Third CSW Outing

Okay, I'm lazy again. Here is the write-up for the third outing. Pictures here.

On Sunday, June 4, I met Kana and Yukino in Odaiba at around 11 am. Both of them made plans with me, by cell phone, to meet me at the station. I learned when I arrived that the third member of the group, Midori, had caught a cold and was unable to join us that day. (The week before, I had met with all three girls to make a plan for Sunday.)

The first part of our plan was greatly encouraged by three grumbling stomachs, lunch! Odiaba has so many places to eat that it was difficult to decide. Eventually we settled on ramen as a way to satisfy both our appetites and our pocketbooks. We went to a famous shop that is actually 4 different ramen shops, each representing a different style or region. The girls suggested that I get miso ramen, since I had never tried it before. I was very glad for their suggestion, it was delicious. Because the shop was so crowded, we had to sit separately. Yukino and I sat together and Kana sat at a nearby counter. Yukino chatted with me during lunch about food and our families and hometowns, and Kana leaned over now and then to participate, when it wasn’t inconveniencing the people around us.

Just before we finished the meal, he had been given three coupons for a free game at a festival at the Odaiba shrine which was located on the roof of the shopping center. We decided it would be a great idea to stop by. The festival provided not only a few free superballs as a prize, but also a great view of the bay and area landmarks, as well as a number of cute kids to look at!

From the festival, we satisfied an ice cream craving with the futuristic Dippin Dots while continuing to chat. Then we took a bit of a walk into the past at an area of the shopping center that was set up to resemble a Japanese street market of 30 or 40 years ago. This was very fun. We did a lot of window shopping and did a bit of real shopping as well. We saw a lot of vintage pictures of famous Japanese singers and actors, stopped by an Okinawa wares store where I found two things I’d been craving: root beer and Juicy Fruit gum. There was a lot to see and do here. It was a great choice.

From the dark shopping area we moved into the bright sun on the beach. After a short walk, we went to see the Odaiba Statue of Liberty and then went to the Fuji Television building. That is some interesting and unique architecture. Despite Kana’s dislike of heights, we all went up to the observation room. We enjoyed the view and played a bit on the set of IQ before making our way back down. Dessert and coffee finished off the afternoon at a café in the Fuji Television building.

With these two students, I chatted the most freely that I think I have yet at a CSW get together. It may have been the number of people, the relaxed nature of the plan, or the students themselves. But it was a fun and easy afternoon.

Current Music : Take On Me A-ha (Actually this is just stuck in my head, but it counts.)
Current Mood: Hyper, happy, starting to miss Japan--totally excited to go home!