おはようございます!
Hello everyone! We have finally arrived! Every since I was little I have wanted to travel to Japan, and now I finally have! When we first got off the plane, I knew it was going to be humid, but I was still surprised by the humidity. Shiho and her family have been telling me that the weather well get much, much hotter and humid. Right after we got off the plane, we dropped off our luggage at our host family's houses, and then we went to dinner with everyone. I was surprised with how good everyone's English was! Shiho, Nori, and Nanase, all are very skilled at English, which makes me feel a bit insecure about my Japanese skill level. However, everyone is very kind and helpful when I need help with putting together a sentence in Japanese!
Shiho's mother is extremely kind and funny, and I've already been shopping with her a few times. The day before yesterday we went to a shopping center right by Shiho's home, and I got to look around a 100yen store along with a supermarket. The food here is amazing, and yesterday I had the privilege of eating some takoyaki, octopus balls, which was delicious! We had bought them in Nishinomiya Gardens, a very large mall that's in Nishinomiya. The cafeteria was extremely busy due to it being Sunday, but we managed to find a place to sit down. The cafeteria had all kinds of food: burgers, ramen, soba, and you guessed it, takoyaki. Nishinomiya Gardens also has a wide arrange of clothes shops. I saw many familiar brands like Northface, American Eagle Outfitters, and Dr. Martins.
After Nishinomiya Gardens, we went to Osaka to look for some omiyage, or souvenirs, for my friends. We took the train, and boy, let me tell you, was it different than Spokane. Spokane's bus system is a little sketchy, so I usually drive everywhere. In Japan, it seems like most people take the train to travel. There are sooooo many people on the trains, but you can get everywhere really quickly. It took maybe 20 minutes at most to travel from Nishinomiya to Osaka, and the scenery was beautiful. In Osaka the buildings are huge, and it reminds me of Seattle except quite a bit bigger. Nearby Shiho's home is a stunning park, where we took many pictures.
The picture with hydrangea is nice. Good Luck!
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