As promised another week, another update.
My big adventure this week was going to get my hair cut. With some trepidation I randomly selected a barbers in the centre of town, and strode in. After the customary introductions, we managed to establish that I wanted a “cut only”, and I showed my ID Card picture as a guide to length and style (if you could call it a style). 10 minutes later and I was pretty happy with the outcome, and was all ready to leave when I was whisked over the sink for a rinse & shampoo, followed my a head massage, then a shoulder massage, then some nice hot towels, then a close shave of the neck & side burns, blow dry and final check over. I felt fantastic, and was looking better groomed than ever. They even trimmed my ear hairs with one of those Remmington trimmer things. I was wondering if this was a “cut only”, what else was available? The cost for all this five star treatment – 1700 Yen, approx £8.50. You have got to hand it to the Japanese, they really know how to do customer service!
Another adventure this week, was our first attempt at a traditional Japanese restaurant. We had pinned our hopes on the restaurant having a set menu deal, which is pretty common. Unfortunately, after some busy searching through the phrase book, we ascertained that it was all “a la carte”. Neither my nor Therese’s Hiragana abilities were up to reading the menu, but we managed ask the waitress to bring us as much food as she could for 5000 Yen. Our surprise menu, started with some stewed pork & lotus root with miso soup, followed by a delicious prawn salad. Next up was a fantastic platter of sashimi, which was super fresh and beautifully presented. Then came a couple of pork dumplings, followed by Therese’s favourite, some sort of steamed fluffy pancake, which you stuff with roasted chicken & salad, kebab style topped off with a creamy mustardy sauce. Next was the obligatory bowl of rice – ours was fried with mushroom, egg & tiny fish, although Therese was perturbed by the fact that the fish still had their heads on, eyes and all. Dessert was coconut flavoured bean curd, which tastes much better than it sounds. Before you think we are greedy gluttons, the portions are really quite small.
Hi, it’s Therese here, Martin has just had an “angry moment” with the computer and needs to chill; I think that my constant proof reading over his shoulder was just a bit too much. Things are going pretty well, I have almost finished my intensive Japanese lessons, it was tiring doing six hours a day, one on one, but I managed to pick up loads – I bought Martin a mobile phone, ordered curtains and exchanged a too small shower curtain and bath mat at the DIY store. It is very odd but everything seems to come in miniature in this country, maybe this is because the people are smaller? Carrots come individually wrapped at 75p a go, although I have managed to track down a wee man who sells 3 for a £1! You can even buy baby Kiwis, they are only slightly bigger than an M&M and the mind boggles at how you would even try to eat them. Melons are square, wrapped in a giant bow and obviously a luxury at £20 a pop. I saw the most expensive mushroom in the whole wide world the other day, one mushroom all wrapped up in cellophane and measuring 7cm in length and 3 in diameter was £24 – it must have been one serious magic mushroom. The slightly cheaper version imported from America was only £12.
Everyday is a bit of an adventure at the moment, I always see something that makes me stop and think. I saw this girl today and she was dressed liked Queen Victoria but wearing Dennis the Mennis striped socks and 10 inch high built up shoes (as you can imagine in Japan this made her head and shoulders above everybody else- I was standing at the traffic lights once and even I was taller than everybody else). At a different set of traffic lights this woman just started talking to me and walked the whole way to the supermarket with me speaking Japanese, I think she was trying to say that she thought I was American and that her Grandfather had gone to America. I have no idea what else she was rambling on about but was pretty relieved to get to Fresta and buy some more hideously expensive food. Did I mention that the good old pan loaf is also a luxury – it is normal to get 4 slices in a loaf and this will cost about 80p, the most you can get in one go is eight slices but this is very rare.
Clothes are also very tiny, these girls are so thin I think they must have to run around in the shower to get wet. However, there was great excitement amongst the western fraternity yesterday when Zara opened in town. I found a pair of size ten trousers that fitted, which makes a change from the day that I tried on a pair of size large trousers and they wouldn’t go up my leg – that was a low moment in Hiroshima.
I will have to sign off now as my enthusiasm for writing anymore is fading fast and the house still has to be cleaned – though I hear you can hire an OAP for £2 an hour and they will clean the whole house!!! (Martin reckons this can't be true and must be some form of slave labour)
Bye for now, see you next week.
Ps. My bike arrives tomorrow, it is my first new bike ever and has a wicker basket with a leather seat but no gears – I can't wait!!! Pictures will follow. Oh, Martin has calmed down, just in case you were wondering.
