Friday night some friends and I decided to party at a club called 'Air' in Shibuya. We were super excited to discover that this club is featured in a scene of the movie 'Lost in Translation' (with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray). Cover is pricy by comparison, 3500 yen and unlike many clubs - that did not include a couple of drinks. Though we lost a few girls on the way (due to an over indulgence etc.) Steph and I were set on going and having a good night! When we got there we met up with a couple of her friends and danced the night away to some great House music. The DJ was super awesome; we will definitely be going back there at least once more. Interestingly it seems this club is in some sort of residential area where there are staff that stay out on the streets to tell you not to talk on the way - it made me feel like I was on some sort of top secret mission (to party!) haha. It was strange. Another successful all-nighter in Tokyo. The Tokyo night scene is wild. Japanese people know how to party. And the boys...the pretty boys...they know how to dance! Ooooh how they steal my heart on the dance floor. It's so refreshing to see such skilled dance moves - they're great! So when I need a break from dancing I just step aside to watch the fancy foot work of my Japanese boys as they bust a move.
I will never forget those 6am walks home from the station where my night of partying is just ending as the sun is rising. Good times.
On the Sunday of last weekend I followed through with my plans to be a tourist, and went to check out a famous monument in Kamakura - "The Great Daibutsu" (or The Great Buddha). Having seen this statue only in pictures, I couldn't wait to finally lay eyes on this thing; it's kind of a BIG deal. After Kamakura we went to Enoshima Island which is close by to see what goes on over there. Sophie and I decided to join a student tour group that was organized through Keio - it made sense because it had all been organized and it would save us from staring at a map and potentially getting lost. When we met up with our group, I was surprised at the fact that the majority of 'fellow tourists' were Japanese natives who saw this as a good opportunity to meet some international students. Sophie and I were a bit late, but the group was kind enough to wait for us. When we arrived we were split into smaller groups and started on our way to Kamakura.
The weather was less than pleasant - drizzling rain all day. I had been looking forward to seeing Kamakura for a while though, so I wasn't about to let a bit of rain affect my plans. With the group, we boarded the train to Kamakura and it was a rather short walk from the station to the Great Daibutsu (maybe 15 minutes). We stopped by a cool shrine on the way where there was some sort of ritual being performed. Men dressed up in formal wear, sitting on stools as they played some neat sounding flutes. Inside there was a man reciting something. I can't say I had any clue as to what was going on, but it seemed pretty cool nonetheless. After doing a quick tour around there we continued on our way to the Great Daibutsu.
Well...I must say...it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Truly amazing. MASSIVE. It certainly is One gigantic Buddha. I'm not a big fan of hanging out in the rain, but I think it added a pretty cool and somewhat mystical effect. For 20 yen you can go inside the Buddha; a small price to pay for a once-in-a-life-time experience. (How many people can say they've been inside a Buddha?) So I jumped at the opportunity. I don't know what I was expecting...but there was really nothing inside. haha, I guess no one would furnish the inside of a Buddha - but there was no attempt to decorate it either. If I had to describe it: it was like being inside an extraordinarily large...Buddha statue. Like a big, rounded, metal, room.
Yep - that was it. But I guess the point is...I was inside a Buddha. Sugoi!
After exiting the Buddha, I stood in front for a while unable to take my eyes off it. I took some more pictures before being interrupted by a group of the cutest little kids. They were probably about 7 or 8 years old and on a class field trip. They bashfully approached me to ask if they could have a picture with me. Gosh! Japanese kids are the cutest thing, so naturally I couldn't resist.
After leaving the Buddha we began a hunt for somewhere to stop for lunch. We ended up at a little Soba place. (Soba = long, thin, whole wheat noodles - served hot or cold). I went with a very traditional soba meal, plain, cold noodles, topped with dried sea weed, that you dip into a little bowl of soy, mixed with onion and wasabi. Yummm!
We had some time to kill after lunch. This was when Sophie and I noticed the downfall of being a member in a tour group - there is a schedule to follow. For some reason it would have been a problem to break this rigid schedule and move along to our next destination (even if it made perfect sense to do so). Oh well. We walked around a bit with our group and found a little ice cream shop. Here I decided to be slightly adventurous and try out one of Japan's unique flavours - a macha (green tea) and sweet potato mix! (uhm?...sweet potato?) It tasted a bit 'soapy' but it wasn't bad.However, I think next time I will stick with the tried, tested, and true Macha flavour! it's mild tasting, it's green, and it's delicious everytime.
Finally we got back on schedule and head back to the station. Next stop: Enoshima Island.
I didn't know what the attraction was on this island, temple? monument? shrine? -- it turned out to be none of these. The attraction was the island itself. beautiful. We crossed a lengthy bridge to get there, and were told that we had 'free time' to just wander around. Sophie and I just stuck with the tour guides (they were bound to know the good spots). Apparently the tako chips are a cool snack to enjoy in this area. There was a pretty long line up for these puppies, so Sophie and I decided to see what all the fuss was about and shared a big tako chip. Before we tried it, we witnessed how they're made. In case you're interested... these chips are made by taking a (dead) octopus, or at least a large chunk of one (generally the bottom half, you know, the tenticles and such), dipping it in some sort of liquid flour mix, and then squishing it in a large hot press until it turns into one big chip!! (cool eh?) and that's how you make tako chips! (a great little snack for serving at parties).
