9 June 2009

We had our very last class meeting for the Japan Extended Field Trip this morning at 9:30am in room 108. It was kind of sad, but since I’m staying twelve days longer, it didn’t has as much of an impact on me compared to people who would be flying out tomorrow. Don briefly recapped all of the items that were still due and restated all of the extended deadlines. I think it is such a pain to still have to finish work even though the quarter is over! I guess that’s just how it goes. After class, Norio and I had plans to visit the GA Gallery in Shinjuku. It looked fairly close on the map, so we decided to walk since it was fairly nice outside. After getting lost a couple of times, we eventually happened upon it unexpectedly. Unfortunately, no exhibition was currently going on, so we could only look through the extensive GA bookstore. GA stands for Global Architecture, but its publications only come out of Japan. There was a really nice selection of books at the GA Gallery, but they were priced over the list price, so we didn’t buy anything. We must’ve spent a solid hour looking at books though, so it was a nice way to relax during our last full day. On the way back, we grabbed a late lunch at the Chinese restaurant across from the NOMYC. I ordered the fried rice and a side of gyoza for 1,000 yen. That place was probably my favorite Chinese restaurant that I found in Japan, so I’m glad I was able to eat there one last time before leaving. After lunch, we went back to rest before our finale group dinner tonight with Don.
Dinner was scheduled for 6:30pm at a restaurant four stops away on the Odakyu Line. Norio and I wanted to visit one of Shigeru Ban’s projects that was only two stops away, so we left at 4:45pm to make sure we wouldn’t be late. Using our guide book as our map, we navigated our way to where we thought the project should be. After talking to a few of the locals, we found out that the building was the same, but the paper tube structure that Ban is known for was taken out about three years ago. What a disappointment! The paper tubes were the only iconic element of the building, so we didn’t even take any pictures. A funny coincidence was that one of the ladies that we talked to actually owns a house in Walnut Creek, but she also lives in Japan, fluent in both Japanese and English. That was a nice surprise. We were disappointed nonetheless though, so we headed to the train station to head to dinner.
We got to the station a little bit early, so I decided to try pachinko. Norio wanted me to at least have the experience, so I decided I might as well try. I put in 1,000 yen and the little silver balls came out. All I had to do was turn the knob on the right and watch the balls come shooting out at the top of the machine. They all fell, and Norio said my goal was to get it into one opening at the bottom center. Every time a ball entered the slot, the digital slot machine in the center would spin. If any of the numbers lined up, I would win big money. Unfortunately, I didn’t become a millionaire that night, but it was still fun. I can definitely see how that could be addicting since it was more like a game than gambling.
We met the group at 6:30pm and headed to dinner. The restaurant Don chose was a drinking venue that also served dinner. It was very nice, and we got an area to ourselves. Don had already chosen a multi-course meal, since the program was going to cover the cost of the food. Some of the dishes we ate were salad, sashimi, oysters, amaebe (sweet shrimp) tempura, somen, and cake. It was a great meal to celebrate the end of our trip together! Afterwards, we stopped at an arcade to take group photos in one of the large photo booths. It was a lot of fun, and Don was even a bit tipsy. It was quite memorable, and we got some great photos. Some people wanted to stay out even later to do karaoke and drink in Shinjuku, but I decided to head back with the other half of the people since it was already 10:30pm. I still had to pack and finish up an assignment, so that ended my evening.