Lunch Break

The other day I finally worked up the courage to get lunch at the new-ish Subway in the mall.  Ordering at Subway when you speak the same language as the sandwich-maker can be a trial, and I was wary of trying to do it in Japanese.  But, it turns out that they have all the toppings labeled on signs in the basic Japanese that I can read so I was able to get what I wanted (roast beef and cheese) without too much confusion.  Overall the procedure was the same as it is in the US.  Some interesting things about Japanese Subway:

1. You get wedge fries instead of chips.  Of course for all I know, you now get wedge fries at US Subway.

2. They have the actual cucumber dill pickle slices, hallelujah.  Usually when someone refers to pickles here they mean pickled plums.  And they have mayonnaise---Japanese people like mayo.  No mustard though.

3. Tandoori and Teriyaki chicken sandwiches. 

yep....it's a Subway...

Then I ventured over to one of the ice-cream and crepe shops.  Yep, crepes.  And ice cream.  French stuff is popular here (note: if you are ever in Japan and see something cute with Tokyo Tower on it look again because it's probably actually the Eiffel Tower) and crepe shops are common, usually combined with an ice cream shop.  There are two in the mall.  I have not tried one of the crepes ( I prefer this place's incredibly rich hot chocolate) but they are eye-catching.  The photo below is a very typical crepe display.

count four back and you have green tea ice cream with sweet red beans......
count four more and you have a salad crepe with lettuce and tomato....
I have a feeling you're not going to find either of these in France.

Illuminating

Last night we took a trip to the neighboring town of Ashikaga to see the famous Ashikaga Flower Park.  In the spring, the park is well-known as the place to see huge Japanese wisteria vines.  But in December and January, the park is decorated with Christmas lights, or "illuminations" as they are known here.

Chad and I had a tradition of going to see the Roper Mountain Lights in Greenville every year so we were hoping for a similar experience.  And it was, except here you park and walk it instead of driving through.  There were holiday gift shops and lots of little food vendors selling marshmallows and hot chocolate along with the ubiquitous seafood and cabbage-y vegetables.  It was a pretty impressive display, perhaps a little more elegant than what you usually see in the US.

Oh, and I had an issue with camera batteries so these are all with my iPhone.  :(

the pyramid is in a pond, hence the reflection

lights are hung to mimic the springtime wisteria vines

yellow "wisteria" tunnel

lots of places set up for picture-taking--including this canoe

the park is next to a mountain, and the lights are all over the side

I liked these all over the ground

Japanese Santa is skinny

roasting marshmallows

I Got The Japanese Driving Exam Blues

Yesterday Chad and I went (accompanied by a company rep) to take our driver's exam.  As I've mentioned before, we drive now with an international license, but it is only valid for one year.

The Japanese driver's exam for a foreigner with a valid license from their home country consists of a written examination and a skills test in a car with an evaluator.  Plus an eye test.  Sounds similar to the US requirements but unfortunately, in the case of the the actual driving test, it's pretty different.

The Japanese driving test is on a closed course and is meticulously choreographed.  When you take the actual test the evaluator doesn't say anything so you have to have the exact route memorized.  So the first thing we did yesterday was go take a one hour practice run (for a fee, of course) on a practice course identical to the real thing.  One good thing is you can find lots of information on the Internet about the course, including maps and detailed instructions of what they are looking for.  The bad thing is that it is a lot to remember.  And it isn't really what you would call natural driving, which if you've been driving for fifteen years like myself, means you have to unlearn some things.  My practice teacher was a very nice man who was kind (even when popping my hand for cupping it palm-up under the steering wheel) and very helpful.  He spoke a little bit of English and slow Japanese so we understood one another pretty well.  I went through the course three times, including stopping and backtracking a little bit.  I did OK on the super tight S-curve and crank curves--I only scrubbed the curb once.  And after the first time I did OK on the part where you have  to accelerate to exactly 50mph and then pump your brakes exactly three times to slow and turn.  Yes, I'm serious.  When I said "meticulously choreographed", I wasn't kidding.  Oh, and I'm used to it now, but remember that you drive on the left here too. 

My main problem during practice was my position in the lane when preparing to turn.  You have to keep to the left/right (within a foot of the line specifically) when turning left/right and I was not so much.  I cut some turns a little sharp and had that problem with cupping my hand under the steering wheel.  Also, learning to smoothly do all the elaborate mirror-looking and signaling exactly like they want is tough.

the practice course

After the practice and lunch, we went to what is basically the DMV for the real thing.  We had to present a lot of documents to prove that we lived in the US for more than three months and fill out some forms and wait awhile for them to check everything and make sure we were legitimate and non-criminal people.

chillin' at the Japanese DMV

The written test (we took it in English) was ten questions and was supposedly easy but I had trouble on a couple--fortunately you can get three wrong.  We both passed that and then had to wait with about a dozen others to take the driving test.  They pulled us out two at a time---I drove first and the other girl was in the back during the test.  Sadly, I got an attack of the nerves and fumbled my way through some parts and forgot the correct route once which wasn't very pretty.  I also scrubbed the curb when parking at the end.  Of course, this is just my interpretation of my mistakes....they do not tell you what you did wrong, you just have to guess and pay attention to when they are scribbling on their pad.  For the record, I did not expect to pass this time and was just proud that I was allowed to finish the course.   Often if a first-timer is really bad they will stop them mid-way through and send them home.  Some people who take it haven't driven much before at all and I think those are the ones who get stopped.  I'm pretty sure the evaluators can tell the difference between someone who knows how to drive but just not their little rules and someone who is completely uncomfortable behind the wheel period.

the real course

We both ended up failing (Chad bumped a curb in the crank turn) and we go back again next week to try again.  (We have to go by ourselves from now on but we only have to do the actual driving test again.)  We know another expat who tried fourteen times before he got it.  You hear rumors of people trying up to twenty times.  Apparently if you get it in under five tries you're considered one of the lucky ones.  The three people out of the original dozen who passed celebrated like they'd won the lottery.  The girl who rode in the car with me was on her seventh try (she got it this time) and told me later that they had stopped her on her first try--she was impressed that I made it all the way through on my first.  I anticipate multiple tries.....this is by far the suckiest part of this whole living-in-Japan experience.

Also, if you're wondering, when you are getting your very first license in Japan you have to take a 100 question test and do a much harder and stricter course.  And you have to take a forty-hour class first.  So I guess I should consider myself lucky....;\