jill’s blog

     Walking down my hill this morning I got this *flash* and I suddenly realized why Japan sometimes seems so familiar. Living in Japan is like living on Sesame Street. Not all the time, mind you, but often. This is because most people in my area really dress the part of their profession/station in life. As I was walking down the street, I was helped on my way by a construction worker waving a lightsaber to direct traffic, wearing a light blue jumper with reflective tape all over it and a yellow plastic hard hat. The entire crew were dressed just as nicely. I saw a chef buying vegetables, and he was dressed in a full length white apron over white clothes, and a huge, tall chef hat. the policemen and women wear navy blue suits and hats at all times, with white gloves. Taxi drivers wear ties, if not suits, white gloves and conductor caps. Nurses at Ava's doctor's office wear pink dresses and white, frilly pinafores. The ladies at the supermarket all wear a dark blue and white uniform, and all the school kids are dressed in such a way that you can tell which school they go to, especially the really young ones - I've seen preschoolers wearing full suits and captain hats, carrying pokemon back packs.

     Our apartment is at the top of a big hill, and the supermarket is on the way up. I usually shop every day because we don't have a car, so buying enough groceries for more than a couple of days can be too heavy to get home. Anyway, I recently started buying all my fruit and veggies at the fresh veggie stand across from the market and the veggie man has gotten to know me (not hard to remember me - white lady with a baby strapped to her). He sometimes teaches me the Japanese words for the stuff I buy. So far I've learned carrots, onions, strawberries and a few others - today he told me the word for 'broccoli' is "broccori". I think I got that one memorized. He always tells me Ava is Kawaii, which makes those 50-cents-each strawberries go down a lot sweeter. I love the veggie man!

     Not sure what the ad is for, but I've been seeing billboards everywhere here in Kansai that feature Christmas vampires. Weirdness. The best one says "Christmas Fantasy!" In big swirly letters over a picture of a vampire in Christmas gear, holding out a box in a " this present's for you, dear" way; and in the box? Garlic. That is really odd vampire behavior, in my opinion (assuming the present is for his vampire girlfriend). It's like your lover giving you an angry cobra for Christmas. Plus, why is he immune to the garlic? Anyway, happy holidays!

Xmas Vampire

For those of you still reading now that you know this post has nothing to do with the above subjects, there are lots of reasons to love Japan - but here is my top one this week:

At the grocery store today I saw a product that was labeled in English, "Flaming Rainbow Cassette Bombe". On closer inspection I saw that it was a gas canister for a portable stove. It made me wish I was the camping type, just so I could stock up on those babies.

     Hey out there in Internet Land. I've been wandering around here in Kansai like alice down the rabbit hole. Every day about 1 pm Ava and I get antsy and feel the need for adventure, so I strap her in to the Bjorn and we head out. Today we went down to Tokyu Hands, a sort of everything-store, to look for a pan big enough to hold a turkey and small enough to fit into my oven at the same time. My oven is actually a microwave/convection oven that would look like an easy bake in the states, so it was a challenge. We were successful, so it looks like this year Nate won't have to hack the bird into pieces like last year. It was carnage in our kitchen sink - not pretty, but tasty.