First let’s get the food and drinks out of the way.
The red is a bar downtown with a German name where the bartender always follows the same pattern – he starts out pretty quiet, then he drinks a shot or two of iichiko on the rocks, and by the end of the night, he’s talking more than any of the guests and doesn’t let you get a word in, even to ask for the check.
The more well-lit place is more like a restaurant/cafe that happens to be open late and has a massive selection of nihonshuu (sake). I’m trying to become more familiar with sake, but (similar to my attempts at getting to know more about wine) I have mostly been drinking a lot and learning nothing. Still fun, though!
Last is the most recent picture, from Monday this week. It’s from a cute cafe that does a different tea blend everyday. When I went, it was a relaxing lavender tea. I also got a slice of white chocolate matcha gateau. It was near the station, so it was a perfect place to pass time waiting for my train.
It was the first time on a train in a while, since my company is still requesting that we avoid “unnecessary” travel. I figured a 12-minute journey to go pickup a tennis racket in Kosugi was reasonable. I got a used Head racket for about $20, so I’m pretty pleased.
Kosugi station has some cute stuff on the walls, so I snapped a pic or two as well. It’s a little cheesy, but they’ve painted an image of a train and put photos of real Toyama locations in the windows.
I believe the one on the left is Shinminato, and the one on the right must be the sun rising over Tateyama.
After my adventures on Sunday, I wanted a more relaxing Sunday with less walking, so I went to see the new (new ish) Batman movie. Nothing says “stationary” like a film with a 2-hour-55-minute run time. My ass was in that chair for a solid 3 hours and 10 minutes, including previews.
After that, I did a little shopping (sakura stationery…it’s pretty cute), got my weekly dose of sushi (the cheap place this time), and headed home to start reading my first novel in Japanese. Wish me luck!
Alisa & a Visa 