Day 20

Today I left my host family for the Oita Toyo Hotel in Oita City.  The day was filled with organizing and eating.

Jeff, Stacy, and I decided it was time to give Japanese McDonald's a try.  First, McDonald's is not on every corner as it is in North America.  In fact, we walked for 30 minutes to get to the closest one.  The thing that Japan has everywhere that we don't are drink vending machines.  They are everywhere and in completely random places..like in the middle of the country on the side of the road (typically where you would find a McDonald's in North America). 

After our walk, we ordered food.  In Japan, the combo meals come with a sandwhich (double cheeseburger for me), North America's 'small" fries, "small" drink, and six-piece chicken nuggets.  After our meal (I am happy to report it tastes exactly the same as it does in North America), Stacy and Jeff ordered McFlurries.  It took about 5 minutes and 4 workers to figure out what they wanted, but, at the end, they were very excited with the results.

For two or so hours after lunch, I tried to play tetrus with my suitcase.  I have a 20 kilogram weight limit per bag from Oita to Tokyo...I may be getting close to surpassing the limit...we'll see.  I do know that I came into this hotel with my two original bags, a shopping bag, and a box.  If I can leave the hotel with the original two bags, I will be very pleased.

Tonight for dinner, I tried snow crab.  It was delicious!  I find it rather humorous that in North America, we eat crab with a hammer and butter.  In Japan, they eat it plain and cut it open with kitchen scissors.