This morning Kuniko came over in her car – we had planned to go shopping for a new futon for my place. The one I’ve been using has been around for a long time – I had inherited it from my predecessor, and I’m sure that he had owned it for a long time as well.
Anyway, it had flattened out quite a bit so that it was getting a bit uncomfortable. At Kuniko’s place she has a cool futon that converts into a chair that you can sit in, and it actually serves as her living room couch. I was hoping to get a bigger version of that, and so Kuniko took me to the same store where she bought hers.
They had lots of pillows, futons, blankets, everything you need to get a good night’s sleep. At first I picked up the futon, a double, for about $120. Then I needed some sheets, and then I thought I ought to get a new pillow since mine has been stained yellow with sweat. I got a new gigantic pillow and a new gigantic pillowcase along with it. I also got a couple of floor pillows for guests to sit on when they come over. We lugged all the stuff out to the car and crammed it in there, and then went to my place to unload it.
I set up the bed and it’s huge. It’s really comfortable, and it folds away nicely. The real test will be to see how I sleep on it tonight, but I’m thinking it will be great.
After setting up the bed Kuniko jumped on the computer and looked into making some reservations for us. Kuniko has a couple of days off in a row, so we are hoping to do a small trip. She’s been working so hard that we thought a trip to an onsen (a hot spring) would be a good way to relax. We found one that is within sight of the beach in Shirohama – a place south of Osaka that is famous for it’s white sand (which I hear is imported from Australia). Kuniko managed to get reservations, and so tomorrow we’re leaving early to drive there and check it out.
Since we were going to the beach Kuniko decided she needed a new swimsuit, so we went bikini shopping. It was fun to look around and see all the crazy designs. The trick was to stay busy without looking like a pervert, and definitely keep your eyes moving. I get lots of attention any day, but walking around in the swimsuit section made me a little self-conscious.
After much deliberation Kuniko found one that we both liked, and so with that we headed home. I did a little shopping for some road supplies, and then she dropped me off to go home and cook dinner for her father and brother. I had a light dinner myself of quesadillas, trying to kill off the tortillas before they get weird.
Now I’m hitting the books and doing some reading in Japanese. We’ll be on the road the next two days, so I’ll post when I get back. I should have some great pictures when I return!
