A LIBRARY VISIT AND REMINISCING
02.02.2025
This is an novel place to start today’s blog. I am sitting in the library at Osaka University, which is where Yuri is a student. Yuri is going to do 2 hours of study here in the library, which also has a cafe. When will our Australian libraries catch onto this trend of blending coffee with libraries?
Mami and Nana are having a quiet chat, away from me, and I’ve just noticed, Yuri has joined them and I’m hoping that doesn’t mean we have to go. Actually they’ve just come over and asked if I want another coffee (is the pope a catholic?), which means I can stay a bit longer in Nirvana.
Before I started writing the blog, I had been studying also, reading the Japan Times, which is an English version of the New York Times but also has the biggest news stories that are happening in Japan at the moment. Some seriously good articles and, having been starved of newspapers, and yes there is a thing called the internet, yada yada yada, I prefer a newspaper in my hands. The only problem with this is, I’m not allowed to do the Sudoku!! Bummer!!
The other thing about this library that I like, is the quiet, mood music playing in the background. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. I’m sitting reading books and newspapers, writing the blog, background music and drinking a very nice coffee from the library’s cafe! Bliss! I know the others will soon want to leave but I could stay here a lot longer, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from what I have written so far. Nirvana!
My prediction was correct, they dragged me out of the library. We drove for 10 minutes to a huge shopping mall where we are going to have lunch. I’m minding the table while the ladies go and choose what they want. I just did my usual and ordered udon curry with kakiage. Yes it may be boring but it is also something I love and I can’t get in Australia, and as we only have 2 days left I am going to eat what I want.
Once again I’ve been left on my own, this time in Starbucks while the girls go shopping for whatever will fit in our already overloaded bags and cases. I think we may be up for excess baggage.
One of the biggest changes I’ve seen in Japan is the growth in coffee shops. In my very first trip to Japan over 20 years ago, I ordered coffee in a restaurant and was shocked to find it was instant coffee! On that same trip it was difficult to find restaurants or cafes that did not allow smoking. I would estimate back then that around 80% of restaurants in the big cities allowed smoking.
Nowadays the only restaurants that have smoking are the ones with a special room that can be sealed off from the main area and have powerful extraction fans working all the time. The only coffee place that has a smoking room is Doutor, but you can still smell the stench of stale cigarette smoke. If you love coffee you would not even bother giving it a second glance.
Mami has just come back, no not to see me, she forgot her phone which was in her bag that I am minding. This is after she admonished me to keep an eye on my phone in case she rings. Pretty hard to do, if you don’t have a phone. She also said they are shopping for tonight’s dinner and will be heading home soon. Happy days!
As I sit here, my thoughts are roaming. If I hadn’t met Mami, I most likely would never have visited this beautiful country. I really have been lucky, not just finding Mami but also getting to know her family, friends and the country where she spent her formative years. What a nice not to end on, I am truly blessed.