After that, we followed our tour guides to check out the rest of the island. One thing to be noted about this island is the stairs! - I have never seen, let alone climbed so many stairs in my life. I gather this island is a mountainous one, seeing as you can't really get anywhere without hiking up flights, upon flights of stairs. If the rain, and my sopping wet feet weren't enough to put a damper on this little excursion the stairs would do it. In spite of the utter beauty surrounding me, there were times when it was hard to enjoy myself as I was gasping for air. However, being in a group helped me to surpress my physical strain as much as possible...looking tough - if not - perhaps remotely fit and able (hahaha). That being said, when we made it to the ocean side and a gorgeous rocky area to soak up the atmosphere I couldn't have been happier to enjoy a view (or maybe enjoy standing in one place to recuperate). Seriously, the view was really lovely (well...at least that which was within 6ft. of me, the fog was a bit of an issue...haha). Water...rocks...breathing. - totally worth the strenuous stair climb. --wait a minute..."Hey guys, how are we getting back?" ........uh oh. Surely enough, we were heading back the same way we came, climbing up...and down...the same, and the many...flights of stairs. I thought my legs would collapse. My legs were trembling. My body hated me. But I made it ! How rewarding..right?
At this point I couldn't wait to get back to my nice warm room. The good news is, I took some great pictures! While I can be a bit of a drama queen I maintain that every experience in Japan is a good experience - rain or shine. I'm really happy that I got to see those cool places, the Buddha is truly marvelous, and Enoshima Island...well...equally astonishing...and...a great workout! (Bonus!)
Besides these key events, I've been attending classes regularly, going to the gym, still teaching English lessons, and recently ....got hired at Abercrombie & Fitch. An all-American brand name. This is the same store that I described in a previous blog with tons of floors, dimmed lights, booming music, and dancing models - it feels like a night club. It also happens to be in Ginza on Tokyo's 'Rodeo Drive' equivalent (but better!). I signed the contract on Monday and will be having my training in a couple of days (Sunday). I will have to give you the update later to let you all know how that goes! I'm excited to meet new people (models) haha, to make some cash (I could use some of that), and of course, to reap the benefits of my staff discount (though I've never been a huge fan of this brand, I'm sure I'll manage find something - I always do).
Hard to believe that I'm already half way through my exchange! It's so weird to feel like I've been here forever, and for such a short while at the same time. In one sense I feel settled and comfortable here, as if I've lived here for so long - but at the same time, I only just got here and now have just two more months before I will have to pack up and part ways with the country I fell in love with. - but I can't think about that now.
So much LOVE. xoxo
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
More 'Japanews': Karaoke & Sumo Edition
This past week has been rather eventful, involving a couple of 'firsts' - my first Japanese Karaoke experience, and my first Sumo wrestling tournament. Karaoke has definitely been on my list of 'Things to do in Japan' so I was happy to have ended up there last Saturday. The initial plan was to join a friend in meeting two Japanese boys for a few drinks (one of them being her student, and the other his friend). I was feeling a bit tired, but couldn't resist the opportunity to meet some new Japanese boys. Around midnight we head out to a cheap little place in our neighborhood (all drinks & food are just $2.00). They didn't speak much English, but thankfully Sarah is fairly fluent in Japanese. So we had a few drinks, with some edamame and chicken - courtesy of our new Japanese friends. Though I wasn't planning on staying out too late, when the idea of Karaoke came up, I was really excited. Before I knew it, we were on our way.
We walked about five minutes to the Karaoke place just down the street. The boys went to the front desk and paid for our room. Then we took the elevator to find our room on the 3rd floor. The rooms are equipped with a TV (of course), two microphones, electronic menus (to select songs - just about any song you could think of!), and two tambourines. The boys started the night off with some upbeat J-Pop hits - I loved it! They certainly don't hold back either. One of them had mentioned that Karaoke was an extremely popular activity when he was in high school, and that he used to go to Karaoke all the time; this became evident when he started to sing. J-Pop (aka Japanese pop music) is very upbeat and catchy! I particularly enjoy the random English phrases thrown in to most songs. I attempted to sing along to some of my favourite tunes ranging from classics by artists such as Elton John, Destiny's Child, and S Club 7 to the latest hits of Lady Gaga. I must say, I was extremely impressed with the selection.
By 4am I was exhausted, and nearly falling asleep - until one of the boys invited me to do a duet with him to none other than Simple Plan's 'Perfect' (an awful Western, pop-rock song). Feeling somewhat honoured I gracefully accepted. This became the highlight of my night. His singing was so adorable, I had to try hard not to giggle into the mic. Singing is not my forte, so I must admit, I am pretty shy when it comes to singing Karaoke. However, drinks certainly help, since I am all to concious of my terrible voice - but when a Japanese native, asked me to join him in singing, I was able to let loose. (This is a big deal since I believe the majority of Japanese tend to be painfully shy when it comes to speaking English - let alone singing in English!). By 4:45am I was done! I could barely keep my eyes open, so we head out and I made it to bed by 5am. The next day was rough since I had to teach an English lesson on four hours of sleep! It wasn't easy, but luckily I had the rest of the day to recuperate from an entertaining all-nighter of Karaoke. As they say, 'go big, or go home', right?
