Cool things...

...in Japan so far.

Book-Off. Book-Off is the best place to get music/manga/DVDs PERIOD. I've already bought the entire series of BLAME! for about $20 (8 volumes). I got two CDs the other day for 250 yen EACH. That's less than $2.50. For FULL LENGTH cds. I also got the Moulin Rouge DVD, which unfortunately is region 2, of course, but my compy can play it. I started watching it with Japanese subtitles and the English audio track, but I couldn't read the subtitles fast enough, and the English was overpowering my reading of the Japanese, so I disabled it.

Pan. I cannot stress how yummy the bread/pastries are here. ESPECIALLY melon pan. God, it's so good. And the toast I have for breakfast. SO GOOD.

Bikes. I can't believe I've been without a bike for so long. It's so convenient! Granted, if you don't have a car, walking or biking are your only options. Plus, biking is FREE. I don't have to pay to ride my bike, unlike the trains, which are cool too, but the fees can stack up if you travel a lot. Which is also why, when people (not in Japan) ask me if I'm going to Tokyo, I'm hesitant. It's because the TRAIN fare is so expensive. Especially if you leave on the weekend. Something like $100. One way. SO. Maybe I'll go, but it's not anytime soon.

Okay, no more cool things, just random things:

My otousan always drinks with dinner. Not something I'm used to. He's got a bottle of.... something, ALWAYS, near his seat, and he pours himself, usually, two glasses. He also is missing the fingers on his left hand, and I'm very curious about it, but I don't want to ask (much less in Japanese!!) I think it's been like that a long time, because he can work around it pretty well. (It really just looks like a hand with no fingers. Just the palm.)

Another thing with drinking-- not alcoholic, either. Japanese don't seem to drink much... at all. I always down about 5 glasses (they have TINY glasses- smaller than the ones in commons. D:) of water at dinner, and sometimes more if okaasan gives me green tea. And yet, they're cool with ONE GLASS. Or none. More often, NONE. I don't get it.