Day 2-Okayama/Himeji
Today started off with really yummy breakfast at the hostel at 7am. It was kind of like, "Oh, butt-crack of dawn? Y Hello thar." But, it was delicious enough to forgive that. XD; Actually, it was SO delicious in fact, that I went downstairs and asked for breakfast again tomorrow.
I'm not really sure what to say about this hostel, but I LOVE it. Seriously. I love this place hard. It's crumbly, and yucky-looking, and the floors have weird dips in them, and the bath is sorta chotto, but that just gives the whole place CHARACTER. Seriously, like my crazy Uncle lives here and up-keeps it mostly, but it's so old some things can't be helped, like hard water rings in the sink and stuff. I wonder if other people shied away from this place after seeing the rather decrepit condition it's in. But I'm not going to lie. I would stay in this place again. 10:30 curfew and questionable bath tub be darned. :D
Okay, so after breakfast, I walked to the station and got onto a train headed for what I surmised was Himeji. I was lucky, and it was, and after a random transfer that I wasn't really sure whether or not I was doing it right, I got to Himeji around 9:50ish. The castle was a nice 15 minute walk north of the station, and I walked. Okay, so I really like Himeji town. But...there is a little something I'd like to take up with the residents. Now, I'm all for public art and stuff, but random bronze statues of weird Western naked women is just...odd. I don't really get it. I sort of got the jibblies from some of them, but I saw one and it was HILARIOUS, so I took a picture. Uh, short-shorts and high boots anyone? It's like CURRENT Japanese fashion. It was great. Hahah.
Anyway, the castle: GORGEOUS. I mean, yes. Wonderful. Subarashii. All those nice words to explain to you how beautiful/awesome it was/is. I took a million pictures, and a nice dude who worked there even took a picture of me in front of it. :D There were a lot of Chinese and Korean tourists there, so that was nifty. After that, I headed to the gift shop and asked the lady what was a good omiyage for my host family. She pointed some things out, and I bought them for her. She seemed surprised at my Japanese skills, but then again, many people seem to be. ^^b I win.
It was then a trip to La Vie De France where I overbought a plethora of baked goods and a sandwhich to have for lunch and random snacks. I got onto my train to head back to Okayama around 12:30, but then I totally missed the connection to the train going to Okayama. It was RIGHT across the platform. Twenty feet maybe, but I was confused and not sure if it was going to Okayama...blah blah. Anyway, I missed that, and had to wait for a half an hour in the cold. >.> I ate my sandwhich and went to go and buy a hot drink at a vending machine, but stupidly bought the cold version instead. Haha. Well, after all the SMART things I did today, I was apt to do some moronic things to balance them out. XD;
Anyway, I got back to Okayama around 2:30. I started walking to the area where I could board the tram to go to Okayama Castle, and my foot started hurting REALLY badly. I stopped walking, stretched it out...but to no avail. So I took some pictures of the Momotarou statue, and decided just to put all my weight on it. It hurt for a little while, but got better, and I kept walking. I got to the tram, got on board, and there were these two gaijin people on there, too. They were completely lost. I guess I'm so used to being in Nagoya, that I ignored them, got off the tram at the same place, and then got about a block away before my 'Hey!!!' senses started tingling. Here were these two random gaijin, probably NO grip of Japanese whatsoever, trying to find their way around. So, I decided to be nice, and I walked up to them and was like, "Hey, you guys headed to the castle? I am, too, but the signs to it are in Japanese." And I pointed. They were all like, "Really? Oh, thanks!" And we walked together to the castle, and ended up hanging out together for the rest of the day. Okayama Castle, BTW, VERY dissapointing compared to Himeji. Lame-sauce. And all the signs were in Japanese. So the two kids I was with were like, "Hmm." And I was like, "Blah blah blah. These are the crests for the family and the successors that built/added on to the castle." I ended up actually tour-guiding them around. XD; And then we headed to Koraku-en Garden, which is supposed to be one of the best gardens in all of Japan, but...uh...duh, Melissa. It's winter. Haha. Nothing was blooming. It was just like, dead grass and sad looking koi. Waste of entrance fee! Haha. Okayama Castle felt like that, too.
