Why you SHOULD talk to strangers...

This is a week old story but I didn't have time to post it yet, hehe, so let me set the scene. I'm in one of my favorite stores, staring intently at a display of fabulous goodies. My mp3 player is soothing me with the warm, beautiful songs from the Once soundtrack. I know I sporadically join in to the melodious crooning of that cute Irish guy whose name presently escapes me. At some point I realize that I'm not alone. A Japanese woman and her daughter are trying to look at the same aisle display. I step back with a smile and a "sumimasen" (pardon me) so we all can look. They pick up some of the boxes and, adding them to their basket, leave after five minutes or so and come back after ten. I'm still there. I smile at them and return to my intent staring at the little treasures I enjoy so much. They come back over and switch one of their boxes for a different box before leaving again.

They return after another five minutes and again, I'm still there, comparing packages and softly singing along to something only I can hear. I have no sense of embarassment though, I think we all know that. =D
This last time the Mother is openly laughing at me. I smile and say that I can't decide what to do. Unexpectedly, she answers me in English! We chat for a few minutes and after I explain my dilemma (which is that I'm not buying anything even a little bit big because of the cost to ship it home) she suggests buying things from a recycle shop (I think she only understood the word "cost" and probably thought I was complaining about the store's prices). But since I love a bargain I asked her if she knew a nearby recycle shop. She offers to show me the way but the next thing I know I'm getting into her car.

I should interject here that Japan in a lot like America in the 50s. It's extremely safe and lots of people still leave their doors unlocked and their bikes unguarded and nothing really happens to them. That's one of the biggest things I like about Japan. I feel insanely safe in all aspects. Most people are honest and everyone goes out of their way to help you or take care of you (and if they don't, they are considered extremely rude!). Plus, she was a sweet woman with an adorable daughter. I didn't see them as a threat.

"Nearby" is a ten minute drive but I'm thrilled and amazed by what I find. These Recycle Shops (リサイクルショップ) are nothing like what I was expecting, which was a Salvation Army. Apparently people have to pay to donate their things here and it's cheaper than paying to dispose of them. The crazy thing is that almost everything I saw was brand new, with tags, and in boxes. It was basically a discount store with anything and everything you could imagine. Sweet!

Etsuko brought me back to Hamamatsu (浜松) after a little while and I gave her my e-mail address. She e-mailed me this week to see if I would like to get together and so naturally I agreed. Her daughter had the day off from school so she would be joining us again (she is adorable and such a sweet, shy little thing!). As a special treat she took us to a "confectionery." In my head I was thinking of a sweets shop she liked, and assumed that it was chocolate that was made around us in Hamamatsu. Instead, we drive for 30 minutes (I have no idea what town we were in, LOL) and we stop at a giant factory. Flashes of I Love Lucy's "Job Switching" episode and Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory race through me head! I always thought of myself as Veruca Salt, but I was secretly hoping to see a ChocaRiver!!

From the outside, the factory looks like the newer version of Charlie (with Johnny Depp) so it looks a bit like a modern prison but I'm remaining optimistic. As we walk in, I can smell sweet butter and something cooking in the oven. We're at the Unagi Pie factory!!!!!!! SWEEEET!!!! (Unagi Pie: a cookie like biscuit made from ground up eel bones. Sounds creepy, but it's GREAT!!!) We receive a free one (I'm hoarding mine!) and a pamphlet to start our self-guided tour around the factory! I watch as the dough goes into the oven in one window and how it gets coated in melted butter in the next! YUM! This is a fabulous surprise, a FUN DAY and the reason you should always talk to strangers. You know, the ones who aren't visibly insane or smell of urine.

If you're interested in seeing some more pictures (not from my cell phone!), the company's website is:
http://shunkado.co.jp/
ENJOY!!

The Unagi Pie is on the right, the pamphlet is on the left.

Posing in front of a giant unagi pie!

I was mesmerized by how quickly the cookies were flying out of the machines!

Dressed all in white, just like the Mike TV segment.
You know what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Etsuko posing with her daughter. Her daughter isn't nervous, LOL, she's being distracted at that moment by a huge group of women who were climbing off a tour bus. You heard me right, people take tour buses to come to the Unagi Pie factory! Party!