Monday, April 04, 2005
Mish and Co.
Over the past few months, I've either visited lots of my friends or they've come see me. It's such an event that I really should be updating about these 遊び会 with my friends. Sorry to Russ, and Hiro, Yuuki and Rika, and Takeshi because I never updated after I met them. But another friend, Mish, and Mish's friend came to Kyushu this past week. I shall start my summit updates with them.
They landed in Fukuoka sometime on Thursday morning. I couldn't get them because I had to work, but I put them in touch with Kanako, a native Fukuokan. That was good for them because Kanako could show them the sights and sounds that otherwise they would have had to do by themselves. Thanks Kanako. I guess they hopped on the train, and arrived in Kumamoto that evening. So after work I jetted into the city to pick them up. Mish and her friend had heard how good Kyushu (and in particular, Kumamoto) ramen is, so that was their request for dinner. I took them to Kokutei, one of the famous shops in the city, but unfortunately it was closed. So instead we went to Aji-sen ramen, not famous but still delicious all the same. And with our stomachs full, day one winded down.
On the Friday, I still had to work so I lent the girls my car. Mish had never driven on the Japanese side of the road before, so she was out, but luckily Mish's friend could, so by default she became the driver. I went to work, and the girls went to Aso. That was funny because I barely explained to them how to get there, but they went on their excursion just the same. I fully expected to get phonecalls from them during the day asking me to help them out because they were lost, but power to them, they never called. I gather they had a nice day in Aso; they later said that the weather was perfect. They tried horse meat, so their journey to Kumamoto was complete. It was weird too, they never got home till like 10:45PM. It was on their way home that they finally got lost. I asked them to bring me some milk so I could have Kraft dinner, and they said fine, but like 30 minutes later, I get a call saying they're on their way to Minamata, and if that was correct. Hmmm, they way overshot Toyono, but small detail because they are native to Ishikawa. They came back to my town, only they never found my house. They called again from the police box, so I directed them again to my apartment. But I didn't get my milk till like an hour later. Hahahaha. Bold move on their part to explore a prefecture on their own.
Day 3 had us drive to Kagoshima. The girls wanted a sand bath, so that became the purpose of our visit to Kagoshima. They have this really good sand bath at Ibusuki, so that's where we headed. After loads of driving, we finally arrived. Of course we stopped at Lake Ikeda for some lunch before hand. We were worried that the rain would innterupt out sand bath, but it was covered so that was good. We got in the sand bath and couldn't stop laughing. Mish and her friend were really excited. My nose was itchy, but the staff was kind enough to itch it for me. Only she missed soothing the exact spot, so it made the itching worse. We ended up staying in the sand bath for like 20 minutes; any more and I'm sure I would have collapsed from dizziness. After the sand bath we took a regular onsen to wash all the sand off. Then we went back to the beach area to take pictures with the staff. Fun fun. I'll post some pics of our experiences a bit later on. After the sand bath we returned to Kagoshima city and just drove and hung around. Fun, but yet another long day.
On Sunday, a friend of Mish's and Karen's, Kathy, who incidentally also lives in Kumamoto, came out with us and Kanako on the Nagasaki day trip. Again, lots of driving, but I can't help thinking that Mish and her friend had loads of fun and saw lots of Kyushu. Since Nagasaki is a bit difficult to drive in, it was a bit stressful, but in the end we figured everything out. We walked around China town for a bit, and had lunch. Then we hit up the Atomic Bomb museum and Peace Park. That was really interesting, I think I read every single English sign in the building. Afterwards, time was almost lost, so all we could afford to do time wise was go up to this peak and look around and take pics. Then it was drive back to Fukuoka, say goodbye to Mish and her friend, eat dins with Kanako and Kathy, say goodbye to Kanako, then drive back to Kumamoto.
