A hop, skip, and a fart...but not really

So the journey to my current location, and the place I call home, was about a four hour trek from Osaka. I first had to take the infamous shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Hakata, Fukuoka. After that I had to transfer lines to the super express train bound for Oita. To be honest, super express sounds faster than bullet train, but maybe that's just me. I will say though, there's nothing quite like the shinkansen as a passenger. It wasn't my first time, but that thing definitely hauls ass and it's incredibly comfortable. Anyway, if there were any doubt that I were leaving the bright lights of big-city Osaka, the journey to Oita was that friendly reminder. The countryside was sprawling all around, to sound dramatic, but really it wasn't a problem for me. I'm down to see and experience all sides of Japan and while it may not look like the most exciting place on earth, that old expression comes to mind, "you get out what you put in", and I'm pretty sure that applies to how you think about things and not just your actions. I've been lazy and haven't taken pictures of my apartment yet, but more than likely I'll just record a short "tour" video of sorts to give you a rundown of the layout. For now, enjoy a picture of the express train I rode and a short video of some of the scenery on the way to Oita.

The head rests look like little sausages.

Osaka, you'll be missed

Osaka was "home" for two hectic weeks and for the most part it was a semi-enjoyable experience. The days were long, the nights were way too short, but when we had time off, we certainly tried to make the most of it. The Takatsuki Sun Hotel was a decent enough place to rest our head at the end of the day and even though it was only two weeks, it stated feeling like ours. I'm a long way from Osaka now, but I'll always be able to reflect on it as the place that really got this ball rolling...this ball being this whole excursion in Japan. It's where we learned to do the job we're doing and where we (my fellow trainees and I) were able to form bonds with each other. Our last night together, we decided to have a very low-key meal at McDonald's (mostly because everywhere else was closed), and "the Tank Engine" shocked, and possibly disgusted, by ordering 14 hamburgers. Much to our delight, he sat and consumed each and every one of them. A group of kids and teenagers were super excited to see foreigners in their local McDonalds...especially one that was consuming enough to feed an entire extended family. They asked for photos and we happily obliged. The food coma hit Tommy hard and after we had made it back to my hotel room for a final hangout session, he was out in no time. Thankfully we're all still in touch via email and text, so the story isn't entirely sad. Anyway, enough of this sappy business, let's look at some pics.

At Takatsuki station. Some of you will get a kick out of this.

Logan in awe...of something.

Oh-saka.

Taiko time!

New Dragonball Z game that people seem to love.

Metal Gear Arcade...say what!?

MGA

Wow...

Completely content.

Done and done.

What an odd photo.

Thomas was out and the best we could think to do was put FF on him.

Burger of Death: the video!

Behold...a beaten man

My Battle Royale picture

Kenshu Training Group: September 2011.

Natto: The legend continues

Some of you may or may not be familiar with natto; the fermented soybeans from Japan that create a great divide. Rich in protein and probiotics according to Wikipedia. You either hate it or you love it. Natto, it should be pointed out, is notorious for it's smell, hard-to-acquire taste, and mucous-like texture. I wanted to give it a proper go before making any remarks on the stuff, so I did. The following video is my attempt to eat it and then my video of Thomas and Logan giving it a fair try. It did not bode well.

The infamous food.

Adventures in eating

I've certainly had my fair share of interesting dining experiences in the short amount of time that I've been here in Japan. There's been some tasty traditional Japanese fair and there's been the Japanese take on some of the more familiar American style food that I'm more accustomed to. The fun part is always seeing how Japan can take a tried and true food and shape it into their own vision. I admit, I'm a sucker for this. Logan and I hit up a restaurant for the sole reason of having a "Mega Hamburger" in it's display window. Trust me, when you see this thing your American senses, relating to food at least, kick into overdrive and you can't wait to go to town on this thing. I couldn't even tell you the name of the restaurant that sold it, but who cares. This was a patty of hamburg with cheese on it, then a strip of pork, another hamburg patty with cheese, topped with a sunny-side-up egg. For good measure they decided to throw in some green beans, corn and carrots on the side, but let's be honest, they just get in the way. The waiter assumed we'd want the English menu, but when we got a hold of it, the language appeared to be English but the grammar was beyond horrid. It was a hilarious read.

A good part of my training group headed to a place called "T's Star Diner", which was fairly close to our hotel. It was designed like an old fashioned American diner and they claimed to sell American-style diner food. How could we resist such temptation!? Going in, the decor was pretty awesome I must say, regardless of how cramped it was. The menu did in fact have plenty of American style foods on offer, but one item in particular caught our eyes; The Burger of Death! It was five different hamburgers stacked on top of each other through a skewer. More than enough food for any mere mortal and to top it off, it cost 3,500 yen which is roughly $45. The only one willing to step up to such a challenge was Tommy "the Tank Engine" Turner, and step up he did! Not only did he eat every burger, including the pasta salad that came with it, but he ate all of his fries, some of my fries and a banana shake. After that, he went to the convenience store and ate two ice cream bars, a melon bread and some cookies and claimed he was still hungry. This boy, from Santa Clarita believe it or not, is a beast. There's more on him and his eating habits later. I ordered a chili dog that was by no means small and I could barely finish it. I guess that American-style pretty much translates to LARGE. This is all merely the beginning of the food quest here, but I'll be sure to post pics so you can see what you're missing (you decide if that's a good or bad thing).

The group ate here on lunch one day...no regrets.

You simply have to read this menu. LOL

Behold! The Mega Hamburger!

Logan prepares.

Tommy shamelessly prepares for the Burger of Death.

Speaking of shameless...

I believe this is moments before the Burger of Death. Tommy and Logan unaware.

Matt was the sensible one.

Bob!

Believe it or not, the green one is cream soda.

Erica's chicken strips. They look wack but she said they weren't bad.

Logan's burger. I'm like a creepy voyeur.

My God.

You couldn't help but laugh.

Logan illustrates that point.

He really took it to that tower.

My chili dog, looking almost plastic in this picture.

What a champ. Plate cleaned! Logan looks disgusted.