７月７日（火）

I went to Costco in the early afternoon with Masao, as seems to have become an odd, short-term routine of ours, along with always eating a hot dog for lunch there. We asked each other obscure English/Japanese language questions the whole time, as is our wont.

After that I headed to the airport to meet my mom! She arrived at 6:15pm, and I waited patiently by the North International Arrivals Gate until 7:20 because that was the exit indicated by her flight number. Since Immigration had taken more over an hour, I just assumed she was having the same issue. In actuality, she had somehow come out the South Gate and been panicking there for 40 minutes! It wasn't even that far away, it just didn't occur to either of us to walk to the other gate. We had to laugh.

At the airport train station JR Ticket Office we exchanged the Japan Rail Pass Vouchers we had ordered before for our actual Japan Rail Passes. These are useful for short term travel if you are going to be using the shinkansen a lot, especially. There are other deals available for Japanese citizens, but this particular pass is only offered to tourists.

picture: my Japan Rail Pass

picture: plus a handy little rail map

It took us over an hour to get back to Hirakata from the airport, and then we had to find my mom's hotel. Being a visibly foreign person in Japan is funny, because even when you speak to someone in Japanese, if you aren't with a Japanese friend, that person doesn't fully believe that you could possibly know the language, even when he/she clearly understands everything you say and vice-versa. 

I went into a 7-Eleven and asked the cashier if he could tell me where the hotel was. He brought out a map and explained in complete Japanese sentences, stopping at nouns such as "convenience store" to clarify in English. I do understand the want to use a language you learned in school and don't get many opportunities to practice, but it is kind of weird to substitute in random words when it should be pretty evident that I do, indeed, understand what you're telling me. This kind of treatment used to bother me deeply because it appears condescending, but I'm starting to see it as a strange and amusing attitude that I'm going to have to deal with if I spend time in Japan. Getting offended won't help anyone.

At least at the hotel check-in was smooth, and I didn't get a repeat of the 7-Eleven treatment from the hotel staff.

Travel tip:

11. Try not to get frustrated. Just don't do it. You're going to get a splattering of good and bad when you travel. Don't dwell on negative experiences and let the fun outweigh the frustration.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

７月６日（月）

I stayed in the house today and did some planning for my mom and friends when they come. It was raining all day, so I didn't miss much by not adventuring, anyway. Since I stayed in the house, you get to see some pictures of the little share house I'm renting!

What better place to start than the 玄関 (genkan, entryway)? On the left are some cabinets with slippers to wear in the house. As you can see the wood floor is elevated above the tile floor of the entryway. It's customary to leave your shoes on the tile and switch to slippers in the house. Japanese are pretty serious about keeping things cleanly.

This is facing in from the entryway. The little water closet is right ahead. There is also another pair of slippers inside that you wear only inside. Like I said: serious about cleanliness.
To the left is the...

台所 (daidokoro, kitchen)! On the table is my little water heater I use to make coffee in the mornings.

Hey baby, come to my place? I have a really big... sink.

Also some really hazardous-looking 階段 (kaidan, stairs), if you're into that.

My room! The futon was provided with the room and it's super comfy. On the other hand, the closet admittedly kind of freaks me out because I've watched too many Japanese horror movies. I keep half-expecting creepy little child ghosts to open it or something. The single sliding door goes to the stairs and faces a similar room across the landing.

I love 畳 (tatami) floors! But another rule is you don't even wear slippers on tatami floors, just socks. I think even bare feet is questionable, but I admittedly do it. Their care is pretty intensive. One day I would love to have tatami floors, but their upkeep is pretty intense. You have to pick them up, change out newspaper and other material underneath, and replace them other side-up somewhere between twice and four times a year, plus cleaning them with special cloths regularly.

Another thing I love is 障子 (shouji, paper sliding doors/windows).

There's the little cleaning shop run from the house across the way, and at the top of the frame you can see the pole where I hang my clothes out the window to dry.

Just for fun, here's the little room downstairs next to the entryway that I stayed in 2 years ago! The upstairs room is definitely more comfortable, but this room is 懐かしい (natsukashii, nostalgic) to me. Spent three months over the summer here. Did it ever get hot! At the time the エアコン (eakon, air conditioner) above the bed hadn't been installed, I was stuck with only a 扇風機 (senpuuki, electric fan) all summer.

Hope you enjoyed being introduced to my home-away-from-home. ^^