Today the rain was back in a big way, so we decided not to tour, but rather just to shop. After eating breakfast at Dormy Inn, we packed up and checked out just before 11:00, asking the hotel to keep our carry-ons until later in the day. They were happy to do so. I was also thanked for my assistance the previous night...
I had gone down to the front desk to get another pillow and to my left was an American woman who looked at me in a puzzling way. She finally asked me if I was Japanese, since I had requested the pillow in Japanese and was wearing my after-bath yukata. I'm sure I blushed, as it is usually the Japanese who give faint praise to my language ability. I assured her I was not and explained that I was only visiting from Massachusetts. I asked where she was from and, pausing a moment, she said, "Hiroshima." To which I am sure I responded with a puzzled look. It seems that she was on her way home from work (English teacher, I'm guessing) and decided to stop in what seemed like an inexpensive hotel to ask if they happened to know how she could get a package deal to Kyoto. The staff was trying but was unable to understand exactly what she wanted. They had apparently gotten far enough to recommend another hotel in their chain, but the "package" part threw them. I suggested she try
JTB (Japan Trave Bureau) in the morning. The staff drew the location on the map and when I thought things were settled, I grabbed my pillow and headed back up to the room. I have to admit, although the woman was polite, she seemed to still have a bit of FOB syndrome. I don't know how long she's been in Japan, but it did not seem like long. Bless the hotel staff for trying to help the casual drop-in gaijin off the street.
...With umbrellas in hand, we walked quickly over to the Chudenmae platform and waited for our streetcar. We rode the #1 to Tachimachi, where we crossed the street and ducked into Tokyu Hands to escape the rain.
Tokyu Hands has got to be one of the best chain stores, and one of the stores I would dearly love to see arrive in the states. Although it would be easy to describe it as a department store, it is a bit more than that. It seems to be a cross between AC Moore (for craft supplies), Ikea (for specialized, take-home-in-a-box-and-assemble furniture), and a DIY center. We spent two hours idling through the 7 floors of the store. I was impressed with a number of sections. Craft stores in America always remind me of crafts in the 70s. I don't how to describe exactly what I mean, but they somehow seem "low tech." Japanese crafts somehow feel "high tech" by comparison, and I don't mean in the "geeky, nerdy, computer chip" way. Here are some examples.
For "miniatures," the kits available are metal reproductions of aircraft skeletons. Imagine the Spirit of St. Louis without the canvas skin. Now imagine the kit comes with all the parts on "trees" like plastic model kits, only all the parts are thin pieces of metal.
Other "craft" supplies included silver clay jewelery making, home T-shirt silk-screening kits, leatherworking, and lots of Japanese paper (washi) products. Another floor had home brewing supplies from New Zealand.
Another floor was devoted to stationey supplies that seemed to show greater specialized variety in a smaller space than what is generally available in any Staples I've been to. Yet another floor had furniture that F and I were almost in tears over. The designs were fun, but more importantly, the sizes seemed to be a much better fit for our small 1400 sq. ft. colonial home. Why is contemporary U.S. furniture so freaking big? I know that American body sizes are larger and that the big McMansions need puffier furniture to make them look "filled," but where are the stores catering to the smaller home owner? Aargh!
Anyway, a big thumbs up to Tokyu Hands. If you come to Japan, seek out one of their stores!
Next, we headed back to
Yamada Denki for a more casual browse. Once there, we split up for an hour. While K headed to the game floor, and F headed...I don't know where, I meandered through the digital cameras, then the large selection of plasma and LCD televisions, then through the "pasokon" (PC) section, where I was finally able to take a look at the new MacBooks. Nice machines! I'm sure F will get one by the end of the year, maybe the black one. I was able to find a suitable iPod Shuffle charger among the cell phone chargers for only about $12, much cheaper than the $30-$60 specialized chargers. In the end, though, I only bought a brushed metal Shuffle skin and a Nightmare Before Xmas tatoo for K's shuffle. K picked up the PS2 game "Okami," which is a beautiful game to watch him play. Before leaving the building, we had "lunch" at the on-site
Mister Donut, where we had enough "point cards" to take a two-pack of glasses with us.
We decided to walk back to the hotels, and they turned out to be pretty nearby. We grabbed our carry-ons from the Dormy Inn and re-checked in to the Comfort Hotel. I hooked up K's PS2 to the TV and he began playing Okami. F and I checked e-mail and continued to improve our "
Brain Age" with K's DS. At 5:30 we set out for dinner.
Our intention was to grab a quick bowl of ramen at a restaurant on the street behind our hotel. It was still closed when we walked by so we kept walking and ended up locating first our dessert and then our dinner. We ate dinner, first, at
Bakudanya, which specializes in a spicy version of Hiroshima's local "tsuke-men," where noodles and veggies are served on a plate with a bowl of broth on the side that you dip your noodles in before eating. After we ordered, we were asked what level of spiciness we wanted. It was then we noticed a small scale on the "bar" with values from "0" to "20." K and F had level 1, while I settled on levle 5. While the young part-timer mixed our broth with spoonfuls of a bright red pepper paste, we noticed wooden name plates on the wall in groups next to spice levels starting at 20 and going up to 100. My level 5 had a pleasant zing to it and required three refills of water to get me through the meal, so I imagined what tears were shed at the higher levels. When the order arrived, the plates held our order of noodles, shredded negi onions, long thin strips of cucumber, blanched cabbage, and 2 thin pieces of roasted pork. It was a tasty meal that we quickly devoured.
After paying, we walked another half-block to
Mario Dessert, a nice little cake shop adjacent to the larger Mario Bar and Dining in Fujimi-cho. We each selected a dessert, which was cheerfully packed up by the staff, and headed back to the hotel. We took coffee from the lobby's "Welcome" brew station and headed up to the room to eat. Unfortunately, we discovered we did not have any silverware, so we made do with lots of small bites using our stirring stick/spoons.
Now we are tired from walking and with full bellies we are likely to crash any moment. Another day is done.