be master of life

So here we are- the last weekend in Kanazawa!!! It's gone by waaay too fast. I realize I think I had said that I would write more about everyday life in Ishikawa and forgot to make good on my promise, so here goes the "practical advice" entry:

Food
It took us a while to figure this one out, but if you are looking for convenience store like food- the supermarket in Kanazawa Eki is the way to go. Though the Family Mart that's on the first floor of the Rifare building is convenient for grabbing something on the go, the prices don't compare for sushi bento boxes and fruit. In general, I think supermarket prices are more competitive than those of convenience stores. Take for instance how I bought two bananas for 150 yen at the convenience store on the bottom floor of Kanazawa Eki only to find out that the supermarket upstairs was selling 5 bananas for 180 yen. Also, the food tends to be more fresh and obviously there is a wider selection of foods to choose from when FamiMart rice balls just won't do. In fact- I wrote a haiku expressing such feelings:

食べ飽きた I'm tired of eating-
ファミマおにぎり Family Mart riceballs
マックに行く I'll go to McDonald's.

If you are looking for "special" American/non--Japanese food to make a dinner for your host family, the basements of Daiwa and Misuji seem to have a pretty good selection. I was able to find tortillas for instance. If it's something like herbs or sauce mix you are looking for, you might be better off bringing it with you so you won't have to track it down in Japan. Note: At the very minimum, your host mother will probably ask you to cook "authentic" [insert your cultural heritage here] food at least once. For maximum return of compliments, it's best to prepare ahead and get your cook savvy relatives to show you how to cook something before you leave. Also, if you're lucky enough to meet some international people, you just might be able to get them to cook you food as well (mmm Thai cooking).

Books/Music
BookOff is the best place to go for CDs and books. They have a pretty big selection of manga and such, and as they are used- they are quite cheap. I was seriously dismayed to see a most cherished CD (CHEMISTRY) that I bought about 5 years ago for about 4000 yen going for less than 1000 yen. That said, if you are looking for something very particular, it might be hard to find, but if you have the name of the singer/manga than the staff should be more than able to help you out.

Movies
Going to the movies can be quite expensive in Japan, so it's best to take advantage of the different discount days they have such as Monday Couples Day, Thursday Girls Day, etc. I actually went to the movies over the weekend and was able to get a slight discount using my student ID, so it's always a good idea to bring yours along.

Shopping
About the third to last week of PII~ which falls around 海の日 (Marine Day), the summer sale season begins, read: time to crazy shop. Seriously, some stuff starts going for like 70% off, so as tempting as it may be to go shopping the first couple of weeks in Japan, holding off until the summer sales starts has it rewards. This seems to apply for everything from clothing stores to electronic stores, so if you can wait that long- it might be advisable to wait to get an electronic dictionary.

Arcades
I'm not much of a gambling person, but I ended up finding a second home in game centers. Whether it was the bright lights, funky music, or prospect of winning a huge Mickey Mouse pillow, I spent a lot of time (and money) at the arcades playing not just crane games, but also doing taiko, playing MarioCart, and taking purikura. Game centers were a great place to unwind after a hard day at PII and as I found, a good place to forge friendships after class. Beware of the arcades games in Forus which are overpriced compared to the ones found around Katamachi.

Karaoke
Also a good way to unwind. Most of the time we went to Big Echo since one of us had a membership card. Though it's cool to do the occasional Disney song or flashback 90's tune, props to people who come knowing how to sing at least one song in Japanese. Also, since it is cheaper, it's best to go out for karaoke in the afternoon right after class. That way you have enough hours to get your Kumbaya-ya's out before a nice dinner out.

Hmmm, that's all the practical advice I can seem to think of right now. Of course there's a lot more, but what's the fun of Japan without making a few awkward mistakes here and there and learning from them. Peace out-