Speaking of 'BIG'... On Wednesday I went to my very first Sumo wrestling tournament which was held in Tokyo. Sophie, Steph and I got up at the crack of dawn (around 6:45am) to make sure we would get our hands on some tickets before they sold out. It was also required that those looking to purchase unreserved seats (the cheap seats) pick them up before 8:30am. It was a good thing all of the excitement was enough to keep me awake!
The tournament went on all day, with the amateur Sumo matches starting at 8:30am. The opening ceremony was at 2pm, and since we would only be permitted to exit and re-enter once, the girls and I decided to kill some time by walking around, enjoying the lovely weather. We cruised around Akiba (Akihabara) - the electronics district of Tokyo. This area is always amusing, with the big bright signs, fascinating little shops and maid cafes all over the place. Sophie had been on a mission to find a parfait for breakfast, so the three of us set out on this mission. After walking around aimlessly (for at least 20 minutes) hoping to find an ice cream shop, we had no luck - and out of desperation - decided to ask someone. Luckily we were steered in the right direction. We ended up in a little restaurant with cheap food, and more importantly, parfaits on the menu. I had a chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream parfait, topped with whip cream, garnished with orange slices, sitting on top of some coffee flavoured jello cubes. YUM. Sophie and I agreed that the parfait could do without the coffee flavoured jello cubes, but overall, that parfait hit the spot. While enjoying our tasty desserts the girls and I discussed our plan for the rest of the day. We decided it was the perfect day for a picnic.
We made our way to a convenient store, which (conveniently) sells a wide array of alcoholic beverages, including beer and various mixed cocktails - Fancy that! (This has been one luxury that I will definitely be missing from Canada). We picked up a few drinks (vodka lemonade), our lunch (Mmmm...egg sandwich), and some munchies (prawn crisps of course) and...some dried tako (octopus), a new and exotic snack I thought I'd try out. ('When in Tokyo'... ) All set for our picnic we head over to a gorgeous park that we found, which was only a short walk from the Sumo stadium. On the way, we stopped a couple of Sumos for a picture with them (just when I thought my day couldn't possibly get any better...!!) Then we sat and ate by the surrounding gardens and pond (with Koi, ducks, and turtles!). It's so cool how there are such beautiful and serene gardens/parks planted randomly around a concrete paved metropolis. When it was coming up to 2pm we decided to head over to the stadium in order to pick out some good seats.
After taking our seat on the second floor balcony, we couldn't help but notice all of the other empty seats down below. We quickly came to the concensus that we should sneak down and grab some first class seats (priced at $100 +), to enjoy the close up view, until getting asked to move. This is an example of one instance where being a foreigner comes in handy; as foreigners we get to play dumb, and act innocent to get away with things like this. So there we were, in prime seats (approximately five rows from the wrestling ring), getting some great pictures, and truly appreciating the sport of Sumo. It was after about two hours, that we were finally caught and asked to move. At which point we excused ourselves, and moved back just a few rows, where we stayed on the first floor to watch the rest of the tournament. By 5:30pm, we had seen enough, and thought it would be wise to depart before the rush. Sophie and I reminisced about our awesome day as we walked to the station, and after 6hrs of walking around and 4hrs of watching Sumo, we both fell asleep on the train ride home. It was a long day, but I would venture to say it was one of the best experiences I've had in Japan thus far! I've certainly developed an appreciation for Sumo, and was thrilled to have partaken in this important part of Japanese culture. Tournaments like this only take place a certain time of year, and for a limited time; I feel quite lucky to have received (and taken) such an opportunity!
On that note, If you ever get the chance, I would thoroughly recommend checking out a Sumo competition!
This weekend should be an exciting one; tomorrow night I will be partying at one of Tokyo's biggest and best clubs: Ageha. I hear it's pretty amazing. Then I'm planning to be a tourist on Sunday and visit some key historical monuments in Kamakura.
Lotta love straight from Tokyo. xo
We walked about five minutes to the Karaoke place just down the street. The boys went to the front desk and paid for our room. Then we took the elevator to find our room on the 3rd floor. The rooms are equipped with a TV (of course), two microphones, electronic menus (to select songs - just about any song you could think of!), and two tambourines. The boys started the night off with some upbeat J-Pop hits - I loved it! They certainly don't hold back either. One of them had mentioned that Karaoke was an extremely popular activity when he was in high school, and that he used to go to Karaoke all the time; this became evident when he started to sing. J-Pop (aka Japanese pop music) is very upbeat and catchy! I particularly enjoy the random English phrases thrown in to most songs. I attempted to sing along to some of my favourite tunes ranging from classics by artists such as Elton John, Destiny's Child, and S Club 7 to the latest hits of Lady Gaga. I must say, I was extremely impressed with the selection.
