Track and Field Blogs - Jenny Barringer

7:05pm

I woke up earlier this morning to run in hopes that I might beat the heat a little. No such luck. I got on the path by about 7am and I think it was already in the high 80s. I ran 6.5 miles doing my usual 10 min. out, 10 back, water stop and then back out again. It seems kind of silly but it's worth it to get the much needed water breaks. 6.5 miles, strides, cool. Totaled about 7.5 to 8 for the morning.

Now onto the actual interesting stuff :). I really enjoy adventures so I decided to head out in hopes of lunching at a more traditional Japanese restaurant. I walked to a shopping area and soon found a cute little noodle place. The whole experience was amusing. I went to sit down at the table and cracked my knees because it was about 4 inches shorter than I expected (everything is smaller here). When I went to order I basically resigned myself to pointing to pictures on the menu with hopes that I would be able to decipher the ingredients once it was presented to me. I ended up ordering a bowl of noodles with garlic, carrots, green onions, and beef slices in a beef broth. It was really really good! The waitress was very aware that I don't speak ANY Japanese but that didn't keep her from being kind of chatty from time to time. I tried to be polite and smile (and here it's kind to sort of nod your head at each other). Still, I have no idea what we were supposed to be talking about. My soup/noodle lunch was served with chopsticks ("hashi" in Japanese, one of the very few words I know) and a huge ladle. Not really sure what I was supposed to use the enormous ladle for but I got some funny pictures of it all that I'll try to share later.

Still feeling good and enjoying the experience. Staying off my feet for the most part while still trying to experience the culture. Tomorrow we change hotels and head into downtown Osaka. Another adventure :).