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| Day Two: Osaka | |
|
7.31.2003
10:38 AM | Link |
 We're here! Immigration and customs are really easy, though it's interesting to see all the workers wearing surgical masks (just in case, I suppose). Jonathan and I have no problem changing our money, so now our pockets are full of yen. We sit and have an iced coffee while we wait for Matt, and he arrives in just a few short minutes. We buy tickets for an express train into town, and suddenly we are speeding through the night, passing pachinko parlors and love hotels. It's good to talk to Matt and find out about the things he has planned for us to do!
We take a taxi to Matt's apartment - the taxi has automatic doors, doilies on the seats, and the driver wears white gloves. It's amazing to hear Matt speak with the driver! We arrive at the apartment, which is really cool - everything looks brand new (and most of it is!). Kumiko, Matt's fiancee, has left little welcome gifts for Jonathan and I - little boxes of candy with toys and train cards for Hankyu and JR lines. We leave to walk to a restaurant for dinner, and Kumiko passes us waving on her bicycle. We eat yakiniku at a restaurant called Gyu Kaku, where the tables have a built-in barbecue pit full of hot coals, and we are served heaping plates of thinly sliced meat that we cook ourselves. I would never has guessed that we were eating tongue, along with pork, roast, Bi Bim Ba'b (a rice dish), along with plenty of refreshing beer. I'm amazed at the taste of shiso - a wonderful leaf that you can wrap a piece of meat in before you pop it in your mouth. We say good night to Kumiko and head back to Matt's apartment for a night cap that becomes a small binge. We have a great time talking about life and drinking Suntory whisky, sitting in the cool night on the balcony watching the neon of Hotel Raffine across the street. Eventually we roll out the futons (brand new deluxe models for Jonathan and I) and fall asleep with no problem whatsoever. |
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