Today was my last full day in Japan. I can’t believe it has all come to an end so soon! All in all, it was a really great experience. I didn’t have anything pressing to do today, so I first woke-up at noon. It was pouring rain outside, so I went back to sleep for another hour. It was 1:00pm by the time I rolled out of bed. I Skyped with Jenna while I got ready, then once the rain lightened up, I grabbed my umbrella and went out for a walk around Tokyo Station. I bought a few last minute gifts and spent almost all of my remaining change. I have about 610 yen left for tomorrow’s snacks. Overall, it was just a lazy and relaxing day.
For dinner, I met Masaru in the lobby at 6:00pm for my last dinner in Japan. He wanted to take me out to sukiyaki since I hadn’t had any while in Japan. He had a certain restaurant in mind, so we took the subway a couple stops to Ginza. The restaurant was really nice, and the atmosphere was nice. He ordered the dinner set of beef sukiyaki for both of us, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As an appetizer, a small square of Japanese pumpkin gelatin came out, and it was delicious. Next, a small bowl of raw egg was given to both of us in anticipation for the sukiyaki. A gas range was placed on our table and a large plate of beef and vegetables was also brought out. The lady started the fire, and she began cooking the vegetables and meat for us. She did this the entire time until we finished all of the food. She additionally would serve us whenever we would finish what she had given us before. It was a really weird concept. Every time she gave us the sukiyaki, she placed it in our bowl of raw egg, and that’s how we ate it. It’s a good thing I don’t have a problem with eating raw egg that why, otherwise the meal definitely wouldn’t have been as tasty. I was full by the end of the beef and vegetable sukiyaki, but there was still the udon sukiyaki left. Using the same pan, our waitress cooked the udon in the sukiyaki sauce along with four pieces of “fu” (breadlike squares made from wheat). The consistency of fu was very close to that of soft mochi, and I liked it a lot. I ate all of my udon, and for dessert, we each received a small square of Bavarian cream with a roasted slice of banana on top. It was delicious! I was completely full, but it was a great meal to end my trip. In total, it cost just short of 10,000 yen.
We caught the subway back to the Pearl Hotel, and Uncle Masaru made sure I could have a late checkout at 11:00am instead of 10:00am. I thanked him once again for dinner, and he left for the night. The rest of the night I relaxed and finalized my packing. It still feels a bit surreal that I will be leaving Japan tomorrow, but I am prepping myself for the really long flight. Hopefully I will be able to sleep for most of the time we are in the air.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
20 June 2009
I got up a little bit earlier this morning since I wanted to spend most of the day exploring the Odaiba area in Tokyo. I awoke around 10:30am, so I was able to leave by 11:30am. I took the subway to Shimbashi, then from there, I caught the Yurikamome Monorail Line. The interesting thing about the Yurikamome Monorail was that it was completely computer-driven; in other words, there was not person driving or operating the vehicle. It is pretty amazing how technologically advanced many of Japan’s gadgets are. I had to take the Yurikamome Line for twelve minutes, and at no point could I tell it was not driven by a person. Pretty neat!
Once arriving in Odaiba, there were tons of buildings and sites that I wanted to visit. The area itself was very interesting, and it was very similar to the atmosphere of a boardwalk. Odaiba additionally had the first habitable beach I have encountered while in Japan. There was even a surf shop where you could rent surfboards, though the waves did not seem very favorable for surfing. To my surprise, there were many people laying out on the beach with their towels either tanning or reading a book, while young children played in the sand or at the shoreline. It was a really nice experience with the Tokyo skyscrapers within sight across the bay.