By 4am I was exhausted, and nearly falling asleep - until one of the boys invited me to do a duet with him to none other than Simple Plan's 'Perfect' (an awful Western, pop-rock song). Feeling somewhat honoured I gracefully accepted. This became the highlight of my night. His singing was so adorable, I had to try hard not to giggle into the mic. Singing is not my forte, so I must admit, I am pretty shy when it comes to singing Karaoke. However, drinks certainly help, since I am all to concious of my terrible voice - but when a Japanese native, asked me to join him in singing, I was able to let loose. (This is a big deal since I believe the majority of Japanese tend to be painfully shy when it comes to speaking English - let alone singing in English!). By 4:45am I was done! I could barely keep my eyes open, so we head out and I made it to bed by 5am. The next day was rough since I had to teach an English lesson on four hours of sleep! It wasn't easy, but luckily I had the rest of the day to recuperate from an entertaining all-nighter of Karaoke. As they say, 'go big, or go home', right?
Speaking of 'BIG'... On Wednesday I went to my very first Sumo wrestling tournament which was held in Tokyo. Sophie, Steph and I got up at the crack of dawn (around 6:45am) to make sure we would get our hands on some tickets before they sold out. It was also required that those looking to purchase unreserved seats (the cheap seats) pick them up before 8:30am. It was a good thing all of the excitement was enough to keep me awake!
The tournament went on all day, with the amateur Sumo matches starting at 8:30am. The opening ceremony was at 2pm, and since we would only be permitted to exit and re-enter once, the girls and I decided to kill some time by walking around, enjoying the lovely weather. We cruised around Akiba (Akihabara) - the electronics district of Tokyo. This area is always amusing, with the big bright signs, fascinating little shops and maid cafes all over the place. Sophie had been on a mission to find a parfait for breakfast, so the three of us set out on this mission. After walking around aimlessly (for at least 20 minutes) hoping to find an ice cream shop, we had no luck - and out of desperation - decided to ask someone. Luckily we were steered in the right direction. We ended up in a little restaurant with cheap food, and more importantly, parfaits on the menu. I had a chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream parfait, topped with whip cream, garnished with orange slices, sitting on top of some coffee flavoured jello cubes. YUM. Sophie and I agreed that the parfait could do without the coffee flavoured jello cubes, but overall, that parfait hit the spot. While enjoying our tasty desserts the girls and I discussed our plan for the rest of the day. We decided it was the perfect day for a picnic.
We made our way to a convenient store, which (conveniently) sells a wide array of alcoholic beverages, including beer and various mixed cocktails - Fancy that! (This has been one luxury that I will definitely be missing from Canada). We picked up a few drinks (vodka lemonade), our lunch (Mmmm...egg sandwich), and some munchies (prawn crisps of course) and...some dried tako (octopus), a new and exotic snack I thought I'd try out. ('When in Tokyo'... ) All set for our picnic we head over to a gorgeous park that we found, which was only a short walk from the Sumo stadium. On the way, we stopped a couple of Sumos for a picture with them (just when I thought my day couldn't possibly get any better...!!) Then we sat and ate by the surrounding gardens and pond (with Koi, ducks, and turtles!). It's so cool how there are such beautiful and serene gardens/parks planted randomly around a concrete paved metropolis. When it was coming up to 2pm we decided to head over to the stadium in order to pick out some good seats.
After taking our seat on the second floor balcony, we couldn't help but notice all of the other empty seats down below. We quickly came to the concensus that we should sneak down and grab some first class seats (priced at $100 +), to enjoy the close up view, until getting asked to move. This is an example of one instance where being a foreigner comes in handy; as foreigners we get to play dumb, and act innocent to get away with things like this. So there we were, in prime seats (approximately five rows from the wrestling ring), getting some great pictures, and truly appreciating the sport of Sumo. It was after about two hours, that we were finally caught and asked to move. At which point we excused ourselves, and moved back just a few rows, where we stayed on the first floor to watch the rest of the tournament. By 5:30pm, we had seen enough, and thought it would be wise to depart before the rush. Sophie and I reminisced about our awesome day as we walked to the station, and after 6hrs of walking around and 4hrs of watching Sumo, we both fell asleep on the train ride home. It was a long day, but I would venture to say it was one of the best experiences I've had in Japan thus far! I've certainly developed an appreciation for Sumo, and was thrilled to have partaken in this important part of Japanese culture. Tournaments like this only take place a certain time of year, and for a limited time; I feel quite lucky to have received (and taken) such an opportunity!
On that note, If you ever get the chance, I would thoroughly recommend checking out a Sumo competition!
This weekend should be an exciting one; tomorrow night I will be partying at one of Tokyo's biggest and best clubs: Ageha. I hear it's pretty amazing. Then I'm planning to be a tourist on Sunday and visit some key historical monuments in Kamakura.
Lotta love straight from Tokyo. xo
Saturday, May 15, 2010
~*~ Okinawa ~*~
I recently returned to Tokyo from a six day vacation in paradise, otherwise known as Okinawa. Okinawa is one of the South West islands of Japan and definitely the place to be if you're looking to enjoy hot and sunny weather, or a week of bliss lounging on the beach.
And so it begins...
