Gomennasi

Before we left, co-worker Jen told me gomennasi, or, "so sorry," would be a phrase worth knowing, as we'd inevitably find ourselves making mistakes left and right in Japan. Welp, I haven't had opportunity to use it since our arrival last night, when we were on the receiving of several "so sorrys."

We were in Osaka. Our bags, said the man who greeted us at the entrance to the baggage claim area, were ... somewhere else. And they still are somewhere ... else. Where they are remains unclear.*

And I, I smell, thanks to a.) using hippie deodorant b.) last showering Saturday (today is, er, Tuesday, although I did leap ahead by a day thanks to the magic of time zones, making me *slightly* less disgusting than the timeline would imply) c.) hiking twice already today in Haga, a nearby town, where we saw a waterfall, and a castle, two snakes and an unbelievably clear, blue stream.

Anyway.

Japan so far -- and Ichinomiya, the town Colleen and Mike live in, is amazing. I would show you pictures, but the card reader is in my luggage, which is ... you get the idea. We made the three-hour drive last night in the dark, so it wasn't until this morning that we got a good look around. Flying on a pole outside of our bedroom window -- and throughout the village, we later discovered, are fish-shaped windsocks, one for each child in a family. The houses are small and close together, perched on the edge of narrow winding roads, and many with small rice patties along side them, the first green sprigs of the rice plants beginning to poke out. Mountains, lush with trees, surround the village. The trees, Mike, our tour guide while Colleen worked, were actually planted post-World War II as part of the reconstruction effort and are beginning to tumble in their old age.

Colleen and Mike's apartment is small and reportedly overrun with what Mike has named the "mold monster," - humidity is quite the problem here, apparently -- but it is, just like the brand of their television, Precious. Downstairs is their small kitchen, with a dorm-sized fridge and equally wee (and pastel-colored) food processor and coffee maker. The stove range has two burners, with the oven, slightly larger than a toaster, separate. Also separate are the toilet and the shower/tub rooms, of which I will get into greater detail later.

But now you must excuse me -- I have sumo to watch. Later: a recap on the visit to Seattle and our near-missed flight, the Honolulu airport and the "warmlet."

*Ah, Mike got a call while I was writing this! Our suitcases are here! And by "here" I mean, "here, in Japan," but they will be here at the apartment by tomorrow afternoon. Clean underwear might be more than a dream after all.