I woke up at 5am. Turned to my right I saw two identical faces – one big, one tiny, sound asleep.
I thought after 3 days it shouldn’t be intrusive to make my own breakfast anymore. So I found a way to make scrambled eggs on a thick slice of toast and some filter coffee. Apparently grinding your own coffee was too wanky even for Japan; they often buy pre-grounded ones.
Can one really tell a difference?
Is it really that important?
Not for me.
I sat down and processed some photos. I even surfed the internet and read about the new cameras on the market.
It was a Saturday so everyone really took their time to wake up.
Chika’s aunt and cousin came to visit and cuddle Hana.
Chika made an appointment to see her dentist at 11am, she asked if I wanted to clean my teeth for fun and I said yes, anything for fun.
The dentist spoke to me in Japanese and tried to pass on what I assumed was some very important information, but all I could do was to nod and pretended I understood.
Years of dental school training and accumulated wisdom, flew through my gaijin head like that.
Things took a turn when the old lady took over.
See, when I walked into the clinic I was expecting 1. either they are so skilled, you don’t feel anything, or 2. they believe in tough love and will expect you to repent through your own sin of not flossing and brushing properly.
I had never seen so much blood from a simple cleaning procedure.
When she asked me to rinse, I had to wait for the tears to clear up before I could see.
It was my second least favourite moment in Japan, just behind that time I water damaged my camera on a 10 hour hike.
My dental torture procedure cost 8000 yen; Chika 1300 with healthcare.
We waited for Ryuji to finish surfing to have ramen together for lunch.
Surprisingly my first ramen meal in Fukuoka was not Hakata Tonkotsu, but some chill oil pseudo-healthy potato noodle which reminded me of Sze Chuan Ma La Fen.
There’s 35 level of spiciness, and I tried level 4, only to regret not going to 8.
The thing about spicy food is that we always leave hungry.
So we walked to the McDonald’s next door to grab some teriyaki chicken burger.
Ryuji was surprised that teriyaki burger is exclusive to Japan.
“Soy sauce and sugar is the spirit of Japan!” Ema exclaimed in pride.
We took away some cakes for the parents on our way back – to say thank you for babysitting Hana.
I dozed off until 4pm, and took another bath.
On my way back I bought a food magazine about Japanese vegetables.
Once again I thought I over-ate during lunch and quietly sipped on my fat-burning, sugar-dissolving green tea though dinner.
We watched a TV show about how you can train yourself to do a perfect split in one month.
And also a group of celebrities taking on professional athletes in sports for entertainment purposes.
