Inuyama

Another Sunday spent exploring a nearby town with 3 Japanese tour guides! Three ladies from work wanted to introduce me to Inuyama. It was about a 30 minute train ride from Nagoya.

This guy reminds me of a Japanese version of Curious George!

Kerri poses with a demon! We have arrived at "Momotaro Shrine". We decided to call this guy "Peach Boy" because legend has it he was found inside a giant peach. "Momo" means peach, and "Taro" is a common boys name.

Even the caves are small in Japan! The girls I was with could bend over and walk through this thing, but I got stuck!!

Peach Boy recruited these strange animals to fight demons with him! I must warn you this story is a fairy tale and quite strange!!

The story of Peach Boy. (If you're still curious, google "Momotaro in Inuyama".)

New friends: Yuko, Kaori, Akiko, and Kerri.

Monkeying around (while waiting for the shuttle bus) with Yuko, Kerri, Kaori, and Akiko.

Next stop is Inuyama Temple. Here is the map with plenty of stairs!!

The climb begins!

Akiko stops to admire the 7 Japanese Gods featured on this rotating ball.

At the temple, I ring the giant bell and make a wish. (Perhaps I should wish that next weekend's adventure has fewer stairs...)

The amusement park in the distance is called "Japan Monkey Park" and features rides as well as several species of monkeys.

Many people were walking to these various touristy places, but we (thankfully) we taking a free shuttle bus!

This meal was like my very own "Fear Factor". This fish meal came highly recommended, and I always take the locals advice. First, we had to pick the bones out of our fish. I felt like I was doing a dissection in Biology class. I decided to pick out a few organs, too, and leave the head and tail on my plate. Next, I put the edible pieces and parts back in my personal hot pot and stir it up with rice and gobo (a Japanese vegetable). The gobo was pretty slimy and gross. I was afraid to ask exactly what it was until after my meal. There was no way I would have guessed it was a vegetable. I was thinking maybe eel. The other scary part was this pickled plum they wanted me to try. Yikes!!! So super sour. I had to spit out the pit and was tempted to spit out the whole thing... but I didn't!

Yuko, Kerri, & Akiko ready for the main event: Inuyama Castle!

This is the oldest standing castle in Japan, built in 1537. They even had a brochure in English, so I learned all sorts of fun facts!

View from the balcony of the castle. Breathtaking scenery.

But super windy and cold when you're outside and up that high.

I love all of the intricate details of it's construction, even from 1537!!

Video Tour of Apartment

By popular demand... here's a video tour of my "lived in" apartment! You must go directly to the blog to view it. Hope everyone enjoys!!

Weird & Wonderful: Shopping with KG!

I've seen some crazy things in the stores (non-food related, of course), and here are a few of my favorites!!

Head covers for golf clubs... These things are enormous (in a land where everything is small!), and Stitch looks so insane!! It cracks me up!

Miniature golf bags to go with your giant head cover. I'm still not sure if these are just for display only, or maybe marketed for midgets. There is no way a normal person could use this thing! (Look at the Stitch head cover on the far left... it's half the size of the bag!) Here's some coin-operated machines for kids. The kicker is that they cost between $2-$4!!! For a random toy from a vending machine!! I wonder what this top left one is with the fish display?!

Now if you want to make your house safe, just buy these outlet safety plugs shaped as fun-colored animals!! Nothing will draw Junior's attention better than having a toy plugged into a something that could possibly electrocute you!! (No worries, I'm a good aunt... Rylan won't be finding these in her Christmas stocking this year!)

Cute kids shoes called "Dino-soles"! But they come with a pretty price tag, too, over $60.

The Japanese love English, but some times they just don't "get" it. Exhibit A: This shirt reads "I love happy smile dearwish: the wonderful girl of the smile." I think the best part was that as I was taking the picture, I noticed a woman near me who was carrying it over to the check-out register!! Priceless :)

I must get my "eyelashes" done before I come home for the holidays!!

Some bikes have built-in mittens on the handle bars to keep your fingers toasty warm!!

All baby clothes comes wrapped in plastic. It's kinda a bummer because I really like to feel the fabric on most things before I buy. Other clothes aren't like that, so it's puzzling to me.

Some dressers with pretty cool knobs. This place has IKEA beat for sure!!

Foreign food store! I was so excited to find 7-Up, Cherry Coke, and A&W!! Too bad it's $1.50 a can! Still nice to know I have options!

These things are the cool version of Crocs: "Polliwalks". (Complete with even a tail!) Too bad they only come in kids sizes because I'd be all about those pink snakeskin ones ;)

American Inspiration

Here's a pic of Japanese McDonald's. It was taken at 11:45am last Saturday morning, and I immediately thought of Gma & Gpa!!! Maybe Mom can print this out, and it can be a topic of conversation at lunch tomorrow! "I'm Lovin' It" is all over the world!

This is the best seating I have a seen at McDonald's so far. Often times is just a counter to lean against. This one actually has 2-person tables. I'm not sure there would be room for the entire Townsend clan, though!!

By the way, I saw a sign for a "Bacon Potato Cake" that I will certainly be trying next time I eat at McDonald's in Japan. It sounds delicious!!

Tonight after work, two girls and I decided to get dinner at... Cold Stone Creamery!! So yummy!

It appears they have fewer flavors of ice cream than the US. For instance, my favorite "birthday cake" is missing.

