I’m slowly getting back to regular posting. While my thoughts are still with everyone in Japan, we have to continue moving forward with our daily lives. I hope in the upcoming days the pain and sorrow will begin to heal. Gambare Nippon! Akiramenai yo!

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The next day was the official twinning ceremony at the Kariya Cultural Center. Since the ceremony was taking place in the afternoon, I had all morning to explore more of Kariya city with Yoko-san. 

Yoko-san drove us to the Sobo Shrine (祖母神社) early in the morning. It was pretty quiet in the neighbourhood, so we were the only ones there. However just as we were leaving, we ran into David and his host family, who had walked over to the shrine. Since it was such a nice day out, Yoko-san and I decided to do the same thing. We drove back home to drop off the car, the proceeded to explore the rest of Kariya on foot.

It was a little brisk outside, so I bundled up as we made our way around. Yoko-san led me on the side roads to the Kariya Highway Oasis, which is a popular pit stop along the Isewangan Expressway. The Highway Oasis is hard to miss no matter from which direction you’re coming from. There’s a HUGE ferris wheel in front of the main building.

We went grocery shopping first to buy some ingredients for lunch, then we headed over to the ferris wheel. I’ve seen my share of ferris wheels in Japan, but this was the first time I went on one. Since it was sunny out, we had a pretty good view from the top. Later on we stopped by the foot spa (足湯), during which we ran into David and his host family again. (Stalker? LOL.) The admission for the foot spa only cost ¥100 which was a steal. We went to the park afterwards, then stopped by the florist to pick up some flowers for our ikebana lesson before returning home.

I was on duty to help Yoko-san prepare lunch. We made maki rolls and inarizushi. I was way more skilled at stuffing inarizushi than at making maki rolls (which crumbled because I packed in way too much ingredients). However, both Shoichi-san and Yoko-san were impressed by my efforts. ^_^

I got dressed afterwards for the ceremony. We drove over to the Cultural Center to meet up with the other delegates. It was nice seeing everyone again after spending the past 24 hours apart. It was also fun to listening what everyone did on their free day and it also gave us a chance to commiserate about the weather.

The actual ceremony itself was amazing beyond words. I didn’t realize how grand the event was suppose to be. There were speakers from the Consulate of Canada and also from the Canadian Embassy. Our Mayor pre-recorded a message which played at the event. Gary, our delegation head gave a speech on our behalf, then all 10 of us were introduced on stage.

Later on, Subhadra and Melanie performed their pieces. Melanie played Joe Hisaishi’s Asian Dream Song (旅立ちの時) on the piano, which was really pretty. There were two dance performances, along with a presentation made by a group of students from the local high school. Overall it was a very lovely ceremony and I got to see some familiar faces.

When the ceremony was over, we had a bit of time left before going for dinner. Since our house was too far out of the way, we decided to visit the local library instead. It was really neat seeing a library in a different country. Their collection was a lot smaller than what we have in our central library, but they had a whole area upstairs devoted for quiet study. I spent some time reading a magazine on the lower level to pass time.

When it was finally 6pm, we met up with everyone again at an izakaya close to city hall for dinner. Dinner was more relaxing than the ceremony. Everyone joined in for the kanpai at the beginning, then we had a nice time eating and chatting. All of us were also presented with official gifts from the city. (The first of many gift exchanges!)

(Picspam – Click for larger image)

The day ended on a high note and I was stuffed to the brim as we headed home. After getting some of the ‘official’ stuff out of the way, the next day will be our tour of Okazaki. Please look forward to it in the next entry!