probably a foot and a half wide and two and a half feet long. It was HUGE and absolutely wouldn't bite. These guys, though, decided to use the ol' East Woodland Indian trick of taking out their lighters and putting it near the water so that the fish would come up to the surface. Well, sure enough, it worked, and they hooked the huge fish. Unfortunately, it thrashed around quite a bit and broke the line, swimming away, never to be almost caught again. Alas!
On the way home, I spotted an homage to Philidelphia's LOVE Park, which used to be a really famous skateboarding spot until they tore it down. I guess if people really missed it THAT much they could travel to Shinjuku, but such a mecca would prove unfruitful since the area isn't that apt to being a hip skateboarding spot.
That ends the post for now... I've got to get cleaned up and start packing to head home from school this weekend. I hope at least one person read this... and if so... well, to you, my friend...
