Shimonoseki City Day 1

I got to Shimonoseki around 12 pm. As soon as I got there I was greeted by Taka and his mother. Right at the exit of the station was Taka holding a sign that had written on it "Welcome to Shimonoseki Izzy". Immediately I felt welcome.





From there we went to Tsunoshima island. It is a very beautiful beach that is on the northwestern portion of Honshu (the main island of Japan). Taka and I went swimming. The water felt great because it was very hot. It is always an awesome feeling swimming in the ocean.

After that we went to a very beautiful location to see the ocean. I am not sure what this area was called but it was close to the island.

From there we met Papa (Taka's father) for lunch. We had a Japanese buffet. The food was excellent. It also was nice being with the family. I was surprised how comfortable I felt with them. I think this says a lot about how welcoming they were.



Then later in the day when Papa and Miyu (Taka's sister) got home we went out for Korean Bar-B-Que with Papa, Miyu, Taka and some of Miyu's friends. The food was awesome (to put it lightly). Papa handed me a menu and pointed at a food item. It was raw beef with a raw egg on the top. He said "do you want to try?" I said "yes." He gave me a surprised look and said "are you sure?" I said "I love all food." He got it for me. It was actually really good. After I tried a few bites of it I gestured for Papa to try some. He gave me a gross face and said "nah!" Dinner was fun. We talked, we hung out, we had drinks.

To the left is Papa, me and Junya at dinner.

Below is a picture of the raw meat and egg i ate. It was good!










After that we all went bowling. Papa beat everyone by a long shot. I don't remember his score but it was way higher than everyone else's.











Then when we got back home Mama brought out some snacks and drinks and we all hung out together (myself, Miyu, Taka, Mama, and Papa). I showed them pictures of my family and my life (via facebook). It was a wonderful first night.










Taka and I back at the Kawahara home.

A funny side note: I have learned that Japanese people love to eat food. I guess all cultures love to eat food but I am shocked by how thin Japanese people are considering they eat so much. I love to ask Japanese people "what is the stereotype of Americans?" So far everyone I have asked has included in some way or another "Americans are fat." Compared to Japanese Americans are fat.