The Weekend Review - International Whirlwind of Visits!
It. Is. COLD.
When you think of Japan, you think of Tokyo, video games, anime, crazy fashion and Samurai, right? Little would many suspect that this high tech wonderland would be so "backwards" by other standards. Like, say, heating.
I am wearing a t-shirt, lambswool sweater, button-up wool sweater, fleece, tights and two pairs of socks under my pants and have a hot packet in my sleeve. I am freezing. I know we have had unusually warm winters in Japan these last two years, but I do not know if I could survive anything colder without having insulation (and quite often no heat inside). When I explain how cold my home is to people, their reaction is often that I should be used to this... but seriously... no heat?! I think I prefer the snow. I can see my breath inside.
Enough whining, though. Onto the weekend... it was busy, but I had a good time.
FD on the DL
I went for a long run after work on Friday, had Chinese for din and stayed in with DVDs. I had been pretty pumped about getting out and doing something on Friday evening, but after the previous weekend and really feeling the stress of the long week, keeping the evening low-key was honestly the most perfect plan I could have asked for. And besides, I finally got to see the first episode of Wired. I am not usually huge on police dramas, but I like it so far and am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the season. A friend of mine ordered Season 1 two weeks ago and has since watched that and the second season... so I think it's going to be good (and yeah, it's cold, so a good excuse to stay in with DVDs, no?).
The Taipei Crew Comes a'Visitin
I met Hong, who came into Akashi from Gifu Prefecture on the Shinkansen, on Saturday morning. I overslept a bit ended up being late, so instead of bringing her back to Kelly's apartment to drop off her things, I took her bag, showed her how to get to Himeji Castle (her destination for the afternoon) and made plans to meet up later on. I spent the afternoon essentially running errands and got home just in time to meet Hong and get ready to go out for dinner in Kobe. We went to a surprise birthday dinner at an Indian restaraunt in Sannomiya. The food was good, but the portions were so small and prices were high compared to some other places I've been, but it was fun to catch up with friends and the surprise went well.
Outcome of the First Charity Event
The concept of face (representing yourself and protecting your dignity and that of those you represent) is important in Japan. We stopped one of the that hosted our charity event last week to pick up the donation, and ended up walking to all three venues to show our face and say thank you (showing your appreciation and keeping face). The great news is that we earned over $500 towards the cause on this one event. I'll be posting more on other charity events and fundraisers I am working on soon, but that money will go a long way for a good cause. After the stop at the bars, Hong and I headed back with one more friend. I was supposed to run a 10k with Lena on Sunday morning so I needed to get back early, but since my running buddy was sick, Hong decided to run it in her place. Because we were both getting up early, I decided I'd just crash at Kelly's too... our friend Robyn missed her last train and came back a bit later with Robyn, so it wasn't the earliest of nights (especially for a race day), but we just hung out and chatted for a while. I like living alone, but do miss having people around, especially housemates, at times; it was fun to do the "slumber party" thing again.
Harimacho Road Race
The race on Sunday morning went well. I remember being so nervous about it last year, especially since it was the precursor to my first full marathon and I had all the knee issues, but I knew the route this time around and wasn't at all concerned about the distance (10k). We started off with Tam, Clayton, Hong and I running and chatting, but Hong and I broke off after a few kilometers and started going faster. I was trying to keep my training pace and kept telling Hong I needed to slow down, but once we passed 7k, Hong made a comment about how I was going faster. I guess I decided to just screw it and run. We ended up picking up the pace as the snow started to fall (never sets, though), passing probably 10 people in the last 2k, sprinting at the end, and - of course - I upheld the tradition of clicking my heels as I passed the finish line. We came in at an hour, one minute and three seconds, which isn't amazing, but isn't bad at all... faster than the marathon pace!
Playing Tour Guide in KOBE
The race finished later than expected, so we were a little late getting to Sannomiya to meet JJ, the other friend from Taipei (living in Korea) who was visiting for the day. He didn't have a phone here, but thankfully I had given him my mobile info, so he just went to an internet cafe and emailed my phone when we were late (we use email instead of text messaging on cell phones here). Hong, Robyn and JJ threw their stuff in lockers and we headed through the shopping arcade and posh districts of Kobe over to Nanjingmachi, or China Town. We were planning to go to a tabehodai buffet, Sky Buffet, for dinner, but the street food in China Town is just too tempting! We spent a while testing out the different dumplings and rolls before moving on toward the harbor. We showed our guests Meriken Park, the Hanshin Earthquake Memorial with preserved rubble, the black ship at the harbor, walked through the romantic, shopping area around Harborland and then made our way to the station. Hong had to get back to Gifu, so we said our goodbyes there, but the rest of the group (me, Kelly, JJ and Robyn) went back to Sannomiya to meet up with Caoimhe and Tu and go to dinner.
I almost didn't go to dinner at Sky Buffet because I was getting tired, wasn't that hungry and had been to another birthday dinner for the same person the day before, but I swear I change the moment I step into that place. Even without drinking, the view is the best in Kobe and the buffet isn't bad (or too expensive for an All You Can Eat). We had a good time just relaxing and having dinner. It was a really good time, but it really is funny who you meet in life. JJ and Hong are a lot of fun, and I think Hong might even come back to hang out again next month... wish I had met them last year. They're interesting travel buddies. Anyways, once we all parted ways (half on the JR line and half on SANYO to see which was faster... got back the same time), I essentially hung out and watched a movie for a while before calling it a day. Not a bad weekend.
