Summer vacation is almost over. Just a few more days before it’s back to school.
That means it’s time to pet some cats and buy some pants!
For mine and Abbey’s most recent adventure in Japan, we had a couple of things we needed to accomplish:
- Pick up my renewed visa.
- Find me a new pair of shorts.
- Get a haircut.
- Visit to a cat cafe/shelter.
Here’s the reason for me needing a new pair of shorts.
Note the hole in the crotch, side, and several more on the back.
I’d had that pair of shorts since high school, so it was high time for some new ones. However, shorts with side pockets are hard to come by in Japan. But today Abbey and I would be going so many places and visiting so many stores that we’d have to find a place that had some!
…right???
Our first stop was in Gifu City so that I could pick up my renewed visa that we’d dropped off the paperwork for a few weeks ago. Picking it up was fairly easy, we just had to ride the train to the city, walk to the Immigration Bureau, grab a ticket, wait for half an hour, and then I was legal for another year!
All that tarevling made us hungry, and no trip to Gifu City is
complete without lunch at the all-you-can-eat-naan Indian restaurant!
The “Akatsuki” club nearby the Immigration Bureau.
So that’s where Naruto’s villains have been up to ever since the end of the series….
After the Immigration Bureau, it was time for the next mission: buying new shorts. We went to the Aeon mall a few stops down the train line. Neither of us had ever been there before, and it was quite a long walk from the station.
Thankfully we had these helpful frog landmarks to guide us along the way.
But when we finally arrived, we couldn’t believe it… it was huge!
It was like an American mall in Japan.
I’ve never seen a mall like this in Japan before.
Usually they’re smaller and the stores run together…
…but this place was three floors of mercantile madness! It made us feel like we were back in the old U.S. of A… aside from the Japanese everywhere.
First stop for shorts: the clothing store GU. Alas, they did not have any shorts with side pockets. But there were many stores left, so the search continues!
We stopped at Kaldi, one of Abbey’s favorite stores. They sell food and coffee from all over the world. They even had peanut-butter-and-jelly-mixed Goober for sale.
And they also had this darling little box of curry with a fancy little boy on the front.
“Oh goody, mama, that curry looks absolutely resplendent!”
Next clothes shop on the list: H&M. Yet another failure. Why are there no shorts with side pockets anywhere? I need them for my wallet and keys and Magic cards!
Along the way we checked out Village Vanguard,
a store that sells all sorts of crazy novelty goods…
…such as Pikachu socks…
…melting Dali clocks…
…and a Lapras tissue-box holder.
I mean, blowing your nose is kind of like using “surf” on a tissue, I guess?
There was also a huge arcade at the mall, full of arcade games and
crane games that had everything from Pokémon plushies…
…to Starbucks coffee…
…to virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI goods. Forget getting your golden
YouTube button at 1 million subscribers, just win one here!
The games at arcades in Japan are a lot bigger and more exciting than in the U.S.
I mean, this is a fishing game, and it looks like an epileptic wonderland.
And now it’s time to play everyone’s favorite game: How Do You Pronounce This Store???
Round 1: Can you figure this one out? (Answer at bottom)
Round 2: All right, tough stuff, how about this one?
(Answer at bottom)
Thoroughly confused by those names, we hopped into the upper-class version of the dollar store: the “3 Coin” store, as in, three one-hundred-yen coins (about $3).
That markup does mean they have some quality merchandise,
such as this trashcan that spouts solid advice…
…and this Pikachu phonecase that Abbey immediately bought.
The true sign of a country’s economic success:
Toys”R”Us being in business. Well done, Japan!
Abbey scoping out the Zoids merchandise. The giant-animal-robot series never really took off in the U.S., but it’s still popular here.
So much so that there’s currently a new anime and manga coming out for it.
Abbey bought the first volume that had just been released.
Another interesting Japanese Toys”R”Us item: The Game of Life…
with Shonen Jump characters! If you choose Luffy, do you get to lead a pirate’s life?
I made an investment in our future by getting this plastic claw,
perfect for picking up and disposing of poisonous centipedes!
The next time one of these suckers pops up in our bedroom or in our shoes, we’ll be ready.
Another clothes store… another disappointment.
Is there any place in this mall that has shorts with side pockets?!
YES! Thank you, Uniqlo. They had a ton to
choose from, and at that price ($9), I got two.
I stand victoriously with my spoils of war.
Shorts acquired, it was time for the next thing for me to stay socially acceptable: a haircut.
QB House is an awesome haircut place. The light in the upper left is red if it’s a long wait, yellow if it’s a short wait, and green if it’s no wait. The way they do this is…
…by using a vending machine to pay for your cut. You put in the money,
it spits out a ticket, and then you sit and wait your turn. Efficient!
Ta da! I’m a respectable member of society again!
A RESPECTABLE MEMBER OF SOCIETY WITH A PLASTIC CLAW GRIP GRIP GRIP!
And finally, our last mission of the day. Abbey and I wanted to go to a cat cafe/shelter and make a donation in honor of Shelby, the one-eyed cat who refused to leave our balcony for several days until she passed away.
Shelby was a one-year-old wild cat who just happened to fall into mine and Abbey’s laps one night after a walk. She was prowling around the back yard of our apartment complex, and she followed us up the stairs to out door, playing with our legs, flopping around, and purring when we pet her.
Our apartment doesn’t allow cats, so there wasn’t much we could do for her besides bring her some food and take her to the vet. There, we learned she recently had a miscarriage and had been missing an eye since birth. We were told she was healthy, but unfortunately she passed away a few days later.
While she was alive, Abbey crowdfunded money to get Shelby spayed. Since that didn’t happen, after contacting the donors, we decided to take the leftover money and donate it to Sanctuary, a cat cafe that would have accepted Shelby.
Here’s the outside of Sanctuary. It may look small, but…
…the inside is filled with cats!
They were hanging out by the windows…
…and in the shelves under the cash register.
Admission was 800 yen for 30 minutes, plus 400 yen for every 30 minutes after that,
but it included as many drinks as you wanted… and as many cats as you wanted!
Some of the cats got a bit too curious about the drinks on our table…
…and one of them even took a bite out of our time card!
This fellow is sticking his head into my backpack. I mean, I’m honored that they thought my back-sweat smelled that good.
Tama showing off why he’s the boss of the cat cafe
by wearing his “crown” and just being chill.
“Um, excuse me, but those are my peanuts, friend.”
And the adorable entrance to the “water closet” area for the cats.
After making our donation and heading out, Abbey and I went home and collapsed in a pile of sweat. It wasn’t as scorching all day as it had been a few weeks ago, but it was still pretty hot, and we’d been out walking in the heat for most of the day.
But with a haircut, a fresh visa, and two new pairs of pants, I felt like I was on top of the world! Finally not having to wear shorts riddled with holes, it made me remember a quote from a wise man who was clearly ahead of his time:
[tweet https://twitter.com/iWillBattle/status/704820268062130177 align=center]
If you want more stories from Japan, then join us when we stream on Twitch every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7:30pm-11:30pm (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Scott Wilson is the author of the novel Metl: The ANGEL Weapon,
forthcoming March 2019.
(Answers: #1 Dee-A-Dee, #2 Ey-Ah-Bay)