I arrived in Japan late Monday afternoon (Japan time) after a long & grueling 17 hours. Tsuyoshi and the group met us (Cindy & I) at the airport and we set off for Asakusa. Exhausted, we unpacked our suitcases (well, sort of..), showered & headed out w/ Tsuyoshi's sister, Yukiko & friend.
First we walked around Asakusa a bit. Jeri found a five person cardboard cutout & we had fun snapping photos of us in it! We walked around the temple and then up & down the market, we walked and talked and slowly got to know each other.
After a while, we headed to eat. Tsuyoshi & his sister ordered for us all and the plates just kept on coming! The food was soooo good! This was one of the first real Japanese meals that I had ever had and I quickly set aside any and all doubts that I previously had had. I tried everything, and for the most part enjoyed all of it. We drank and laughed and we all genuinely had a good time.
Yukiko & friend were great hosts. They poured us sake and helped us pronounce Japanese words. Tsuyoshi served as a great interpreter between the two languages and helped us all communicate with each other. We mastered a great thank you (domo arigato gozaimus) and attempted to ask for some water.
I also learned how to say "where is the bathroom?", although i'm sure it sounded more like "where bathroom?". And once I found said bathroom, I paired concentration with balance at my first experience with a squat toilet. I had been drinking a little bit & had had maybe 3 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours so I wasn't taking any chances. I stripped from the waist down and am happy to say that I escaped unscathed.
The rest of the night was great. We all got to learn a little about each other while enjoying good food & a great atmosphere. The night ended with a trip to 7-11 and a gift of hangover juice for the morning. And thank God for that because we all fell asleep and woke up fairly unharmed the next morning at 7am.
First we walked around Asakusa a bit. Jeri found a five person cardboard cutout & we had fun snapping photos of us in it! We walked around the temple and then up & down the market, we walked and talked and slowly got to know each other.
After a while, we headed to eat. Tsuyoshi & his sister ordered for us all and the plates just kept on coming! The food was soooo good! This was one of the first real Japanese meals that I had ever had and I quickly set aside any and all doubts that I previously had had. I tried everything, and for the most part enjoyed all of it. We drank and laughed and we all genuinely had a good time.
Yukiko & friend were great hosts. They poured us sake and helped us pronounce Japanese words. Tsuyoshi served as a great interpreter between the two languages and helped us all communicate with each other. We mastered a great thank you (domo arigato gozaimus) and attempted to ask for some water.
I also learned how to say "where is the bathroom?", although i'm sure it sounded more like "where bathroom?". And once I found said bathroom, I paired concentration with balance at my first experience with a squat toilet. I had been drinking a little bit & had had maybe 3 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours so I wasn't taking any chances. I stripped from the waist down and am happy to say that I escaped unscathed.
The rest of the night was great. We all got to learn a little about each other while enjoying good food & a great atmosphere. The night ended with a trip to 7-11 and a gift of hangover juice for the morning. And thank God for that because we all fell asleep and woke up fairly unharmed the next morning at 7am.
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