Typhoon aftermath

I neglected to mention a typhoon that hit Japan last week because in our area it amounted to only a day of hard rain. The drainage in our neighborhood appears to be pretty good and there was no flooding. I read in the news this morning there actually was some damage caused in Tokyo.

"Japanese zookeepers who lost 30 squirrels after a typhoon damaged their enclosure said Thursday their recovery efforts had exceeded expectations -- with 38 animals back in captivity." Full article.

Something tells me they'll be working for a while to recapture all the 'escaped' squirrels people point out.

Acquiring a Japanese Drivers License

Hirabari Driving Center

For those of you not aware, Japan is one of those odd countries where cars drive on the left side of the road.  Their population density makes complicated intersections and lots of traffic a fact of life, and as such they're keen to make sure foreign drivers know a thing or two about how to navigate their roads. Citizens of some countries, like Canada, can simply submit some paperwork along with a valid drivers license and receive the corresponding Japanese license. For whatever reason testing is required before the same privilege is granted to Americans.

It all begins with a whole lot of paperwork. That's a striking part of the process - computers aren't involved. There's lots of honest to goodness paper shuffling and rubber stamping. There was an eye exam, followed by a 10 question written test. It's the kind of test you'd be hard-pressed to fail, featuring questions like "True / False - It is ok to park in the striped lines outside of the fire station." Alice and I both missed one question (only seven correct answers are needed to pass) but strangely they don't bother to tell you what questions you got wrong. Upon successful test completion, you receive a date and time for a practical driving test. In our case, that was two weeks away.

When I hear 'driving test', I have flashbacks to when I originally got my license; driving around on city roads while the instructor gave instructions where to turn. Here in Japan, at least for the foreigners, testing takes place on a closed driving course - you're not trusted on open roads. There are two designated courses that demonstrate the desired driving proficiencies, and applicants are expected to have them both memorized. That doesn't seem like such a big deal until you find out what the testing center looks like:

Alice and I had awesome test prep help from the consultants handling her relocation, in addition to two hours of driving lessons the night before the test. That might sound like overkill in the test prep department for experienced drivers, but the testing process takes over four hours, so it's not the kind of thing you want to spend time doing more than once.

On the day of the test, you check in and are told whether you will be driving A Course or B Course. Applicants then have about 45 minutes to walk around the track and mentally prepare. We were walking for about 30 minutes following the route on foot, so I'd estimate the total driving distance somewhere around one mile.

While we were waiting for the testing to begin, I was randomly accosted by a pair of gentlemen from Turkey. Apparently one of them was trying to get a stand-by (unscheduled) testing slot that day. He'd already taken the test five times, and still expected to take it several more before passing. Ultimately the testing was full and he left without getting another shot.

Alice was third in line for testing, I was fourth. The tester remains in the passenger seat of the car while applicants shuffle in and out as they complete the course. Each run takes about 7 minutes, so there was plenty of time to catch glimpses of the other drivers on the course and make sketchy judgments about how the test was going for them.

At the end of the test for the foreigners, the tester has a conversation with your translator about how the test went. Naturally shorter conversations are better - the tester would be mentioning fewer things you did wrong. The girl who drove before Alice got a tremendous amount of feedback, and it didn't look good for her passing the test. She graciously left the door open for Alice to get into the car, which is a big no-no. The test doesn't actually end until you exit the car and close the door, so you lose a bunch of points for walking away with the door open.

Alice will have to post herself how she felt about the test... When she returned she was definitely looking confident. I was quite nervous. I got in the car, ran through the pre-departure seat and mirror adjustments, and then was ready to go. I promptly went to hit the turn signal and activated the windshield wipers instead. The problem with right hand drive cars is the controls are reversed as well. Shifting happens with your left hand, turn signals with your right. I'd gone for two hours of driving the night before without so much as a hint of making that mistake, and the first thing I did on test day was slap the wipers. Color me flustered. I turned the wipers off quickly, got the turn signal on, and was ready to pull out... when the wipers swished once more across the dry windshield. I'd only managed to switch them from constant to delay. The tester indicated the position the lever needed to be in to completely turn them off, and then we were off and rolling.

The next thing I know I'm getting ready to make the last somewhat-tricky turn in the course and wondering how I got there so quickly. Did I miss a turn and cut out a portion of the route? Am I going to hit the last possible curb and fail? I got back to the starting line without any incidents beyond the initial wiper escapade, and listened uncomprehendingly to the (thankfully brief) feedback offered by the tester. Our licensing consultant explained that for both of us the tester had mentioned what good drivers Americans were. That sounded positive, we had him fooled!

