Back to Kansai
Last Friday I went back to the Kansai area to see my friends and get my stuff that Kendo Guy has been keeping for me. In order to save money I took JR trains instead of the bullet train and so the journey lasted about 3 and a half hours. I was pretty tired by the time I arrived in Osaka. I had arranged to have dinner with a good friend who couldn't come to my welcome back party the following day. We met my other friend Miss Pink and we went to a tonkatsu restaurant I like. Unfortunately, an uninvited guest joined us for dinner, but we still had a good time chatting and catching up on things. After dinner I made my way on the train to Kawanishi, where Kendo Guy picked me up and then drove to our old apartment building where he still lives. I spent the rest of the evening just chatting with him and my other friend Miss Leise. It felt a bit strange to be back in my old town, but I felt like nothing had changed with my friends.
On Saturday I hung out with Kendo Guy during the day. At one point we went to the local Jusco (a shopping centre) to buy lunch etc. I was a bit apprehensive about running into my former students, but I didn't really see any. I did see two of my students doing part-time jobs, but they are both nice kids so I went and said hello. Needless to say they were surprised to see me and the female student in particular was pleased I remembered her name (I did teach her for over two years!). I also went and said hello to one of Kendo Guy's friends who I used to be in my English conversation class for adults. It was nice to see her and she also advised me to travel to Osaka by coach in future, as it's much cheaper than the train. I did run into another former student on the bus later. This kid was actually a little shit who swore at me a couple of times in Japanese and was generally unpleasant. However, he was pretty nice this time and even said goodbye when he got off the bus.
Saturday evening Kendo Guy had organised a welcome back party for me in Kawanishi. It was really good to see all my friends again after five months. Again it felt like nothing had changed and I just hadn't seen them for a while. I also got to meet my good friend Miss Ultimate's husband for the first time and the guy who took over my job and his wife. I heard some of my 3rd Years have been playing up, but generally he’s enjoying himself. For dinner we went to an izakaya we used to frequent and then to karaoke. I sang my usual mix of English songs, Japanese songs and songs for comedic effect. It was especially fun to sing myself and Miss Ultimate's karaoke standard "Barbie Girl". Some people then headed home because of last trains etc and the rest of us ended the night by going to another old haunt for a drink and then bowling. It was a really fun night and a nice welcome back to Japan.
On Sunday I headed into Osaka with Mr. and Mrs. Ultimate to get the coach back to Nagoya. I went to collect my coach ticket first and it ended up being a drama. Firstly, I tried using the self -service machine, but when I entered my reservation number I got a message saying I had to speak to someone at the reservations desk. When I went there the staff couldn't find my booking and tried searching on the database using various parameters. In the end I figured out the reservation had been done in a way that my first name and surname were reversed. In the end I got my ticket and had time for a quick lunch before boarding the bus. I had the pleasure of having sat next to and in front of me these young Japanese guys who were dressed like rejects from a gangsta rap video. Unfortunately the one next to me was a bit on the big side, so my journey to Nagoya was not as comfortable as I would have liked. But the nice weekend I had made it more than worth it.
On Saturday I hung out with Kendo Guy during the day. At one point we went to the local Jusco (a shopping centre) to buy lunch etc. I was a bit apprehensive about running into my former students, but I didn't really see any. I did see two of my students doing part-time jobs, but they are both nice kids so I went and said hello. Needless to say they were surprised to see me and the female student in particular was pleased I remembered her name (I did teach her for over two years!). I also went and said hello to one of Kendo Guy's friends who I used to be in my English conversation class for adults. It was nice to see her and she also advised me to travel to Osaka by coach in future, as it's much cheaper than the train. I did run into another former student on the bus later. This kid was actually a little shit who swore at me a couple of times in Japanese and was generally unpleasant. However, he was pretty nice this time and even said goodbye when he got off the bus.
Saturday evening Kendo Guy had organised a welcome back party for me in Kawanishi. It was really good to see all my friends again after five months. Again it felt like nothing had changed and I just hadn't seen them for a while. I also got to meet my good friend Miss Ultimate's husband for the first time and the guy who took over my job and his wife. I heard some of my 3rd Years have been playing up, but generally he’s enjoying himself. For dinner we went to an izakaya we used to frequent and then to karaoke. I sang my usual mix of English songs, Japanese songs and songs for comedic effect. It was especially fun to sing myself and Miss Ultimate's karaoke standard "Barbie Girl". Some people then headed home because of last trains etc and the rest of us ended the night by going to another old haunt for a drink and then bowling. It was a really fun night and a nice welcome back to Japan.
On Sunday I headed into Osaka with Mr. and Mrs. Ultimate to get the coach back to Nagoya. I went to collect my coach ticket first and it ended up being a drama. Firstly, I tried using the self -service machine, but when I entered my reservation number I got a message saying I had to speak to someone at the reservations desk. When I went there the staff couldn't find my booking and tried searching on the database using various parameters. In the end I figured out the reservation had been done in a way that my first name and surname were reversed. In the end I got my ticket and had time for a quick lunch before boarding the bus. I had the pleasure of having sat next to and in front of me these young Japanese guys who were dressed like rejects from a gangsta rap video. Unfortunately the one next to me was a bit on the big side, so my journey to Nagoya was not as comfortable as I would have liked. But the nice weekend I had made it more than worth it.