Day 8: A typical Saturday

Mostly a chilled Saturday with the family, but we had our little adventures.

We lazed around all morning, eating and watching television. In the evening we went kimono shopping for Kaori-san who is taking kimono classes and needed one for it (yes its not easy to tie a kimono and taking classes to learn is not unusual). I learnt that there are casual and dressy kimonos. They cost a fair bit and its takes 20 minutes for an expert to tie a kimono. It has several accesories to it which are necessary to complete the outfit and cost additional money. People buy different kinds of belts to complement the kimono. The concept is similar to that of a saree wherein people buy different blouses to wear with the same saree. A kimono is normally stiched depending on the buyer's size and body dimensions, but used kimonos are sold as well which can be bought at a cheaper price.

Kaori-san, Masaki-san and me at the Izakaya 

Later, we went to an Izakaya for dinner and drinks. An Izakaya is a sort of restaurant cum bar where people come to drink and eat. It was the loudest place by far that I had come across in Japan. Many people were already quite drunk and chatted with their friends. Many people go to Izakayas after work, and Japanese people frequently socialize here. I couldn't help but notice that there were very few women in the Izakaya. It was quite different from a regular bar, where drunk people often create a havoc and men hit on women. In the Izakaya I went to, people kept to the groups they came with. 

We ordered some sake (Japanese rice wine) and shared some local dishes. It was such a fun experience! 

Cold sake is served in the little black box which is also filled with sake. It is meant to show hospitality and generosity. 

Motsuni-pork gut with tofu-a food popular during the world war when people didn't want any body part of animals to be wasted. 

Namero-cold fish with vegetables.