Audrey King's trip to Japan Diary

Noriko’s Apartment & Subway Ride - DAY FIVE (continued)


“George of the Jungle” jumping out with useful “junk”

George of the Jungle
Noriko had become a good friend by now, so we were excited when she invited us to her apartment. She lived close by so Martha, George and I could walk there. On the way George spotted some “useful” junk that he needed to fix something in a dumpster. Quick as a bunny, he hopped into the dumpster and back out again with the piece of junk in his hand. Who ever heard of such behaviour on your way to a tea party! Ha Ha! We gave him a new nickname after that: “George of the Jungle!”
  • Can you spot the piece of junk he found?


Noriko & her artwork (which she won a prize for)

Noriko’s Apartment
Noriko’s apartment was small but pretty, with lots of dark wood and sliding doors instead of doors that open in and out on hinges (like we have in Canada) Noriko showed us her paintings and art work. Some of them were KANJI wall hangings. I couldn’t understand what they said, but Noriko explained that one was a famous Chinese poem and she had won a prize for it in a competition.

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Noriko’s Japanese green tea ice cream party

Green Tea Ice Cream
Noriko served us Japanese green tea and Haagen-Dazs Green Tea Ice Cream. It tasted really good! Then she gave us pretty little squishy paper packages with tiny wooden spoons. Inside the paper was a round ball of jelly with some fruit or sweet red beans in the middle. These desserts were amazing - cooling and delicious!

  • What’s the most amazing ice cream flavor you’ve ever tried?
  • Have you ever tasted “green tea” ice cream?
When the tea party was over Noriko had a surprise! She took her prize winning wall hanging off the wall, put it in a box and told me to bring it back to Canada as a special present from her. WOW! That was really special!!
  • Have you ever given away something you made yourself and won a prize for?


The station attendant helping us at the Sapporo subway


Getting on the subway train.

Going on the Subway

We decided to take the subway back to the Nanbyo Centre because my wheelchair was running out of power. We took an elevator down from the street level and a station attendant took us down another elevator and helped us get to the right platform. Then he took a piece of wood out of a green cabinet on the wall and waited with us until the subway train came in. The wood was to bridge the gap between the platform and the train. When we got to our destination, to our great surprise, there was another station attendant waiting to help us with another piece of wood. The first attendant must have telephoned ahead to tell thee second attendant we were coming! That’s pretty amazing service, don’t you think?

  • Can you find the cupboard where the piece of wood was kept?
  • Have you ever tried taking the subway or a regular city bus with your wheelchair or a walker?

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