Sunny and warm, then cloudy and finally rainy.
I got up this morning (although I really didn't want to) and went to the restaurant in the hotel for breakfast. I had breakfast and then went back up to my room to finish packing. I checked out a few minutes before 11, and trundled my heavy backpack and my suitcase through the train station and over to the Aer building where I was lucky enough to find a big enough locker open. I put my suitcase and backpack inside and then went off on my merry way.
I started at the E.Beans building where I visited the Junkudo book store. I was mostly looking for readers for my students, but didn't find any. They were selling off a bunch of books, so I bought a few. The few I bought are mostly for Christmas presents so not for me. I did get a copy of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham for my school. It cost 300 yen. Next up, I hit The Loft and the assorted stores inside. I got things for my school (next year's desk calendar) and things for me (birthday cards for my stockpile), and things for someone's birthday(hub) and things for Christmas. I spent a while in the store, so then decided to go to Parco and have lunch.
Parco is one of the newest buildings near the station. It's quite gorgeous. I had a lovely lunch in a pasta restaurant and then did some shopping through the building. I got a Trace Adkins cd (I saw him on Celebrity Apprentice and liked him) at Tower, then some lip balm at The Body Shop. Just some little things here and there.
Around 4 I headed into the Aer Building again. I went up to the Uniqlo store and bought something for my Christmas lists, then down to the Maruzen books for some school books and a me book. I visited the ladies room, then bought a bottle of water. Then, at about 4:35, I went to get my bag out of the locker.
The time I had paid for was up and the locker was asking for more money. I put a hundred yen coin in it. It got stuck. I tried to push it in. It got more stuck. Ack. I asked a lady at the Maruzen information desk, she came to see what the problem was, then went to get another lady. She came out and tried to get the coin out. Then, she went off to get someone. She came back and said basically to just wait a minute. I was getting worried. My bus was at 4:55 and it was now 4:45. Finally, a maintenance man came out with a pair of needlenose pliers and pulled the coin out. I put two one hundred yen coins in and opened the locker. Hurray! I said profuse "thank yous" and about a million "Sumimasens" and hurriedly walked off to the bus station. It had just started to drizzle and the road was wet. The sidewalk was stone, and there was no traction whatsoever. I couldn't run. I got to the bus station just as the driver was going to put down the cargo door. Safe! I gave him my suitcase, showed him my ticket and got on the bus. Whew.
Of course, as soon as I got on the bus, I started to sweat. I was so lucky to have made the bus. I texted my hubby, turned on my iPod and promptly fell asleep. I slept for most of the trip, which was a good thing.
In Tsuruoka I had to wait a bit for my husband to come and get me. He was waiting for a mail delivery to come, but it hadn't come when I arrived. He called to cancel it. We had an okay dinner at New York, New York, then came straight home. One of the first things I did at home was to put on my pajamas. I just wanted to relax. I got everything unpacked and some things hidden away.
We had a quiet evening at home. I watched a bit of telly, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, caught up on my email, and then posted my blogs from the weekend.
I had a great time this weekend. It was really nice being in a big city again, and being anonymous for a change. I liked being able to find things that I needed and I liked that I could handle a crisis on my own. However, it's nice to be back home, vegging in front of my computer again. Got to go! Night.
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