“Okay. Big fry, small mozzarella?”
“Mm.”
“Big mozzarella, small fry?”
“No. Big fry.
-Kelly and I, using our last three brain cells at the Carl’s Junior in the Ha Noi airport, trying to decide the best and most effective way to spend my remaining Dong.
–
We made it to Japan in one piece.
Which is a little surprising considering how much we’ve done in the last 48 hours, but we’ve lived this long. That flight was rough. I spent it in that nice in between state of marginally passed out and dissociating. Apparently we ordered food and the flight attendants woke us up to give it to us. Out of everything I’ve eaten and will eat on this trip, I can say with confidence that that will probably be the worst. It just, had the unfortunate double whammy of Wake Up Hatred and having cut up Hot Dog bits in it.
Getting through immigration wasn’t a rough as it was in Vietnam (no last minute visa panic) but it seemed like we were standing in that line for an eternity. But we made it out with out being detained or yelled at, got sandwiches and saw Osaka Airport’s super cute Plane mascot. So all in all, a solid experience.
There he is!!!
We’re now on a train headed into Osaka. There weren’t enough seats so I am sitting on the floor of the luggage area. I can just barely see out the window, so it’s not the level of Drama that the Sleeper Train had, but I’ll take it.
Yeah, I don’t know. There’s not much to talk about yet, I’m just going for the sake of consistency. I miss Sa Pa. I missed the second we got back to Ha Noi-
–
So we missed our stop.
I mean technically, we were aware that it was our time to disembark, but there wasn’t enough time to get from where we were to where we needed to be outside the train before the doors closed. There were other people too, so really, you can’t blame us.
But we really got the full missed train experience. We (Kelly) had to figure out how to get on a train headed back the way we came. We (Kelly) talked to a train conductor, had some miscommunication until we ( Kelly) pulled out the google translate. This led to a last second acceptance into the train and a sprint down the platform to a car for peasants. I’ve always wanted to do that so I can’t be mad about the circumstances that lead up to it.
And now we’re in our hotel. I sort of blacked out for the rest of our time spent in transit and now we’re in our hotel. And it’s absolutely silent. Supposedly there’s construction on our floor but I can’t hear it.
The silence is unnerving now, after being in Hanoi, but I’m sure it won’t take long to readjust to the quiet life.
I’m currently on the couch in our room, looking out over the river. The sun is setting behind the skyline. All lights on the buildings just came on and are reflecting on the river, along with the oranges and the pinks from the sunset.
We’re heading out to dinner soon with Marisa’s friend from high school. And now, as we’re getting ready, I realize I really didn’t pack for Japan at all. It’s nice and mildly warm here, which is an unfamiliar concept after our weeks spent in The Heat and a The Humidity.
–
We ended up having dinner at a ramen place called Ichiran.
I love Ichiran.
It’s the ideal eating experience for sure.
First, the ramen. Amazing. It was described to me as the Chipotle of ramen (and now I miss chipotle) and honestly, accurate. You get to pick how rich, how spicy, how much garlic ect. And then you go up to a vending machine and press the buttons for all the extra stuff you want, like mushrooms and the soft boiled egg (I could write a separate paragraph about the egg. It’s passionfruit levels, lads).
But the real treasure of this restaurant is the experience. After you tell the machine what you want and you pay for your snacks, it gives you tickets in exchange and you then get directed to a waiting room that has foot icons on the floor, like you’re getting ready to get on a ride at DisneyLand.
And then, it’s time to eat. There are no tables, you just eat at the bar. There’s a divider between you and the person next to you, so you don’t have to talk to or even look at them if you don’t want to. The servers are behind a wall and the only contact you have with them is through a window that is about waist high, so you aren’t even making eye contact with the person who is providing you with the food. You can really focus on the ramen.
And the eggs are just, ready for you. They materialize them out of thin air the second you ask for one. And you can order extra stuff at anytime. As long as there’s broth, the feast continues.
A Self Portrait
After crying at that restaurant, we ventured out and into the world and ended up about two shops down at one of the biggest stores I’ve ever seen. It’s like the target of Japan but with about 10x more stuff and people. There was a Ferris wheel attached to it. Think about that.
I’m not sure how long we stayed in there.
I don’t want to know.
We eventually escaped and now we’re back at the hotel. We got a little lost walking back but we got to see the city at night, which is always a blessing.
Death is calling now though and I must rest.
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