Today was really hot. I had to go in to work in the morning. I left a little after lunch and the spur train wasn’t running so I decided to walk about 20 minutes to the main train station. BUT IT WAS TOO DARN HOT! So I flagged down a taxi. Ahhh, it felt much better. When I got home I found a note from the post office telling me something related to held mail. One phone call later I at least knew where the post office was (sort of) and that there was a 24 hour window I could use. Hey, that’s cool. I consulted the map and found the exact location! I wished I had my bike because it would have been fun to ride there. I had to do some other errands so I decided to walk to the bike shop. My bike had arrived. Yippee!!!!!!! It was ALMOST like the picture except the basket wasn’t the black wire mesh basket. I wanted the black wire mesh basket. Oh well.

While they were putting my bike together they had about 5 people come in for stuff and I’m not sure I saw anyone pay. It is that kind of shop. They were cool. They ordered an extra long seat post for me and registered my bike with the city.

I didn’t know how to operate the kickstand! The bike feels like a limousine compared to my racing bike. Or maybe like a canoe when you are used to a kayak. Long and slow to react with a big keel. But it so cool to now be a little mobile! I was like a kid again. So I rode down to the post office. It is so much faster getting around by bicycle. I just need to make sure I stop and enjoy the city and not race from place to place. I went to the post office and got my new ATM card (I think I said that I was denied a Visa card …) and then just rode around the central city. I found some museums. As I was riding home I bumped into my colleague again – this time with his wife and child. They were on their mamacharis too! I kept rolling around the area, letting the wind pass by me and checking out the town.

When I was at the bike shop I bumped into another American who called my bike a knee destroyer. I guess because it is single speed. Today I noticed there were more hills than I thought but nothing to bad. Just gentle grades. Anyway, this bike shop will be a good resource in general. If I decide I want a real road bike I should be able to arrange something through this shop. I did bring all my clothes just in case. Well, except I think I forgot my winter wear.

The first thing I had to do was to buy a somewhat traditional Japanese futon as the guest bed. Something I can roll up and put in the closet when the visitors are gone. So where did I end up? Muji of course. I feel like a Muji representative. But they always have exactly what I am looking for. For all you visitors, here is the futon pad and futon you will be using. It is a double – special order!