Well, I can't say that Japan has not generated some smiles. When we arrived at Narita Airport, Sam needed to use the restroom so I took him and waited by the entrance. Pretty soon I heard him screeching and talking to himself and then a little later he came running out. The toilets in Japan are more like European toilets in that they all have a bidet feature. Sam thought he was flushing the toilet, but instead he had turned on the water and it squirted out on him. :)
The Japanese are also very polite and well-disciplined. It is amazing to walk the streets and ride the subways here--there is no litter anywhere. It is so clean. And, all the trash everywhere is sorted (for those of you who are into recycling)--Tokyo recycles just about everything and if you don't separate your trash you are in big trouble! People are also very quiet. I always know where Sam is (and so does everyone else). He is (as at home) the loudest person within many blocks.
Our apartment has a few defects--the main one being that the owner left much of her stuff here. Our dressers and closets are full of fur coats, paper products, and mothballs. The Japanese love mothballs. At any rate, every nook and corner of our little place is filled with this woman's belongings. She is very nice, but I truly think she might be a candidate for a Japanese version of that hoarding show.
Despite all the hoarding, we found ourselves needing a few things--like drinking glasses. So, we went to a big store--Big Camera. All the big department stores are located at subway stations and they carry an odd variety of things. Big Camera had cameras, cell phones, etc., but also cooking utensils and clothing. I wanted some sheets of my own and pillows--everything is white or beige. No color at all. And, I still don't have a pillow--I could only find feather which makes me sneeze.
We eat at McDonald's. I don't mean ate once there. We eat there often. Our ku (district of Tokyo) is a business district and aside from 7-11 has no real food stores and 7-11 and Lawson's don't really have all that much American food. (Picture a sandwich with some sort of fish mixed with corn between two pieces of bread with the crusts cut off here) And since we have not yet ordered any food from the Flying Pig (a delivery service that shops at Costco and brings the food to you), we have to eat out. We mostly eat at McDonald's--fortunately serving up 3 meals a day. We have eaten other places--an Italian restaurant where you had to buy your water to drink (Italian water) and got no refills, and 7-11. Yes, my friends, perhaps your local 7-11 is not serving up much by way of hot food, but here in the Big T you can get an assortment of hot goods like chicken nuggets, corn dogs, and some less identifiable products. I am hungry. Send food. American food.
Graham had his school orientation today. It went well. I think he will like it. He already knows his way around the subway--he is so smart. I will take him with me when I need to go somewhere instead of Sid. Graham knows just how to get where you need to go.
We took a cab today. We paid only what the fare was--no tip. In Japan, there is no tipping. People are just supposed to do their job without further remuneration. I like that aspect of things. And, the people work very hard. We saw people on the subway on the way home from work at 6-8:00 at night--like a lot of people. And, they all hurry around. The streets have no benches (even at stops) nor do the subways really. Everyone hustles around. At McDonald's at lunch people sit and read or work--we saw couples where the man was reading something and the woman was flipping through a magazine. No one really talked. They just did their own thing quietly. At least until Sam sat down. Then they tried to do their thing quietly.
Sam is very popular. He is already good friends with the McDonald's lady.
It's hard to find Dr. Pepper here. I am hungry and need caffeine.
Well, enough for now.
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