The first landmark I visited was Tokyo’s Statue of Liberty. I’ve never actually visited the one in the United States, so visiting this one was pretty cool. Supposedly, it was a gift to Japan from France, but it was much smaller than the United States’. Next, I visited the Fuji Television Building which was designed by Kenzo Tange & Associates. It was built in 1996, but it was still a very modern and intriguing building. It was a bit too touristy for my liking, but I really enjoyed the 270 degree view from the observatory at the top. It cost me 500 yen, but it was worth it. The ceiling in the observatory was also very architecturally interesting since it exposed the gridded structure of the space. The observatory was actually a complete sphere constructed of titanium on the exterior. The sphere was suspended between a three-dimensional grid of column shafts and suspended walkways. It is something you have to see to completely understand. My next destination was the Odaiba’s Telecom Center by HOK. I was really interested to visit a project done abroad by HOK since that was the company I worked for last fall. It was a beautiful walk meandering my way to the Telecom Center which was the opposite direction from mainland Tokyo. Along the way, there were some other architecturally engaging structures which were either museums or Fuji Television secondary buildings. Once arriving at the Telecom Center, I was completely amazed. The building was a simple square with a large square void cut out of the center. Since the Haneda Airport runway was located directly behind the building, airplanes that were arriving or departing the airport were perfectly framed in-flight through the square void in the building. It was a perfect picture spot! I wonder if that’s why HOK originally made that design decision…
After the Telecom Center, there weren’t any outstanding buildings that I had to visit before leaving. Since I had plenty of time to kill however, I decided to finish walking the loop around Odaiba. I walked by the Odaiba rainbow ferris wheel and was able to walk across the Teleport Pedestrian Bridge. Both of these were very iconic in Tokyo. Lastly, I walked across the Nozomi Bridge to Ariake to quickly photograph the Ariake Clean Center Tower and Ariake Sports Center/Water Reclamation Building. These had both stood out as I had walked across the Teleport Bridge. This completed my visit to Odaiba since I had pretty much visited everything that was there. I caught the Yurikamome Line back to Shimbashi and took the subway back to Tokyo Station.
I did a bit more packing until my dinner plans at 5:00pm with Masaru and his two daughters, Tomoko and Hiroko. I had met them once before in the U.S., so I was very excited to see them again. I think the last time I saw them was when I was still in elementary school, but I still clearly remembered them. We met in my hotel lobby and walked a couple blocks to a restaurant that the girls had picked out. The restaurant was somewhat a tapas bar restaurant, so we ordered many small plates of food. We ordered a wide range from sushi, to shumei, to fried cartilage, to salad. Tomoko and Hiroko both spoke a little bit of English too, so we had a great time talking and laughing. We sat and talked and ate for a couple of hours, then left by 8:00pm so Tomoko could make the one and a half hour trip home to the Saitama Prefecture. They all talked about visiting the U.S. within the next year, so I’m hoping that becomes a reality.
Once arriving in Odaiba, there were tons of buildings and sites that I wanted to visit. The area itself was very interesting, and it was very similar to the atmosphere of a boardwalk. Odaiba additionally had the first habitable beach I have encountered while in Japan. There was even a surf shop where you could rent surfboards, though the waves did not seem very favorable for surfing. To my surprise, there were many people laying out on the beach with their towels either tanning or reading a book, while young children played in the sand or at the shoreline. It was a really nice experience with the Tokyo skyscrapers within sight across the bay.
The first landmark I visited was Tokyo’s Statue of Liberty. I’ve never actually visited the one in the United States, so visiting this one was pretty cool. Supposedly, it was a gift to Japan from France, but it was much smaller than the United States’. Next, I visited the Fuji Television Building which was designed by Kenzo Tange & Associates. It was built in 1996, but it was still a very modern and intriguing building. It was a bit too touristy for my liking, but I really enjoyed the 270 degree view from the observatory at the top. It cost me 500 yen, but it was worth it. The ceiling in the observatory was also very architecturally interesting since it exposed the gridded structure of the space. The observatory was actually a complete sphere constructed of titanium on the exterior. The sphere was suspended between a three-dimensional grid of column shafts and suspended walkways. It is something you have to see to completely understand. My next destination was the Odaiba’s Telecom Center by HOK. I was really interested to visit a project done abroad by HOK since that was the company I worked for last fall. It was a beautiful walk meandering my way to the Telecom Center which was the opposite direction from mainland Tokyo. Along the way, there were some other architecturally engaging structures which were either museums or Fuji Television secondary buildings. Once arriving at the Telecom Center, I was completely amazed. The building was a simple square with a large square void cut out of the center. Since the Haneda Airport runway was located directly behind the building, airplanes that were arriving or departing the airport were perfectly framed in-flight through the square void in the building. It was a perfect picture spot! I wonder if that’s why HOK originally made that design decision…
After the Telecom Center, there weren’t any outstanding buildings that I had to visit before leaving. Since I had plenty of time to kill however, I decided to finish walking the loop around Odaiba. I walked by the Odaiba rainbow ferris wheel and was able to walk across the Teleport Pedestrian Bridge. Both of these were very iconic in Tokyo. Lastly, I walked across the Nozomi Bridge to Ariake to quickly photograph the Ariake Clean Center Tower and Ariake Sports Center/Water Reclamation Building. These had both stood out as I had walked across the Teleport Bridge. This completed my visit to Odaiba since I had pretty much visited everything that was there. I caught the Yurikamome Line back to Shimbashi and took the subway back to Tokyo Station.
