April 15th

Off to a late start blogging today as I woke up, checked the news and have been catching up on the bombing in Boston. This world is so messed up, makes one realize just how great the need is for Jesus.
Started yesterday off with running some errands , to the post office ,then the 7-11 and then I took a bus to the second hand store. I needed to pick up a plastic storage box as a handle on one of our suitcases broke off so I wanted to transfer it's contents into a storage container instead. I found a nice one for 500Y and since I was there I looked at the purses and found a couple that I liked at good prices. 

I've never been a big purse person...carrying a purse in some of the cities I've lived in was just an invitation to get mugged so I stopped carrying them except occasionally. It's different here, and since I tend to need to carry things with me (umbrella, jacket, etc.) and I buy things, it's easier to put them in a bag than to carry them.  I took a bus back to the house and transferred everything from the suitcase to the container, now I'll have to find out what is involved and how much it'll cost in getting the suitcase taken away by the garbage people. As in everything in Japan, it'll involve going to a special office, getting a form for garbage removal, pay the fee etc.
Later we headed to Kokubunji by bus, we wandered the area a bit and looked around. Didn't buy anything just did some window shopping and exploring. We did stop for dinner at this neat restaurant and had one of the neatest meals I've had yet here. We started with a very tasty
      grilled beef/scallion appetizer. The flavor of the beef was so beefy and delicious!

 

The green tea that was served was quite good as well, smooth and not bitter. Then our main dish arrived!

 

 Tempura, delicious flavored rice, cold soba noodles with the dipping sauce that you add the wasabi and onions to, the Japanese egg omelet with grated daikon radish, delicious fish, salad, and of course the tsukemono pickle and radish to eat with the rice. The green powder in the bowl in the foreground
is a salty something that you dip the tempura into.  I wasn't sure what it was or what to do with it but I asked the waitress and she explained it to me. Delicious! After you finish dipping the soba noodles and eating them you had hot water to the leftover sauce and drink it like a soup...very tasty! They had the tastiest little pickled plums on the table that I loved! I was so happy to find them for sale at the cash register! They are salty and sweet at the same time and delicious!

 

The restaurant will definitely be on my return list as the prices were reasonable, the presentation beautiful and food excellent!
After dinner we caught the bus back to the house. We walked through the little streets to the house past the section of old abandoned houses in the midst of an otherwise nice and modern neighborhood. It's kind of like a glimpse into the past!

And that was my day! Today we are heading back to Kichioji to check it out some more. Still waiting to hear from the realtor...patience...patience.