These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I never thought I’d see the day when I put ‘insects’ on a list headed by the word ‘Favorite’ anything. But that day has come. Just wait till winter when these critters find their way into my house and into my bed. I can only assume that then they will fall back under the “They – Serve - No – Purpose – Why – Do – They – Exist – MAKE – THEM – ALL - DIE” Category.

I discovered a wondrous little bike and pedestrian path today that runs from a block or so away from my apartment up north through neon-green rice fields, a mixture of refurbished and rundown homes, past a beautiful park and several old cemeteries until it reaches the awesomeness that is the Aeon Plaza shopping center.

Walking along this path lined with goldenish yellow flowers the city girl in me couldn’t help but be awed by the gaggle of dragonflies that would swoop dangerously low past my head. Previously having thought that these creatures fell into the mythical category along with centaurs and actual dragons I found them quite fascinating, provided that they kept a safe distance from me. One must have had a bit too much to drink this morning – I heard the resounding tintinnabulation of metal as it bounced off one of the poles that border the walkway. No joke – they’re huge.

Another wonderful thing that I discovered today was Takinomiya Park. It is happily situated right between the looming mountains and the more industrial area of Niihama. A glassy looking lake makes up the middle of it. I was greeted by a large swan treading water whilst making a large honking noise. Of course by the time I had fished my camera out of my bag he had stopped the show, or perhaps he was just camera shy. About four or five swans swam lazily around the lake. Towards the far end of the park is a little restaurant that appears to have been built right smack on the dock. This leads me to wonder what happens to the building when it rains and the water level rises considerably.

The pond is also home to several happy looking red-eared turtles and a lot of hungry looking carp. Thirsty after the long bike ride or walk to the park? Fear not. There is a vending machine nearby as well (I’d really like to know who is the guy whose job it is to restock all these machines – how often does it happen?). Not to mention what appeared to be a small kind of petting zoo complete with a pair of peacocks. One of which appeared to want to mate with me. His radiant tail was spread in fan-fashion and each time I walked by the fan would pulse forward over his head causing his cage to rattle loudly.

Aways past the park I finally met a dead-end. To my dismay the walkway for pedestrians and bikes stopped. Oh god, was I going to have to brave walking crunched next to moving vehicles again whilst holding my breath? A large AEON sign functioned as a beacon and the innate Manhattanite in me, desperate for a good shop, trudged on in the blistering heat (I am, by the way, probably the tannest I have ever been just from these two days alone – No wonder the Japanese flag has a huge, red, blistering, cancer-inducing, sun in the center).

I had previously made a quick trip to AEON with Mr. Hida to get a light fixture for my bedroom, however when you’re being followed around by a little Japanese man who is probably watching your every move but attempting to look casual about it, it’s difficult to actually explore a place.

AEON plaza is a glorious, glorious mall. This country is going to leave me broke, I’m quite sure of it. Between this and the electronics store I discovered the other day there is no hope left. There are only two floors in the mall but that’s enough to keep me entertained for at least a year. There are several cutie-pie stores, full of wallets, bags, doodle woopers, nick-nacks and snaggle muffins that are all just so God-damn cute. The things that really get me are the items that are not only ADORABLE but also MINITURE in size. I’m not sure why any normal sized person would WANT a teeeeeny, tiny plastic model set of kitchen appliances, but the fact that the tiny toaster and the tiny fridge have little happy pink fuzzy bunnies or Moomingtrolls painted on them AND are too small even for Thumbelina, makes them downright appealing it seems.

When I wasn’t ‘Oohing’ and ‘Aahing’ at the disgustingly cute merchandise found in almost every store I managed to spend a good lot of time at Tower Records. J-Pop is truly an AWFUL genre of music, if I may be so bold as to call it that. Every song has a strikingly similar sauntering pulse, oozingly sweet Boyz2Men synthesizer effects and a whining voice reminiscent of a castrated eunuch that after every chorus will break into an English love phrase or two declaring a line that sounds as though it were taken directly from the lips of Nick Lachey or Aaron Carter. Not that I listen to them, but you know, I hear things. That said J-Pop and American Pop are probably pretty much exactly the same.

One can quite literally spend ALL day in this mall and the fact that it is air conditioned, has western toilets and plenty of things to do leads me to think that it is not a bad idea for me on weekends so long as I can bear the 45 minute walk (I’ll learn to ride that damn bike eventually).

The food court was also spectacular: a wide variety of different noodle shops and the mandatory McDonalds. However if the picnic area (as they call it) doesn’t suit your needs there is also a row of restaurants hidden in the bottom floor. There’s an “Italian” place aptly called “Garlic Garlic” that I’ll have to try soon, along with a Chinese food place and several others.

Right off the picnic area is an arcade. It’s different from American arcades in that there is more than one UFO machine and when I say more than one, I mean there are zillions. Back in the States we’re well aware that these games are shit. You’re never going to win anything so you might as well just toss that quarter into a big black hole. This arcade has row upon row of UFO machines as far as the naked eye can see. Each machine has a different prize in the center, sitting there tantalizing you, looking shiny, new and as easy as a common whore. As I walked around taking it all in I saw several arcade staff members opening up the machines, maneuvering the prizes around, placing them at very specific angles and tittering quietly among themselves that all these kids are suckers. There is more to this arcade than just conniving UFO machines though. There are also video games, driving games, candy machine games, basketball games, lottery games and, of course, pachinko machines.

In order to cheer yourself up after NOT wining that oversized plush Cinnamonroll that lured you into the arcade to begin with, I’d recommend trotting over to the movie theater that is just nearby. Unfortunately since I have just come from the States I have seen everything that is out at the moment, as well as those feature flicks that are coming in early September, but it might be interesting to watch Superman again in Japanese.

My exploration walk started off with me dodging dragonflies the size of fat New York pigeons and seeing a man wearing a straw hat coated in tinfoil to reflect the harsh summer sun whilst working in the fields in his backyard. Thank goodness it ended up with a shiny, sparkling mall and a yummy chocobanana crepe. I’m going to be okay.

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Published:
8.6.06 / 5pm
Category:
what i call life, travel, culture, unschoolish