Friday, February 09, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Our morning routine at the Super Hotel is becoming less super each day. We pack after breakfast and spend time on our computers until we must leave for the 10:00 A.M. cleaning crew. We have three hours to kill before Mitsuro will come to help us move into our apartment.
The weather is changing and the morning is very breezy. Art goes to find out about the cost of minutes for our borrowed cell phone and I want to buy Valentines and so John and I walk to the “Naha Main Place” mall where I choose a few tiny Valentines. I have looked for Valentines for the past three days but apparently Valentines only come in a mini size. Traditionally the women give the men chocolate on Valentine’s Day and it is the candy that is most important. We still have more time to pass so John and I walk over to Toy’s ‘R Us. Although there are some amusing and unusual action figures, this huge box store is generally boring. We reconnect with Art who suggests we find a place to eat some zenzai. Zenzai is shaved ice with sweet azuki beans. Special zenzai’s are served with pieces of fresh fruit and tiny mochi balls. Today’s mall version leaves much to be desired. I’m afraid I am coming down with a cold. My throat is sore and I feel hot and light headed. I am grateful to be sitting and drinking hot tea. I watch the boys consume their icy treats.
Mitsuro arrives early to help us move. John and I sit in the parking lot of our Super Hotel while Art and Mitsuro make the first trip to our new apartment. There isn’t room in the van for all of the luggage and all three of us. 30 minutes later Mitsuro is back to pick John and me up and take us to our new home. The apartment looks better than it did two days ago. It has been cleaned until it sparkles and most every possible necessity has been provided. I was not expecting that dish soap, sponges, shampoos and soaps, irons and hair dryers, paper towels and toilet paper, towels and laundry baskets etc. would be included in the “furnished” price. The apartment manager even offers to let me switch the kitchen table from the apartment next door into ours. It is a simple rectangular wood table with 4 straight back chairs that will make a perfect work space. Mitsuro drives us to a nearby market. The breeze has blown in a weather front and it’s pouring rain! At the market Art and I each take a mini sized shopping cart and fill it with basic staples to set up our kitchen. I spend the afternoon unpacking and settling in.
Takaaki picks us up at 6:00 P.M. We are going to dinner at Aniya. We ate there in April and it was a marvelous dining experience and tonight is almost as good. We remove our shoes and place them in cubbies along the side wall. The tables are low, Japanese style, but the floor is cut away under the table for our legs. Takaaki has called ahead and they have his “Keep” bottle of awomori on our reserved table. Beside his bottle of awomori is a pitcher of water with lumps of charcoal inside for purification. Beside it is a bucket of ice. Aniya’s is a Japanese “tapas” restaurant and Takaaki orders small plates for us that we share. We start with marinated pieces of Japanese Eggplant and another dish of marinated tako. (Octopus.) A salad plate with paper thin strips of pork is next, followed by two different chicken dishes and finally a tempura platter with an assortment of shrimp, scallops, bamboo shoots, scallions, and mackerel. John orders a grapefruit moose for dessert and Art has a crème brule. Half way through the dinner Takaaki mixes drinks from his bottle of Awamori. Aniya is a hidden gem with mindful, gourmet food. The dinner for the four of us is 12,500.yen; about $110.00. Remember that in Japan this includes taxes and service. Takaaki tells us that he has ordered a daiko taxi and apologizes that he will not be driving us home. A daiko taxi is a “drunk driving” taxi. Driving under the influence is not tolerated in Japan and it is common to call this special taxi service after just one or two drinks. Two drivers arrive in the daiko taxi. One driver drives you and your car home while the other driver follows behind in the taxi. Takaaki drives off in his daiko and we catch a regular taxi home.