So the day started off bright and sunny like most days. And when I say that, I assume you guys know from facebook and my previous posts that I really mean hot, humid, sticky, and sweaty heat weather thing. At least, I have a sunny attitude about it though~ :)
So we all (I mean most of the school) tried to pile onto a bus in the morning. Luckily enough, I got the last seat on the bus and some guy had willingly gave his seat up for Heather to sit down in. My faith in humanity within people had been restored. :) Small joke. Well, not joking about the guy giving up his seat.
That bus was so cool looking. The four back seats in the second layer of the turned around so that both sides were facing each other. It was a true party bus. Everyone in the back (including myself and Heather) were having a great time and enjoying ourselves. We sat with a group of Canadians, which weren't like the Canadians that us Americans tend to make fun of. The one guy even passed out paper Canadian flags to us. It was a nice gesture~! Back to the bus though, it was a party bus for reals! Besides the chairs moving in the back, it also had little tables that flap open with a cup holder hole on the back of each; they aren't really helpful to you to use if the seats are turned though. But the ceiling is the best part. Like really, no lie, best part! I want a ceiling like that in every bus I take. I'm not going to tell you what it was like... but here's a picture.
So~ the first place we stopped at was obviously the bus spot. There were advertisements everywhere~ as to be expected here. Once we got there, there was a so many people that all of us got into small to medium-sized groups. Luckily for us, we went with Phil (who basically knows everything and anything about Akita).
Phil first brought us through a dessert and foreign foods place to get to the outside. Let's just say, I was dying of cuteness overload. Everything there was so adorable and bite-sized fruity sweets. And for those of you that don't know me well enough, I have an insane amount of sweet teeth in my mouth. If I had to guess, it would probably be about all of my teeth are sweet teeth~ just ask my dentists~ XD (My mouth is watering from thinking about the sweetness right now~!!!) Then we passed by a Mister Donut, which I still want to go into.
So, after walking for a bit (2 blocks maybe), we stopped at the ramen shop. This ramen store has delicious noodles and they make your order based on what you want in it.
Well, how you order ramen is a really unique way, I suppose. I haven't really seen anything in the states like this. You pick from a vending machine. Now, I know you can get food and drinks from a vending machine (and I even heard of getting jell-o from one as well in Japan), but not to order a meal. Also, the change comes out of the side spot. So here is what the vending/ordering machine looked like.
We asked for permission first before taking any pictures (minus the ones that were of the outside of the restaurant). They said it was more okay and that it was great publicity for them. So, if you are ever in Japan in Akita to be more extact, please visit their shop. It's a few (2?) blocks away from the bus station. They have the best ramen I have yet tasted~! I (and Phil) highly recommend the butter ramen. It sounds weird, but you won't regret it at all~!!! Unless you are extremely hungry, get the smallest size bowl of ramen. It is very filling and about the size of American portions.
After ramen, we decided to head up to Senshu Park nearby. On the way to teh park, we came across some water lilies, which happen to be my birth flower! Random fact there for you. So obvious Heather and I trailed off to take tons and tons of pictures of them. Heather knew what was the good angles to capture the smallest detailing whereas I am like, "click, click, click, click, click, click, turns camera to different angle, click, click, click, click, repeat." They were so pretty and big~! I will only upload a few to give you a general idea of what they looked like.
There was even a fish/carp swimming in the water that kept popping up to eat or see us. The black ones were hard for me to capture; they took many clicks. The gold one was showing off for everyone~ ;p
Then back to taking pictures of flowers~
Outside of Senshu Park/Senshukouken (send-shoe-koo-ken) was a little area dedicated to a musician by the name of Taro Shoji (Ta-row Sho-gee). The dedication had his bust, a little foundation thingy, music playing in the background, and plaque written about him in Japanese. He was a famous composer during the Showa Era (1925-1989).
So, you might be asking yourself this question: what is Senshu Park? Well, Senshu is part of the remains of a castle that was located here in Akita. This castle belonged to the Satake (sa-ta-key) clan way back in the days. I do not know much about the Satake clan so what I will tell is what I got off the interwebs (the above information). In Senshu Park, there is a lot of greenery and scenery before you even reach the remains. To add to it, there is also a shrine located there. We got the chance to actually see one and do few ritual things.
So, after Senshu Park, we moved into going to a department store with 6 floors. I know what you are thinking, Kelly, you are in Japan. Why are you going to a department store? What's so good about that? They are everywhere in the world. Well, all of that is true. They are everywhere in the world and I am in Japan. But that is the key phrase, I am in Japan. Japan... is crazy and different and unique compared to other places in the world. In the department store we went in, there was a manga shop on the top floor (or "R" as it said in the elevator). Sadly, I did not take any photos of the actual manga shop~ but here are some photos for you to look at~
After the department store, we went over to Yamada Denki followed by Amano~ (we skipped over AEON mall). The top two are from Yamada Denki and the 3 following are from Amano.
Finally, to end our day, we went to a sushi conveyor belt place. These are what you normally see in anime and manga, so they do exist. This one that we went to was not far from Amano/Yamada Denki - maybe a block or so? Anyway, the food here is really cheap. It's 100 yen (about $1.27) per plate unless you special ordered something. Even if you special order something, it is still relatively cheap. If you special order something, it comes out in a miniature Shinkansen (bullet train) and stops at your table. It is really cute, I think. The second to last photo is the train and the last photo is the special item menu~
Well, I hope everyone had a great time reading about my adventures thus so far. Though I didn't have much time to write it immediately, I am trying my best to catch up. Let me know what you think in the comments below or on my facebook link. Peace out~! (^_^)v
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