hey all,
As of Tuesday, I'll have been in Japan for 610 days, or one year and 8 months.
I thought I'd share a silly story about lunch. As most of you probably have read here, I'm kind of a fan of Muji. They don't advertise (much...), their products are usually, well-built, simple, and convenient, and they also don't have brand names I don't care about plastered all over them. So when I wanted to by a lunch box, I went to Muji first. But the lunch box they were selling was too simple. It was just two interlocking plastic boxes with lids. If you wanted chopsticks, you had to buy them separately and the chopstick box was a different color and a different length than the lunch box. And if you wanted a band to attach the two together, that had to be bought separately, and if you wanted a bag to put everything in, that too had to be bought separately, all of it just didn't seem up to the usual Muji standard.
So I went to Don Quixote, which is one of the weirdest stores I've seen in Japan. I used to go shopping there sometimes when I lived in Tokyo, but they have the shops in most major cities and in Tokyo there was one for each major (and minor) shopping area.They are weird because of their selection of goods. They don't seem to sell cuts of meat, but you can buy eggs, tofu, cheese, milk, bread, snacks, juice, coffee, alcohol, etc. They also sell socks, underwear, shirts, suits, ties, etc. And they also do dishes, kitchen ware, appliances, weights for working out, make-up, toothpaste, shampoo, jewelry, etc. The strange thing is probably not the types of different merchandise that they sell, although they do sell some strange things, but rather the presentation and organization of it. For example, you can buy suits, work shirts, and business socks on one floor, and right next to that area without any separation is pastel elephant underwear...You can guess what is supposed to go in the trunk...
And all the regular clothes are mixed in with nurses outfits, Mrs. Santa outfits, school girl uniforms with too short skirts, etc. The food section is more or less normal, but the health and beauty section and the clothing sections can be a real eyeful if you're just wandering around.
Anyway, I went to the kitchen goods area, and immediately saw a lunch box: two matching interlocking boxes, which included chopsticks and had a special compartment to store them in. It came with a band to help keep everything together, an insulated bag to help maintain temperature, and two miniature ice packs to keep your lunch cold, should you so desire. And it was all the same price as the Muji lunch box by itself. How could Muji have dropped the ball so badly, I thought. Their notebooks are nice, I love their storage boxes for clothes and house goods, I have a pair of their house slippers, and 4 work shirts from their clothing line.Why couldn't they make a decent lunch box for a decent price? Why do I have to put up with a really nice lunch box that happens to say "We are passionate about lunch communication. The lunch is a good day pastime."
At any rate, the weekend was really fun. Michi made some ginger marinated pork with soup and salad, and a double or triple chocolate cake. The cake was really something of a work of art, but all of it was delicious. She also bought me a carabiner for my birthday...At least that's what I thought. The last time we went climbing, I dropped a carabiner and it rolled off into the woods and down a steep slope. It was almost the end of the climbing day, and I had barely been able to find Michi's shoes when she dropped them down the same slope earlier. There was little chance I'd be able to find the 'biner, so Michi said she'd buy me a new one, which she did. But she also secretly bought me a day bag: an 18L Osprey bag, with a built-in 3L hydration system including a drinking tube that hangs just below your mouth and with lots of pockets and straps and crannies to put stuff and a really nice reinforced back that allows air to flow through, instead of leaving your back a sweaty mess. I had been salivating over this bag for months, and I guess she noticed.
Instead of going to Kotakuji like we had originally planned, we decided to go to Tenno Iwa. I had gone there last year with Ayako and Tatcha when Michi was busy, so it was a first for her. For some reason, there was almost no one there, which was nice because there are not that many routes to climb. We did pretty well, but Michi fell twice and cut her shins a little on the second fall. The first fall could have been much worse, especially if she hadn't been wearing her new helmet. Now when we climb, we wear the helmets. I think I've been pretty lucky not to have busted my head open in this life yet, and I'm really starting to want to keep it that way.
Anyway, another day in the life of this English teacher, right?
Cheers,
