I decided that today would be better than later to buy a second bicycle. I have commuted by bicycle for almost 10 years and have become a little picky when selecting a new bike. I set out on a scouting mission around 12:30 and made it back to the apartment around 5:30 having traveled well over 30km hear and there checking out 5 different bicycle shops. It just so happened that the last bike shop that I went to sold out of the exact bike that I wanted in their spring line up. Instead of waiting till the coming spring I bought the next best bike and therefore saved about 25000 yen. I wanted an eight speed internal hub and the one I bought has the normal 3 speed. I could always buy a different wheel and have the perfect bike (in my opinion) in I had the handle bars changes out to a more ergonomic design and bought a rear rack. It was going to take about an hour and a half to get the bike ready so since it was getting late I rode back to the apartment to see Mimi. We don’t have a phone yet so there was no way to contact her.

After taking a shower we set out on her bike with me pedaling and her sitting on the rear rack. We picked up my bike and went to Apita to do a little shopping and ate dinner at a very reasonably priced quick Italian place complete with chopsticks. For about 1000 yen I received a big pizza, drink bar, salad, and desert. On the way out of the restaurant I noticed a baked cat. There on the counter of the pastry display sat a cat made of dough and decorated with various flavors. It did not have a price tag.

The first order of business was to go to the real estate agency office to pick up the keys and to use my freshly minted hanko. The keys arrived just in time for us in the morning. The agent drove me to the apartment and Mimi’s family followed. We quickly finished up business and left for a shopping spree at Kojima, an electronics store. Since I stopped by an electronics store the day before in Nara, I basically knew what I wanted.

I started with the fridge because last time I lived in Japan my fridge was way to small 112L approx. This time I bought a 227L model. Then it was a washing machine, followed by a vacuum, a light fixture, toaster oven, iron, microwave, phone, coffee pot, computer speakers, and a de-ionizing hair drier. That is about what you can buy for 100000 yen. In Japan the written price is never final and we haggled to get the price down including tax.

Then we took a lunch break at the store’s cafeteria. I had a Korean bibimba. This comes in a sizzling bowl filled with rice, meat, kim-chee, sprouts, and green vegetables. On the side were two eggs that I got to crack open over my piping hot meal. Upon mixing everything together one ends up with a very hot fried rice meal. After lunch it was back to the apartment to drop off the new purchases and to get down to cleaning. All apartments charge for cleaning upon moving out but they never seem too clean when moving in.

The next stop was a large store called Apita. This is a combination of all stores into one and seems more massive than Walmart. There we bought two futons, curtains, and a bunch of miscellaneous household items. On top of everything I bought one of two bikes I plan on using. This one is for Mimi and is great. It is the way a bike should be. It came with a full chaincase, fenders, rear rack, front basket, 3 speed hub, front hub dynamo, front light, and a rear roller break. Perfect for someone who wants to use a bike for actually going somewhere and not dress up like a Tour de France participant. The futons were so bulky with the top blankets that there was only space for 3 people in the car so I rode the bike back to the apartment. This was a great chance to find out how far everything was away. It turned out to be quite close and the bike ride was pure joy.

The evening was passing and everyone became quite tired. I wanted to get the most use out of the car as possible so requested one more trip to a hardware store. Again we all piled into the car after countless trips and a few toll road mistakes and made way for the home center. There we picked up a lot more essentials. It is crazy to think about all the junk that people think that they need for their lives. I am no exception and it astounded me. We planned to grab a bite to eat after delivering the goods but decided that it was best for Mimi’s parents to get back on the rode before too late.

Mimi’s dad went over to the grocery store and bought some sushi bento boxes. One can find these all over Japan. And just like new apartment residents the world over who spend all day getting stuff for their residence and still lack a table, we ate dinner on the new futons. Of course we spilled some soy sauce, but no fear because they were wrapped in space age plastic.