Dazaifu, Day 1 - Learning my way around

Saturday morning, and I get to do something I haven’t done since I got to Japan – sleep in! That’s quite a luxury, so I take advantage of it. Once I am up, it’s time to try some breakfast. I’ve got tea, and yogurt and bread to eat.

One of the teachers mentioned yesterday that I didn’t need a toaster (when the office clerk asked) – the microwave oven can toast bread. He showed me the button that starts it; the instruction book confirms that but also shows that the bread should be set directly on the rack underneath the glass tray in the oven. Okay – I remove the tray and place the bread, push the button and set it for one slice, and hit “start”. Three minutes later, I have a piece of toast to eat! (Apparently this oven also has a convection function.)

After breakfast, I decide to work on some basic chores – I want to wash the dishes and work on my journal. While I work, I find a baseball game on TV, with both English and Japanese play-by-play (depending upon which channel you watch). The Cubs vs. the Yankees – the Cubs get a lead, but Matsui (of the Yankees) hits a three-run homer that turns our to be the game winner. Announcers in both languages get excited about it – Matsui is very popular in Japan because he played for the Giants before he moved to the U.S.

Another game starts just as the first one finishes. Let’s see, I’ll bet I can guess what one of the teams will be…yep, it’s the Seattle Mariners vs. the NY Mets. Ichiro is a member of the Mariners and almost as popular as Matsui, so one can usually find games by their two teams on Japanese TV. And (as I learned the other evening), one does not have to hear play-by-play to follow the game of baseball in either country.

At lunch time, my partners arrive, along with another English teacher, who has her young daughter in tow. Daughter (3 years old) is very hesitant when she sees a strange face, and refuses at first to sit near me; Mom helps ease things when she pulls a picture book from her purse. The story is about Dumbo, the flying elephant; as I read along with the story, the youngster begins to relax and, by the time we arrive at our restaurant for lunch, she is very willing to smile at me across the table. We have noodles in soup broth, rice with egg and vegetables (or meat), and a small salad.

Ishii-san has a set of maps showing the local streets with several places of importance marked for me. After lunch, we head back to my home, and begin to walk down the street near my building. There are several shops along here – food, general goods, a place that sells CDs – and a number of office-type buildings, including a couple of hospitals and a bank. A bit further down, we find a convenience store (7-11) and, after turning the corner, we come to some larger stores, including a supermarket and a department store, which also has food. (Both of these places have Y100 shops inside as well.)

I have brought a list of things that I need to purchase and find most of them in the last couple of larger stores. After I finish my shopping, we get into Nakagawa’s car and head for one last stop – Yamada Electronics, where I have been assured that I can get the larger camcorder battery that I need. They have it, so I purchase one (I also take a quick look at their price on the camcorder and see that I did indeed get a great price in Tokyo).

As we drive back, I ask them to show me where I might find an internet café – I really need to let my family know that I have arrived safely, and haven’t been able to find an international phone yet. We drive by one and I note which direction to turn if I want to come back later.

(Matsumoto-san calls me later and says that there may be an internet connection kit available at my place for a monthly fee. The office doesn’t have one, but indicates that I may come in and use their computer to send a short message, which I do. I should have internet available at school on Monday, so this will cover things until I can get online for a longer stretch.)

Once back home, I take a load of laundry down and start it. I suddenly remember that a store just down the street had sturdy plastic hangers in a box out in front, apparently free for the taking, so I walk around the corner to see if they are still there. They are – I grab half-a-dozen, show the clerk what I am getting (she smiles and waves me on), and return just in time to pull my clean clothes from the dryer and head back upstairs.

Dinner tonight is with my partners and one of the English teachers, at an Italian restaurant not far from my apartment. (Italian-style cooking is quite popular in Japan.) We all end up with spaghetti alla carbonara, but each of us has a different style of sauce; mine is the traditional one with fresh asparagus added, and the others have tomato-based, cream sauce and a Japanese sauce made with shoyu.

The restaurant has an attached bakery that appears to have both Italian and French-style baked goods. After sampling some during our meal, I decide to buy some bread for my breakfasts. Then it’s home and time for sleep.