Thus Far: A Rough Cut

the airline actually had pretty good vegetarian meals. i had 3 total. on the 12 hour flight i don't know how long i slept but i just woke up with drool on my shirt and i had no idea what was going on haha. then i tried to read and listen to music but my attention span was short. i discovered that the tv console in the back of the seat had a pull out controller with video games so i played virtual golf. i started gettting good and found a miniature golf game too. i got sick of playing so i watched "the curious case of benjamin button." pertty good film by the way. the korean stewardesses kept bringing around glasses of juice and i probably drank a gallon total. i managed to keep myself entertained and the flight didn't seem too long. when i got to the seol, korea airport is when the crazy started. i was among a handful of white/european people among thousands of koreans. i wandered around in the airport and listened to people speaking korean and japanese.

the last flight was over in a jiffy and i decended on urban japan as all the lights were shining. i was so excited and nervous i was almost shaking (i also had a cup of in-flight coffee ha!). oh i forgot to say: when getting off the plane in korea and japan, there was a quarantine area because we were all coming from the united states and asia didn't want to spread piggy flu. i had to fill oout a questionaire and get my temperature taken and i tried desperately not to cough. i had modereate allergies so i was all coughy and sniffly but i controlled myself. after being checked for diseases i filled out a paper for customs and waited in line forever. when i got to the front, the guy looked at my forms and pointed out that i didn't have an address for where i was staying in japan. i told him i didn't know it yet and he said to write a phone number and name instead. "oh and it must be filled out in pen, not pencil." ah! so i had to leave the line and re-do my form in pen. i just got in front of a bunch of people in line and finally made it through. i found my bag after running around for 10 minutes and left to find sara. i found her and then we hurried to catch the train home.

the next day we rode a train to kyoto and went to a big shrine and temple near the mountains. it was a bunch of buildings spread throughout the hills in a forest. i took lots of pictures and walked for hours. we wandered around in a huge graveyard. the next day we rode the train to kyoto again and met up with 2 of sara's friends and rode a train to nara to watch a baseball game. it was interesting to see japan's different customs when it comes to things like sports but baseball is boring to watch so i kept trying to nap on the bench.

the NEXT day we went to kyoto again to go to a really big famous shrine. i think this shrine had the most torii gates out of any in japan. torii gates are the big orange arch type things that usually mark the entrance to a shrine but there were thousands of them all above the paths trhoughout the mountains. some parts were even like a tunnel of bright orange gates with black japanese writing all over on side. culturally and spiritually, it was a world apart from anything i have ever experienced. i was just in awe the whole time.

after the temple, we walked through the city and visited little shops and i drank cold black coffee from vending machines which really are EVERYWHERE. even by the temples. one of the big brands is BOSS and they have a black coffee drink called BLACK BOSS. i kept saying BLACK BOSS!! every time i would see it. hilarious. we took the train to the town where sara's dorms are and ate at a ramen shop. i had the one vegetarian thing there, ramen (requested withough the meat on top). the noodles are similar to instant ramen noodles but the broth is awesome and there are veggies and otther stuff in the soup.

yesterday sara and i were worn out from all the traveling so we just lounged around the apartment and finally got out of the place to explore our hometown, osaka. we walked to namba, the main downtown area of osaka. it took 45 minutes to walk there because we underesimated the distance but when we got there it was almost overwhelming! it was how i imagine times square to be: giant video ads on all the buildings, hundreds of shops, and thousands and thousands of people. you have to walk on the left side of the sidewalks or you'll get trampled. everyone was dressed fancy. the teenagers and people our age and even middle aged people all looked like they were straight out of a teen fashion magazine. and the people who wren't dressed like that were in expensive business suits. i felt out of place dressed on all black with my ratty hat. my only color was a bright red bandana on my neck and i imagine everyone loved it haha. sara and i found a subway sandwich shop and stopped there for lunch. the menu was basically the same as the US but the sauces were different. i got a weird tomato saice that was like salsa. and they had coffee drinks including soy lattes! weird. so i got a soy latte which was delicious. who woulda thunk. after lunch we went to a gigantic mall to look for comfy shoes. my chuck taylor all stars, although very fashionable in japan, were not good for walking. i didn't find any shoes i liked in the mall but we found some awesome shops where i found a new wallet. in japan you change is usually in coins and the equivalent of a $1 and $5 bill is in coin form. i needed a wallet that wound hold coins so my pocket wouldn't rip from all the change. i bought a bright purple wallet with a chain, an lifesize ear-shaped key chain called an EAR-RING, and a yellow lego-block key cover. this combination, while functional, would help me fit in to the color-crazed local population.
we left the mall to wander the namba area and i found my shoes: bright yellow reebok classics. yes, cody bought yellow shoes. who woulda thunk. adrian was right: i'm turning japanese. when in rome...

after shopping was over we stopped in to a little noodle shop. to order, you put your money into a vending machine and select your meal with a button and it prints out a ticket. then you sit at the u-shaped counter and had the cook your ticket who cooks of dishes out your order right in the middle of the counter. while i was eating i realized how crazy my life was at the moment. there i was, a young american mormon boy from little salt lake city, utah, eating udon in a steamy noodle shop surrounded by millions of japanese in the middle of the second busiest city in japan. japan! it was crazy to think that to all of the people around me, this is just another day. they grew up with that same situation as part of their culture. and i was right in the middle of it. mind-blowing, really.

well it is 11 am on wednesday as i type this and i need some orange juice, or orenji jusu as they call it here. today is another lazy day. slightly rainy. i have 2 goals: try out my new yellow shoes and find a bicycle. hasta luego!