Shiho's new minivan

So we went to McDonalds again yesterday. I think the kids like this little reminder of home. It is just a little bit familiar to them, and they enjoy the same old fries, burgers and chicken nuggets. For us we enjoyed "ebi fillets." These are shrimp burgers really, and they are my new favorite. Ebi fillets are one thing that I will miss for sure when we come back home. We also had to try the teriyaki burger, since it is for a limited time. It was so moist I could almost have another, yet I now have the ebi fillets to dine on.



Anyways we drove the half hour to MDs in Masuda and got the food, then drove 5 minutes to the beach to eat on the Sea of Japan. We ate in the car and then I took the kids to the water for a minute while Shiho feed Hanano in the car.

We then picked up our new minivan, which is the main reason for the trip into town. When we arrived at the showroom, we were seated and then showed the menu. Hard to believe, but they had a drink and snack menu that the slim hostess served to us. They had a play area that the kids loved, and they were also served refreshments.

The transaction was pretty anti-climatic for us. We had small talk for a few minutes while we had our coffee, tea and apple juice, then gave him the money which required a number of bows back and forth from both parties. Then he took the money in the back to count and the slim hostess brought us a receipt, which required a number of additional bows.

Side note: I have gotten quite used to bowing to everyone in

the month and a half we have been here. Almost everything

requires a bow I have found. Even if it did not, I am thought

to be very polite as I walk through the supermarket saying

excuse me and bowing. Shiho has said that people probably

think I am the most polite foreigner in Japan.

Once we transferred the stuff to our new used car, the salesman showed Shiho how to operate the lights, wipers etc and we were off. The only problems we found is that the car still pulls a little to the left (salesman says it is the low profile tires, but me thinks not) and the keyless entry does not work (the remotes battery is dead I believe.) It actually looks like this car is almost new, although it is 9 years old.

Today it rained on and on and then on and off until 4PM. Nice and breezy day and it felt great. Did not want to go out though, since some of the downpours were quite substantial.

Only thing we really accomplished today was buying a new Sony Navigation system online for the car. Getting around without one is almost impossible. I learned this in Osaka the first week here, when we could not find an ATM that would give me cash. After looking up the Cirrus website and finding a ATM that would work, we had an issue finding an address like 2-250-10 Higashimikuni (which is the name of the nearest train station.) Shiho's uncle has lived at the same condo for 10 years of so and had to get out his map to try and find it. He actually still was not sure when he and I started walking around the neighborhood trying to find it. We have had a few other issues like this, and I have come to the conclusion that a GPS is a convenience in the US, but it is really a necessity in Japan to get anywhere without Shiho and I killing each other. (*8

Tomorrow's weather outlook is heavy rain, high winds and thunderstorms. It also talked about flash flood warnings and heavy thunderstorm warnings. Looks like rainy season has finally arrived ladies and gents.

Some new pics at ... http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenkenyon/JapanLiving2