Well, after 18 months of walking and taking the train everywhere, we decided to get a car! We have always wanted to experience what life is like without a vehicle - and boy it's something! It's doable in Japan because the public trans is amazing, but it can still be difficult at times, especially when it's raining/snowing or you have groceries. Not to mention you can't transport anything heavy or bulky. So we ended up getting a tiny car, just perfect for our tiny driveway, and tiny Japanese streets (don't worry, the tuba fits - even in its flight case!!).
We named her Misty because it was raining the day we got her. She is a red 2002 Toyota Vitz - in America they sell them by the name Toyota Yaris. We haven't even had her 2 weeks yet, and it's already a life changer. We don't have to plan out our day as much, we can come and go as we please, bringing home groceries is a BREEZE, transporting the tuba is a BREEZE, I can now run 3 days worth of errands in 2 or 3 hours, and Jonathan shaved 30 minutes off his commute to work! Woohoo!
After lunch today, we loaded up Toby and went hunting for shrines and temples near our home, which isn't difficult because they are everywhere! Since getting a car has made exploring easier, I've become very interested in visiting as many shrines and temples as I can, photographing them for a collection. No matter how old or new, how grand or tiny, I want to see them all! I think it would literally take a life time to visit every single shrine and temple in this country - there are countless thousands!
