I rolled out of bed this morning and had hardly any pain at all in my chest! Was it the witch doctor remedies? The heater running overnight in my bedroom? The power of positive thinking? Who knows… I’m on the mend, and that means going out and having some fun.
Today I met Carrie for lunch in Akashi. Mr. Komuri had recommended an Indian food restaurant there, and so we walked over there from the station. Anytime I walk around with Carrie we get stared at even more. She looks Japanese, but she is from Seattle. People must look and think, “Wow, she can really speak good English!”
The lunch was very good, and we caught up on each other’s trips during the holidays. Carrie went to Viet Nam with some friends, and it was interesting to hear about her adventures. The big advantage was the strength of the yen there – she got by on five or six dollars a day. The most expensive thing was getting there, but once there, she could do quite a bit.
After lunch one of the employees came over to speak with us. I don’t know where he’s originally from, but he lived in Los Angeles for a few years. He’s been living in Akashi for the last four years, and he speaks only 20 or 30 words of Japanese. We talked with him for a while, and for some reason we decided that it would be nice to pick up a bottle of peppermint schnapps – we were talking about hot chocolate, and Carrie said that it was just the thing to put in there.
We set out on a quest, but we were immediately distracted by the 100 yen store. We walked a little ways through the Akashi fish market, until we both got squeamish from all the fish flopping around on the sidewalk. We tried two stores in Akashi, and then we decided to follow a lead that said there was a big liquor store in Tarumi. Tarumi is only two stops east of Akashi on the JR line, so we each paid 170 yen and we were on our way.
In Tarumi we bumped into another JET that Carrie knew who was coming home from seeing his girlfriend in Osaka. He knew of a big liquor store in the area, so we went there, but struck out on the schnapps. At that point we decided to abandon our schnapps quest, and just go to the outlet stores on the wharf in Tarumi.
I had never been before, so we walked out and just before we got there, Carrie’s phone rang. A friend that she was expecting had shown up in Himeji early, so she had to cut out and run. I kept on heading to the outlets, and found a Mont Bell outlet that was selling microfleece tops for 4000 yen – a pretty good deal.
On my way out of the outlets I passed by another liquor store that specialized in wine. I browsed around and hit the jackpot – a case of Guinness in cans (with the little nitrogen widget in there). I also picked up a few bottles of California wines. I paid around 800 yen each for a Vendange and a Woodbridge. They had a Buena Vista Sauvignon Blanc, but they wanted 2100 yen for it – a little pricey. I also picked up a cheap bottle of champagne, because you never know.
Lugging almost two and half gallons of booze back onto the train, I plugged in my mp3 player and enjoyed a musical train ride home. I made goofy faces at a little kid across the way, but the mom caught me so I made goofy faces at her. She seemed to take it in stride.
At home I unpacked all my goodies, and did one quick load of laundry. While hanging clothes, the doorbell rang, and a guy tried to sell me miso (as in miso soup) right there at the door. I apologized and said no thanks. I don’t use miso enough to warrant buying it in bulk fresh like that. Still, nice to have visitors.
Mr. Hayashi called at eight this morning, and again at eight this evening to check on me. He’s just making sure that I will be there on Monday, and I think he’s relieved that I am feeling better. I am too.