All packed up and ready to go the night before, I was forced to decide between paying approximately $60 for a cab to the airport, or catching the last train of the night before in order to catch my flight (at 6:30am) the next day. It's times like these that I remind myself so much of my dad; I chose the latter. When I got to the airport I was stopped and questioned by security, after deciding that I was no real threat, a couple of the security guards walked me over to some benches for me to spend the night. Apparently flights stop completely for the duration of the night, so the entire airport was deserted. I was starving when I got there, only to find that all the restaurants and little shops were closed. At this point I knew it was going to be a looooong night. Thankfully I found a trusty vending machine close by where I discovered my new love of prawn flavoured chips! So delicious. (I thought ketchup chips were an inventive flavour - well, prawn is the new ketchup my friends) Let's hope this flavour makes its way to Canada! Haha, that could be wishful thinking, I guess I'll have to stock up. As I munched on my prawn flavoured chips, I decided that things weren't so bad afterall. Most of the night I squirmed around in discomfort on a rock hard bench; it seemed as though every time I managed to fall asleep, so would a body part. It was awful to say the least. Feeling like a zombie in the morning, I met up with Steph to check in. She greeted me with a big smile looking well slept and chipper for our flight.
Excited to see the stores open, I grabbed some food - which turned out to be a soggy sandwich (one reason to never purchase a prepackaged sandwich that contains tomato), I considered this a lesson learned.
Now onto the good stuff. The flight went by rather quickly (after a 13 hour flight to Tokyo though, just about any flight would seem short). Peering out the window we caught a nice view of Mt. Fuji! This was a nice distraction from my fear of dying which was triggered by the most turbulence I have ever experienced on a plane ride. I'm generally okay with flying, but extreme and continuous turbulence gets me a bit nervous. When our plane made its safe landing in Naha, Steph and I managed to navigate our way to the hostel via bus and foot. While walking we noticed that the area of Naha is less than aesthetically pleasing, but as long as we would find a beach somewhere we weren't overly bothered with this. When we arrived at the hostel 'Monkey's Inn' (one of the cheapest hostels in Okinawa) we met up with part of our 'vacation crew' Sophie, and the boys. We dropped off our things, and hitched a ride from the hostel owner to the beach. Beach number one was quite nice, the girls and I lounged around chatting, as the boys frolicked in the sand. Our first day of doing nothing was quite enjoyable. Later that night we head out to a festival near by and indulged in some drinks, as we stood in awe of some fireworks...before continuing the drinking party on a beach near our hostel. After a long day, I was happy to make it back to 'Monkey's Inn' where I slept like a baby.
On day two a few of the girls and I parted ways with the beach goers to visit the famous aquarium of Okinawa. We figured a day at the aquarium would be a nice change, since we would be spending the rest of the week on the beaches of Tokashiki. We kicked things off with an ice cream cone (I went with the Strawberry). Always good, and always refreshing. Then we went to a dolphin show! these adorable creatures never cease to amaze me (however, after watching a documentary on dolphin captivity and slaughter in Japan called "The Cove", I don't think I will ever attend another one). Then it was time to stroll through the aquarium. After getting around the somewhat depressing and disturbing elements of observing these majestic animals in captivity, I appreciated my upclose and personal encounter with these spectacular creatures. I favoured the sea turtles, and the tropical fish, and I really enjoyed the 'touch tank' where I happily played with some starfish. The whales also seemed to be a main attraction at this aquarium. On the way out I had my first taste of "Okonomiyaki", which translates to "what you like" or "what you want" and "yaki" meaning grilled. I couldn't name all of the ingredients, but I can certainly tell you that this was by far one of the best meals I have ever had; Just heavenly. (I even foresee this dish being rival of takoyaki). Our long day at the aquarium was followed by another long evening of drinks at 'Rehab'. For those of you planning an Okinawa getaway, allow me to advise you on sparing no time in Naha - there isn't much to see there. The beach is where it's at!
On day three, we packed up and rolled out. Hopped on a ferry to our next destination, the small island of Tokashiki. Here we reserved a nice big cabin, which ten of us would share for three nights. The owner of the cabin was nice enough to pick us up from the ferry port to drive us back to the cabin. He actually became our chauffeur for the rest of our stay, driving us to and from the beach daily, as well as restaurants (after calling to make our reservations) it was fantastic. We dropped off our things and cracked open a drink to unwind before being dropped off at the beach. -- The. Beach. Was. Breathtaking. -- I had never seen such clear blue water. Across the water were more gorgeous islands in the distance. Crystal clear water, palm trees, white sand, under a clear, and sunny sky - I really don't think we could have asked for more (Especially considering the weather forecast which predicted rain for the latter half of our trip!). After our first day at the beach, we discovered an amazing little restaurant near by which we frequented throughout our stay. I enjoyed a delicious tofu medley set (on three separate occasions throughout the week) yeah. It was that good. If there is one thing to be noted about Okinawa apart from its beaches, I would definitely say it's the food!
