Friday- July 25, 2008

Second Goodbye to Nagoya!
I knew my time in Japan was going to be short, only an 8 day vacation to the country I already had so many good memories in. As the day came that I to leave Nagoya again I just thought what a wonderful time I had. In these short days I was able to have so much fun, eat so much good food, and spend time with a special friend. I started in Tokyo and had a good time at Disney Sea, then headed to Nagoya and watched a Japanese baseball game, went to a water park, and got to know Miho's family better.

I have been the recipient of so much kindness and hospitality. Let's put it this way, I planed to spend close to 900 dollars in Japan, but because of everyone's kindness I came back with over 300 dollars. A lot of it was due to the planning of Miho, but my experiences showed me the Japanese are such giving people and treat their guests so well.

On this last day together with Miho, I just thanked her for the wonderful person she is and the good memories we had together. We both agreed that 8 days was short as we probably won't see each other for half a year, but we both felt it was the right amount of time to be together for a vacation because we both needed to get back to work. I enjoyed all the cool and expensive things, like eating at nice restaurants and stuff but it was the simple times together like eating a cheap, delicious lunch at a department store.
It was little things like animal shaped pastries that made Japan so fun.

Thursday- July 24, 2008

Shopping and Yakiniku
After another Japanese breakfast, me and Miho went out to buy presents for people back home in Hawaii and California. We went to the outlet malls in Okazaki and it reminded me a lot of the outlet stores in America. The best thing I bought was a belt / necklace accessory for my sister for her birthday. I looked for other things, but there really wasn't too many cool things. But, we had a nice lunch together and then headed back to Toyota to eat dinner with Miho's parents.

At night we went to a Yakiniku restaurant. It was really good and what I have been waiting for. This restaurant didn't disappoint. The food was good and there was a lot of it.
Miho's mom, Miho, and me in front of the Yakiniku restaurant.

At night, me and Miho continued shopping at Jusco, a department store. I bought books for my older sister and also got free slippers from the bookstore for some reason. They were just handing them out. I also wanted to buy a kanji game for Nintendo DS, but I didn't, but I should have.

Another nice day in Japan. I actually didn't buy a lot of things from Japan. Instead, Miho's mom bought a lot of things that I requested. She bought my sister magazines and gave my brother a Seiko watch, and gave my sister's daughter dresses. She was so nice. I don't think I can repay the kindness that I have been received on this trip.

Wednesday- July 23, 2008

Laguna Swimming Pool
Today after another full breakfast me and Miho set out to go Laguna. Last time we went there we ate sushi and did some shopping, but this time we went to go to the water park.
It was pretty crowded for a hot summer day, but I had so much fun. The pools were pretty normal. The cool thing was the metal bottom floors and the wave pool. There also was a long water slide that was pretty fun. We went down it twice.
The thing I noticed was that I was really big and really hairy compared to the other Japanese guys. I told Miho I have lots of muscles, but she said she rather have me loose weight.
Me and Miho in front of Laguna water park.

After the pool we went to Miho's older sister's house to visit her and her daughter Yuna. Yuna was so cute sleeping. Miho's sister Sayaka is such a good mom and a good cook. She made really good cheese cake. She can do everything, and her husband is such a great guy too.

Little Yuna sleeping. Yuna is really cuter than this, but this picture is funny.

At night, we stopped by Eikaiwa, or English conversation class, at the church. A lot of people were there and I had a good time learning with the students. Everyone is so nice in Japan.

Tuesday- July 22, 2008

Visiting Nagoya University and the baseball game
It was sooo good to go back to Nagoya University, the place that brought me to Japan and to be with my old friends and meet the new students. I got there in the mid-morning and met some of the old students there. We ate together at my request at the cafeteria. I got chicken, rice, salad, tofu, and pudding all for 563 yen. I then got to meet with Professor Endo and caught up with him on many subjects. He is always so nice and supportive. He even put up my graduation picture I sent him in an email in the hallway.
Like always the students were really busy with their experiments and their work. I talked to the master's students who found jobs. None of them are really going to be working with biochemistry topics like they studied in college but their next few years are set so I'm really happy for them.
The gang at Nagoya University. It was good to see many of them and what how they are doing. I will miss them, but hopefully I can visit them again before they graduate.