I did a bit more packing until my dinner plans at 5:00pm with Masaru and his two daughters, Tomoko and Hiroko. I had met them once before in the U.S., so I was very excited to see them again. I think the last time I saw them was when I was still in elementary school, but I still clearly remembered them. We met in my hotel lobby and walked a couple blocks to a restaurant that the girls had picked out. The restaurant was somewhat a tapas bar restaurant, so we ordered many small plates of food. We ordered a wide range from sushi, to shumei, to fried cartilage, to salad. Tomoko and Hiroko both spoke a little bit of English too, so we had a great time talking and laughing. We sat and talked and ate for a couple of hours, then left by 8:00pm so Tomoko could make the one and a half hour trip home to the Saitama Prefecture. They all talked about visiting the U.S. within the next year, so I’m hoping that becomes a reality.
Friday, June 19, 2009
19 June 2009
Today was another lazy day. I woke-up at noon and got ready by 1:00pm. I had flipped through my two architectural guide books last night, so I had marked two projects that I was interested in seeing. The first project was the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center. It was a decent walk away from Tatsumi Station, but the Tatsumi area was surprisingly green. There was a nice path leading from the station directly to the swimming center, and it was lined with large green trees. The shade was greatly appreciated since it was really hot outside. The swimming center was huge, so it was very difficult to photograph. I noticed that people were swimming in the pool, so I inquired about going in to take a few photographs of the interior. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to, so I made the long walk back to the station. My next stop was Kamiyacho to see the Great Buddha Hall. Supposedly it was a new type of religion in Tokyo, and the building frankly looked a bit intimidating. Since I was alone, I was too scared to go inside by myself. The building was completely black with no windows, and the façade consisted of a stepped system that created a diamond-shaped building. It was like the bases of two pyramids were placed together. Strange! The exterior photographs were sufficient enough for me!
It was really hot and humid outside, so I was exhausted from the heat. It was almost 5:00pm, and I had dinner plans with Uncle Masaru at 6:00pm. I caught the subway back to the Pearl Hotel and took a short nap. For dinner, Masaru and I walked to Tokyo Station. I am continually amazed by how many restaurants and shops are in there! Masaru wanted to get some sort of meat or steak, so I let him choose a place since he was going to pay. First we went to a restaurant that served only cow tongue, but it was already full. We ended up going to a Japanese steak and hamburg restaurant two doors down. I couldn’t read the menu, so Masaru ordered the same meal for both of us. It consisted of salad and sardine sashimi for an appetizer, squash soup, a 180g Japanese beef steak, and sherbet for dessert. Each of our courses cost 5,000 yen! Wow it was good, but it was definitely expensive as well. I fully enjoyed the meal, and I’m really grateful that Masaru had been so generous to me. We talked for a bit, then he walked me back to the hotel since it was close to 8:00pm. We have plans again tomorrow night with Tomoko and Hiroko too, so I’m really excited about that. The rest of the night I worked on my travel journal and began packing to assess how much space I actually have in my luggage.
