Adventures in Ryokan

 My first view of Japan, from the plane!

 My hotel room from last night.  All to myself! I was surprised.

The view of the street from my room last night when we got in.

Today we woke up in Nagoya, and had breakfast in our hotel.  I think I like Japanese style breakfast.  I’d rather have rice and miso soup and fish and tempura shrimp and stuff like that then bacon and eggs or biscuits or cereal.  I did try some natto, just to be adventurous.  I didn’t like it.  I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t taste good.  It’s the texture I can’t deal with.  I didn’t notice the smell, or even much of a flavor, but the texture just wasn’t good.  Just in case anyone was wondering.

After breakfast, we checked out of our rooms, and then went on a quick tour of Nagoya Station.  We saw where all of the train lines start and where to get tickets and stuff like that.  There are 5 or 6 train lines all in Nagoya Station: the Shinkansen (bullet train), Meitetsu line (don’t know the English, sorry), Aonami line, Japan Railways, the subway, and some other thing I’m probably forgetting about.  Plus the station is full of shops and cafes and places like that. (And, incidentally, schoolgirls in uniforms and old ladies in kimono.  And a bunch of other people, obviously, but those two groups of people stood out to me as being very what people think of when they think of Japan.  So, yes, school uniforms really are adorable and some girls really do seem to wear their skirts quite short, and yes, obaa-chans really still wear kimono.)

It was really hot and humid today in Nagoya.  34 degrees Celsius, the weather forecast said, which is about 93 degrees Fahrenheit.  It was so humid, and yet it seemed like everyone I saw (unless they were wearing tiny skirts or shorts or something) was wearing long sleeves, or cardigans.  So they’d be wearing a skirt, or shorts, but then a shirt with a sweater over it! In my shorts and a t-shirt I was like “How are you doing this?!” This wasn’t everyone, of course, but it was enough people that I noticed.
I also noticed I hadn’t really seen anyone wearing sunglasses, but whatever, my eyes are so bad anyway.  They absolutely don’t need to get worse from UV exposure.

After the train station tour we got on a charter bus back in front of our hotel and headed to Inuyama, where we’re having our orientation.  It was about an hour long bus ride, but we stopped halfway through at a convenience store along the highway, where people could buy snacks if they wanted.  I found the highway interesting because, beyond just the fact that everyone drives on the left, it just seemed so different.  Streets in general seem a lot narrower, and cars a lot boxier.  With the narrow streets I was definitely a little nervous on our bus.  Our driver drove totally safely, I’m just glad I wasn’t doing the driving!  Maybe it’s just because it’s a big city but it seems like all the buildings just loom over the streets, with signs jutting out at angles.  Almost like a forest of buildings. 

At Inuyama we’re staying at a ryokan, a Japanese style inn.  It’s very pretty, rooms with futons and tatami matt floors and screen doors and all of that.  Our room came with a tea service!

When we first arrived at the ryokan we split for lunch.  Most of our group walked to the first restaurant we all saw, which had bigger signs and looked like it might be more of a tourist attraction.  Five of us were lagging behind a bit so we decided we’d walk on to the next restaurant because we only had 50 minutes and didn’t want to overwhelm the one restaurant.  We went and got yakisoba.  It was pretty tasty.  It was also kind-of funny because the waitress didn’t know English at all and didn’t expect us to know Japanese so she kind-of just showed us a menu with English on it and pointed.  I ordered my food just fine in Japanese, though.   It was pretty tasty.

After that we had an orientation session, and then Japanese classes -- for three hours.  I think they’ve definitely placed me into the wrong level.  We spent part of the review reviewing hiragana, the most basic unit of the Japanese language.  I know I’d test into a higher level of Japanese than this, so it makes sense to review something that’s an actual challenge.  I’m not sure who to talk to about switching out of this level.  Other people in my class are in the same boat, though.  I don’t want to waste six more hours...!

Then we had a bit of free time, during which the 3 people in my room and I made tea, and just kinda sat around.




Then it was dinner time.

Don't ask me what half of those things are.  I have no idea.  Most of it was quite tasty though.
Here's a close-up just for you, Julie.

After dinner we poked around the basement of the hotel (where our dinner was) some more just to see what was there and found the onsen, or public bath.  It was very pretty and looked peaceful, and there was no one in there bathing at the time so I figured I'd go have a bath.
By the time I got back down there, though, a bunch of people in my program were already bathing.
For those who don't know, how Japanese baths work, there's a station to wash your body, with a stool and a shower.  You soap up, wash your hair and all that, and then rinse off.  After that you get in the bath to relax.
ours looked a bit like this. 

 You can see in this picture of another onsen what the showers are kind-of like.

The whole experience was a lot less awkward than I thought it might have been.  Once I got over myself and just took my clothes off it was really fine.  It's not like anyone's really even looking at each other or anything.  And it was so relaxing.

Well, I'm off to bed.  Got class early in the morning, and then we're touring Inuyama Castle!

Good night!