Jyuu hachi?? Honto?!

Pictures are already up from today, detailing my lunching adventure. Dinner pics soon.

Also maybe I should explain the blog titles. Basically it's the phrase that I heard the most that day. Irashaimase = welcome, Atsui ne? = Hot, isn't it? Calpis Hitotsu onegaishimasu = ONE CALPIS PLEASE because I can't stop drinking them.

Today's is jyuu hachi, honto? (18, really?!) because two people guessed that I was 23 (impressive that they at least chose the same number and weren't even in the same room together) and someone else guessed like 20. They all said JYUU HACHIIII? HONTOOOO?!

We met up with Nicky's co-worker, Kawashima san, and she treated us to lunch at a veggie friendly buffet, which to them is called "viking style." MAKES SENSE THOUGH. It was delicious and I ate so much, and spoke some Japanese to the lady. (My plate includes yaki soba, rice w/ seaweed flakes, egg something, tenpura vegetables, something that was like rice and vegetable florentine, which was delicious, some sweet spongey material similar in concept to tofu...and I don't remember what else. Also the token calpis.) We left that place and she took us back to her traditional japanese home w/ garden, which was amazing and also awkward, and really really humid.

She then took us to the "national treasure," whatever that means- but from what I observed it is a giant buddha shrine in Miki, which is where we ate lunch, and is right outside of Ono. Pics. The buildings were of course lovely, and I almost got in trouble for photographing buddha, but thankfully I remembered how to construct a sentence in japanese, asking if if was okay to take pictures.
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6:30 rolled around and we went to Matsuyama san's house, aka the Bus Lady for dinner... she practically yanked me out of the car excitedly and hugged me and was like NICE TO MEET YUUUUU and I said HAJIMEMASHITEEEEE... And she giggled, as they all do, when I attempt to speak their language. She had prepared a lot of fish and vegetable dishes in my honor, knowing I don't eat meat (the land dwelling variety) and also hand-made my mom and I a little purse. Which is totes cute. Tote, hah. She made these little whole fish bodies for me, bones and all, and I felt bad so I tried to eat one but the bones in my mouth made me kinda want to puke. I bit an effing fish in half. Anyways the rest was delicious (maki rolls with tuna salad inside, and other kind with egg, that sweet tofu sponge, and shiitake) (and more tenpura vegetables)... we finished it off with tea and a hilarious birthday ceremony for Matsuyama san, whose bday is tomorrow. Everyone was very cordial and talked a whole lot to me even though I only understood a fraction of what they were saying. They complimented me on my japanese a lot, (both the matsuyama dinner party and the kawashima lunch party) (NIHONGO GA JYOUZU!!!) but probably because I just say "mm, sou." all the time. As I said before, the head nod and "mm" works just fine; although I did answer two questions wrong in that manner.

Oh also the 15 year old girl Mikiko got me a little fan and some stickers, which was super cute. She was reallyyy nice. Her brother, who sat next to me, "Shin," didn't talk much at all. Actually, he just didn't talk. I felt bad because I felt like I was supposed to talk to him but clearly we're both shy and the ladies we were eating with weren't making it any better by pointing at us and saying IIIIII (iiii) COUPLE. ii meaning "good, fine," etc.

Awkward.

written by  RoboRaptor on August 7, 2008 from Miki, Japan
from the travel blog: Japan: Irashaimase!
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