Walk walk walkin around

Day off today. Three day weekend! Yay!

Beautiful day, so I decided to walk around this afternoon. I had seen a second hand store while at a restaurant earlier and was told they would have rice cookers. Well I really want one of those. I think if I could get a cooker that I could program to have rice ready when I get home I would be more apt to eat at home instead of always getting stuff out. The biggest hinderence from me cooking at home, besides the complete lack of work area which I will rant about at another time, is that I don't feel like starting to cook at 10 pm. If rice was ready there, I could cook up some chicken quick and have a healthy and inexpensive dinner, instead of going to lawson's and getting junkfood. Also, I hate hate hate the bike that the previous teacher left. I am grateful he left a bike, that is very cool of him. But that bike is terrible. Every time I feel like riding it, I have to fill both tires with air, they are always half flat. And by the time I am riding home I feel like I am riding on the rims again. Also, the tires are so thin that every time I hit a pebble I feel like I am about to kick it over. But, I would like to ride a bike around, it would make getting around much easier and quicker, so I thought it might be worthwhile to check out a secondhand goods store for a more sturdy bike. I have seen mountain bikes around, and that is the kind of thing I am looking for.

Anyway, I had seen the second hand store before, it was across from the "Tomato Onion" restaraunt. What a great name that is. It is like a Japanese Denny's, a little bit of everything. Or maybe Japanese Double T diner, because they also serve alcohol at the Tomato Onion. I knew the store was kind of far away, but it was a beautiful day and I had nothing better to do than walk around.

So, off I went.



A tower near my apt. I wonder if I will get super powers living this close to such a large and multi-dished tower? I hope so! I want super-awesomeness! Oh wait, I already have that. Then I want the super power to speak Japanese!

Mom asked about cars in Japan. They are shorter and skinnier than American cars, but they seem taller, maybe that is because their other two dimensions are smaller. Anyway, here you go mom, some Japanese cars.



Shakey cuz there was a car veering dangerously close to me as I was taking this photograph.



Work trucks!



My favorite one. Look at how yellow it is! If that isn't a girls car, I will eat my hat.





Maybe I should have someone stand in the shot to show some perspective? Next time. Oh, and girl cars have all sorts of shit on the dashboards too. Like faux fur covering the dash and stuffed animals and all sorts of weird stuff. I must take a pic of a strange dashboard too.

Have I talked about the yellow lines in the sidewalk yet?



Everywhere there is a sidewalk there is a line of four raised dashes traveling the whole sidewalk. They are for blind people to feel so they don't walk into the road. At crossings they also have a series of bumps for the blind to feel that are different from the sidewalk bumps. I assume they are yellow for everyone else to see. They suck to ride a bike on by the way. When I say I feel like I am going to spill, yeah, mostly it is when I hit these bumps.



But everyone rides bikes in Japan. So I feel like I should be riding a bike.



Outside of a department store. Look at all those bikes. And this is 3:30 in the afternoon.

As I kept walking I passed by a KFC.



I was talking to some of my students about how great KFC biscuits were, so, of course, I had to stop in and get some chicken and a biscuit.




Two chicken strips meal, and a biscuit ordered extra (it is in the wrapper in the tray), total cost $8.50. Ouch. something I like about fast food in Japan, they bring you the food. You order and go sit down and they bring you out the tray. Makes me feel special.

The meal on the other hand made me feel as unspecial as any meal could possibly make me feel. The chicken was completely bland, no 27 secret herbs and spices on this chicken. Reminded me more of Long John Silver's chicken than KFC. Granted, it wasn't bad, just not what I expected. And the biscuit. No. No. No. Just no. Tasted nothing like an American KFC biscuit. And it had a hole in the center of it, it was like a biscuit donought! They give you maple syrup with the biscuit though, and that made it edible. All in all, if you ever come to Japan, I suggest you do not eat at KFC. Conversely, if you are in America, I suggest you do go to KFC and get a biscuit and enjoy its buttery goodness. And think of me and chortle at your good fortune.

Speaking of donoughts!



Mister Donought! I hear it is the one donought place in Tsuruga. And I think half of Tsuruga was in line in that place. There must have been two dozen people in line. I was going to try a donought, but no donought is worth a fifteen minute wait in line. That is my motto in life, "No donought is worth a fifteen minute wait in line."

Shortly after this I saw a tiny Japanese girl driving a big black motorcycle. Perhaps a Harley, maybe not, either way, it was a big road bike, not those little sport bikes that most people around here have. I fell in love with her for a fleeting moment this afternoon, and then she was gone. So I continued my walk.

Here is an awesome store!



An owl eyeglasses store! Lots of glasses stores in Japan. I really want a new pair of glasses. I wonder if insurance covers glasses? Must find out, can't afford $200 for glasses.

Then I walked by a porno store. Apparently, I was in the good part of town.




The poster in the upper right hand corner reads "Oh its a pretty hips!" Even when stuff is in English it is tough to decipher what is going on.

Hey a church!




I must be in the good part of town. How cool is the juxtaposition of Japanese architecture and a church? Also, that church was teeny tiny. And had a glass store window in the front. That was unusual.

So after about an hour of walking I still hadn't found the second hand store or Tomato Onion for that matter.

I walked by an abandoned and overgrown playground and broke out the artistic photos.




How cliched of me. Odd to see something this unkempt in Japan. This was about a block down the street from a Pachinko parlor, so maybe degenerate gamblers don't take care of playgrounds.




The tightly packed houses of "country town" Tsuruga. I can only imagine what Tokyo looks like.



Aww! Look how embarrassed that little doggie is that he pooped on the sidewalk! Dogs aren't allowed to poop in Japan.

Eventually found the second hand store. No bikes. But they did have clothes, and some cool clothes too. Man clothes are expensive in Japan! Used sneakers were still $50. I saw some Timbaland boots that were $178 used. That is almost $50 more than new in America. Used shirts were $30-40. Ouch. I think I am just going to order online when I need new clothes. And I know that I am at least going to need some new jeans, mine are already getting really loose. That is a good thing.

And they had used musical insturments. Man do I miss my guitar. I was this close to buying a bass guitar. I think I would have if I didn't feel like lugging both the bass and an amp the three miles back to my apt. The many benefits of walking around, no impulse purchases.

They also had these awesome stuffed animals



A giant eyeball headed thing. Yeah, what kid wouldn't love to cuddle up next to a giant eyeball?




Teddy bears with blood dripping from their mouths and off of their claws. How cute! And age appropriate.




My favorite, a giant disembodied bear's head wearing a cow print hat. WTF? Seriously, who would buy that for a child? Maybe these are adult stuffed animals and I just have no idea about Japanese culture.


At this point I had been walking for about an hour and a half, and the sky was getting pretty dark and foreboding looking, so after not finding anything at the store I hightailed (well, as hightailed it as possible when walking on foot (made it back in an hour and ten minutes!) it back to the apartment.

Observations from the day walking around:

My apartment and school are in the "old" part of town where nothing is. There are a ton more stores and restaraunts "across the bridge" on the other side of Tsuruga.

KFC in Japan sucks.

Clothes are cool but expensive. Oh, and they had a label for "American" clothes, it was flannel shirts and camo pants. American equals redneck I guess.

Two and a half hours is a long time to walk. My shoes are fantastic. I should buy another pair so I have them when these wear out.

Tiny Japanese women on big motorcycles are always hot.

Three day weekends rock! I think I get another one next month. Yay!