konishiwa, friends,
it's saturday here in sapporo and that can only mean one thing...well, i don't really know what it means. there's just a lot of happy-looking people walking around, there's a big street festival on odori (one of the main drags) that is featuring drumming and perhaps the biggest news: the disney store opened here in sapporo.
yesterday involved some walking around(wearing an according to goldman t-shirt, which the japanese pointed at and laughed at, confirming my suspicion that bruce graham is NOT big in japan), but i think it was the hottest day ever, so it wasn't as productive as i had hoped. i again failed in my search for the 100Yen store. i totally suck.
i did wander into the disney store and i can only describe it aurally. it sounded like an aviary. lots of japanese pre-teens getting all excited over mickey and his chums. i did buy some small souveniers for the kids...you'll see when i get home. i spent some time in a store called "don quixote" looking for underwear, but i could only find lacy, frilly things. the japanese are not fond of straight-up cotton, apparently.
i also spent some time with my feet in the water of the creek at nakajima park, right across the street from rob. i splashed a little with 2 5-year old girls who kept creeping closer and smiling at me. they reminded me of kipper in a particularly girly moment. one of them was with her little brother who was unabashedly gleeful. so so cute.
speaking of water (this is, after all, an island...) last night rob and i went to an onsen, which was AWESOME. hot baths, cold baths, whirlpools, something that looked like a pool with a powerstrip thrown into it (i did go in, which was perhaps not a great idea) and then the outdoor component. it was so relaxing, despite the little boy who growled at me and said "geijin". i don't think he was using it in the general sense. i growled back. was that okay?
we then went and ate 2500YEN worth of sushi at a conveyor belt sushi place. yum yum yum. we were both beat, so no beer or sake, just some really chill chats. rob then met up with aika and i went home to bed.
we've spent today running errands, doing laundry, and doing some prepping for the next couple of days. i think we'll camp on the beach tomorrow, head to niseko and then mombetsu. the days feel complete and not at all rushed. i feel like i've been here for ages -- it's good.
having spent a couple of hours naked yesterday at the onsen, i feel confident that all the walking that i have been doing is a good thing. the japanese women are tiny, but i don't feel like i have to barf or temper what and how i eat. we're just different. i am also slowly overcoming the feeling that i am an oafish american. or perhaps i have embraced it...one of the two is correct, i'm sure.
words of love to dillmansky, mary hagy and wc gal jill kroos, all of whom have weighed in. we're now at 230-something on the count -- excellent!
at some point i am going to have to comment on the bolton appointment, gw's alignment with the steroid-using baseball player and the 60th anniversary of the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, but for the moment, i'll direct your attention to www.thewashingtonnote.com for some thoughtful analysis on these subjects and others.
time to continue the hunt for the elusive 100YEN store. we're also going to buy some produce (note to brian) for the trip in an open air market. it looks particularly fresh.
much love to all of you.
gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansake
9 comments:
Keep up the good work. You are missed Stateside. xo Bella
When you do find the 100Yen store, (and I have every faith that you will, because you are Michele Volansky and nothing can escape you unless you want it to) I demand the cheapest, kitschiest, most japanese-and-not-remotely-american piece of tchotchke you can find. Half because I wanted an excuse to type the word 'tchotchke' and half because I want something I could never ever find here.
...and I'm still jealous of all that sushi.
P.S. bwaaaahahahaaa, In my endless roaming of the intraweb, I just found you the perfect shirt: http://www.ptees.com/store/konichiwa_detail.html
Okay, so I admit that I had to use dictionary.com to figure out what the hell tchotchke meant, so now that I have, can I second Kate's request? Because internationl kitsch rocks my world, or something. I can pay you back at school, also.
Though as a hater of all things seafood, I am not jealous of the sushi but hope that you're enjoying it.
-Molly
think it's Konichiwa....unless of course you had plum wine for breakfast in which case "konishiwa" would actually be phonetically acurate
sumemeisen
私は謝る
the crab feast awaits her roveness. when do you get back to C-town?
peace
extremely jealous of the whole bathing excursion... as of course, you know how insanely fond I am of immersing myself in warm waters. I am still spending a lot of time in our loving tub with bubble bath (closing night gift from my director) - but I think that, once again, you have the better deal!
Apologies for joining the game a little late. I've been swallowed whole by the Summer Theatre Series at Lenape RPAC. We're loading in for "Grease." Apparently, it's a show about foil. I'm thanking the lords above (and Terry) that I'm not a carpenter for this load in. Yeesh.
A haiku:
Flood waters outside
keep me from fleeing all the
silvery metal.
It towers, it roars!
Little, tiny shards rain down--
hard, stabbing glitter.
And there, my dear, is my contribution a la Japanese culture. Please don't tell me how wrong it is--I couldn't take it.
Much loves,
Kristy
I have 2 words for you...floaty pens.
much love,
LK
ククク～! That little kid said gaijin. It means "foreigner". Looks like this written: 外人
Just that word by itself is not bad, but ばか外人 (baka gaijin) is supposed to be an insult.
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