Kuniko picked me up early Saturday morning and we drove to Okayama to help her sister move. Kuniko let me get behind the wheel for a little while during the long drive, and it was my first “on the road” experience driving in Japan. Lots of fun. I flipped the windshield wipers on when I wanted to turn, just like Kuniko had done when she was driving in America. I didn’t drive so long – maybe just 30 minutes or so. It was a good practice session.
When we got there we started moving lots of boxes, and soon after we arrived, Kuniko’s parents also showed up with a pickup truck to move the big stuff. We worked all day, and I was exhausted by the end of it. The new apartment was really nice, though, and I think that she’ll really enjoy living there. It’s near some big stores and in a more urban area than where she lived before.
At the end of the day Kuniko’s folks took us out to dinner at a yakiniku place, and we ate lots and lots of food – it was delicious. Then it was a long drive back. Kuniko stayed the night at my place rather than going back to her parents, so that was really nice.
Sunday I spent the morning with Kuniko – we went out for some sushi for lunch and enjoyed a really interesting conveyor belt sushi system. Of course you could pick up something off of the conveyor belt at any time, but if you wanted something special you used a touchpad to choose your item and then somebody in the back made it and put it on the conveyor. Somehow, when it gets close to you, the touchpad terminal starts beeping to get your attention, and you take it off. Fascinating. After lunch we slid our plates down a plate shaped slot and the computer checked to see how many plates we had eaten. A human being came by to confirm everything, and then we could go. Very interesting setup!
Kuniko went on to visit Obara sensei for coffee, and I spent the afternoon doing laundry, listening to standup comedy, and cooking up some ramen for dinner. I’m not sure what’s in store for me tomorrow at school, but I’m sure it’ll be interesting!
