I don’t have a car.
Well, let me rephrase it.
I do have a car.
It’s not physically in my parking spot yet. For some unexplanable Japanese due process of inane ridiculous complicatedness reasons, I do not have a car I can drive. I purchased this car last week. Actually, this day. Four score. Last week. I will not be driving it until the 17th of this week. Unfortunately, I will be in Kanazawa for Orientation.
So I will not have this car until next week.
I do have sorta not a car.
With the lack of the invention of modern transportation with air conditioning in my parking spot, I’ve taken means to the ancient old tradition of self propelled transportation…
… The Bike.
Everyone in Japan owns a bike. If you don’t own a bike you’re either rich as hell or you’re broke as fuq or you’re a lazy person who laughs at the idea of actually using your legs to power a vehicle with two wheels. So, naturally, in order to blend in to society and jump in the party van of biculturalism, I bought a bike.
Well, to be truthful, if I didn’t have a bike I wouldn’t be able to function as a normal human being as the nearest supermarket is a 10 minute bike ride away. They probably would have found my carcass in my furniture-less apartment with an empty bottle of water and some crumbs from the last piece of toast I ate if I did not obtain that purple bike.
That bike has been a life savior.
I’ve been riding around town on my purple beast machine for the past five days. Shopping, going to the post office, shopping, shopping… going to work… going to work…
… going to work…
shopping…
work…
Yeah. It’s done me well. A car would be nice but my bike has done well by side. Good bike, you done good.
Last night, I went on a convenience store adventure on my bike to obtain some concert tickets for a show in Kanazawa next month. I got my purple bike, loaded up google maps, and took the side streets to the Lawson. Unfortunately, Lawson’s ticket process is ridiculous and confusing so I decided to appease my American tastebuds and hit up the local McDonalds. After nourishing my body with the lovely grease patty called a Big Mac, I went to Circle K to use their Ticket Pia machine to get my concert tickets.
Now, by now, I’m sweating like it just rained outside.
You sweat a lot in Japan.
Anyway, I needed to obtain an Uchiwa. Now, I had my choices in the Circle K. But I don’t want the kawaii foo foo Pretty Cure One Piece Pokeman Extravaganza uchiwa. So, on my conbini tour, I rode my bike to the 7-11, grabbed some Straight Tea (♫Kirin♫) and a Eight Rangers uchiwa. Because, all grown women run around with boyband power ranger uchiwas in Japan.
But it has a purpose and is currently keeping me cool at this very moment. Haters are gonna hate.
Anyway, on the way home, after spending two and a half hours on a convenience store tour, it was night out and I noticed the bridges light up along the canal which lead to a quaint park/bus stop.
Now, I’ll admit, this past week I was feeling kind of shitty. I miss my dirty American conveniences like a bed and just being able to toss all my garbage into one stupid bin but just chillin out at this park along this canal kind of reminded me why I was in Japan and why I like this country. Other than the fact that I can sit at a park at 9 at night and not be raped, Japan has this quality to it on the country side that kind of makes it pleasant.
I think once I finally get settled into my apartment I’ll be ok.
But a car would be nice.