Zoning Laws and Antiquity

Zoning Laws are much simpler in Japan than America. They don`t exist. Residential, commercial, and industrial are all mixed in together. Towns in Japan make me think of a kid with Downs` Syndrome playing SimCity 2000 for Macintosh. It is not really upsetting or anything, but the lack of proper zoning makes it almost impossible to find things unless someone tells you exactly where they are. There is no downtown or business district where you can expect to find all the bars, shops, resturaunts, in one convinient place. Instead, you find electronic shops, grocery stores, and coffee shops down small and dark alleys in the middle of nowhere.

There is a positive to this though, it makes exploring a lot more fun. You find the most amazing places while walking down a random street. Here is a good example. In Marugame, there are many walking bridges. Under one of these walking bridges, there is a dark alley. On this dark alley there is a bar with no sign. In this bar, you will find an Austrailian bartendress who has all the standard American and European drinks along with real American food like Pizza, Nachos, and Tacos. Not poor fascimilies either, she actually has the real deal. If you ever happen to be in Marugame, try to find the "Grasshopper". It is worth your time.

In Takase, Steve and I found a Antiques shop we heard about but were not told where it was. This place is amazing. As soon as you walk in, the woman there has you sit down and serves you really good tea. She then asks questions with simple Japanese that even I can understand. After this, the fun begins. Forget what you know about American antique stores, this is a league of its own. Besides advanced electronics, people in Japan don`t buy second hand goods very often. This means used things can be bought cheap and sold cheap. The owners of this mom and pop store also seem to be in no rush to sell anything and have no desire to rip you off. You can just go there, stay, look around, and talk with them for hours without buying anything. However, don`t let that fact fool you into thinking that the collection in this place is weak.

We went there specifically to find instruments(we want to try and start a band), and we found more than we thought we would. I got an almost perfect trumpet for 5000 yen($43) which just needs some oil and a small part replaced. I also got a great harmonica for 200 yen($1.80). Steve grabbed a violin(that just needs the strings and bow strings replaced) for 4000 yen ($36) and a flute in good condition for 2500 yen($22) . They had good acoustic guitars(just replace strings) for about 1500 yen($13), but those we will buy later. On top of this, I got a book by Soseki from 1928 for under a dollar. They had books going back into the 1600s for almost no cost. They also had records, artwork, scrolls, and various china, trinkets, and toys. I also got a full majhong set in almost perfect condition for 500 yen ($4.50). One of the men at the counter, perhaps their son, offered to let me practice Japanese with him if he could practice Japanese English with me. All in all, a good day considering that I hadn`t slept the night before(all night at the Grasshopper and then Kareoke at Fuse in Marugame...caught the early train back to Takase)