Akita Japan. All I can say is it was amazing. One of the most humbling experiences of my life. Granted it is thanks to the fantastic people I worked with but it will be a trip I will never forget.
First of all I got experience being "Vanessa Moreno" for two days. At least that's what the name on my plane ticket said. Because it was domestic you don't need a passport so that was the name I was given. It was a joke the whole time. I liked Vanessa, she was fun.
The plane ride was maybe 45 minutes. And then we drove about half an hour. We then dropped our stuff at this beautiful hotel and went straight to dinner. I was pretty excited because I had barely ate all day...
Until I got there.
It was a full out traditional Japanese dinner. No shoes, sitting on the floor, everything. Tears filled my eyes as I got worried for as most of you know, I don't eat seafood and I can't use chopsticks. I was panicking like mad. But luckily when I told them I had never had a traditional dinner before they were super understanding. They gave me a knife and fork and even switched a few meals for me. They were so welcoming and understanding I, I can't even begin to explain it. But because you have no choice over meals I forced myself to eat some of it. And most wasn't that bad. Would I rush back for it? No. But I thought it would be worse. And yes I even ate seafood. Those who know me well would know how tough that is for me. But I delt with it. They gave me salmon at a point instead of eel which was nice and it was actually really good. The one guy kept making fun of me saying all I wanted was maple syrup. I didn't realize how much people think Canadians use that stuff.
I like never do.
At a point he even joked saying we showered in it.
Not quite buddy.
But the dinner was so much fun, my legs ached from sitting on my knees and my mouth had a gross taste from the last soup but the group was hilarious. I had that warm fuzzy feeling the whole time. Even though only 3 of them spoke english so I wasn't a part for 80% of the conversations I didn't feel like an outsider. It was amazing. They even taught me a few things like this is delicious and this is sweet. Which we used to describe the most amazing cherries I think I will ever eat. I had to have ate at least 30 of them.
And I mean they must be good. The one guy told me they cost 60 dollars.
Madness.
But delicious madness.
A lot of the stuff I ate I couldn't tell you what it was, and to be honest, I don't want to know. There was some stuff that legit looked like fried spider legs. I couldn't do it, so my little lolita friend (that's what I called her cause their names were too hard) ate them for me. She was the other model in the show and became a very good friend. She's actually a very famous lolita (styling of dressing) model in Japan. She was absolutely adorable, and ate like a mad man. Honestly I have never seen someone eat so much. And she's tiny. I was baffled. But Japan is really breaking me out of my picky spell. I wouldn't say I'm picky really I just like simple dishes. But you don't get a choice here, you sit down and eat what is in front of you. So I am and I think it's a good thing.
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and went to do the show. It was a hair seminar that apparently is a big deal.
Who knew?
First I wore a black wig he cut on stage for everyone with a razor. I'm still finding little black hairs everywhere, I walked the runway with the new do, then sat back down and he ripped the wig off and did my hair (in an insane amount of time) into an up do for everyone, (see picture) I then ripped of the top dress grey dress and revealed the metallic pink one and walked again. The crowd loved it. I'm pretty sure there are pictures of me are in about 100 japanese blogs right now (they all have them) Because everyones phones were going off like crazy. I loved it. And after the show we went out and people went crazy wanting pictures with me. Grabbing my hands and bowing. It was hilarious. I didn't realize the guy that owns A*Pish (the salon) was such a celebrity. He was like god to them. The thrill of the show was exhilarating. If I could do that everyday. I would.
Afterwards we packed up and headed back to the airport only for our flight to be delayed. Awesome. So we ate dinner and chatted etc. They made me feel so special. Always giving me a seat, bringing me water. And as much as I don't care for being catered to, the way the japanese do everything is just so thoughtful you can't help but feel appreciated. Even for the smallest thing. I had a smile on my face the whole trip. I honestly think I might go back to the salon just to visit them. I like them that much. If I were to ever come back to Japan I know I would for sure.
Akita will forever hold a special place in my heart and those people (whom I couldn't tell you one of their names) will forever be remembered.
But for now I need rest, it has been an insane weekend full of jobs. All of which were fantastic.
I could get used to this.
Ky.xo
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