We still had to wait another two hours to get the official results. We hung out in a little cafe / coffee shop across the street from the driving center for most of it, which is where the beverage photo was taken. When it's time for the test results, all of the applicants are sitting in a waiting area and an employee comes out and reads a list of names. If you're on the list, you receive your actual license about 15 minutes later - a staggeringly fast turn around compared to the speed of the rest of the process. If your name wasn't called, as was the case for more than half of the other folks who had their test with us, you're stuck scheduling another test and starting the whole day over.

I have to say, the experience had a dramatic element that's really missing from our trips to the DMV at home. Waiting to hear your name called for passing the test was like something you'd see on a reality TV show. Sure it might be possible to deliver the results in a faster, more efficient manner, but it would take away some of the sweetness of the victory. I admit, I was celebrating success for the rest of the day.

Waiting on the results of driving test

Salami Doritos Review

Some people thought I was crazy. I can tell you now, I have tasted the salami and corn chip flavor combo, and it's not something to be afraid of.

Packaging
The packaging is pretty classy, with its shiny black and metallic bag and large picture of sliced meat, foamy beer, and corn chips. It was a bit difficult to open though. The bag must need to be extra strong to seal in the salami flavor. 
Rating: 5 out of 10

Smell

The bag really smells like salami inside. If someone was blindfolded and you asked them to sniff it, they might mistake the scent for a bag of beef jerky. It's dry and smokey.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Taste

The flavor is pretty convincing, almost as if an invisible slice of spicy salami had been put on top of the corn chip you're crunching on. It's a hearty chip, coarsely ground, but still very crisp. It would probably be delicious with a slice of cheese. (Then again, so would an actual slice of salami.)

Rating: 7 out of 10

Overall
These are the classiest Doritos I have ever eaten. Next thing you know FritoLay will be trying to one-up themselves and be pushing prosciutto flavored chips. That being said, they're still Doritos. I bought them for the same reason I tried the Dorito taco at Taco Bell - it only needs to be eaten once. Now I've been there, done that, and it's back to shrimp twists for me.
Rating: 6 out of 10

This was Mike's Idea

I will not be trying the "gourmet" salami flavored Doritos.

The Sofa arrived today

Rental sofa (hopefully the rental company will be replacing it with something Mike can fit on)

Discount grapes

Alice and I visited the grocery store last night, and at my insistence
we purchased these grapes. (there were originally three bunches) They
were about $7.50, but had been marked all the way down to about $5.00.
"$5.00 grapes!" my Japan addled brain thought to itself. "What a
bargain!"

They are, I would argue, worth the price. Truly unlike grapes in the
states, they have more in common with gummi fruit snacks. They have an
intense GRAPE flavor, and they come shooting out of their skin when
you bite them. (Alice tells me grape peeling is a thing here, so
that's probably bred in.)

What might not be worth the price is a $25 mango. I'll have to keep an
eye out for another sale.

Update: That first photo offers no sense of the scale of these grapes. They are not large.

Check the label

Our house has very impressive appliances. We were lucky to have help
for deciphering all the labels on their controls - without which I
might have had difficulty even using the toilet. It does make for a
funny appearance though, with the face of every control from the
thermostat to the washing machine covered in adhesive labels and
helpful notes.

Alien vs. Grocery

Not sure why the mall closest to our apartment has a caged alien next
to antique coke machines, but there it is.

Still Waiting

Our rental furniture delivery is delayed. Using a laundry basket as a
table for now...

Carved tanooki

Victory!

I have defeated the villain known as jet lag and managed to sleep
through the night. And yes, I'm aware of how silly it sounds for me of
all people to be referring to 6:30am as 'sleeping through the night'.

Toyota City bridge

Bento kind of day

I have decided the 7 Eleven bentos are better than the Lawson's bentos.

We have arrived!

Taking care of business at the airport presently.

Ceremonial burning of the grease candle

When I moved in to this house a few years ago I started a project. Grease collected from cooking bacon or other fatty meats was poured into a jar in which I had secured a tightly rolled piece of paper towel. The grease candle was born. Last night it looked like this:
One final chore that had to be completed before our departure was lighting that thing up. I can unequivocally confirm the design has improved since college.
If anyone wants a candle that smells like a smokey grill and will attract skunks and opossums for miles please contact me presently.

Not part of the 'last night in town' plan

Thank goodness we managed to locate the adapter for the security nut! It was quite elusive, but searching for it offered a reprieve from wrenching  with which I used photograph our predicament.

Last trash day

The last trash day before a move is always an important event. Luckily my house had enough trash cans to be able to handle it. I've never seen this pyramid can stacking before... It's like the garbage man was building a monument to the garbage pharaohs.

Good bye BBQ

Good bye computer

It won't be long... only a few weeks. It'll be over before you know it. It's ok baby, everything will be ok. I love you too.

Update - Now with musical accompaniment:

Bogart had a long day

Alice's parents got our families together for a send-off gathering this weekend. The excitement was a bit much for Bogart, who was looking droopy later in the afternoon.