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Intermixi TGS Tour - Day 6, Part 2

We had a great time in Odaiba, but that was only about half of our free day. We still had two other things to do to finish out our day. And actually to finish out X's trip to Japan. He and another from our tour, Greg, were set to leave the very next day. Our first evening adventure was to meet a very good friend and his girlfriend (now fiancée!) for dinner at Tora Fugu, とらふぐ亭.

Now, X and I met our friend, Dan, and his girlfriend, Haruna, in Tamachi for dinner. X's only other goal for this trip was to try fugu, or pufferfish, and Aka-san really came through for us by finding a restaurant that specialized in serving this fish.

Aren't they just awesome?!

I have to commend Haruna for her patience with me that night. I pretty much had no information regarding the restaurant we were going to, since I couldn't print out the e-mail Aka-san sent me regarding the reservation and I couldn't print out the map on their website. I think I only had the name of the place, and I'm not even sure I copied that down correctly. So poor Haruna had to be the one to go to the koban, or police station, to get proper directions to the restaurant. I am sad to say I think Haruna was a least slightly perturbed at me, seeing as I was essentially useless and I was kind of the one that arranged everything. Regardless, we made it fine and were seated right away. All of us looked over the menu and Haruna and Dan suggested a meal that prepared the fugu in different ways.

First, for our drink we were given hot sake that contained fins of the fish.

Then, we were all treated to fugu sashimi. Next, we received an appetizer of fried fugu which for some reason I don't have any pictures of. Actually, I think you can see some of the fried fugu in the background of the next picture.

A basket of broth was brought out to the middle of the table and the burners were turned on. As we were finishing our appetizer, a tray of freshly cut fugu was brought out with various vegetables. When the broth was brought to the correct temperature, we were instructed to cook the fish and vegetables similar to the way one would do so at shabu-shabu or Chinese hot pot.

Are we jigglin'?

X kissing fugu lips

Once most of the meal had been cooked, the staff brought in rice that we then dropped into the seasoned broth.

The entire meal was exquisite and we left full and happy. I cannot speak highly enough about the experience, and more than that I cannot speak highly enough regarding the company I had during dinner. Seeing Dan and Haruna again was a real treat and I can only hope they enjoyed the night as much as X and I did. Oh, there's some short video from dinner as well which you can see here.

Can there be any other ending picture?

Intermixi TGS Tour - Day 6, Part 1

Day 6 was our free day. An entire day for all the tour participants to do whatever they wanted. Myself and X had a big day planned, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Aka-san to set everything up for us. We started out our day going to Odaiba with the intent to experience an onsen and to see the Sasuke-themed events in Muscle Park.

There are a lot of things to do and see in Odaiba. I've been a couple of times, but I have still not seen everything and I never get tired of going.

Our first stop was at the Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari. This was one of two goals that X had for the vacation in Japan, both of which we were going to achieve this day. Going to the onsen was an interesting, and fulfilling experience. This particular one in Odaiba is set up like its own theme park. Of course the main reason to go is to enjoy the hot springs baths, but the establishment is also advertised to have "a wide variety of restaurants, traditional amusements such as fortune-telling, quoits, blowgun darts, etc., and Japanese-style full-body and foot massages".

Inside the onsen, we first took off our shoes and stored them in small lockers right by the entrance way (this would be the first of three separate lockers we would use). Next to that area was the cashier, where we paid prior to using the onsen. Once we had paid, we were given a key for use with the lockers for your clothes and we were directed to the people who would hand us our robes (I actually think they provided us with yukatas) and then we entered the changing rooms. Here, we reached the second set of lockers that stored our clothing except for your undergarments. From that area, we walked through to the Hirokoji, or "main street", where most of the shops, restaurants and games are located. You walk through here to get to the hot springs.

Now, before y'all ask the onsen are not co-ed. There are separate springs for men and women. As you approach the onsen, you enter one last changing area with another set of lockers for your undergarments. After disrobing, you are able to enter. Before entering any of the springs you first go to an area filled with personal spaces where you can wash yourself clean. Only after cleaning yourself should you then go in to any of the hot springs. From what I can remember, there were at least six different baths I could get in to. One outdoor bath and the rest indoor. There was also a sauna and a massage room.

We stayed at the onsen for at least two hours, but since we had a busy day planned we eventually left (although I'm sure we would have rather spent more time there). Our next stop was Muscle Park so that we could try out the challenges themed from Ninja Warrior (or Sasuke as it is originally called).

There were four challenges that they had for people to try out. The Arm Bike, New Cliff Hanger, Salmon Ladder and the Arm Rings.

Out of all four events, I could only successfully complete one: the Arm Bike. I got close to finishing the Arm Rings, but my left hand betrayed me and slipped out when I was trying to make a long reach. Overall, the events were much more challenging than I expected but I would love to try them again. I'd also love to see how well some of my friends would do in these events. Oh well, next time ...

We did a few more things in Odaiba before heading back to our hotel. We had to change and get ready to meet some friends for dinner.