Day three - six mostly consisted of this routine: beach all day, drinks all night. I spent my time on the beach reading some school work; yeah, I'm a nerd. My logic is, a vacation is that much more enjoyable when you know you won't be stressed the minute you get back. In a weird way, feeling productive helped me to relax that much more. So there I laid, on a lovely beach, reading (and roasting) in the sun. So I got a wicked sunburn... but in my defense, I must say that for a tropical region, sunscreen is scarce, tiny in portion and extremely overpriced! This left me baffled! I paid nearly $7.00 for a pocket sized bottle of sunscreen. It seriously looks like it came from the Shoppers Drugmart travel section. I kid you not, a whopping 30ml bottle. Now you know to BYOS (bring your own sunscreen). For those big spenders out there, you can find yourself a 'normal' sized bottle for $20.00. On Thursday we sampled a different restaurant that our guest house owner drove us to. The chicken curry was fabulous (Japanese curry is much more sweet than spicy, but just as good as the spicy stuff). We revisted this place on our last night (Saturday) and I tried the fried fish. so.so.so. good! I didn't have one meal in Okinawa that I did not absolutely love.
On Friday we had to move to stay at a different guest house for the night, since someone had booked our initial place for that night. This seemed like a bigger inconvenience at first, but it worked out rather well. Friday was our first, and only day of rain. This turned out to be an okay thing since we were all in rough shape from all the partying. I slept pretty much all day, and I slept well. It was great. When I woke up, the girls and I walked around in the rain for a bit, and dined at our favourite little restaurant (the one with the tofu!). The beach and our restaurant were only a five minute walk from the new guest house. After lunch, I spent the late afternoon-evening reading and relaxing. Ahhh 'C'est la vie' !
The next day would be our last day at the beach. Thankfully we were graced with more sunshine! I did some trekking around to thoroughly appreciate the landscape and checkout the hidden areas; I ended up following a path which lead me to a lookout. From the top of this large hill, I got a 360 degree view of the beaches, and surrounding islands. I stayed up there for a bit just to take it all in, and try to believe where I was. When I came back down, Steph and I walked over to a little desert booth I had been eyeing. They served tasty treats called a "mango shave ice", and on this scorcher of a day, I couldn't have been happier to get my hands on one. Probably one of the more exotic desserts I've tried in Japan, containing mango, red beans, mochi balls (soft/chewy rice balls) shaved ice, and condensed milk. I love how the Japanese have compeltely re-defined red beans for me - from your average lentil, to a pleasant dessert.
After enjoying our last day on the beach, it was time to say goodbye and spend our final night back at the other (cabin style) guest house. There we circled around the table on our deck and enjoyed a night full of drinking games the way we did throughout most of the week.
I thought after enough drinks that night, I would have the best sleep of a lifetime. As it turned out my last sleep in this cabin was the worst. I must say, I'm not the camper/outdoors type, but I generally find it bearable. When we had first arrived I couldn't help but notice the geckos crawling around. However, I was informed that they are friendly, harmless and would eat the bugs in the cabin; so they were loud at night, but I learned to like them. The spiders, mosquitos, and mice on the otherhand...well they were another story. The mice were a new addition to our cabin, I figured some food/crumbs must have been left around, and maybe a door open while we were gone. At night I would listen to my ipod to tune out the irritating calls of various instects and those loud geckos, only this time it didn't work so well. I laid on my (rock hard) tatami bed, wide awake and waiting for something to crawl on me, or bite me. Though the only bites I got were mosquito bites, I almost had a heart attack when I felt something scramble across my body. Gecko or mouse, I can't say - but it scared me to death. It was at this point that I decided to get up, grab my blanket, and migrate. My friends....I spent my last night...sleeping on a table. hahaha I felt rescued by the sunrise, happy to pack up my things that morning and head back to the comfort of my own room!
We made a quick exit to catch the ferry back to the main land of Okinawa. The others caught an early flight, while Steph, Alice, Hanna and I had some time to kill. First we hit up Starbucks for a few hours...ohhhh Starbucks! how I missed you! (for those of you who don't know, I have been a devout Starbucks drinker for the past few years now) mmmm...grande-sugarfree-nonfat-vanilla-caramel-macchiato. a hot cup of perfection. what a treat. Then we browsed around some of the stores on the main street before making our way to the airport. At the airport we wandered around dipping into the samples at every food booth and purchased some post cards for our loved ones (which Steph and I worked diligently at writing on our plane ride back).
One ferry, one flight, and three train rides later I was finally back to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The radical contrast of Okinawa and Tokyo makes it so difficult to believe that I never even left the country.
The walk back from the station, through my neighborhood to my residence was monumental. I noticed something groundbreaking...for the first time since I'd been in Japan, an area felt familiar. I walked back on autopilot, taking the same route I take on a daily basis on my way to and from school; only this time - arriving back from Okinawa - it felt like home. I felt comfortable, and a sense of relief, and in the instant that I realized all of this I couldn't help but smile.
So that was my trip to Okinawa in a nutshell. A phenomenal vacation, and the perfect escape from school and Tokyo city life (not that there's anything wrong with life in Tokyo).
Next on the list: Kamakura (home of the world's largest outdoor Buddha) ! The fun never stops here in Japan.
As always, much love. Miss you all ! xoxo
And so it begins...
