Snoopy Points
I’m so happy! 7-11 has started another Snoopy related promotion, so I plan on getting some nice Snoopy dishes for my apartment.
Yes, you read that right. Snoopy dishes. See, here in Japan, everything is a promotional item. I have gotten skiing Hello Kitty from a cola bottle, a Paddington Bear cell phone charm, waving cats for good luck, World Cup poker chip keychains, and much much more. It’s actually nice - I don’t have to buy extra presents just in case - “Oh, of course I got you something, here…a stained-glass Goofy!”
I mentioned last week that I went to Nikko with Roommate Andy (file photo) and Liz. Nikko is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and my understanding of why is because it has really S H I N Y shrines and temples. And a bridge. And some mountains. And a lot of hot springs, which all come from the top of a mountain (and are very sulfur-y smelling).
Bonus Picture: We are some SEXY bitches.
Liz and Andy stayed for a week. I had to work some of the days, but I did get another trip to the Ramen Museum in and we went to various Tokyo places. Liz did a lot of shopping, which I hear is a popular activity in Tokyo, where there are only a billion stores.
I ended up purchasing a Nintendo DS after they left - Andy and I tried to find one, but apparently they’re squirreled away by rabid shoppers as soon as they’re available. I finally got one, in “ice white” or whatever color white is these days. I bought New Super Mario Brothers, Children of Mana (even though I won’t be able to read much of it), Super Mario Kart DS, and Mario v. Donkey Kong (for the GBA, but the DS plays both). I wanna try racing in Mario Kart DS online, so I just gotta figure out how it works.
In a couple of weeks I’m hitting the tracks to a weeklong trip out of Tokyo. I am hoping to get to Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Shikoku (to see my friend Nina), possibly stay at a temple at Mount Koya, and then…well, I’m not sure after that. Then a few days in Osaka and Kyoto with Mariko, and then back home to Philadelphia. So much to do, so little time!
PS: Bonus Quote: “In retrospect, the real victims of Fox News weren’t the liberals it attacked but the conservatives who believed it.”