Japandamonium!!!

After work today was a whole world of fun.

A list, five items:

1

Got let off early so picked a new way to bike home (you know, in the same direction as home). Found another set of stone steps with markers coming up from the roadside, but this one was so foreboding by the top of the climb that I turned tail and headed back for my bike. You may know how bewildering it is to be surrounded by people speaking a language you don’t understand, but I doubt you have any idea the terrifying effect of being swallowed by a natural wilderness whose signs you can’t read and whose sounds aren’t meant for you. I have no idea what animals or trees or bugs were out there screaming to me or what they were trying to say, but it scared me, and I ran.

2

Dropped my shirts off at the Kureenaas (cleaners), and had an adventuresome fun time trying to figure out the rates and everything with the young woman behind the counter. It ended up being like 1500 yen (give or take?) for like 8 shirts, I think? I think that most of them were 110 yen, and a few were mysteriously 330. I have no idea at all. They had a chart up on the wall with three columns and a picture at the top of each one, but instead of pictures of shirts, pants, suits, blouses or even different kinds of fabrics, they were headed by a stork in flight wearing a postman’s hat and bag, a baby in a businessman’s hat and tie, and finally, what may have been something like a shrimp (or “ebi” as I learned at the conveyer belt sushi place last night (kaiten-sushi)). I think that before I go back with more I should arm myself with a short lexicon of 'words for the cleaners.’ No starch!, I can shout at the hapless woman. Cotton! All cotton! No! Poly-blend!

3

Hard-Off. An example of a Japanese brand name that echoes an English language taboo innocently and, in this case, even incorrectly; Hard-Off is the name of a chain of recycled goods stores, junks shops, thrift stores, second hand emporia, whatever you want to call them. Mine, on two expansive floors, is divided into Book-Off, Off-House and a third section for their music and tech stuff (game-cube calls to me with its siren’s song … only 80 bucks or so, but then I’d need games and a 2nd controller and Chris, and that gets tricksy). Off-House was the best thing in the entire world. They had kimono, clothes, games, chairs, tables, desks, stoves, heat fans, pocket books, air rifles, Gundam models, stuffed animals, dishes, towels, futon, watches, everything your heart desires. And mostly for rediculously cheap. I got mostly presents for people so I can’t say everything I got, but I can tell you a few things, like a small wall clock with a red face and a picture of a cutesy skull-headed boy and coffin; a large red polyester or silk scarf/bandana that says Fire Bomber! in blue cursive across the middle; a two piece Snoopy tea-towel set to use as dish towels; and two adorable round terrycloth drink coasters that say WOOKY WORLD around the edges and have a bear’s face (a panda a ‘teddy’ variety) smiling a cute calvin and hobbes kind of smile. These and my many presents, under 1300 yen. I decided to wait a night on the larger purchases I was considering, two items: a semi comfy chair with arms and a cushion for 500 yen, and what must be a child’s desk that would be the perfect, and I mean perfect thing for my room. It’s too short for a chair and just just too tall for sitting cross legged to type on, but I think that a small cushion or a seiza bench would make it just 100% right. 3000 yen. Tomorrow, it’s mine.

Interlude:

It’s hot enough here even at 10PM that my beer has become wretchedly warm from sitting on the table for the last fifteen minutes that I’ve been drinking it. I need a haircut.

4

Hyaku-en Shopu. Hyaku is hundred, en is yen: the dollar store. I’d heard stories, but oh lord god a’mercy I did not believe till I witnessed it with mine own eyes. Now, our dollar stores have a lot of crap in them, but that’s just it; it’s crap. It’s crap no one wants, and it’s lots of the same kinds of interchangable junky garbagy stuff that you wonder why they made in the first place. A dollar store with even more crap, you ask? Oh no not so good sir. A dollar store with a HORN O PLENTY AWAITING YOUR FINGERS TO COME A-PICKIN!! PICK AWAY! GO! RUN! GET TO THE HORN O PLENTY!!!! This place was filled with a million different kinds of things and they were all things that were well made, useful, desirable, and interesting. I was the purchaseur of many a nicety. Fans, pencils, a comb, tape, wrapping paper, batteries, cards, scissors, tacks, oil face wipes (yo, it’s a sweaty life here and I’m already breaking out worse than I have since I was a teenager) (which is a weird phrase to use, and a first) and other sundries besides. All at a steal.

5

Success in the supaa (supermarket; although supaa-man is still the one from krypton and not the patron saint of buddist green grocers, however cool that would be). Not only expertly shopped the sale items, my London-born spendthrift skills gliding smoothly back into action, but found a few comfort food items (like kiwi fruit! Kiwi fruit! Nature’s ice cream!!) and had a lovely conversation about the two major kinds of soy sauce with a new mom who had a shy son and who spoke very lovely english (“that one is, how should I tell you, maybe, not as sweet? Stronger?” god bless you, lady, it was the best english I’ve heard out of anybody in a week). And her hazakashi (shy) son was cute as hell. Earlier today at the bank a different mom was trying to get her little boy with the cutest pudgy toddler pouty spigot lips to say “hello” to me and he said very loudly looking down at the ground “hazakashi desu!” and I almost died it was so cute (it means, I guess, “I’m shy!”). Anyway, at the supaa I’d arrived just in time to hawk the end-of-the-day sales and walked away with several ready made meals at more than half-off the already low supaa price (low compared to the conbini or convinience stores where they kinda gouge you), two of which said meals I consumed happily this evening while watching A Different World on the VHS, and at least one of which I shall have for lunch tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I plan to start like today, stopping on my way to work to buy two bananas from the old fruit seller as she opens up her shop on the side of the road. So it should start fine, and should end up just grand.