Kinshicho

OK, so this is where we live now. Big change from High Point, huh? This was taken when Gen was house-hunting in November. Our apartment is about 4 blocks behind the Mauri Department Store. That's the building with the OIOI sign.

Department stores over here are the greatest. A lot of them have grocery stores in the basements and some have 100-yen stores (like the Dollar Store). One near us even has a dry-cleaner inside. The prices are usually a little higher, but the convenience can't be beat and most take credit cards, which many of the smaller places don't.

In the first picture, you can see a silvery gate at the center of the picture. The red-light district is through that gate. There are all kinds of restaurants, but it's mostly hostess bars, where men can go and pay to have drinks with women. The women are usually foreigners from countries like Thailand, the Phillipines, and Russia. To the right of the gate is the train and subway station. It's really convenient to the apartment, only about a 5-minute walk.