Archive for category The Penpal
August 2, 2006 – Pizza!
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, The Penpal on May 16, 2017
I worked an early shift today and got to spend my evening with The Penpal. We ordered pizza and watched Friends. Believe it or not, there is a lot of material to cover on both topics, so I’m breaking this up into two posts.
Living in Winnipeg you are never short of options for pizza delivery; the market is competitive and prices are low. Pizza delivery in Japan is harder to come across. The best option in Numazu is the country’s largest chain, Pizza-La. The pizza is much more expensive than back home, but the quality is great and the range of toppings is impressive. Also, they deliver the pizza on a cool motorcycle / scooter thing, perfect for narrow Japanese roads.
Screen shot of a Pizza-La English menu – it’s free advertising so please don’t sue!
A rough translation of the price would be 100 yen to the dollar, so a large Sweet & Sour Chicken with Tatar Sauce would be about $35 delivered. Usually we order the Italiana, which is even more delicious than it looks.
Although there are a lot of interesting variations involving different sauces and toppings that all look delicious, I usually end up getting something pretty familiar. When I am paying $30+ for a pizza I want to make sure that I’m going to like it!
One important note: in Japan corn is considered to be a normal pizza topping. I am an open minded person who loves trying new foods, but I will never, EVER order a pizza with corn on it. It’s just wrong.
July 29, 2006 – Walking in a yukata is HARD
Posted by Barniferous in Klaxman, Life in Japan, The Penpal on May 8, 2017
Happy Birthday to me! As part of my birthday present, my roommate Klaxman switched his early shift for my late shift so I was able to go to Numazu summer festival with The Penpal. I went to her house after work, and her family helped me to get dressed in my new yukata which we had bought a few days earlier. Overall it was comfortable, but the bottom of my robe was fairly tight around my legs.
I’m not a tall person, so I usually have a long stride in order to walk quickly. The bottom of my yukata prevented me from taking big steps, which took a lot of practice to get used to. Things got more difficult when I put on my geta; thong sandals with wooden blocks on the bottom.
The combination of the yukata and geta slowed me down quite a bit. Stairs were a very unfriendly sight for my restricted legs and awkward wooden sandals. When crossing the street to get to the train station I held on to the railing tight to avoid rolling an ankle or tumbling down the stairs and wiping out the rest of the people like a pale bowling ball.
We survived the train ride and walk into Numazu’s overcrowded downtown area, and watched an amazing fireworks show surrounded by tens of thousands of people, most of whom were also wearing yukatas. If you ever have a chance, see fireworks in Japan; they blow away anything I have seen from back home, with the exception of Canada Day fireworks in tiny Wabigoon, Ontario, a town that seems to spend their entire budget every year on airborne explosives. Numazu’s fireworks are launched from either side of a central bridge, offering great views from downtown and along the riverside, and amazing views if you are lucky enough to be on the bridge.
It was a very cool experience to see Numazu festival in traditional Japanese clothing. When I first moved away from Canada to teach English, I wanted to experience Japanese culture. Thanks to my wonderful fiancee and her family I have been able to participate in things that I wouldn’t have dreamed of when I left Winnipeg behind.
Although I had a fun evening, I was very, VERY happy to get back into my comfortable jeans and flat, safe shoes.
July 26, 2006 – Yukata shopping
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal on May 3, 2017
Today I worked an early shift. When I was done, The Penpal’s family took me out for dinner followed by yukata shopping.
I’m often confused by the differences between a “kimono” and a “yukata”. Usually I have heard the term yukata refer to a less formal robe like garment. I have worn yukatas before while staying in hotels, but I don’t have my own. My birthday and Numazu summer festival are coming up shortly, so the Penpal’s parents decided to get me a yukata for my birthday.
Buying a yukata was a lot like buying a suit; someone takes your measurements and then gives you a lot of different options including colour, fit, accesories, and price. We ended up with a fairly simple yukata set, complete with magnetic obi (so I don’t have to tie it) and geta; traditional Japanese wooden sandals. I expect that I am going to fall a few times using those.
