We have previously translated Asapon’s blog post about Anime North. She has since published three other posts about her time in Canada on her blog and we thought it would be of interest to those who went to AN this year (or even just those simply interested by what she has to say but to do read Japanese) to post these up here as well. Please visit the blog for the photos accompanying each post.
Colorful and BIG
Things that surprised me in Canada:
First of all, daylight lasts su~per long!
It’s as bright as day until 8PM!
I had a tough time with the overwhelmingly long daytime because I also had jet lag. (laughs)
Next, there’s so much sweet food! The sweets were all colurful and pretty big, and almost all of the chocolates have caramels in them.
There are even some so huge that I don’t even know how to eat them!
I wanted to bring my nephew here (>_<)
I need to send some sweets to my family~
It’s not just the sweets that are big – vegetables & bread in the supermarket, and dishes & drinks in restaurants are all drastically different in size compared to those in Japan, as if I was in the world of some foreign-themed anime shows! ☆
Next, the broadness of the sky.
Although there are many tall buildings downtown, you could still see the sky far, far away.
It wasn’t until then that I realized how narrow Tokyo’s sky feels like, and my heart also felt more open than ever. (;´д｀)
Next: everyone was so friendly and kind!
Even in elevators, people were always greeting each other or having some conversation in a courteous and unique way.
It felt like I could become friends with anyone very quickly there.
There might not be many chances like this to go abroad for travel or work in my life, but it’s such an exciting experience to fly outside of Japan and explore the rest of the world! (>_<)
When I get older or have the money to do so, I’m even thinking about making a plan for a global journey as a once-in-a-lifetime experience! (>_<)
By going to Canada, I managed to obtain priceless experience and value that can not be found within Japan.
But I’ve also got many places to visit within Japan, so it seems that there’s never gonna be enough money (^_^;)
Talking about domestic travel, now I really wanna visit Noto Peninsula ♪
There are still a lot more things that I got surprised at…
For example, Toronto was so dry… (>_<) I couldn’t even comb through my short hair with my hand. This was a first-time experience as well (゜ロ゜;
Also, my skin got rough and dry throughout the trip… But it’s now back to normal after returning to Japan. Please don’t worry (´ω｀)
Next: restrooms!
Restrooms in Canada are not blocked on the top and at the bottom, so you can literally see other people’s feet from neighbouring toilet cells!!!
It seems to be designed for crime-prevention, but it felt like shower rooms at the beach.
Besides all that surprising stuff, there were also lucky things as well.
That is, the $1 CAD coin I got from a shop as change was an Olympic memorial version!
I’m feeling lucky because it looks like a very rare version ♪♪ with Olympic Rings on it ☆
There’s a countless amount of memories.
Bear☆
With the cute bear ☆ (Asapon pictured here with a bear)
On that day I was brought to the Niagara Falls! ♪ヽ(´▽｀)/
I’ll post photos of the falls next time.
Actually, there was something really touching that happened after I got back to Japan.
I was standing beside the street typing a mail on my phone. A gaijin onisan asked me “Can you speak English?”. After I answered, it turned out that he need some help with finding the right way to the hotel he was staying in.
Since I don’t really know that area well, I searched the hotel on the Internet and walked him there.
From my experience in Toronto, I could deal with these situations without any anxiety!
We got to the hotel as we were having an everyday conversation.
I taught him how to say “Thank You” in Japanese since he asked, and then I got a grateful “Arigatou” from him (>_<)
I was just super happy about it!
I answered “You’re welcome!” without much hesitation.
Back in Canada everyone answered “You’re welcome” when I said “Thank you”, but I couldn’t remember that well…
It seems that I finally got it after I returned to Japan.
Niagara Falls
The famous Niagara Falls!
It was fantastic, especially with lighting and fireworks shows at night.
Back in Japan I don’t get to watch fireworks shows often. With such wonderful scenery, the sky looked even more beautiful…
I wanted to catch all of them in my eyes and remember them forever… although the fireworks only lasted for a very short moment (>_<)
I really wanna go to firework shows in Japan wearing a Yukata. It’s been a few years since last I wore a Yukata outside of work (;´д｀)
Photo with Naba-san and translators Berry and Iga, using the falls as a background ♪
The rainbow was visible although it was dark already 《*≧∀≦》
Coming all the way to Niagara, America was right in my sight!
Though I’ve never been there, I’ve at least seen the USA with my own eyes!
Well then.
Talking about Canada, there’s one more thing that can’t be missed – maple syrup.
Is there any other way of using it other than on pancakes and candies?
As an answer, I managed to make some pumpkin stew with maple syrup (´ω｀)
That’ll be my breakfast tomorrow ♪
Thanks to the producers in HPT who helped translate those blog posts! Hopefully we can do the same thing next year.