There are no benches outside. If I’ve been walking for about an hour or two, and I want to sit down to rest for a moment, I CAN’T. In Japan, you cannot stop, you must always go. If you stop moving, people will bump into you, and you’ll cause a traffic jam on the sidewalk. Today for example, I wanted to buy a sandwich and sit outside to enjoy the weather. No way. I got the sandwich, and after walking for 15 minutes, found nowhere to sit. So I parked my ass on a bike rack, the only thing I could find which could sustain my weight, and ate my lunch as people walked by, staring at me. That’s the first thing that bugs me, the second thing is tape. Yes, tape. I’m walking around in Ginza, I smell something nice, a bakery! I see little muffins in the window, muffins are my greatest weakness. I go inside and use hand gestures to request the appropriate muffin. Once selected, the muffin(which is about half the size of my fist), is wrapped in a little plastic bag, then taped shut. The bagged muffin is then placed in a larger bag, which is also taped shut, and the handles are twisted, further impairing my ability to access the muffin. If I say nothing, the double bagged, double taped muffin is then placed in an even larger paper bag, which is also folded and taped shut. Once outside the bakery, it takes me about 10 minutes to access the muffin and 30 seconds to consume it. I don’t like tape. That’s it really, but those two things kinda suck. My friends tell me there are ways to avoid the tape by saying something in Japanese, but I haven’t learned it yet. As for the bench issue, well, as my friend tried to explain the other day, it’s a ploy to get you to spend money at coffee shops and department stores. If you’re tired and want to sit, your only options are to get a cup of coffee and sit down, or to be surrounded by designer clothing and enticed by department store music. The Japanese are brilliant people. I hope New York and Boston never learn of this anti-bench technique. Heck, another day, another sesame seed muffin. I’m home now writing letters to relatives and trying not ot let the heat get to me. I’m moving into my new apartment soon, on September 10th, in Fudomae. I wish I lived there now, rather than take a 1 hour train all the way back to Nagayama at midnight, I will be taking a 10 minute ride over to Fudomae to my quiet, private apartment.

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