Shopping is my hobby
Common conversation:
Me: 'What's your hobby?'
Student: 'Shopping...and sleeping.'
Japan must be the only country where shopping and sleeping are considered hobbies. In a country when people hardly have any free time, due to the crazily long work hours, sleeping and shopping are not necessary activities, but have been reconstructed as fun things to do on your time off. They've got to make it fun, because for some people, these are the only activities besides work they will have any time to do. Besides that, the shops are great. It's a consumer paradise. There's even a shop called 'Three-Minute Happiness' which pretty much sums it up.
Luckily for my bank account, clothes shopping is not as easy for us non-Asians. I was reminded of this when I went looking for summer clothes last weekend. I was Gulliver going shopping in the land of Lilliput. Trying on jackets and shirts with their narrow backs and tight sleeves had me grimacing in discomfort while the saleswomen looked on with no change in expression, exclaiming brightly, 'Oh! Just right!' But it was only just right if I never wanted to cross my arms again or touch my face, which would rule out eating. Maybe that would help me fit the trousers, though, which I had difficulties getting past my knees. When I did get them all the way up, they would reach halfway down my calves. Nothing fit. I started getting grumpy. I was no longer Gulliver, but a 5-year-old in a lolly shop who couldn't get any of the wrappers off the sweets. I was getting so desperate that I nearly bought something just because I could get it on. Until I realised I really didn't want that beaded multi-coloured kaftan-style dress. You have to be careful of shopping in foreign countries. I remember going shopping in Sapporo with a friend who was about to fly home to New Zealand. He was on the brink of buying a baby pink satin bomber jacket with a snarling tiger and 'JAPAN!' in huge letters across the back, before he thought better of it. He later told me that as he soon as he stepped off the plane in Christchurch he knew he'd made the right decision. You can be too careful, though. I'm still kicking myself for not buying that 'Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Amsterdam' T-shirt when I was in Holland with my sister last Spring.
In the end my shopping day ended well, by the way. I did find a couple of great pieces of clothing, and here's nothing better after a long day trawling the shops than a feed at the kaiten sushi and a mug of steaming green tea.
Me: 'What's your hobby?'
Student: 'Shopping...and sleeping.'
Japan must be the only country where shopping and sleeping are considered hobbies. In a country when people hardly have any free time, due to the crazily long work hours, sleeping and shopping are not necessary activities, but have been reconstructed as fun things to do on your time off. They've got to make it fun, because for some people, these are the only activities besides work they will have any time to do. Besides that, the shops are great. It's a consumer paradise. There's even a shop called 'Three-Minute Happiness' which pretty much sums it up.
Luckily for my bank account, clothes shopping is not as easy for us non-Asians. I was reminded of this when I went looking for summer clothes last weekend. I was Gulliver going shopping in the land of Lilliput. Trying on jackets and shirts with their narrow backs and tight sleeves had me grimacing in discomfort while the saleswomen looked on with no change in expression, exclaiming brightly, 'Oh! Just right!' But it was only just right if I never wanted to cross my arms again or touch my face, which would rule out eating. Maybe that would help me fit the trousers, though, which I had difficulties getting past my knees. When I did get them all the way up, they would reach halfway down my calves. Nothing fit. I started getting grumpy. I was no longer Gulliver, but a 5-year-old in a lolly shop who couldn't get any of the wrappers off the sweets. I was getting so desperate that I nearly bought something just because I could get it on. Until I realised I really didn't want that beaded multi-coloured kaftan-style dress. You have to be careful of shopping in foreign countries. I remember going shopping in Sapporo with a friend who was about to fly home to New Zealand. He was on the brink of buying a baby pink satin bomber jacket with a snarling tiger and 'JAPAN!' in huge letters across the back, before he thought better of it. He later told me that as he soon as he stepped off the plane in Christchurch he knew he'd made the right decision. You can be too careful, though. I'm still kicking myself for not buying that 'Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Amsterdam' T-shirt when I was in Holland with my sister last Spring.
In the end my shopping day ended well, by the way. I did find a couple of great pieces of clothing, and here's nothing better after a long day trawling the shops than a feed at the kaiten sushi and a mug of steaming green tea.
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