(Went to Shitennoji Wasso festival at Naniwanomiya-ato Koen on Nov 2nd after church; according to Kansai Time Out, Nov 2008 edition "annual event to recreate cultural exchanges btwn Japan and other East Asian countries in early Japanese history. The terms wasso derives from a Korean word meaning "has come" and is believed to be the origin of the Japanese wasshoi, which people shout as they carry portable shrines at festivals." They had great performances, including children doing the Korean head twirling thing, sword routines, Korean dancing, musicians - lots of fun!)
Before I review our first week, I just want to say a big thank you to all of our friends thinking of us and praying for us. If you only knew how touched and strengthened we are by each and everyone of you, your words, your prayers... Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!!!
Our first week looked like this:
Mon, Oct 27 - leave ICN, S. Korea (bought a box of Shin ramen, kimchi, and seaweed before we left!), arrive KIX, Japan, "check-in" to apartment we're renting for a month, dinner (bought bento boxes), sleep.
Tue, Oct 28 - Shin ramen for breakfast, went for a walk looking for 100 JPY store but failed and returned to apt, tried again late afternoon and found big marketplace and 100 JPY store, bought 5kg sack of rice, chicken, fish, cereal, milk, eggs, veggies, Korean side-dish, marmalade, sliced bread, etc so we can eat at home as much as poss, had broiled fish (very bland) with rice for dinner.
Wed, Oct 29 - ate toast with marmalade and cereal for brekkie, took subway for first time and went to Korea Town, ate lunch there at a restaurant called Arirang and met 4 Japanese women crazy about Korean drama and pop culture :), walked through Korea Town, tried a snack called takotamasen sold around the corner from our apt, sent Peter to buy vegetable oil and he came back with EVOO as it was the only one that had English on the label :), had curry for dinner.
Thu, Oct 30 - Peter had leftover curry for brekkie, I had toast, ate diff types of donburi with udon for lunch (I had buns too), went to Osaka Aquarium, curry for dinner.
Fri, Oct 31 - ate toast, eggs!, and cereal for brekkie, did our laundry, went to Umeda Station to meet Bobby & Claire (we were so blessed by them and everything that they shared with us!!!), tried out some Japanese bread at one of the bakeries in the huge shopping area "Hankyu Sanban Gai" surrounding the station to wait for the rush-hour madness to die down so we don't get squished, saw people-pushing guy with white gloves for the first time!, bought juice (was going to try to not drink anything other than water to save money but so hard...), bananas (Sara Juhee needs fruit...), more sliced bread (this time one with EIGHT slices!!!), blueberry jam (another small jar), etc, finished leftover curry for dinner.
Sat, Nov 1 - my birthday! :), toast, cereal and eggs for brekkie, laundry, had lunch at small restaurant around the corner, stopped by local park on our way to marketplace and bought gifts, groceries, etc, ate donkatsu (pre-cooked, from supermarket, yummy!) ate rice for dinner.
Sun, Nov 2 - ate toast with sausages!!! and cereal for brekkie, went to New Hope International Fellowship Osaka Church (very interesting!), went to the Wasso Festival and had dduk-bok-ki that didn't really taste like dduk-bok-ki (maybe a Japanese version?), had rice and grilled chicken cooked by Peter at home.
Mon, Nov 3 - cereal and toast for brekkie (no more sausages and eggs :(), rested and cleaned at home, Shin ramen for lunch, mapo tofu for dinner.
Things we've learned / observed about Japan this past week:
* Food expensive confirmed, experiencing "to the max" as our youth kids would say. Buying groceries and eating at home is expensive, eating out is even more expensive. There's no cheap alternative - or maybe we just haven't discovered it yet? Or maybe when we stop comparing to the US... :)
* Everything sold at the 100 JPY "dollar store" store actually costs 105 JPY. Even so, it's still a bargain!
* There isn't a god statuette-house thing at every street as we were told by someone.
* It's not pristine here like so many told us it would be. It's probably definitely cleaner than most big cities, but coming from California, I think the hardest things for us to get used to will be the air pollution and cigarette smoke being everywhere. Also, the water at the park was murky and there was even an old man peeing on the flowers in full view (no bushes or anything) - completely shocked and grossed me out.
* A lot of signage within subway stations are in at least Japanese and English and sometimes in Korean as well. Every station has its own map of the station itself (the various exits, location of bathrooms, etc), the immediate surrounding area and major attractions.
* People cycle everywhere and with no helmets. Saw first helmet today and it was on a 3-year old Korean girl (friend's daughter). Our initial impression of people not locking their bikes was wrong - they do, it's just tiny and so easy to use we didn't even notice them locking their bikes as they got off! Apparently bicycle theft is very common so locks are a must.
* If you don't bike, make sure you have a good pair of shoes or prepare to pay a lot to travel using public transportation.
* In terms of fashion: anything goes!
* Suit pants lengths are shorter than in Korea, the US and Europe.
* Baby items are really expensive (as in Korea).
* Most people are extremely polite, especially the older generation and those in the service industry.
* A 3,000 JPY subway ticket will get you 3,300 JPY worth of rides. :)
* Despite what both Peter and I were taught when we learned Japanese during uni (college) and 6th form college (respectively), Katakana is used almost everywhere!!! We were always taught that Kanji and Hiragana are the most used but there is sooooooooo much Katakana everywhere. This has made things a bit more difficult for us as my Katakana's not as good as my Hiragana.
* Students wear uniforms on Sunday too - didn't think they had school on Sundays but maybe they do???
* Young people here are becoming more western in terms of PDA. We've even seen a young couple kissing in public.
* There are lots of physically disabled people and they seem to be very well taken care of. I guess it's one of the advantages of living in a socialist society. As in the UK, the healthcare and welfare system in Japan seems to be very mindful of the elderly and the disabled. At the aquarium, there were young adult volunteers taking the physically disabled around in wheelchairs and in Korea Town there was a shop called "Wheelchair" with disabled people in wheelchairs at the shop working.
Lots more to tell!!!
Good night~
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