Odaiba and Shibuya.
Jul. 20th, 2008 11:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19I met up with Eunja again this afternoon. I was asked by the school to help some of the first-year teachers explain the procedures to their American students, and Eunja was extremely kind about rescheduling our meeting in Shiodome to accommodate the sudden obligation. We rode the Yurikadome monorail, itself an enjoyable experience, across the Rainbow Bridge into the heart of a mini-amusement park on the edge of the Tokyo Bay.
Odaiba is a real treat: a veritable city of the future. We toured the Toyota Universal Design Showroom (where I sat in a Lexus for the first, and probably only, time in my life), road the gigantic kanransha (ferris wheel) (with its views of the Fuji TV headquarters--Hexagon forever!), and walked out by rainbow bridge to view the miniature Statue of Liberty (an exact replica of the one in New York, made by the same manufacturer and everything). (I’m not kidding about that last part. Proving that you really can find anything in Tokyo…) We took photographs everywhere, including some really funny ones of ourselves.
Eunja’s husband was meeting up with some friends from work in Shibuya around 7pm, and she asked me if I would like to go along. At first, I prevaricated on accepting the invitation. I haven’t been studying as much as I should lately. (Although, I would like to note that I have been working extremely hard on my conversation skills of late… way more than I ever did last time I was here… and I even attempt to insert new grammar and vocabulary into my conversations, too.) In the end, however, I accepted, and I am so happy I did.
Eunja’s husband, Kimu, is an absolutely loveable joker. He was constantly kidding me about how he was hoping I’d take Eunja with me back to the US to get her out of his hair, but it was clear that the affection between them is very great. We ate at a Korean BBQ place near the station, and he consistently (and somewhat sneakily) filled my dish with meat, kimchee, and other goodies anytime my back was turned. He also persisted in asking me funny questions, always prefaced with a “this is rude, but…” Eventually, I took to retorting, “But you’re going to ask me another delicate question.”
Their friends, Kanako and Ichiryo, were equally delightful. We had a wonderful dinner conversation, followed by a fun coffee conversation. They were both curious about me, about California, and about any number of other things. I explained my desire to learn Japanese, my interest in Gackt, and my political views to the best of my abilities. At one point, when they asked me if I was for McCain or Obama, I made a joke about assassinating McCain if he were elected and quickly had to explain that it was a joke. Both Eunja, Kanako, and Ichiryo were startled by the statement. (Kimu, it should be noted, was not startled.)
Obviously, I have yet to learn the nuances of irony in Japanese, but in other respects I seem to be doing alright. They persisted in praising me, although I really feel that my speaking skills are only average at this point. The added kindness was truly appreciated, though. Even though we all know that I’ve got miles to go, the encouragement helps me to keep on trekking the distance. And I really love that I’m getting to the point where I can have intelligent conversations with people.
We all have plans to meet up again once before I return to the US, and Kimu asked me if I had any particular type of Japanese food that I would like to eat. (They made much of my obvious penchant for trying new foods whenever the opportunity arose… I had the most gorgeously fragrant cherry tea this evening, by the way, and am continuing to eat my way across Japan.) I expressed a wish to try Shabu Shabu, as I’ve never before had it. And apparently, that’s what we’re going to do.
Dinner and coffee were paid for before I could contribute, and Ichiryo presented me with a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts as well--admonishing me to share them with friends. Somehow, I’m going to come up with a way to repay their incredible hospitality.
Eunja and I are going to Japan Midtown in Roppongi next Friday, and it really does seem as if this is the start of a beautiful friendship.
Odaiba is a real treat: a veritable city of the future. We toured the Toyota Universal Design Showroom (where I sat in a Lexus for the first, and probably only, time in my life), road the gigantic kanransha (ferris wheel) (with its views of the Fuji TV headquarters--Hexagon forever!), and walked out by rainbow bridge to view the miniature Statue of Liberty (an exact replica of the one in New York, made by the same manufacturer and everything). (I’m not kidding about that last part. Proving that you really can find anything in Tokyo…) We took photographs everywhere, including some really funny ones of ourselves.
Eunja’s husband was meeting up with some friends from work in Shibuya around 7pm, and she asked me if I would like to go along. At first, I prevaricated on accepting the invitation. I haven’t been studying as much as I should lately. (Although, I would like to note that I have been working extremely hard on my conversation skills of late… way more than I ever did last time I was here… and I even attempt to insert new grammar and vocabulary into my conversations, too.) In the end, however, I accepted, and I am so happy I did.
Eunja’s husband, Kimu, is an absolutely loveable joker. He was constantly kidding me about how he was hoping I’d take Eunja with me back to the US to get her out of his hair, but it was clear that the affection between them is very great. We ate at a Korean BBQ place near the station, and he consistently (and somewhat sneakily) filled my dish with meat, kimchee, and other goodies anytime my back was turned. He also persisted in asking me funny questions, always prefaced with a “this is rude, but…” Eventually, I took to retorting, “But you’re going to ask me another delicate question.”
Their friends, Kanako and Ichiryo, were equally delightful. We had a wonderful dinner conversation, followed by a fun coffee conversation. They were both curious about me, about California, and about any number of other things. I explained my desire to learn Japanese, my interest in Gackt, and my political views to the best of my abilities. At one point, when they asked me if I was for McCain or Obama, I made a joke about assassinating McCain if he were elected and quickly had to explain that it was a joke. Both Eunja, Kanako, and Ichiryo were startled by the statement. (Kimu, it should be noted, was not startled.)
Obviously, I have yet to learn the nuances of irony in Japanese, but in other respects I seem to be doing alright. They persisted in praising me, although I really feel that my speaking skills are only average at this point. The added kindness was truly appreciated, though. Even though we all know that I’ve got miles to go, the encouragement helps me to keep on trekking the distance. And I really love that I’m getting to the point where I can have intelligent conversations with people.
We all have plans to meet up again once before I return to the US, and Kimu asked me if I had any particular type of Japanese food that I would like to eat. (They made much of my obvious penchant for trying new foods whenever the opportunity arose… I had the most gorgeously fragrant cherry tea this evening, by the way, and am continuing to eat my way across Japan.) I expressed a wish to try Shabu Shabu, as I’ve never before had it. And apparently, that’s what we’re going to do.
Dinner and coffee were paid for before I could contribute, and Ichiryo presented me with a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts as well--admonishing me to share them with friends. Somehow, I’m going to come up with a way to repay their incredible hospitality.
Eunja and I are going to Japan Midtown in Roppongi next Friday, and it really does seem as if this is the start of a beautiful friendship.
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