And they do this every month?

Saturday we got up early and went to the monthly flea market at Kitano Tenmanguu in Kyoto. We knew we were in for a crowd when the bus we took was packed and hardly anyone was getting off at any of the other stops. Sure enough, we arrived to find tons of people wandering up and down the many rows of vendor stalls. The most common items for sale were kimonos and their belts and ceramic dishes, but there were also many other things to see. Some people were selling such varied items as gardening tools, piles of used blue jeans, cowboy hats lined with the fabric used to make hina dolls, pillow and futon cases, and dozens of pictures and sculptures of the vendor's pet cat. That's not to mention all the food...

After spending way more money than I expected, and vowing that I needed to learn how to sew just so I would have something interesting to do with all the gorgeous fabric available, we finally had our fill of the people and the heat. We headed back to the station for lunch at an okonomiyaki restaurant and then spent two hours at a karaoke place across the street (it was in Kyoto, so it was CULTURAL karaoke) before returning to Moriyama with our purchases.

And now... <sniff> It's the last day of the nine-day weekend, and in a couple of hours wednesday_10_00 will be heading home. How does time go by so quickly?

Couch Ahoy!

I decided to spend my free time today searching Moriyama for a new couch. I started by writing down the addresses of furniture stores listed in the yellow pages of the phone book. As with the adventure in Kusatsu, however, this is hardly a step above knowing "they're in town somewhere."

I couldn't find the first store at all. I rode my bike all the way around the block with no luck.

After circling the block for the second store and finally asking directions, I located it unadvertised inside a department store I never visit. It appeared to be out of business. At least, it was all closed up even though its day to be closed is Tuesday, not Sunday.

I managed to find the third store, which turned out to be a showroom. They only had one couch of the size and price range I wanted, but it was leather, and I didn't really want a leather couch. I looked through the advertisements for the mail-order items, and there was one that looked okay, but I didn't want to order anything without having a chance to sit in it first.

The fourth store again (on block 9) gave me trouble. I thought I was in luck when block 7 was followed by block 8...but no. The next block was a completely different neighborhood. I stopped for directions and had to turn back to locate the appropriate address...which I found, after some searching. However, it wasn't a store, it was just a regular house. Huh? (I know I didn't copy the address down wrong, either, because the store name was marked on the map at the place where I asked directions.)

I was just thinking that I'd give up and mail-order a couch, when I figured I'd give Lala Port a try, since I was just down the block from it anyway. I didn't have high hopes. My fears were confirmed when their couch selection yielded nothing of interest. Rather frustrated, I was on my way out, when I happened to pass through the bed section. Lo and behold, they kept their sofa/beds in the bed section. They had one that was PERFECT. I sat on it, I lay down on it, and it was comfortable both ways. It was even *pretty*, which is practically more than I could have hoped for. Not only that, it was within the price range I was willing to pay.

I ordered it immediately, and it will be delivered to my apartment within the week. HOORAY!