well there was no school monday cause it was a national holiday: respect for the aged day. So Ryan and I decide to look for the Joshin electronic’s store. I heard about it from Christina, which was the nearest electronic’s store in the area but it would be quite a walk since it was close to Tondabayashi station. I also wanted to pick up a few things =X Ryan and I talked on Skype and agreed to meet at the Sukiya beef bowl place near the Ishikawa river bridge, so it was a good place to meet halfway

It’s interesting seeing so many rice paddies, and come to think of it I’ve never seen them in my life, even though I’ve grown up eating it

Ryan wasn’t outside so he was probably eating lunch there. I was totally shy to go in, but walked in without a clue as to go about the process of (Okay, yea I learned restaurant vocab and phrases already, but I was nervous cause it was legit this time and not script practice with a partner). Anyway I looked at the menu and ordered an egg and onion beef bowl. It was weird how hey had 4 different sizes, I went for the cheapest one “mini”. And then for drink, I ordered green tea. phew, well, my Japanese was good enough to order food =) I saw Ryan on the other end. I realized I just ordered a bento (that’s meant to be taken home) instead of eating there which I thought, oops but oh well. A waiter came over and brought a beef bowl and looked over to me I was eating my beef bowl bento =X Ryan and him stared at each other for a moment, ehhhhhh… and the waiter apologized and walked away in silence. He must have thought he ordered for me, another oops T_T Ryan glanced over and saw the guys chuckling in the kitchen, so I guess they weren’t bothered too much by it. It was amusing that the restaurant was playing No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl” and other 90s music. I thought there would never be Japanese pop music in an American restaurant (or any kind of foreign language pop music on the radio) and Ryan suggested unless the restaurant were going for a traditional Japan culture vibe. (Well the Convoy Tapioca Express used to have Japanese and Korean music videos playing, but that doesn’t really count). Sukiya is a typical fast food franchise, I wouldn’t imagine foreign pop songs being played in say an American Mcdonalds

Japan has the most awesome cartoon warning signs:

Ryan and I headed over towards the direction of Tondabayashi station (me checking the map a bunch of times). On the way we saw a big entertainment building with a bowling pin on top that had bowling, karaoke, internet cafe, and other stuff. In order to get to Joshin we had to cross the train tracks. Train crossings are everywhere and pass by frequently so I thought waiting for a train to pass by is part of the Japan experience =) When the train is about to pass by the lights come on and make that very distinct and repetitive sound. On the way we ran into Daiso, the 100 yen shop that practically has everything from household things, craft supplies, toys, and more. Good ol’ Daiso. I have actually already been to a Daiso before back in Convoy area of San Diego. It’s funny cause I recognize the same exact American flag business card holders that I saw back in SD Daiso.

Somehow we finally find the Joshin close nearby, with a big red sign. The parking lot for it was all on the first floor, and you had to go up an escalator to enter the store floor. It was pretty big inside. And very noisy, like the Yodobashi-Camera. Someone was talking on the store’s PA the whole time, about new products, deals, and stuff. I also heard the Hanshin Tigers theme music playing and the store clerks would be wearing yellow and black happi coats (the kind worn for festivals) and headband. We looked around the game section, ahh standing there and seeing all the games (many exclusive to Japan or not released in America yet) made me pretty happy, although games are more expensive here (about 10 dollars more than priced in America). We tried to look for Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten DS for Ryan, a cheap option as an electronic dictionary (I already had mine for my ds) but didnt find it there. I definitely will get a lot of exercise out of it whenever I don’t know a kanji or word, I can write it and it search its definition.

Anyway I bought an a/v switchbox, wifi router (now i wished i brought mine) and extended power strips, since the apartment seriously lacked plugs. I didn’t bring enough cash so I was hoping my card could be used there, turned out the card worked but it was confusing at the counter telling me “IKKAI BARAI” since I said I didn’t understand. I had no idea for words like for checking account, and just showed me card asking if i could use it T_T but at least the card worked, and later checked and showed up on my account like it should. It hit me later that she might have meant “one time payment” asking if its okay to be on checking, rather than credit. Yay for misunderstandings. More of those to come =X