Episode 4: “Ikka Getsu”: September 10-30

It’s been a while! I can officially say now that I’ve spent a month in Japan (and successfully beat jetlag) and I think these few weeks were the best so far. Here are a few things that have happened!

 

I’m learning how to order food by myself! With the language there are just a few rules with where to place words which are really simple. The formula is: 

[Item] o [number]-ko kudasai. 

There’s a famous Takoyaki chain right outside my home station called Jumbo and I’ve loved every single bite I’ve had from that place. So if you’re trying to order 6 Takoyaki, you’d say:

takiyaki o rokko kudasai

たこ焼きを6個ください。

If any of you come to Japan, please keep this in mind.

 

A major department store/shopping center in Osaka is called Daimaru. It’s similar to the Prudential Center in Boston, Massachusetts (to the speech and debate team, if you’re reading this). There are two stations directly under Daimaru. From the Midosuji (red) Line, you can go to Umeda Station, which is the closest, and take a short (but crowded) walk underground. If you’re on the Tanimachi (purple) Line you can get off at the Higashi Umeda Station and take a bit farther of a walk. There’s also a Daimaru in Shinsaibashi (Midosuji Line). From Momoyama, if you go to Showa-cho Station and get on the train bound for Minoh-Kayano, you’ll be there in about 25 minutes. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the station.

A friend took me to Shinsaibashi to eat açai on my first month anniversary, I have never had açai before and it is very good. Are there any açai places in Mississippi? 

 

The Nintendo and Pokémon Centers are also in the Umeda Daimaru. They’re on the thirteenth floor and I recommend not going on weekends or national holidays. Since they are directly next to each other, and very close to many other connecting stations (there are six stations that connect under or close to Daimaru), you can find yourself in a sea of people very quickly. I went to the Nintendo Center after school one day and one of the shopkeepers asked me what my favorite character in Super Smash Bros was. I told him and he gave me a free poster with the entire roster on it. 

 

A few friends have asked me how my classes are. I’m taking Math, Chemistry, P.E., Home Ec, Music, Art, and InfoTech, alongside Japanese Language and Japanese History. The last two will be the only classes I’ll be tested in. At the time of writing (Tue 10/1, 21:08), My History test will be 7 days from today (10/7), and my Japanese test will be a week from this Friday (10/11). In Japan, we say 「頑張って（ください）！」“Ganbatte (kudasai)!” and it means “(Please) do your best!”