The Infamous Bike Tour

Maybe Brunswick is a) expensive and b) difficult to navigate with a bike. Or maybe I'm just optimistic, so everything seems easier and cheaper. Either way, biking around Hikone is fairly easy, and things aren't nearly as expensive as I imagined they would be. That being said-- the hyaku en stores offer a boon of cheap and cheaply enticing $1.05 goods. Luckily, the bento selections are fairly limited (you know, considering it's Japan), so I wasn't ridiculously tempted by anything. Except for you know, bags with cute animals and weird English. So now I have two bags and no dish soap. Oh well. At least I have natto.

So, after orientation we did the infamous Hikone bike tour. One of the students got hit (bumped is perhaps a better word) by a slow-moving car-- given the speed of both parties, it was amusing, and not terrifying. I ordered my first Japanese meal at a little noodle joint. I ordered zaru soba and managed to say "we haven't decided yet" in Japanese. It may have been a little rude (?), but, hey, at least I said something. The soba was delicious-- much better and more flavorful than anything we have here. The noodles were very rich; they were accompanied by shoyu, soba dipping sauce, sliced scallions, and wasabi. Next time I go to a restaurant, I think I'll try to order something a little less basic. All the same, I'm glad that zaru soba is my first 600 yen meal in Japan.

Other than that, we did a little tour of parts of Hikone. It's a weird mix between space age and rural small town. Given that it's a city, it makes it even weirder. It is simply nothing like the United States, despite the obvious Westernization. Everything is just a little bit different, making for an entirely different landscape. Speaking of landscape, I'm still getting used to kanji and kana everywhere. You don't realize how much you take reading easily for granted until you need to read another language. For those planning to come to Japan-- if you're rusty on katakana, practice it! It is everywhere! If I could read katakana as quickly as I can read hiragana, I'd be in much better shape in terms of following directions.

Alright, off to the (awful) gym, a shower, study, and then who knows? I should probably get some dish soap, but I'm a little adventured out. We'll see.

Pictures-- please keep in mind that many of these were taken from a bike or in a poorly lit restaurant. I didn't want to bother the other patrons, so no flash=blurry.


Count the items-- that's how many dollars it was. Amazing, right?


Groceries! I'm so proud of this! Pickles, daikon, two types of natto, brown rice, lotus root, soy, mirin, instant rice mix, instant dashi... I forgot tea, but it's ok. Our vending machines have been calling me since I got here. (And-- coke zero! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!)


The ubiquitous Japanese roof shot. It's all very pretty.


This is a little neighbourhood situated in a tiny harbor with fishing boats and the like. It's very charming, if a little smelly.


Tanuki! I wish this weren't so blurry. These guys are everywhere, and each one is more terrifying than the last.


A pachinko parlor. I have no intention of going in (I'd just lose money and not even realize what was happening), but, you know, I am in Japan. Also-- the stereotype is true. It was 2 pm and the place was loaded with glazed-eyed men hunched over the pachinko machines...


The inside of the restaurant-- I apologize for the bluriness, but I was trying to be discreet(ish). Our waiter was kind of hilarious. He kept rubbing his nose and making snotty sounds-- gross, but endearing.


Tonkatsu and zaru soba.


My first meal! Zaru soba!