All packed up and ready to go the night before, I was forced to decide between paying approximately $60 for a cab to the airport, or catching the last train of the night before in order to catch my flight (at 6:30am) the next day. It's times like these that I remind myself so much of my dad; I chose the latter. When I got to the airport I was stopped and questioned by security, after deciding that I was no real threat, a couple of the security guards walked me over to some benches for me to spend the night. Apparently flights stop completely for the duration of the night, so the entire airport was deserted. I was starving when I got there, only to find that all the restaurants and little shops were closed. At this point I knew it was going to be a looooong night. Thankfully I found a trusty vending machine close by where I discovered my new love of prawn flavoured chips! So delicious. (I thought ketchup chips were an inventive flavour - well, prawn is the new ketchup my friends) Let's hope this flavour makes its way to Canada! Haha, that could be wishful thinking, I guess I'll have to stock up. As I munched on my prawn flavoured chips, I decided that things weren't so bad afterall. Most of the night I squirmed around in discomfort on a rock hard bench; it seemed as though every time I managed to fall asleep, so would a body part. It was awful to say the least. Feeling like a zombie in the morning, I met up with Steph to check in. She greeted me with a big smile looking well slept and chipper for our flight.
Excited to see the stores open, I grabbed some food - which turned out to be a soggy sandwich (one reason to never purchase a prepackaged sandwich that contains tomato), I considered this a lesson learned.
Now onto the good stuff. The flight went by rather quickly (after a 13 hour flight to Tokyo though, just about any flight would seem short). Peering out the window we caught a nice view of Mt. Fuji! This was a nice distraction from my fear of dying which was triggered by the most turbulence I have ever experienced on a plane ride. I'm generally okay with flying, but extreme and continuous turbulence gets me a bit nervous. When our plane made its safe landing in Naha, Steph and I managed to navigate our way to the hostel via bus and foot. While walking we noticed that the area of Naha is less than aesthetically pleasing, but as long as we would find a beach somewhere we weren't overly bothered with this. When we arrived at the hostel 'Monkey's Inn' (one of the cheapest hostels in Okinawa) we met up with part of our 'vacation crew' Sophie, and the boys. We dropped off our things, and hitched a ride from the hostel owner to the beach. Beach number one was quite nice, the girls and I lounged around chatting, as the boys frolicked in the sand. Our first day of doing nothing was quite enjoyable. Later that night we head out to a festival near by and indulged in some drinks, as we stood in awe of some fireworks...before continuing the drinking party on a beach near our hostel. After a long day, I was happy to make it back to 'Monkey's Inn' where I slept like a baby.
On day two a few of the girls and I parted ways with the beach goers to visit the famous aquarium of Okinawa. We figured a day at the aquarium would be a nice change, since we would be spending the rest of the week on the beaches of Tokashiki. We kicked things off with an ice cream cone (I went with the Strawberry). Always good, and always refreshing. Then we went to a dolphin show! these adorable creatures never cease to amaze me (however, after watching a documentary on dolphin captivity and slaughter in Japan called "The Cove", I don't think I will ever attend another one). Then it was time to stroll through the aquarium. After getting around the somewhat depressing and disturbing elements of observing these majestic animals in captivity, I appreciated my upclose and personal encounter with these spectacular creatures. I favoured the sea turtles, and the tropical fish, and I really enjoyed the 'touch tank' where I happily played with some starfish. The whales also seemed to be a main attraction at this aquarium. On the way out I had my first taste of "Okonomiyaki", which translates to "what you like" or "what you want" and "yaki" meaning grilled. I couldn't name all of the ingredients, but I can certainly tell you that this was by far one of the best meals I have ever had; Just heavenly. (I even foresee this dish being rival of takoyaki). Our long day at the aquarium was followed by another long evening of drinks at 'Rehab'. For those of you planning an Okinawa getaway, allow me to advise you on sparing no time in Naha - there isn't much to see there. The beach is where it's at!
On day three, we packed up and rolled out. Hopped on a ferry to our next destination, the small island of Tokashiki. Here we reserved a nice big cabin, which ten of us would share for three nights. The owner of the cabin was nice enough to pick us up from the ferry port to drive us back to the cabin. He actually became our chauffeur for the rest of our stay, driving us to and from the beach daily, as well as restaurants (after calling to make our reservations) it was fantastic. We dropped off our things and cracked open a drink to unwind before being dropped off at the beach. -- The. Beach. Was. Breathtaking. -- I had never seen such clear blue water. Across the water were more gorgeous islands in the distance. Crystal clear water, palm trees, white sand, under a clear, and sunny sky - I really don't think we could have asked for more (Especially considering the weather forecast which predicted rain for the latter half of our trip!). After our first day at the beach, we discovered an amazing little restaurant near by which we frequented throughout our stay. I enjoyed a delicious tofu medley set (on three separate occasions throughout the week) yeah. It was that good. If there is one thing to be noted about Okinawa apart from its beaches, I would definitely say it's the food!