Anyway, turns out Natalie and Aiden were doing this crazy 'Here for 10 days so cram everything we possibly can into our trip' thing through Japan, and were lugging around their luggage as they were going to Hiroshima that night. Natalie (who has a sister named Melissa, and I told her I had a friend named Nathalie) is half-Japanese, half-Chinese, and her cousin was actually Prime Minister of Japan according to family legend. But now that I think about it, it doesn't make that much sense. She was kinda ignorant "What's a daimyo? What's keigo?" about Japan, and if what she was saying was really true, then she has her dates mixed up. She said that he was PM for a couple of months, and then was assasinated by some right-wing extremists. But she told me it was in the 30's, and now that I think about it...Japan had no PM in the 30's. So, yeah. It's not that I don't believe her or anything, I just think that she sort of has no idea what she's talking about. XD
Anyway, she wanted to go to the Prefectural Museum because there was an exhibit about her cousin, but it was closed randomly. So then we all went back to the station, and we ate dinner together. I chattered and chattered and chattered. XD; Spewing forth cultural bits about Japan, living as a gaijin, being an English teacher, studying Japanese, and now that I think about it, I must have appeared REALLY intelligent. Or maybe just loud and annoying. XD; But we had a nice dinner together, and I whipped out my Lonely Planet Guide and told them some fun things to do in Hiroshima. I DID, however, scold them for not learning any Japanese/taking any phrasebooks with them. What I said was, "Now, it's really, really hard for Japanese when there are foreigners around. They studied English in high school. What did you study in highschool?"
Natalie: "Spanish."
Me: "Can you speak it at all?"
Natalie: "Yeah, no. Not at all. And I can't even comprehend a lot."
Me: "Well, that's what it's like for Japanese people. Sometimes if they work at a restaurant, they learn some other phrases, but as a general rule, they don't. And it's hard for them. You come here expecting to hear English. Do Japanese people go to American expecting us to speak Japanese to them?"
Natalie: "No, but sometimes people try."
Me: "Right. But as a general rule, we EXPECT them to speak English to us. That is a double-standard that isn't very fair, is it? If you go to the country, you should try to speak the Language. It's just not fair otherwise. If someone came up to you and asked you questions in Spanish, you would feel awful and awkward. It's the same thing."
But they were pretty nice, from L.A., and I liked them enough to tour-guide and hang out with them. XD; They were really appreciative and like, "Yay, thank you very much, have a fun trip back home!!" I felt good about actually going back to help them. Sure, I could have ignored them and gotten to see a lot more of the sights here, and yeah, these people shouldn't be helped if they can't help themselves, (they didn't even buy ANY kind of tour-book to help them) but at the same time, I'm glad I helped them. It got rid of a little lonliness that I felt, and they will always be able to remember the friendly girl from Vermont who spoke "fluent" Japanese and helped them out. XD; Aiden at least knew phrases and hiragana and katakana, so I hand it to him for trying, but if she wants to learn more about her own heiritage, she needs to take that education into her own hands.
Anyway. XD; *ramble ramble* After dinner, I walked back here, and noticed another girl staying here. I came back up to my room, C-mailed with Liz for a bit, and then took a LONG and hot and nice bath. ^^b I mainly HAD to because of my random still-aching foot. But it was really nice, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow at Matsuyama, as the hostel is right next to a famous onsen. (I wonder how much private rooms are? XD;) But yeah, getting to Matsuyama seems like it can be done one of two ways: Way 1 involves the Shinkansen, 3 hours, and 6,300 yen. (roughly $60 bucks). And way 2 involves a JR trip to Hiroshima (an hour or less...by guesstimate), and then a ferry ride for 2 and a half hours for 3,300 yen (roughly $30). I think I'm going for the latter. Seriously. It's like, almost the same amount of time, so I'm just going to save money. The random hippie hostel that I'm headed to is apparently one of the highest rated in all of Japan. It sounds like a hoot, as I can opt to get my aura examined, or take a spoon-bending class. Sounds like good times.
