Day 181 - 27th of February

天気：曇り
Against expectations, it did not rain today, which meant that I was at least active during the afternoon… I tried to get up at 9:30, but ended up falling back to sleep, finally getting up at about 11. Hugo was still in bed, so I had breakfast, and then went out to the lounge, and played Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on my DS; it was really great to be able to read most of the text. Shortly after 12, I went up to ask Ash if she still wanted to go to Yamada Lake. She did, so we decided to leave at 1; Rachel came along too. Since Ash doesn’t have a bike, we walked, and it was a very pleasant walk; the sun was out and it was warm. Soon enough we reached the lake, and circumnavigated it clockwise. There were many cats out enjoying the fine weather, much to the girls’ delight. We walked through the Queensland fauna exhibition (which was very familiar to me), and then made our way around past the bamboo grove. As we approached it, we noticed a large group of people with telescopic cameras on tripods set up. We were unsure of why they were all gathered around this spot but were soon to find out. From out of the trees came 1, 2, 3 beautiful green breasted, purple-winged birds that might have been parrots or doves; it was hard to tell. Straight away we knew that they were the photographers’ focus, as a flurry of flashing noises filled the air; I didn’t get a very decent shot since I was so far back. We figured that they were a rare species, or only came here during a certain time of year. It was really cool to be able to see them; the photographer’s must have put food there to coax them out. We came just at the right time, as they soon flew off.

We continued on to the plum grove, to find the ground a patchwork of pink and white. There were still a lot of flowers on the trees, but not nearly as many as the other day; yesterday’s rain had not been kind. It was still a very pretty sight, and I couldn’t help but to take another round of photos. We ended up spending about two hours in the park, walking through the woods, going out to the pagoda on the lake, and finally making our way back round the lake to the south exit; it was a lot of fun. Feeling hungry, Ash suggested we go to かっぱ寿司 (Kappazushi), a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Since I had never been, and hadn’t had sushi in a while, I thought, why not; Rachel was keen too. It was only a short walk from where we were too, on the highway. I was really amazed by the set up; three lots of conveyor belts coming out from the kitchen, surrounded by booths. And basically, as soon as you sat down you could start eating, taking what you like off the conveyor belt.

Pretty much all the selections were 105円 each, with some items (like the desserts) being a bit more expensive; calculating the bill was just a matter of counting the number of plates. They mostly served 握り寿司 (Nigirizushi – lit. “hand-formed sushi), which is basically an oblong mound of rice, with a bit of wasabi, and topping draped over it. This could be some sort of fish, including salmon and tuna, octopus, roe, eel, squid, shrimp, or sometimes egg. There was also 稲荷寿司 (Inarizushi), which is a pouch of deep fried tofu filled with rice, and takoyaki, the octopus-filled dumplings. If you wanted to order something in particular, you could a touch screen system to make your selection, which is exactly what Rachel did; she wanted to try takoyaki. It was promptly delivered to our table on the back of a mini Shinkansen that came straight from the kitchen; no need for waiters. I was just content with the selection that came around. I really liked the Inarizushi, and the eel Nigirizushi. I also got a dessert; a sort of tiramisu pudding. Considering how small the portions are, I was full after 6 plates. As Ash explained, it probably has something to do with the break between servings, allowing your stomach to “catch up”.

Feeling very satisfied, we paid and left; I’ll have to go back again sometime. Actually, Saigou Sensei told our class about a really good sushi place past Yamada Lake, which is, in his opinion far, superior to Kappazushi; have to check it out. Ash wanted to go to the uni, and do some grocery shopping, so we walked back down the highway, towards Midori. On the way, I was informed of what, or rather who, Don Quijote was; a fictional character of Spanish literature written in the 1600’s. Apparently it’s really well known novel, though I’ve never heard of it; I’ll have to try and find it and read it now. Anyway, we walked over to the uni, to find it still open, and went to the CIE. Ash was expecting a parcel, and was disappointed when she found out it hadn’t arrived; it’ll probably be there on Monday. Having nothing else to do at the uni, we went on to Fresco, and the Lawson 100円 store (recently converted from the 99円 store), and I picked up a few things. When we finally got home it was after 6. I stayed in the kitchen for a while and chatted with Simon, then went down to my room and read some more. Finally feeling a bit hungry again, I went up and made dinner at 8; gyudon.

After cleaning at 9 (it was Ash’s week, but Rachel and I also chipped in), we contemplated on what we should do, considering Katie and Sarah were still out; they had gone to Kyoto today. We didn’t want to watch firefly without them, so Ash invited the two of us back up to her room to figure out something to watch on her laptop. I suggested we watch Hetalia, and Rachel was immediately taken by the idea, having never seen it before; Ash was more than eager to introduce it to her. So we got set up on the futon, laptop on the table, and proceeded to watch the entirety of the first season; 26 episodes. Keep in mind the episodes are only five minutes each, so we finished up just after midnight. Katie came back in that time, having gone to eat at a Mexican restaurant; that would have been great. She soon went to Sarah’s room, leaving just the three of us. I was really tired by the end of it, and went straight to bed.