Patrick: All in the Name of Fun

The Stanford Kyoto-SCTI quarter is coming to a close in the next couple of weeks. It's surprising how fast it all went by. It seems like it was just yesterday that we all arrived with our suitcases in Kyoto. I've only just started getting used to my commute, the extremity to which Japanese people take politeness, the sudden and drenching rain, the hot and humid weather that makes you not want to do anything...

Fun has become routine for our weekends here. Last Friday, Brian and I had a really long workshop for architecture where we got our projects critiqued by the professor. Following the workshop, 14 of us headed to the seventh floor of the Hankyu department store on the corner of shijo and kawaramachi for some all-you-can-eat dim sum. It was unfortunate that they didn't have any large round tables to accommodate us but the food was quite delicious and intricately made. Every time the cart rolled out, we cleared it of its cargo forcing it to return hastily back to the kitchen for more. Michael and Stephanie were the champions of the night ordering personal pagodas of steamers. Brian, Nick, and I didn't do too badly ourselves.

After the dim sum buffet, we relieved our stomachs by singing. Unfortunately, there weren't any large rooms available that night so we had to split into two rooms. It was kind of a drag since people kept moving in and out of the rooms depending on whether or not they liked the songs that came up. Choosing songs for such shifting group dynamics was really difficult, having to constantly worry about people leaving if they tire of the song you choose. It was the longest two hours of karaoke that I've ever had so far... We gotta get one, and only one, room next time.

06222007

On Saturday, Brian and I went to play badminton. Brian overslept again but he actually came this time. We then met up with some others for an okonomiyaki place that Nick and Cara had seen about on tv. This place served absolutely humongous portions of okonomiyaki and yakisoba. And it turned out to be super cheap and delicious; around 500 yen a person.

To walk off the stomach-bursting meal, Brian, Michael, Takashi, and I went to nearby Kinkakuji, the renown golden pavilion temple. It was surprising how fast the temple came into view from the entrance. Across the lake, it shined in all its glory. We were fortunate to get a break in the weather and the sun did its part to emphasize the golden walls, rafters, railings, windows, and rain gutters. Up close however, the building looked a little fake... It was definitely better from the other side of the lake. Still it's a must-see tourist venue in Kyoto and well worth the trip.

After that, Brian, Michael, and I took the bus to shijo and kawaramachi where we proceeded to play the UFO catchers at the Namco gamecenter. We met with little success save for a little stuffed puff ball. The airhead girl in the demo video made it look so easy. The machines are so rigged..

Around 6 pm, we met up with the DESA people for nomikai (drinking party). It was a total of 19 Stanford students and at least as much if not more DESA circle members. We went to this little pub on Kiyamachi that couldn't fit all of us. For the next two hours, we ate, we drank, we sang. It's kind of interesting to see what type of songs the Japanese students like to sing when they karaoke. For our part, we contributed some Linkin Park, Green Day, Oasis, Backstreet Boys, etc. It was quite a blast even though the drink orders were backlogged and the food wasn't very filling.

After that, we sat and chatted by the kamo river.

06232007

On Sunday, Mariko, Shoko, and I went to Kobe to find examples of modern architecture for our architecture class assignment. Mariko, who lives in Nara, has surprisingly never been to Kobe before. Fortunately Shoko was pretty familiar with the city and I've been to Kobe once before already because Mariko's sense of direction is... questionable. heh.

We arrived in the Sannomiya district where we were trying to find Kobe steak the last time we were in Kobe. We found this great restaurant dedicated to selling omu-rice. It was quite delicious to say the least. I love omu-rice. For the rest of the day, we visited the old foreign embassy district where they have old Victorian style houses erected after Japan ended its long period of international isolation. Unfortunately, it wasn't really modern architecture per say, so we went to Meriken Park and took the elevator up the top of Kobe's Port Tower. The view from above was quite nice despite the rainy day. It must be gorgeous on a nice day. We ended the day with ramen on the upper floors of the Isetan department store at Kyoto station. It's a great food court where different ramen restaurants compete for customers. And after dinner, we walked on the skyway that spanned the station itself where Japanese couples were secretly making out... The view from above was quite spectacular. All in all, a beautiful end to a great day and another fabulous weekend gone by.

06242007