Mon. July 28 – Can you say “nomihodai?”

The next day started with a hearty breakfast, where they served an array of breakfast favourites such as yogurt… and McDonald’s fries. I should probably thank Pat for fetching my water and orange juice that morning, durr! We then attended our opening ceremonies. I’ll skip over the orientation sessions. Most of the speakers injected some funny anecdotes in their presentations, but the day was still pretty long.
My roomie, M, and I decided to take quick naps before the welcome reception where they apparently served beer and food. (M. is also heading to my prefecture!) Anyways, that 30-minute nap turned into two hours. At 8 p.m., we abruptly woke up and went down to meet the rest of the Fukushima peeps for our night out in Tokyo. We all headed to an izakaya, a Japanese pub offering ‘all-you-can eat and drink’ fare. This amazing idea is called “nomihodai.” We arrived at 9 p.m., but we already saw some Japanese teenagers passed out on the floor.
If you know me, then you totally can predict my reaction as we weaved our way towards a karaoke bar. We filled one karaoke room, flanked by two flat screen TVs and lots of seating. I definitely see myself going more often!