Ew. My eye made a squeeky noise when I just rubbed it. I don't even WANT to know why. D: Okay, time to charge up the electronics, brush my teeth and hit the futon. Gotta wake up early for my yummy breakfast.
I'm not really sure what to say about this hostel, but I LOVE it. Seriously. I love this place hard. It's crumbly, and yucky-looking, and the floors have weird dips in them, and the bath is sorta chotto, but that just gives the whole place CHARACTER. Seriously, like my crazy Uncle lives here and up-keeps it mostly, but it's so old some things can't be helped, like hard water rings in the sink and stuff. I wonder if other people shied away from this place after seeing the rather decrepit condition it's in. But I'm not going to lie. I would stay in this place again. 10:30 curfew and questionable bath tub be darned. :D
Okay, so after breakfast, I walked to the station and got onto a train headed for what I surmised was Himeji. I was lucky, and it was, and after a random transfer that I wasn't really sure whether or not I was doing it right, I got to Himeji around 9:50ish. The castle was a nice 15 minute walk north of the station, and I walked. Okay, so I really like Himeji town. But...there is a little something I'd like to take up with the residents. Now, I'm all for public art and stuff, but random bronze statues of weird Western naked women is just...odd. I don't really get it. I sort of got the jibblies from some of them, but I saw one and it was HILARIOUS, so I took a picture. Uh, short-shorts and high boots anyone? It's like CURRENT Japanese fashion. It was great. Hahah.
Anyway, the castle: GORGEOUS. I mean, yes. Wonderful. Subarashii. All those nice words to explain to you how beautiful/awesome it was/is. I took a million pictures, and a nice dude who worked there even took a picture of me in front of it. :D There were a lot of Chinese and Korean tourists there, so that was nifty. After that, I headed to the gift shop and asked the lady what was a good omiyage for my host family. She pointed some things out, and I bought them for her. She seemed surprised at my Japanese skills, but then again, many people seem to be. ^^b I win.
It was then a trip to La Vie De France where I overbought a plethora of baked goods and a sandwhich to have for lunch and random snacks. I got onto my train to head back to Okayama around 12:30, but then I totally missed the connection to the train going to Okayama. It was RIGHT across the platform. Twenty feet maybe, but I was confused and not sure if it was going to Okayama...blah blah. Anyway, I missed that, and had to wait for a half an hour in the cold. >.> I ate my sandwhich and went to go and buy a hot drink at a vending machine, but stupidly bought the cold version instead. Haha. Well, after all the SMART things I did today, I was apt to do some moronic things to balance them out. XD;
Anyway, I got back to Okayama around 2:30. I started walking to the area where I could board the tram to go to Okayama Castle, and my foot started hurting REALLY badly. I stopped walking, stretched it out...but to no avail. So I took some pictures of the Momotarou statue, and decided just to put all my weight on it. It hurt for a little while, but got better, and I kept walking. I got to the tram, got on board, and there were these two gaijin people on there, too. They were completely lost. I guess I'm so used to being in Nagoya, that I ignored them, got off the tram at the same place, and then got about a block away before my 'Hey!!!' senses started tingling. Here were these two random gaijin, probably NO grip of Japanese whatsoever, trying to find their way around. So, I decided to be nice, and I walked up to them and was like, "Hey, you guys headed to the castle? I am, too, but the signs to it are in Japanese." And I pointed. They were all like, "Really? Oh, thanks!" And we walked together to the castle, and ended up hanging out together for the rest of the day. Okayama Castle, BTW, VERY dissapointing compared to Himeji. Lame-sauce. And all the signs were in Japanese. So the two kids I was with were like, "Hmm." And I was like, "Blah blah blah. These are the crests for the family and the successors that built/added on to the castle." I ended up actually tour-guiding them around. XD; And then we headed to Koraku-en Garden, which is supposed to be one of the best gardens in all of Japan, but...uh...duh, Melissa. It's winter. Haha. Nothing was blooming. It was just like, dead grass and sad looking koi. Waste of entrance fee! Haha. Okayama Castle felt like that, too.
