We've seen these cute little buses driving around town. Come to find out, they are super cheap modes of transportation that go in loops. For only ¥100 ($0.92) you can hop on one of these 33 passenger buses and get from here to there above ground. We wanted to get some new books, and the store we found was right on the loop.
We followed the GPS on my phone to the designated stop. The bus pulled up and I slowly spat out the name of the stop I was trying to get to. "Omotesandoeki?" The driver shook her head no and indicated that I was on the wrong side of the street. Ok. I can cross the street. I could see the other stop. No problem.
So, my son and I cross the street and wait. There aren't any English signs. Have I mentioned that I have VERY limited Japanese skills? I can find a bathroom anywhere, but beyond that I'm linguistically challenged. But I slap on a smile and a positive attitude. The next bus rolls up. Again I attempt to say the name of my stop "Omotesandoeki?" The driver shakes his head no. A woman gets off the bus and kindly shows me the timetable and tells me "Your bus will come at 10:26. Don't get on any other bus. It will be on time." She's right. If there is something you can count on in Japan, it's punctuality. Another bus comes and goes while I'm trying to memorize the Kanji (Chinese characters in the Japanese language). 10:26 comes and just like that, our bus arrives! And the Kanji matches!
We climb aboard the bus and pay our ¥100 and find a seat. I buckle my son in (safety first! - there's a row of seats with belts in the back of the bus) and the bus drives us through the streets of Tokyo. There's this great sign at the front of the bus that shows the next stop in Japanese and English. Why couldn't the bus stop signs also be in English? Why would I expect anything to be in English? Why haven't I learned Japanese yet? Why? Why? Why?
Who cares why. We are on the bus going to where we want to go. It is a nice day and no need to get bogged down with crazy questions about the universe. It is great being able to see Tokyo instead of just riding subways through tunnels.
Our stop is called and I press the "please stop here" button. We get off the bus and go merrily on our way - in the wrong direction. I quickly realize my misdirection when we come across a temple. No worries. I meant to do that. We about face and find the bookstore.
Crayon House is a neat children's bookstore that I could have easily spent the whole day at. There were lots of familiar titles - books that we already own in Japanese and translated versions of popular books. But there were hundreds that I had never laid eyes upon. My son and I both wanted to take the whole store home. We both carefully selected one book - him a pop-up book and me a translated book from my husband's favorite children's book author.
In other good news - some of the lettuce seeds have begun to sprout! Yay! I may not be able to say lettuce in Japanese, but I can grow it!
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