My First Visitor in Japan!!

My dad came to visit me this weekend! He came to Japan on business and was able to add a few personal days and come to Nagoya to visit me! It was funny because Manager had arranged for him to stay at the Az-Inn Obu with me and he arrived on Saturday while I was working. I woke up Sunday morning and got ready to go downstairs and ask what room he was in (I had gotten in at 2:30am and hadn't asked). I was just thinking of how I was getting used to not understanding anything being said around me when I suddenly heard someone talking and it sounded like ENGLISH! I put my head to the wall and sure enough, dad was next door talking on the phone! It was so nice to see him, even though I've only been gone 2.5 weeks.



We jumped on the train to Nagoya Station where I called my mom, burst into tears when I heard her voice and had every Japanese passerby staring at us. It started to rain so we hopped on the subway to Sakae (Nagoya's shopping district) with the mission of finding a bookstore with an English book section and the HUNDRED YEN STORE!! We found the bookstore, browsed for a while and then headed to the major department store. When I say department store I mean deapartment store. This one had Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs...and the list goes on and on. We saw some purses that were in the $30 000 price range and quickly backed away from them. We found the food floor, where it smelt like heaven and we bought some pastries (amazingly, they were reasonably priced!).
(Hand selected cherries - oh wait, that's what you do for me and Christopher, mom!)
(The famous square watermelon - Only $210)

We asked a girl in the bookstore where the hundred yen store was (we would NEVER have found it without her!) and I must have spent around 1.5 hrs in heaven, gawking at everything for a buck!). I restrained myself (I'm still living out of a suitcase until Tuesday) but made mental notes of things to go back for. I got some kick-ass stationary and the BEST notebook ever ('4 Sheeps on the grass. Sheeps are grazing quietly!' - with a picture of a house and 4 sheep).



We walked over to a fountain and ate our pastries, much to the amusement of the Japanese, who I have the sneaking suspicion thought my dad was my much older significant other. We then checked out this bizarre sports/shopping/garden complex that had a glass platform above it where you could walk around and look at dolphin statues in small pools of water. We couldn't understand its purpose...even after picking up a brochure. We took the subway back to Nagoya station and walked over to Bic Camera this HUGE electronics store. I looked at computer speakers and a printer but decided to see how small my apartment actually is before buying.
Dad treated me to an unagi (eel) dinner, where you scoop some rice and unagi into your rice bowl and then pour some green tea over top. SO DELICIOUS!!

This morning we went on a walk of Obu. Dad had walked around when he got here and had found a garden that he wanted to show me. It is located almost directly behind my work but I would never have found it it he hadn't have gone exploring. It was supremely humid today, so much so that our glasses were foggy and it was hard to breathe. It was trying to rain by not succeeding. We walked by some really nice houses and gardens and up a hill to this park-thing were there was a modern looking windmill structure. If you walk up it you can see all of Obu. I got bitten by about 500 mosquitos while we were checking it out and the cicadias were chirping like mad. I took a movie of the garden just to capture the insane sound! A little ways down the hill there is a garden with a bamboo forest and a small koi pond. Another 500 mosquito bites later we emerged beside the Obu library. I think I will visit the garden on my lunch/dinner breaks...but maybe in the autumn or winter when I won't be eaten alive!





I went into work for a couple hours to lesson plan and then dad and I hopped on the train to explore the area around my apartment.
(The third balcony from the right on the second floor could possibly be my apartment...but as there are no street signs or numbers in Japan, I'm not 100% sure)
We think we found my apartment (I'll find out tomorrow for sure) and right around the corner is the most awesome 99yen store (open 24 hours) that is mainly a grocery store! I almost wept at the sight of the fruit and veg!!! I think I might have to create a 100 yen store budget for myself or I know where all of my money is going to go!

(A 2 minute walk from my apartment...this is dangerous!)
(Look at how happy I am to find cheaper fruit and vegetables!!)

We also found the real grocery store that had beautiful produce for pretty good prices! We walked around forever just staring at the fruit, vegetables and fish. I can't wait to start cooking for myself. I am afraid I might be getting scurvy...

Much relieved that I won't starve in my new apartment (Mateo walked around all day yesterday and couldn't find a grocery store near HIS apartment....He later learned it was over 20 minutes away) we headed to Kanayama station (where we got the train) and ate some Chinese food. It was no Lee Gardens but it was tasty. We experienced a little bit of drama on the train when we realized we were on an express train and it might not stop at Obu. Dad whipped out my digital camera and zoomed in on the picture of the train schedule we had randomly photographed earlier in the day. We decided to stay on the train and luckily, the train did stop at Obu.
(A shrine located in a parking lot beside an office building. A woman came out to look at me take this picture. I felt like saying, 'what?? you're the one with the shrine in your parking lot!')

Tomorrow dad goes to Osaka for the day, I go to work and then move into my apartment. On Wednesday morning dad will come and visit my apartment and then head for the airport. It has been an amazing weekend and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be coming back to Japan on business more often.

(Aaron, yet another enjoyable flavour of KitKat - I think it is green tea and red bean dessert...SO YUMMY!)