Nagoya | 名古屋 #2

A private trip to Nagoya continues....

This was my second day in the city, and my schedule was really full, so this will be a long post.

I first met my mentor, Hさん, for lunch. She reserved a really nice French restaurant for us, where we enjoyed a course meal.

This place was amazing! Outside the shop, the mood was very Japanese...

The inside reminded me of a French farmhouse...

Our course included so many gorgeous dishes..

Foire Gras!

Fish...

Meat...(I think it was pork?)

...and dessert of course! (caramel & vanilla ice cream)

My friend and I talked a lot about our secrets! ^_^ It was really great to see her and catch up again.

After lunch, I had to rush back to practice. My flute teacher booked a rehearsal in the hall. This was my life for the next 3.5 hours...non stop practicing and playing.

The view from the back of the hall:

The view from my stand:

After wrapping up, my flute teacher says: "Do you want to send your flute in for maintenance?" It was 18.30, so I was thinking: "Can the shop fix my flute and return it in time for rehearsals tomorrow?" My teacher was amazing here: she called the shop, reserved a time, and got the shop to guarantee my flute would be ready the next day. Wow!

I headed out to the Muramatsu shop in Imaike (Nagoya). I used to be a regular customer, but I was really shocked when the shop staff remembered me by name (!!). ^_^

Dropping off my flute for maintenance:

While taking the elevator up to the shop, I met a fellow passenger, also carrying a flute. I immediately pointed to his flute and said:

"わ〜同じ！”　(Wow! We are the same!)

We chatted more and I learned his name was Yu (pronounced "you"). When he asked for my name, I thought I would make a joke and said: "Oh, my name is "Me". So, Yu and Me". (laugh!) He didn't laugh at all. Oh well. ^_^

We enjoyed chatting for about 20 minutes, and I asked him to join me in a photo...

At the Muramatsu Flute shop...

It's cool to meet fellow flute players. ^_^

After this, I met up with another friend for dinner. We went to an izukaya together. I'll save that for tomorrow. You'll finally learn about my Halloween costume...

The French restaurant was located in Hisaya-Odori, behind the Blosse building. Lunch set from ¥2,500/ person.

Muramatsu Flute have shops in Japan and abroad. Flutes, sheet music, CDs and lessons can be found here. You can also buy tickets to flute concerts and events. Once a year, they have a festival, in which you can try various flutes for free. I have been twice and got to play a flute once owned by James Galloway! ^_^ The Muramatsu Flute site is HERE.

Nagoya | 名古屋 #1

So I am back in Japan...again. ^_^ I was invited to play in a concert here, so I took some time off work and visited my second home....

My flight arrived right around sunset. It was really beautiful...

I had to go straight to the studio to rehearse. After that, I was free to meet up with a friend for dinner. We went to Nagoya's famous soul food restaurant: Yama-chan! Yay!

Outside Yama-chan:

I had to have a beer...

..and 手羽先 (chicken wings)...

枝豆 (beans)...

..and 天ぷら (fried veggies):

My friend and I laughed and chatted all night. I got an SMS from a friend around 10pm saying: "Did you enjoy the dinner?" and I texted back: "I'm still AT the dinner!" (laugh) I was having too much fun. ^_^

My friend, Wednesday (she said it was okay to show her face):

I think we gave up around midnight or so. ^_^

Yama-chan is a famous izakaya chain restaurant in Nagoya. You MUST order chicken wings. Prices from ¥100 per dish. It's really yummy! Website HERE.

**Special bonus!!**

Happy Halloween!! Here is my costume...(I'm the blonde one) ^_^ I'll explain it tomorrow...

Terminal 21 Part 6

My friend and I finish exploring the newest department store in Bangkok....

The lower floors consisted of Paris, Rome and Caribbean themes. I wasn't so impressed with these, so I took fewer pictures. (laugh)

Frescos...

The "Rome" floor actually reminded me of Kylie Minogue's "Aphrodite Tour". (laugh) While walking around this floor, I sang some Kylie songs in my head to match the atmosphere. ^_^

Statues...

The Paris floor was a little boring I thought...it was full of jewelry & fancy dress shops...

