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Substitutions

You’re walking down Hondori Street in Hiroshima in the twilight hours on Sunday. What a long, hard night out. Otsu kare sama des. The trains are departing, but so hungry, so hungry… if you’re not interested in early morning ramen, there’s an incredible restaurant offering international breakfast food on Hondori.

Anderson Hiroshima

Anderson is probably the closest equivalent of Whole Foods or any other gourmet food store I’ve found since I arrived in Japan. It’s amazing – a variety of breakfast foods including French toast, and a store complete with:

1. A full bakery with western desserts, Japanese desserts, bread sliced to "normal" sizes

2. A winery

3. A fully stocked deli complete with international cheeses, fresh vegetables, an assortment of meat including German sausage, and homemade pasta, Italian style

4. Dinner foods already cooked and ready to go. Just like Whole Foods, you can order by the kilogram, and have a quality meal at home for less than ¥1000

Casino-quality Games

If you’re looking for poker chips bigger than the one yen coins, be sure to stop at this small gaming shop next to Parco. It’s the best source for table and casino games I’ve found in Japan – mini craps table, plastic poker cards, clay chips, etc. The owner speaks some English if you get stuck.

Map

If you’re living in or traveling to the Kansai area this week, be sure to check out one of Arudou Debito’s speeches. His schedule is online.

My Golden Week vacation will most likely be spent in Tokyo, enjoying the day trips and the familiarity of a big city once again. However, I’d love to head to Thailand and Cambodia for a week or two in the future. Angkor Wat must be seen by my eyes before I die; I love archeoastronomy

I will be dressing as a Samurai purely for entertainment on the island of Miyajima on March 21st. Come to see the parade.

Apparently drinking water in Japan is filled with little to no flouride; although it is perfectly heathly and has a pleasant taste, it doesn’t exactly benefit your teeth.