The Quest for a Bed

I just got back from Nitori from buying myself a nice western style bed. Unfortunately, it looks like I have to wait until September 18th to actually get it :( Boo-urns. And it was twice as expensive as I was hoping. Oh well, at least I won't have to continue sleeping on a hard futon on the floor for the next year. I don't know how the Japanese do it.

I'm really rather proud of myself though. I did it all by myself. Well, ok I had a little help from the guy who stocks the shelves...I randomly picked this guy to ask how I buy a bed and it turns out he majored in English at college so he knew what I was asking. Score! So he directed me upstairs and I went to go and have a look around. Once I picked the bed and mattress I needed to find a sales associate. So of course none were anywhere to be found so the guy sitting at the delivery desk will have to do.

I got up to him and manage to convey that I want to buy a bed. I show him which one and which mattress and say the Japanese word for delivery. He understands what I'm asking and then stands there and starts rattling off a bunch of sentences. I tell him I don't understand and then he says it all again. I'm still not getting it. Why is he not just making me fill out my address and point to a date on a calendar? What is he asking me? He doesn't seem to want to play charades with me. So I motion that there is a guy downstairs that speaks English and he calls for him over the headsets. Up comes my knight in shining armour from earlier. He seems to think that it's rather funny that I need help again. Oh well, at least now I have a translator. Turns out he's the only guy in the store that speaks any English. I know how to pick em!

After paying for my fancy new bed (and floor chairs!) it was time to bike home in the dark. That was a fun experience. Half of my ride was on poorly lit streets with little or no sidewalk. Thrilling. About 100 meters from my house I swerve and catch a wall and proceed to scrap my left hand up as I try to save myself from becoming a tangled heap of a stupid foreigner. Thankfully I maintained control and made the rest of the trip home safely. I deserved that Chu-hi I cracked open when I got home.