It was really hot and humid outside, so I was exhausted from the heat. It was almost 5:00pm, and I had dinner plans with Uncle Masaru at 6:00pm. I caught the subway back to the Pearl Hotel and took a short nap. For dinner, Masaru and I walked to Tokyo Station. I am continually amazed by how many restaurants and shops are in there! Masaru wanted to get some sort of meat or steak, so I let him choose a place since he was going to pay. First we went to a restaurant that served only cow tongue, but it was already full. We ended up going to a Japanese steak and hamburg restaurant two doors down. I couldn’t read the menu, so Masaru ordered the same meal for both of us. It consisted of salad and sardine sashimi for an appetizer, squash soup, a 180g Japanese beef steak, and sherbet for dessert. Each of our courses cost 5,000 yen! Wow it was good, but it was definitely expensive as well. I fully enjoyed the meal, and I’m really grateful that Masaru had been so generous to me. We talked for a bit, then he walked me back to the hotel since it was close to 8:00pm. We have plans again tomorrow night with Tomoko and Hiroko too, so I’m really excited about that. The rest of the night I worked on my travel journal and began packing to assess how much space I actually have in my luggage.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
18 June 2009
This morning I slept in until my alarm went off at 11:30am. It felt nice to sleep in and not have to worry about doing anything during the day. I Skyped with my parents briefly, then planned out the rest of my day. I left the hotel a little after noon, and my first stop was Ginza. Ginza is located directly adjacent to the area I am staying at, so it was a short 15 minute walk. I stopped at the Tokyo International Forum to photograph the interior, but since there was a convention going on, I was limited in the areas I was able to access and photograph. Next, I did some final shopping at UniQlo, and many things were surprisingly on sale, which was a nice surprise. After Ginza, I caught two subway lines to Jimbocho, where I returned to the Nanyodo Architectural Bookstore. I took my time browsing through the vast array of books, and I ultimately decided on two more books to purchase. It is really hard to decide which books to buy since most of them cannot be purchased in the U.S., nor can they be mailed to the U.S. if purchased online. And the books that can be purchased online usually cost about double the list price, which is no good either. Oh well. Size and weight of the books also played a major role in my decisions since I am tight on space and weight with my luggage. It will be very interesting to see how well everything fits when I pack to leave.
By the time I finished shopping in Jimbocho, my skin was really sticky from the humidity. I returned to the Pearl Hotel to cool off a bit before grabbing dinner. During that time, I was able to Skype with Jenna and hear about what she had been up to recently. For dinner, I was craving tonkatsu over curry rice. I had seen a small vending machine restaurant yesterday, so I was determined to find it again for tonight’s dinner. This task turned out to be much harder than I imagined since there were numerous levels of restaurants and shops underneath Tokyo Station. During my journey to find dinner, I stumbled upon a section of shops that only sold [cute] character goods. It was the perfect section for me, but also very dangerous. I surprisingly didn’t buy anything, but I may return there later when I’m not starving for dinner. I ended up finding the place after wandering around for a good chunk of time. I ordered exactly what I was craving, and it hit the spot. Eating alone in Japan is always a bit strange to me since almost everyone eating alone is a businessman in a black suit. I must stand out immediately as a tourist! There was only one other woman in the restaurant that ate at tonight, but at least I wasn’t the only one!
Once I was ready to leave the station, I could not find the exit. It was so weird! I kept following signs, but the signs never seemed to lead to an exit. It was really confusing, and I kept going from floor to floor trying to find an exit. Eventually I found one, and it was such a relief! Geez, I must seriously be dumb! On the walk back to the hotel, I wandered around the surrounding area to see what was there. Most places were closed since it was past business hours, but I found a 7-11 to buy my evening snacks at. Once back at the hotel, I showered and worked on my travel journal until eventually going to sleep.