What a whirlwind, tiring, yet fun weekend. The weekend went by so fast, it's hard to believe that it's already Monday and I'm back at work. I hope the girls enjoyed Kyushu. Mish is welcome back to Kumamoto any time she wants. It was good seeing her again (always nice to see an ex-CA in Japan).
They landed in Fukuoka sometime on Thursday morning. I couldn't get them because I had to work, but I put them in touch with Kanako, a native Fukuokan. That was good for them because Kanako could show them the sights and sounds that otherwise they would have had to do by themselves. Thanks Kanako. I guess they hopped on the train, and arrived in Kumamoto that evening. So after work I jetted into the city to pick them up. Mish and her friend had heard how good Kyushu (and in particular, Kumamoto) ramen is, so that was their request for dinner. I took them to Kokutei, one of the famous shops in the city, but unfortunately it was closed. So instead we went to Aji-sen ramen, not famous but still delicious all the same. And with our stomachs full, day one winded down.
On the Friday, I still had to work so I lent the girls my car. Mish had never driven on the Japanese side of the road before, so she was out, but luckily Mish's friend could, so by default she became the driver. I went to work, and the girls went to Aso. That was funny because I barely explained to them how to get there, but they went on their excursion just the same. I fully expected to get phonecalls from them during the day asking me to help them out because they were lost, but power to them, they never called. I gather they had a nice day in Aso; they later said that the weather was perfect. They tried horse meat, so their journey to Kumamoto was complete. It was weird too, they never got home till like 10:45PM. It was on their way home that they finally got lost. I asked them to bring me some milk so I could have Kraft dinner, and they said fine, but like 30 minutes later, I get a call saying they're on their way to Minamata, and if that was correct. Hmmm, they way overshot Toyono, but small detail because they are native to Ishikawa. They came back to my town, only they never found my house. They called again from the police box, so I directed them again to my apartment. But I didn't get my milk till like an hour later. Hahahaha. Bold move on their part to explore a prefecture on their own.
Day 3 had us drive to Kagoshima. The girls wanted a sand bath, so that became the purpose of our visit to Kagoshima. They have this really good sand bath at Ibusuki, so that's where we headed. After loads of driving, we finally arrived. Of course we stopped at Lake Ikeda for some lunch before hand. We were worried that the rain would innterupt out sand bath, but it was covered so that was good. We got in the sand bath and couldn't stop laughing. Mish and her friend were really excited. My nose was itchy, but the staff was kind enough to itch it for me. Only she missed soothing the exact spot, so it made the itching worse. We ended up staying in the sand bath for like 20 minutes; any more and I'm sure I would have collapsed from dizziness. After the sand bath we took a regular onsen to wash all the sand off. Then we went back to the beach area to take pictures with the staff. Fun fun. I'll post some pics of our experiences a bit later on. After the sand bath we returned to Kagoshima city and just drove and hung around. Fun, but yet another long day.
On Sunday, a friend of Mish's and Karen's, Kathy, who incidentally also lives in Kumamoto, came out with us and Kanako on the Nagasaki day trip. Again, lots of driving, but I can't help thinking that Mish and her friend had loads of fun and saw lots of Kyushu. Since Nagasaki is a bit difficult to drive in, it was a bit stressful, but in the end we figured everything out. We walked around China town for a bit, and had lunch. Then we hit up the Atomic Bomb museum and Peace Park. That was really interesting, I think I read every single English sign in the building. Afterwards, time was almost lost, so all we could afford to do time wise was go up to this peak and look around and take pics. Then it was drive back to Fukuoka, say goodbye to Mish and her friend, eat dins with Kanako and Kathy, say goodbye to Kanako, then drive back to Kumamoto.
What a whirlwind, tiring, yet fun weekend. The weekend went by so fast, it's hard to believe that it's already Monday and I'm back at work. I hope the girls enjoyed Kyushu. Mish is welcome back to Kumamoto any time she wants. It was good seeing her again (always nice to see an ex-CA in Japan).
