Lake Haruna

A karaoke machine....or a giant rice cooker?! I'll let you decide...




So this past weekend, Jeff, Ann and I joined 10 other JETs for a Christmas enkai up in Lake Haruna. For $85, we got a ride from Takasaki Eki to the hotel and back (an hour each way), yummy Japanese dinner AND breakfast, nomihodai (all you can drink) for 2 hours, karaoke, a hotel room, and onsen. Talk about cheap! It was such a good deal....and you know I'm all about the deals.

Anyway, I'm glad it was a small group of us b/c I got to talk to some people I haven't really had a chance to talk to before. We definitely rode a ghetto-as bus on the way there...but it's nothing compared to what I've ridden in before in other places. It's all relative. Anyway, the first thing we did when we got there was go to the onsen. It was really cool b/c they had an outdoor onsen and it started snowing a bit as we were outside in the hot hot water. Cool, but I started to feel my head pounding after a while b/c of the change in body temperature? It was still nice and relaxing though.

After onsen-ing, we all wore our yukatas to dinner and karaoke. I love Japanese dinners, as I get to try and taste many different kinds of food in one sitting. I just feel bad for the person who has to do the dishes, since there are literally 10 small plates/bowls for each person there. Jeff made a joke about how Eduardo (his boyfriend in Mexico) could easily find a job here. I thought it was pretty funny, but others...I'm not sure. Jeff said that Eduardo would laugh, so that makes it okay, right? ;-) Anyway, pretty much everyone got drunk off their asses, except for me and Ann of course. It was still fun though, and plus, now we have many incriminating pictures we can blackmail people with. Muahahaha. We also did a secret Santa gift exchange later that night, but I'm still not sure what it was that I ended up getting? Hehe.

The next morning, I went back to the onsen with a few of the girls. Actually, this time I hit the sauna first, then went into the water. It actually worked out a lot better, as the freakin' hot sauna prepared me for the hot hot water outside. Ahh...so relaxing. After that, some of us went to breakfast...not everyone made it though, as some were still recovering from the night before. Sad to miss breakfast yo! Anyway, we got a chance to go outside to take some pictures before we left. Lake Haruna is very beautiful, especially with the snow and all. I think I'd definitely want to go back again.

So yeah, a group of us took the "short bus" back to Takasaki Eki. What does one do after eating a traditional Japanese breakfast at a ryokan? Go to McDonald's of course. Surprisingly, I didn't order anything. What, you don't believe me?! Anyway, Ann, Jeff, Bahia, and I decided to shop around Takasaki for a bit. When I say Takasaki, I mean everything within 100 meters from the eki, b/c that's the only Takasaki we know of...we meaning us people w/o cars. Anyway, I can literally spend hours there, especially at Vivre...ah, shopping. I mostly window shopped though, as payday is near, meaning I am down to my last yen at this point. Thank goodness we get paid the day I leave for Hong Kong. Ah yes, in a little over a week, I will be in Hong Kong. I was not so excited at first, but more and more, I am very excited about this trip. I am definitely ready for a break. Shopping and eating, here I come!

Thought of the day:

Is it sad that my favorite household chore right now is washing the dishes...just so that I can stay warm from the hot water!! Ugh...I am not liking this cold winter thingy. What the heck are seasons, anyway?! (This comment being made by a Southern Californian.) ;-)