Visiting Japan-Days One and Two

Of all the places I've visited so far, Japan was by far the most difficult. Perhaps that was because, for the most part, we stayed away from the most well-worn tourist destinations. The exception, and the most accessible place we visited, was Universal Studios in Osaka. So, there may be some complaints here and there in my narrative. Most of them quite likely reflect my own ignorance of the language, the culture and the nation I was visiting. I hope I was not too much of an Ugly American, but  I fear in retrospect that I was.

May 19, 2013, Day One:

First, though, a funny thing. And this happened just after we arrived at the airport in Nagoya, and we were waiting for boat that would take us to Matsuzaka where we were staying. Yuro (age 5)  asked his Dad "Are you sure this is Japan?" I'm not sure why he asked that but it was hilarious. We took a high-speed boat across Ise Bay from Nagoya. It was a little windy and so the water was choppy, and it was dark so there was no way to see the horizon. The kids (Yuro and his sister Reika, age 3) got sick and Mexica didn't feel so good and I've felt better. Even the crew looked a little uncomfortable and no one on board enjoyed it. By the time we got to Matsuzaka it was raining pretty hard and very windy and I'm quite sure it was the coldest Mexica had ever been in her life. The boat cost 2700 Yen a piece for Mexica and me, with 1 Yen being about $.01.

We finally got to the condo at about  11 PM. We hadn't eaten yet. The only place open near us (and we didn't have a car yet) was a steak house called Bronco Billy's. It was only a short walk, so we ate there. The quality was not great for the price. But  it was really the only bad meal I had in Japan.

May 20, 2013, Day Two:

After we ate, we went across the street to an all-night grocery store. Being in that store gave me a taste of what it must feel like to be illiterate. There were signs everywhere, and I'm sure they were informative, but if I couldn't recognize the food or the label on the package, I had no idea what I was seeing. Very humbling.

As the day dawned, I was surprised to see so many rice fields outside Nok's window. His condo is on the 14th floor and has a nice view towards the inland area outside Matsuzaka. It is not a big city, and his condo is near the outskirts, but  even within the confines of some quite urban areas there was rice. I liked it. It certainly made the cities seem friendlier and it was more attractive (and more useful) than a vacant lot.

Matsuzaka, Japan, the view from the balcony of the condo where we stayed.

Matsuzaka, Japan, the mountains.

The Japanese love gadgets! And that was very clear from the condo. Everything that could be electrified was.