At night, I went with Miho to the Chunichi Dragons and Hiroshima Carp baseball game with Miho. My friends at the university found a way to get tickets even though they said they were sold out online. We became fans of the visiting Hiroshima team because those were the best good seats left. The Dragons won the Japan league championship last year but this year they're not as strong. But, the Carps are even worse. The Dragon's killed them 8-1.
We enjoyed the ambiance of a Japanese baseball game. They fans are so enthusiastic and I had a great time. I won a cool towel from the scratch cards they handed out as you enter the stadium. I was really happy, but I couldn't use it because I already bought a towel for the visiting team and was sitting in their section.
Chunichi Dragons vs. Hiroshima Carps. We became the visiting Hiroshima fans. The Hiroshima fans were really into their cheering and flag waving even though the Dragons won 8-1. Should've stayed with the home team.Baseball food. Chicken sticks, Takoyaki, and french fries.

Later that night I returned back to the University and talked about a combined research project and said my last goodbyes. I hope to see many of them again before they all graduate.

Monday- July 21, 2008

The Best Food!
Today is a Ocean Day, a Japanese holiday. So we planned to go to a pool instead because the oceans in Japan just aren't that pretty compared to Hawaii. But, in the morning we decided to change our plans and go with Miho's father to work in the garden of his late mother. We drove there and it was hot. We only worked for 1 and 1/2 hours, but it was pretty exhausting. But, afterward we went to "Laguna" and ate a delicious sushi meal. The best thing there was "anago." I have never eaten it before, but boy was it good. I think it's a type of eel, and now it's my new favorite for sushi restaurants.Miho, her father and me eating sushi at Laguna. Anago was the best.

It was a wonderful lunch and for dinner we were able to go to Reina's house for dinner. Reina is Miho's old classmate when they went to nutrition school together in Nagoya. Seeing how they interact shows why they were good friends and still are. The food was super good. Sushi for lunch was really good and I was really happy, but having another delicious dinner was a plus. While Reina and her family was making dinner. I got to play Wii with Reina's daughter, Yuuna, who is really cute. I felt happy winning Mariokart because I was losing at first. They also had four dogs there that were so playful and had so much energy.
Yuuna and me playing Wii MarioKart. I'm so grateful for the innovation of this machine.
The four doggies were very cute. This grandpa was the oldest one and was losing its hair.Reina and her family, ready to eat the super good udon and tempura.

We just missed the fireworks at night which would have topped off a beautiful day, but I enjoyed all of the good food. I indulged all day.

Sunday- July 20, 2008

Church and old friends
Today we left for church early and I just slept in one of the classrooms before church started. I was still on California time waiting for my body to adjust. But before leaving like every other day Miho's mom made breakfast. It was like eating lunch for breakfast, and fish with every meal.Miho's mom's breakfast. Every morning there was fish and I loved it. I loved it so much I gained a lot of lbs.

Church was nice and I got to meet a lot of nice people in the Toyota Ward. After church there was a birthday potluck for all the people who were born in the month of July. The people at Toyota Ward have been doing this for over 27 years and they keep the tradition every month. The food was really good, so I can see why they continue to do it.

After church and a big lunch, I ate dinner with my old mission trainer at Miho's house. Of course Miho's mom made a delicious meal and we all had fun. Miho's older sister and husband also bought me some gifts. I was so happy and realized the kindness in the Japanese culture. I gave them a small present yesterday and they always repay the favor with something better.

After dinner we had a nice activity prepared by my old friend, Tomoya Ohori. I first met him about 5 years ago when I first came to Japan and went to Mito-city together to work as a missionary. The fact that we still are friends and still meet up just boggles my mind. I also met his girlfriend who is so nice and cooks good food.

I just felt so lucky tonight to be surround by such good people. I hope to come back to Japan again someday because of the people that I have met here.

Saturday- July 19, 2008

Basketball and Crabs???

After the long bus ride home we took a nap before going to play basketball with some friends. I was exhausted. I stayed at Miho's friends house (Bishop Maeda) the whole time I was in Toyota.

After a good rest we then had to travel for one hour to go to a gym to play basketball. We stopped on the way to pick up Miho's friends and got lost on the way to the gym even though we had a navigation system. We got lost a little on the wayback too.
All I could think of was how hot it was in Toyota. Outside was hot, and inside the gym was even hotter.