Anyway, turns out Natalie and Aiden were doing this crazy 'Here for 10 days so cram everything we possibly can into our trip' thing through Japan, and were lugging around their luggage as they were going to Hiroshima that night. Natalie (who has a sister named Melissa, and I told her I had a friend named Nathalie) is half-Japanese, half-Chinese, and her cousin was actually Prime Minister of Japan according to family legend. But now that I think about it, it doesn't make that much sense. She was kinda ignorant "What's a daimyo? What's keigo?" about Japan, and if what she was saying was really true, then she has her dates mixed up. She said that he was PM for a couple of months, and then was assasinated by some right-wing extremists. But she told me it was in the 30's, and now that I think about it...Japan had no PM in the 30's. So, yeah. It's not that I don't believe her or anything, I just think that she sort of has no idea what she's talking about. XD
Anyway, she wanted to go to the Prefectural Museum because there was an exhibit about her cousin, but it was closed randomly. So then we all went back to the station, and we ate dinner together. I chattered and chattered and chattered. XD; Spewing forth cultural bits about Japan, living as a gaijin, being an English teacher, studying Japanese, and now that I think about it, I must have appeared REALLY intelligent. Or maybe just loud and annoying. XD; But we had a nice dinner together, and I whipped out my Lonely Planet Guide and told them some fun things to do in Hiroshima. I DID, however, scold them for not learning any Japanese/taking any phrasebooks with them. What I said was, "Now, it's really, really hard for Japanese when there are foreigners around. They studied English in high school. What did you study in highschool?"
Natalie: "Spanish."
Me: "Can you speak it at all?"
Natalie: "Yeah, no. Not at all. And I can't even comprehend a lot."
Me: "Well, that's what it's like for Japanese people. Sometimes if they work at a restaurant, they learn some other phrases, but as a general rule, they don't. And it's hard for them. You come here expecting to hear English. Do Japanese people go to American expecting us to speak Japanese to them?"
Natalie: "No, but sometimes people try."
Me: "Right. But as a general rule, we EXPECT them to speak English to us. That is a double-standard that isn't very fair, is it? If you go to the country, you should try to speak the Language. It's just not fair otherwise. If someone came up to you and asked you questions in Spanish, you would feel awful and awkward. It's the same thing."
But they were pretty nice, from L.A., and I liked them enough to tour-guide and hang out with them. XD; They were really appreciative and like, "Yay, thank you very much, have a fun trip back home!!" I felt good about actually going back to help them. Sure, I could have ignored them and gotten to see a lot more of the sights here, and yeah, these people shouldn't be helped if they can't help themselves, (they didn't even buy ANY kind of tour-book to help them) but at the same time, I'm glad I helped them. It got rid of a little lonliness that I felt, and they will always be able to remember the friendly girl from Vermont who spoke "fluent" Japanese and helped them out. XD; Aiden at least knew phrases and hiragana and katakana, so I hand it to him for trying, but if she wants to learn more about her own heiritage, she needs to take that education into her own hands.
Anyway. XD; *ramble ramble* After dinner, I walked back here, and noticed another girl staying here. I came back up to my room, C-mailed with Liz for a bit, and then took a LONG and hot and nice bath. ^^b I mainly HAD to because of my random still-aching foot. But it was really nice, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow at Matsuyama, as the hostel is right next to a famous onsen. (I wonder how much private rooms are? XD;) But yeah, getting to Matsuyama seems like it can be done one of two ways: Way 1 involves the Shinkansen, 3 hours, and 6,300 yen. (roughly $60 bucks). And way 2 involves a JR trip to Hiroshima (an hour or less...by guesstimate), and then a ferry ride for 2 and a half hours for 3,300 yen (roughly $30). I think I'm going for the latter. Seriously. It's like, almost the same amount of time, so I'm just going to save money. The random hippie hostel that I'm headed to is apparently one of the highest rated in all of Japan. It sounds like a hoot, as I can opt to get my aura examined, or take a spoon-bending class. Sounds like good times.
Ew. My eye made a squeeky noise when I just rubbed it. I don't even WANT to know why. D: Okay, time to charge up the electronics, brush my teeth and hit the futon. Gotta wake up early for my yummy breakfast.