excursion to teradomari - 10 april 2006

Originally written on my first Sunday here. Feel strange for not being in church. Really need to get in touch with some nice Japanese christians here. The JW came knocking on my door just a few days after I reached here. Very nice people, but I have to decline.

Update 21 Apr : pics attached

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On the way to Teradomari

The sun woke me up last Sunday morning. Though I must admit, I've positioned my “bed” in such a way that I face the window in case my alarm clock fails to work. The fact that my handphone could not be charged is quite frightening. I'm not sure if it's because of the different plug point or the type of current/voltage/watt in Japan. At home, I have that and 2 more clocks to wake me up for important appointments or when I know I've had a late night and might not be able to get up on time.

The seaside town of Teradomari

Anyways, waking up here is quite easy. My window is only covered by 2 pieces of lace curtains, so the sunlight streams through pretty well. Not long after 930am, Syakir came knocking on the door. He was here to pick us up for a trip to the seaside town of Teradomari. Knowing that we might be busy once classes start, I decided to go in spite of the great temptation to remain in bed.

Much to choose from - freshly cooked seafood

We were a convoy of Malaysian students, both undergrads and postgrads. Teradomari was chosen because it was sort of a halfway point between Niigata Uni and IUJ. We were introduced to our seniors from IUJ – Siew Siew, Marina (and her husband Aidil), and Bad (who came with his wife, Aida and 4 year old son, Ariff).

Behind us, the mountain cliffs and the Sea of Japan


Huge crabs for sale

We drove south-west using Main Road 402 which runs along the coast. We went through many tunnels as the road was built into the mountain cliffs. Just meters below was the sea. The waves were so strong that they had to make wave breakers in some areas. Apparently, this area is good for surfing. We saw 2 Jap grrls fully suited up in their gear going into the sea at the chilly temperature of 8 deg Celcius.

Hotate (some kind of mussels?) cooked with butter sauce

In the town area, there is a row of shops selling the freshest and largest variety of seafood I've ever seen. Some sell processed seafood while there are a few shops which operate like our wet markets with packaged raw cut meat, but so much cleaner. There were also some meat samples for us to try – chopped prawn pieces, squids, and fish eggs in various sauces and dips. Some of the stuff that I'll never see in our Malaysian market – Octopus brains, whale blubber, shark meat and whole maguro fishes.

Check out the white octopus brains