Japan Trip Diary 4

Dear Diary,

Today is January 30, 2014, Thursdays. THURSDAY. The coldness of the morning woke me up. It’s a little foggy and I think it will rain… Oh please no. I want to enjoy my day and I will not be able to do so if it will rain.

My breakfast? Melon Pan! The taste is addicting. I couldn't stop myself from eating this bread. This is somehow memorable to me, why? Because of Shana from the Anime Shakugan No Shana. :)

My Aunt suggested that we should take the day slowly because she’s a little tired. Frankly speaking, me too, but I only have a limited time and I wanted to make my day worth it.

I missed the phone call of my friend Rie so I decided to call her back. She asked about my plans for today and I told her that I didn’t have any plan. She suggested Harajuku and Shibuya. However, I’m worried about her condition because she just came back from the hospital. I didn’t want to be a burden to her. However, she insisted on meeting me so I said yes and she told me the meeting place.

It really rained today. Everything was so wet. We didn’t have an umbrella so we bought somewhere. I usually love rainy days but not today. I’m disappointed with something and I couldn’t focus on today’s agenda.

Fortunately, Rie is such a good communicator. She’s very sociable and my Aunt loves her. We enjoyed talking with her, eating with her, shopping with her… just being with her.

Here's a short video with Rie-chan from my Aunt's camera. :)



Rie made me eat “Natto”, before I tried it, she warned me that a lot of foreigners don’t like the taste of this food. When I ate it… I was SPEECHLESS. I didn’t know how I am going to explain what I tasted. The smell is okay but the slimy and sticky feeling were a little too much for my taste buds. I was on the verge of crying and vomiting (this is a little embarrassing, sorry) when Rie told me to drink my green tea. Nevertheless, it was a GREAT experience. Will I try again? Sure… I like adventure. LOL.

My Aunt is a SUSHI-HOLIC. Back in Canada, she always told me that she enjoys eating sushi in a Japanese Restaurant there. I finally understand her, I was not a fan of RAW fish but my opinion was changed today. I like eel.

It was around 4:00 pm when we said our goodbye to Rie. She needed to go back home early. We are very thankful to her for accompanying us today. We enjoyed our lunch date with her. My Aunt is very thankful too… She gained another friend.

Back at hotel… I checked the foods given to me by Rie. Strawberry cake and Dorayaki. I suddenly remember Doraemon… haha! LOL. SO HAPPY! I’ll eat them in Manila on Saturday. I want to preserve them since it came from my friend Rie.

(As I am uploading this.... I feel HUNGRY!!!!!)

I felt very hot all of sudden and I insisted on taking off my coat tonight. We will have dinner with my former student Mr. Tatsuya and his two friends who were former students in our Academy.

(I miss this view. As I am typing this... I'm imagining the smell of clean air outside, the cold wind... and the few people walking.)

We waited for him in front of the hotel’s entrance. I was so happy to see him! We took the train to Shinagawa. It was a little crowded. Tatsuya was not very familiar with the place… he told us, so it was a little fun to get lost. Haha!

To be honest, I'm very worried tonight. I’m supposed to meet other people after dinner but it’s already 7:00 pm and I know that our dinner with Tatsuya will take a long time. Internet connection is very rare so I didn’t know how I am going to contact them. Tatsuya offered his phone but I didn’t know their numbers… so I gave up on meeting them. I decided to enjoy the company of Tatsuya, Tom and Jun.

(Alex looks so happy in this picture!)

Our three Ninjas. Tom, Alex (Tatsuya) and Jun. All of them are professionals but they are very funny! We enjoyed eating and casually talking with them. We talked about almost everything. They also have presents for us. I terribly like my Kumamon’s fan. Kumamon is very memorable since I drew that character before Alex left the Philippines and I really thought that he was from Kumamoto because he was wearing his Kumamon’s sweat shirt during his first class with me.

They taught my Aunt how to properly hold the chopsticks and finally!!!! She can now use them with ease.

We were supposed to ride the train together but it was so crowded around 10:30 pm so they accompanied us until we can get a taxi.

I had a GREAT time with them. I’m very very very HAPPY! EXTREMELY HAPPY today… BUT, something’s missing. I don’t know what… I’m bothered.

At the hotel, I checked my phone and there was a message from my friend. He said to meet him at Shimbashi station’s platform… the message was almost 3 hours ago. I don’t know how to go there! I don’t even know how to ride the train. They always say that it’s easy, but it’s difficult for me. Aside from that, my Aunt will KILL ME if I go there alone. She warned me that If I go there tonight she will definitely freak out and tell my mother about this… and she will leave me in Japan. I was very scared because she was so SERIOUS.

I talked to my friend, the friend of my friend. He told me that he could meet me after his job but in Shimbashi but it’s IMPOSSIBLE for me and it would be inconvenient for him to go to my place. He asked me if I am free tomorrow at lunch but it would be IMPOSSIBLE again since we need to change out hotel for the Airport Limousine. So see, he’s not available and he’s an extremely busy person. I don’t want to disturb him that’s why I decided to asked the home address of our friend to send the thing that he asked me to buy for him… I concluded that our situation is hopeless.

It’s sad. However, I still don’t know what might happen tomorrow… so I will not lose hope.

Good night. Bath time and I'm craving for some oranges now. See you tomorrow.

 

Sincerely,

Erica/Erix

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It's Sunday! March 30, 2014. Rest day for me. I will read and try to finish the book that I'm currently reading. My current addiction is History. I'll share my thoughts next time.

Things that made me happy this week:

1. Laughing with my students. You know, every time they laugh at my jokes and call me a "Funny" person... it makes me happy because it means... I have a sense of humor. Because, it is so difficult to make a foreigner laugh. It's an achievement for me. haha.
2. Being appreciated by my straight A junior high school student. He said that we are better than his teachers. He appreciated our efforts to make him understand the lessons and he likes our friendly approach to him.
3. Melon Pan! After a long time looking for this bread... I found it in a nearby bakeshop. LUCKY!
4. Reading history books. I like feeding my mind.
5. Receiving messages from a friend whom I thought already forgotten about me. It made me happy.

Have a nice day Everyone! Tomorrow is... Monday again. Let's work hard!