On this snowy day off I also went to Uchihara, one stop from Akatsuka where I'm located. Take a look at the area on the map...what's there?! Nothing; this dated map image lacks one thing: just to the NE of the station, there's a gargantuan, three-storie mall. It's a 10 or 15 minute walk to get there. I noticed immediately the general lack of care to houses and smaller restaurants/shops on the way - junk piled in front, dead/dying or no plants/bushes, rusting old cars used for storing more junk... the station was smaller than the one at Oarai and was all outdoors.
This stark difference from the places I've seen - clean, well kept, aesthetically pleasing - gave me a pang of guilt as I fell in line with others from the train, marching like ants towards this local aberration of capitalism.
Inside, it was just a big mall. It felt like I was in the city again, navigating through throngs of people. Shops were geared up for "St. Valentines Day;" not a couple's holiday here (that's Christmas, of course), but a day where women give men chocolate - coworkers, friends, family. On March 14th - White Day - men return the favor, but with something more expensive than what they received.
I just window shopped, with most store names being in English, always being greeted by staff directly, despite the crowds. I wandered through the arcade, sad I couldn't try out a 3-D shooter game since they were all taken. Surprisingly, it was a little bit much at one point...people stealing blatant looks, clerks giggling at my Japanese attempts, being surrounded by thousands yet quite unable to communicate.
To cope, I listened to pop music at Tower Records, trying out random artists, whether I could read the name or not. Yamashita Tomohisa's new release, Supergood, Superbad! was pretty groovy stuff - funk fusion, rock, jazz, techno, pop...it had it all, and in Japanese! Click the link above to listen to the album then skip to 3:30 to hear a great track.
Then I grabbed a brew and sweet potato muffin at Starbucks, sat, and relaxed in a familiar environment...¥390 for a grande coffee alone. Convert it. Its atrocious.
Just this past Sunday I taught my first three kids classes. Age of kids, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12. I was quite nervous, but it went well overall. T'was a blur really, three 1-hour classes in a row with 15 minutes between. I had prepared previously, so it was a matter of maintaining the energy - plus toning it down for the older kids, who are already too cool. Some students gave me chocolate, yay! One of my adult students gave me a set of travel chopsticks; I returned the favor by giving him a "I<3NY" magnet I brought...but of course, NYS being a marketing skank, you can get NY souvenir crap here already. Thanks, NY, for ruining my gift.
Mark, Eric and I went to Karaoke here too. It was this small place...maybe 3 times the size of my apartment, with a few tables, a bar, and two TV's. You pay for an hour - all you can drink, all you can sing. Female servers sit at your table to socialize and constantly refill your drink - Shochu mixed with water, served on the rocks - its clear and refreshing, with a mild, earthy taste when diluted, but it catches up quick, cuz it ain't water!
Anyway, we sang, along with this older gentleman, singing Japanese love songs - he had a pretty good voice, as did Mark! "Raishuu, Raishuu!" we said on the wait out - next week! Eric and I tried to keep up. I went with Green Day's Basket Case and Oasis's Wonderwall. Here's a kicker; along with sitting and singing with your female servers, after each song the singer gets a 100 pt. rating - based on singing in tempo, maybe. The better you do, the more of a photograph is revealed - the photo being a nude shot of a female Japanese model. Everyone goes along with it, but when Mai ("My") sang a song, I said they should have male pictures for girls...Mark translated, we laughed, but oh well! Its an interesting dynamic, to say the least. Fun time singing though.
I take pictures of everything I eat here...which - again - must be posted. Here's a taste though. I've been trying plenty of candy - green-tea chocolate shaped like mushrooms, banana chocolate malt balls, but especially Kit-Kats!! Here's the most exotic flavor of Kit-Kat that I've found yet - I thought it was Cheesecake, but this won. Guess what it is!!
Sweet Potato!! Mmmm-boy! It's a popular dessert flavor/ingredient here.
I've also been cooking a bit, now that I'm settled. I've made noodles a bunch, then throw in veggies, meat, or mushrooms. There's at least 10 varieties at the supermarket - mystery mushrooms #1 are below.
Whatever they were, they were delicious.
Oh, and the supermarket lists literally every item's price digitally with solar powered displays.
I'd like to think they change prices wirelessly from the back too.
Ok, kids. Until next time! I gotta take and upload more pics!! Ahhhhh!
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