Today was Friday, officially Obon, the Japanese time to celebrate with family the memory of dead relatives. For me it meant that I got to leave school even earlier than normal. The vice-principal seemed surprised to see me there, and he told me in a quiet voice in the empty staff room that I could leave at 9:30 because they were waxing the floors. Excellent!
Mr. Hayashi and Ms. Yamamoto came in to study English, and we talked for a bit, and then at 9:30 they kicked us out. Mr. Hayashi gave me a ride to the station, and I was home by 10 a.m.
I spent the day relaxing – I watched Kill Bill Volume 2, studied Japanese, made an easy lunch of salami and Ritz crackers, and then decided to walk over to Carrefour to see what was new there.
Tortillas were new there. Flour tortillas, five bucks for eight of them, and worth it! Before I had been buying them in Kobe for about the same price. I bought one pack to try them and had quesadillas at home. They were delicious. I also bought a bottle of Tsunami beer, brewed in Hawaii, and that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It has a good hoppy flavor that is hard to find in most beers available in Japan.
After dinner I got a knock on the door from my new upstairs neighbor, Jane. She had just come back from Yashiro and wanted to stop in and say hello. We talked for about an hour in my apartment, and then we walked around the neighborhood. I showed her where the closest grocery store was, and some of the highlights of the town. She followed around making notes on a small homemade map she was creating. No tour would be complete without a stop to visit the yakitori. The master was pretty lonely in there, so I introduced Jane to him and we chatted for a while. Jane really got a kick out of the place and seemed pretty happy that it is so close by.
Now it’s about midnight and I’m back at home and getting ready for bed. Looking forward to a fun weekend!
