A Culture of Shopping

Shopping for the evening groceries

It was early afternoon when we headed back to the shopping street. We decided to spit up for an hour, so my wife could shop for clothing and I could explore a little. We visited this street when we were here before and it looked the same in early spring as it did in the middle of winter. The narrow arcade is lined for several blocks with open-front stores. A frosted-panel roof arches over the street to keep out the rain and smaller shops line the side streets. At regular intervals, there are teenagers handing out pocket-size packages of tissue that stores and other businesses often use as advertising. They are actually quite useful because the Japanese consider paper towel dispensers in washrooms to be unnecessarily messy. Patrons are expected to carry their own (and I began to understand why my wife insisted I bring so many handkerchiefs on the trip).

As is the case with much of urban Japan, American franchises were well represented. The shopping street had its MacDonalds and there were Seven-Eleven's and Kentucky Fried Chickens near by with Coca-Cola vending machines on nearly every block throughout the entire country (only about one vending machine in fifty offered Pepsi products and diet soft drinks of any brand were virtually impossible to find). A few Starbucks had begun to appear in the major downtown shopping districts.

Bicycles, motor scooters and mopeds were parked in long rows everywhere. Sometimes, a thin cable through the rear wheel would be used to secure them. But, more often than not, bicycles were remained unlocked even where they were left all day or all night. It was also clear that shoplifting was not a major concern. The stores didn't have the fortress-like layouts and sophisticated electronic surveillance systems that we commonly see here. The shopkeeper would greet you with the traditional "irasshaimase" and then leave you to go about your business. Your purchases would be meticulously wrapped and will be sent on your way with the honorific "arigato gozaimashita!"

Many of the shops featured fresh groceries: meat, fish, produce, all carefully selected and artfully presented. What we would consider to be a supermarket is unheard of in Japanese cities. The closest thing to them is the bottom floor of major department stores which serve as a larger grocery store surrounded by many specialty food shops. For many families, groceries are bought fresh each day because shopping expeditions need to be limited to whatever can be carried by hand or in the basket of their bicycle.

My secret love: cabbage pancakes

As you pass by, neighborhood streets in Kyoto's Fushima ward look like a typical, tangled urban landscape (as above). But look a little closer and you may find a hidden, historic treasure like the Buddhist temple, below.

My wife and I met up at the appointed hour and walked back towards her old apartment to a little restaurant where we planned to eat lunch. On my previous trip, this is were I was introduced to a dish that would become one of my favorites, okanomiaki. Even though I had it in several other restaurants (including San Francisco's Benehana) this was still my favorite. We joked with the owner, telling her that we had come all the way from California to partake of her special recipe. Okanomiaki is a favorite food of students and young singles. The dish combines shredded cabbage, meat, egg and numerous other ingredients on a thin, crepe-like pancake cooked slowly on a frying table. It is served with sour cream, a sweet, special sauce and garnished with nori, a dry and salty, pulverized seaweed.

Afterwards, we walked around the corner to visit her English teacher who ran a small, storefront school in her neighborhood. He gave the young student he was working with an assignment and invited us to sit down. After he made a brief phone call, the shop owner from next door appeared with cold drinks for us. English schools of all sizes are very common throughout Japan. In public school, English is a required subject, but the focus is on reading and writing, rather than speaking. You will see English words everywhere in Japan and virtually all multi-national companies will use the English alphabet for their logos. Sometimes, the connotation of a word carries more weight than its actual meaning and that occasionally produces the strange byproduct known as "Japlish." For example, the most popular athletic drink is named "Pokka Sweat." Another one of my favorites was from a company that specialized in motor tours of the rural Hakone region, the "Lusty Rent-a-Bus."

My wife had studied at this small school for several years after she graduated college. She and her instructor chatted away in Japanese while I tried to appear attentive.

On to Osaka

We headed back to Kyoto Station safely ahead of the crest of commute-hour crowds. The tickets to Osaka were the last we would need to buy during our stay, but I was finally getting the hang of using the vending machines in the station. We were soon on board the crowded super-express for the half-hour trip to Osaka Station, watching the sun set as one great city blended almost seamlessly into the next.

Our hotel was only a short walk from the station. Virtually across the street. When we arrived in our room on the ninth floor, we discovered that it provided a commanding view of the labyrinth of tracks and a skyline full of towering, ultra-modern skyscrapers. We took a few minutes to settle in and unpack our single bag, and then headed out to meet one of my wife's friends, Toshiko, a nurse who used to work at the hospital before returning to school.

We went back to the station and began what felt like an endless trek. I soon realized that our hotel window had only provided a view of a small corner of the huge complex. We traveled down narrow corridors and wide, indoor boulevards, through several shopping malls and along two, long powered walkways. I was becoming convinced that the Osaka station was larger than quite a few American cities. We finally arrived in front of the bookstore were we were to meet Toshiko. Looking around, I realized that we were not even near the opposite end of the building and was beginning to think that, if we were to continue, we would eventually come to an exit gate marked "Tokyo."

We returned to the hotel to have a quiet dinner in the downstairs restaurant. After dinner, I left my wife and Toshiko to catch up with things while I went up to our room to relax for a while. "Quiet evenings at home" did not have a prominent place on our vacation agenda, so I enjoyed the opportunity to put my feet up and relax for a while before bedtime. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.

Next: Day 8 - Seeing some of the many faces of Osaka

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