Memory Lane

Now that I'm on summer break, I decided to take a little trip back to where it all started for me in Japan. In 2003, I spent 3 months studying Japanese in the relatively small (for Japanese standards) city of Okazaki. I still have a friend or two there, so I decided to go back for a visit. Not much has changed really; I mean it's only been 3 years. The grocery store I used to shop at is gone, and so are a few of the other things that were in front of the train station, but for the most part, its all the same. Which is good, 'casue no trip down memory lane is much fun if that lane has been turned into an expressway.

So my trip down the lane begins, where my trip from Osaka ends; at the Okazaki train station. From there, I met up with one of my former teachers, and now friend, for a stop off at my former school and a bite to eat. Miso katsu was the order of the day. So I'd imagine that most people are familiar with miso soup, well this isn't really like that, but miso is a main ingredient in both. The miso in miso katsu is miso sause as opposed to soup, and the katsu is standard tonkatsu, which is a deep fried piece of pork. Of course no dining experience is complete without a view flaming torches, so we went somewhere that provided that.

After leaving Okazaki, I headed towards Nagoya to find the capsule hotel that I had booked for the night. I manged to locate the place on the seventh floor of a buliding above a pachinko parlour, not far from the station. When I arrived at the reception, I was given a key to my locker, where I was to put all my stuff. Inside the locker, a change of clothes was provided. For an additional 900 yen (~CAD $9) I was able to use the sauna/public bath on the 4th floor of the same building and given a breakfast of coffee, juice, toast, and an boiled egg (man I could have gone for some Honey Nut Cheerios in there). Now the hotel consists of more than just capsules, there's a common area where everyone can sit around and watch TV (and smoke of course), and a vending machine area where you can buy anything from ice cream to fried rice. You can also, if you like play electronic mahjhong and pachinko right in the hotel (y'know in case you wake up one morning and find out that you're a bored salaryman).

The capsules themselves were actually a lot roomier than I expected. I was pleased to find that my feet didn't hang off the end or something. Inside the capsule, there's a TV, a radio, a mirror, and a few other knobs and buttons to amuse yourself with. The one downside is that since there are no doors (just curtains) on these things, if the guy 3 caps down decides he feels like cranking the volume on his tunes, you've got no choice but to listen to it. Still though, all in all pretty interesting. I would recommend it, not only for the experience, but also for the price tag, which at 3700 yen (CAD $37) for the evening, including the sauna and breakfast, is bearable even for a cheapskate like me. If you're going though, make sure that you pack a healthy supply of testosterone, since most of the capsule hotels in Japan are for men only.