The Weekend Review – PONYO!
This was the weekend of out-of-town visitors (plethora of Minnesotans) and I finally got my first big-screen Ghible Studios movie experience with PONYO.
Friday
I was at Costco late last week, ravioli and feta in hand, when I got a call from my friend Chris, who was it the area and wanted to meet up. Chris and I met in Minneapolis shortly before coming to Japan and have both lived here about the same time. He’s a fun guy, has a similar travel fix and reminds me a lot of my friends from home, but we happen to live on opposite sides of the country (he’s on the northern tip of the main island, 8 hours away by bullet train), so we hang out maybe once a year. We set a plan to go to dinner at Sky Buffet, an all-you-can-eat restaurant with a killer view of the Harbor and Kobe skyscape on Friday.
Well, Friday evening came and Chris and his friends had to check into their hotel. By the time we were supposed to meet for dinner, however, they were still getting things set up, so my two girlfriends and I went ahead and we just decided to meet at Sky Buffet. When the boys called, we decided it really wasn't worth it for the guys to pay the buffet price... so we decided to meet afterwards for a drink and enjoyed dinner on our own.
It was fun to see Chris, and even though I don't see or talk to him often, there's something nice about talking to someone who comes from the exact same place you're from (Chris's mom was actually my high school nurse) and knows what Japan is like. His friends seemed fun, too. We only got to talk for a bit before I ran to last train, but I'll probably run into Chris somewhere, wouldn't surprise me if it's in some random country next time.
Saturday
On Saturday, I went for a long(ish) run in the afternoon and then went to dinner at an izakaya in Shukugawa (near Kobe) with some friends. Afterwards, I made my way to Kobe to meet up with some people from the national volunteer organization I work with. One girl was in town for a soccer tournament, another was up on a weekend boat trip to Kobe (with friends from Shikoku Island), another had come over from Wakayama Prefecture and another guy that lives in the area also came out to meet up with the crew. We didn't have much time, but it was fun! We sort of got in trouble for racing the large, stuff-animal-shaped large animals (that walk when you put money in them) outside the Kobe harbor arcade, but I took the group on a tour of the peir, Meriken Park (with earthquake damage) and we walked through town to one of the small, popular expat pubs. The place was hosting a DJ and was a little too packed for my tastes, so I hung out for a little while before last train. The craziest thing, however, was no the reunion but the fact that there were probably 5 other people from Minneapolis (some from my area) in our group.
Sunday
On Sunday, I was up sort of early to get to Osaka for a matinee showing of Ponyo, the new Ghible movie. I have only started watching Ghible (or Miyazaki) animated films since coming to Japan - although I had heard of them through the Oscars - but I have fallen absolutely in love with them since coming. They show a more romantic, nastalgic side of Japan and there are aspects of everyday life and nature in these movies that I can relate to my experiences here (and the stories are cute). So when I found out a new Ghible movie was coming out while I was here, I naturally wanted to see it on the big screen... but there was one problem... no English subtitles!
I was with a group of two other foreigners and two Japanese girls, so we decided to see the film anyways. There's not a lot of talking in it, and a lot of the langauge they use is geared towards families and children, but you know what... it went ok! This wasn't my first Japanese movie in the theatres, but it was the first time I have gone and understood most of it. I had to nudge the guy next to me and ask him vocabulary words a few times (and I'm sure I didn't catch everything), but I was pretty excited that it went better than expected. And I really enjoyed the movie, about a sea creature who becomes friends with a human and wants to live in the human world (sounds like Little Mermaid, I know, but the plot is still a lot different).
While in Umeda (for the flick), I also picked up a really cool new camera case for the Canon I got and we went to dinner at Kurazushi, a cheap - but good- conveyer belt sushi chain (that has somehow eluded me all this time!).
Friday
I was at Costco late last week, ravioli and feta in hand, when I got a call from my friend Chris, who was it the area and wanted to meet up. Chris and I met in Minneapolis shortly before coming to Japan and have both lived here about the same time. He’s a fun guy, has a similar travel fix and reminds me a lot of my friends from home, but we happen to live on opposite sides of the country (he’s on the northern tip of the main island, 8 hours away by bullet train), so we hang out maybe once a year. We set a plan to go to dinner at Sky Buffet, an all-you-can-eat restaurant with a killer view of the Harbor and Kobe skyscape on Friday.
Well, Friday evening came and Chris and his friends had to check into their hotel. By the time we were supposed to meet for dinner, however, they were still getting things set up, so my two girlfriends and I went ahead and we just decided to meet at Sky Buffet. When the boys called, we decided it really wasn't worth it for the guys to pay the buffet price... so we decided to meet afterwards for a drink and enjoyed dinner on our own.
It was fun to see Chris, and even though I don't see or talk to him often, there's something nice about talking to someone who comes from the exact same place you're from (Chris's mom was actually my high school nurse) and knows what Japan is like. His friends seemed fun, too. We only got to talk for a bit before I ran to last train, but I'll probably run into Chris somewhere, wouldn't surprise me if it's in some random country next time.
Saturday
On Saturday, I went for a long(ish) run in the afternoon and then went to dinner at an izakaya in Shukugawa (near Kobe) with some friends. Afterwards, I made my way to Kobe to meet up with some people from the national volunteer organization I work with. One girl was in town for a soccer tournament, another was up on a weekend boat trip to Kobe (with friends from Shikoku Island), another had come over from Wakayama Prefecture and another guy that lives in the area also came out to meet up with the crew. We didn't have much time, but it was fun! We sort of got in trouble for racing the large, stuff-animal-shaped large animals (that walk when you put money in them) outside the Kobe harbor arcade, but I took the group on a tour of the peir, Meriken Park (with earthquake damage) and we walked through town to one of the small, popular expat pubs. The place was hosting a DJ and was a little too packed for my tastes, so I hung out for a little while before last train. The craziest thing, however, was no the reunion but the fact that there were probably 5 other people from Minneapolis (some from my area) in our group.
Sunday
On Sunday, I was up sort of early to get to Osaka for a matinee showing of Ponyo, the new Ghible movie. I have only started watching Ghible (or Miyazaki) animated films since coming to Japan - although I had heard of them through the Oscars - but I have fallen absolutely in love with them since coming. They show a more romantic, nastalgic side of Japan and there are aspects of everyday life and nature in these movies that I can relate to my experiences here (and the stories are cute). So when I found out a new Ghible movie was coming out while I was here, I naturally wanted to see it on the big screen... but there was one problem... no English subtitles!
I was with a group of two other foreigners and two Japanese girls, so we decided to see the film anyways. There's not a lot of talking in it, and a lot of the langauge they use is geared towards families and children, but you know what... it went ok! This wasn't my first Japanese movie in the theatres, but it was the first time I have gone and understood most of it. I had to nudge the guy next to me and ask him vocabulary words a few times (and I'm sure I didn't catch everything), but I was pretty excited that it went better than expected. And I really enjoyed the movie, about a sea creature who becomes friends with a human and wants to live in the human world (sounds like Little Mermaid, I know, but the plot is still a lot different).
While in Umeda (for the flick), I also picked up a really cool new camera case for the Canon I got and we went to dinner at Kurazushi, a cheap - but good- conveyer belt sushi chain (that has somehow eluded me all this time!).
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 9:25 PM
2 Comments:
At 11:23 PM,
Katie Morgans said…
hi brenda. i was just googling how to get to kurazushi in umeda. and i found your blog (result number 35 or something.) im enjoying it a lot but you didn't write directions to KZ!! :-( anyway see you soon.
love, katie
At 11:23 PM,
Katie Morgans said…
actually you were result number 14! WHOA!
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