When you think of Japan, you think of Tokyo, video games, anime, crazy fashion and Samurai, right? Little would many suspect that this high tech wonderland would be so "backwards" by other standards. Like, say, heating.
I am wearing a t-shirt, lambswool sweater, button-up wool sweater, fleece, tights and two pairs of socks under my pants and have a hot packet in my sleeve. I am freezing. I know we have had unusually warm winters in Japan these last two years, but I do not know if I could survive anything colder without having insulation (and quite often no heat inside). When I explain how cold my home is to people, their reaction is often that I should be used to this... but seriously... no heat?! I think I prefer the snow. I can see my breath inside.
Enough whining, though. Onto the weekend... it was busy, but I had a good time.
FD on the DL
I went for a long run after work on Friday, had Chinese for din and stayed in with DVDs. I had been pretty pumped about getting out and doing something on Friday evening, but after the previous weekend and really feeling the stress of the long week, keeping the evening low-key was honestly the most perfect plan I could have asked for. And besides, I finally got to see the first episode of Wired. I am not usually huge on police dramas, but I like it so far and am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the season. A friend of mine ordered Season 1 two weeks ago and has since watched that and the second season... so I think it's going to be good (and yeah, it's cold, so a good excuse to stay in with DVDs, no?).
The Taipei Crew Comes a'Visitin
I met Hong, who came into Akashi from Gifu Prefecture on the Shinkansen, on Saturday morning. I overslept a bit ended up being late, so instead of bringing her back to Kelly's apartment to drop off her things, I took her bag, showed her how to get to Himeji Castle (her destination for the afternoon) and made plans to meet up later on. I spent the afternoon essentially running errands and got home just in time to meet Hong and get ready to go out for dinner in Kobe. We went to a surprise birthday dinner at an Indian restaraunt in Sannomiya. The food was good, but the portions were so small and prices were high compared to some other places I've been, but it was fun to catch up with friends and the surprise went well.
Outcome of the First Charity Event
The concept of face (representing yourself and protecting your dignity and that of those you represent) is important in Japan. We stopped one of the that hosted our charity event last week to pick up the donation, and ended up walking to all three venues to show our face and say thank you (showing your appreciation and keeping face). The great news is that we earned over $500 towards the cause on this one event. I'll be posting more on other charity events and fundraisers I am working on soon, but that money will go a long way for a good cause. After the stop at the bars, Hong and I headed back with one more friend. I was supposed to run a 10k with Lena on Sunday morning so I needed to get back early, but since my running buddy was sick, Hong decided to run it in her place. Because we were both getting up early, I decided I'd just crash at Kelly's too... our friend Robyn missed her last train and came back a bit later with Robyn, so it wasn't the earliest of nights (especially for a race day), but we just hung out and chatted for a while. I like living alone, but do miss having people around, especially housemates, at times; it was fun to do the "slumber party" thing again.
Harimacho Road Race
The race on Sunday morning went well. I remember being so nervous about it last year, especially since it was the precursor to my first full marathon and I had all the knee issues, but I knew the route this time around and wasn't at all concerned about the distance (10k). We started off with Tam, Clayton, Hong and I running and chatting, but Hong and I broke off after a few kilometers and started going faster. I was trying to keep my training pace and kept telling Hong I needed to slow down, but once we passed 7k, Hong made a comment about how I was going faster. I guess I decided to just screw it and run. We ended up picking up the pace as the snow started to fall (never sets, though), passing probably 10 people in the last 2k, sprinting at the end, and - of course - I upheld the tradition of clicking my heels as I passed the finish line. We came in at an hour, one minute and three seconds, which isn't amazing, but isn't bad at all... faster than the marathon pace!
Playing Tour Guide in KOBE
The race finished later than expected, so we were a little late getting to Sannomiya to meet JJ, the other friend from Taipei (living in Korea) who was visiting for the day. He didn't have a phone here, but thankfully I had given him my mobile info, so he just went to an internet cafe and emailed my phone when we were late (we use email instead of text messaging on cell phones here). Hong, Robyn and JJ threw their stuff in lockers and we headed through the shopping arcade and posh districts of Kobe over to Nanjingmachi, or China Town. We were planning to go to a tabehodai buffet, Sky Buffet, for dinner, but the street food in China Town is just too tempting! We spent a while testing out the different dumplings and rolls before moving on toward the harbor. We showed our guests Meriken Park, the Hanshin Earthquake Memorial with preserved rubble, the black ship at the harbor, walked through the romantic, shopping area around Harborland and then made our way to the station. Hong had to get back to Gifu, so we said our goodbyes there, but the rest of the group (me, Kelly, JJ and Robyn) went back to Sannomiya to meet up with Caoimhe and Tu and go to dinner.
I almost didn't go to dinner at Sky Buffet because I was getting tired, wasn't that hungry and had been to another birthday dinner for the same person the day before, but I swear I change the moment I step into that place. Even without drinking, the view is the best in Kobe and the buffet isn't bad (or too expensive for an All You Can Eat). We had a good time just relaxing and having dinner. It was a really good time, but it really is funny who you meet in life. JJ and Hong are a lot of fun, and I think Hong might even come back to hang out again next month... wish I had met them last year. They're interesting travel buddies. Anyways, once we all parted ways (half on the JR line and half on SANYO to see which was faster... got back the same time), I essentially hung out and watched a movie for a while before calling it a day. Not a bad weekend.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 8:32 PM
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