August 5: Seiichiro came and took me to dinner and to a movie. We had some tasty sushi. Most of the sushi I've had here has mayonnaise in it (sorry, Miranda) which is tasty. Then, we went to Star Wars Episode Two. I was reading the Japanese subtitles and it's much better in Japanese than in English. Seiichiro is getting me a cel phone! I was so surprised! He takes very good care of me. Nothing special happened in the days that followed...just hung out and explored Komaki a bit.
August 10: Today, I went to Gifu with Matthew and a bunch of friends. We went to a river, had a barbeque, and went fishing. I promptly fell in the river and got soaked; fortunately it was very shallow. We rented fishing poles, and when the people came and stocked the river, we fished. We had bamboo poles with strings attached (naturally I broke my hook immediately) I tied it back on and caught two fish. One fo the guys, Masa, decided the reason I didn't catch anymore after that was because my line was set up wrong, so he repaired the line for me. It didn't help. Later, we grilled all the fish on skewers and ate them, and had watermelon. I had a really good time, but I'm so sunburned!!
August 11: I met Ayumi at Nagoya station today and we went out. She is such a sweet girl. We started in Sakae and went through Central Park, a grassy area full of ponds and trees in the center of the town, and then to the TV tower in Sakae. The tower's observation deck is about 100 meters up so you can see everything. After that, we went to Osu Kannon temple, which is a gorgeous temple. We prayed there and took pictures, and then went to a strip mall to shop. We had shaved ice there (pictured below). It's like an american sno-cone except not nearly as sweet. Then, we went to Nagoya Castle for a festival. It was amazing. The greeters at the gates were dressed as palace guards, complete with spears. Many of the visitors were dressed in kimono. The castle was full of attractions--performances of music, dance, plays, lots of good food and craft booths. (Think Japan meets the Rennaissance Festival) Ayumi and I had dinner, then went to an artillary show. A group of men dressed as samurai, complete with armor, katana and wakazashi, stood on a wall and fired matchlock powder rifles. Those things have a hellish kick and frankly I don't know how they stayed upright. Afterwards, they came down and mingled with the crowds. We toured the castle, listened to a koto performance, and wandered through the gardens. The castle was all lit up and the gardens were covered in white lights. It was a lot of fun.
Having a snack with Ayumi outside of Osu Kannon temple
