29 March 2009

Today was the latest I have slept in so far. I woke-up at 9am and went out with three classmates to explore the area north of my hotel. We are beginning to realize that most eating venues do not open until 11am, so that makes finding breakfast very difficult. After walking for many blocks along the river, we came upon a bakery where I found the square Japanese sliced white bread I have been looking for. It was 220 yen for six thick slices, which seemed reasonable enough since it will be my breakfast for the upcoming week. All four of us ended up purchasing some bread in some form or another. Afterwards, we couldn’t find anything reasonable in price to eat for breakfast so we ended up eating at Nakau for the second time this trip. I have a feeling that many of us will be eating there many times since the food is good, they open early, and it is cheap. I ordered tanuki again since it is my favorite. While sitting and eating, we saw Don walk by alone, and my friend Derek secretly photographed him from across the street. We thought he might be headed to the Mister Donut so we jumped up and attempted to follow him. Don walks faster than anyone we know though, so he was down the street and around the block before we could catch him. He didn’t go into Mister Donut though, so we did instead. I got a six pack of six different flavored donut holes, and it only cost 100 yen. The lion character, with the donut for a mane, is now my favorite character.
After the morning outing, I spent the afternoon in the hotel uploading photos and Skyping with my parents again. It is always nice to have breaks in between my daily outings and explorations. In the late afternoon, I ventured out again with my classmate Jeff to further explore the Kyoto shopping arcade. Jeff and I split an order of cheese takoyaki, and I liked it a lot. It cost 250 yen for six pieces, and it seemed very popular with all of the locals. On the way back to the hotel, I bought another large can of Coca-Cola and a larger bottle of my favorite royal milk tea. The soda was 100 yen, and the milk tea was 120 yen, which are both the best deals I have found thus far for the volume of liquid you get for the cost. I am somewhat stocking up my fridge so I have alternatives to water whenever I feel like it, and I want to take advantage of the deal before the vending machine runs out.
The remainder of the daytime was spent in the lounge with the majority of my other classmates. We were working on our two assignments due on Monday: one was trying a new food, and the other was documenting an aspect of the Japanese culture. My partner was Trudy, and we were assigned to investigate American fast food in Japan. The specific chains we looked at were McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In order to complete our investigation, one of us had to try an item from an American fast food chain in Japan. Trudy refused to eat anything at McDonald’s, so I accepted the task. That night, I went to downtown Kyoto McDonald’s with my classmates Jeff and Derick to try an item on the menu. The menu at most American fast food joints is very similar to the U.S. with only a couple items that are different. At first, I tried to order a McHotdog, but I was informed that that is only a breakfast item that is served until 10am. Strange! I resorted to ordering a Shaka Shaka Chicken, since that was on the 100 yen menu, Japan’s form of the Dollar Menu. The Shaka Shaka Chicken was comparable to a large chicken finger, and it came in a bag with a packet of powder flavor. I chose spicy garlic flavor, since it sounded more appealing than black pepper or ranch flavor. So, in order to “shaka shaka”, I poured the flavored powder into the bag, “shaka shaka-ed” the bag, then opened and enjoyed. It was extremely tasty, since I like friend chicken, and it is definitely something I will order again in the future. There is also a teriyaki burger and green tea McFlurry that I want to try as well. We wandered around a bit more, but most places close around 9pm anyways, so we headed back to the hotel to study our Hiragana and Katakana for our first Japanese language class tomorrow.