Home of the 98 olympics! We are only here because we were supposed to transfer trains to go to our first farming host in Sazuka. Turns out we are not organized and cant seem to get in touch with our host so we decided to postpone our immediate departure time and see if we could reach him through email. Fingers crossed. Day 4 of this trip and we have no cell phones. no service on mine or ashleys and although mimi has service, we can:t seem to figure out how to get blackberries to charge. also our trusty computer takes a three prong outlet which converters fail to accomodate. so this internet cafe is our best friend right now. obviously i:m the first one on the trip to get sick. most of the japanese wear doctors masks all the time especially around americans. its as if we are carrying a sign that says HELLO! MY NAME IS H1N1! so they especially hate me because i:m always coughing and sneezing. i guess those masks are getting put to the test now.
on a different note, i dont know how many of you are familiar with the japanese toilet, but i was not and let me tell you, they are different. say goodbye to sitting down when you want to do your business. japanese toilets are essentially flushing holes in the ground. just got of a subway? have to go？take a nice squat. reading the paper is not an option as finding your balance is hard enough with two free hands. occassionaly we did come across the western toilet and when we did they had a few extra perks. for example they always have a bidet button. i haven:t tried it but i like that there is the option. also, heated seats are very common. my favorite button though, was in the mcdonalds bathroom. this was the flushing sound button for people with stage fright. if you dont want people to hear you go, instead of wasting water constantly flushing you just press this button and people think youre flushing. it doesn:t sound like running water, but mroe like a dying hippopotomus, but it gets the job done all the same.
i hope you enjoyed this educational experience. till next time
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Hi Willy - keep the blogs coming - its great.
ReplyDeleteI remember my first trip to Tokyo - I had great hosts who took care of everything, met me at the airport, took me everywhere, etc. and it still was disorienting. hard to imagine doing it completely on my own - and carrying everything i need for a year on my back. good for you. Love M.