My new favorite way of spending 1000 yen


Shabu Shabu greatness

Shabu Shabu greatness

Random Observation/Comment #41: You’re driving on the wrong side of the road! What a bunch of amateurs. Please don’t run me over.

After meeting the Alabamanese, I walked around Tenjinbashi 6-chome, saw Billiken in his tower, and then went to the zoo.A quick word on the Tengkei tower – it sucks; don’t go and waste your time and money.There were two floors of a great view and a small wooden statue with the feet rubbed so much it eroded into a smooth carve, but there are far better ways to spend that money.For example, the zoo was also 500 yen and lasted a good 2 hours, compared to the 30 minutes of waiting and 15 minutes of picture taking at the tower.And the even better deal was the 1000 yen after that in – that’s right – Spa World =D.

It’s not an addiction.I went inside to see if they changed the price, but someone must have informed them that I was coming back to check because it was still 1000 yen for 3 hours.How did they know?I mean, if they open the door with a rolling red carpet, there’s no way I could refuse.I walked around the floor like a regular.I greeted the receptionist, waved at the little Japanese girls handing out advertisements, and winked at the old ladies giving backrubs for the hell of it.Unfortunately it was still Asia Spa so I couldn’t go to my waterfall spot, but the little spout was still as relaxing as ever.I sat in the saunas and went through the routine.My original opinions about the place stuck from the previous entry, and this time I wasn’t even looking around at the different spas anymore.I went to the ones that I enjoyed and then fell asleep on that couch while watching a Nadal vs. Federer tennis match on TV.I think I’ve only watched about 3 hours of TV in the past 2 months.Too bad my internet usage is still through the roof.

After the routine, I weighed myself and almost had my jaw dislocated from the dropping action.I started this trip weighing about 80kg (176 lbs).The first time at Spa World I weighed 78kg.When I went last week, I weighed 76.7kg.And, today I weighed 75.3kg (165 lbs).I don’t like this trend.Am I shrinking? My body seems to be in good condition, but it must be the burned calories from all those the weekend hikes.I felt that it was the lack of meat I’ve been eating – apparently the steak from Friday didn’t do anything.I weighed in right after a sauna and bath, so maybe I lost a lot of water weight?The explanations cycled through my mind as I stood there naked and in awe doing the conversion from kg to lbs.It was right there and then that decided to eat shabu-shabu for dinner – Give me that protein!In fact, I’ve had shabu-shabu 3 nights in a row since then, so I should maybe stop to save my cholesterol level (I tend to take these things overboard sometimes).

I ate like a king that night – a king that cooks his own food.I called the JETs after waiting patiently all day.Apparently they had followed the JETs schedule and woke up at 2PM to start a day in Nara.It had been a long day and I’d spent most of my money on entrance fees and food.Although I had enough money to party, my camera’s battery had taken a toll from the spectacular views.I knew I would be missing a great night, but my heavy eyelids got the best of me.I got home by 00:30 and collapsed to slumber and dream of another world.New York – that’s definitely another world…

~See Lemons Lose It