Himeji Castle and the Dentist
Yesterday I took the day off. One, because I could. And two, because I was still tired from traveling this past weekend. I woke up early, went for a run as the gym is closed one day a week and that random day is Tuesdays! I then decided to take my free pass and go see Himeji Castle since it is about a 2 minute walk from my place and is the most famous in Japan. It only costs 600 yen to get in and is probably worth it. It was interesting but the restoration work done makes it seem too modern for my tastes.
You can enter and walk through the main donjon. It is 5 stories high on the inside and gives you a great view of the entire city from up there. It has signs in English talking about some of the famous features of the castle. It was interesting but I went alone and had no one to discuss it with. :( I took some good pictures though. My favorite parts were the defenses of the castle, where they went to the bathroom, weapons, and how they had smoke detectors and fire extinguhsers in the 1400s. PS I HATE the slippers they make you wear when you go inside places such as this. They make my feet hurt so bad as they have no support and i was touring the castle for about 1.5 hours. After seeing one castle (supposedly the best in Japan) I honestly have no desire to see another. Also, Himeji is known for its famous garden but I must admit im not much of a garden lover. I think they are pretty but then what? I get bored. I went in Hiroshima and another garden nearby and thats about enough for me for a while.
Renee asked me to find her a t-shirt with Japanese writing so then I went ALL over town to find a t-shirt with Japanese writing. I went through the biggest department store here and could find none! You can only find shirts with English writing and weird sayings at that. I don’t think its cool to have a Japanese t-shirt or at least I have never seen one here. The sayings on the shirts though are SO random and make no sense I always have to laugh and shake my head. After wandering around the mall for a while I headed to do some grocery shopping and make myself some lunch!
Then at 5pm I went with Eric to get my teeth cleaned. In the letter we got with my insurance card, un der the large headlines of what this card WILL NOT cover was "Teeth cleaning and check-ups e.g. gold plating". Since I wasn’t getting gold plating and Eric said he had done it before I went along. I couldn’t have done it without him. They spoke no English and all the forms were in Japanese. They DID provide me with new "heated" slippers which sit in a warmer by the door for you when you remove your shoes before entering. I felt special for about 3 seconds. Eric helped me fill it all out and translate for me. I went first and his stuff was all high tech and new. It was very clean and it was just him and his office lady doing it. He poked and prodded at my gums and he was not very careful just poking real hard and probing my gums till I thought they would bleed. Then he broke out , what I could swear was a drill or something and went to town on my teeth,. It really hurt! I thought my squirming, clenched fists, or kicking in the chair would be a hint but no. He kept going no stopping. Then after he finished the right side of my mouth, he had me sit up and go sit over at his desk. He then called Eric in. I thought to myself, "Did he just do 1/3 of my teeth?
I watched Eric have his done and watched the news on my Ipod. I asked him after he was finished if they did the same and he said yes. He said it would be another 1500 yen for each third of my teeth. So random , why not just do them all at once! He said I had something that I was assuming a cavity and he would fix it for 800 yen but I declined as Eric told me he went in for a small cavity at another dentist and they removed a large chunk of his tooth and it hurt like hell. I made an appointment for my next third for next Tuesday but im pretty sure im gonna be a no show.
You can enter and walk through the main donjon. It is 5 stories high on the inside and gives you a great view of the entire city from up there. It has signs in English talking about some of the famous features of the castle. It was interesting but I went alone and had no one to discuss it with. :( I took some good pictures though. My favorite parts were the defenses of the castle, where they went to the bathroom, weapons, and how they had smoke detectors and fire extinguhsers in the 1400s. PS I HATE the slippers they make you wear when you go inside places such as this. They make my feet hurt so bad as they have no support and i was touring the castle for about 1.5 hours. After seeing one castle (supposedly the best in Japan) I honestly have no desire to see another. Also, Himeji is known for its famous garden but I must admit im not much of a garden lover. I think they are pretty but then what? I get bored. I went in Hiroshima and another garden nearby and thats about enough for me for a while.
Renee asked me to find her a t-shirt with Japanese writing so then I went ALL over town to find a t-shirt with Japanese writing. I went through the biggest department store here and could find none! You can only find shirts with English writing and weird sayings at that. I don’t think its cool to have a Japanese t-shirt or at least I have never seen one here. The sayings on the shirts though are SO random and make no sense I always have to laugh and shake my head. After wandering around the mall for a while I headed to do some grocery shopping and make myself some lunch!
Then at 5pm I went with Eric to get my teeth cleaned. In the letter we got with my insurance card, un der the large headlines of what this card WILL NOT cover was "Teeth cleaning and check-ups e.g. gold plating". Since I wasn’t getting gold plating and Eric said he had done it before I went along. I couldn’t have done it without him. They spoke no English and all the forms were in Japanese. They DID provide me with new "heated" slippers which sit in a warmer by the door for you when you remove your shoes before entering. I felt special for about 3 seconds. Eric helped me fill it all out and translate for me. I went first and his stuff was all high tech and new. It was very clean and it was just him and his office lady doing it. He poked and prodded at my gums and he was not very careful just poking real hard and probing my gums till I thought they would bleed. Then he broke out , what I could swear was a drill or something and went to town on my teeth,. It really hurt! I thought my squirming, clenched fists, or kicking in the chair would be a hint but no. He kept going no stopping. Then after he finished the right side of my mouth, he had me sit up and go sit over at his desk. He then called Eric in. I thought to myself, "Did he just do 1/3 of my teeth?
I watched Eric have his done and watched the news on my Ipod. I asked him after he was finished if they did the same and he said yes. He said it would be another 1500 yen for each third of my teeth. So random , why not just do them all at once! He said I had something that I was assuming a cavity and he would fix it for 800 yen but I declined as Eric told me he went in for a small cavity at another dentist and they removed a large chunk of his tooth and it hurt like hell. I made an appointment for my next third for next Tuesday but im pretty sure im gonna be a no show.
posted by Dan @ 7:53 PM
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