Here's our creations!! The girls got Berry Berry Berry Good, and I ordered a Japan special Greeeeen Tea Party! It had green tea ice cream, pound cake, whipped cream, and green tea powder sprinkled on it. I thought it was super tasty :)

Work Party!

Last night kicked off my month of Japanese parties!! This one was a Farewell/Welcome Party for the General Manager(s) of our division. Saying good-bye to one, and welcoming the other.

Forty-four of us went to a traditional Japanese restaurant complete with kneeling on the tatami rug.

Appetizer #1: Some strange flaky stuff laying in a clear soup garnished with fish eggs. I ate it all!

Appetizer #2: Sashimi (raw fish) garnished with cucumber, radish, & wasabi. The people sitting near me knew I wasn't a big fan, so I ate part of it to be polite, and then passed it on to my hungry neighbor.

Appetizer #3: Breaded and baked fish laying in what they describe as "cheese sauce". Not like any cheese I've ever tasted though. Either way, so yummy!

Appetizer #4: The right is a rice ball wrapped in black seaweed. The left no one was quite sure. (Not even the waitress!) Maybe cooked fish or chicken. I ate it all!

Main Dish #1: All of these ingredients go into a giant hot pot, and then we all elbow each other and fight over the food in the pot. There's usually 4-6 people sharing one pot of mystery food. Some of the items included: crab, green onions, mushrooms, squid, chicken, leafy greens, cabbage, and all sorts of other Japanese things that I still can't name yet.

Ema is loading up our pot (like a work of art, I might add) getting ready to cook it for us!!

Michiho (she organized this dinner) and I are ready to dig in. I do okay with chopsticks as long as it isn't slippery noodles or corn niblets. Both have proven to be quite challenging for me. P.S. for Yuki: See I'm drinking Ramune! (It's Japanese soda that has a marble on top that you have to push into the bottle and "pop" it open!)

Kono and Ema fighting over a crab leg!

Our pot is cooking now!! I really enjoyed this method of eating because people had no idea what I was eating and what I was avoiding!! Hahaha. You can get away with only eating your favorites :)

This is the pot next to us. They had an orangeish base of soup, while ours was clear soup. Theirs is more spicy and has slightly different ingredients. I ate out of both, and the spicy one definitely had better flavor!!

Main Dish #2 (which I forgot to take a picture of until we were almost done!): At the end you get to pick noodles or rice mixed with eggs to finish up the clear soup and random bits still hanging around. My group let me choose, and I picked rice, my new favorite side item.

Dessert (sadly they serve only one and it's miniature!): A scoop of ice cream, smothered with something that appeared to be applesauce, plus 2 chunks of apples and a spring of mint. One of the guys didn't want theirs, so they passed it down to me!! Less than a month knowing these people, yet they already know my weakness for ice cream :)

Toilets!!

Sorry to anyone who receives this one twice. My blog had a little attitude problem, but I think I have it all straightened out!

Ahh, the long-awaited blog about toilets!! I've had several requests, and it's finally time to share!

First a pic of the toilets at Mitsui. This thing has all of the bells and whistles, and I simply love it!! Features include: heated seat, gurgling sound, fake flushing noise, bidet, shower, and automatic flusher!

Here's the control that's on the wall. In some offices (or hotels), this thing is attached to the side of the toilet. I've tested all of the buttons. From the left... red square = stop, spray thing = shower, spray thing w/person = bidet, air waves = blow dry. Then of course, the big round knob is to adjust the pressure of any of these features. The first time I tried out a toilet like this was in a hotel, and I was standing next to the toilet. Water started shooting every where!! And I didn't know how to stop it yet!! So now I've tried out all of the features in the sitting position, too!!!

Here's another controller you can put your hand in front of if you desire a little more privacy and some louder gurgling noises. Plus, push the button for a flushing sound!! Here's the first Asian-style "squatter" toilet I experienced on the 2nd day in Tokyo. As you can see the top has a small "hood" and that is the side you part you face. It helps prevent peeing on yourself. I took a pic while it was flushing so you can see the water running through it from back to front.

Here is the special "VIP restroom" I was escorted to at the Transystem Office in India. Many of the locations in India didn't even have women's restrooms (since none worked there) so I was thankful to find a toilet at all!

Curiosity got me, so I had to go find the other women's restroom and take a pic of what I was upgraded from...

Here's a repeat. This is the toilet at my apartment. No heated seat or fancy gurgling noises! but I do have that faucet on top that automatically runs when you flush it. You're supposed to wash your hands immediately, but I don't like the cold water, lack of soap, and splashing water everywhere!

Uhhh, yeah... I walked in this bathroom (in a Nagoya subway station) and walked right back out to check the sign to make sure it was Women. The toilet is on the right, it's out in the open behind no door, and I have no idea how you would use it. Maybe it's okay if you are wearing a skirt or a dress with no tights, but otherwise... seriously?! The item on the left is the sink. No soap, no warm water, and no way to dry your hands. (This is very common in subway stations or other public restrooms.) I now carry a handkerchief to dry my hands on and also some antibacterial wet wipes in case there's no soap. (FYI - the hankie is also handy at restaurants because many places don't have napkins. They give you a warm, wet towelette to clean up with prior to the meal, but nothing for your lap or to wipe your face.)

Here's an Asian toilet that I've mastered. The handle bar is super helpful for balancing. Just as I've gotten used to the squatter toilets (they're really not as bad as you would expect), I've also realized that the last stall in the bathroom usually is handicapped and has a Western-style toilet. As long as there is no line or other people waiting, I will (of course) go for the Western toilet!!