I'm a little frustrated as I write this because I'm having a hard time uploading many of the pictures I was hoping to share with you. So, you're going to have to go here to see view some of them for reference. Grrrr...
Sorry I've been out for a few days. It's been a bit busy. I'll start with the weekend. Last Friday, I met up with a few girls to go to Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens. We had been warned that this zoo was probably going to be a little different than zoos we'd frequented in the past. And, they were right. It was a fun day, but quite depressing at the same time. Living in St. Louis has certainly spoiled me on the zoo front, but this zoo was pathetic. I felt so badly for the animals. Once you've reviewed the pictures, I think you'll understand.
On a brighter note, the Botanical Gardens was quite nice. Again, not as cool as the one in St. Louis, but enjoyable nonetheless. We also checked out the Nagoya Observatory Tower, which gave us all a nice view of the city.
Caution: Long paragraph ahead!
On Friday evening, I made the trek out to Toyota City by train to meet Travis for his welcome dinner. It takes a little over an hour by train with a couple of switches along the way. It was quite an interesting evening. Looking back, I wish I would have taken more photos, but I felt a little awkward whipping out the camera at dinner. Not sure why since I should probably feel more comfortable snapping pics when dining with Japanese people than anywhere else in the world. Anyway, the dinner was really yummy. It was complete with sashimi (only fish, no chicken--Yes!), fried chicken, some salad and some yummy other dishes. Nothing too crazy, which was quite a relief. I just knew I was going to hear someone shout, "Challenge!" in the middle of dinner. (A "Challenge" is when Japanese people try to get each other, and especially foreigners, to eat ridiculous and usually disgusting menu items. Ask Travis about his chicken sashimi experience sometime. Well, he probably already told you.) We had a nice time, but it was certainly a little different. For starters, Travis' new co-workers insisted that I come along to the welcome dinner and justified it by saying that many of the Japanese guys would also be bringing their wives to the dinner. Ummm...not so much. It turned out to be me, about 25 Japanese guys and one other wife. I didn't mind too much, but it was a little awkward. To make things more interesting, a game followed that turned out to be a little like The Newlywed Game, only not as funny. Travis and I were put on the spot and asked questions like, "When did you fall in love?," "What was your first impression of each other?," "What do you like best about one another?," etc. WHAT?! Seriously?! Yes, seriously. I know, I couldn't believe it either. I would have felt awkward answering those questions in any setting, let alone in Japan with a group of people I just met. I must say that overall, it was a great experience. I really enjoy experiencing other cultures so the dinner was a nice way for me to do that. Plus, I must say it was pretty awesome seeing Travis interact so comfortably in a totally different culture and language. Ok, I'll say it, it was kind of hot. ;)
This is one of the dishes we ate at the welcome dinner. I believe it included chicken and cabbage. It also had some yummy spices on it. I love the little burners they bring out and set on the tables. What a great idea!
On Saturday night, we met up with some of our friends in Sakae. Sakae is an area in Nagoya that's pretty hip and trendy. It's bustling on a Saturday evening. We had a hard time finding a place to eat. Many restaurants, though not all, in Japan are pretty small, and we had a group of seven. We eventually landed on a Yaki Niku restaurant, which is like Korean BBQ. It was soo delicious! We had a great time hanging out.
After dinner and a brief stop at Haagen Daaz, we decided it was time to ride the ferris wheel. It was certainly the nicest ferris wheel I had ever experienced. It was air conditioned, had a little plasma screen television, little bucket seats and cup holders. 500 yen/each (about $5) was a little steep, but I'd say it was worth every yenny!
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