Yukata shopping with my finacee and future in-laws really made me feel like part of the family.
June 17, 2006 – A ticket home
Posted by Barniferous in Azeroth, Friends and coworkers, Klaxman, The Penpal on January 27, 2017
Today was the first day of my short paid holiday! I made good use of my time by spending most of the day with The Penpal.
During the day, we went to the nearby travel agent to inquire about a plane ticket back to Canada in November. I have pretty much decided that I’m going in November, although I haven’t given any notice yet. My thought was that plane tickets are usually cheaper in advance, but the travel agent said that they weren’t currently selling tickets six months into the future. I’ll try again in a few months.
After the travel agent we had lunch together and spent the afternoon playing Final Fantasy 3 (aka Final Fantasy 6) on my computer by using a SNES emulator. I’m happy that we can both enjoy hanging out and playing games together.
** As someone who currently lives with a retired game programmer who made his living from video games, I do appreciate the fact that software piracy is a bad thing for creators. However, since I actually own a physical copy of this game (it’s stuck in a box in Canada) I don’t have any moral issues about playing it on an emulator in Japan.
In the evening after The Penpal left, I watched yet another terrible MST3K movie with my roommates. Tonight’s debacle was The Master Ninja, an American TV show that was edited together into a movie. It goes to show that adding ninjas doesn’t automatically make something good. However, beer always helps.
June 10, 2006 – New house
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal on January 17, 2017
Today I got to spend some time with The Penpal and see her parents’ new house. The new house is only a few houses away from their old house which is convenient for moving and nice because they already know the neighbourhood well. The new house is much more modern than the older one, and features lots of sliding windows and one room with a tatami floor. Very nice!
New life goal: own a house with a tatami room floor.
(2017 Author’s note) The Penpal’s parents are still in the newer house. I have stayed in the tatami mat room several times 🙂
May 21, 2006 – Farmer tan
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, The Penpal on January 6, 2017
The Penpal and I met up with some of her friends and we spend a beautiful sunny day at Izu Mito Sea Paradise, which is always fun. I have been a few times before and you can read about them here and here. The friends brought along their young daughter, hoping she’d pick up some English from a real live gaijin. After a few years in Japan I’m getting used to the fact that I am a bit of a novelty to most kids, and have actually started enjoying the experience.
While we were driving, I had the window down and rested my arm on the door. In the short time that we were driving there and back I got a wicked sunburn on my left forearm. I am a very pale person, and the sun is NOT my friend.
(2016 note from the author) Holy crap I was skinny back then!! I’m still pale as a ghost, but I at least have a bicep now.
May 17, 2006 – Stadium Arcadium
Posted by Barniferous in Azeroth, Friends and coworkers, Klaxman, Life in Japan, The Penpal on December 16, 2016
It was another rainy day in Numazu today. I worked early shift and had plans to see The Penpal after work. Due to the rain we decided to hang out near Numazu station so she could take the train home after.
While waiting, I checked out the music store in Numazu station and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album; Stadium Arcadium. There are a few bands where I will buy new albums without hearing anything first – RHCP is on that list. The cool thing about buying CDs in Japan is that they usually come with extra songs or Japanese translations of the lyrics. The last Weezer CD I bought had both, but Stadium Arcadium only came with translated lyrics.
The Penpal and I hung out in the station area for a while before I walked home in the rain. Later when my roommates returned home we all watched Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is something that always seems like a good idea, but has probably contributed to as much brain damage as the beer I have been drinking. Seriously, those movies are BAD.
(Author’s note) I don’t remember which MST3K movie we watched, but I have a suspicion that it was Fire Maidens of Outer Space. I must have repressed that memory.
April 30, 2006 – Ring shopping
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal on December 1, 2016
Today both the Penpal and I had the day off, so we decided to go engagement ring shopping.
