indoor climbing

I went indoor climbing today with a couple of friends. It was my first time, so I didn't know what to expect or what to bring.
There were two places we found: one was outside Kawaguchi Station and the other place was in Akihabara. We chose the latter since two of us were beginners and it was a smaller place with a shorter wall. The place had three floors. The first floor was mainly supplies and the front desk; the other half had two walls with easy climbs. The second floor was mixed; there were all different levels of difficulty. Some of them seemed near impossible, since the "wall" was literally parallel to the ground, but there was one kid who was climbing it as if gravity didn't affect him. The final floor was the newest to the place. There was an outer space theme, so the design was really nice.

I'm a pretty athletic person, so I really enjoyed it. Next time I go, I will remember to cut my nails! I was afraid of having a nail accident, so it was holding me back. If anyone decides to go, though, be warned that your hands are going to hurt. The rocks are pretty rough (feels like a nail filer) to ensure a firm grip, so it definitely makes your skin all rough and dry. Also, as the difficulty increases, there is more stress on your upper body and hands, so you will get calluses! I wish there were gloves, but there weren't any in the store.

After three hours of climbing, my hands were kind of swollen. When I washed my hands afterwards, I almost cried. Whether you use hot water or cold water, it still burns. And soap doesn't help, either. Everything that comes into contact with it hurts, even wind. And it will hurt for the next few hours; I was barely able to hold my camera. 

On our way back home, we had dinner out. We went to a kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant around Nishikawa-guchi Station. Kaitenzushi is a restaurant where sushi is placed on a rotating conveyor belt. The tables and seats are arranged around this belt and people can just take whatever they like from the conveyor. There is usually someone standing inside the belt, continuously making fresh sushi, so you can also order your food by telling him. The price of each dish is separated by different colored or designed plates. Basically, every time you finish a plate, you put it to the side and when you are finished eating, the check is settled by counting how many of each plate you ate.

The damage done: I ate 13 plates!