November Report from Japan 2
My City - ABIKO
E-chan had made a very nice arrangements, and I had a nice stay in town called "Araki" in Chiba prefecture. First I 
boarded Joban line from Ueno to Abiko, and then changed to Narita line to Araki station. It took about fifty minutes from Ueno. Sometimes though, I had to wait for Narita line for over than 30 minutes.
In the evenings after 8.30 or so, there was no station attendant in Araki station. Therefore I couldn't hand my ticket to anyone. So I usually kept it in my pocket. Interesting, what if person boards a train, let's say in Ikebukuro, pays only 130 yen, and travels to Araki. Since there are no automatic ticket gates or person to check the tickets, any ticket would be fine. Interesting fact to know for those living in Araki..
The station was surrounded by roosters. Every morning around nine a clock, they started their cry.
Nothing so special in Araki. Rice fields surround the place. Huge power lines went through the rice fields. There was a little fog covering the rice fields every morning. The rice was already harvested. Only one convenience store. People were practicing agriculture everywhere. They had cut empty PET bottles in special way so that they became actually fans, to keep curious birds away.
I was living in Leopalace 21, a rented apartment, just nearby those rice fields. Quite roomy and nice, and in Abiko much cheaper than in Kashiwa. It was well equipped, with laundry machine, refrigerator, TV and cable box. Internet connection wasn't very fast but fast enough for checking mails. Probably some kind of shared connection I guess.
Ueno Park and "Hanger Man"
I was meeting Yoshi-chan in Ueno one day and we went to Ueno Park. Ueno park was lovely at this season. Trees seemed so crisp and colorful. This time, we had wonderful chance to see performing artist "Hanger Man". He was simply outstanding.
He did some pretty amazing balancing stunts and obviously was a true professional. Most impressive was his ability to make everyone laugh. And he did laugh at himself too. It was really fun to watch! It's amazing to see such professional at work. All the best to him!
Ueno park is certainly beautiful place. Unfortunately I didn't have chance to check how the Shinobazu Pond looks at this time of a year. Did you know that there are more than 1000 cherry trees in Ueno Park? Next time, I want to visit the zoological garden and see the panda.
Day in Kashiwa
So there it was, a free day in my calendar. No meetings with my friends, no business. I was going to meet E-chan in the Kashiwa Station Mall in the evening. So I thought, why don't I go to Kashiwa and see what the city has to offer. So I got up early and took Narita line to Abiko, where I changed to Joban line to Kashiwa. It took only about twenty minutes. I arrived there at nine.
First thing I thought was that I felt little a bit hungry and my brain needed some coffee. I had a stroll on the Higashi-guchi, East from Station. I discovered blue sign with letters: COFFEE NAKAMURA.
First impression from the place was that it's very clean and sort of classy. The waitress took me to a table and I ordered "hamsan", a ham sandwich so to speak, and American coffee. The place had a nice atmosphere and it was much quieter than 
Doutor or Starbucks. Although smoking was allowed, the air was rather breathable. The service was friendly, proper and very fast. I was treated like a good customer. When I watched the people working in the kitchen, they had simple concentration in their eyes. No wasted movement. Coffee was very delicious and so was the sandwich, decorated with broccoli. Definably, do visit here if you are in Kashiwa! Forget about those Doutor or Starbucks. This is whole different experience.
After that, I went to see some shops around Higashi-guchi. There are many shops around, Lingerie shop, jewelry shops, and Tower Records to the south of NAKAMURA. To the South of Station, there are Starbucks, and UNIQLO on top floor.
The central mall itself, Takashimaya Station Mall, has a lot to see. Tiffany's of course little expensive, but the quality of the products are good. And trust me, those people really know what they are selling. I drilled them about the pearl necklaces and they could tell exact origin of the pearls and about different brands and colors. Even though their English wasn't exactly polished, they could speak very understandable English. I was impressed.
I thought to buy something for E-chan, so I went to top floor, where I found a set of two Japanese handkerchief. 
CELINE. A little too famous brand in Japan, but what the heck. And it cost only 700 and after all I got a real nice wrapping.
Next thing what I did was that I thought to try the Japanese shiatsu/mixed style massage. E-chan had given me advertisement and free coupon of the place. It was to west of the station. On the way there, I had a good look of a hotel called Crest. Their customer service is top of the line. And the hotel itself is very nice, but expensive. This is totally different from Kashiwa Plaza Hotel to the opposite side of the station.
The short man greeted me properly and showed me inside. The woman in her late thirties had just received massage and was drinking coffee, smiling and relaxing. I was later told that she was one of the regular customers. "Why not" I thought, and explained the pain in my upper back.
The place had sunny feeling. It was warmly lit, but not too bright at all. Massage tables were covered with pure towels. It was simply just great. The massage was supposed to last 60 minutes, but actually I think he massaged me at least 75 minutes. Some little a bit of shiatsu followed the full body massage.
I felt so light in my body! It felt like lead weights had been removed from my neck. I thanked the man and explained my light feeling. He smiled and said "I hear that a lot". Geez. I'm sure you do. Naturally, my back felt quite sore the following night, but afterall result was very good. This professional made big difference.
The evening, I went to Internet Cafe called "I Love You". It's pretty nice place, and as usual in internet cafes in Japan, drinks are free. After that, I met E-chan.