For those following the story, I proposed suddenly in February when the opportunity came up. Due to the sudden nature of the proposal, I didn’t have a ring. I had no experience buying any jewelry beyond bracelets and earrings before, so I was a bit concerned about picking out something myself. I was also worried about the language barrier on a major purchase. I talked about it with The Penpal and we decided to go shopping for the ring together. We discussed my budget in advance, and were prepared to buy if we found something good.
There are two jewelry stores in the Nakamise shopping area of Numazu. I went to one of them with my mom on her recent visit to Japan, so we decided to start with the other one. We were greeted by a smiling, friendly older man who led us to seats near a display case. As soon as we were seated, a young, well dressed woman brought us green tea. These are good examples of the little touches that Japanese stores use to make customers feel comfortable and important.
The smiling man asked some questions about what kind of ring we wanted (diamond engagement), what metal we wanted (thrash), and if we had any other requests on design or appearance (not particularly). Neither one of us are flashy people, we were looking for something simple that looked good on The Penpal’s slender piano player fingers.
We went through the process of looking at a few different rings and ended up narrowing the choices down to two: one with a slightly larger diamond, and one with a better quality diamond. We chose the slightly smaller one featuring a very high quality stone with a white gold band. It was beautiful!
At this point I had a small moment of panic because we hadn’t talked about price. After all of the discussion and choosing it would be really embarrassing if this ring was completely out of my price range. I got The Penpal to ask about the price. The friendly older man pulled out a list, looked down it, and then typed a number into a calculator for us to see. He then said “and a 10% discount” which brought the price just under the ceiling of my price range. I said we’d take it!
While the store worked on the bill of sale, I ran down the street to the same bank machine where late last year I had withdrawn over $2000 to pay for a plane ticket. I once again withdrew a huge wad of cash and returned to the store to finish the transaction.
Since I had proposed in February we had discussed our engagement with family and friends. Getting a ring somehow made everything seem more real. As we walked out of the store smiling and admiring the ring, I realized that this was the first major purchase of my life that I didn’t have a single regret about. Not a one.
2016 Update – Still no regrets 🙂
April 5, 2006 – Pottery Lessons and free upgrades
Posted by Barniferous in Shizuoka, The Penpal, Visitors on September 23, 2016
My parents, The Penpal, and her parents spent the night at the beautiful Hanabusa ryokan in Izu Nagaoka. Izu is filled with ryokans, but one of the reasons we chose Hanabusa over the others was that they offer pottery classes. After a delicious breakfast we went to the pottery classroom to learn from the resident pottery master.
There is a long history of pottery in Japan. I had been to a pottery class with The Penpal a few years ago with a sad looking teacup to show for it. I was looking forward to getting a second chance to test my skills as a potter.
Pottery class!
The pottery area was in a large room with long tables surrounded by shelves with cups, plates, and vases in various states of completion. Our families were the only ones in the pottery room, so we got the full attention of the master, who was a friendly, energetic older gentleman. The Penpal translated as he guided us through pounding, rolling, spinning, and shaping our cups.
Thanks to the expert instruction and hands on assistance, we all did reasonably well. My mom’s cup actually turned out fantastic, and mine was far less terrible than my attempt two years earlier. We all finished our cups, and the master promised to glaze and fire them, then ship them to The Penpal’s house.
My parents absolutely loved their time at Hanabusa! It was a far different experience than simply staying at a hotel somewhere. Getting to stay at the ryokan with The Penpal and her family made everything even better; they were just as excited to share their culture with us as we were to learn about it.
After checking out, we drove around Izu in the rain before returning to Numazu. The Penpal’s family dropped us off at the hotel for the last time, where we learned that my parents had been given a free upgrade to a suite as a thank you for spending so many nights at the hotel.
If you need a hotel in Numazu, stay at Hotel Miwa located conveniently close to the north side of Numazu station! It’s convenient, reasonably priced, and the service is fantastic!
We said goodbye to the Penpal’s family, and my parents started getting themselves ready to return to Canada. I can’t believe their visit is almost over!
Drinking in Japan 
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