This is it. It's my last full day. Not sure if/when I'll be back. I'm a bit at loose ends because there's nothing left I really want to do, but I know better than to waste my day sitting around either my office, where I will have to go today to return my laptop, or the colleague's apartment I'm staying at, which is too small to comfortably spend a day.
Yesterday my friend N & I woke up early to drop her bfriend off at the beach for a day of beach volleyball and headed out to Kamakura. I like Kamakura, but there was only one reason I wanted to go and that was for Daibutsu, aka The Great Buddha of Kamakura (see Daibutsu photo below or come to my kitchen). She rather took the piss out of me because I like it so much. Ribbing aside, she drove and successfully found an empty lot for us to park the car on (who wants to pay 600 yen/$5 USD and hour for parking? Yeesh.).
After a bit of time circling the Great Buddha, we continued in the car along Sagami Bay, braving the weekend traffic, for our next destination: onsen. I will miss onsen, known to many as Japanese hot springs. Sigh. It was great and I felt like absolute spaghetti afterwards (thankfully I wasn't driving!). After a 40-minute soak, we dried, dressed, and started the drive back to Tokyo.
Our drive from Tokyo took us about 2...2 1/2 hours. We had a really difficult time figuring out how to get on the toll road to take us out to Kamakura. We turned around many times, stopped at a few convenience stores to ask for directions, but finally made it on the expressway. The drive back was incredibly simple and we made it back to the beach where we had dropped Masa earlier in 90 minutes.
We drove into Odaiba, parked the car, and set out towards the volleyball nets. We were also meeting another friend, H, who had found our meeting point and was waiting for us. While Masa was showering, H, N, & I wandered around the shops next to the beach (an artificial beach built on reclaimed land) and found several puppy businesses: Puppy the Dining, Puppy the Shampoo and Dog Care, and Puppy the Rental. For 1890 yen/$15.60 per hour, the happy dog-lover-who-doesn't-own-a-dog can rent a wee dog for walks along the beach. However, if the rentee would like, he/she can take the dog next door to Puppy the Dining and share a meal of pasta (for the person) and dog biscuits (for the pup). Then the happy couple can walk along the beach to enjoy the view of Rainbow Bridge.
Once Masa had showered, we quickly agreed that burgers would fit the bill and we went to Kua'aina Burger, a Hawai'ian burger shop with several branches around Tokyo. I had an avocado burger and, man, was it tasty. Good burgers in Tokyo aren't easy to come by, but this one...oh...this one was thick, dripping, and piled with avocado. My only complaint would be the sesame seed bun. Even the most conscientious eater can't help but end up with a few seeds jammed between each of the front teeth.
That was Sunday. Saturday was a really good day, too. After the delivery company came to pick up my luggage to deliver it to the airport (an invaluable service since there's no way I could transport two very heavy suitcases to the airport), I set out for Tokyo, destination unknown.
I hopped off the train in Ochanomizu, an area known for its outdoor shops. As I was walking down to the street the shops are on, I passed by the Tokyo Orthodox Church. I went in and looked around. It's small, but afternoon sun was coming in through some of the stained glass windows and it was pretty.
I walked over to Tokyo station and went over to Shinjuku where I was meeting N & Masa for dinner. As an undergrad, Masa worked for an oden shop that is famous for the quality of ingredients and delicious taste of the broth it's served in. Prior to Saturday, I had only ever had 7-11 oden, which is tasty, but that's like comparing Domino's Pizza with JJ's. Yeah, both places serve up pizza, but in terms of taste and quality, there's no comparison.
We sat and ordered bits of food: mushrooms, tofu, shumai, veggies, and the other stuff that goes in oden (click on the word and it'll take you to Wikipedia). It was the perfect dinner for a chilly winter evening. I'll miss Japanese food.
But back to today. What will it be? Sushi? Okonomiyaki? Gyudon (sliced beef on rice)? Too many choices. I'll just have to see what strikes my fancy after I'm out and about.
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