By the time I finished shopping in Jimbocho, my skin was really sticky from the humidity. I returned to the Pearl Hotel to cool off a bit before grabbing dinner. During that time, I was able to Skype with Jenna and hear about what she had been up to recently. For dinner, I was craving tonkatsu over curry rice. I had seen a small vending machine restaurant yesterday, so I was determined to find it again for tonight’s dinner. This task turned out to be much harder than I imagined since there were numerous levels of restaurants and shops underneath Tokyo Station. During my journey to find dinner, I stumbled upon a section of shops that only sold [cute] character goods. It was the perfect section for me, but also very dangerous. I surprisingly didn’t buy anything, but I may return there later when I’m not starving for dinner. I ended up finding the place after wandering around for a good chunk of time. I ordered exactly what I was craving, and it hit the spot. Eating alone in Japan is always a bit strange to me since almost everyone eating alone is a businessman in a black suit. I must stand out immediately as a tourist! There was only one other woman in the restaurant that ate at tonight, but at least I wasn’t the only one!
Once I was ready to leave the station, I could not find the exit. It was so weird! I kept following signs, but the signs never seemed to lead to an exit. It was really confusing, and I kept going from floor to floor trying to find an exit. Eventually I found one, and it was such a relief! Geez, I must seriously be dumb! On the walk back to the hotel, I wandered around the surrounding area to see what was there. Most places were closed since it was past business hours, but I found a 7-11 to buy my evening snacks at. Once back at the hotel, I showered and worked on my travel journal until eventually going to sleep.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
17 June 2009
I got up at 8:00am this morning since I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get ready and finalize my packing. I was really sad to already be leaving Nagano since the time seemed to fly by way too quickly. A taxi came at 9:20am to take us to the train station. The limited express train we were taking to Tokyo was scheduled to depart at 9:36am. It came on-time, and we boarded for the two and a half hour train ride. I slept for part of the trip, but I was too excited to sleep for the entire time. I also wanted to spend as much time with Miyo and Toshio as I could, since I wouldn’t see them after today. Along the way, the train hit two unscheduled delays due to problems on the tracks ahead. We were delayed for a total of 30 minutes! Once arriving into Shinjuku Station, we still had to transfer onto the subway trains and take it to Tokyo Station. By the time we got off at Tokyo Station and walked to the Pearl Hotel, where I had reservations to stay for the next five days, all of my other relatives were waiting in the lobby. Today was basically a small family reunion of my grandma’s brothers and sisters. In attendance, there was my grandma’s brother Toshio (with his wife, Katsuko), my grandma’s brother Kunio (with his wife, Setsuko), my grandma’s brother Masaru, and my grandma’s sister Miyo (with her husband, Toshio). It was really a special and meaningful opportunity to finally meet some of my extended family members. Before leaving the hotel, I setup my laptop and used Skype to call the U.S. My grandma was already waiting patiently at my house with my parents and sister. We connected the call, and my grandma was able to see her brothers and sisters while additionally being able to talk with them. Everyone in Japan was also able to see what my parents and sister looked like too. It was really meaningful and was probably one of the highlights of my trip. Everyone was really happy to see each other, and since many of them don’t have computers, it was an otherwise unavailable opportunity to Skype. I’m so glad everything worked out!
After Skyping, we all went to late lunch within Tokyo Station. There were endless amounts of restaurants to choose from, but we ended up going to a Chinese restaurant since I’m assuming they all eat Japanese food everyday. We ordered family style, so everyone was able to eat a little bit of everything. It was really good. By the time we finished, it was already almost 4:00pm. Since all of the relatives had to do a bit of traveling on the trains to get home, they decided it was time to leave. I was able to convince everyone to take a few group photos before leaving since it was definitely a memory worth documenting. We said our final goodbyes, and Masaru and I waved to everyone as their passed through the train gates. I was full of mixed feelings: on one hand, I was really glad I was able to meet and spend time with everyone, but on the other hand, I was sad that it only lasted for a few hours. I hope I can someday make it back to Japan in order to see everyone again! Masaru walked me back to the Pearl Hotel so he could get his backpack out of my room, then he left to go home as well. After staying at Miyo’s house for a week exactly, it was kind of weird to be alone in my hotel room at the beginning. I was pretty tired from all of the activities earlier in the day though, so I used the rest of the evening to finish up my papers for Arch 420. Now that I have that done, I only have to finish my travel journal for Arch 480. Ugh. I’m almost there!
