I’m totally failing at stimulating the Japanese economy. In fact, the only thing I think I bought today was another can of beer. I have seriously thought about buying a USB hub and a foldable Bluetooth keyboard, but those aren’t that expensive. I also not-so-seriously thought about buying my dream watch, a Grand Seiko with a 24-hour hand, but at today’s exchange rate it’s about $6,600 or probably the same as my car is worth. If I get a big raise I may go for it, but that’s about as likely as winning the lottery right now. I suppose it’s just as well; it didn’t have exactly the band I wanted and for ¥462,000 I should have the band I want.

Today we visited my uncle and my cousins in Nishinomiya and that was fun as always aside from a slight disaster where my mom dropped her wallet in the taxi and didn’t notice it until the taxi left. My cousin and I rode bicycles back to the train station and told them our plight, but didn’t tell them we had an incredibly unfriendly taxi driver. Most of the drivers got out of their cabs to help us, but we didn’t notice that the guy at the head of the line did not. The next passenger getting into that cab found my mom’s wallet and, being Japan, we got it back intact. But it was because of the passenger, not the driver.

My sister and I did some more shopping (with the previously noted failure on my part) and we all went out to dinner. We found the “coffee shop” that we used to frequent in a different spot on the 14th floor of the Daimaru building and we had two of the specials and one sandwich set. The cakes there are tasty as well. Last year we had a surprisingly good stew there.

Tomorrow we’re off to Nagasaki. We couldn’t get on the train we wanted because it was full, but we’re getting there in the late afternoon. I’m not sure what’s in Nagasaki since I’ve never been, but apparently there’s an area where the Japanese used to torture whitey in the olden days. I’m all for that.