You must be satisfied with it!

I'm a 100-yen kind of person. The coin, worth about 50p (or probably about twice as much as that by the time you get to the end of this post, given the fall in the pound) is king of the 100-yen shop, like the pound-stretcher shops in the UK, only the stuff they carry is a lot better made (China is closer to here you know) -- and there is no social stigma to shopping in the places. Where would I be without the 100-yen-shop? Well, I wouldn't have the following:

1. A wallet with the following plastic label still on after a year: "We would like to hand our goods to you. You must be satisfied with it!" 
2. A metal meishi (business card) holder
3. White board markers for the classroom
4. Baskets for, er, putting other 100-yen-value things in
5. A wall clock (actually, it cost 300-yen, but who's quibbling)
6. A whisk for whipping cream for the Christmas trifle I promised to make this year
7. A cupboard full of glasses, bowls and mugs all from the local 100-yen emporium

The list goes on. And I never tire of asking assistants in the shop "How much is that?" and watching their pained attempt to explain to the dimwit foreigner that everything is 100 yen. "Really, and how much is that?"

As they say in America, I really must get out more often.

Window shopping, Oba-chan no Harajuku style

Tower English raised its drawbridge last weekend (it's a rare thing to have two days off on the trot, hence the tardy return to blogging ways for Tower Tales) so the Tower troupe trooped off to Tokyo to visit  old friends. I took the opportunity to video us walking down the street, which, while not earth-shatteringly interesting, gives a slice of life one Sunday afternoon at the fag end of 2008 in an area known as the Oba-chan no Harajuku (fashionable area of Tokyo for grandmas). Compare with other meaningful shopping experiences here. 

Highlights...

• 0:14 Shoe shop (not much use for me as most shops carry shoes only up to 27cm in size - about size 9 in old money.)
  
• 0:30 Manju shop (flour balls with sweet beans inside)
• 0.52 bloke whose job is to greet customers
• 0.58 another greeter
• 1.15 fibre glass green-tea flavoured ice cream
• 1:28 fashion conscious oba-chans (grans)
• 1:43 bored kid playing a computer game while waiting for his mam.
• 2:27 either a Buddha or a sweets display, not sure which.

5...3...1...2... oh, forget it

I thought Japanese were good at maths. Years of being sent to abacus school as a child at the insistence of grandma, plus the high denominations of cash you need (can you believe around ¥270 for a can of Suntory Malts at our local 7-11) should have instilled a healthy command of the things. But I'm beginning to think folks here have a problem when the numbers are more, er, little. It's not rocket science counting backwards from 10, but the chap in charge of numbering the parking spaces near our 7-11 clearly shouldn't be given the job of counting down for blast off. Must have been at the Malts again. 

Signs of recession - DIY dental treatment

Normally, in large train station concourses in Japan there are stalls selling rice crackers and such souvenirs for weary travellers to present to loved ones and the boss on their return. But these are not normal times - here is a nice collection of dental tools for sale in Kashiwa, presumably to save money on seeing a real dentist. Think I'd rather have the crackers.

Wonderful wander

Ever wondered what a window-shopping wander would be like with us? Well, wonder no more, and wander away. Sorry, the pun and alliteration are a bit tiresome I know, but I have nothing deep and meaningful to offer about this video, other than it is a slice of life in a Japanese shopping arcade:

Highlights, in case you missed them:

0:23 Ice cream shop with plastic menu-item display

0:51 Double glazing saleswoman (well, maybe)

1:22 Woman wearing "Make up your mind" T-shirt

1:48 High school girls in uniform

2:00 Fishmonger and chap cooking savory pancakes shaped like fish 

2:12 Pachinko parlour

2:21 Sign for a manga reading room boasting private booths. 

2:27 Women hawking mobile phones

2:32 Noodle shop plastic menu and payment machine

2:52 Woman hawking mobile phones 

3:02 Man taking a picture of a TV screen

3:11 Another woman hawking mobile phones

3:23 A zebra crossing. Can you hear the electronic cuckoo whose call means it is safe to cross?