inspired by

hey this post was inspired by an email i sent to kieran. he wondered if the walls are actually paper here. this is the answer:

sucre.would you believe me if i told you that yes, in the older houses here, the walls are made of paper. my rooms inside walls are paper-thin, ha ha. the floors are traditional tatami mats. the bathroom is three parts, shower separate from toilet, sink also separate. the *shower* is a tiled room with a stone concrete floor, and a square tub. you never clean off in the tub, it is only for relaxing. its quite funny. the toilet seat is heated and the water is always bright blue. the toilet paper is pink and scented. there is no oven. there is no dryer, and i have to use an electric-keroscene lamp to heat my room.

kids on the street sneak around corners and stare at me giggling. i go into 7eleven and i have no idea how to use a fucking atm. the sushi is awesome. dollar stores are 100yen shops. beer is at the corner store, and its 152 yen a can, which is about $2. there are a million kinds of mushrooms in the grocery stores. pocky is cheaper here. everyone rides a bike. sidewalks are covered with them. if people do lock them, which is rare, they only lock the tire. not to anything, just to itself. pretty funny. a woman in a train station gave me samples of tissue twice, did she not remember me from the first time i went through? i mean, im the non japanese person within that area. ha ha.

at the gas station the attendants wipe down the windows of your car with a hand towel. when you go to a store to purchase something you put the money into a little plate. you can buy cigarrettes from vending machines everywhere. the packs are small and they:re only $3. for 6 cigarrettes. theres this one brand called *pink* too funny.

girls here wear slouchy boots and leg warmers and ballet flats and so many pairs of faux vans slip ons for only 1250yen ($15). i went to this store that was floor to ceiling manga and action figurines in little plastic baggies. they have so much shit for automobiles. girls have feather boas along the inside of their front windsheilds. everywhere you go in a store there is loud music playing and japanese adds coming from everywhere. at the grocery store you can buy a huge tray of sashimi and sushi for 480yen, which would be $10 in canada (approx. 900yen).