Train Stations and Hot Pots

It feels as if I keep waking up earlier and earlier. Suzukoobachan made a delicious breakfast this morning of gohan, miso, natto, and some veggies left over from last night's dinner. This is the sort of breakfast I like to eat, and if I had the time to make and eat it every morning I would probably do so. Mom didn't want me to be bored at Obaachan's house, so she instead sent me off with Suzukoobachan for the day.

We went to Tachikawa Station and went shopping at the mall there. On the way, we talked about the differences between the Kanto and Kansai ways of speaking. I tried to convey the differences between English, Australian, and American English. We also compared onomatopoeias-- like, wan wan/woof, nyao/meow, kerokerokeropi/ribbit etc. She also explained that Japanese have difficulty speaking English because of the limited number of sounds they can make, and that although she took a couple classes, she never was able to pick it up. She assumed that Chinese people were able to speak English better, but I told her that they have their own set of problems and many Chinese were still difficult to understand.

When we reached the shopping area, we first stopped for lunch and got hegi soba, which is buckwheat noodles flavored with seaweed. Served alongside were shrimp and vegetable tempura, and at the end of the meal they brought out the water that was used to boil the noodles so it could be mixed with the dipping sauce and used as a soup. Suzukoobachan said they did that because the noodles had a lot of nutrients, and as such so did the water.

Japanese fashion is sort of weird. It obviously takes most of its influence from Europe, and not America as I did not see anyone who looked comfortable in what they were wearing. Every single person in the mall had some degree of fashion consciousness, and sometimes painfully so. An odd trend I've noticed amongst girls here is very short, cuffed shorts, paired with thigh-high lacy stockings and high heels. Boys prefer to squeeze into skinny jeans. Everyone has immaculate hair. Nobody wears sneakers (at least not ones with laces).

After poking around exorbitantly expensive stores for a little while, we hit up a cafe and grabbed some coffee and cake. She called her husband after that, and we agreed to meet him at the grocery department. The grocery department was very interesting, as it was slightly reminiscent of an old timey bazaar while maintaining the guise of an ultra-modern supermarket. Old men walked around the fruits and vegetables, shouting rasshai, rasshai! and announcing the virtues of their products. The fishmongers were the same (although I guess they weren't exactly fishmongers, but they sure acted like them). There was a lady on front of the pickles who also invited customers to come try them, and would pack and price a box for you once you made your decision.

After Kawasakisan came to meet us, we started heading back to Fussa. On the way, they called Mom and asked what she was doing for dinner. She said that they were making oden, and that Suzukoobachan should drop me off in Fussa to eat with them. The oden, which is a hot pot full of fried tofu, fish cakes, yam jelly blocks, konbu, and mochi in fried tofu bags, was delicious. I was still somewhat full from coffee and cake, yet Mom kept putting stuff on my plate. I was thoroughly stuffed by the end of dinner.

Again, running around all day has made me tired, so I will try to sleep somewhat early tonight.