13 Days...

  Someone recently asked my sister a question similar to the one on your mind if you read the title of this post... "Thirteen days until what?" I won't tell you what she said, but I'll tell you the answer. I have thirteen days left to enjoy Japan! I believe every day is booked, and a couple of them are double booked! I have so much to do, and so little time to do it. I want to fully enjoy these last 13 days. It will be quite different to re-enter my family after 8 months of being treated as an independent adult. I've had to make most decisions by myself, and decide where I want to go and what I want to do... I've had the chance to hop onto a train whenever I want and go wherever I want... I've had a little convenience store right underneath me! I've had my own room, and personal time to do whatever I want... Still, I look forward to going back to my family. Not that I won't to some extent miss all of this, but being with my family will be wonderful! I will miss the trains, and the 7-11, and the river, and my friends, this little apartment, even my futon :). But all of those things together can't match my family! ...Anyway! Enough of my random 'dish-washing thoughts'... Washing dishes is the when I do the most thinking... It's so comforting to stand there with a huge sink, and warm water and soap suds running over you hands. It provides the perfect time to think. And tonight I had plenty of time to think! On top of the 16 forks, 13 spoons, and 8 knives, I washed 4 pots, two large bowls, around 10 plates, and numerous little things...  You should see the drain rack! :) It's a beautiful sight! 


  Anyway, I'm sure that's not what you want to hear about... Everyone has dishes to wash, and can hold competitions with themselves to see how much they could stack, re-stack, and double stack onto the drain rack... Not everyone has the opportunity to eat in a restaurant made for dogs, and all those other things I mentioned in my last post! So, with no further ado than can be managed I shall recount those things to the best of my remembrance. 


  I'll have to add pictures later, because my internet has decided to be uncooperative and not let me upload pictures at the moment. :( But I can tell you all about the places I've been and things I've done. On Sunday night and Monday afternoon we went to a restaurant made especially for people to come and bring their dogs. In the States this would be considered crazy, and they probably wouldn't be allowed to do that due to health reasons... But Japanese people treat their dogs better than children! This was probably the nicest restaurant I've ever eaten at, and the prices were not that low, either. The entire atmosphere was so quiet, elegant, and overall ...wonderful - for lack of a better word at the moment. On Sunday night I ordered a hot chocolate coffee thing that tasted more like strong black coffee... But the apple pie I ordered was just delicious. To aid the yumminess of the dessert, I had been craving hot apples and spice all day! It really 'hit the spot' as we say in the south. On Monday I ordered a beef curry that was served in a small cast iron skillet. It was VERY good! I also had a delicious soup made from Japanese mushrooms. DELICIOUS! While we were there, I heard Yoshimi (Abi's clarinetist friend with whom we were staying) talking to the chef (the same one that prepares the dog's food and the people's food) about a birthday cake for her dogs. He takes real cake batter, puts it in a small pan, decorates it, and then feeds it to dogs! I couldn't believe it!!! The whole experience was so funny!


  So speaking of Yoshimi's dogs... I wanted to tell about Cherry and Shion. Cherry (pronounced by Japanese more like Cheddy) and Shion (pronounced She-own) must be the two most spoiled long haired daschunds the world has ever known. They are adorable...but spoiled.... They went shopping with us when we went shopping. They went out to eat with us when we went out for lunch. They slept only when we slept, and even had an indoor bathroom so that they didn't get cold going out. The only problem I saw with that set up, was that they seemed to think that since they 'went out' in one place in the house, they could 'go out' anywhere in the house... Shion went on my futon. She left me a gift right beside my pillow... :-/ You should have seen her when her 'mother' found out! She ran from her for the rest of the day! When we went shopping, the inu (dogs) had matching outfits, ear ribbons with a Christmas theme, and even a stroller. Abi pushed her baby in the baby stroller, and Yoshimi pushed her babies in the dogie stroller! 


 Since I'm getting tired and it's getting pretty late, I should probably save the rest for some other night... Before I go I do want to mention the taxis. I have always wanted to ride in a yellow taxi. Something about a yellow taxi has always seemed special to me when you live in a big city. I've ridden in orange taxis, blue taxis, black taxis and even green taxis, but I'd never ridden in a yellow taxi! So on the way home from Tokyo station on Monday night, we actually rode in a yellow taxi!!! We decided to take a taxi since taking the train home from Tokyo eki is hard enough when you don't have three small children, a large suitcase, and a baby stroller. Taking a taxi was the best plan, and it gave me the opportunity to ride in a yellow taxi! Now I can mark that one off my list! 


Well, now I'm really getting off. I've had a good day today, but I'll have to write about it later.. I'm too tired tonight!


All my love,
Hannah