Basketball was really fun. I was way rusty but at least we all had fun. I could hardly shoot, but I could bully some people because I was wider than them.

We then had some fun on the interesting playground equipment that was on the athletic field grounds.
Outside the gym with all the guys and girls who played basketball.A really high rope jungle gym. It was a little scary, but other little kids were getting pretty high.

At night, I met Miho's parents and sisters and brother at a fancy dinner. Miho's mother said we are going to eat crabs in a castle before I came, and I was like what is she talking about. Well we really did eat crabs in a castle. The restaurant was in the shape of a castle and the food was really expensive. Miho's family is very nice, and I learned a lot from the dinner discussion to say the least. The food was good and at night I went back to make a chocolate trifle for the potluck lunch at the church the next day.

Friday- July 18, 2008

Disney Sea Baby!

After a nice start to the morning me and Miho headed out to Chiba and Disney Sea. I went there 3 years ago after I finished my mission and my family came to pick me up. We were worried that it would be crowded because summer vacation began that day in Japan. When we entered into the gate we thought oh no there was going to be lines for the rides. But, lining up in the lines there wasn't that much of a wait. When I came last time my sister Holly, pushed me on a wheelchair around the entire theme park. I injured my leg so that helped us to get to the front of the lines quicker. This time we just had to use our head and fast pass. But, we didn't really need the fast pass. The lines were just 10 to 20 minutes so we rode every ride we wanted to and saw all the shows we wanted to.

The things that I was impressed with was the Big Band show and the Water fight thing with Chip and Dale. These were the two things I didn't see last time. Also, the tower of Terror wasn't there before, but I got to ride that at California Adventures. The setup of Disney Sea and Tokyo Disney is very similar to Disneyland and California Adventures. California Adventures is more for grown ups and so is Disney Sea. They both have tower of terror and faster roller coasters. Bug's life is like the Aladdin show. The airplane rides are somewhat similar. The big difference is Mickey and Minnie speak in Japanese.

Here are a few fun things:

The 25th year anniversary celebration was going on and they made this purikura (small photos) mural. Look closely and you can see Japanese faces in Goofy.

This was the Chip and Dale water fun. The boat just blasted spectators with water. It was pretty crazy. They kept saying you're going to get wet more that you are imagining. And guess what we did. A cute show performance with Mickey and Minnie. There were good rides, good food, and good entertainment. A full day of fun.

Me and Miho and the front of Disney Sea. Yes, I'm getting fat already, the food is so good.

After we finished our fun Disney experience we took the bus back to Toyota city where Miho is from. Our time in Tokyo was short, but it was back to Aichi and Nagoya to see some old friends and meet new ones.

Thursday- July 17, 2008

Back to Japan
It has been over 6 months since I have been to Japan. The first thing I thought when I stepped out of Narita airport was, "wow it's super hot." Not just hot but the humidity was really thick.

I decide to go back to Japan to visity my girlfriend. (If you didn't know by now I have a girlfriend in Japan and her name is Miho) After a nice flight on JAL -Japan Airlines- watching 3 movies and enjoying the hot towles I arrived in Tokyo. The funny thing is that Narita airport isn't in Tokyo but in Chiba. It took about a 1 and 1/2 hour bus ride to arrive at Tokyo station. I then took the train to Hiroo to meet my friend Manami and her mother. We then went to Roppongi hills for lunch. I guess Roppongi hills is like the Beverly Hills of Japan where all the celeberties have houses.

We ate sushi together and it was super super good. The sushi I had in college shouldn't even be called sushi because the seafood in japan is so much better.


Eating sushi with Manami. What a good lunch the first thing back in Japan.

Onuma-Okaasan. Looking over Tokyo city together. Tokyo tower in the background.

After eating sushi we went to the top of the Roppongi shopping center to view Tokyo city. Everywhere you look you see buildings, in all directions.

After a nice lunch I was in a bit of trouble as I was suppose to meet Miho at Tokyo station but there wasn't enough time. So instead I had her come to Hiroo, but it was hard to get in touch with her. I finally had my friend call her and then we met up. We went to the Tokyo Japan temple and then had a nice dinner together at the convenice store, one of my favortie places for food in Japan, did some planning for the next day, and went to bed. It felt good to be back in Japan. Even though I was gone for half a year not much changed at all.

Monday- December 24, 2007