wa ikura desu ka...

This post  is written by Todd:

We have often heard “Japan is expensive.”  But we don’t necessarily find that to be the case.  …speaking of cases, beer is more expensive.  And so are peaches, but they are humongous and probably the best peaches we’ve ever eaten outside of Georgia.  Rent seems to be similar; taxis, car prices, gas…but there are some things surprisingly cheaper.  Most food seems to be cheaper, especially seafood in Hachinohe.  Eating out is cheaper because there is no tipping in Japan!  Public transport.  Hotels.  It just depends on what you buy.  At the Homac store the other day (like home depot), we bought a bike for $100, a rice cooker for $50, a towel rod for $6, 30m of twine for $1, laundry detergent for $2, scotch sponges for $3…there’s also a 100 yen store where everything costs about $1.25.  But they want $500 for an iphone, and $12 for a 6 pack.  Anyway, it’s not more expensive than the states.  It just depends on how you want to live….like any other 1^st world country we suppose.  We especially like a bunch of exotic mushrooms for $1.

About the no tipping in Japan, it turns out Japanese people are more concerned about the harmony of society and their place in it, more than making a lot of money and being on top of the pile.  Of course there is capitalistic competition, but people here generally do not steal and do not want more money than they feel they deserve.  

Saturday, a few of the ALT's had dinner to welcome us to Hachinohe. We ate at a restaurant called Kaabe.            They welcomed us by serving a sea snail (sazi) that was alive and cooked in front of us. 

Back in Tokyo I witnessed 2 women exchanging money on the sidewalk.  One had given the other several hundred dollars (tens of thousands of yen) and she was flipping through the bills counting them.  A minute later they were in a heated argument.  The woman who paid was attempting to pay one bill more.  The woman receiving would not take it.  She was yelling and repeatedly tried to open the other woman’s purse and put it back in.  In turn, she would take it out and force it into her hand or put it on the table. Finally the woman quite forcefully grabbed the other woman’s purse, yelled quite loudly, shoved the money inside and ran away, looking back over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being followed.  For a Japanese person to receive more money than they’ve earned is viewed as a disgrace.  They are very careful with their money.  They do not fold it.  All of the bills we have received have no creases and are in good condition.  Every time we buy something—even at a “conveenie” (like 7-11)—you put the money in a tray, they say out loud how much you have paid, and give you your change on top of the receipt with 2 hands and head bowed.  It’s a little strange, but they have this respect for money that is quite different than in the states.  They also have a coin that is worth more than $5, so we’re attempting the same philosophy.

Kapa is a sushi restaurant that delivers your order by Shinkansen(bullet train).  

                                                                                                                             

As we biked around Saturday we came across a man watering the 

sidewalk and his turtle (kame).