The basement featured a huge lighthouse, which can be found in my area of Canada. I liked this, as it reminded me of my hometown...^_^

Finished! I hope you had fun. I'll go visit my boyfriend on the London floor again soon...^_^

Terminal 21 is located at BTS Asoke. Direct access from the station.

Terminal 21 Part 5

My friend Mさん and I continue to explore the floors at Terminal 21...

The other half of the 3rd floor featured "Tokyo". I was pretty impressed with the images presented on this floor...

Lanterns:

More lanterns:

I found something very unusual here -- a Goth/ Lolita shop!!

Shop:

And I found something special for those with school girl fetishes (laugh):

Walking further, my friend pointed out these two guys to me...SUMO!

And finally, what does this SAY??? My friend and I were baffled...I wondered if they put the sign in backwards or something.

?

Please visit again tomorrow. I'll show photos from the lower floors. ^_^

Terminal 21 is located at BTS Asoke. Direct access from the station.

Terminal 21 Part 4

My friend and I continue to explore Bangkok's cool new department store....

The 3rd floor was very, very cool! The theme here was "London" and I really enjoyed playing around.

Sign post:

Bench:

Post box:

I asked my friend to take some funny pics....

In the phone box (not the Tardis... *sigh*)

...and with my boyfriend ^_^

This floor had so many unique scenes from London everywhere! I really enjoyed finding more British things...

Royal Palace guard:

Double Decker bus:

The Tube (London underground -- subway):

I think this was my favorite floor. But I have a warning for all the other girls out there -- don't flirt with my boyfriend. He's all mine!! (laugh) Tomorrow, I'll show you the Japanese floor. ^_^

Terminal 21 is located at BTS Asoke. Direct access from the station.

Terminal 21 Part 3

My friend and I continue to play around Bangkok's newest department store....

This next floor featured Istanbul, Turkey. I had been planning to visit Turkey after the New Year, but my friend said:

"Save money and just come here!" (laugh)

We could see mosaics:

Whirling Dervishes (spelling?):

Stained glass lamps:

Even the shops in the market reflected the Grand Bazaar:

A unique thing about Terminal 21 -- the washroom signs are different on each floor. The signs are worthy of a photo. This is the Turkish restroom sign:

Please visit again tomorrow for more photos from this interesting department store. ^_^

**Special Bonus!**

I found Gundam & a Japanese manga shop called "Yumeya" (Dream Room). ^_^ Japanese fans should visit.

Gundam!

The shop:

Terminal 21 is located at BTS Asoke. Direct access from the station.

Terminal 21 Part 2

My friend and I continued to explore this new department store in Bangkok.

The 4th floor's theme was "San Francisco". There is a food court area consisting of Chinese food:

Chinatown

London bridge can be seen from this floor. It's quite impressive:

I liked this statue of a worker, holding up a rope to the bridge. Can you see my friend? ^_^

San Francisco is famous for its street trolley cars. Here, one shop features a trolley suspended in mid air!

Seals are featured near the American food court on this floor. Shops along a water fountain seem to reflect the fish markets found in Seattle.

Seal & market:

Visit again tomorrow. We'll explore the lower floors. ^_^

Terminal 21 is located at BTS Asoke. Direct access from the station.

Terminal 21

A huge, new 5 level department store has opened in Bangkok: Terminal 21. It's a themed building, in which each floor represents one or two major cities in the world. Escalators reflect traveling in an airport, to give shoppers the experience of "traveling" to each city.

The cities (and one area) represented are:

B1: Caribbean

1F: Rome

2F: Paris / Tokyo

3F: Istanbul / London

4F: San Fransico / China town

5F: Hollywood

My Japanese friend and I went off to explore one Wednesday. I had so much fun.

The Hollywood sign:

The fifth floor, being Hollywood, features a cinema. Movie theaters in BKK are quite fun and feature sofas for couples:

Iron Man:

My friend poses with a giant Oscar statue:

Be sure to visit again tomorrow to see 4F: San Francisco. ^_^

Terminal 21 is located at Sukhumvit 21. Direct access from BTS Asoke. Clothes, food, books, some live events can be found here.