Who needs to actually cook the fish?

Let me first start by saying that if the rest of my trip goes as well as it has in Japan, well, then I will be very happy...

Tomoko has proved to be a Grade A host. I can only hope that my future hosts will be as gracious as she has been. As I told you before, the promised to take me to an "old style" Japanese sake bar. So I met her at the train station after work and we went to this little hole-in-the-wall place no bigger than my living room. Behind the counter, a little old lady and a younger lady were working. I say working, but in all actuality, we proved to be their only customers of the evening. True to bar style, we sat side by side at the counter. Tomoko hollered something in Japanese and the lady brought us over two Asahi beers and a plate of soy beans. I won`t bore you with a play by play of the evening, but suffice it to say that we enjoyed conversation and I enjoyed trying new foods (raw squid, tofu and rice balls). Fear not, I have lots of pictures.


A short digression- what, exactly, is the etiquette when CouchSurfing? Tomoko has offered her home to me, offered me advice, actually acted as a tour guide and been an interpreter. So what do I owe her? Certainly paying for meals together is a logical response, but how much is too much? We`ve eaten two meals, both around $40 each. I`ve paid for both. I feel it is only right. Expensive? Sure, but what`s a friend in a foreign country worth? Anyway, I`m firmly in the camp of paying for meals with my host. Sure, it will add up, but really what they have and will give is, to me, invaluable.

So I began today with breakfast and small talk with Tomoko about weather in the US and Japan. We then ventured to Enoshima Island where there is a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji in the distance. Only today it was too hazy to actually see the mountain. Color me disappointed. We went to into a cave on the island which, to say the least, was fairly lame. It`s sure no Mammoth Cave. I tried to explain to Tomoko the vast superiority of Mammoth Cave, but I`m not sure it hit home.

Then came lunch. Oh, what a lunch it was!

I believe that when Henry Ford invented the conveyor belt he didn`t have raw fish in mind. Tomoko and I went to a sushi restaurant where you belly up to the bar and start snatching plates of raw fish and scarfing it down. To be quite honest, I`m not too impressed with sushi. It`s alright, but not my favorite. Several questionable plates of "food" were put in front of me and, being the good traveler that I am, ate them. I mean, these things still had eyeballs. Some things I found palatable, such as tuna (which really tasted just like tuna salad). One plate passed in front of my face was a strange shade of red. It almost looked like beef. Tomoko said "this is whale". I shot her a look. Whale? Surely this is lost in translation. Apparently not. Free Willy was apparently captured and sliced into lunch. Somehow I feel eating whale wouldn`t fly in the States.

All things considered, Japan has really gotten my trip off on the right foot. This is definitely a place in which I would consider returning.

Bits and Pieces

-ATMs here will only dispense the equivalent of $100 US minimum. What if I want $50? Tough luck. To make matters worse, it won't (there's that apostrophe key!!) break the bills up either. Meaning that it just gives you one bill. Could you imagine a US ATM only giving out $100 bills?

-It is so freaking humid here. Not super hot, just uncomfortably humid.

-I went to the beach today. I was sorely disappointed. Japan has been, as far as I have seen, immaculately clean. Why, then, is the beach disgusting? A very crowded beach, but loads of trash in the water. I wouldn't swim in there if you paid me. I did, however, get my feet wet.

-Something I've discovered quickly is that I should study before I act. I spend a couple extra minutes watching how everyone else does things before I follow suit. It really helps. Probably kept me from looking like a fool a couple times. Why, then, did I decide after watching everyone in flip flops on the beach to take off mine? Until I got near the water, I scalded my feet pretty well. The sand was blazing hot. They still hurt. Way to go, Patrick. Way to go.

-While waiting for Tomoko at the train station, I took it upon myself to check out a shoe store. I saw they had New Balances, but some really weird styles that must only be available in Japan. They did have Zips though. I guess they can't sell them here, either. I thought I might try a pair on, but no joke, the biggest size they had was a 10.5. Strangely, all they had were wide widths, too. We routinely sell 15s at my store. Sometimes even a size 20. I'd like to show these folks those shoes. "Aw, these a shoes for a Mista Godzirra?"

-No one wears sunglasses here. Why is that?

-I am sweating as I sit at the computer.

So tomorrow I will leave here and meet another CSer in Tokyo. She will show me around for the afternoon and then I will meet yet another CSer for dinner. I will then stay at his apartment for the night. Then Monday I will leave for Seoul!

Until next time...