Technically, it wasn't an official Thanksgiving since it's an American holiday. Because of this, Japan doesn't celebrate or honor thanksgiving, although one of our professors did allow us to miss class. However, that didn't stop me from celebrating in my own way. One of our Japanese friends invited the exchange students to go out, coincidentally, on the same day as Thanksgiving. However, only three exchange students went: Me, Stachus (one of the guys form Montana), and Emily (the girl form England). As for the Japanese students, there was Ryutaro, Kohei, Takeshi, Emiri, Nana, and Yuichi. Altogether we went out to a resturant called Kuroi Neko Ya, or Black Cat Place. As we walked in, this was the first thing we saw:
It's a giant Black Cat Plushie!!
The outing we went to was both what the Japanese call a Tabehodai and Nomihodai. We paid 3000 yen, or around $30, and we were able to eat and drink as much as we wanted.
Here are Emily and I, along with our Japanese friends Ryutaro, Kohei, and Takeshi. Usually when going out to eat, there are no more than 5 people at most. Because we had about twice that amount, we had to sit at two different tables, which is why I only have a picture of the 5 of us.
I'm sorry, but I found this super funny! Emily had taken my phone and managed to get action shots of Ryutaro eating, and I couldn't stop laughing when I saw them!
As you can see, Emily and I had several dishes in front of us. We had fried squid, octopus with wasabi sauce, salad, edamae, salmon, and my favorite, nankotsu karaage, which is fried chicken cartilage. Everything was so good. And during our meal, I explaind to the guys that in America, it just so happened to be Thanksgiving day, and I was unable to have Thanksgiving with my family, so the tabehodai was like my Thanksgiving in Japan.
After finishing our meals at the resturant, we walked downtown until we found an all night Karaoke place.
Even here, it was very cheap. We spent about $12 for several hours of Karaoke! But also, part of the reason why it was so cheap was because it was a Thursday night. On weekends, it's a couple dollars more. Everyone had such a great time during our time out. Everyone really bonded together, and everyone had an amazing time singing songs together. I really look forward to going out with these people again! They made this Thanksgiving really memorable for me. Even though I wasn't at home to celebrate, I'm glad I got to celebrate and have a great time with great friends!
またね！
Comments