Walking as far as my legs could carry me

Walking as far as my legs could carry me

I've decided to pen down my little adventures and walks over the 2 yrs I lived in Japan. Feel free to read on if you're curious and wanna find out more about the side of Japan that tourists won't get to know. Hehehe... Anyway, my purpose is to jot down these memories in case I forget them in months and years to come. Hahahaha...

This entry includes three 100yen shops, the heated swimming pool, the kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi restaurant, Sugiyama (drugstore), Amica (international food supermarket and Alice Clothes. We'll skip Kishi since I've rant about it in my previous entry. Haha. Yes. They are places I walked to - all within 10mins to 45mins distance from Olive.

In Japan, there are plenty of 100yen shops from different companies. Most required you to pay an additional of 5yen for tax. In the end, each item costs 105yen. In fact, they even have 99yen ones - 'kyu kyu shopu'. However, these 99yen ones died. I chanced upon one Kyu Kyu shopu one day when I decided to stroll along the bus route coming from the interchange direction. After walking pass the 2nd hand car shop, a pachinko, a 2nd hand apparel shop, a 2nd hand kitchenware shop, I came to another road junction. The 99yen shop became a reward for the 'exercise'. Hahaha... I combed the shelves to check out the available stock, memorising the items they have coz each store has it's own products. I came out with a bottle of Wu Long tea.

You know, I've only started appreciating these sugarless bottles of tea after 6 mths living here. At first, I felt that it's such a waste of money buying them. Why can't we just boil hot water and make it at home? All the sugarless green tea, wu long tea, mugi( barley) tea, ban cha, etc. However, slowly, I began to enjoy the healthy and refreshing flavours. I can drink them without feeling guilty and they're easily available. Slowly, I cut down on drinking the all-time fav milk tea and Calpis. Especially after a hot and wet stroll, gulping down sugarless tea feels rewarding even. ;p

This 99yen chain died a few months before I came back. Lawsons took over.

Next is Orange, a 100yen shop, normally termed as 'Hyakkin'. Hya means 100 and kin means shop. Wow. You're learning Nihongo as you're reading this. Wahahahha.. I was told about its existence and decided to hunt for it. Orange sells fresh bread, said my church friends. They walked from church all the way to Orange just to buy bread, 20mins away, although there's a convenience store just 10 mins away. I bought an umbrella here, pickles, some drinks and biscuits over the months. Orange, too, died just a few months before I returned. You can imagine how bad the economy crisis is in Japan. Many shops closed down.

Finally, the super duper big 100yen, Seria. I love Seria. It's 30mins away. I walk there on Sunday afternoons after church or on Saturday evenings after a long day of teaching. It's a double storey store and yes, you can find Seria all over Japan. The first floor includes gift wrappings, kitchenware, food and snacks, cleaning liquids, cooking utensils, baking ingredients. Second floor includes toys, sewing/ knitting/ crochet/ beading materials, stationery, gardening, clothes, stickers, cards, etc. I can spend at least an hour here. Heheehehe...

After 2 to 3 trips, I began to discipline myself before heading there. I made sure my purse only contains 500yen. Hahahaahahahah.... I'm sure you know the reason. Seria is such a dangerous place for me. ;p

Most of my household goods are purchased here. From the netting for the sink, the aluminium partition for the cooking store, the oil absorber for store, to washing detergents, toilet cleaner, kitchen towel, stickers for students, stationery, snacks. You name it.

Heated Pool. Came here twice. Haha. First time, to swim. Second time, to watch the kids swim. I was so excited that the pool was so near. However, my first experience with it simply put me off to come back again. Since nobody I knew went there before, I had to discover for myself from scratch. After many booboos, I learnt that I need to pay to put my shoes in the locker, then pay to swim. After I started swimming for 10mins, I was stopped by a life guard. He tried to explain to me that I couldn't swim without a cap and wearing earrings and necklaces. So I had to remove them, and borrow a cap to continue. Next, after another 10 mins, everyone came out of the pool. I followed. Realized that it's time for warm-up exercises. It's a 10min break. The life guard will clean the pool. As they cleaned it, a pre-recorded set of warm up exercise was played over the PA system. EVERYONE did. Apparently, this is the set of warm up exercise for the entire nation for years! HAhahaha... I followed.

Finally, I swam for another 30mins. After that, I was too tired to continue. Went to the changing room but I forgot to bring my toiletries. So I walked home dripping, telling myself nvr to come here again coz it's such a hassle. I mean, why can't I juz swim my laps without all these interruptions? hahaha...

Ops, it's too long. Let's move on to Sugiyama, Amica and Sushiro in another entry.