Date in Temmabashi

On Thursday I had a really great date with my friend Kaito in Temmabashi. We took a "water bus" tour of the area. It was interesting because he's kind of a map/transportation Otaku so he knew all the buildings and what went on in them. We also got to see Osaka Castle and the Nakanoshima rose garden area. I really want to go there with one of my teachers because she mentioned how nice it was. Plus I bet I can get some really nice Ama-loli pics there (huzzah huzzah!!). The cruise was an hour and the boat had a ceiling that could be raised and lowered to get under low bridges. They showed us how it went but all the bridges we traveled under were high enough that it wasn't a neccesity. I wonder where they go that they need a ceiling to do that? I bet they take private charter tours because we saw two of the other boats in use. Although we could only catch a ferry once every hour, so they must not stop at each port. Interesting.

We hung out at Kai's favorite coffee shop and had really strong coffee. He usually takes one sugar but had to take two to make it sweet enough to drink. I used two creamers, but it was just an excuse to have extra creamy coffee! Kai is great because he is a news nut so he always knows what is going on around the world. He's not as opinionated as some of my friends, but he's a good listner when I interject. Although, I wonder if this is just the language barrier functioning. Language and culture have a real and observable impact on daily interactions between people even if one party is fluent in the other's language. Despite these musings we had a really good conversation. Afterwards we went to a bookshop and checked out all the English textbooks. Kai was suprised at their being so many- i think it is gall on his part that so few German books are present in Japanese bookstores (He's fluent in German).

It was a highly enjoyable time. I really like going out with men who have things to say. Sometimes their interests can be a little tedious (take note people) but the back and forth of conversation always evens things out in the end. It's great to have a male Japanese friend who isn't so shy (anymore, anyway). Japanese males were always a mystery to me because they would never get too close. It's been good for me to know this one because I like him enough to be patient with our differences. Patience has paid off and now I feel like I have a friend for life.