The title of this post relates to the fact that my nametag at work reads ‘Paolo’ and not ‘Paul’. This can easily be remedied by a new nametag being printed, but it is kind of fun explaining the difference in names to my students.
When I posted my last update, I was under the impression that my weekend was going to be a bit of a non-event. I was very mistaken. That same night I headed out for dinner and drinks for a friend’s birthday. Here’s the blow-by-blow account of the evening…
- Curry dinner
- 300Y super-cold Asahi at an Italian Restaurant/Bar
- Bar Kiyamachi for a momo (light on the pineapple juice, heavy on the vodka) and two Jaegerbombs after the bartender pointed out that I can drink a lot.
- Amazing kushikatsu place nearby. Two glasses of awamori (Japanese alcohol, fairly strong) and making a new friend who joined us for…
- Four different types of whisky at one of my favourite bars
- Early morning ramen
Arriving home at 6am the next morning was completely unintended, but going with the flow over here seems to be the best way to live. That’s my advice to anyone travelling around Japan if I meet them. If you’re curious about something you see, investigate. There are certain caveats to this method, however. If there are men standing outside of an establishment who are well-built and well-dressed, I’d advise against investigating. And don’t follow anyone anywhere in Roppongi. Ever. A few hours sleep and then it was time to get ready for more adventures. It was ridiculously hot this particular day. Easily somewhere in the 37 degree range and muggy as all hell. Tets had invited me to Kibune. I don’t really know how to describe Kibune, so I’ll just show you instead.
There’s a very famous staircase in Kibune that gets lit up at night on all sides. Unfortunately, we didn’t stick around until it got dark, but here it is in all its daylight glory.
So as you can tell, Kibune is a very pretty place to explore. But Tets and I were going there for a very, very specific reason.
In Kibune, especially during the summer, many restaurants have platforms you can sit on that actually rest atop the river and enjoy lunch. Admittedly, many of these places are super-expensive, but you’re not really paying for the food as much as you are the experience. Here’s a shot of what they look like.
Very picturesque. It was almost as much fun walking around and looking at all these places as it was eating at one of them.
The particular place Tets and I were eating at, though, was a nagashi somen restaurant. Nagashi somen involves cold noodles being dropped into a bamboo shoot and down a waterway towards you. The catch (literally) is that you have to pick up your noodles as they fly by you. I can’t quite explain it, but it was easily one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had eating noodles before. Noodles may never be the same for me again.
And here’s an action shot that Tets took…
And here’s the view from our seats.
The madness of noodles flying at you down a chute contrasted with the serenity of this view makes for a conflicting experience. You feel as if you should be able to relax, but then you’d miss out on eating delicious noodles. Quite the pickle to be in.
So I’m over halfway through this entry and it’s still only technically the first day of this past week.
Later Monday night, I was subjected to being picked on because I couldn’t drink due to a medical check the following day. Mind you the person that was picking on me was also trying to get me to drink at the same time, for god only knows what reason.
Medical checks in Japan are another very curious experience. There’s nothing too out of the ordinary compared to an Australian medical check, except for the fact that they’re quite comprehensive. And it seems that everyone that needs these done gets a spiffy light green jumpsuit. I was not given one, unfortunately.
Perhaps the most awkward moment was during the ECG test, whereby nodes need to be attached to your chest. This particular nurse had obviously never experienced a chest quite as hirsute as mine. The look on her face was priceless as she emitted a slight ‘e–?’ sound, which is the equivalent of saying ‘what?!’ but she soldiered on and the test was done.
The rest of Tuesday consisted of shopping and drinking with Nakamura-san so we didn’t actually have to go home to face the unbearable heat. We covered all sorts of topics in conversation, including finding out that a wall scroll I purchased in my first trip to Japan was actually the manga of a film I’m fond of – The Drifting Classroom – which is a piece of knowledge that has haunted me for three years.
Wednesday, I was back at work. I’m enjoying the variety of students and lessons so far, and my students seem to enjoy my lessons. Wednesday night was catching up with Greg and Uwa-chan. I hadn’t seem them in over two weeks, so there was plenty to talk about. It was fun catching up, but the next thing I know, it’s 2:30am and I have to get up for work in less than eight hours. This type of day/night is not uncommon, even though I’ve started working.
Thursday. Well, it’s a Thursday. Nothing ever interesting happens on a Thursday. Seriously. Why do you even bother to try and remain relevant, Thursday?
Well, I lie. I caught up with Jean from France, who has featured in all of my Japanese adventures in one way or another. It was great to see him and he works ridiculously close to my work, meaning we can get up to no good in Osaka once the working day is done.
On Friday I headed to Pan & Circus to catch up with my local bar crew. I might end up heading there once a week to help tutor them in English because it’s a guesthouse and bar, so they get many international visitors.
Next week – Gion Matsuri, Happy Hour, Old Friends (and new) and much more.
To close this entry out, here’s a picture of a goat sucking something out of what appears to be a giant pair of buttcheeks.
