day 2

awoke bright and early, but not bright enough that i missed my first waking sunrise on japanese soil. compelled to go for a walk at a jet-lagged 5:30am i made my way downstairs in the miniscule elevator of the okazaki grand hotel (not to be confused with the okazaki new grand hotel - much newer, much fancier, next door). i knew i'd have to talk to the reception guy, which pursed my lips after my first cultural mishap last night (the 3 of us - chris, cleo, and i - wanted some dinner, and so headed to the hotel restaurant. with no waiter only a group of japanese businessmen, and a japanese menu at hand we wondered what restaurant-entrance etiquette was. do we take a seat, should we call out, are we expected to conjure a waiter with a subconscious message of repeated bird-like bowing? no idea. luckily, at this point the waiter turned the corner and presented us with our very first bona-fide language gap. nishio sensei, who had picked us up at the airport was gone and had only told us to sign the bill after our meal. was it already ordered? were they expecting us? after telling the waiter who we were [in japanese - booya!] and seeing a blank stare i realized he did not. no worry, out comes the english menu). but back to the situation at hand: descending in the elevator i prepared a speech for the receptionist-cum-waiter informing him that chris and i only had one key for our room, and asking if i could have a second one so i could go for a walk while he slept. meeting him i say as much, and he calls over another man, hands him a key, and heads back in the direction of upstairs. "no no no" i say - and try to clarify. enter circus music, for the next two minutes were spent bumbling through each others' statements. finally he puts the key away, apparently understanding, and i bid him good morning. i walk toward the door only to discover that no, he wasn't heading back upstairs originally, he was taking me over to unlock the door to get outside. so it begins.
our hotel is right on the river, and the sun's orange voice echoed across it, intensifying as i walked along. this town, okazaki, is apparently a small one but it still has 20 storey buildings; and i'm not sure what constitutes the edge of a town because, much like england, civilization just keeps going wherever it is habitable. it seems fashionable here to don your suit and walk about the town windmilling your arms - a good morning stretch, methinks. anyways, between last night and this morning i can tick many things off my mental scavenger-hunt list: karaoke bar, beer & cigarette vending machines, a temple & castle (yet to be explored), a squat toilet (sans toilet paper).... but what i most anticipate is a good old fashioned japanese breakfast.