Loaded up and ready to go... that is one hot set of wheels.
But first, a house inspection.
Not sure what they're looking at.
Mariko's dad was an architect. He designed the house. It's very aesthetically pleasing. He had it build well.... too well. Now he finds it too small, but the earthquakes do no damage to it and he's disappointed. He wishes it would be destroyed so he could build a new one. So it goes...
She's off to a slow start. It looks like the woman in the middle of the street (out ahead of my mother-in-law) is headless... but she's just using an umbrella. Japanese women still value staying white. Being tan is the sign of being a farmer (and thus poor).
My mother-in-law cruising on her bike. I like how she stands on one pedal and glides along. You're really supposed to walk your bike across the street.
We didn't get a picture, but with two bikes and three people, Mariko got to ride on the back of my bike (on the rack which is probably only supposed to support 25lbs. or less). We could have gotten a fine for riding like that, but on the main road (the one in the picture) Mariko got off and walked. It's rare to see cops in Japan, unlike the US where you can see a cop every 5 minutes. Hmm... interesting... a small police presence AND low crime. I think they may be on to something in Japan. Of course when I show up we start breaking the law and riding two to a bike and stuff. Ugh... rebels. It was Mariko's idea anyhow....
After she took off across the street I found Asian Pot with a capital P!
Kidding aside, I think Japanese Pot must be a restaurant, with a capital P for parking. Sorry, now I spoiled it for you.
Aaaaaaaanyhow, this supermarket is neat... the shelves are like 2 feet off the floor, just the right height for the old Japanese oba-chans to see their fruits and veggies.
Check out the sushi and chirashi.. cheap!
The shelves don't even reach Mariko's hip.
Wish I had taken more pictures. A lot of cute babies (being pushed by cute moms, of course) in strollers. The babies got a kick out of seeing me. I had fun.
We were loaded up with sushi and sundries on the way home, but stopped by a farm down the street to pick up some veggies.
Only 100 yen per bag! (like $.85 USD)
Gotta love this country life. Even out here in the country you can get around on a bike. The roads are extremely well-maintained and the drivers in cars/trucks are "bike friendly". Despite the hills all around the cities, the cities themselves (the valleys?) are quite level and it's easy to get around on a bike. Considering that it's still August, it's not too hot either... I think it just broke 90 (32 C) now, but it wasn't bad outside. Life is very livable here in Shizuoka.
1 comment:
Southern ladies value being light-skinned too. That is why Black mothers tell their children not to play in the sun. That is why you will never see me with a tan, I suppose. IT is cultural. Only people who don't care what they look like in 15 years would lie out in the sun! As for why Japan has so many nice ways of doing things civilly, don't you think that having a small, relatively homogeneous population helps keep things tidy? Add diverse ethnicities, religions and languages to the mix, along with just HEAPS of people, and I wonder if it would all be the same. Visit North Dakota if you want to see a different kind of America. It is very tidy and orderly there. It is very nice and they don't have a lot of crime. Everyone is German or Norwegian, but the down side is that it can be very weird for outsiders.
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