Adventures to Matsue

So, as you’d expect from most small towns, there really isn’t much here in terms of shopping.  Sure there is the necessities (supermarket, drugstore, some mom and pop businesses, and a few clothing type boutiques that I most likely wouldn’t find anything in my size anyway), but if you’re looking for a specialty item, or something bigger in terms of entertainment you need to make a trip out to one of the nearby cities.

They are equal distance apart, but depending on which direction you head, you will either end up in Izumo or Matsue.

By now I’ve visited both, but I’ve spent more time going to Matsue than Izumo.  The first time I went was with my fellow JET, supervisor, and a worker from the town office that acted as a translator.  The main purpose of the trip was for my fellow JET and me to go and buy things that we might need for furnishing our apartments.  I got to visit some various home goods stores, a cute boutique, and the Daiso (100¥ shop, their version of a Dollar Store, but better in my opinion).

The following weekend I ventured out again with my fellow JET (who had been to Matsue more than I have) to try and get practice driving to Matsue.  By then I had gone a week in my apartment, and was better able to figure out some of the things that I was still missing.  It was a fun adventure for us, as we tried looking up stores and such that we needed to go to.  We even stopped in a little café for a sort of midday snack.  With the exception of a sports store that evaded us, we were pretty much able to find what we were looking for without too much trouble.

The next few times I’ve gone have either been with my supervisor (I went to church, and she helped me find a wireless router for my apartment), and a few trips on my own to try and get the hang of driving to town.  I know it’s going to take some time, I’m already starting to get accustomed to driving around my own side of town a little, but hopefully I’ll be a fast learner.  As of right now I still rely on the Google Maps app on my phone to get me to and from town.  The way there is starting to become familiar, but it will take me a while longer to get use to driving around Matsue on my own.  One of my missions is to be able to go back to town and find that cute boutique we went to the first time!  It had a lot of cute bags, home decorations, and most importantly for me, a nice price for the socks I like to use with my work shoes.  Either that, or I need to find something that I can put on my socks to make them non slip on the heels.  It’s really annoying, but the ones from home have that annoying habit of sliding down my ankle and bunching up under my foot. 

I also went on my own the other day to attend a Speech Contest that some of my Junior High students were participating in.  I had been helping them prepare after school, and I wanted to attend in order to support them.  They worked hard, but unfortunately didn’t place.  Still, it was interesting to attend and see other students recite in English.  It was also during this trip that I was able to do a little more exploring on my own.  I was able to park and shop around the mall a little bit, and had my first taste of a McDonalds since arriving in Japan this time around (my study abroad group a few years ago also wanted to stop and see what McDonalds here in Japan is like).  It kind of made me realize how annoying it is that the window on my car’s driver’s side doesn’t work properly.  I had to get down and go into the restaurant to order. 

All in all I enjoy getting to know both my town and Matsue.  I’m determined to make it out to town completely on my own, and can’t wait to see how my next adventure in Matsue will unfold.