Hey, folks! Ole' Bubbers usually doesn't post a blog, but I figure I'll give it a go.
Cups O' Noodles. Lots O' Peoples.
Tables where you color your cup. High Art.
The kitchen. Serving dehydrated shrimp.
Joey was unfortunately not feeling well last Saturday, so I ending up going solo to Yokohama to meet a few friends from our International Exchange group. The first place we went was the Cup O' Noodles Museum. You bought a ticket, could look at large swaths of noodles cups you didn't know existed, and create your own personal Cup O' Noodles, cup and all!
Finished product.
After we were satisfied with our creations, we walked over to a local mall to have lunch. I had curry, ice cream, and then bought Joey a plush egg yolk. Trust me on this one: you want to watch this.
Be jealous. You know, if this type of thing would make you jealous.
Once we were finished walking around the mall, we walked across the way toward Landmark Tower, where the Pokemon Center is located.
Yeah. The tall one.
We were then off to Chinatown. You know, in Japan. On the way, we went to a coffee shop whose owners went to learn about being baristas in Seattle. It worked. I had a Cafe Valencia, and it was delicious. The bitterness of the cinnamon and the sweetness of the coffee were brought together by the orange zest carefully placed by the beverage artist. High falutin'.
How I feel about Japan.
Our day ended at a restaurant in Chinatown. We ran into another International Exchange member, whose mom was visiting. We ate from a Lazy Susan. It was communal.
Lazy Susan. Can't get her own food.
Awesome people. Good times.
It probably doesn't say "Enter Here." But we did anyway.
So, I definitely had a great time. I just wish Joey could have been there. At least she got her egg yolk!
Grocery prices here vary. Most veggies are reasonably priced, red meat is very expensive, and fruit is practically untouchable. Since Japan is an island, a lot of stuff is shipped in from around the world, and the prices show. Pineapples, berries, apples, and melon are SO unbelievably expensive I don't even know how they sell it. A "regular" size carton of strawberries (like what you would normally find in American stores) goes for $9 here. You can find strawberries for $2.50-$3, but it's going to be a 2oz package with 7 berries in it. Blue berries are even worse. You would think they were gold. Blue berries often run $5 per ounce.
Unless we buy a can of fruit salad, I don't think I'm going to eat melon while we are here. A wedge of watermelon (just a wedge, not the whole thing) can cost $5, and I found cantaloupes for $20 each!!! Most things in Japan are cheap, but certain foods are just nuts. There are a few things that I will never again complain about the price of in America.
While walking back home today, I came across a lady who was picking trash up from the street. It was everywhere and she told me a cat had gotten in it and dragged it everywhere. I started helping her pick it up, and she was so thankful! After we were done, she told me to wait a moment, and she literally ran to her house. A few minutes later she returned with wet wipes for my hands, and flowers as a thank you for helping her. I was stunned! I certainly didn't expect anything! I bowed and thanked her a million times, and we exchanged names. We have such great neighbors!
I forgot to mention that we have a dinosaur that lives down the street. He stays tied to a tree on the side of the road. I don't know his story, but he's a nice guy.
Just for fun, and to kind of put the layout together for friends back home, we did a home tour video! We had to upload it to YouTube since it's a larger file, so here is the link:
Here is our home in Japan! It has several pretty neat features. It's a 2-story, 4 bedroom home. It doesn't really have a yard, as most homes here don't due to lack of space. In front of our house we have a driveway big enough to fit one car in. In the back, we have a little patio big enough for some seating and a small grill. We don't have anything on the sides, and no grass at all - Japan is all concrete!
We have a washer/dryer unit. Saves space and no need to transfer clothes to another machine. On our balcony we have poles installed to hang clothes to air dry if we like.
Japanese homes do not have ovens like we think of in America. They all have stove tops, but if you're lucky, you'll get a fish broiler. It's a tiny little grill right under the burners, and it's just big enough to broil a fish in. Definitely not baking any cakes or pies in there!
Also, showers take up the entire room. They aren't a separate space in a bathroom like we are used to. The bathtub is also in the shower room, but you cannot use soap in it due to its specialized heated plumbing (the tubs have circulating plumbing so your bath water never gets cold).
The toilet is in its own room away from the shower room. The toilet rooms look like tiny hallway closets, and when you open the door the only thing in there is just a toilet. To save space and resources, the sink is in the back of the toilet on top of the tank. It's great!
Another neat feature is the secret storage in our kitchen. There is a door in our kitchen floor that opens to a storage space where you can keep dry goods.
