Us 3 girls have been getting out and about every day! We're painting Tokyo red!! We've been to places we don't know how to write or pronounce, and even landed in places we weren't planning to go to. But we've had a good share of fun and enjoyed it!
On the weekend, we just got some more things sorted out for general living in Japan. Some cleaning agents, a Costco card, some electrical items, etc. And we both had headaches, so we tried to rest in between.
On Monday, us girls tried to go to "OK shop" again as that was the most "reasonable" one. We followed the navi's instructions and after sitting in heavy traffic, we finally made it off the "Dori" (Avenue) and went into the park house. The wrong one. Oops! Nothing looked familiar. Couldn't find OK! But Josephine kept piping up "Mamma, this looks good! I want to go in here!" So I thought "Ah well! We're in here now and...." So out we go, without a buggy or baby carrier, and had a look around. We found Gap (the cheapest shop - by far -for kiddie clothing we've seen so far...but still pricey for our standards...). Anyway, it was a pleasant hour (parking cost €9).
Yesterday we took the train to Jiagauka - a nearby suburb part of our ward. It was lovely. There is a lovely market flare there with lots of people ambling around.
General impressions:
- there are LOTS of Japanese people here!!! Very few Westeners - a rare sight, indeed!
- the trains are speckless and punctual
- people are very accomodating and service-orientated, everywhere you go
- traffic is quite heavy at certain times, but no aggressive driving (no hooting, not much overtaking, etc)
- the people like to mop themselves with kerchiefs
- cycling is in
- a car is seldom necessary as public transport is excellent and close and parking away from home is a nightmare
- hardly anyone is overweight, rather all are very slender.
- food is 99% delicious. Looks suspicious, but tastes lekker!
- shopping is hit and miss. Everything looks and reads foreign. Hardly anything easily recognisable. Grocery shopping is an adventure!
- the Japanese are fanatics about how they pack their things. Very neat!
Trial and error:
- bought some really ill-tasting white fish today...and I'm not fussy... Urgh!!!!
- nearly rode over a tiny Japanese man today by mistake.
- been a bit lost several times while exploring, but nothing serious or too worrying
Tomorrow we're going to try and go swimming. I've heard that's an experience in and of itself. Let's see!
Goodnight,
