16 Mar, Day 8: Shops and Ships

No more opulent Japanese breakfasts from here on out! You can get those at traditional inns or fancy hotels, but our business hotel only offers an Italian style, greasy panini breakfast, so we passed on that. We're going for the so-called "set breakfast" which usually consists of a cup of coffee and something else (waffle/toast/cake) for a set price. Not your author's usual deal, but it's that or nothing. There is a nice cafe right across from our hotel with good coffee and big windows--perfect for people-watching!


After coffee and a salmon wrap (that's not so bad!) it was time for ---you know this was coming- hitting the largest 100 Yen store in Nagoya! Why waste time with the 30 other smaller shops in town when you can have a whole department store floor full of tempting cheapness?
Daiso 100 Yen shop

1.5 hours later and a bag full of stuff, we were ready for some tourist info (I lived a whole day without a map, but was starting to tweak).




On the way to the tourist info

Armed with maps and shopping bags, we found a nice place for lunch and decided to go to Kanayama (south part of town) and then the Port of Nagoya, since we got a cheap public transport day ticket and were determined to get as much out of it as we could. Started the day being cheap, might as well continue!

Japanese curry with lotus root

The subway system is quite challenging at first, but then easy once you get the hang of it. In Kanayama, we didn't even make it out of the train station before buying more stuff. There was a market held by mentally handicapped people which had some irresistible items (yes, they had Chihuahua stuff). We also saw our first homeless people, but still no police people! There are police sub stations scattered over the larger towns, but I've only seen one police car and no police out in public.
Heart to Heart market in Katayama Station

Another subway trip brought us to the Port of Japan. It is very nice and has a relaxing atmosphere with its garden and walkway. There's an aquarium, maritime museum, and the jetty with shops (which we did not go into, because it was time for some culture!).










And then there's the Fuji, Antarctic exploration ship, which ran exploration missions from the 1960's to the 80's and had a crew of over 200 people on board. It's now a museum, so we took a look at that to counterbalance our shopping karma with some education.
























What better than to end the day with a trip to a buffet restaurant which features food grown on their own farm? Don't worry, I'll spare you more food pictures today. Saving those for tomorrow!