After Skyping, we all went to late lunch within Tokyo Station. There were endless amounts of restaurants to choose from, but we ended up going to a Chinese restaurant since I’m assuming they all eat Japanese food everyday. We ordered family style, so everyone was able to eat a little bit of everything. It was really good. By the time we finished, it was already almost 4:00pm. Since all of the relatives had to do a bit of traveling on the trains to get home, they decided it was time to leave. I was able to convince everyone to take a few group photos before leaving since it was definitely a memory worth documenting. We said our final goodbyes, and Masaru and I waved to everyone as their passed through the train gates. I was full of mixed feelings: on one hand, I was really glad I was able to meet and spend time with everyone, but on the other hand, I was sad that it only lasted for a few hours. I hope I can someday make it back to Japan in order to see everyone again! Masaru walked me back to the Pearl Hotel so he could get his backpack out of my room, then he left to go home as well. After staying at Miyo’s house for a week exactly, it was kind of weird to be alone in my hotel room at the beginning. I was pretty tired from all of the activities earlier in the day though, so I used the rest of the evening to finish up my papers for Arch 420. Now that I have that done, I only have to finish my travel journal for Arch 480. Ugh. I’m almost there!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
16 June 2009
Today is my last full day in Suwa, Nagano with my relatives. I am so sad! After waking up late as usual, Miyo had mochi, fried rice, soup, vegetables, tsukemono, scallops, and leftover veggie rolls for brunch. It was very good, and she always recooks leftovers very well. Once we finished eating, Toshio drove Masaru and I to the Lake Suwa and Akahiko Museum which was designed by Toyo Ito. Toshio dropped us off, then left to take care of his own errands. The building itself was supposed to look like the bottom side of a boat, and it curved smoothly into the small grassy hillside. Its aesthetic was very sleek, and there was some beautiful about its slenderness against the surrounding buildings and landscape. The museum itself was much less impressive. It only cost 350 yen to get in, and the special exhibition gallery was closed. There were only two small permanent galleries upstairs, which didn’t really have anything of extreme significance. I almost felt kind of bad for the poor little museum. We were the only two people inside of it. After leaving the museum, we began to walk back to the house since we did not have a car. Walking along Suwa Lake was really refreshing, even though it was fairly windy. Dark clouds were rolling in overhead, since it was supposed to rain later that afternoon. We made a quick stop at Jusco so I could browse for any last minute gifts for some of my friends, then we made it back just in time to barely miss the beginning of the rain. It seems like no matter where I go in Japan, the weather is always variable and unpredictable.
The afternoon was a very lazy one since we didn’t have anything else planned for the day. We sat around and talked, and I also worked on some of my residual homework. For dinner, Miyo made chicken yaki tori, gyoza, soup, croquettes, tsukemono, and fresh fruit. It was so delicious! I will definitely miss her good home cooking! The rest of the evening we sat around and talked a lot. I think we are all surprised that the time passed so quickly. I am excited that we will all be going to Tokyo tomorrow, except for Mitsunori since he has to work. We Skyped with my parents so they could thank him for everything he did for me, and I said my final goodbyes to him before he went to sleep. I did my last minute packing, then went to sleep too since I have to get up early tomorrow morning to leave for Tokyo.
The afternoon was a very lazy one since we didn’t have anything else planned for the day. We sat around and talked, and I also worked on some of my residual homework. For dinner, Miyo made chicken yaki tori, gyoza, soup, croquettes, tsukemono, and fresh fruit. It was so delicious! I will definitely miss her good home cooking! The rest of the evening we sat around and talked a lot. I think we are all surprised that the time passed so quickly. I am excited that we will all be going to Tokyo tomorrow, except for Mitsunori since he has to work. We Skyped with my parents so they could thank him for everything he did for me, and I said my final goodbyes to him before he went to sleep. I did my last minute packing, then went to sleep too since I have to get up early tomorrow morning to leave for Tokyo.
