Nags
Went to Nagoya over the weekend! Haha what an obscure city. Even when I was in Japan in 2006 I didn't know what was there. Well, I finally discovered the answer, and apparently it's a cool downtown, delicious food, and old friends.
Just how I imagined it.
I met Amanda at Nagoya station on Friday after a night bus ride. Ugh, those night buses. The only enjoyable part is the rest stop, because you get to walk around and see Japanese car and truck culture in action. Anyways, met Amanda and went to Atsuta Shrine on our own. I found out later that one of the three Imperial treasures of Japan is enshrined there (the sword), which is beyond cool. Thanks for letting me know, Amanda. Psh. Then we went back and met up with Chris Kridakorn, and went to the Science Museum. It's 9 floors devoted to kids, which meant that we could touch everything which meant that it was really fun. Except for the boring planetarium, which I don't know how you can make an hour show in a planetarium boring, but good job museum. We left, got pizza for lunch, and went to Nagoya Castle. It's like all the other castles, really. I want to see a real one now. Shoulda went to Inuyasha umimean Inuyama.
After that we walked to Sakae, the downtown area with their own weird version of Tokyo Tower. It was actually really pretty, and they have this crazy cool building called Spaceship Aqua or something that's just.. futurustic and fun. It gives off a good vibe. From there we took the train to Nagoya Airport and waited there for a while until Hiro was done working (Hiro studied abroad at NCC 2 years ago). We got lost, but found him, and he drove us to CoCo's for dinner and then to his apartment. Ugh I miss that apartment; it just felt so homey and perfect and full of video games and computers and couches and I want to live in one now. A nice break from guesthouses and videogame-less apartments.
The next day we went back to Sakae and met up with Chika, another friend who studied at NCC 2 years ago. Together we galloped to a Miso Katsu restaurant and I finally had some of the fabled Nagoya food. Holy cow that was good. It's such a weird taste, but somehow works, and you just want more. When that was over we wandered some stores downtown and had Cold Stone (apple pie!), then went to Denny's for dinner and then to a nearby purikura place. But hey, I guess purikura has some new rules, in that there can't be more guys than girls. It was me, Chris, and Hiro with Amanda and Chika, and no not allowed. An employee actually stopped us from taking pictures. Ok. So we went to another one, took pictures, and then went back to Hiro's apartment while Chika went home. More Rock Band and Halo happened that night, as well as some Naruto that Chris and Hiro wanted to watch. Ugh so fun.
We woke up to our final day on Sunday. Hiro drove us around for lunch until we decided on Yoshinoya for cheap gyudon, and then we took the train back to the city. We met up with some of Hiro's white friends and went to the Nagoya Art Museum, which was actually ridiculously small, but it had some cool art. My favorite was "The Absurd God" by a Japanese artist from the 70s of a god that was, well, absurd looking. Then Chika, Chris, Amanda, and I broke off as Hiro and his friends went to see a special exhibit, and we took the train south to a disaster museum. It's got all these neat things you can do, like experience an earthquake (ok, they're scarier than I thought, but I still want to be in a real one) and go through dark, smoky rooms trying to find the exit. So cool.
Then we went to Nagoya Port which, like other touristy ports and piers (Navy Pier, Odaiba, Coney Island, etc.) is gaudy and silly, but fun to wander around and just soak up the atmosphere. Finally around 6 pm we went back to the center of the city, met up with Hiro and his friends, and went to Yama-chan. I had never heard of it before that day (I'm sure friends mentioned it, but it was hard to remember), but oh man, I won't forget it. Those chicken wings! Those miso katsu on a stick! Those fried cheese things! It's right below Portillo's, Grand Stand Pizza, Beijing dumplings, and all Mexican food as some of the best food ever. We left after that, but even though it was short, it was just such a.. good weekend. So good.
Just how I imagined it.
I met Amanda at Nagoya station on Friday after a night bus ride. Ugh, those night buses. The only enjoyable part is the rest stop, because you get to walk around and see Japanese car and truck culture in action. Anyways, met Amanda and went to Atsuta Shrine on our own. I found out later that one of the three Imperial treasures of Japan is enshrined there (the sword), which is beyond cool. Thanks for letting me know, Amanda. Psh. Then we went back and met up with Chris Kridakorn, and went to the Science Museum. It's 9 floors devoted to kids, which meant that we could touch everything which meant that it was really fun. Except for the boring planetarium, which I don't know how you can make an hour show in a planetarium boring, but good job museum. We left, got pizza for lunch, and went to Nagoya Castle. It's like all the other castles, really. I want to see a real one now. Shoulda went to Inuyasha umimean Inuyama.
After that we walked to Sakae, the downtown area with their own weird version of Tokyo Tower. It was actually really pretty, and they have this crazy cool building called Spaceship Aqua or something that's just.. futurustic and fun. It gives off a good vibe. From there we took the train to Nagoya Airport and waited there for a while until Hiro was done working (Hiro studied abroad at NCC 2 years ago). We got lost, but found him, and he drove us to CoCo's for dinner and then to his apartment. Ugh I miss that apartment; it just felt so homey and perfect and full of video games and computers and couches and I want to live in one now. A nice break from guesthouses and videogame-less apartments.
The next day we went back to Sakae and met up with Chika, another friend who studied at NCC 2 years ago. Together we galloped to a Miso Katsu restaurant and I finally had some of the fabled Nagoya food. Holy cow that was good. It's such a weird taste, but somehow works, and you just want more. When that was over we wandered some stores downtown and had Cold Stone (apple pie!), then went to Denny's for dinner and then to a nearby purikura place. But hey, I guess purikura has some new rules, in that there can't be more guys than girls. It was me, Chris, and Hiro with Amanda and Chika, and no not allowed. An employee actually stopped us from taking pictures. Ok. So we went to another one, took pictures, and then went back to Hiro's apartment while Chika went home. More Rock Band and Halo happened that night, as well as some Naruto that Chris and Hiro wanted to watch. Ugh so fun.
We woke up to our final day on Sunday. Hiro drove us around for lunch until we decided on Yoshinoya for cheap gyudon, and then we took the train back to the city. We met up with some of Hiro's white friends and went to the Nagoya Art Museum, which was actually ridiculously small, but it had some cool art. My favorite was "The Absurd God" by a Japanese artist from the 70s of a god that was, well, absurd looking. Then Chika, Chris, Amanda, and I broke off as Hiro and his friends went to see a special exhibit, and we took the train south to a disaster museum. It's got all these neat things you can do, like experience an earthquake (ok, they're scarier than I thought, but I still want to be in a real one) and go through dark, smoky rooms trying to find the exit. So cool.
Then we went to Nagoya Port which, like other touristy ports and piers (Navy Pier, Odaiba, Coney Island, etc.) is gaudy and silly, but fun to wander around and just soak up the atmosphere. Finally around 6 pm we went back to the center of the city, met up with Hiro and his friends, and went to Yama-chan. I had never heard of it before that day (I'm sure friends mentioned it, but it was hard to remember), but oh man, I won't forget it. Those chicken wings! Those miso katsu on a stick! Those fried cheese things! It's right below Portillo's, Grand Stand Pizza, Beijing dumplings, and all Mexican food as some of the best food ever. We left after that, but even though it was short, it was just such a.. good weekend. So good.