Mameda-honmachi

Today, I left Sekki sensei's house and headed for Kanagawa. First, we hit up the onsen one more time before heading to the train station. This time was similar to the first time we went, but I decided to try out a part of the onsen where electrical current passes through the water. I assume the purpose is to stimulate the muscles in a way similar to stretching. I've always had problems with my upper back being tight because I'm a nerd and a programmer so I spend lots of time looking down at a screen. I wanted to try it out and see if it would help my shoulders.

When I first sat down I immediately felt the current go thru my sides. I could feel the tendon within my arm tense up and it hurt a bit. I had to do my best to keep my arms from getting in the current because it caused them to painfully tense up. However, on my body and torso it felt fine so I tried to get just those parts of my body in the current. Overall, I'm not sure it helped much but it was interesting to give it a shot! There were many guys in the onsen who would just lay in this chair for an extended period of time and I'm not sure how they had the endurance for that 😶‍🌫️

Afterwards, I said my goodbyes to Sekki and boarded the train to Nagoya which then would transfer to another station and then Kanagawa. My JR Rail Pass had ran out so I had to wait in an annoying line to get a physical copy printed out. Normally, I could book tickets online and retrieve them from a machine but when you renew the pass you must talk with a human to get the physical copy. Since I was in Nagoya and it's not common to print passes there, I had a difficult time communicating with the staff. They didn't know much English and kept suggesting things that were incorrect so I kept getting confused 🫠 Eventually, I was able to get my pass and at least got some practice trying to communicate in Japanese! I enjoy the countryside more because people are less likely to switch to English if I'm struggling. I want to improve so I appreciate the challenge!

I eventually ended up in Kanagawa and right out of the station is a beautiful illuminated gate. I'm not sure the significance of the gate but it was cool to see! I got a few pictures and headed to the hotel. I ended up walking a ton because I thought the hotel was closer than it actually was. I probably should have taken a bus but sometimes the GPS is bad at guessing where I am.

When I finally reached the hotel, I unpacked my things and got settled in. I booked a pod hotel this time because I wanted to try it out and it was cheap. Plus, this hotel has a spa which I am a big fan of now. The bed is very very firm and the room has just enough space to exist, but I don't mind it too much. I guess the only thing I mind is that all the other pods can hear you so when I open a zipper or ruffle a plastic bag I feel bad 😬 I think if I book a pod hotel again it will only be if I'm in a city for one night and have very little luggage. However, the price was only about 50-60 dollars a night so you can't beat that!

I walked around a bit trying to find somewhere to eat. I finally settled on an Izakaya a little ways away from the hotel. The waitress offered me a english menu after I attempted to order and I asked if I could have both since I'm studying. One day, I want to be able to read the menu! It just seems like a really useless skill when I'm in America so I didn't realize how cool it would be to read different foods on the menu. I could tell the waitress was having fun and appreciating that I was trying to speak Japanese so that felt really good!

The couple next to me started talking about me but I was a bit too nervous to chime in because I could only follow the conversation a little bit. When I ordered, the woman leaned over to the man and started talking about how it's cool that I was able to order. The man then started talking about how foreigners know how to say a couple things such as ordering or greetings （挨拶）such as konichiwa, onegaishimasu, etc. Then, when I asked the waiter how to say something on the menu the woman began speaking about how it must be hard to read a menu and that learning kanji is probably super difficult. I was proud that I was able to understand the couples' conversation and I do wish I had interjected a bit to say something. I'm not a shy person, but I definitely am someone who gets shy around people I have not met before. I've been working on this a long time and I'm hoping that I can overcome the fear so I can engage people more and practice 😊 Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I stay silent, but each success moves me closer to my goal of overcoming the anxiety that comes from initiating a conversation with a stranger!Read more