Day the 3rd.. or maybe the 4th.
Today I slept in to about 10 o'clock and then hurried out of my room after my shower to check out and get situated to find my friend Katy. I got out of the room and checked my e-mail and thought about what I needed to do during the day and no matter what I thought of, I had to take the subway by myself. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, I knew all the vocabulary I had to to get around, except for the word for transfer, which hindered my trip back to Harijuku by a few minutes. I got on the train to Akihabara and made it there without a problem to check the second SEGA store that I was told about the night before so I didn't have to drag any one else back with me on the 24th. It was a bust, but I took a few nice pictures of some of the games that they hosted and some of the new things they were housing.
The trip to Akihabara wasn't that bad because it was just one stop over, but when I decided to go back to Harijuku things got a little hairy because I had to ask which train took me to the station and I was told about the fee and the transfer at the Ochyanomizu station, but didn't realize what he said until it was too late. I hopped on the right train and noticed right away that it wasn't heading to Harijuku, so I got off at Akihabara which is on the way to Harijuku and asked some one at the ticket office there. He told me about the transfer again and which platform I needed to get to take the right train. Shoubu Line / Chuuo Line if I remember correctly to the Yoyogi Station and then take the train one more stop on the Yamynote Line to Harijuku station. On the train to Yoyogi I had to ask about the transfer again because I didn't understand more then the train number and platform that I had to be on from the previous conversation. I was really hesitant to ask the man closest to me because I always feel weird taking to strangers in places like trains and elevators in the US, let alone foreign countries...
I made it to Harijuku and waited for my friend from home Katy to make it. When she found me, we walked along Harijuku and into the surrounding areas for an hour or so and then I had to brave the ride back to Ochinomizu to meet up with every one and take the train yet again, but this time to the Tokyo station. This was our second trip to Tokyo station and aside from it being pristinely white and very well kept, had a Penn Station/Boston North End station feel to it. It seems that no matter how you do it, mass transit is really all the same, the novelty of the place you are in comes from the language being spoken over the PA systems. We made it to the Shinkansen and rode about and hour and a half to Toyohashi station to transfer to a train that would take us to Toyokawa where we are staying for the next few days. I swear that the people in Japan are always running from something, maybe it's the people with the masks on signifying they are sick... trying to dodge disease or maybe it's fear of getting left behind but they never stop.
It's probably about time I mention the hotel rooms. while I am used to the size of the rooms, a lot of the people on the trip don't seem to be and were quite taken back. The rooms are really basic, bed, bathroom, television, AC unit, desk, a little nook for your jackets, and a few lights. The rooms can't be more then a ten foot by seven foot rectangle which shocked a lot of the people. I'm not a very worldy person, at least I don't thinkg so, but I've experienced the same style of hotel room when I was in London and you learn to appreciate that space, it teaches you to pack wisely among other things. Another thing that kinda threw every one was that to opperate the lights and AC units in the room, you have to insert your key into the slot on the wall, that was a new kind of fun... walking into my room, flipping the light switch, not getting any power, and then realizing what the kana on the wall that were illuminated said. Also another thing that we've all been chuckeling about are the toilets. There is so much functionality programmed into them that it just blows my mind. There are two bidets, a heater for the seat, and sometimes... it's rare, but they'll tell you about your health.
５月１８日 木曜日
秋葉原へ行ってからSEGA GIGOを見ました。これは小さいSEGAゲームセンターでしたが、７階もありました。後で、友達とあそびました。Katyさん と原宿とコンドメニアとキデスーランドへ行きました。コンドメニアは１階のコンドーム屋です。中にコンドームとおもしろいキャンデイーをうっています。キデスーランドは子供のおもちゃをうっています。５時にホテルへ帰ってから、新幹線駅へいかなければなりませんでした。それからとよかわへ行きました。