Day three - six mostly consisted of this routine: beach all day, drinks all night. I spent my time on the beach reading some school work; yeah, I'm a nerd. My logic is, a vacation is that much more enjoyable when you know you won't be stressed the minute you get back. In a weird way, feeling productive helped me to relax that much more. So there I laid, on a lovely beach, reading (and roasting) in the sun. So I got a wicked sunburn... but in my defense, I must say that for a tropical region, sunscreen is scarce, tiny in portion and extremely overpriced! This left me baffled! I paid nearly $7.00 for a pocket sized bottle of sunscreen. It seriously looks like it came from the Shoppers Drugmart travel section. I kid you not, a whopping 30ml bottle. Now you know to BYOS (bring your own sunscreen). For those big spenders out there, you can find yourself a 'normal' sized bottle for $20.00. On Thursday we sampled a different restaurant that our guest house owner drove us to. The chicken curry was fabulous (Japanese curry is much more sweet than spicy, but just as good as the spicy stuff). We revisted this place on our last night (Saturday) and I tried the fried fish. so.so.so. good! I didn't have one meal in Okinawa that I did not absolutely love.
On Friday we had to move to stay at a different guest house for the night, since someone had booked our initial place for that night. This seemed like a bigger inconvenience at first, but it worked out rather well. Friday was our first, and only day of rain. This turned out to be an okay thing since we were all in rough shape from all the partying. I slept pretty much all day, and I slept well. It was great. When I woke up, the girls and I walked around in the rain for a bit, and dined at our favourite little restaurant (the one with the tofu!). The beach and our restaurant were only a five minute walk from the new guest house. After lunch, I spent the late afternoon-evening reading and relaxing. Ahhh 'C'est la vie' !
The next day would be our last day at the beach. Thankfully we were graced with more sunshine! I did some trekking around to thoroughly appreciate the landscape and checkout the hidden areas; I ended up following a path which lead me to a lookout. From the top of this large hill, I got a 360 degree view of the beaches, and surrounding islands. I stayed up there for a bit just to take it all in, and try to believe where I was. When I came back down, Steph and I walked over to a little desert booth I had been eyeing. They served tasty treats called a "mango shave ice", and on this scorcher of a day, I couldn't have been happier to get my hands on one. Probably one of the more exotic desserts I've tried in Japan, containing mango, red beans, mochi balls (soft/chewy rice balls) shaved ice, and condensed milk. I love how the Japanese have compeltely re-defined red beans for me - from your average lentil, to a pleasant dessert.
After enjoying our last day on the beach, it was time to say goodbye and spend our final night back at the other (cabin style) guest house. There we circled around the table on our deck and enjoyed a night full of drinking games the way we did throughout most of the week.
I thought after enough drinks that night, I would have the best sleep of a lifetime. As it turned out my last sleep in this cabin was the worst. I must say, I'm not the camper/outdoors type, but I generally find it bearable. When we had first arrived I couldn't help but notice the geckos crawling around. However, I was informed that they are friendly, harmless and would eat the bugs in the cabin; so they were loud at night, but I learned to like them. The spiders, mosquitos, and mice on the otherhand...well they were another story. The mice were a new addition to our cabin, I figured some food/crumbs must have been left around, and maybe a door open while we were gone. At night I would listen to my ipod to tune out the irritating calls of various instects and those loud geckos, only this time it didn't work so well. I laid on my (rock hard) tatami bed, wide awake and waiting for something to crawl on me, or bite me. Though the only bites I got were mosquito bites, I almost had a heart attack when I felt something scramble across my body. Gecko or mouse, I can't say - but it scared me to death. It was at this point that I decided to get up, grab my blanket, and migrate. My friends....I spent my last night...sleeping on a table. hahaha I felt rescued by the sunrise, happy to pack up my things that morning and head back to the comfort of my own room!
We made a quick exit to catch the ferry back to the main land of Okinawa. The others caught an early flight, while Steph, Alice, Hanna and I had some time to kill. First we hit up Starbucks for a few hours...ohhhh Starbucks! how I missed you! (for those of you who don't know, I have been a devout Starbucks drinker for the past few years now) mmmm...grande-sugarfree-nonfat-vanilla-caramel-macchiato. a hot cup of perfection. what a treat. Then we browsed around some of the stores on the main street before making our way to the airport. At the airport we wandered around dipping into the samples at every food booth and purchased some post cards for our loved ones (which Steph and I worked diligently at writing on our plane ride back).
One ferry, one flight, and three train rides later I was finally back to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The radical contrast of Okinawa and Tokyo makes it so difficult to believe that I never even left the country.
The walk back from the station, through my neighborhood to my residence was monumental. I noticed something groundbreaking...for the first time since I'd been in Japan, an area felt familiar. I walked back on autopilot, taking the same route I take on a daily basis on my way to and from school; only this time - arriving back from Okinawa - it felt like home. I felt comfortable, and a sense of relief, and in the instant that I realized all of this I couldn't help but smile.
So that was my trip to Okinawa in a nutshell. A phenomenal vacation, and the perfect escape from school and Tokyo city life (not that there's anything wrong with life in Tokyo).
Next on the list: Kamakura (home of the world's largest outdoor Buddha) ! The fun never stops here in Japan.
As always, much love. Miss you all ! xoxo
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