i really am good at getting lost
no the mosquito bite didn't do me in, and my leg is still safely attached to my body. i actually skipped work on sunday to A) get more sleep and B) go to the doctor's. it took me a while to find one but i eventually did in an area called imaike. at first i had called the clinic to try and make an appointment or something but then i realized my efforts were completely futile as we could barely communicate.. all i could say was mosquito bite and appointment in japanese. i finally hung up the phone and decided to just go there which ended up being a wise choice even though i did get somewhat lost along the way. three nurses checked out my leg with exclamations of awe and pity then the doctor sent me on my way with allergy tablets and some sort of skin cream. both must have worked i suppose since the red and purple is gone.
after my first doctor's clinic adventure in japan, i decided to treat myself to a salad and dessert at a nearby restaurant. the salad was an interesting mixture of egg, anchovy, tomato, lettuce, and potato. the dessert was a very delectable chocolate cake with icecream and berry compote. it was around 5 something by this point and since devon and i had tentatively made plans to go to the fireworks, i decided to go straight to nagoya station from imaike. from there devon and i took the train to toyotashi (which we later realized means toyota-shi = toyota-city) which was about 1 hour from nagoya station. this is the city where Toyota was born. as our train was pulling into the station we could catch glimpses of the fireworks already (they had started 30 minutes before we got there) and it was the coolest thing.. to see them from the train like that. bursts of light from behind the hotels and the moon sitting contently off to one side. once we got off we made our way onto the main street where everyone was sitting on mats and blankets. the city had blocked off this one main strip that led up toward the base of the fireworks and it was surprisingly spacious. devon and i found seats easily right in the middle even after getting some yummy food from the stalls on the side. sitting there in the middle of the street with the stoplights up above, tall buildings on the side, and a magnificent display of fireworks in front, truly amazing. it made me realize how wonderful this experience was.. me being in japan.. i looked around and saw so many young couples in their yukata and it made me wish i had someone there with me.. roger.. but still, i enjoyed "Oiden" very much. it was such a perfect summer activity.. reminded me of how much i love summer nights. the only drawback to the evening was going home and fighting the crowds at the train station. i only had my phone camera with me unfortunately and didn't take great pictures. even if i did have my actual camera, it still wouldn't be able to capture the true beauty of that night.
after my first doctor's clinic adventure in japan, i decided to treat myself to a salad and dessert at a nearby restaurant. the salad was an interesting mixture of egg, anchovy, tomato, lettuce, and potato. the dessert was a very delectable chocolate cake with icecream and berry compote. it was around 5 something by this point and since devon and i had tentatively made plans to go to the fireworks, i decided to go straight to nagoya station from imaike. from there devon and i took the train to toyotashi (which we later realized means toyota-shi = toyota-city) which was about 1 hour from nagoya station. this is the city where Toyota was born. as our train was pulling into the station we could catch glimpses of the fireworks already (they had started 30 minutes before we got there) and it was the coolest thing.. to see them from the train like that. bursts of light from behind the hotels and the moon sitting contently off to one side. once we got off we made our way onto the main street where everyone was sitting on mats and blankets. the city had blocked off this one main strip that led up toward the base of the fireworks and it was surprisingly spacious. devon and i found seats easily right in the middle even after getting some yummy food from the stalls on the side. sitting there in the middle of the street with the stoplights up above, tall buildings on the side, and a magnificent display of fireworks in front, truly amazing. it made me realize how wonderful this experience was.. me being in japan.. i looked around and saw so many young couples in their yukata and it made me wish i had someone there with me.. roger.. but still, i enjoyed "Oiden" very much. it was such a perfect summer activity.. reminded me of how much i love summer nights. the only drawback to the evening was going home and fighting the crowds at the train station. i only had my phone camera with me unfortunately and didn't take great pictures. even if i did have my actual camera, it still wouldn't be able to capture the true beauty of that night.