Saving Grace

Albeit at my extreme urging, Chieko and I got a decently early start back towards Kanazawa today. 'Decently early' meaning that we planned to leave before noon, and despite the inevitability when we are at her parent's of someone stopping by just before we are about to leave, or having to stop at some one's house on the way out of town to thank them for something they did for us that I wasn't formerly aware of, which always involves being offered (and not allowed to decline) a cup of tea or coffee, we were actually cruising down the highway shortly after noon. I honestly don't mean to degrade or sound put out by the fact that 'leaving town' here in Japan is never as simple as just 'leaving.' There is always some prescribed course of events that needs to go down, and now that I am beginning to understand and anticipate them, they are not nearly as frustrating.

My reasons for wanting to get a 'decently early' start on our trip home were twofold. First, the drive to Niigata on Monday evening was a white-knuckle affair due to snow/sleet/rain/wind, compounded by darkness. I was looking forward to combating those elements with the benefit of daylight this time around. Second, it had been snowing for 4 days straight, and was still snowing when we left, so I was figuring it would be a bit slow going, even with the daylight. While it continued to snow and otherwise precipitate throughout our trip home, the roads were clear, and accumulation of anything was not an issue.

About halfway through our drive, when it was apparent that the weather was going to be manageable and our appetites were growing, we jumped off the highway and started following the road that hugs the coast. We weren't in a huge rush to eat, and the ocean was looking fine, so we just kept tooting along until we found something that looked good to eat. We opted for a place right next to water that advertised itself as a 'Pier Park.' I suppose in the summer months there is more action around this place, but in January most of the restaurants and gift shops were shut down. I'll say that the one open place was promising: floor to ceiling glass about 50 yard from the water. Good thing we had something pretty to look at, because we did a lot of waiting.

First we waited for the menu. And when I say 'the menu,' I mean the one friggin menu they had in the entire place. When the menu finally came, and after the one waiter on the premises indicated that half of the items on the menu were no longer available, we ordered what we anticipated would be quick to arrive meals. Ah, anticipation. I ordered a fried pork thing with rice curry. Most places have a vat of this crap ready to go. Chieko ordered RAW sea urchin on rice. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. I wasn't too antsy because the whole menu ordeal had left me with zero expectations to begin with. Chieko, on the other hand, was getting feisty. She got a little catty with the waiter about 20 minutes in, when she asked him where our food was and he replied that they had run out of rice, and were cooking more. Ha! A Japanese restaurant not having enough rice prepared. If you've lived in Japan you realize how mental that situation is.

Remember, I've ordered something that I could walk into any convenience store and walk out with, heated and ready to eat, in 2 minutes. Chieko ordered something that doesn't even involve cooking, only smearing atop some rice. We've waited nearly 30 minutes when finally some food arrives. But they got my order wrong. Chieko nearly flips her lid; I smile at the waiter. He goes back to the kitchen. We decide it's time to leave. After Chieko thanks the waiter for nothing, we are back in the car. She nearly kicks over the menu board that the restaurant has propped up in the parking lot, but doesn't, despite my urging.

Thus, we ended up where people across the globe end up after they give the mom and pop joint more than a fighting chance and they still F it up:



I wasn't totally cut up about this turn of events. I love the diet I eat when we head off to the folk's house. It gets no more authentic than Chieko's mom's ingredients and her preparation of them, and everything is both delicious and healthy to the max, even if it's not stuff I eat on a daily basis. It's slowly but surely expanding my palate for Japanese food. And did I mention how damn healthy it is? I can go there for a week, eat till I'm full every meal, have numerous refills of beer every night, and still come back lighter than when I arrived, even when I'm not out toiling in the watermelon fields.

That said, after several days of a strictly Japanese diet, I was promising myself something horrible to eat in the near future as we made our way home. The incident at the restaurant only solidified my conviction that I was going to eat at the Golden Arches sooner rather than later. Although it took a little while until we stumbled upon our next McDonald's, when we did I cherished a double-cheeseburger, the essence of grease and simplicity melded into one delicious thing, along with a Caesar chicken wrap. I'm not sure if they are offering these back in the States, and they are small and overpriced, but pretty good.

So although we left Niigata with time on our side, the trip home still ended up taking as long as it would have were we stuck in a snow storm. And now we're back in Kanazawa, where it's pouring rain and miserable compared to the winter wonderland we had in Niigata. Our apartment was freezing when we got here and it's taken awhile to get it back up to point where I can lounge in my skivvies without being overly perky. But all is well. We have 3 days left to enjoy life without work, and I'm very happy despite how depressing this last paragraph sounds :-)