Day 2

Good morning from Day 2 Osaka!  Don’t worry, I hope to stop rambling so much soon, but not yet.  It’s pretty overwhelming.

Last night when Katie got home from work we took a train to go to a store called Don Quijote.  I can’t even describe how crazy it was!  Katie says she tells people it’s like Amazon.com, but in a store.  They have everythinggggggg!  There were toys, office supplies, groceries, medicines, electronics.  There were sex toys in the aisle next to wrapping paper ha!  Katie had warned me that Japan is surprisingly loud.  The people are quiet–no one on cell phones here.  But inside stores every single area has a jingle or announcement or ringing/binging/chiming sound.  And they are all going at once!  Katie says she wears headphones sometimes just to control the noise.

I thought this was amazing and surprising:

Sorry for the lousy picture but I was trying not to look like a tourist.  Yes, there are subway cars for women only!  Katie says it is because the cars are so crowded during rush hour that women were being groped.  Katie said she was on a train one night and there was a white guy.  He was holding a handrail and she could see him reading the Women Only words and then glancing around, and realizing his faux pas.  Who knew?!

It was 48 degrees and drizzling but it did not feel that cold because there was no breeze.  We went to a place called Torikizoku.  Katie says they are everywhere, many of them open 24 hours.  It was a restaurant I guess, but all the tables are in walled off booths.  There was an iPad looking thing on the table to order, but we could not figure it out, so Katie simply pointed to the menu items we wanted.  There is a button on the table to call the waiter and they otherwise don’t bother you.  We got edamame, which was just like in the US, fresh and delicious.  Then we had some rice/cheese/teriyaki thing on a stick.  It was really tasty.  They only have chopsticks on the table, but I’ve been using them for a while so no problem.  And beer, which they brought with a giant glass of ice, but we had no idea why.

I finally found my way home from Katie’s in the dark, no problem.  It is not frightening, except the possibility of getting lost part.  There are many bicycles downstairs at my building and almost  none of them are even locked up.

Day 2 Continued:  Hopefully I can stop rambling any minute now, but not yet.  Day 2 was……….mind blowing.

Adjusting to the sleep schedule has been no problem.  The dry cold weather conditions, yikes!  I stayed home all morning trying to keep warm, justifying that I was trying to recuperate.  Turns out that was a really good idea.  I picked up Katie at noon and we took the train to Tennoji, which is like saying I went from Conway in Orlando to Maitland–except here this is a train so I didn’t have to sit on 436!  There we went to a small restaurant called Westwood Bakery.  It only had about 15 seats and all were full, so we had to wait a few minutes.  (BTW, I kept seeing these amazing vehicles on the way, called Toyota Alphard.  Huge and a little menacing.)  Anyway, lunch was chocolate chip pancakes–guess I didn’t need to eat those as my last supper in LA because these were delicious!  We also had seafood chowder in the most delicious bread bowl.  The bread was soft but crunchy on the outside.  There is no tipping in Japan.  There is a little tray on each checkout counter.  You put your cash or card on the tray, not in the cashier’s hand.

Next Katie took me to her favorite store, Uniqlo, to look for a coat.  It is most similar to an H&M or Forever 21, but several stories high with people of all ages.  No coat was found, but since it’s the end of the season I was able to get a few sweaters; the prices were similar to Target, and the clothes have a different Japanese flair.  You even have to take your shoes off to go in the dressing room.  The craziest part was the check-out.  Katie described it as the “magic box.”  So you take all your stuff off the hangers and place it in an empty white cupboard.  It’s like 2x2x2 feet.  You close the door and press the computer button and Shazam! there is a list of all your items and the total cost!  Whaaaaaaaaaat!?!?!?!?!  It’s true!  There are NO sensors on the clothing, no security clips, nothing–only price tags.  You don’t lay them out flat or put the tags over a scanner, nothing, just a big bundle of clothes.  OMG!  No wonder my head is spinning!

We looked for coats in a couple other stores but no luck.  After all, it’s nearly spring despite the fact it’s 38 degrees right now!  Just as we decided I would just borrow one of Katie’s jackets we went into Lowrys Farm where their few remaining coats were half off.  I got a long burgundy coat that looks very Japanese with it’s fur pockets haha!  3950 yen, or about $40.

Every single store was either huge (one was 8 stories high!) or amazingly cool and they just kept going on in every direction!  But then we wandered into Shinsaibashi and really I was completely speechless.  It looks like Times Square sort of.  If you google a photo of Osaka, it’s the place they show first.  We decided to relax with a Starbucks in the 3 story store (!!!).  The cashier asked where we were from in broken English.  She could not understand me, but when Katie said “Flor-EE-duh” she got it and said she is moving to Boston to go “to University.”  Despite the size of the store and number of people it was fairly quiet.  In Japan you throw your trash out differently.  You pour any remaining liquid into a little funnel.  Then plastic lid in one slot and cup in another.  I consider myself a Starbucks expert of sorts, so when I poured my liquid all over the counter we had a pretty good laugh!

Lastly we stopped at Daiso, where everything is 1 yen (about 1 dollar) and the store is 5 stories high!  I bought a handkerchief to carry which most people do, because they do not usually provide towels or dryers in public restrooms.

Lastly lastly, I found an item that may change my life–arm covers!  Yes they are like Lebron James wears only for women.  They are specifically made to allow you to wear short sleeves without getting sunburned, which is really an issue for me.  I bought some cute white ones and hope they are as great as they sound!

Ok that is certainly enough.  Time to get ready for Day 3.