Monday and Tuesday I felt like a lady of leisure! On Monday--the first Monday I have been home (used to be in Yamanashi almost every Monday)--I went to Hachioji Station (one of the bigger stations in our area) to meet Marie Inoue for lunch. I went early to do a little shopping with a gift card from Akihiro's mom. I had heard about a department store opening, but had never been there for one, so I arrived at the store about 10 minutes before the store opened. Already there were people gathered there waiting, and a gentleman was inside looking at his watch. It was interesting to see how precise and regimented it was! About 6 minutes til 10, two more suited men came and unhooked the lock on the doors, then returned to their former positions of attention. Then about 4 minutes til 10, they opened the doors and returned to their former positions. Then at 2 minutes til 10, a young lady in a very sharp-looking light blue suit and dapper hat appeared, bowed low, welcomed us in very polite and careful words, and informed us that the store would open in 2 minutes. She remained standing in front of the doors smiling at us all. At this point I was feeling almost like I was at the tomb of the unknown soldier or something! Anyway, finally at 10, some music started playing and they all bowed low to us and welcomed us into the store. Everywhere we went, there were sales people lined up along the aisles and when you approached them, they bowed. It was like cards falling before me! Part of me was trying to hide my amusement at the whole deal and another part of me was embarrassed that all these people were bowing to me like I was the queen! Anyway, after all that fanfare, I enjoyed my shopping and my lunch with Marie. We ate at a little pizza place (yes, pizza! We are 2 Americans with Japanese husbands who like Japanese food best!) that had a nice view of the tree covered mountains in the distance.
Tuesday, Akihiro went to Kawaguchiko for his boat license test, so I tagged along. It was pretty cloudy so I couldn't see Mt. Fuji, but still it was beautiful. I explored some museums and some parks. I went to two museums that were showing Japanese dolls--one was made of paper and the other was cloth. They were beautiful! I also went to a music box museum and enjoyed the rose gardens, a Czech quartet, a synchronized water fountain, and trying to talk to three Japanese ladies who were enjoying the museum as well! Akihiro won't know until next week about his test, but he felt pretty good about it (despite me forgetting that he needs rice, not cereal for breakfast on test days!) .
Akihiro is keeping busy studying for his geriatric board (this fall), helping with some of the church business, scheduling some part time jobs, and helping finish our book. Things continue to be fairly unsure about our future. Now his dad is wondering if he truly can win the auction for the Hokkaido facility. I guess we have been praying that God would open and close doors as He sees fit, so we will continue to watch, wait, trust, and pray.