I'm heeeeere!

Well, I am in Osaka. It was a long trip and by the time I arrived, I felt so completely gross. My flight took me from San Antonio, Texas to Salt Lake City, Utah. There I connected to Seattle and flew out of Seatac to Kansai International Airport in Osaka. The last flight was so very long. I was extremely lucky, though, because I got two seats to myself the entire 10+ hour flight, which enabled me to attempt some of the more unique sleeping positions on the plane. I'd also brought along a sleeping mask and earplugs because I have a hard time sleeping places that're noisy and bright. Finally, I'd stayed up all night long the night before, so by the time I got on the last flight, I was absolutely exhausted. I probably slept for 4-6 hours, not all in one block but off and on, and that's certainly a good way to eat up most of a long flight.

The plane landed at about 4:30 at Kansai, and within an hour I had all of my luggage and was through customs. And yes, I did declare the 1 LB of coffee and 16 oz. of almonds I brought with me which, while it raised some eyebrows, they did allow through. Another gaijin bought an entire 10 LB bag of rice. I couldn't fathom bringing rice TO Japan, but according to him, it's pretty expensive here. We ended up sitting next to each other on the train and chatting during the ride, which took about an hour. Both the airport and train were very clean, and it was neat riding through the urban areas of Osaka by train. Ordering my ticket for the train was simple too. You can get tickets through the ticket machine, but they are all in Japanese (cursed Kanji), but they had a clerk as well and I just told her I wanted to get to the Fukushima station, and she printed out my ticket and handed it to me. Then it was just figuring out how to use the ticket. It's not just that I'm a gaijin, but we don't have trains in Texas. Well, freight trains, but no subways or rail lines. Learning experience!

I had to switch trains at the Nishikujo station, which caused some confusion for me because while it was very clear that I had to get OFF the train at Nishikujo, and had to get ON to the train going to Fukushima, it was less clear about which train that was, or how to find it. I got off at the station and many trains passed me, but none were labeled Fukushima, and none of the overhead speakers said anything about Fukushima when trains arrived. There were two platforms, each with a train arriving pretty frequently. I didn't want to get on the wrong train because god knows where I'd end up. In the end, I just asked someone which train went to Fukushima, and he pointed me in the right direction. That trip was very short, as Fukushima is only about three stops from Nishikujo. The hostel had sent me directions on how to get to the hostel from Kansai, including the train change and then walking directions. It said to exit the station and go left at the Mr. Donuts, but then the road forked. One area was well lit and had lots of restaurants, bars and shopping. The other seemed a bit quieter and perhaps more residential, so I went that way.

It was the wrong way. I only went about three blocks in the wrong direction, but by this point I was positively exhausted and was towing five months' worth of luggage. I stepped into a small shop and asked the shopkeeper where the J-Hoppers was. He looked confused, so I switched tactics and asked where there was a hostel (ho-su-te-ru). His eyes lit up with comprehension and he sent me on my way. The people at the hostel were very polite and helped me check in and get my luggage up to my shared dorm room. The hostel is VERY clean. I took a shower right off the bat, as it was my priority. My priorites going something like this: SHOWER, food and/or sleep. After the shower I felt pretty invigorated and wanted to get some dinner. I walked a couple of blocks away from the hostel and found a small restaurant/bar that was hopping. Well, I had been looking for something a bit more traditional, but you can't see into many of the establishments from the outside, so I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I opened the door to check and literally every single person in the place stopped and stared.

The bartender asked if I was alone (Hitori?) and I said yes. At that point, the group at the closest table jumped up and insisted that I sit with them. I hadn't really planned to go to a bar, my main objective at that point was food, but it felt rude to decline their invitation, so I sat with them. The mainstay of the table was a woman who's name I've forgotten (I'm a terrible gaijin), but they all had nicknames anyway. One was a salary man who went by the nickname gorilla (gorira, heh). Another was a server for the bar that the woman kept telling me was a "bad boy with a good heart." A third man was the woman's boyfriend ("honey," "sweety," etc.) I said "Kare?" which means boyfriend, and she nodded affirmatively. There were other people too but this was the core group. Most people in the bar were introduced to me. Everyone was really nice. I drank my Asahi and realized I was about to faint from hunger, so I asked if there was any food.

The girl at my table asked me what I liked, and I said everything. Surprised (and perhaps unsure whether I understood her or not), she went down the list. Pork? Yes. Chicken? Yes. Vegetables? Yes. Then Gorira asked if I had eaten Udon, and I said "Yes! I like udon." Within a few minutes a big bowl of steaming vegetable/tofu udon was at my table. They at least pretended to be impressed when I started eating with chopsticks, then all of them laughed hysterically when I burned my mouth on the hot broth and exclaimed "Hatsui!" ("hot," obviously). I made an over-the-top frowny face and said "Urusai!" ("Shut up!") The udon was really good, and had big, flat squares of tofu floating in it. The woman at my table explained to me two things: 1) that tofu was going to be REALLY hot, so I should blow on it and 2) that I should cut it into pieces.

As a foreigner, one should be aware of when you just don't know how to do something. It's okay to ask for help. My dinner didn't come with a knife (but they did offer a fork, which I politely declined), but I was confused as to how to cut the tofu with chopsticks. I knew it could be done, but I preferred to not look like a total ass and mishandle the chopsticks, so I asked the woman next to me how to do it. She held the chopsticks together and pushed them into the center of the tofu, then opened them up so that the chopsticks went in opposite directions and tore the tofu. I copied her tactic and had success! The tofu was REALLY delicious, sort of a sweet and savory mixed flavor. The udon really hit the spot overall.

I was overwhelmed with sleepiness by this point (about 9:30pm), so I asked if they would be at the same place tomorrow evening. They said they would, so I plan to go back again tomorrow although this time I am going to eat beforehand. My bill of two beers and 1 bowl of udon was about $21.00 USD (1,800 Yen). I plan to find a grocery store at some point today and take advantage of the kitchen we have at the hostel.

It's 5 AM now, and I've been awake since about 4. My clock is still adjusting, but I at least slept from 10p-4a, which isn't so bad. I will probably grab another couple of hours of sleep if I can this morning, and if not I'll take a nap later today. My objectives for today is to find a grocery store and prepare my own meal in the kitchen, and then maybe find Osaka castle - it's supposed to be about twelve minutes away. Oh, and have some Okonomiyaki, Osaka's famous food!

Jaa mata ne (see you later)!