42-44. It’s a cash society!

Japan is still largely a cash society. Even though I use my credit card whenever possible in the U.S.A. I like paying with cash in Japan. You buy, you pay, it’s done – no bills, no interest. Of course, everyone complains about the 5% consumption tax . . .

The cost of living in Japan is very high, so you need a lot of cash to be prepared for contingencies. I like to carry about $250 equivalent around with me at all time; less than that makes me feel uneasy, whereas in the States I feel uneasy if I have more than $20 on me. But, 43. Japan is so safe, that $250 equivalent feels like $10. And what is more, 44. the technology in Japan is so good, that I routinely draw $450 equivalent from the ATM’s. Once, I remember buying a highway card, (for paying tolls) from a machine. I bought a $250 equivalent card from this machine (getting around $45 in free tolls in the bargain)! I can’t imagine doing that in the States, where I barely trust a Coke™ machine to give me a Coke™ and make the right change! Sorry to bust on my passport country, but that’s the way it is. Of course, as I was inserting the three 10,000 yen bills into the card machine, in a very crowded rest stop, at night, alone I was wondering “Am I a fool?” But the card came out with no problem, and no one seemed to be paying any attention to me. I wonder if Japanese people always feel totally secure with their technology?

41. Starbucks®

I love Starbucks® in Japan. Coffee shops have a long history in Japan as places to go to rest. Many coffee shops stock shelves of books – including comic books – and patrons can linger as long as they like over their beverage of choice. Starbucks® does not stock the reading material, but they do understand the relaxation factor, so I have always found the ones in Japan to be neat and tidy, with no visual distractions such as boxes of supplies blocking the aisles, or piles of trash at the cinnamon station. The barristas are polite and cheerful, and, when not serving customers they routinely wipe off the tables and generally maintain the appearance of the shop, and it is a pleasure to drink coffee there.

40. Umi no Hotaru no Starbucks®

Which means the Starbucks® in the Lightning Bug of the Sea (see previous post.) On my day off, I love to go to a Starbucks® and write in my journal, and I just crave a Starbucks® with a view. Usually I must choose from the front side of a tall parking garage, the side of a department store, a small park (not so bad) or bus stop. But, at this Starbucks® the bar tables look out over Tokyo Bay as far as the eye can see, and I just love water. To top it off, this Starbucks® also has a beautiful blue water wall beside the lounge chairs (air bubbling up in columns of blue water encased in plexiglass). If it weren’t for the high cost of getting there (see previous post), this would definitely become my Starbucks® of choice for journalling! Now, if they would only start offering the decaf option for all their beverages, like they do in the States . . . . . . .

(Do I really have to use so many “®” marks? What’s the rule here? It seems like once would be enough to make the point.)

39. Lightening bug of the sea

That may sound like a strange name for a post, but that is the name of the rest stop in the middle of the Tokyo Bay Aqualine – Umi no Hotaru. The Aqualine connects the eastern and western shores of Tokyo Bay, with a great rest stop in the middle – well, sort of middle, since there is a 10 kilometer underwater tunnel from the western shore to the rest stop (for you Baltimoreans, that’s more that 4x the length of the Ft. McHenry tunnel), and only a 5 kilometer bridge from there to the eastern shore. It’s a great rest stop – multistoried, with restaurants, shops and arcades galore, as well as a broad lookout point for enjoying the sight of the bay and the distant Tokyo skyline. What a treat! If the toll wasn’t quite so high (3000 yen, which in today’s dollars is $26.63 . . . ) I think it would be a new day-off haunt! (since Chiba is on the eastern shore)

38. Hakone in the evening

I recently spent several days at Fuji-Hakone Land for a conference, and one evening I walked from the hotel up the access road to the main road, just for exercise. And I mean up the road; while it wasn’t “mountain climbing” it was 15 minutes of “hill climbing.” Fuji-Hakone Land is within sight of Mt. Fuji, when it is visible, which, in my experience it usually isn’t. Located near the Izu Peninsula, Hakone lies nestled between the foothills of the mountains and the ocean. From the vantage point of the main road, I could see Hakone nestled there in the distance, the first lights just coming on, the sky still pale with colorless light. It was just beautiful, a extra treat to accompany the earthy smells in the cool air.

37. King of the Orchard apples

Well, actually the Chinese characters would read “King of the Woods” but since we don’t usually think of apple trees in the woods, I have liberally translated it to “King of the Orchard.” These are lovely crisp sweet green apples. I hardly know which apples to buy these days, with so many favorites in the stores to choose from!