Monday, June 15, 2009
15 June 2009
I slept in until noon as usual, and it felt especially good after staying up a bit later than I had originally planned since I got carried away with updating my blog and photos. For brunch, Miyo made ramen with lots of greens on top. It was a huge bowl, so I was very full by the time I finished it. After brunch, Toshio wanted to take me to Matsumoto City to visit the Yamabiko Dome. I had never heard of the structure, so I was curious to see what he was excited about. Matsumoto City was one city over from where Naoko, Toshio and Miyo’s daughter, lived. It took about 50 minutes to get to Matsumoto City, and once we were there, the dome was very easy to spot. It was homogenous in design all the way around, except for a wooden awning at the entrance. What made the dome architecturally interesting was the radial pleating constructed of wood. It had rained off and on during the drive over to Matsumoto, but once we got there, the clouds parted, and the sun shone through to illuminate the building. It was beautiful. Toshio wasn’t sure if I’d be able to see the beautiful interior since most places are closed on Mondays. He walked into the dome anyways, and the lady at the front window said it was alright. We were lucky once again! The inside of the dome was even more amazing than the outside. The interior was almost entirely made of wood, and the radial pleating was clearly accentuated. No events were going on either, so all of our photos were very clean. The versatility of the space was very intriguing as well since it could be used as multiple tennis courts, two playing fields, or one baseball diamond. What a concept! We finished taking pictures, and right after jumping back into the Prius, it began to rain again. Perfect timing!
Toshio didn’t have any other major buildings to show me, so we drove back to Suwa. Along the way, we stopped at a grocery store so I could buy my favorite candy to take back to the U.S. We also stopped at the train station to purchase our reserved train tickets back to Tokyo for this upcoming Wednesday, June 17th. I can’t believe I am already going to leave Nagano! Lastly, we stopped at a small camera store so I could print out some of my photos of me and the relatives to give to them before I leave. Masaru had printed a couple of his photos to give to me, so I returned the favor to him, Miyo, Toshio, and Mitsunori. I usually take most of the group photos with my camera anyways since I have a tripod. It has really come in handy during my stay in Nagano. I got the photos printed, and we returned home just in time for dinner.
For dinner, Miyo prepared some veggie roll things, scallops, lotus roots, tsukemono, rice, grilled vegetables, and fresh fruit. It was another filling meal. Mitsunori came home late as usual, and he surprised me with an architecture magazine he had picked up from the store on his way home. He is really thoughtful! The rest of the night we all looked through the magazine, and I had surprisingly visited a couple different places showcased in the articles. I shared a couple more of my architecture books with them and also showed them more of my photos. It was a fun night overall. I can’t believe tomorrow will be my last full day here in Suwa. I am going to be sad to leave. Tomorrow we will walk to a museum that is close to their house, since we saw it in the architectural magazine, and it is supposedly done by Toyo Ito. Other than that, I have no idea what we will be doing.
Toshio didn’t have any other major buildings to show me, so we drove back to Suwa. Along the way, we stopped at a grocery store so I could buy my favorite candy to take back to the U.S. We also stopped at the train station to purchase our reserved train tickets back to Tokyo for this upcoming Wednesday, June 17th. I can’t believe I am already going to leave Nagano! Lastly, we stopped at a small camera store so I could print out some of my photos of me and the relatives to give to them before I leave. Masaru had printed a couple of his photos to give to me, so I returned the favor to him, Miyo, Toshio, and Mitsunori. I usually take most of the group photos with my camera anyways since I have a tripod. It has really come in handy during my stay in Nagano. I got the photos printed, and we returned home just in time for dinner.
For dinner, Miyo prepared some veggie roll things, scallops, lotus roots, tsukemono, rice, grilled vegetables, and fresh fruit. It was another filling meal. Mitsunori came home late as usual, and he surprised me with an architecture magazine he had picked up from the store on his way home. He is really thoughtful! The rest of the night we all looked through the magazine, and I had surprisingly visited a couple different places showcased in the articles. I shared a couple more of my architecture books with them and also showed them more of my photos. It was a fun night overall. I can’t believe tomorrow will be my last full day here in Suwa. I am going to be sad to leave. Tomorrow we will walk to a museum that is close to their house, since we saw it in the architectural magazine, and it is supposedly done by Toyo Ito. Other than that, I have no idea what we will be doing.
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