Taiwan, Osaka & Nagoya

Took a side trip to go visit Taipei, Osaka and Nagoya to catch up with a lot of old friends and some new.

First stop was Taipei, Taiwan.

The Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall was just as awe-inspiring as ever, it somehow seemed even larger than I remembered it. It felt so majestic. Even though Taipei 101 is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Taiwan, CKS Memorial Hall is definitely my favourite. I know even less Mandarin (virtually none) than I do Japanese, but Taiwanese people on average know more English than Japanese people do, so things basically equaled out as far as speaking went.

Also met up with Ice of Desecration and Eric of Pub Metal Merch (more on that in a future post).

In Osaka I went to Osaka castle and played a shuriken throwing game similar to a carnival game we have back home, but this was with real ninja stars, so it made it extra cool. After hitting a couple targets, I won a coin from a local baseball team called the Hanshin Tigers, not sure if they just give those out to anyone who plays or not, but I was happy to get something out of it regardless.

Also met up with some more old friends: Kana, Kumika and Dan, was great seeing them all again. Went to an airsoft shooting range/restaurant with Dan and that helped a bit with the shooting fix I’ve been needing for a while.

I only spent one day in Nagoya, but hung out with the Clandestined guys plus their friend and Yuta’s gf who is the singer in The Naommy of the beast. And it was great seeing Ryo of Scum as well. Even got to see Miarai Tower. A great time all around!