Yesterday was catch-up day for food. I had nothing to do anyway, and no one was around, so I went to the mall, where I learned the proper way to store a bike in a parking garage. Apparently, most of the spots are taken by people who are renting them. For one-time use, you pay like 150, get a slip of paper wrapped around your handlebars, and then go to a small lot on the floor area between the first and second floors.
It turns out that the mall is just as much inside as it is outside. One one side of the street is the courtyard, mall proper, train station, bus transit station, car parking, and half of the restaurants. On the other side are the other half, bike parking, and Babies-R-Us. On the first floor of the mall, there is a supermarket, electronics stores, general clothing, and numerous small food shops, like a bakery where you get a tray of breads and pastries and then sit and eat. There was also a store about the size of Dillard's completely dedicated to cakes, chocolates and candies. In the supermarket I actually found some bags of Doritos. But they were dinky, and some unheard-of Taco flavor. It may have had a picture of tacos on it, but I also know that the Japanese love to make a pun with that word and taco meaning octopus over here, so I opted not to go for it. The second and third floors were kitchen supplies, bath shops, music stores, and clothing stores that specialized in certain things, like hair accessories or kimonos.
For lunch I tried some KFC. Now, the last time I had some back home, I almost passed out from a pain-queasiness hybrid, but since nothing but bread and fruit is the same over here I felt it should be ok. Man, the Japanese have NO since of chicken. The closest thing to what it tasted like would be the old style McDonald's' chicken fingers, except with a starchy tasting, flaky crust. But I didn't get nauseous, so I'd give it an ok. Then for dessert I had some kind of coffee/chocolate doughnut. What is it with foreigners and hiding stuff inside of bread where you least expect it?! There was whipped cream (which I hate) hidden, not inside the doughnut, but in the hole in the middle. How do you hide something there?! Honestly!!
Before I rode home I stopped in a book store, and had I been able to read fluently, I would still be there. Specifically in the manga section. Then I bought a loaf of bread and spent the remainder of the day just lounging and munching. Then came dinner, then I tried two new ice cream bars from the convenience store. the chocolate was kinda too sweet, like Hershey's, and the other must have been cookie dough, nothing else could have tasted like that except mango, and the Japanese always color code fruit flavors. I figure all that food should have made up for most of what I've missed.
Today was just a bleah kinda day, nothing really much happened. Hideo-san brought home takoyaki for lunch, that was fun, having to turn down kindness. I've got just one more day, then I can get back to my normal routine, long breaks over here are kinda dull. I'll have to look up some places to travel to on the off days.